《Game of the World Tree》


 Chapter 01

    <strong>??Reincarnation of the World Tree</strong>


    Do humans actually have souls?


    If so, what would the afterlife be like? Will one¡¯s consciousness still be retained after death?


    Back when she was still alive, Ev¨¦ often pondered about such philosophical questions.


    Nevertheless with each time she thought about such matters, the same answer she came into conclusion have always stayed the same¡ª<em>that is,</em> she probably just eaten way too much hence her brain kept thinking of such profound things as some form of mental exertion.


    However, when the actual chance to verify and experience such an unbelievable urrence had finally happened to her, Ev¨¦ instead refused to processed anything so she just stood there in utter bewilderment.


    Silence.


    She seems to be within a void.


    With nothing but an endless expanse of darkness before her, Ev¨¦¡¯s only option to appease her boredom was hiding into the deep recesses of her mind and be lost in contemtion.


    Firstly, she was absolutely certain that she had indeed died moments before she reappeared in this bizarre world.


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know how she could still retain her old consciousness after dying, but regardless of such out of this world scenario, one¡¯s things for sure is that she¡¯s now stuck here in this world of nothingness.


    Loneliness, Darkness, Istion.


    Aside from these immaterial concepts, the only things she could perceive that may have some sort of substance are those two orbs of light, one blue and one green flickering aimlessly at a distance.


    Ev¨¦ once tried to reach these shining orbs with her hand, but soon found that she had no actual body and was only a bundle of consciousness.


    Fortunately, she seemed to still be able to float akin to a cloud.


    Could it be¡­she¡¯s now merely just a soul?


    Ev¨¦ suddenly had this thought.


    After pondering for a moment, she tentatively floated towards the two orbs of light.


    The green one wasrge and emitted a flickering light, giving Ev¨¦ a sense of grandeur and mystery.


    The blue one on the other hand was small and emitted a soft glow, making Ev¨¦ feel at peace andfortable.


    After thinking for several seconds, Ev¨¦ decided to first make contact with thetter.


    However, just as she was about to touch it, a faint cascade of solemn prayers suddenly echoed within this devoid space¡­


    The voices were ethereal, soft, and solemn, seeminglyden with deep yearning and mncholia.


    Ev¨¦ was perplexed and shifted her attention to the source of the sound, realizing that it seemed to being from the green orb of light.


    The prayers were intermittent, and it was spoken in anguage that Ev¨¦ had never heard before, but it gave her a profound sense of solemnity.


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t understand the content, but she seemed to be able to sense the countless sorrows and despair contained within the prayers.


    Curiosity killed the cat so to speak.


    As if guided by a strange force, Ev¨¦ shifted her attention and tentatively touched the green light instead.


    At the moment she touched the bright viridescent orb, the dark world stirred as if provoked then changes started happening.


    Her consciousness soon fell into a trance within an instant, and a huge amount of information burst forth like a deluge within her mind.


    Ev¨¦ then felt her vision go ck as countless scenes appeared within her subconscious mind one after another¡­


    A vast and ancient continent¡­


    A mysterious seed falling from the sky¡­


    A strange and enormous tree sprouting from the ground¡­


    Beautiful figures born from the tree¡­


    ¡°Elves¡­?¡±


    This term instinctively resurfaced through Ev¨¦¡¯s mind the moment she took a glimpse of those long-eared figures often seen in the fantasy RPG games of her past life.


    But before she could think of anything further, the green light sphere generated a strong inescapable vacuum force and sucked her in an instant¡­


    ¡°Suitable soul captured.¡±


    ¡°Condition triggered, activating the World Tree Awakening Ritual.¡±


    In a daze, Ev¨¦ heard a stranger¡¯s voice.


    It was spoken in an unknownnguage, but Ev¨¦ was surprised to find that she could still understand it.


    Ev¨¦¡¯s vision then brightened just as the voice slowly fades into a whisper.


    Looking around her new unfamiliar surroundings, Ev¨¦ came to the conclusion that she had been transported into a world filled with wonder as countless flickering tiny orbs of light dances through the air as if heralding her arrival.


    Such dreamy and otherworldly sceneries are indescribable by words alone.


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was perplexed.


    ¡°Initiating soul fusion, activating World Tree inheritance ceremony¡­¡±


    The mysterious synthetic voice rang out again, and then the countless flying particles around Ev¨¦ began to converge towards her body.


    She felt a strong and mysterious power pouring into her body, apanied by a flood of countless information as well.


    As the fusion continued, Ev¨¦ felt her innate senses bing more clearer and better, and the prayers echoed again within her mind, bing more pronounced and coherent.


    With the lights that entered her body slowly bing intertwined with her, Ev¨¦¡¯s consciousness have also began to radiate a faint divine light, as the solemn green energy continued to converge until it engulfed the entire space for which she stood still¡­


    In thest second, Ev¨¦ heard that synthetic voice again:


    ¡°The Union is sessful.¡±


    ¡°Wee back your divine grace, the new seed that have finally been reborn to rece the old one in the realm of Saig¨¹es¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.¡±


    When her consciousness had finally returned, Ev¨¦ fell into contemtion right away.


    She was no longer in that strange void, but on the contrary she seemed to have arrived in a lush vibrant world instead.


    An ever expansive range of high mountains epasses her view in the far distance whilst being surrounded by lush dense forests in close proximity.


    ¡­That is, only if one could ignore the distinct difference between the nts here inparison from those on Earth, Ev¨¦ would have doubled as to whether she had reallye to a primeval forest.


    However, all the forest and mountains around her are far too small for some reason.


    It was such a strange feeling, like being in an Ultraman film set or being spirited away into thends of the tiny Lilliputians. Ev¨¦ felt as if she was overseeing everything in the world through the POV from high above.


    Even the flock of birds gliding through the skies look like mere flies in her eyes.


    Moreover, her vision was very peculiar, its like having an eyesight capable of 360¡ãdegree angle view, something entirely unimaginable in her past human life¡­


    Drawing her attention to something else down below, Ev¨¦ saw a palm-sizedke not far away from where she stood.


    Theke was still as a mirror and shimmering, and it clearly showed her reflection, a being of colossal proportions with twisting roots, a robust and majestic trunk, and ever expansive branches that almost blocked out the skies.


    Combing through all the vast information that was forcefully poured into her frayed mind, Ev¨¦ eventually got the gist of it:


    ¡°I¡¯m the World Tree?¡±


    <em>Yggdrasill</em>¡ªthe World Tree.


    She was hailed as the primordial root of nature, the mother goddess of the Elvenkind, and the Miraculous life giver¡­


    She was an unfathomable existenceparable to likes of dragons for which were hailed to as the most powerful race in the entire history of Saig¨¹es. The one she had reincarnated into was a real mythical being rivaling the might of gods.


    ¡°Is this really true that I¡¯m now the World Tree¡­and all of this is not just an insane delusion of mine¡­?¡±


    Looking at the falling withered leaves at it ripples her reflection within the mirror-likeke, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know if she was sighing ormenting in her heart.


    Perhaps both.


    Anyhow.


    After sorting through the information she had been forcefully inherited, Ev¨¦ had more or less figured out her current situation.


    Her soul had crossed over to a fantasy world called Saig¨¹es.


    And as a newly minted recruit for the army of transmigrators, she seemed to have been handpicked by the old dying World Tree to rece it. Her soul had been fused with the mother tree¡¯s essence, as well as the remaining memories and Divinity, while retaining her prior consciousness, henceforth bing the new World Tree ¨C <em>Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill. </em>


    A Quasi-dead one, that is.


    The inheritance of the World Tree seems to possess a peculiar power that calms one¡¯s bearings. Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t feel panicked or lost in her heart after seeing the state of her new body. On the contrary, she was surprised to find that she was incrediblyposed at this moment, with even had a hint of joy in her heart¡­


    ¡°Joy¡­?¡±


    Indeed, what she¡¯s really feeling now was joy, the mirth of surviving posthumously.


    After merging with the inheritance of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ knew that she had been very lucky. As a soul wandering in the endless void, unless one experienced something miraculous like this, the destruction of one¡¯s soul would be the actual norm.


    However, with her crossing worlds and merging to a new life had inadvertently helped her escape her imminent destruction back in that Dark World.


    Henceforth, begins her new life¡­as a tree.


    ¡°Anyway, It¡¯s good that I am alive again¡­I guess?¡±


    Looking at her reflection at theke¡¯s surface whilst trying to move her newfound wooden body, Ev¨¦ was filled with curiosity.


    It¡¯s great that she¡¯s alive once again but the sense of decay that seem to pervades this new body of hers is quite rming considering that she just transmigrated onto it.


    Without a doubt, the current state of this body is not so well. Just by looking at her reflection in theke, it is clear that the branches are withered and the leaves are decaying, a perilous state of quasi-death right off the bat.


    Great.


    What a spendid way to start her reincarnated life, indeed!


    Sarcasm aside, Ev¨¦ can still feel a powerful and ancient power lying deep within her body, brimming with vitality, stirring and seemingly just reawakened from its deep slumber.


    At the same time, a profound feeling also arises within her.


    It is a feeling of being inplete control of the heavens and earth, Ev¨¦ felt as if she is the reigning sovereign of this entire world, and as long as she wills it, she can dominate everything within several kilometers around her.


    This feeling is quite addicting once you gets a taste of it, she mused. Ev¨¦ then looks around in search of things she could apply her powers into and found a withered Oak tree not far away from her and she tried to focus in her magic onto it.


    Harnessing her power mentally, eventually strange things suddenly happened to the Oak Tree.


    That dead tree suddenly bursts with new life, sprouting leaves and branches in a matter of seconds. Not only that, but Ev¨¦ also felt as if she has formed some kind of special connection with the Oak tree, as if she can control everything about it.


    However, she also realizes that the magical power within her is rapidly depleting, and a third of it disappears in the blink of an eye. Realizing this, she quickly stops reviving the dead tree.


    Ev¨¦, who had already merged with the essence of the World Tree, knows that this power is the energy of life, which is also the source of the World Tree¡¯s strength, or¡­its Divinity.


    Once it runs out, the World Tree will inevitably fall into a deep slumber.


    That also means Ev¨¦¡¯s death.


    Feeling the pain of losing a third of her magical power, Ev¨¦ regrets her carelessness.


    She did not expect such arge consumption just by trying to ¡°resurrect¡± this particr withered oak tree.


    What¡¯s so special about it anyway? Initially she thought that it was just your average Oak tree.


    Focusing on the tree whom that had just been infused with her natural divine power, Ev¨¦ soon felt a little strange.


    The withered tree at this moment had alreadypletely changed. Not only did it be lush again, but it also grew almost three times taller than it was before.


    Comparing it to the surrounding trees, Ev¨¦ guessed that this oak tree, for which had regained its vitality, was probably at least thirty meters tall.


    And then, what happened next further astounds her.


    Suddenly, the lucky oak tree trembled and struggled to break free its roots from the ground whilst sprouting new roots that twisted and curled into two strange legs. Its branches grew into two muscr arms, while the crown became a tangled mass of wooden hair, and a pair of shining eyes appeared on the top of the trunk.


    In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a majestic treant!


    As Ev¨¦ watched in astonishment as the thirty-meter-tall oak treant shook off the dirt on its legs, turned toward the World Tree, and knelt down on one knee. his powerful voice was filled with excitement and sincerity:


    ¡°Oh, Mother Nature, I thank you for your favor. Please grant this Oak Guardian a name, your divine grace!¡±


    Mother Nature? Oak Guardian? Granting a name?


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but smirk wryly at the sight of the tiny toy-sized treant posturing beneath her. Meanwhile, she felt a strange connection with it, as if she could directly conveymands to it.


    His posture somehow made her remember a particr scene she had watched back at her past life and a mischievous thought crossed Ev¨¦¡¯s mind, and she hesitated for a moment before giving the treant a name.


    Suddenly, a sacred, majestic, and ethereal voice echoed in the Oak Guardian¡¯s mind:


    ¡°Very well, then you shall be known as Berserker!¡±


    <strong>Nihil Note</strong> : Hello, I decided to retrante all the old chapters to make it more consistent with my own trantions. I¡¯m still thankful for the earlier TL¡¯s since it¡¯s through them that I¡¯ve stumbled upon this gem. Anyhow, I¡¯m still releasing my usual chapters but I¡¯m also adding some of these retranted ch alongside as well.

 Chapter 02

    <strong>??Connections in the Online World </strong>


    As soon as she proimed his name, the massive body of the oak guardian trembled in reverence, as his half-kneeling posture turned into a full on gesture of kowtowing.


    He deeply bowed and spoke with a voice that seemed to be excited and trembling akin to a child who had just been praised by their mother:


    ¡°Praise be the Mother Goddess, I will serve thee until myst dying breath!¡±


    After hearing his bold promation of loyalty, Ev¨¦ then felt a pure and warm energying out from the oak guardian as if it had crossed the void and directly blessed her, ultimately converging with her own natural divine power whom sits at the deepest part of her body and coalescing with the rest of her Divinity.


    Ev¨¦ was then surprised to find that her originally depleted divine power reserves had actually recovered just a little bit.


    After considering the information in her consciousness for a moment, Ev¨¦ quickly came to an conclusion.


    ¡°The power of faith?¡±


    The power that just came from the Oak Guardian is undoubtedly the power of faith!


    Being personally blessed by Eve¡¯s natural divine power, this Oak Treant has now fully be a loyal advocate of the Mother Goddess, and will naturally provide consistent power of faith through daily practice of his religion.


    Looking at the respectful and obedient Berserker in front of her, Ev¨¦ became even more satisfied, feeling that she had touched upon some ideas on how to restore her powers.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ once again checked the information passed down to her and unsurprisingly found relevant information to such matters.


    The Saig¨¹es realm is a magically enriched world that is home to mortals and a few Demigods for which thetter are mostly in control the world.


    The power of the deitieses from faith, and the power of the faith of all living things is what empowers the deities with them transforming the raw faith into pure divine power through their Divinity.


    The World Tree is a mythical creature that exists on the same level as the Gods. Henceforth the power of the World Tree and the deities are somewhat simr. The World Tree also is an esteemed being widely recognized by all living things within Saig¨¹es.


    True gods had once walked the surface of the mortal realm long ago but currently there¡¯s some problem that¡¯s preventing them from descending into this realm thus most of the True Gods resides in another ne called the Heavenly Realm.


    Also ording to the World Tree¡¯s Inheritance, there are different types of Deities but they are mostly ssified by the method for which they can garner power.


    The popr term for distinction amongst them are the ¡®New Gods¡¯ and the ¡®Old Ancient Ones.¡¯


    The new gods, also known as the faith-based deities, are often deities that are born muchter. They mainly rely on the power of faith provided by their worshipers to umte divine power, strengthen their Divinities, and improve their own Celestial Domain by building divine kingdoms in the mortal world.


    The Old Ancient Ones on the other hand, are known as the mythical-based deities, for which most of them already exist even way back to the primordial era aeons ago.


    Their poweres from the naturalws bestowed upon the heavens and earth. Thus in turn gives them the ability to obtain divine power from the cosmic void or through some other obscure means.


    The Great Ancient Ones do not require faith, nevertheless they can also strengthen themselves through being worshipped.


    The World Tree belongs to thetter.


    Back when the World Tree was still at its peak, it could directly draw energy from the cosmic void and gain divine power from it easily, or directly convert the vitality of other creatures into its own natural divine power.


    However, at this moment, the World Tree is in a dying state and has lost the ability to gain natural divine power from the cosmic void.


    In this quasi-death state, the World Tree cannot function on its own and can only indirectly influence the outside world through divine power. This makes it impossible for Ev¨¦ to actively absorb the life force of the nts in the forest to restore her strength, because she cannot do it herself¡­


    The only method Ev¨¦ can think of to increase her divine power is through faith. However, the path of religion is not an easy one. ording to the information derived from the inheritance, thepetition amongst the faith-based gods for believers on Saig¨¹es is quite fierce, and the previous World Tree apparently fell because of it.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ looked at her newly created Treant follower and he felt more and more precious within her eyes.


    A fanatic! And one that could potentially be a saint!


    ¡°Sigh if only I could know more about Berserker¡¯s abilities¡­it would be nice if his status was disyed just like the games back in my old world¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but exhale ruefully.


    How stupid, this is reality and not a game world. How could there be a convenient thing like a Status scr¡ª


    Suddenly, Ev¨¦ felt a slight decrease in her natural divine power, and within her consciousness appeared a Status Interface of the oak tree guardian, just like the one she had wished just now!


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Berserker ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: Oak Tree Guardian¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>ss</strong>: Druid¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 51 (Silver Mid-Rank)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Patron God</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level of Faith</strong>: Fanatic¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Titles</strong>: Mother Nature¡¯s Follower, World Tree Guardian¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: War Sacrifice, Oak Grasp, Nature Whispering¡­¡¿


    ¡­


    Ev¨¦ opened her nonexistent mouth agape.


    This¡­How did it actually happen?


    No, this is the power of an Old Ancient God!


    Although still somewhat incredulous, Ev¨¦, who had now been fused with the essence of the World Tree, understood that in a sense, she was now a bona-fide God.


    A God can manipte the naturalws of the world, but even more so for an Ancient One like her. It is said that Great Old Ones can even create things out of nothing with just their thoughts alone and nothing else.


    Although Ev¨¦ has not yetpletely mastered her power, she can already use her natural divine power to achieve some miracles.


    Manifesting the information of the other party in her mind is rtively easypared to what she could actually do.


    But regardless, Ev¨¦ still feels somewhat pained after feeling the dissipation of her divine powers once more.


    She felt like a CEO of a delistedpany on the verge of bankruptcy.


    After checking Berserker¡¯s information, Ev¨¦ was quite frankly a tad bit disappointed.


    ¡°Only Silver mid-rank huh¡­that¡¯s a little low.¡±


    Having fused with the World Tree inheritance, Ev¨¦ had gained a clear understanding of the current world¡¯s strength level division. The power ranking within Saig¨¹es could be divided into four major levels: upational level, legendary level, demigod level, and mythical level, each separated by a vast difference.


    The lowest level, upational level, is also known as the Secr Rank and can be further subdivided into three tiers: ck, iron, silver, and gold, with each tier having upper, middle, and lower ranks.


    Being a silver medium rank, in the upational level, The Oak Guardian is only considered to have average strength, and was far behind the legendary levels and above.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that just bestowing a mere silver medium rank follower would cost this much. I feel like I¡¯ve been ripped off a bit¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered to herself ruefully.


    After thinking for a moment, shemanded again in her mind.


    ¡°Manifest my own status!¡±


    With a single thought, a simr information box appeared in her consciousness again.


    [<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill ]


    [<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient God)]


    [<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical Rank)]


    [<strong>Condition</strong>: Weak Divine Power Debuff (<em>On the verge of deep sleep</em>)]


    [<strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elf]


    [<strong>Titles</strong>: Nature¡¯s Mother Tree, Goddess of Life, Patron God of the Elves]


    [<strong>Divine Power Value</strong>: 10/500]


    [<strong>Number of Followers</strong>: 3 (Saints 0, Fanatics 1, Devout Believers 1, Shallow Believers 1)]


    [<strong>Abilities</strong>: Communication, Bestowal, Enlightenment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent¡­]


    A Mother of what now?!


    Ah right¡­The world tree is originally the mother tree of life, so naturally a moniker would be made in rtion to that.


    Anyway, she yed a lot of virtual reality games in her past life so naturally she could easily understand all these gaming terminologies like levels, debuffs and simr stuffs.


    Oh wait¡­ she still has a few followers?


    Seeing the number of followers, Ev¨¦ was somewhat perplexed, but thinking back to the faint prayers she had heard before fusing with the World Tree, she also felt somewhat relieved.


    If she guessed it correctly, those voices may probably came from her few remaining religious worshippers.


    Only 10 points of divine power, how pitiful.


    Just now, when she revived Berserker, she used up a whopping 05 points of divine power you know!


    And gaining the ability to observe the target¡¯s state also consumed 01 point of her divine power¡­you know.


    ¡°Goddanggit I must make myself stronger¡­my divine power is just not enough as it is.¡±


    Ev¨¦ urgently wants to increase her divine power even if it¡¯s just for the ability to move freely.


    As a World Tree in a quasi-death state, she¡¯s nothing more than a immovable lunk of wood, except for being conscious, she¡¯s no different from a vegetable, truly the most miserable god in existence.


    When she first arrived here, she was really excited, but if she was forced to stand like a background prop like these from now on then Ev¨¦ felt that she would go insane sooner orter¡­


    No, this won¡¯t do!


    She must umte enough divine power to at very least recover from the dying state she¡¯s stuck in now and when things gets a bit better then she¡¯ll finally create a divine avatar for herself!


    Once she has an incarnation, then Ev¨¦ can finally move freely within a certain range and do whatever she wants!


    However, if she wants to use the divine avatar creation in her abilities, Ev¨¦ checked and found out that it requires a grand total of 100 points of divine power in order to manifest it!


    At present, this is just too high of a price for her¡­


    Sigh¡­


    I¡¯m just too poor¡­


    Fortunately, the faith power provided by the few believers she still have can be converted into divine power. However, looking at the very slow pace of faith umtion in her Status Screen, Ev¨¦ felt even more and more helpless.


    T-Three believers, one of which was just created moments ago. Aren¡¯t there any Gods in the world who is more pitiful than her?


    Although the World Tree, being an ancient god for which belongs to the category of Great Old Ones and does not rely on religion like faith-based gods do, at present, it seems that the only way for Ev¨¦ to replenish divine power is through worship¡­


    By the way, where are these other believers?


    Suddenly, a hint of interest rose in Ev¨¦¡¯s heart.


    Since she was able to contact the Oak Guardian, could she also contact the others?


    She thought about it and sank back into her own sea of consciousness.


    In the depths of her mind, Ev¨¦ entered that mysterious green space yet again.


    But now, she already knew what this space was.


    It was the divine essence of the World Tree and also thepressed core of her Celestial Domain.


    At this moment, the Domain is still shrouded in a hazy light and is very much chaotic.


    In the depths of her consciousness, Ev¨¦ had a sense of being the Sovereign here. She could manipte and change everything in this space, but she didn¡¯t try to do so because her current divine power was still too weak to withstand the turmoil.


    In addition, Ev¨¦ also discovered three clusters of green floating orbs in this space, like flickering stars. This apparently was the connection link between her and those three believers.


    Besides these, to her surprise, Ev¨¦ also found the familiar blue sphere of light that she had seen before her reincarnation.


    Not only that, but the sense of familiarity from the blue light has became more pronounced and stronger at this moment!


    After hesitating for a moment, Ev¨¦ temporarily abandoned the idea of directly contacting the other three believers, and cautiously probed her consciousness into the sphere of blue light.


    As Ev¨¦ touched it, a massive amount of information consisting of one¡¯s and zeroes and symbols suddenly flooded over her mind akin to a tidal wave!


    <em>¡°Will the VR tech really create a new wave of technological revolut</em>ion?¡±


    <em>¡°Awesome! My country is expected to achieve full coverage of virtualworks by the end of thi</em>s year!¡±


    <em>¡°Report indicates that a Professional gamer died suddenly after staying up for a week in game capsules¡­¡±</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After enduring for a few seconds, Ev¨¦ quickly cut off the information link.


    She stared nkly at the tiny blue light in front of her, and her heart surged with overwhelming waves of euphoria-


    ¡ªShe just can¡¯t believe it!


    This blue sphere was actually connected to the inte from her previous world Earth!

 Chapter 03

    <strong>??The Remaining Elf Believers</strong>


    Ev¨¦ still couldn¡¯t understand how she had managed to connect to the inte of her past life.


    But thinking of her past life¡¯s cause of death, she began to have some guesses within her heart.


    She remembered that in her previous life, she had enjoyed ying VR games on a virtual capsule moments before dying, and the cause of death seemed to be due to several days of sleeplessness¡­


    Yes, thest piece of information that had just emerged seemed to be about her.


    Virtual reality tech was a new type of technology that had be increasingly popr in recent years back on Earth. Its principle was to directly connect a person¡¯s consciousness to thework and create a virtual reality world.


    Ev¨¦ suspected that it was because she had died whilst still connected to the inte so her consciousness had somehow established a kind of link with the inte world for some reason.


    Not only that, but byparing the flow of time on both sides, Ev¨¦ found out that the flow of time in Saig¨¹es was about four times faster than that of Earth.


    So what does this all mean?


    Can she still contact her family after crossing over this side!?


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know whether as to cry orugh at the absurdity of it.


    Why only now when she had already decided to embrace a new life and forget everything from the past.


    But for some reason, she felt a bit reluctant¡­


    Hope is such a strange thing. Sometimes when it¡¯spletely cut off, it¡¯s simply gone. But once even a slim chance urs, it can rekindle so bright that it might even burn you up entirely.


    ¡°I just left like that without even saying goodbye, I still don¡¯t know how sad my parents and sister are¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed in her heart.


    s, she now had be the World Tree from another world, and add to the fact that her previous body had long already been cremated into ashes¡­so what use is there even if she can establish contact with her family through Earth¡¯s inte?


    She has already tried once, and her divine power seems it can only affect thework world, and cannot manifest physically on the other side. In other words, even if she projects her consciousness over Earth, Ev¨¦ would at most be just an invisible mass of data without any corporeal body.


    And if she wants to entirely make a copy of her consciousness and upload it into some databank servers over there, she estimated that the consumption of divine power required to do such an endeavor is even more astronomical.


    Ev¨¦ estimated that it would require at least tens of thousands of divine power values!


    Ev¨¦ sighed in her heart before calming her nerves down.


    Maybe after she had be more stronger and finally escape her quasi-death dilemma then perhaps she could try again in the future.


    Being able to spend tens of thousands of divine power points requires at least an intermediate level of Divinity. But as of right now, she is just a weakling with a meager divine power, not to mention she is on the brink of death too at the moment¡­


    Mundane Divinity, Weak Divinity, Intermediate Divinity, Strong Divinity and finally Great Divinity¡­


    She still has a long way to go!


    Moreover, her current priority is something else instead¡­


    Looking at her pitiful status screen, Ev¨¦ sighed in her mind once again before closing it down.


    ¡°First order of business is stabilize my own condition! A God who¡¯s about to die is as good as an easy mob full of golden loots. At least for now, my goal is to position myself well here in the mortal realm! I will stand firmly on my own feet first, then consider other things afterwards!¡±


    At this moment, Ev¨¦ finally decided on a long-term goal for the future.


    That is to make herself strong and gain true freedom!


    With that in mind, Ev¨¦ resolutely left Earth¡¯s inte and came back to the three green spheres of lights back in her Celestial Domain.


    After excluding the one belonging to Beserker, she then looked at the remaining two firefly-like orbs.


    Suddenly, that ethereal, gentle, and solemn prayer had came again¡­


    This time, Ev¨¦ finally found the source of the voice, which was the brightest of the two lights!


    After hesitating for a moment, she probed her consciousness into it to track its location¡­


    Apanied by a sudden weightlessness, Ev¨¦ felt her vision constantly rising as her surroundings began to bend and distort.


    Soon, she exited her Celestial Domain, and her consciousness was pulled in a certain direction, flying towards it as if being pulled through a link.


    After a moment of dizziness, Ev¨¦ soon found herself in a towering temple.


    The temple was intertwined with vines and its structure is made of ancient wood which was carved with exquisite andplex patterns, giving people a natural and sacred feeling, but s it appeared very dpidated, with a sense of ancient and vicissitudes of life.


    In the center of the temple was an ancient altar, and the strange magical runes had already been long destroyed by cracks. Above the altar was a broken elf statue missing its head.


    <em>Where is this?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was slightly stunned.


    When she expanded her consciousness outward, she suddenly felt some sort of connection to this structure.


    This temple¡­


    It was actually located on her own body!


    To be precise, it was on the lower trunk of the World Tree, but Ev¨¦ had been observing her surroundings all along and hadn¡¯t noticed it.


    Is this considered a blind spot?


    Silentlyining to herself, Ev¨¦ focused her attention on the area in front of the altar.


    In front of the altar, stood two elves, a man and a woman.


    The male elf was very old, with white hair and beard, leaning on a cane and wearing a gray ceremonial robe. He exuded a sense of dusk and decay, with deep sadness and despair etched deep in his eyes.


    Ev¨¦¡¯s attention quickly passed over him and focused instead on the female elf in front of her.


    She was a beautiful elf girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old in appearance, kneeling on the ground with her hands sped tightly around a leaf-shaped emblem. She had her head slightly bowed with her eyes closed, and was whispering a prayer.


    She had all the stereotypical ssic beauty that legends often attributed to elves. Her pointed ears, slender neck, and delicate features looked incredibly holy and pure. Her fair and delicate skin was as white as the first snow, and her golden, silken hair flowed like a waterfall to the ground, adding a touch of maturity to her youthful countenance.


    She was dressed in a gorgeous ceremonial gown as well adorned with more intricate greenery etchings inparison to the older male elf. Golden patterns and vine motifs decorated their gowns with solemnity and sanctity. In addition she made people feel inferior and unworthy to her innate natural grace and nobility.


    Ev¨¦ then tried to bring out the elven girl¡¯s information through her mind.


    [<strong>Name</strong>: Alice Swiftwind]


    [<strong>Race</strong>: Elf]


    [<strong>upation</strong>: Priestess of Nature ]


    [<strong>Level</strong>: 23 (High Iron)]


    [<strong>Patron God</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill ]


    [<strong>Faith ssification</strong> : Devout Believer]


    [<strong>Title</strong>: Nature¡¯s Saintess]


    ¡­


    Everyone likes beautiful things.


    Seeing that her only devout believer left was such a pure and beautiful elven girl, Ev¨¦¡¯s initial disappointment dissipated in an instant.


    As for the other person, he was only a shallow believer.


    ording to the information, the old male elf in front of the altar was named Samuel Swiftwind, a 30th-level nature priest and druid.


    Both of them were mid to high level iron-rank professionals, with the old elf being the highest and only one level away from advancing to the upper level of Iron-rank.


    Unless something unexpected happened, these two would be her core advocates.


    Ev¨¦ nodded inwardly in satisfaction.


    Her next agenda was tomunicate with them and find a way to rekindle their dying faith.


    Ev¨¦ thought for a moment, nning to use a bit of divine power to respond to them with some reluctance, but the elf girl had finally stopped praying.


    She opened her emerald eyes, wiped away a teardrop from the corner of her eye, sniffled slightly, and then struggled to stand up whilst propping herself up on the ground.


    Turning around, she gave her waitingpanion a forced smile, and Alice¡¯s crisp voice was somewhat hoarse and depressed:


    ¡°Grandpa Samuel, the final prayer¡­ is over.¡±


    She has been kneeling here for three days and three nights, and all her remaining hopes have eventually turned into despair.


    Watching the girl¡¯s despondent expression, the elf elder named Samuel sighed.


    He concealed the sorrow in his eyes and tried tofort her, saying, ¡°Well¡­this is something we can¡¯t help. No matter how much we persevere or hope, eventually we must ept this harsh reality¡­¡±


    As he spoke, he then raised his head and looked at the broken statue above the altar. In his cloudy eyes, there were faintly shimmering tears.


    ¡°Her divine majesty, our patron goddess¡­she really has fallen¡­¡±


    Silence.


    It took a moment of realization but finally, a weak broken sobbing sound echoes faintly within the temple¡¯s Grand Hall.


    After the Saintess had eventually regained her bearings, the elderly elf sighed deeply before saying:


    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­¡±


    ¡°After guarding this ce for thousands of years, we no longer need to persist here anymore¡­¡±


    As he finished speaking, the lights representing the two believers in the world tree¡¯s divine space dimmed even more and were about to go out¡­


    Ev¨¦: ¡­


    Oi, Oi! Listen, Is it really okay to give up your faith like that when your god has finallye before you?!


    Didn¡¯t you guys wait for me for a thousand years!?


    What am I going to do now that thest two believers of mine have be like this¡­


    Ev¨¦ felt extremely depressed.


    Originally, she had wanted to perform a miracle and raise the elf girl¡¯s favor to fanaticism, then develop the other shallow believer into a devout one.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect to be met with such nigh game-over scenario right off the bat.


    She rationally judged that if she didn¡¯t act now, then these only two indigenous believers left would soon be saying bye bye to her.


    Stay calm, she reminded herself. She had just inherited the mantle of the Nature Goddess and that every beginning is always difficult. If worsees to worst, there¡¯s still good ol¡¯ Berserker¡­


    After consoling herself, Ev¨¦ then decided to use her divine power to prove her existence, but suddenly she noticed something and temporarily suppressed her original n.


    She scanned her consciousness at a certain direction in the distance, and breathe a sigh of relief.


    Her divine power was still too precious to be used wantonly.


    My, My! What a lucky coincidence.


    Just as she was about to do something reckless, someone then offered her a far better choice, and now it seems there are even more efficient and cost-effective ways to persuade these two¡­

 Chapter 04

    <strong>??The Orc Hunting Squad </strong>


    Deep within the forest of elves, a hunting squad consisting of Orc mercenaries was carefully making their way through the lush vegetation.


    ¡°Hurry up, you useless lot! If we let the targets escape, then we won¡¯t get any share this month!¡± The Orc captain named Rock, cursed fiercely while holding a wolf-toothed club made of beast bones.


    He kicked one of his subordinates¡¯ buttocks, turned back forward, and the vicious expression on his face immediately disappeared, reced by a smiling one as he looked towards the towering World Tree in the distance. However, due to his sharp teeth and crude face, such gesture made him appear more particrly hideous.


    ¡°Hehehe, the priest was right. As long as we stay near the World Tree, then we¡¯ll definitely catch this group of foolish long-eared creatures!¡±


    Thinking about the potential rewards that coulde from this hunt, Rock¡¯s anticipation grew even stronger.


    Ever since the war of the gods a thousand years ago where the nature goddess, mother of the elves fell and the World Tree withered and decayed, the elven race had lost the protection of their patron god, causing their overall strength to drastically plummet.


    As the most beautiful, elegant, and long-lived race on Saig¨¹es, the elves had be a hotmodity for ve traders for a thousand years.


    Even a young female elf could sell for a fortune in the human kingdoms.


    Even adult male elves were in high demand in the high-end ve markets!


    And the Orcish tribes living on the edge of the elven forest had be rich and prosperous just by capturing and selling these elves to the humans.


    Rock was no exception. He had already captured over ten elves, and even among the Orc captains, he was considered wealthy in the entire tribe.


    ¡°After finishing this job, I¡¯ll finally propose to Bilo and then buy a property in the Chaos City,pletely bidding farewell to this savage mercenary life,¡± Rock thought happily in his mind.


    ¡°Boss¡­I¡¯ve found the targets. There are two of them in total! One of them is female, an absolute top-grade specimen!¡±


    Suddenly, the excited voice of a scout came from the front.


    Rock¡¯s spirit was immediately lifted, and he immediately drew his wolf tooth club:


    ¡°You fools! Draw your weapons! Let¡¯s surround them quickly, be careful not to expose ourselves, and anyone who causes trouble will get his balls smashed to bits!¡±


    ¡­


    Alice and her olderpanion left the Natural Temple in silence.


    The elven girl turned back to look at the withered giant tree with her eyes getting teary once again.


    This was theirst timeing to worship¡­


    Every time, she hoped to awaken their mother goddess, but every time, she was always disappointed.


    Now, even as thest holy woman of their religion, she had to admit that the Elven Goddess had probably truly fallen¡­


    With the Divine Mother¡¯s fall, the Royal Elven Family had became extinct while the Elf Kingdom had long since shattered with the various tribes scattered and fled, the once brilliant silver civilization bing a mere thing of the past¡­


    Under the threat of the hunting vers, all surviving members of the Elves could only hide to evade pursuit.


    The future of the elves no longer held any hope.


    Thinking of those bastards who saw the tribe as meremodities, ruthlessly hunting and abusing them, Alice almost ground her teeth to pieces.


    However, she also felt deeply powerless.


    Without the protection of their patron deity, the elves lost their once powerful strength long ago.


    ¡°I wonder how many of our people will be left in a hundred years¡­¡±


    The blond girl whispered in defeat.


    The old priest Samuel, remained silent.


    <em>One hundred years¡­</em>


    Will there really be a hundred years for us in the future?


    The elven race¡­ doesn¡¯t even have a unifiedmunity anymore.


    Even if they were to regain their power now, without the protection of their goddess and without a sufficient poption, it would still be difficult to restore their former glory.


    The two walked in silence, feeling heavy-hearted.


    Suddenly, Samuel¡¯s expression changed slightly, and his two pointed ears involuntarily twitched in rm.


    He stood up straight, reached out and bent a tree branch, and sniffed it lightly, then his face changed drastically.


    ¡°Oh no! There are Orc Mercs here!¡±


    Before he finished speaking, the surrounding grass rustled with the sound of excited howls, and more than a dozen grotesque and boorish huge figures emerged from their ambush,pletely surrounding the two of them like a packed of wild hyenas.


    They had fallen into a trap!


    Seeing the sudden appearance of the Orcs, the two elves¡¯ faces changed dramatically, and they immediately stood back to back, pulling out their own staffs and weapons.


    A dozen or so Beastmen greedily looked at the elf girl with their sinister eyes, causing Alice¡¯s body to tremble.


    Seeing that familiar mercenary attire, an endless amount of anger surged out of the heart of the young girl¡­


    They had encountered an Orc hunting team!


    Samuel, the old priest, had a rigid expression. He gritted his teeth and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll hold them off, you escape instead!¡±


    After speaking, he then let out a loud roar and began to chant a rhythmic spell. He transformed into a ck bear that was four meters tall!


    This was his druid skill, allowing him to transform into another natural creature temporarily and gain 70% of their strength.


    The bear he transformed into was a powerful third-tier monster unique to the elven forest, with the strength of low-iron!


    Feeling the pressure from the bear, the Orcish mercenaries stirred slightly, and their expressions became serious.


    However, before Samuel, in bear form, could even attack, arge wolf-toothed club suddenly flew towards him and violently struck his chest.


    With a fracturing sound of bones, the bear let out a painful howl, spewing a mouthful of blood. Then, his body crashed onto the ground and once again transforming back into the appearance of an elderly elf.


    At this moment, the old priest was already in a bloody mess, unconscious and lying in a pool of his own blood¡­


    Just one blow, and their strongest force had been disabled just like this.


    ¡°Hehehe, so weak.¡±


    The Orcs cheered and slowly made way as a towering figure, standing at three meters tall and resembling a mountain of flesh, approached. It was their leader, Rock.


    The Orc Captain picked up the wolf tooth club from the ground, licked the blood from the bone spikes, and his eyes were full of mockery.


    Alice looked at him in disbelief, her voice trembling, ¡°High¡­High-Iron Rank¡­¡±


    High-Iron Rank meant that the opponent¡¯s level had reached at least level 31, and being able to defeat Samuel with just one move, it was likely that the leader had reached the peak of the Iron Rank!


    For a moment, she felt infinite despair in her heart.


    She turned and looked at the withered World Tree, her eyes filled with sadness. ¡°Mother Goddess¡­is this your punishment for us?¡±


    ¡°Ghehehe¡­Goddess? That old tree of yours was burned down by the gods a thousands of years ago.¡±


    Rock sneered at the distant giant tree, making a spitting gesture full of disdain before licking his lips and shooking his head.


    He was very satisfied with his one strike just now. Only a few days ago, he had finally been promoted to level 40, reaching the peak of the Iron Rank with only one level away from the Silver Rank.


    ¡°By the might of the Hunter God! After finishing this job, I will have enough resources to promote myself to the Silver Rank and be the strongest among the Orcs! ¡°


    Rock thought to himself, feeling extremely pleased.


    He then looked Alice up and down with a hint of amazement flickering in his eyes as his face couldn¡¯t hide his surprise:


    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s really good looking ve! Now we¡¯re in business boys!¡±


    After speaking, he leered at the girl and threatened, ¡°You¡¯d better stay put, or you¡¯ll suffer even more¡­otherwise, Ghehehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Ghehehehehe¡­¡±


    The surrounding Orcs also chuckled in agreement.


    Alice¡¯s eyes were filled with anger, and she took a deep breath, straightened her body, and rebuked angrily, ¡°Foul Orcs, I would rather die than let you seed!¡±


    After speaking, she then drew her wand, preparing to fight to the death.


    However, before she could even take action, Rock¡¯s figure shed slightly, and with a ¡°pop,¡± her weapon was easily knocked away.


    ¡°Hah, so weak¡­and you still call yourself a silver race?¡±


    The Beastmen¡¯s voice was full of mockery.


    Silver race¡­


    Hearing this infamous word, Alice¡¯s heart was even more sad.


    In the distant past, when the elves were still under the protection of their patron god, every adult elf had at least the strength of silver.


    And a race that the majority reaches silver-rank at adulthood are celebrated as silver race.


    Back then, how brilliant was the civilization of the elves? Legends and demigods were everywhere within their ranks¡­


    But now, even an iron upper-ss professional is difficult to produce¡­


    Not only that, but they are also bullied by the Orcs who are notoriously called Iron races!


    Alice clenched her fists, her heart filled with grief and indignation.


    ¡°Ghehehe, at this point, do you still think you have any other choices?¡± Rock sneered.


    Alice looked at him with hatred in her heart, feeling entirely helpless.


    Thinking about her people who were destroyed and killed in plunder and ughter and also thinking about the tragic fate of herpatriots who were sold into very, Alice¡¯s heart became increasingly cold and desperate¡­


    Gradually, she calmed down.


    The elven girl closed her eyes and began to silently chant¡­


    One restrained magical wave after another spread out from the golden-haired elf as the center.


    Rock¡¯s expression immediately changed:


    ¡°Oh no, she¡¯s going to self-destruct her magical core and seeking death. Stop her quickly idiots!¡±


    After hearing the leader¡¯s words, the orcs immediately became restless.


    Rock was even more angry in his heart.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that the self-destructing source of a mere iron-rank would hurt him, but he didn¡¯t want the treasure he had just obtained to be gone just like this.


    Living elves were living treasures, and dead ones were just useless corpses!


    Alice pursed her lips, and at this moment, old distant memories once again resurfaced in her mind¡­


    It was the time when she and her mother were still living happily together two hundred years ago¡­


    It was a scene where their tribe was still here, and everyone was praying devoutly to the Mother Goddess¡­


    It was the scene where her mother passed away, and she was selected as thest saint of their faith¡­


    A lone crystal clear teardrop rolled down her cheeks, and Alice recited thest sacrificial spell, instantly detonating her own power with faith!


    Radiant light burst forth from the girl like a golden sun.


    Rock¡¯s facial features contorted and he shouted, ¡°S-Stop her quic¡ª¡±


    But before he could even finish his order, the scene before him made him swallow his words. A subtle wave passed, and the girl¡¯s dying light flickered before wilting like a popped balloon. In the blink of an eye, everything returned to calmness.


    It was as if nothing had happened.


    The atmosphere became somewhat eerie for a moment.


    Rock looked at the bewildered elf girl strangely and swallowed the heart that had almost jumped into his throat.


    Then he chuckled, ¡°Useless trash who can¡¯t even self-destruct!¡±


    Alice stared at her hands in a daze, muttering to herself constantly:


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it work¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mispronounce the spell¡­ W-What just happened¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother Goddess¡­Am I unable to control even my own life¡­? ¡°


    Watching the elf girl be stupefied, Rock breathed a sigh of relief, then ordered his men, ¡°Bind her! Be careful not to hurt her!¡±


    However, his subordinates did not act.


    Rock frowned and asked, ¡°What are you all doing?¡±


    The the rest of the Orcs didn¡¯t move, but instead looked at their captain in horror, backing away involuntarily as they did so.


    A burly looking Orc looked dazedly at Rock¡¯s back, swallowed hard, and then trembled as he pointed out his index finger with his voice trembling,


    ¡°Boss¡­ behind¡­behind you¡­¡±


    <em>Behind him?</em>


    Panshi¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.


    A cool breeze, apanied by the scent of earth, blew from behind him, and a huge shadow looms over everyone.


    Rock¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and a hint of unease spread through his chest.


    As he muttered to himself, Rock finally turned around cautiously¡­


    His expression instantly froze.


    Behind him,


    A thirty-meter-tall treant stood there with a frigid gaze.


    Its sturdy body blocked the sky and sun, and the immense pressure it emitted made the air freezing cold as if heralding their demise¡­


    Looking at the huge terrifying figure, the Orc captain¡¯s pupils contracted in disbelief.


    His eyes almost popped out, as he opened his mouth incredulously with his voice dry and shell shocked,


    ¡°O-Oak¡­Oak Tree Guardian!?¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?!¡±


    Beserker¡¯s cold gaze swept over every Orcs with his voice icy and devoid of any emotion.


    ¡°Speak foul one, what did you just say just now?¡±

 Chapter 05

    <strong>??Connections in the Online World </strong>


    Oak Guardian!


    The Elven Goddess had ruled over all during the peak of the Silver Civilization a thousand years ago back when the Elven Kingdom still existed. And throughout her reign, the Oak Guardians was her primary enforcers, its status is equivalent to the archangels of humanity¡¯s gods!


    During the height of the World Tree¡¯s power, shemanded an army of 100,000 allprised of powerful Oak Guardians.


    Even the weakest Oak Guardian possessed the power of silver-rank!


    Every intelligent beings living within the Elven Forest and its affiliated territories, would instantly know the meaning behind the reappearance of this once legendary being.


    A wave of emotions surged within Rock¡¯s heart as the Orc captain looked upwards at the colossal creature standing before him inparable to the size of a dragon.


    ¡°Silver¡­ silver¡­¡±


    Feeling the pressure of its overwhelming force, Rock¡¯s mind then wentpletely nk.


    <em>How was this possible?</em>


    Didn¡¯t the Oak Guardians all died alongside the fall of the Elven Goddess?


    Was he hallucinating right now?


    Rock rubbed his eyes in denial, but everything before him stood the same and the horrifying creature in front of him wasn¡¯t just an illusion.


    As he looked at the towering tree-like being, Rock felt his entire body tremble in fright as reality finally sinks in¡­


    No¡­ there was no mistaking it. He had seen this image countless times back in the tribe¡¯s murals, and he couldn¡¯t be wrong!


    This¡­ this was definitely the Oak Guardian! The guardsmen of Elven Goddess!


    How could this be?!


    Rock¡¯s not-so-high intellect made it difficult for his brain to keep up¡­ but one thing was sure, the other party¡¯s appearance in front of them was definitely a bad premonition for him and his hunting crew.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to kill us!¡±


    An instinctual sense of danger pervaded his heart as his fight or flight instinctspletely sends rm to his brain to immediately choose thetter.


    ¡°R-Run¡­¡±


    Mumbling to himself, the Orc Captain suddenly snapped out of his daze before shouting to his fellow mercenaries,


    ¡°Run for your lives¡­ quickly!¡±


    Without even bothering to pick up his wolf¡¯s tooth club, Captain Rock swiftly turned and flee for his life as if the devil himself is in hot pursuit of him.


    Are you kidding!?


    This Oak Guardian with the power of silver-rank weren¡¯t his match at all! He would be dead in seconds should he try to fight it!


    Hell, even if the tribe¡¯s High Priest somehow miraculously came to his rescue right this instant, he would still be nothing more than a tiny preypared to this colossal predator.


    Seeing their mighty captain flee in apletely pathetic manner, the rest of the orc mercenaries stoodpletely stunned.


    They tried to open their mouths but then turned their heads in unison instead, like birds and beasts scattering in all directions, running for their lives just like their leader¡­


    At this moment, they had already forgotten about the ve hunt. The only thing on their minds at the momentsl was to escape this towering monstrosity¡­


    As Rock sprinted, he became more and more confused and equally frightened¡­


    Why are there still Oak Guardians appearing?


    The Elven God had clearly fallen long ago, which is a widely known fact all throughout the realm of Saig¨¹es!


    Without the support of a patron deity, how could this Oak Guardian still exist?!


    No¡­


    C-Could it be¡­?


    Suddenly, an incredulous idea emerged from his heart, and somehow, the image of the imposing and ancient World Tree reappeared in his mind¡­


    ¡°N-N-No¡­ it c-can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    At that moment, Rock felt his throat dry up and deathly chills looms all over his body.


    Run!


    Quickly escape! Return to the tribe!


    This must be reported to the high priest at all cost!


    If it¡¯s really what he¡¯s thinking, then their tribe¡ªNo, the entire Orcish race will be in grave danger!


    Beserker felt extremely angry.


    At first he was ted since the Goddess had finally given him his first task.


    Being able to dedicate his power to the great monarch, Berserker felt incredibly excited toplete this task no matter what the cause.


    However, when he arrived at the location designated by the mother goddess, what he found was a group of ugly and evil Beastmen!


    What made him even more mad was that these Beatmen were hunting the children of the great mother goddess!


    Not only that, but when he heard the evil Orc even dared insulted the great monarch, Berserker¡¯sst bit of reason instantly copsed.


    At the same time, the icy voice of the mother goddess once again resounded in his mind:


    ¡°Cut him.¡±


    Akin to unlocking the final shackle for which holds his raging fury, the goddess simple order was all the Oak Guardian needed to finally let loose.


    ¡°Rooar!! ¡°


    The deafening shouting from the treant agitated countless birds within the vicinity as they flew away in droves.


    ¡°sphemous Orc, die!¡±


    Apanied by a trace of divine power, the immense magic gathered from the core of the Oak Guardian made his already towering thirty-meter-tall body to even grewrger. With his eyes turning red, Berserker raised his arms made of branches and roared,


    ¡°War Sacrifice!¡±


    With a fluctuating chant, his arms transformed into rapidly growing vines, slithering like criss-crossing ropes towards the countless fleeing Orc mercenaries¡­


    The vines were extremely agile, and before many of the Orcs could even take a few steps, they were already bound up long before they even realized what just happened¡­


    ¡°What is this? Let go of me! Let go please!¡±


    ¡°Help! Captain Rock, help!¡±


    ¡°Monster! It¡¯s a monster! It¡¯s absorbing my life f-force¡­ ah¡­¡±


    ¡°Argh¡­ my leg! Goddammit my leg!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Hearing the countless miserable screams behind him, Rock¡¯s scalp wentpletely numb.


    Suddenly, a sense of dread surged up in his heart.


    Rock¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively dodged to the side as a thick vine shot through the spot where he had just passed, causing him to shudder in fright.


    However, before he could evrn catch his breath, the vine rushed towards him once again.


    Gritting his teeth in frustration, he drew the curved de from his waist and swung it fiercely at the vine.


    Apanied by a ¡°ng¡± sound, the de broke into two pieces, but the vine was unharmed.


    ¡°How is this possible?!¡±


    In Rock¡¯s stunned gaze, the vine leaped up and tied him up, and a terrifying attraction appeared on the vine. In Rock¡¯s horrified eyes, he saw his once-strong body rapidly wither, his strength constantly weakening, and his life force rapidly draining away.


    In just a few seconds, he aged significantly¡­


    ¡°W-War Sacrifice¡­¡±


    His voice became old and hoarse, filled with infinite fear.


    War Sacrifice, an intermediate-level ability of the druid.


    The user can transform into a vine, absorb the target¡¯s life force for their own use, and sacrifice some of the obtained strength to the Mother Nature.


    In hisst moments of consciousness, Rock finally remembered this terrifying skill that once belonged only to the Wrath Druid¡­


    In a sh, the hunting party of over twenty Beastmen waspletely wiped out.


    All of these twists and turns urred in less than ten seconds as a matter of fact.


    Alice, sitting on the ground whilst watching all this happen was entirely stunned.


    ¡°Oak Sentinel¡­ War Sacrifice¡­¡±


    Watching the ver mercenaries whom turned into bones and ash in the blink of an eye under the vines of the Oak Sentinel, the elven girl murmured to herself in reverence.


    Suddenly, as if realizing something, two lines of crystal tears slowly flowed down her fair cheeks as Alice suddenly raised her head before looking towards the direction of the World Tree with seven parts of surprise and three parts of apprehension, a little confused, expectant, and ashamed.


    ¡°Great Mother Goddess, is it¡­you?¡±


    Silence.


    A breeze passed by¡­


    Countless dazzling light green rays descended from the sky, iparably sacred and solemn.


    The rays carried a gentle power and seemed to receive some kind of mandate, rushing into Alice and Samuel¡¯s bodies one after another.


    The injuries caused by the explosion of the core in the elven girl¡¯s body were healed in an instant, while the broken body of the old elf Samuel also recovered at a visible speed with his consciousness slowly awakening¡­


    Ev¨¦rything was akin to a miracle.


    The old priest trembled as he stood up, looking incredulously at the majestic Oak Sentinel and then at his own wounds. After realizing what had happened, he then sat down on the ground still in utter disbelief.


    His lips were sticky, and he looked expectant yet somewhat uneasy, as if wanting to believe something but fearing that he was experiencing a meaningless dream¡­


    ¡°Is this¡­ is this real? Can I really believe it?¡±


    Suddenly, a grand and sacred voice echoed within their minds¡­


    My name is Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.


    The two of them instantly shook down to their core.


    They then looked at each other and saw fear and disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes, which quickly turned into boundless joy¡­


    It¡¯s the Great Mother Goddess!


    It really is the Great Mother Goddess!


    She¡¯s back¡­


    In an instant, Alice felt as if all the power in her body had been drained away. Her body wavered and she couldn¡¯t help but copse to the ground, tears streaming down her face incessantly.


    As the voice entered his ears, Samuel slightly opened his mouth, and deep wrinkles trembled uncontrobly, while his murky tears fell like pearls.


    He, who was once a respected elder of the tribe, was now crying like a child.


    ¡°Goddess¡­Goddess, is that you? Is it really you?¡±


    ¡°Goddess, have youe back?¡±


    ¡°Have you reallye back?!¡±


    Their nigh almost extinguished flicker of faith was once again reignited anew as it soars metaphorically high into the sky.

 Chapter 06

    ??<strong>Chapter 6: Renewed Faith</strong>


    In the nature¡¯s shrine situated on the trunk of the World Tree, the elven saint Alice and old priest Samuel knelt down in front of the headless effigy, feeling a little bit uneasy.


    They lowered their heads with expressions of pure joy while feeling a deep shame as well¡­


    It seemed that some inexplicable change had urred within Alice¡¯s body at that moment as she¡¯s exuding a lot more pronounced sense of holiness and sanctity within her.


    The elderly priest whom had regained his normal state has also seemed to have undergone some subtle changes as well.


    The Oak Guardian Berserker stood from aside watching it all like a sculpture with a serious and fanatical expression etched onto his face.


    ¡°Did I go too far in deceiving them?¡±


    While still inside her own Celestial Domain, Eve swallowed her saliva in anticipation whilst looking at the number of followers in her Status Screen.


    ? ???? ?


    [ <strong>Total Believers</strong> (3)]


    ¡¾ <strong>Saint</strong> ¡®1¡¯ <strong>Fanatic</strong> ¡®2¡¯ <strong>Devout</strong> ¡®0¡¯ <strong>Shallow</strong> ¡®0¡¯ ¡¿


    It seems that her timely choice of actions had a far much greater impact than she had once initially calcted.


    The previously devout Saintess Alice, not only rekindled her faith after the turmoil, but also surpassed her prior level of fanaticism, bing the only saint as shown in the data!


    And the elderly priest, who was saved from the brink of death, had also became a fanatic believer just like the Oak Guardian!


    Ev¨¦ still couldn¡¯t forget the sight of the old priest falling to the ground as he berates himself while bawling out like a child, once he realized what had all transpired.


    Their endless anticipation paired with ultimate despair cascading together for which hope appeared at their most dire moment brought about an extraordinary effect that they sure will never forget in their lives.


    ¡°No wonder Gods even in my old world like to make their believers suffer first before helping them. it seems the reactions is far more stronger after some kind of tribtions¡­hmm, could this be considered Stockholm Syndrome of some sort?¡±


    Eve nonsensically sighed before checking her divine power reserves.


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Power</strong>: 20/500¡¿


    This result greatly exceeded her initial expectations.


    Originally, Ev¨¦ only had around 10 points of divine power left and in order to heal those two elves, she had to use 01 point of DP. But when the two of them recovered their faith, these believers instantly provided her with a whopping 6 points of divine power in exchange!


    The returns were too exaggerated with among them, 04 points were provided by Alice alone, who was promoted to a Saintess.


    Not only that, but killing more than twenty Beastmen with War Sacrifice skill, Berserker have also provided her with another 05 points of divine power.


    In summary, her divine power not only didn¡¯t decrease, but instead increased to 20 points, even higher than before she revived the Oak Treant!


    Looking at her current divine power reserves, Eve fell into a deep thought.


    She had calcted early on that by increasing the number of believers she have can provide her with a constant supply of faith for which can be transformed it into divine power, thus making her recovery faster. However, what she didn¡¯t expected was the amount of faith brought by this incident alone.


    Nheless she also knew that this kind of thing cannot be forcefully replicated, furthermore the two elves were already her believers whom persevered for a long time. This also indirectly indicates that they already had great potential for faith to begin with, after all not everyone can be a devout believer in an instant.


    Thus, Eve proved one thing thru this incident: strengthening her religion is absolutely the correct path for her at the moment!


    However¡­


    Remembering the 05 points of divine power that the Oak Guardian provided for her just now, Eve felt a bit strange in her heart.


    A whole 05 points of divine power!


    If the transformation of Alice and Samuel surprised her, then Berserker¡¯s situation was also nothing short of shocking to say the least.


    He sacrificed onto her the vitality of all the twenty Orc mercenaries whose average strength was merely around Low to Mid-Iron rank. This however gave her around 05 points of divine power, which is rather surprising.


    Forget about 05 points, she was only expecting around 01 point in return.


    However, just now, those 05 points of divine power didn¡¯t seem to be entirely transformed from the vitality of the Orcs alone but rather seems like there was something else as well¡­


    After consulting the inheritance of the World Tree, Eve came up with a certain spection.


    Those Orcs were most probably seasoned elf hunters. They umted countless grievances from their victims, and as the patron god of the elves, killing these guys fulfilled the wishes of those haunting souls in by these mercenaries.


    The more powerful and intelligent a creature is, the stronger its grievances are after death.


    Elves, on the other hand, are a long-lived and wise creatures, born with an innate magical capacity. The grievances gathered from countless elf victims over thousands of years are definitely not a small number to scoff at.


    Ev¨¦ surmised that grievances are also a type of spiritual energy, with a simr effect to the power of faith. The victim¡¯s deep seated grudges will definitely lingers onto their killers even if the victims died and their soul enters into the underworld.


    With Eve finally killing these vers, her actions had inadvertently fulfilled the duty of the ¡°Patron Deity of the elves¡±, so these umted grievances were thus transformed into gratitude, for which sublimated into the power of faith, and ultimately came across the void to feed back to Eve in the form of divine power.


    This¡­ was a big surprise for Eve.


    ¡°So, in addition to strengthening my religion, I can also rebuild the glory of the elven race and regain my power by eliminating the enemies of the elves and gaining recognition from the spirits of the deceased. Moreover, the skill war sacrifice seems to have significant potential to indirectly provide me with power as well¡­¡±


    Eve came to this conclusion.


    But after some deliberations, in the end she felt like it was not really a good strategy to implement¡­


    ¡°The elf enemies that I can deal with should mostly belong to the hunting vers category. In fact, the number of these ve hunters are rather limited. Even if I eliminate them all, I¡¯m afraid I still won¡¯t be able to recover much energy with this method. As for those hidden enemies which are the real culprits, I am currently still powerless to deal with them at the moment¡­¡±


    ¡°If I want to rebuild the glory of the elven race, I must first gather enough forces of my own, which means I must unite the remaining elven people together. In addition, I require a huge poption so that these believers could provide me with divine power through war sacrifice as well¡­¡±


    ¡°But calcting the numbers, I¡¯m afraid it has to be at least within the tens of thousands, or perhaps even millions to make it all feasible¡­¡±


    What a dilemma.


    ¡°Anyhow how many elves still remains to this day?¡±


    Earlier, Eve overheard Alice and Samuel¡¯s conversation and had various understanding of the current situation of the elven race.


    In general, once the world tree had fallen, most elves have scattered all throughout the world, and over time less than ten percent of the poption remains, with most of them also hiding everywhere. The once glorious civilization has been decimated¡­and on the brink of extinction.


    ¡°Seems like gathering all my people is a must if I wanted to restore my religion to its past glory but s such an undertaking will consume a lot of time and there¡¯s not really a shortcut to it¡­¡±


    ¡°Furthermore it will be even more difficult if I want to rebuild the elven civilization back to its heydays, as a significant poption base are required for a fully functional civilization to work.¡±


    The more she thought about it, the more disappointed Ev¨¦ felt.


    ¡°I¡¯m still far too weak. If only I were like the World Tree during its prime, then I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about poption issues at all. I could just directly use divine power and produce Primordial Elves by myself.¡±


    The Primordial Elves are the first generation of the Elven race. They didn¡¯t evolve from animals but rather created by the World Tree itself.


    ¡°But then again if I really had the power to give birth to Primordial Elves, then there would be no need for me to rely on rebuilding Elven civilization to restore my power at all!¡±


    Thinking of this, Eve felt helpless.


    The amount of divine power required to create Primordial Elves is far too great.


    More precisely, the consumption required to produce the soul required by Primordial Elves is far too great.


    Even if Eve has the Divinity of ¡°Life¡± and the ability to create souls, she still cannot use this power at this time.


    Not to mention giving birth to souls, even reviving Berserker¡¯s soul consumed five points of divine power!


    Yes, ¡®revive¡¯ rather than ¡®create¡¯ the treants soul.


    Among the five points of divine power used to revive Berserker, the vast majority were used entirely on his soul. The DP consumption to give the Oak Guardian a Silver strength power actually ounted for so very little¡­


    Creating the soul of the Primordial Elves out of nothing would require even greater DP consumption.


    If she only produces the bodies alone, then the consumption would not be that high. But without a soul to operate the body, then its merely an empty vessel with no further use whatsoever.


    ¡°Haaah so in the end, do I still have to rely on slowly gathering my people and restore faith at a turtles pace just to enhance my power? In that case¡­ it may take what, several decades or even centuries?¡±


    That¡¯s far too long!


    Moreover, it¡¯s not like she doesn¡¯t have any enemies. After inheriting the World Tree, Eve also inherited the enemies of the previous World Tree, those old cunning foxes are also gods as well no doubt!


    The body of World Tree still persisted to this day even after a thousand years have passed since the end of the Heavenly War due to the former World Tree using ast resort protection spell onto itself. It cast a spell so powerful that no one could harm its body and only its believers could touch it.


    The world tree consumed most of the magical powers on the mortal world to cast this protection spell for which also inadvertently depleted the mana supply within Saig¨¹es up to this day.


    Due to this circumstances, the passage between the heavenly realm and the mortal realm has been temporarily closed, and the Gods could no longer descend easily on the ground, while some Demigods whom are stuck in Saig¨¹es have chosen to slumber instead in order to conserve their power¡­


    However her sudden appearance had broken the protection spell.


    Currently Ev¨¦ still doesn¡¯t have enough power and is still in a quasi-death state. In the likely event that the World Tree¡¯s old enemies really doe, then it¡¯s entirely possible that Eve herself will be in grave danger.


    ¡°It would nice if there¡¯s was a way for me to find arge number of souls. Speaking of which, if there are already readily-made souls, then I could just focus on producing the body and create Elves in a shortened manner¡­ The poption problem would be solved, then I¡¯ll just continue gathering all the Elven tribes thus making my recovery quicker¡­¡±


    But¡­ where to find ready-made souls? Because of the existence of religion, almost all souls in this world already have protections of their patron deities! She would definitely alert her enemies if she tried to snatch one and she cannot enter the underworld as well¡­


    Moreover, even if Eve can find usable souls, the other party must be willing to worship her.


    ¡°It¡¯s too difficult.¡±


    As Eve exhaled in frustration as she boredly surfed the inte within the Celestial Domain for any inspiration. She idly watched all the users on the popr social media sites converse with each other when she suddenly thought of something.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ trembled in excitement as she stared intently at the livelyizens of her former world as a sudden bold idea began forming within her minds.


    ¡°It seems like there really is a way¡­¡±

 Chapter 07

    <strong>?? A Bold Idea</strong>


    Eve felt the cogs of her mind swiftly turning as she looked at the blue sphere of light which symbolized earth¡¯s interwork.


    ¡°Ack of readily-made souls¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ subconsciously muttered as she felt her divinity pounding as if its telling her something. Theizens belonging in the world of her past life was at the forefront of her attention as the vague inspiration she had thought of mere seconds ago finally took some intricate form of idea.


    ¡°Can theseizens consciousness be used instead?¡±


    At that moment, Eve¡¯s mind ran on overdrive. Analyzing the feasibility of her rather ingenious n.


    Currently earth¡¯s virtual reality technology have developed by leaps and bounds with one¡¯s consciousness connecting within thework gradually bing the mainstream for newer online games¡­


    Since this was the case¡­could she then somehow find a way to implement some sort of passage link to redirect the consciousness of theseizens from earth towards Saig¨¹es instead?


    Indeed! Since she¡¯s already doing it now, once she reverse engineers and replicate her current method of connection then it might really be possible topletely link the consciousness of humans on her old world through just as long as they use the inte.


    All she needs to do now is to replicate her method through the use of her divine powers then use the bodies created by the World Tree to be reborn as avatars. Sort of like a wifi receiver wherein she would personally function as the main server whilst the empty bodies would be the receiver of the consciousness.


    In this way, her DP consumption would be very low, and the elven poption dilemma could be solved as well.


    She couldpletely ¡°develop¡± a game and release it onto earth¡¯s inte and allow theseizens to descend into this world as ¡°yers¡± by linking them to the empty bodies she will create.


    Moreover, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about their deaths with this method, since the people from Earth are only mentally linked to the World Tree in order to connect their consciousness with their avatars. Their actual souls would still exist back on Earth. Once their avatars here dies, their consciousness link would only disconnect and they would wake up back on Earth without any actual loss of life.


    In this way, She can create an army of yers who are entirely not afraid of death! They can be used to rebuild the civilization of the elves!


    At the same time, yers can also assist her in gathering elves from all over the world, and even help spread her religion!


    Thinking of this, Eve felt more and more excited.


    And¡­not only that!


    She can also modify the properties of these avatars she will create, slightly altering the ¡°War Sacrifice¡± skill so that it can be integrated into the body as some sort of passive skill. In this way, every time the yer levels up or defeats an enemy, some of the DP collected would also loop back onto her!


    Just as long as these yers keeps leveling up, she would also benefit as some sort of stock investor. Over time, she would umte significant divine power with them ying different sorts of enemies whilst having the passive War Sacrifice skill.


    Thinking of the hardcore gamers back in her previous life, Ev¨¦ feels like this crazy idea is very promising!


    These gamers can do anything just as long as they can keep grinding in order to level up and be stronger!


    These are the optimal kind of yers best to exploit!


    When the timees, she would just be responsible for operating the game¡¯s backend system, and all tasks will be either left to the yers or the natives themselves. She just needs to lie down on the background and rake in all the DP as administration fees.


    ¡°I am definitely a genius!¡±


    Thinking of this, Eve almost couldn¡¯t resistughing like a madman and taking action immediately.


    But soon, Ev¨¦ restrained her impulse because she remembered that she still had to deal with those two native elves back at the temple.


    ¡°Let¡¯s solve this matter first.¡±


    After making this decision, Ev¨¦ exited her Celestial Domain.


    Her attention returned to the main hall of the Nature¡¯s Shrine, wherein two elves were still kneeling piously in the same position as when she had to temporarily leave them.


    Saintess Alice lowered her head, praying and repenting at the same time:


    ¡°I¡¯m so stupid¡­ really¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way the Great Goddess really could abandon me¡­My faith is still not devout enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Great Goddess, I truly failed as a saintess¡­how could I have such sphemous thoughts¡­¡±


    ¡°The Great Goddess is an all-powerful being, if my prayers have not been answered, then it only shows that my faith is not devout enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Even when I has abandoned the Great Goddess, the Great Goddess has not abandoned me¡­¡±


    ¡°All of this is a test from the Great Goddess, but s I did not persevere¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m truly the most unqualified saintess¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so silly¡­really¡­¡±


    On the other side, the old priest was prostrating as well, his pious voice trembling just like the younger maiden besides him.


    ¡°Mother Nature above, I am truly guilty of such grave sin¡­¡±


    ¡°I am guilty¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh great goddess¡­I must have been tempted by the devil to doubt your return¡­I am guilty¡­so guilty¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt a bit ashamed as she listened to the two¡¯s incessant pleas and feeling the immense regret and pain etched in their words.


    However, she still had to deceive these people, even if it was a bit shameful¡­


    With a light cough in her heart, she slightly stirred up her divine power and began posturing-


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    A faint sigh echoed through the hall.


    The voice was majestic and solemn, yet ethereal and pleasant as it seems to carry ancient vicissitudes of life, as well as deepmentation and mncholia, making people unconsciously feel a sense of worship and admiration upon hearing it.


    A ray of green light suddenly illuminated the entire hall. The two elven worshippers raised their heads in confusion and anticipation, only to see the broken statue on the altar beginning to emit faint divine radiance¡­


    The Oak Guardian stood tall like a loyal guard, but the shimmering light in his bright eyes betrayed his inner excitement¡­


    Under the passionate gaze of the three, an ethereal and sacred aria seemed to traverse the ages, faintly echoing in the hall, as the damaged elven statue slowly began to repair itself on its own¡­


    Before long, a holy and beautiful effigy of an elven goddess reappeared on the altar once more.


    If those who had seen theplete elven statue back in the old days were here, surely they would find that while this statue is simr to the ancient matriarch by eighty to ny percent, this new effigy also now has its unique characteristics of their own added to it.


    The gorgeous divine skirt has both the elegant and splendid style of the traditional elven civilization whilst a hint of modern earthen art blended to the patterns etched onto the details giving it quite a unique otherworldly charm.


    The face of the statue appears to be younger, like that of a young adult maiden, dignified and beautiful, just as sacredly and noble.


    Looking at the reshaped statue, Ev¨¦ was slightly surprised as well.


    This appearance was not intentionally generated by her, but formed rather instinctively by her will.


    Is this my statue? The image that I will now form whenever I manifest in the future?


    It¡¯s¡­quite good-looking.


    Looking at it made her lost in thought.


    At this moment, Ev¨¦ felt as if she had established a connection with the statue, and a sense of enlightenment arose from within her heart:


    This effigy had now be her symbol and representation. Any intelligent life could pray to this statue to receive her blessings, and the statue could also absorb the faith of her followers and transmit it to her continuously.


    Great!


    Eve was very satisfied.


    But repairing it did consume a lot of DP¡­ Eve thought, feeling a bit pained.


    Sure enough, Eve¡¯s divine power had decreased by 02 points, leaving her with only 18 DP.


    Three followers looked excitedly at the restored statue, with tears constantly flowing down their eyes in relief ¡­


    Nothing can prove the return of the Goddess more than the restoration of this statue!


    Even the oak guardian knelt respectfully on the ground this time. The three people¡¯s excited voices echoed in the hall:


    ¡°Praise be thy Patron God!¡±


    ¡°Praise be thy Matriarch!¡±


    ¡°Praise be thy Great Goddess of Life!¡±


    ¡°Thou pious servants respectfully wees thy Majesty¡¯s return!¡± Alice, Berserker and Samuel shouted in unison.


    Their words really do sounds a bit embarrassing¡­


    Eve shivered involuntarily even though she doesn¡¯t have a corporeal body.


    She coughed mentally and then spoke:


    ¡°Please stand up.¡±


    Her majestic and divine voice remained ethereal and beautiful.


    The three individuals trembled as their expressions overflowed with fanaticism and emotion. They deeply bowed before the constantly flickering statue before slowly rising to their feets.


    After a moment of silence, the grand voice rang out once more:


    ¡°I am already aware of the affairs of the elves. Now that I have returned, I will naturally revive the Silver Civilization.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Alice and Samuel¡¯s bodies shook once again. They looked up at the dazzling statue with both surprise and tears blurring their eyes.


    ¡°Praise be thy Elven Patron God!¡±


    Their voices choked slightly.


    It had been so many years¡­


    The elven race has been awaiting for this to happen for so long!


    Finally¡­ their matriarch has returned, and their patron god has returned to reim her crown!


    ¡°For the revival of elven civilization and our religion, I need all your strength.¡±


    The solemn voice of Ev¨¦ sounded again, and the three believers shuddered, straightening their bodies with devoted expressions:


    ¡°Praise be thy Mother Goddess!¡±


    ¡°We are willing to offer our lives and soul to the great goddess!¡±


    The three boldy proimed in unison.


    In the year 1066 of the Eternal Era, the sleeping immortal world tree, the ancient old goddess Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill, have finally been reawakened.


    This marks the new epoch in the annals of the Elven Civilization.

 Chapter 08

    <strong>?? VIRTUAL REALITY GAME </strong>


    The spring rain continued almost rhythmically without stopping this entire season.


    Nevertheless, the emerald green forest still appeared to be even more vibrant under the cleansing of the rain, with a gentle breeze carrying a faint earthen scent as all things were rejuvenated whilst basking within the light rainfall¡­


    Standing in the side hall of the naturalist shrine, the Elven Saintess Alice idly looked out of the window at the miniscule world outside, feeling a sense of wonderment within her heart.


    The mother goddess¡­ has really returned.


    Even though three days have already passed since that incident, Alice still feels as if it is all surreal.


    At this moment, the young elven girl¡¯s countenance became even more solemn and noble.


    After being promoted to a saint, her strength has undergone earth-shattering changes, directly bypassing the Iron-Rank and entering the ranks of peak Low-Silver earning her a position somewhere around the top 50 rankings within that tier!


    However, Alice didn¡¯t feel any sort of joy for her own strength progression as her heart is only filled with endless mirth for the return of their mother goddess, as well as deep regret and self-loathing for almost abandoning her faith.


    ¡°I must work hard to cultivate and not let down the mother goddess ever again. I will strive hard in proselytizing the faith of the mother goddess and the future of our race!¡±


    Looking at the high mountains at the distance, the elven girl pursed her rose tinted lips tightly and clenched her tiny fists in determination.


    ¡°Alice.¡±


    An old familiar voice interrupted the elven maiden¡¯s musings, and Alice¡¯s pointed ears slightly twitched involuntarily as she turned around and saw the old priest Samuel walking towards her slowly.


    The elder priest was wearing a gray and white ceremonial robe, with a fully packaged backpacktched onto his back. His face had a hint of radiant youthfulness into it, as if he had regained some hundred or so years of his life back.


    It¡¯s still quite hard to associate this lively appearance to the weathered old man whom had chosen to give up their religion mere three days ago.


    After reigniting his faith once more and obtaining the blessings of the goddess, Samuel also broke through the ranks and became a strong Low-Silver rank rivaling those around the top 40¡¯s within that tier.


    ¡°Grandpa Samuel.¡±


    Alice bowed politely towards the elder whom had always taken a good care of her ever since she was a little child.


    She then looked at the backpack hanging behind the old man and her eyes brightened as she asked with joy,


    ¡°Is everything prepared already?¡±


    Samuel simply nodded as he turned around and looked towards the direction of the main shrine with a fanatical expression.


    ¡°The Matriarch has ordained the gathering of the scattered nsmen now that she had returned, and I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m the only one who can fulfill this ordeal and contact those surviving n members.¡±


    Three days ago, the Elven Matriarch Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill enacted her first mandate: to regroup all the elven n members which are currently scattered all throughout the world. Among the believers present, Samuel felt that he was the one most suitable for doing this job.


    After speaking, he once again showed a look of shame.


    ¡°For the sake of the Mother Goddess and for our n, and finally¡­for the atonement of my own sins, I am ready to uphold this task.¡±


    Feeling the new powers bestowed upon him by the Matriarch, Samuel felt that his previous self whom had chosen to forgone their faith was simply a befallen pathetic bastard!


    At the same time, his belief in the Divine Matriarch became more and more firm.


    Hearing the impassioned words of the old priest, Alice¡¯s emerald eyes slightly lit up in relief.


    ¡°Gathering the n members¡­yes¡­that¡¯s great¡­¡±


    After speaking, she also became a little worried.


    ¡± Grandpa you¡¯re alone in this mission, so be sure to be safe okay?¡±


    Hearing the holy maiden¡¯s worried tone, Samuel¡¯s expression softened slightly. He lightly patted Alice¡¯s head and said,


    ¡°Rest assured! I alone am good enough for this task. Not to mention that with the Matriarch¡¯s benevolence given unto me, I have also already be a silver-ranked priest. The Matriarch has also bestowed upon me a divine artifact that can sense the location of our fellow nsmen from within a certain distance. This object can also defend me against attacks at the Gold-Tier Rank to some extent.¡±


    He then reached out his hand, holding a green leaf that exuded a potent holy aura in his palm.


    It was a leaf belonging to the World Tree, strengthened by Ev¨¦ herself by consuming one point of divine power, and was considered a quasi-divine artifact.


    Three days ago, Ev¨¦ gave this leaf to Samuel, ordaining him to start the search for the remaining members of the n and guide them back here in this ancestral forest.


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡±


    Alice nodded, and then said with a tinge of regret,


    ¡°Grandpa¡­ I also want to search for our people together,¡± said Alice, feeling a bit envious.


    Samuelughed heartily and then said with a serious tone, ¡°You have a far more important task ahead of you. Remember that you must assist the Great Goddess in guiding the chosen ones who will soon arrive in this world.¡±


    Guiding the chosen ones¡­


    Upon hearing these words, Alice¡¯s eyes lit up slightly as she nodded gently. She thought of the recent oracle bestowed upon the Great Goddess and her admiration and fervor for their Matriarch resurfaced.


    The Advent of the Chosen ones!


    Three days ago, the Great Goddess had enact her second mandate, stating that chosen ones from another world would soon descent upon this realm and help the elven race revive their civilization as some sort of ¡®heroes¡¯ akin to the legendary figures spoken in the fairytales of old.


    At the same time, the Great Goddess ordained the Holy Maiden Alice and the Oak Guardian Berserker to prepare to guide these chosen ones and help them gradually adapt to this world.


    What kind of people will the chosen ones be? Will they simply be elves as well? or perchance even like those illustrious High Elves just like the heroes from the old legends!


    Alice¡¯s expression was filled with expectations.


    Regardless, since they were personally chosen by the Matriarch herself, then surely they must be like us elves as well¨C <em>kind, just, honest, and selfless!</em>


    She couldn¡¯t help but swoon at the mere thought of it.


    Watching the eagerness of the girl in front of him, Samuel¡¯s expression softened even further.


    He then looked up at the still withered canopy of the World Tree as his gaze gradually bing firm.


    ¡°The Matriarch has just regained her strength, and her current power is still limited. We must work hard to spread our faith and bring our Patron God back to her peak, leading us Elves back towards prosperity once more¡­¡±


    After speaking, he and Alice locked eyes and smiled at each other as they moved their arms while performing their religion¡¯s hand gesture.


    ¡°Praise be thy Matriarch!¡±


    ¡°Praise be thy Matriarch!¡±


    The voice was full of vitality and passion!


    After conveying various tasks to her followers, Ev¨¦ dived back into her Celestial Domain.


    She once again reconnected to Earth¡¯s inte and started constructing the ¡°game¡± in preparation for the arrival of the yers.


    Within these past three days, she had verified the feasibility of her ideas through various experimentations, and the only thing left to do now is to perfect the game¡¯s internal system for which she simply named [ <strong>Elven Kingdom</strong> ] and finally promote it through various social media sites!


    ¡°The leveling system must be set up properly as its a core dynamic that could either make or break a game. Let¡¯s see, perchance I can model it after the S¨¤ige¡¯s own power ranking system as well to make things lessplicated¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I think it¡¯s better to limit the yer¡¯s intial average levels somewhere around the Iron-rank during the closed-beta stage, with the maximum level cap being forty up until I proceed to the open-beta phase.¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, why don¡¯t I copy the job ssification system as well. But in exchange, I can add more attribute settings on the status profile as these are all the basic things gamers would expect like Str, Def, Luck and so on¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just make an appearance at the beginning as some sort of introductory guide to aid these yers into setting up their character appearance and initial stats! Then I¡¯ll give yers some small gifts and increase their affection for me since first impressions are important on matters such as this.¡±


    ¡°As for the yer¡¯s default race, let¡¯s just choose the elves obviously since being born as an elf is an inherent ability of the World Tree after all. To save divine power, I can set their base strength to the minimum level of 01. After all, those hardcore gamers will definitely grind hard to level up through quest andpetitions¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ to facilitate their rate of advancement, I can also forcefully awaken their dormant potential to the highest degree, which in doing so would let these yers probably reach the talent of geniuses!¡±


    Ev¨¦ then pulled up her mental checklist of things to do before continuing.


    ¡°What¡¯s next¡­ah right, modify the ¡®War Sacrifice¡¯ skill, integrate it into the avatar as a passive skill, and integrate it with the leveling system. That way, these yers could provide me with DP each time they level up!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ If I calcte it this way, one divine power can create just about 100 avatars. In the closed-beta phase, I can just make it 300 people just to be safe. After all, I still need to reserve some DP for my own protection in case some unexpected trouble urs.¡±


    ¡°Selecting potential yers should also be a top priority. Preferably choosing those who have spent a long time ying virtual games, and some influential streamers on the as well¡­ This can quickly spread the game¡¯s reputation and facilitate the expansion of the yerbaseter on.¡±


    By the way, gore, pain and even obscenity coefficient can be modified through the system settings. She can use some of her DP to either numb the pain or blur things not suitable for general popce if they want.


    ¡°I will limit the scope of activity for those who are just new so that it will be more easier to revive their bodies and recover the remaining DP within them once they die. Then, I can make them work for me again starting back from level 01 after their death¡¯s cooldown has passed.¡±


    ¡°As for the experience points, I¡¯ll just apply some hidden passive skill that can log all the activities of the yers onto their avatars so that I can check their condition anytime and disy it should they check their Status Screens¡­¡±


    ¡°As for the game¡¯s main storyline¡­I can just use some online materials for reference but the theme will obviously be the rise of the elven race!¡±


    Also, the promotional trailer must be done well! There are some segments recorded about the Heavenly War in the World Tree¡¯s inheritance and well¡­she can just spliced some of it instead. Also the magical powers used in that battle are way more realistic than any most modern CGI could even offer!


    For the background music, the elves are an artistically attuned race so they alreadyposed tons of musical pieces all throughout history and Ev¨¦ also have recordings of them all.


    ¡°For the game¡¯s art cover..I¡¯m just gonna use Alice since most gamers have a thing for cute waifus and¡­um, let¡¯s also add some handsome guys to attract some female yers as well¡­¡±


    ¡°The flow of time in both worlds are vastly different. It¡¯s like mind eleration technology! The game time is four times faster than reality!¡­but the question is how to exin this tech? Um¡­oh yeah, there¡¯s already alot of sci-fi stories that tried to delve into this so I¡¯ll just ¡®borrow¡¯ some of their words and exin it in apletely vague manner full of technical jargons that the average schmuck wouldn¡¯t understand at all! Ahha, I am a genius!¡±


    Without realizing it, three days had passed, and with the help of divine power, this massive undertaking had finally taken form and the game was finallypleted.


    ¡°Great I¡¯m finally done!¡±


    Looking at her magnum opus, Ev¨¦ felt extremely satisfied.


    At this moment, her divine power, which was originally at 20 DP, had dwindled down to only mere 11 DP as the cost of operating across dimensions and the inte was still significant.


    ¡°As for the closed beta-test of the game, I¡¯m just gonna release it for one week from now on Earth! I just


    hope I could trick a lot of people in these next seven days into ying my game!¡±


    After sensing her own state, Ev¨¦ made up her decision.


    The next step is to gain some publicity.


    Using her divine power to interfere with the inte once again, Ev¨¦ sessfully managed to stealthily established a gamepany called ¡°Yggdrasill Cutting Edge Tech Co, Ltd.¡± and secretly registered ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± as a virtual reality game. Finally, she uploaded the promotional video onto the in one go¡­


    Next, she awaited for the game¡¯s teaser to gain some traction and wee the subsequent first batch of yers.

 Chapter 09

    <strong>?? EXPLOSIVE PV TRAILER</strong>


    Li Mu, male, 22 years old, with an average appearance and an ordinary family background, is a typical college student you could see everywhere in almost any country.


    However, what sets him apart from the norm was that he has another identity¡ª<em>a VR game streamer.</em>


    Since virtual reality games have became rather popr worldwide around two years ago, Li Mu also followed the legion of streamers who joined the VR bandwagon and began live streaming his experience as well.


    Coupled with his verbal eloquence and good sense of humor, this simple hobby of his has earned him quite a decent bit of ie.


    However, unlike many single-yer game streamers, he instead specializes in critiquing various VRMMO-RPG games. In Li Mu¡¯s own words, although there are exciting virtual games that are constantly being released, so far there still hasn¡¯t been a single game yet that can truly amazes him and makes him want to keep on ying.


    He also has a rather infamous nickname in the VR fandom, ¡°The Nickpicking King¡± whom specializes in pointing out the ws of various VR games.


    In fact, this is quite normal.


    Although virtual neuralworks have fully been developed in recent years, and Immersion pods have grown way cheaper thus bing more affordable to the general popce, the vast majority of virtual engines on the market still have a rtively poor performance and often encounter various bugs during gamey.


    Li Mu rose to fame by being able to win the audience¡¯sughters by finding these sorts of bugs in every games that he yed.


    Sitting in front of theputer and making himself a cup of instant coffee, Li Mu opened a well-known streaming site.


    ¡°The new episode of ¡®Xiao Mu Reviews¡¯ needs to find a fresh target soon,¡± he muttered, looking around the site in a rather bored expression.


    He then finally sighed after scrolling down for almost an hour with no interesting results.


    Lately, the quality of various newly released games has been too poor. It¡¯s gotten so bad that he doesn¡¯t even want to do any reviews on them.


    This is also because VR has shown many people its possible business opportunities, and as with all new emerging technologies, all kinds of developers have rushed in to create half-baked games just to capitalize on the hype. Heck, some devs are even just t out scammers and are merely there to trick people into giving away some personal information.


    Furthermore, any gamepany needs to invest alot of capital and manpower to produce good quality products, and many VRpanies doesn¡¯t have those capabilities hence the quality of many game releases arecking to say the least.


    Li Mu is somewhat of a famous streamer and he has a reputation that doesn¡¯t look at any low-rated trash games. He only has eyes for those big-budget AAA+ games that are produced by well-known gamepanies.


    After all, it¡¯s more satisfying to find bugs in these high-profile games!


    ¡°I haven¡¯t uploaded anything in a week, let¡¯s see if there are any new titles on other tforms.¡±


    Humming a simple tune, Li Mu opened the virtual game rmendation on an emerce gaming tform.


    His gaze skimmed over the ads, but didn¡¯t pause for a moment.


    ¡°Another fantasy game? Hasn¡¯t this theme been overused already? Tsk tsk, another cheap cashgrab game withme graphics¡­¡±


    ¡°Shooter? Hmm¡­it¡¯s alright I guess, but there are already many good titles in that category¡­plus I already did this genre in my previous let¡¯s y series. I want to try something else this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Otome raising sim? Hehehe¡­this is great¡­good¡­very nice¡ªno, I don¡¯t want to get banned yet.¡±


    He muttered to himself as he browsed through the various game s.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Suddenly, his movement paused, and the mouse stopped on a particr .


    ¡°¡®¡­Elven Kingdom¡¯?¡±


    It was an unremarkable with a stereotypical art cover featuring a towering world tree and a beautiful and pure golden-haired elf praying towards the front with closed eyes.


    Although the elf girl on the cover was pretty, amongst the vast array of virtual game s, this art cover could only be considered passable at best.


    After all, the cover is the face of the game, and no game developer wouldn¡¯t make a good-looking cover for their games. Furthermore there are far too many cases wherein the cover doesn¡¯t actually match the gamey itself¡­


    Li Mu was so used and numb to these eyecandy art cover, but what caught his attention this time was not it, but rather the visit¡¯s click-through rate of this game .


    ¡°T-Three million visitors, what the hell is this? Did some big corpo bought an army of paid online trolls to brigade this game?¡±


    To his surprise, this was only released only two days ago but already garnered a staggering three million visitors!


    Horseshit, these clicks are definitely artificially inted!


    But once curiosity arises, it can no longer be suppressed.


    Li Mu took another sip of coffee and doubtfully clicked on the ad.


    Like many ads, this game had only one promotional video and a pre-order link for the game. What surprised Li Mu however was that the number ofments below had exceeded 10,000+.


    This is rare especially on virtual gaming category!


    He didn¡¯t directly click on the promotional video to let it y, but rather scanned thement section down first.


    <strong>Demacia</strong>: Damn it! Did the developers hire a professional filmpany to make this trailer? Don¡¯t tell me they spent all their budget on this PV alone lol.


    This was the most likedment.


    <em>Is it a fantasy game?</em>


    Li Mu raised his eyebrows.


    This genre has already declined in poprity in recent years right? It¡¯s considered an obscure ssic genre although he also heard that it still quite popr in some other countries particrly in the west¡­


    His interest in the game was immediately reduced by half upon finding this fact, but s he was really bored at the moment, thus he continued to look on.


    <strong>ck Emperor</strong>: ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ Fantasy MMO¡¯s have already declined in poprity here in my country. If this game really do be popr, then I¡¯ll live stream myself eating shit lmao


    This was the second most-likedment, and it seemed to be trending towards surpassing the first most-likedment in terms of likes.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.


    There are always people like these online that are all talk and no bite and chances are, he still wouldn¡¯t do his dare even if he was proven wrong.


    Nheless hisment was funny so Li Mu clicked on the like button, and then scrolled further down¡­


    <strong>Attack on Hairylegs</strong>: mind eleration technology? It sounds really great but does this kind of thing really exist?


    This was the third most poprment.


    Mind eleration technology?


    What is this? Howe he had never heard of any news regarding this tech?


    Li Mu read thement carefully.


    Then to his surprise, he found that it seemed like a new technology mentioned by the devs in the brief introduction of the game.


    It was said that this technology could enable yers to think faster while ying their game. yers only need to spend fifteen minutes or so in the real world to stay in the game-world for an approximate hour in exchange!


    That is to say, yers would gain more time at a fraction of a time spent ying this game.


    That¡¯s so epic, but was this im greatly exaggerated? Could this game actually be a secret project by some wealthy tech tycoon or perhaps even created by those massive cutting edge corpos that¡¯s leading the charge in terms of technological innovation?


    Li Mu doubtfully smirked as he nced at the game developer¡¯s name.


    ¡°Yggdrasill Cutting-edge Technology Corporation¡­?¡±


    His expression then clouded in confusion.


    Whatpany is this? A foreign one? He definitely never heard of thispany locally or even once in his life .


    ¡°Could it be just another offshorepany that¡¯s trying to scam people?¡±


    Li Mu frowned slightly, feeling a bit skeptical.


    Nowadays, these inte corpos are always trying to make some big ims, regardless of their actual abilities¡­


    Li Mu shook his head and had already decided that this was probably just another scam to generate some attention.


    However, thinking about the high click-through rate of 3 million, he decided to watch the promotional video before leaving.


    ¡°Let¡¯s watch this trailer! The reviews for it seem pretty good anyways.¡±


    He lightly clicked the y button, and the screen entered the interface of the promotional video¡­


    As the video yed, theputer screen suddenly went dark.


    Li Mu took a sip of coffee and began to casually watch as he reclined back to his chair.


    Apanied by ethereal singing, the screen slowly brightened once more.


    The first thing that caught his eye was a towering World Tree¡­


    The camera gradually zoomed back from the World Tree, and a series of magnificent cities appeared before Li Mu¡¯s eyes. Graceful and beautiful elves wandered through the lush green cities, whilst talking andughing as if presenting a real picture of the elven civilization¡­


    At first, Li Mu was not impressed, but soon he was drawn in by the constantly changing sceneries.


    The fantastical and pleasant surroundings along with the magnificent and otherworldly cities as the elegant and noble elves go on their daily lives whilst a lively and soothing music y on the background, made him feel as if he was personally there as well.


    A pleasant and melodious female voice slowly started to tell the story of the world tree and the elven race in this fantasy world¡­


    ¡°The game plot¡¯s quite interesting and unique, the cinematics are great, furthermore the character models are also very detailed, plus the movements are very smooth. I wonder what¡¯s the BGM¡¯s name? It¡¯s sounds really nice, but it seems like I¡¯ve never heard it before¡­¡±


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but exim in admiration.


    Regardless of the game itself, this opening sequence is really well made and absolutely realistic!


    Gradually, Li Mu became more enamored as the story continued¡­


    Powerful forces gave the elven race a brilliant civilization, but at the same time, it also led to thier vanity and arrogance.


    Their civilization¡¯s wealth and abundance also attracted the envy of others.


    The scent of conspiracy constantly lingers in the shadows, and eventually, it finally turned into a crisis.


    Suddenly, the screen changed, and a golden light illuminated the skies. With sacred chanting and roaring, vague and towering figures slowly appeared one after another.


    Thus the war had begun.


    zing rocks rained down from the heavens as the earth split apart whilst countless holy angels shed with giant wooden treants, and the once peacefulndscape turned into a magnificent bloodied battlefield¡­


    Brutal battles, dazzling magics, rivers of blood, magnificent miracles¡­


    One scene after another urred as the tragic and wondrous scenes faded into oblivion whilst apanied by ethereal and majestic music made Li Mu widened his eyes as his blood boils in excitement and could only utter one single phrase filled with utmost sincerity,


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    As he marveled at the stunning cinematics, he also felt a hint of concern and sympathy from the bottom of his heart for these fictional elven race.


    Li Mu became even more fascinated by it.


    At the end of the war, there was a dispute amongst the gods. Under countless magical attacks, the lush and verdant World Tree finally came to an end and withered away.


    Thus finally in a chorus of mourning aria, the civilization of the elves gradually faded into the annals of history.


    Apanied by the mournful and ethereal singing, the screen finally plunged into darkness and silence.


    After a moment, a sorrowful and solemn music began to faintly echoes once more.


    Completely immersed in it, Li Mu unconsciously let out a long sigh, feeling a strange resonance within him.


    ¡°Prosper in adversity but decay in pleasures¡­such is the rise and fall of civilizations.¡±


    After a moment, the scene changed once again.


    A beautiful elven girl appeared on the screen.


    She was dressed in a gorgeous ceremonial gown, kneeling in a ruined temple, tearfully praying to the broken deity effigy¡­


    With the girl¡¯s prayer, the ethereal singing gradually reached its climax. Finally, in thest chant, a deafening bell rang out!


    The statue flickered slightly¡­


    The screen went dark again, and all sound fell silent.


    Secondster, rows of stylistic and artistically strikingrge characters appeared on the screen:


    ¡°Otherworldly mind eleration technology allows yers to enjoy the game world!¡±


    ¡°Intelligent AI brings you an unprecedented gaming experience!¡±


    ¡°Create the most realistic, immersive, and highly customizable epic fantasy world!¡±


    ¡°On June 1st, the virtual reality MMORPG ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ will officially start its non-deleting closed beta phase! Everyone are wee to sign up!¡±


    ¡°Elven Kingdom ¨C awaits for your salvation!¡±


    The promotional video then ends there.


    Li Mu watched it with a dazed expression, as if he hadn¡¯t yet recovered from the shock of the epic battle scenes just now.


    After a moment, he pinched his thigh and said,


    ¡°Damn! How much money did they spend on producing this trailer and rendering those CGI!?¡±

 Chapter 10

    ??<strong>THE LAST PREPARATIONS</strong>


    In Li Mu¡¯s opinion, every frame of the 10-minute promotional trailer must¡¯ve worth a lot of money, and he briefly wondered how much cash did the publisher squandered in order to produce it.


    If he were to rate the trailer out of a hundred points, then Li Mu would definitely give it a ny nine points. He merely deducted one point out of consideration lest the publisher became too entirely proud.


    Regardless of the visuals, characters, sound effects, or even the cinematics, everything were all top-notch and definitely on par with the best in the industry and could even be considered as a hollywood-ss movie.


    No, most movies locally or foreign still hasn¡¯t reach the level of cinematography shown in this PV¡­


    The so-called ¡°mind eleration technology¡± also piqued his curiosity.


    However, Li Mu still remained calm unlike the otherizens who got hyped up for the game after watching such groundbreaking promotional video.


    On the contrary, he became more objective at the moment.


    ¡°The promotional video is indeed great, but¡­ can the gamey really be equally just as good as the trailer when it release?¡±


    Nowadays it was already numerously proven that the VR industry are riddled with deceptive games with exaggerated advertising and false marketing schemes just so that thesepanies could fool the masses into ying their games.


    Although the promotional video for ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± was indeed quite a masterpiece, it did not necessarily mean that the gamey would be really just as good as the trailer.


    After closing the promotional video, Li Mu casually opened a search engine and soon found out that ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± had already appeared on the trending tab and sparked extensive discussions on various social media tforms.


    It is obvious that such a high-quality produced trailer, coupled with the mysterious new technology, would easily aroused the curiosity of most denizens of the inte.


    In fact, Li Mu was also being affected by the hype and had the urge to join the heated discussions as well.


    Despite anything else, even if he had never heard of this gamepany before, as a gaming veteran who already yed a lot of AAA+ games in his life, Li Mu had a hunch that this game would definitely be an instant hit!


    After all, it was obvious that a lot of money was spent on the promotional video alone, as if burning their entire budget to hell. Li Mu estimated that the cost of the game was probably a lot more higher than the rest of the virtual reality games already out on the market.


    Despite the circumstances, he thought for a moment and felt that even if the gamey didn¡¯t live up to the hype, it probably wouldn¡¯t be that bad either¡­


    Moreover, he was very interested in the ¡°mind eleration technology.¡±


    Not only that, but the trailer for ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± has already sparked public discussions, and it is also the best video material to use in his next livestream as well.


    Thinking of this, Li Mu nodded decidedly.


    ¡°This game is worth investing in.¡±


    Immediately, he clicked on the registration link for the game.


    The webpage changed again and the screen jumped to the official website of ¡°Elven Kingdom¡±.


    The official website was very rough, like it was created by an amateur web developer, which made Li Mu seriously doubt as to whether thepany that made the motion graphics of the promotional video the same one that designed this site.


    Although it was bad, the website still had everything you would expect to have, including a forum, message boards, and information section.


    Li Mu scanned those briefly and clicked on the registration button on the homepage.


    The screen shed and jumped to the registration page.


    ¡°Wee! Sign up for the chance of obtaining invitation for Elven Kingdom¡¯s closed-beta testunch on June 01.¡±


    ¡°For your gaming experience, please fill in your identity information and rted materials. Thank you for your cooperation¡­¡±


    After looking at the registration requirements, Li Mu was not surprised.


    Virtual reality games are deemed highly addictive, so the government imposed regtions which were enacted about a year ago requiring personal verification of anyone wanting to partake in such games.


    He filled out his information smoothly and clicked on the register button.


    ¡°Registration sessful! You are the 515,494th yer to sign up for Elven Kingdom. Thank you for your participation!¡±


    Seeing this number, Li Mu¡¯s mouth opened abruptly.


    ¡°Wow! 500,000 registrations¡­that¡¯s too incredible¡­¡±


    ¡°Can the game¡¯s servers even operate under this kind of heavy load?¡±


    Aftet all, Virtual reality game servers requires a much higher bandwidth and capacity needspared to traditional ones!


    After marveling for a moment, he then continued scrolling down the information section.


    ¡°The first batch of closed beta testers will have 300 avable spots, and we will randomly select applicants within a week. Please keep an eye on your email and messages for the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your understanding and support!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡­


    ¡°Three hundred? Are they kidding?!¡±


    At that moment, he had the urge to smash his keyboard.


    His expression changed, Li Mu emptied his coffee in one gulp to calm his nerves.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just borrow someone else¡¯s ount when the timees.¡±


    His anticipation diminished greatly as Li Mu shook his head before closing the webpage then went to find other games as potential prey for his livestream¡­


    Time flew by quickly.


    In the ancient Elfen Forest of in the mortal realm,


    Nearly a month had passed and at this moment, the World Tree had undergone some few changespared to before.


    Although the vast majority of its branches still remained withered, some at the bottom and at the top have already shown some hints of budding greenery.


    This was not intentionally done on the part of Ev¨¦, but rather a natural instinctual recovery process that the World Tree itself had initiated after its reawakening.


    Although the process was slow and the World Tree was still in a critical condition, it will still gradually recover on its own just as long as it is given enough time and no problematic events ur during this period.


    However, this process will be quite lengthy, and without any external assistance, it may take thousands of years to restore the World Tree to its peak.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t just wait for that to happen, as who knows if a powerful enemy wille knocking on her doorsteps during this period.


    In recent days, shemanded the oak guardian to eliminate all threats within a ten-kilometer radius zone, as preparation for the uing beta-testing phase of her game.


    In the future, this area will be the stronghold of the Elven civilization.


    At the same time, she spent 03 points of divine power to establish an illusion barrier, concealing the maximum range she could control within the ten-kilometer radius zone, so that the outside world cannot see the changes happening to the World Tree.


    This period is the most dangerous time for Ev¨¦ since currently, her DP reserves were at its lowest and will remain at that low-level for quite some time due to game. She must ensure that she is not disturbed before her divine power value reaches around 100 DP.


    She could formally rid of the quasi-death state when her divine power value reaches the three digit mark and can also finally create an avatar for herself, making it alot more convenient to use her abilities with a more familiar body structure.


    ncing at her own status screen, Eve sighed in her heart.


    ¡°My divine power value is still at 11 points¡­ I hope ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ won¡¯t be a flop.¡±


    It was only because the Oak Guardian had once again annihted another group of hunting Orc team in these few days that her DP value could be maintained at 10 points or above.


    However, the continuous intrusion of these Orcs have also made Ev¨¦ more vignt.


    There is a beastmen encampment near the Elven Forest, in which Ev¨¦ has already confirmed. Although its strength is not strongpared to many other Orc tribes, this tribe is still too close to the Elven Forest forfort and is a high-risk threat that needs to be solved sooner orter.


    Not to mention, behind these Orcs is one of the mortal enemies of the World Tree, Uller the God of Winter and Hunting.


    Unfortunately, Eve¡¯s current range of influence can only extend up to ten kilometers and anything beyond that would severly limits her powers. Berserker is also alone and unable to deal with the enemy by himself¡­


    ¡°Perhaps, after the first batch of yers arrive and when they finally reach a certain level, then I can just leave it to them as a quest or something¡­¡±


    ¡°Their initial levels would be low but I can expedite the process by giving them various task so that they can easily level up to ten which is the base ranks of Low-Iron¡­¡±


    In fact, with Eve¡¯s power, granting yers a level 10 strength right at the start wouldn¡¯t consume much of her powers. However, in order to prevent yers from being reckless, she decided to implement a steep penalty of resetting their levels back to 01 whenever they die and had to resurrect.


    The beginning period is the most crucial phase of her ns and Ev¨¦ wanted to impart the importance of their lives from the start so that they wouldn¡¯t just take their resurrection for granted.


    ¡°I bet the yers will think those penalties are unreasonable but I must be strict at least at the start so that these guys can learn to cherish their lives here. It will also make things easier for me.¡±


    The yers¡¯ activity range is muchrger than Eve¡¯s. Through testing, she determined that the furthest connection between the avatars she created and herself can reach up to one hundred kilometers, and anything beyond that will simply disconnect the linkage.


    Of course, if it¡¯s a believer, then they can travel even further because there is a dedicated link between believers and their patron deities.


    But as virtual tourists from earth, Eve doesn¡¯t expect these yers to instantly convert into her faith, after all, it¡¯s just a mere game to them.


    And one hundred kilometers is also the maximum activity range for the initial yers in Eve¡¯s n. To prevent yers from getting lost, she has set up a system that will automatically alert her and forcibly teleport the yer back whenever they go beyond this boundary.


    But as Eve¡¯s power grows, the yers¡¯ range of activity can also be expanded as well. And when she finally bes an all-powerful god, she can even allow these yers to travel freely throughout the entire world of Saig¨¹es!


    Later, Eve once again immersed her consciousness within the Celestial Domain¡­


    After testing the operation of the game system in her consciousness and feeling that there were no further problems at all, Ev¨¦ focused her attention back to the core of her divinity.


    There, a three hundred egg-shaped clusters of shimmering and misty light were hanging loosely, with each emitting the breath of life.


    This was the first batch of avatars that she have created.


    The bodies were already mature enough and the resurrection mechanism had already been set up. The next step was to choose the yers and prepare to wee the arrival of these lovely otherworlders!


    Ev¨¦ felt very satisfied and once again connected to earth¡¯s inte to finally select potential yers for her game.

 Chapter 11

    ??<strong>PLAYER¡¯S ARRIVAL </strong>


    University town.


    Li Mu was simply wearing baggy shorts and a pair of flip-flops as he holds a freshly bought breadstick and soymilk in his hands, before heading towards his dormitory apartment for which he specifically rented for streaming purposes.


    Suddenly, a pleasant notification sound came from his pocket.


    He hesitated for a moment, wiped his greasy hands on his white undershirt, before casually pulling out his smartphone from his pocket.


    On the screen was a brief text message that says,


    ¡°Congrattions! You have been selected as one of the first batch of beta-testers for ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯! Your invitation code is: 233-123-124.¡±


    ¡°On June 1st, ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ wees your arrival!¡±


    Li Mu was stunned for a second and seemed to have not yet recovered from the initial shock but after double-checking the text message if it was really authentic, he then excitedly pped his thigh and grinned,


    ¡°Ha! I fricken knew it!¡±


    ¡°My luck has always been good!¡±


    At this moment, various gaming chatrooms have already exploded as well.


    ¡°Ah ah ah! I was selected! I was selected!¡±


    ¡°What happened? Why are you so excited?¡±


    ¡°¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯! I was selected as a beta tester!¡±


    ¡°What ?! That¡¯s impressive! I heard that the number of applicants for that game has already exceeded one million, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Hehehe, I will send you screenshots when the timees!¡±


    ¡°I envy you man! I watched the trailer and it really looks great! If it¡¯s really like what the official announcement says with the trailer showing the actual game graphics then it really could be a masterpiece! Some experts even said that the game¡¯snguage and music seem to be meticulously designed as well! It¡¯s so awesome!¡±


    ¡°Argh, it¡¯s crazy I tell you! The some beta-testers in a groupchat I am into have already started selling their invitations!¡±


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s harsh! How much is it?¡±


    ¡°It seems that it¡¯s being resold for more than seven thousand¡­ After all, everyone wants to try this so-called ¡°mind eleration¡± and the game will also introduce a brand-new 100% adjustable realistic sensory system. You know, the sensory systems of those virtual games on the market now are all too poor.¡±


    ¡°What the, 7000? That¡¯s scary.¡±


    ¡°We plebs just don¡¯t get the mindsets of these rich bastards. That amount is almost worth nothing to them.¡±


    ¡°Lmao what they¡¯re doing is useless. Didn¡¯t the announcement also said that the ount is bound to the original owner¡¯s identity, and the invitation will be verified when logging into the game. Only the ount owner can go online¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ then we can only wait for the public beta at this rate.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I think this game¡¯s publishers are exaggerating with their ims¡­ It¡¯s way too fake dude. C¡¯mon, if they really had that kind of technology then developing games would be their least priority!¡±


    ¡°I am also skeptical since I¡¯ve read a lot of arguments about the game online. But let¡¯s just wait and see. There should be some big-name streamers broadcasting it when it¡¯s finally out.¡±


    ¡°Livestreaming? Didn¡¯t they mention ¡®mind eleration¡¯? If it¡¯s true then can it really be livestreamed? Wouldn¡¯t the time be inconsistent between us watchers and the streamer?¡±


    ¡°Lol true xD I bet the dy would be so bad that it would almost be impossible to be streamed in real time. At most, we¡¯ll just gonna watch the vods instead.¡±


    Li Mu, who was munching on a fried breadstick on the side, slightly curved his mouth as he peeked at his groupchat in his phone.


    After some thought, he decided to typed in a message,


    ¡°I got an invitation. At 12:00 pm on June 1st, I¡¯ll start livestreaming ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯. Everyone¡¯s weed to watch my stream.¡±


    In an instant, the groupchat exploded yet again.


    ¡°Damn! It¡¯s Big Brother Mu!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Mu got the qualification?¡±


    ¡°Nitpicking King is going to livestream ElvKing?!¡±


    ¡°Ah I can¡¯t wait! I¡¯ll be on the front row with some sunflower seeds! This game¡¯s hyped up so much that I want to see what it¡¯s like!¡±


    ¡°<mark>@Xiao_Mu</mark>, Xiao Mu! I¡¯m ¡®Demacia¡¯, and I got the invitation too. Add me as a friend in advance! Please carry me in the game brother Mu!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As Li Mu watched the constant stream of messages popping up without stopping, he inwardly felt delighted and put his phone back in his pocket before rushing back home.


    Time passed quickly and in the blink of an eye, the closed beta period for

 Chapter 12

    ??<strong>GODDESS! I WANT TO JOIN YOUR RELIGION! </strong>


    A goddess with an illuminating a gentle light all over her body appeared in front of Li Mu.


    She wore an elegant and magnificent divine dress along with silvery long hair that reached all the way down to her waist and a set of amethyst eyes for which flickered with mystery and wisdom, making people feel an irresistible urge to prostrate and worship her.


    This divine figure was so beautiful and dignified that Li Mu could hardly find any suitable words in his vocabry to describe her, feeling that all the aesthetics in the world was insufficient to express even a tiny fraction of her magnificence.


    His eyes simply zed nkly, and for a moment he even forgotten to do a livementary of the situation¡­


    With her gentle halo basking down upon him, Li Mu felt warmth all over his body as the solemn and benevolent voice of the goddess called out to him again in a soft tone.


    ¡°Verily I am the one which governs the divinity of nature, life, and spirits, the personification of the ancient god tree itself¡­.Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.¡±


    ¡°O¡¯ brave chosen one, wee to the world of swords and magic.¡±


    The voice was so enchanting, yet it also evoked a feeling of reluctance to be rude within her presence.


    Unconsciously, Li Mu swallowed his saliva and had only one thought in his mind,


    ¡®Goddamn! This 3D model and special effects are really amazing!¡¯


    He had seen many beautiful NPC models all throughout his gaming life, but never had he seen one like this that was so gorgeous that it¡¯s looks so real or perhaps even better than real-life celebrities with her beauty-enhancment and deitification effects.


    At this moment, the live broadcast stream had already been flooded with barrage ofments.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°Dayum!!¡±


    ¡°So awesome!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in love, so in love¡­(*?????)¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop me guys, I want to join her religion!¡±


    ¡°Can I lift your little skirt, great goddess pretty please? hehehe xD ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)¡±


    ¡°Sure enough¡­goddesses are a standard staple in games like ElvKing with otherworldly fantasy settings!¡±


    ¡°Wait, you bunch of thirsty simps! Can you even hear what they are saying? For me, their speaking speed is just so fast that I can¡¯t keep up¡­¡±


    Of course, thestment was already drowned out by the army of horny god-smitten idiots.


    ¡­


    Ev¨¦ decided to put on a solemn benevolent facade along with archaic way of speaking whenever she manifested in a public settings as a goddess.


    In order to guide these unruly yers and leave asting impression upon them, Ev¨¦ specifically used her divine powers in order to create a cinematic scene at the start using her personified image as the initial guide for which her appearance is actually based on her own statue at the shrine.


    Every yer who enters the game will have to go through the same process of receiving a blessings from her, which is an integral part of the game system.


    ¡°O¡¯ Brave chosen one, in order to better adapt to this new world, I will now bless thee in order to unlock your own powers and potential.¡±


    The ethereal and beautiful voice of the goddess sounded again, and she lightly tapped Li Mu on the forehead as a system window then materialized before him.


    [ Please select your initial Job ssification ]


    [ <strong>Melee ss</strong> ]


    [ <strong>Spellcasting ss</strong> ]


    <em>Job ss selection?</em>


    Li Mu rubbed his chin as his face morphed into a look of concentration.


    Before entering the game, he had already read the game¡¯s information on the official website and knew that the profession system in ¡®ElvKing¡¯ was divided into two major categories:


    [Melee ss ] and [Spellcasting ss]


    Furthermore, upon reaching level 10, yers can even change their jobs and choose a more specialized professions, such as warrior, archer, mage, and so forth¡­


    ¡®<em>So which one do I choose?</em>¡®


    Li Mu fell into contemtion.


    Thements in the live broadcast stream also fell into a heated argument.


    ¡°Strength! Definitely str-based ss! Elves have high agi stats and can change professions to either assassin or archer muchter on the game!¡±


    ¡°Go with a magic-build instead Xiao Mu. lol you¡¯re already in a virtual reality, so why do you still have to y in a traditional hack-n-sh style when you can instead experience the feeling of magic?¡±


    ¡°The user above me is an idiot! Using a melee-build in a VR game is far more exciting and realistic! It¡¯s so satisfying to feel the sword hit the flesh you know!¡±


    ¡°Lmao it¡¯s still a game, I don¡¯t think the devs couldpletely replicate the true feeling of shing someone just like in reality!¡±


    ¡°So you actually know the feeling of shing someone in real-life?¡±


    ¡°Dumbass it¡¯s just an example, aren¡¯t you the one acting like a demon wanting to sh someone so realistically?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Looking at the increasingly ragingment section, Li Mu involuntarily twitched his mouth.


    He thought for a moment and clicked on the¡¾Spellcasting ss¡¿option.


    He felt that casting magic would be way more interesting in this game.


    Plus someone who enjoys the act of murder is an uncivilized buffoon in Li Mu¡¯s opinion and such style of gamey does not live up to the schrly virtues that he upholds.


    After all civilized people prefer the use of their mouths rather than their fist¡­chanting spells is good enough for him.


    ¡°O¡¯ Chosen one, I see that you hath picked the spellcasting ss. I will now impart thee a blessing as well as bestow two random magical skills upon you.¡±


    Apanied by an ethereal and solemn voice, the beautiful goddess then points a finger at Li Mu¡¯s forehead once again.


    Having epted the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, Ev¨¦ have a somewhatplete set of job sses recorded in her mind, and it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her to choose some low-level skills to bestow upon these yers.


    In an instant, Li Mu felt a soft and warm power surging into his body as his five senses seemed to have undergone some kind of change.


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but check his Status screen yet again after the bestowal ceremony.


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Li Mu¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: Elf¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>ss</strong>: Spellcaster¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 01 (Novice)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Experience</strong>: 0/100¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Health</strong>: 50/50¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Mana</strong>: 100/100¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Attributes</strong>: Constitution (5), Strength (5), Agility (5), Magic (10)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Skills</strong>: Minor Healing, Entangling Vines¡¿


    ¡°The attributes rted to magic have been enhanced!¡±


    Li Mu felt delighted.


    ¡°O¡¯ Chosen one, thou hath received thy blessings. Please equip it yourself and finally embark upon your journey!¡±


    The goddess¡¯s voice spoke out again, and Li Mu¡¯s body was enshroud by a radiant light. A in set of robes materialized onto him, along with a wooden wand in his hand and a wooden dagger at his waist.


    ¡¾<strong>You obtained an item</strong>: in Linen Robe (<mark>White</mark>) ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You obtained an item</strong>: Rough Wooden Staff (<mark>White</mark>)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You obtained an item</strong>: Rough ckwood Dagger (<mark>White</mark>)¡¿


    These are the starting equipments prepared by Ev¨¦ for every new yers, made from an average quality trees and linen in the forest.


    These items are mass-produced and are the starting equipments of yers upon arrival, which can be considered a small gift from Ev¨¦ for these newbies.


    Of course, that was also the limit of what she could do, and anything more than that would simply be redundant and a waste of her precious divine powers.


    Making 300 sets of these equipments took up 0.1 point of her divine power.


    With the ceremonial blessing of the goddess ending, the scene in front of Li Mu changed once again.


    Dazzling lights shed by all around him, and Li Mu instinctively closed his eyes.


    Through his impaired vision, he felt as though he had broken through some kind of barrier, like he was reborn from an egg, as his senses became increasingly more clearer¡­


    Fresh soft air blew over his face as distant bird calls entered his eardrums. Li Mu finally slowly opened his eyes and realized he had arrived in a different world.


    What greeted him was huge towering branches, as well as ancient and magnificent temple situated at a distance. Majestic long range of mountains epasses his line of vision, while hundreds of quirky-looking elves made ruckus around the vicinity¡­


    Standing on the huge branches of the World Tree and looking at the dense forest below his feet, Li Mu fell entirely silent¡­


    ¡°Oh my god! It¡¯s really a hundred percent real-like graphics!¡±


    ¡°I love this ce!This game¡¯s going to be a massive hit for sure! This scenery is just too amazing!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­this is so hrious! Look over there dude! Why are those yers are so effing creative. How did they make their avatars looks so weird?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the guy with the explosive red hair? Don¡¯t tell me he just used the system¡¯s default face instead?¡±


    ¡°Ohh are the starting equipment for spellcasters a robe and a wand, and a wooden armor and sword for melee-based ss instead?¡±


    ¡°What a beautiful scenery. Anyndscape enthusiasts here? Let¡¯s take a group photo tomemorate this moment! Oh why don¡¯t we do it again once the open-beta takes ce!¡±


    ¡°Hey look, isn¡¯t that Xiao Mu the famous streamer? Why is he just standing still over there?¡±


    ¡°Brother Mu, Xiao Mu! Let¡¯s be friends! I¡¯m ¡®Demacia¡¯! I¡¯m in the game too!¡±


    The barrage ofments in the livestream became more and more intense at this scenery.


    After a long silence, Li Mu¡¯s voice trembled slightly, and there was a hint of shimmer in his eyes.


    ¡°Damn it¡­I¡­¡±


    Watching Li Mu, who had tears in his eyes, the audience in his live broadcast was stunned.


    ¡°What the f***? Is Xiao Mu crying from being so moved?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just the game¡¯s built-in preset expression function, right¡­?¡±


    ¡°But the tears look so real!¡±


    ¡°Lol I¡¯m surprised the game can render such a realistic expression. It doesn¡¯t look like a fixed preset motion to me.¡±


    Looking at thements shing by in his line of sight, Li Mu¡¯s face turned ck.


    He cautiously nced at his feet, then took a deep breath and quickly raised his head, rubbing his chest before exining,


    ¡°No, I¡­I¡¯m just a little scared of heights¡­¡±


    For a moment, the live broadcast stream fell silent.


    ¡°What did Xiao Mu just say? He spoke too fast and I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, his speech is too fast just now! I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly as well¡­ it¡¯s like we pressed the fast forward button somehow¡­¡±


    ¡°You just noticed that?!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡­


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fast forward¡­?¡±


    ¡°Mind eleration! It¡¯s probably due to that mind eleration feature! Xiao Mu¡¯s speech is so fast because of this mind eleration tech! It definitely is dude!¡±


    ¡°For real!? This game can really elerate the thought process of its yers?! It wasn¡¯t a lie?¡±


    ¡°So it really gives a gametime of one hour despite users just spending fifteen minutes in the real world?!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! This game is going to be incredible! It has amazing graphics plus this alien-like technology, it¡¯s almost impossible not to be popr.¡±


    ¡°Lmfao I remember a usermented in the trailer that he¡¯s going to livestream himself eating poop if this game bes a massive hit. I wonder if he¡¯s actually going to do it xD¡±


    ¡°Oh that PV¡¯s most likedment. I remembered it too. Hahaha, that user must be shitting his pants now.¡±

 Chapter 13

    ??<strong>Is this¡­the Chosen Ones?</strong>


    What¡¯s the most frustrating thing about ying games?


    It¡¯s when you started ying and just before you realized it, hours have already passed and it¡¯s already time to log off.


    Time is always the enemy of the yers.


    Or theck of it.


    But ¡®mind eleration¡¯ gives yers the ability to have more free time in a sense, right? Even though it¡¯s only an hour back in real life, its four hours inside the game after elerating one¡¯s thoughts!


    Elven Kingdom have attracted a lot of attention from gamers, not only because of its top-notch promotional videos, but also because of this miraculous technology.


    Of course, they don¡¯t know that this is just because the rate of time flowing between the two worlds are vastly different.


    However, in reality, aside from the miraculous ¡®mind eleration¡¯ features, the gamey aspect of Elven Kingdom have also greatly exceeded the yers initial expectations.


    Its just way too realistic!


    So realistic that one could say that its even apletely different beast from the rest of the crude VR games which are already out on the market!


    The publishers didn¡¯t lied!


    The game was just like how they advertised it, making people feel as though they were truly there, in a real fantasy world.


    At this moment, all the lucky yers participating in the closed-beta were filled with curiosity and excitement.


    Three hundred elves, each in their own unique game character form, were exploring and studying this vast unfamiliar new world with enthusiasm.


    Some stood in the open, gazing at the distant sceneries, eximing, ¡°So high and beautiful!¡±.


    Some waved their arms, feeling the same gravity as back in reality with their expressions filled with surprise.


    Others pinched their faces while sighing, ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­it¡¯s just so real!¡±.


    However, there were also some abnormal yers¡­


    A yer with an explosive hairstyle unexpectedly took off his clothes in public, causing some yers near him to exim, ¡°Ah!¡± in surprise while other yers around himughed and booed.


    The few female yers covered their faces but looked towards him curiously with big watery eyes whilst peering through their fingers.


    Nevertheless, this particr yer was obviously disappointed.


    After a few movements, he stripped himself naked, but a golden light appeared and nothing could be seen clearly on his private parts.


    ¡°Dammit! It turns out that this game¡¯s ratings are suitable for people of all ages!¡± The nudist yer regretfully booed.


    Eve felt her eyebrows twitching as she watched this scene in her celestial domain ¡­


    Fortunately, she had already prepared the blurring light as a default settings, otherwise the game would have been sactioned by the Game ssifications board for obscene content right after itsunch.


    She didn¡¯t want the game to be unterally banned on earth for inappropriate sexual content!


    ncing at the person who took off his clothes, Eve made sure to remember his username, adjusting his luck attribute down to 01, while calling onto Saintess Alice to quickly arrange tasks for these beasts lest they caused any further problems.


    Most of the beta-testers she caught this time were veteran gamers whom had been ying online games for a long time.


    Who knows what sort of actions this group of yers woulde up with in order to exploit the game.


    Inside the Nature¡¯s Shrine.


    Alice, who was kneeling as she prayed in front of the statue with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her emerald-colored eyes as she sensed a massive wave of spatial energy fluctuates within the air.


    ¡®The Chosen ones hath arrived.¡¯


    Her eyes were instantly filled with excitement and anticipation upon hearing this news.


    She then stood up, holding the hem of her ceremonial dress, and prepared to finally greet these Chosen Ones.


    At the same time, Eve¡¯s solemn voice once again echoed in her mind,


    ¡®Alice, assist the Chosen Ones to acquaint themselves with this world.¡¯


    For some reason, she felt that the voice of the Goddess was somewhat more tired than usual.


    It seemed that summoning the Chosen Ones had consumed a considerable amount of the Goddess¡¯s power¡­


    ¡®I couldn¡¯t let the Goddess down!¡¯


    Their Patron god were already working this hard for the future of the Elvenkind even though she just recently awoken.


    With these devout thoughts in her mind, Alice¡¯s gaze became even more determined, as her faith became even more stronger.


    ¡°Matriarch, I promise will not sully your expectations of me!¡±


    With deep emotion, she bowed slightly towards the statue and gestured a tree-shaped symbol representing their religion with her right hand onto her chest before eagerly rushing towards the trunk of the World Tree¡­


    As soon as she walked out of the temple, Alice heard various bursts of cheers and shouts.


    ¡°It¡¯s the chosen ones!¡±


    Her eyes lit up as she quickly tidied up her appearance, patted her face and organized the weing speech she had prepared in her mind, then walked towards the direction of the noises with a sweet smile and graceful steps.


    She briefly wondered what kind of beings are these Chosen Ones that the Matriarch even ced so much importance upon their arrival?


    Alice¡¯s thoughts continued to imagine various things as she walked towards her destination with hurried excited steps.


    As a young maiden whom was not even reach 300 years old, Alice was full of longing and curiosity for these chosen ones, who were akin to the heroes of old legends in her eyes.


    At this moment, her mind had already imagined various scenes¡­


    Well, as the vanguard of nature, the chosen ones must be like those heroes described in the old scriptures, riding on unicorns, wearing gorgeous holy armor, wielding sacred swords and magic staffs, and carrying divine blessings¡­


    They must be true heroes, handsome and elegant, humble and noble as well as mysterious and powerful!


    They must have iron discipline with beliefs like those from the legendary Legion of N¨¡t¨±ra!


    At the thought of this, Alice felt a strange sense of tension in her heart.


    ¡°Pfft, what am I even thinking about..I am our fath¡¯s sole Saint! I must not disgrace the Mother Goddess¡¯s dignity!¡±


    Alice scolded herself and shook her head vigorously, dispelling all the nonsensical thoughts from her mind.


    However, she unconsciously quickened her pace.


    She lifted a branch that obstructed her view, and Alice finally saw the anticipated ¡°heroes¡± that she eagerly looked forward to meet¡­


    On the trunk, hundreds of ¡°Chosen Ones¡± in rough robes and wooden armor were jostling about, making alot of ruckus as some were frolicking, while some were experimenting with magic. Few were scraping the tree bark and wantonly shing leaves with their wooden swords, and some were singing loudly in a off tune within the distance¡­


    Even more exaggeratedly, there were even a few male elves who werepletely naked, and their lower bodies were shining with brilliant light as they jumped around between the branches, dazzling people¡¯s eyes with their obscenity¡­


    ¡°This bark is too tough! Even with a knife, I just can¡¯t scrape it off¡­¡±


    ¡°Where are my pants? Who stole my damn pants?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey¡­You guys are just too excited! Can¡¯t you just read the instructions properly?¡±


    ¡°So what skills did you guys get huh?¡±


    ¡°Mine are mostly melee-based. The goddess gave me Cross-cut and Spin Attack.¡±


    ¡°Cross-cut is so cool!¡±


    ¡°Does anyone knows how to read the mini-map?¡±


    ¡°Hey is there a female yer who want to take a screenshot with me? The scenery here is good, and I want to post it on my groupchat.¡±


    Of course, if you observe carefully, there are only a few dozen really rowdy yers. The majority are still properly studying the novice guide without making a scene, but these few dozen yers are enough to sully the overall perception of the yerbase¡­


    From the perspective of the yers, this kind of behavior is understandable. It can be said that this game is just too realistic, making yers feel surprised and curious, wanting to experiment with everything.


    But¡­ for the indigenous elves, it¡¯s different.


    Looking at the totally chaotic scene in front of her, Alice¡¯s smile froze upon her face.


    ¡°This is¡­ the Chosen Ones?¡±


    She rubbed her eyes, suspecting that she was seeing a hallucination.


    Taking a deep breath, Alice looked again¡­


    ¡°Hey hey! Those are the pants I took off earlier! Don¡¯t just wear them dude!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no name written on them, how do we know they¡¯re yours huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you guys, that¡¯s enough! Let¡¯s just y the game properly!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say there would be a guide for beginners? Where is this person?¡±


    Chaos still ensues¡­


    Click¡­Alice felt like something in her heart breaking.


    The destructivebination of Elves beautiful and noble appearance along with such vulgar and despicable behavior was almost enough to subvert the holy maiden¡¯s core values¡­


    She stared nkly with wide eyes with her brain inplete turmoil.


    What¡­what is going on?


    Aren¡¯t the Chosen Ones the vanguard of the gods?


    Aren¡¯t they supposed to be noble and enlightened beings?


    Shouldn¡¯t they be akin to the heroes and warriors of legends?


    This¡­this¡­


    This group either possessed by goblins, with no discipline whatsoever, and manners just like the orcs with no sense of shame at all.


    <em>What on earth is going on?</em>


    Suddenly, she noticed those several people with oundish hairdoes with wooden swords shing at the tree bark.


    The girl¡¯s face changed, her anger finally surged as she couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Stop! What are you doing! You can¡¯t be disrespectful to the Mother Goddess!¡±


    A clear voice suddenly appeared, attracting hundreds of yers attention.


    In an instant, three hundred pairs of eyes of varying colors looked towards the girl¡­


    The atmosphere fell into a strange silence.


    Being stared at by a hundreds sets of eyes, Alice felt her scalp utterly tingling in rm.


    She couldn¡¯t help but involuntarily take a step back, feeling a bit timid but still trying to remain calm and said,


    ¡°W-What are you looking at? Even if you are the ones chosen by the Matriarch, you still cannot be disrespectful to her vessel¡­¡±


    Her voice trembled slightly, but still with an air of resilience.


    yers looked at each other, and the silence instantly turned into a lively spectacle.


    ¡°An elven girl?¡±


    ¡°So cute!¡±


    ¡°Look! Her head doesn¡¯t have a username! She must be an NPC!¡±


    ¡°No shit idiot! Look at her equipment, it¡¯s so cool, definitely must be an NPC!¡±


    ¡°Her expression is so vivid and realistic! This A.I is so different from the NPC¡¯s from other virtual online games!¡±


    ¡°Hey pretty girlie, what¡¯s your name, are you a priestess?¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, calm down guys, you¡¯re scaring her!¡±


    Watching the cute and vignt face of Alice, some of the male yers became curious and excited just like a wild animals.


    ¡°Oh god this is not good¡­her expression is a bit too tempting¡­ It makes me want to bully her¡­¡±


    ¡°Sister, what¡¯s your name? Are you a priestess?¡±


    ¡°Missie, is there any quest for me to do?¡±


    ¡°Li¡¯l Sis, can I join your religion?¡±


    ¡°Hey, can I touch your priestess dress?¡±


    Because Ev¨¦ had already madenguage adjustments beforehand, the yers¡¯ words would automatically be converted into the universalnguage of the world of Saig¨¹es and vice versa. Therefore, Alice could clearly understand what this group of chosen ones was saying¡­


    Listening to these frivolous words, the holy maiden blushed and trembled with anger and shyness.


    ¡°Oh she¡¯s embarrassed! Look, she¡¯s totally embarrassed!¡±


    ¡°Wow! This game¡¯s really highly interactive! The NPC¡¯s are so lifelike!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ why do I feel like she¡¯s getting angry?¡±


    ¡°Come on, guys! Even if she¡¯s an A.I, can¡¯t you be polite?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve never seen an NPC this lifelike before. I¡¯m just curious you know.¡±


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she talking? By the way, who has the appraisal skill? Can you try appraising her identity?¡±


    ¡°I do! I do! Let me try¡­ Hmm¡­ the youngdy¡¯s name is Alice Swiftwind, her profession is Naturia¡¯s Priestess, her level¡­oh I can¡¯t see it¡­ Huh? Using Appraisal can also unlock the target¡¯s favorability rating? Damn¡­! Why is my favorability rating with her so negative?! Damn it! It just dropped again!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Maybe it¡¯s because your face¡¯s just too ugly! Hahaha, let me try¡­ Damn it! Why is my favorability rating so negative too?¡±


    Alice was shaking with anger as she watched these bunch of bastards who were acting like bandits without any restrains.


    She took a deep breath and desperately reminded herself in her heart¡­


    Calm down! Stay calm!


    ¡°Remember Alice, you must stay calm!¡±


    ¡°This must be a test from the Mother Goddess! You must not disappoint the Mother Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t this girl speaking?¡±


    ¡°Her hair is so long! I wonder how it feels¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a rather daring yer who had been the first to stripped slinked over and reached for Alice¡¯s golden hair.


    The elven maiden was utterly startled and couldn¡¯t help but swing her staff.


    In a burst of brilliant light, apanied by a wailing scream, the yer with ¡°Demacia¡± written in green letters above his head was sent flying by the Protective Sanctuary spell, and fell straight down from the World Tree.


    So weak!


    This was Alice¡¯s first thought.


    Oh dear Goddess! What have I done? I just pushed him down!


    This was the second¡­


    Alice was shocked and took a few steps forward, looking down at the World Tree¡­


    However, the unlucky yer was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Matriarch, I¡­ I¡­ I actually killed a Chosen One?¡±


    Alice¡¯s vision went ck.


    ¡°Hahaha! That dude¡¯s just asking to be killed!¡±


    ¡°He dared to provoke an NPC despite being at level 1, I¡¯d say it just serves him right!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaahaha!¡±


    Behind her, the gleeful voices of other yers came, apanied by bursts ofughters.


    Alice turned her head incredulously, staring at the elves who not only weren¡¯t afraid or worried after witnessing apanion¡¯s death, but were also excited as well.


    She felt like her brain was bing increasingly unable to keep up with the absurdity of this situation¡­


    <em>Are these chosen ones crazy?</em>

 Chapter 14

    ?? <strong>THE BEST LABORERS</strong>


    This is abnormal, absolutely abnormal!


    Why does ¡®the Chosen Ones¡¯ behave like this!?


    Alice felt like her world had turned upside down as it devolves into a chaotic mess for which confused her to no end.


    After a while, a faint green light appeared on one of the branches of the World Tree, as a cluster of lights slowly converged into a human-like silhouette.


    The outline of this shimmering figure gradually takes form of a person with an explosive red hair as the light emitting from his body gradually lose its intensity.


    It was Demacia, the unlucky guy who had just been knocked away by Alice. He seemed to have been resurrected just now.


    Gasping for breath, he said with a fearful tone,


    ¡°Oh god¡­ that scared me to death¡­why is this NPC so damn strong¡­ fortunately, I reduced the pain value in advance¡­¡±


    <em>Res¡­ Resurrected?!</em>


    Alice gazed at the familiar figure as she became somewhat dazed as if seeing a ghost.


    ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid, Alice. These chosen ones are immortal beings.¡¯ suddenly, Eve¡¯s words resounded from within her mind, as if they had a power to calm one¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Matriarch!¡±


    Upon hearing the familiar voice, Alice felt a sense of relief, but then her eyes welled up with tears, and she almost cried. She didn¡¯t know whether it was due to excitement or grievances or maybe perhaps both¡­


    ¡°Goddess¡­ they¡­ they¡­¡±


    The elven maiden sobbed as her words turned incoherent.


    ¡°Cough¡­ Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± Ev¨¦ cleared her throat and reassured her with a hint of guilt in her tone.


    ¡°These otherworldly denizens live an oppressed life back in their own world and I¡¯ve picked them to be my chosen ones to give them a way to momentarily escape their harsh realities and offer them an outlet to vent out their umted stress.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes they might do things that you perchance might not understand and they may even act callous at times, but I can assure you that they are also capable of amazing feats¡­You just need to be patient with them.¡±


    Ev¨¦ exined in a soothing tone as she let a hint of her touch stroke the head of the sobbing maiden.


    It was within her expectations that some Schizos would be included amongst the people she selected.


    After all, out of the three hundred people invited, majority were either veteran gamers or streamers.


    With them averaging unhealthy long hours of ying time, it was inevitable that some would acquire some sort of ¡®upational Diseases¡¯ wherein they would be partially numb to external stimulus due to having yed all sorts of games. Henceforth these Schizos had the tendency to go wild and seek thrills they¡¯d never experienced before and disregard rules to satiate their own thirst for excitement and master the game¡¯s mechanics.


    However, disregarding the fact that they could be troublesome to handle, these neurotic gamers are undoubtedly very proficient in their gaming abilities.


    Of course, there¡¯s no way to exin this all to Alice¡­


    After a moment of silence, Ev¨¦ simply said to the elven maiden,


    ¡°Just think of them as having a mental illness.¡±


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡®However, rest assured, they¡¯re not inherently bad and also willing to work hard. Just give them various tasks to do and they will eventually settle down after adapting to the environment. Besides, these initial three hundred people are just the first batch. The subsequent Chosen Ones will be more normal.¡¯


    <em>Subsequent?</em> Are there moreing?!


    Alice was stunned to hear this bombshell of a revtion.


    Sensing the unease in the girl¡¯s heart, Ev¨¦ quickly added, ¡°Ahem¡­don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t be like this forever.¡±


    After reassuring Alice, Ev¨¦ controlled her divine power once again and transmitted a piece of information onto the girl¡¯s mind:


    ¡°These are some daily task list you can give to the Chosen Ones to do, which will greatly divert their attention.¡±


    Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t intend to micromanage everything.


    Since there are native believers avable, she will then maximize their role by turning them into NPC¡¯s capable of issuingmon game tasks without her direct intervention. By giving them administrative rights to do these menial matters, She instead only needs to focus on the overall plot direction and critical game scenarios.


    This is also Eve¡¯s way of promoting yermunication with indigenous people of this world. In her vision, she wants to build a new civilization that unites yers and natives with strong cohesion between each other.


    As for her ns in regards to Alice, this holy maiden would act as the guide for beginners and be given a role as the main NPC that handles all the daily tasks, as well as the candidate for assisting yers in changing their job sses to priesthood once its implemented in the future.


    As for Eve¡¯s short-term goal, it was to have yersplete tasks to steadily raise their levels while simultaneously building their own base camp!


    This would serve as the foundation for the newly-formed elven civilization!


    After a burst of light, Alice found that something had been added to her mind.


    <em>A task list?</em>


    The holy maiden looked at the contents and murmured to herself,


    ¡°Repairing the temple¡­¡±


    ¡°Collecting wood¡­¡±


    ¡°Building houses¡­¡±


    Alice ¡°¡­..¡±


    Silence.


    <em>T-This¡­ isn¡¯t this just manualbor?</em>


    Would the chosen ones really be willing to do such menial things?


    These kinds of chores were always assigned to those low-ranking nsmen, even when the elven race was still at its peak¡­ but they are chosen ones!


    In addition, they don¡¯t seem to be followers of the Goddess nor their religion either.


    Moreover¡­ they are so undisciplined, as well as wildwless barbarians¡­


    In this situation, would they really show obedience?


    These are all tasks which require teamwork after all!


    Alice is a bit confused.


    ¡°No¡­I can¡¯t think like this!¡±


    The blond-haired girl shook her head vigorously as if shaking away the guilt she felt about doubting the will of their goddess.


    These tasks set by the Matriarch surely must have some hidden meaning behind it!


    She was their faith¡¯s sole saintess, the closest one to the Great Mother, and this must be the Matriarch¡¯s personal test for her.


    She mustplete it perfectly!


    Thinking of this, Alice silently recited ¡®Great mother high above¡¯ in her heart, then stretched out her hand and gestured a tree-shaped symbol of their faith upon her chest.


    She took a deep breath and finally looked back at the yers.


    The Chosen Ones were still being chaotic, but thank goodness no one was being overly reckless anymore.


    Watching the chaotic scenery, Alice, who had just reignited her fighting spirit, suddenly let out a deted sigh, now feeling even more overwhelmed once again¡­


    <em>How should she speak? </em>


    <em>How could she get them to ept the tasks willingly?</em>


    If they were really as pitiful as the Great Matriarch had said, and this rowdy behavior is just a means for them to let out their stress¡­


    They live in another world, filled with pain and repression¡­thus being so extreme in their actions must¡¯ve been an instinctual coping mechanism to manage their mental and spiritual pressure within themselves¡­


    Thinking of this facts, Alice felt that this group of reckless barbarians in front of her didn¡¯t seem so annoying anymore.


    The elven girl even felt a little guilty when she thought back to her own insensitive actions from before¡­


    <em>Was I overreacting?</em>


    Although that red-haired guy was definitely annoying, Alice decided to let bygones be bygones and now focused on one thing at a time.


    ¡®That guy is still chosen by the Matriarch, so maybe I should apologize first¡­¡¯


    While thinking about it, Alice finally noticed that most of the Chosen Ones suddenly fell into silence.


    She raised her head in confusion and found that hundreds of them were looking at her with shining eyes, as if they were looking at a living treasure¡­


    Alice had only seen that kind of look in the eyes of greedy human merchants and fearless mercenaries, which made her shiver involuntarily.


    Meanwhile, the yers excitedly began to whisper to each other.


    ¡°Hey! Did you guys also received the system notification just now? It says you can get daily tasks from the NPC named Saintess Alice!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I received it too as well!¡±


    ¡°Saintess! So the little missie¡¯s job ss is a Saintess!¡±


    ¡°Get the task! Quickly get the task guys! Novice task like these tend to be the fastest way to grind exp in the beginning. Let¡¯s hurry and level up! I can¡¯t wait to switch to a Mage ss!¡±


    Suddenly, as if receiving some kind of instruction, all the Chosen ones simultaneously rushed towards Alice, making her jump in fright.


    Did the Matriarch convey some kind of divine message upon them?


    With some spections in her mind, Alice tried to calm herself down and awkwardly stated,


    ¡°D-Do you¡­ want to ept some tasks?¡±


    Countless yers instantly raised their hands eagerly as if they¡¯ve be obedient students.


    ¡°Yes, definitely, yes!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the best little saint sister! Give me the task please!¡±


    ¡°Lady Alice! I want to ept the task!¡±


    ¡°Alice sister, your little skirt looks so pretty! Can you give me a task as well?¡±


    Alice: ¡®¡­¡¯


    In the blink of an eye, all the yers turned into bootlickers without her knowing how it even came about.


    Watching these elves eagerly ept the menial tasks and then leave with ted expressions, Alice was felt numb.


    ¡°The Goddess was right. There¡¯s definitely something wrong with their brains.¡±


    Gasping for breath as he finally squeezed out from the crowd of countless yers, Li Mu shook his head and said,


    ¡°Whew¡­sigh, T-This game is too realistic. Even getting a task requires jostling through a crowd¡­I hope the devs finds a better method before the open-beta otherwise everyone¡¯s just gonna explode in fury¡­¡±


    Li Mu was still full of excitement despiteining about it.


    Opening his system interface, Li Mu checked the task he had randomly received from the Saintess.


    ¡¾<strong>Daily Randomized Task</strong> : Collect Wood ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Reward</strong> : 50-300 experience points depending on the amount collected ¡¿


    ¡°Collecting wood? It seems like it¡¯s for building houses. It¡¯s not too difficult, after all, this is my old profession!¡±


    He once lived in a forest farm back in his youth and learned from there how to properly cut down trees.


    ¡°I can get at least 50 experience points doing this task alone! Moreover it¡¯s repeatable as well! Looks like I can quickly level up by umting experience points using this method! But s, it seems like it will be randomized everyday and one cannot specifically choose a task they want¡­¡±


    Li Mu said curiously while checking, before heading towards the temple¡¯s teleportation array mentioned in the task details.


    There, yers could directly teleport to the base of the world tree, a kilometer down below at the surface.


    Other yers have also began to move.


    At the same time, hundreds of elves scattered and headed towards the different sections of the Forest as Ev¨¦ watched from high above as the pieces slowly go on their rightful tracks.


    She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 15

    ??<strong>STARTING WITH A TREE </strong>


    Li Mu had a deeper understanding of the realness of Elven Kingdom as he entered this ancient forest.


    The trees around him stood tall, with interlocking grayish branches with its bark covered with dark emerald moss. Thick vines wrapped around the trees, akin toyers of oveppings, as lush grasses spread widely and grows tall up to a person¡¯s height.


    The air within the vicinity was filled with the unique fragrance of vegetation and soil which smells incredibly fresh and pure.


    asionally, flying birds passed by, chittering crisply and clearly as distant unknown animals roared with all their mysteries and immemorial bluster.


    This ce was really akin to a quintessential primeval forest.


    With the soothing, elven-style background music which echoes from within every yers¡¯ consciousness, a dreamy feeling of being spirited away from the hustle and bustle of the real world arose within Li Mu¡¯s heart.


    And as he plucked a branch and tore off a leaf, Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the exquisite production value of the game. He gazed at the clear contours of the leaf¡¯s veins and watched as pale green sap slowly oozed out of the broken stem.


    He couldn¡¯t help but exim in wonderment, ¡°Holy sh*t, I would¡¯ve really thought that I transmigrated into a fantasy world if I hadn¡¯t experienced logging in at the start, and if this amazing bgm wasn¡¯t ying as well.¡±


    His live streaming function has long been turned off by him and now switched into video recording mode instead.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t interact with his live audience very well due to the stream being heavily affected by the ¡°mind eleration¡± thus making thement¡¯stency so bad that it¡¯s nigh almost impossible to have any sort of coherent discussion between his watchers.


    After pondering for a moment on what to do next, Li Mu then opened the game¡¯s system and essed the beginner¡¯s section as he read out loud the introductory notes.


    ¡°The safe zone for beginners is within the ten kilometers radius zone around the World Tree. Anyone can freely explore and collect items needed for various tasks within this area.¡±


    ¡°Stronger monsters may spawn beyond the ten kilometers safe zone, and it¡¯s best not to risk one¡¯s life by going there before reaching level 11 under the Low-Iron rank.¡±


    ¡°The fastest way of earning EXP at the beginning is through performing various daily tasks and when one¡¯s level finally reaches 10 within the Iron-Rank category, yers can then go to the Temple of Nature to change their Job ssification¡­¡±


    Li Mu then checked the floating mini-map widget in the upper right corner of his field of vision after closing the beginner¡¯s guide.


    The map widget was circrly designed, which centered around the World Tree. Currently the mini-map only shows a radius of ten kilometers, which was the maximum range that Ev¨¦ could effectively control.


    Beyond that point was a nk void, as if waiting for yers to explore the unknown.


    Trees were abundant in this forest.


    However, Li Mu was still having trouble finding suitable target needed for his task.


    Looking at the ancient trees which surrounds him, Li Mu felt his scalp tingling in exasperation as he gazed upon the tree¡¯s trunk of at least one meter in diameter with its treetops not even entirely visible.


    ¡°These trees are just too massive, aren¡¯t they? If I had known beforehand, I would have instead organized a group of people right from the start.¡±


    He muttered ruefully.


    Each tree towered high into the clouds, way beyond what his eyesight could ever see and it took him a long time to find a tree that¡¯s suitable for the task and also easy to handle.


    It was a tree over ten meters high, with rare golden-like bark.


    ¡°This looks close to a¡­cedar tree?¡± Li Mu raised an eyebrow as he throughly inspect the surface of the trunk.


    As a university graduate who had taken some dendrology courses, Li Mu had some rudimentary knowledge about forestry.


    Although the tree in front of him were slightly different due to its outermostyer having some strange colorings, this particr tree were still very simr to the cedar trees in his memory with only few minor differences.


    ¡°Cedar is a top-quality building material if my memory serves me right.¡± Li Mu felt delighted and started to prepare the tools he needed for the task.


    Growing up in a rural area with parents who worked in the forest industry, Li Mu had followed his elders to do the same job and was quite familiar with activities such as tree cutting.


    Holding the wooden axe given by Alice when he received the task, Li Mu finally began to chop down the tree.


    <em>Chop! Chop!</em>


    Even the impact in his hand felt so real.


    With each swing, Li Mu felt like he had returned to his youth. Although the only difference was that his body was now lighter and more flexible.


    He enjoyed this nostalgic feeling very much.


    Finally, with a loud ¡°crack,¡± the cedar tree swayed a few times before finally crashing down, setting off a cloud of dust for which also dissipated after a few seconds.


    At the moment when the tree fell, Li Mu felt as if some kind of power had flowed into himself, making him feel warmth all over his entire body.


    Unbeknownst to him, this was actually the vitality of the cedar tree.


    When he felled the tree, the ¡®war sacrifice¡¯ that had been modified and hidden by Ev¨¦ as a passive skill in every avatar she created was automatically activated, and the skill absorbed some of the vitality of the cedar tree without Li Mu bing even aware of it.


    The absorption rate of this vitality can be controlled within the game system, and can be raised up to a full hundred percent.


    Although it should be noted that one also needs to have administrative rights in order to ess this hidden settings.


    Without tinkering with the settings, the default is that loot drops cannot be destroyed, and only about 20% of the target¡¯s vitality will be absorbed, such as what happened to Li Mu this time.


    Half of the absorbed energy was retained to himself, while the other half was siphoned back to Ev¨¦.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ at the moment had no interest in this miniscule amount of vitality but nevertheless, she implemented this function as a part of her long-term ns.


    The feeling of this energy surging into his body felt very extrinsic to him, and Li Mu couldn¡¯t particrly describe it in mere words alone, but if he had to, then he would say it was simply¡ª


    ¡°¡ªRefreshing!¡±


    At the same time, he noticed that his EXP points had increased slightly up by ten points.


    ¡°Oh so I can level up by cutting trees!¡± Li Mu felt delighted at this discovery.


    At this moment, he surmised that his half hour ofbor was entirely worth it.


    Li Mu shook his head after wiping off the sweat dripping down from his forehead.


    ¡°Whew¡­It¡¯s really inefficient to do this task with just one person alone. It would be more optimal to have several people cooperate instead in doing this kind of task.¡±


    Li Mu then used the skill ¡°Binding Vines¡± to tie up his harvest together before dragging it back towards the starting site.


    The ce to report his taskpletion was in an open field just below the World Tree, which was originally covered with meadows and low grasses.


    This is where Ev¨¦ nned to have the yers establish their basecamp which would also be the foundation for the new elven civilization.


    As Li Mu entered the site, the usual mystical BGM then changed into a lively tavern-like music, which made him feel attuned with the cheerful tune.


    He also noticed that there were many yers scurrying around the vicinity, who from the looks of it, seemed to have received some cleaning task and were clearing the area of weeds and shrubs.


    There were even some yers who seemed to have already started their second round of tasks and are trying to form parties of their own.


    ¡°Is there anyone doing the task of collecting wood? Our party have four members and we only just need one more person! Preferably a spell caster who have magical skills that can aid us in cutting big trees.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone here whose knowledgeable in architecture? Our team received a construction task but weck a supervisor!¡±


    ¡°Is there any logging party here that¡¯s looking for members with high STR-stats? I got skills like rage and whirlwind cut as well! I can definitely chop trees in one hit!¡±


    After looking around for a while, Li Mu eventually spotted the one he¡¯s searching for which is the holy maiden NPC, whom was currently surrounded by a group of yers.


    Alice looks to be preupied at this moment, but she now seemed to be in a rather good mood unlike her initial despondent appearance as her emerald eyes were now shining brightly, as a pure and lovely aura emanates from her.


    Looking at how she animatedly moves around, Li Mu internally swore that this was definitely the most vivid, lifelike, and intellectual NPC character he had ever seen!


    However, Alice¡¯s face would turn slightly colder once whenever she saw some yers acting cheeky with her.


    Anyone can see the NPC¡¯s Favorability value by using Appraisal Skill upon them. However, for the vast majority of yers, the girl¡¯s favorability was all in the negatives.


    This was especially true for male yers and some even stated that the current reigning lowest impression have reached a staggering value beyond minus -100.


    Their barbarian-like behavior had blindsided Alice but the biggest shock she had ever experienced was from a group of shameless individuals who started flirting with her and indulging in their every whims as soon as they¡¯d met her.


    The impression this group left upon her was the worst of it all.


    In contrast, Alice¡¯s reacted much better towards the female yers whom were much more decent and gentle in their interactions with her.


    Despite this, Li Mu could still sense a faint awkward estrangement between her and the rest of the yers.


    Watching the ever-changing expressions on the holy maiden¡¯s face and paying closer attention to the yers¡¯ expressions and movements as well when interacting with Alice, Li Mu pondered for a moment, before suddenlying up with an idea.


    Taking a deep breath, Li Mu dragged the chopped cedar woods he collected and strode over towards their location.


    After dealing with a female yer¡¯s task, Alice saw the figure of Li Mu returning. Seeing that it was just another male Chosen One, her expression then once again hardened just a little bit.


    ¡°Have youpleted your task?¡±


    Her sweet voice carried a hint of detachment to it but Li Mu ignored it and simply nodded in response.


    He was neither humble nor pushy, just looking at the girl sincerely with voice full of respect, as if he wasmunicating with a senior at his university back in real life.


    ¡°Lady Alice, these are the materials I have gathered, please check them properly.¡±


    Looking at this male elf in front of her sporting a proper attitude, Alice couldn¡¯t help but take a second look at him.


    He was the first male chosen one who could normally talk to her in this manner. Completely in contrast with the others who were either flirtatious or shameless, with their gazes full ofsciviousness whenever theymunicated with her.


    Although she did not verbally say it, Alice could clearly discern that these guys always seemed to have an inexplicable sense of superiority when interacting with her. Their gaze did not seem to be looking at a fellow nsmen, but rather a tool or an inanimate object instead.


    This feeling made her very ufortable and reminded her of those greedy humans whom hunted elves for their own pleasures.


    However, this particr male elf in front of her had a sincere look in his eyes.


    For a moment, the difort within the girl¡¯s heart lessened significantly, and her impression of Li Mu also improved a lot. Herplexion slightly eased as she nodded towards Li Mu.


    ¡°Okay, let me see your harvest.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± Li Mu said as he dragged out the wooden logs.


    ¡°Cedar logs!¡±


    Alice¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°This is a good wood! It has a strong affinity for light, and it¡¯s not only a building material for the temple, but can also be used to make magic wands too! Oh my, I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to find this wood.¡±


    The girl looked at Li Mu in pleasant surprise.


    Personally, she did not think there was anything wrong with cutting down trees.


    In fact, unlike the depiction of elves in many literary works and games back on earth, most elves within Saig¨¹es rather epted moderate logging as life¡¯s basic necessities.


    For them, the only thing that mattered and needs to be maintained was the ecological bnce.


    Her reaction slightly stunned him, but Li Mu then smiled in relief.


    What he harvested seemed to be a valuable item¡­ it looked like his luck were still just as good.


    ¡°Your task ispleted! Here¡¯s your reward!¡±


    Alice waved her hand and announced the result as a notification sound softly echoed afterwards.


    Li Mu was pleasantly surprised to find that he had received a grand total of 300 experience points just from this task alone!


    ¡°This task is very profitable and I¡¯ve leveled up as well!¡±


    Li Mu was overjoyed.


    He then impatiently clicked on the ¡®level up¡¯ button right away.


    Dazzling divine light enveloped Li Mu and a mysterious energy converged into his body, surprising Alice and everyone around him.


    Li Mu felt a warm sensation all throughout his body, akin to basking under the sun¡¯s heat, while his strength rapidly increased incrementally.


    In an instant, he felt all his senses have been enhanced.


    There was nothing more satisfying than this genuine sense of aplishment.


    One hundred experience points were automatically deducted as his level increased to level two.


    Looking at his character status screen, Li Mu was slightly pleased.


    ¡°All my attributes have increased by one point! specifically INT has increased by two points!¡±


    He then tried to use ¡°Binding Vines¡± and found that his casting speed had increased by nearly a quarter, and the skill was also stronger. He could only summon one vine before, but he could now summon two instead!


    If Li Mu was going to assess his currentbat abilities, he felt that now he could defeat his former self with rtive ease.


    Just a single increase in level had such a drastic significant effects¡­


    He then briefly wondered how powerful he would¡¯ve felt like when he finally reach level 11.


    At this moment, Li Mu had gotten higher expectations for the future.


    ¡°Congrattions on your promotion,¡± Alice¡¯s congrattory words had abruptly awoken him from his reverie.


    Li Mu then looked over and realized that her favorability towards him had already returned to a neutral value.


    He felt a little bit touched as a spection in regards to the NPC favorability system formed within his mind.


    Thanking the girl in a polite manner, Li Mu decided to took on another task.


    He nned to quickened his pace of leveling up.


    However, toplete the task more efficiently, he was ready to team up with other yers time time around.

 Chapter 16

    ??<strong>MORE THAN JUST A GAME </strong>


    The time inside the game had passed into twilight in the blink of an eye.


    Inside the Forest of Elves, towering trees with interlocking branches and thriving leaves block out shafts of light from reaching the ground¡¯s surface.


    The golden sunset shone through the shade of trees, like flickering stars, exuding an elusive serenity with its gentle afterglow.


    A melodious chorus of inflecting tune slowly resounded within the vicinity as several entangling vines suddenly emerged from the soil and slither in all directions, binding around a tall ancient tree.


    Li Mu put down his wooden wand and took a deep breath, before speaking to the person behind him.


    ¡°It¡¯s now fixed in its ce!¡±


    ¡°Nice! Binding Vines really is a useful skill!¡±


    ¡°Now we don¡¯t have to worry about the tree falling and identally killing someone again!¡±


    ¡°Haah¡­Demacia, you¡¯re just so damn unlucky dude. Heck, why is it that you were always seem to be standing in the wrong ce everytime? Just how many times have you¡¯ve died so far anyway?¡±


    ¡°Get lost!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    Several elves wearing linen armor audibly rushed forward, wielding their wooden axes as they began chopping off the trunk of the ancient tree¡­


    ¡°Speaking of which, this task is really weird you know¡­I mean, even though the Goddess is the World Tree, yet she asked us to cut down trees just like herself¡­¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe the goddess is not feeling well. Just look at how withered the World Tree is man.¡±


    ¡°This forest just seems so alive¡­the goddess wouldn¡¯t mind if we cut down some trees, right?¡±


    ¡°Jeez man, you¡¯re such a hardcore nerd.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game, don¡¯t take it too seriously.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I almost forgot that this is a game¡­¡±


    The yers idly chatted while they worked together.


    They were Li Mu¡¯s teammates.


    After the first task waspleted, Li Mu decided to form a party with several yers in order to work more efficiently.


    Amid the yells of ¡®one, two, three¡¯ and the sound of wood chopping, another lofty tree partially swayed while it was being cut. It then started to rock intensely once they had hacked past the halfway point of the lower trunk as it began to tilt in one direction.


    ¡°Push it together now! Quickly! One! Two! Three¡­!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s falling! It¡¯s finally falling!¡±


    Alongside the burst of cheers from the crowd, the once massive ancient tree finally fell into the ground, creating a cloud of dust upon impact while also startling a nearby flock of birds¡­


    The elves rushed forward again, wielding their wooden axes and invoking their shy cutting skills as they divided the tree into various segments, akin to seasoned lumberjacks.


    ¡°This tree should be enough for all of us toplete our tasks, right?¡±


    One yer wiped their sweat and rhetorically asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s plentiful enough. This tree is so big that I doubt we can even move it all in just one trip.¡±


    Li Mu spoke while he and the rest of his party members lifted the segmented ancient tree together.


    This was already Li Mu¡¯s sixth round of doing task alongside this party, and their efficiency significantly improves with each task that theypleted.


    Without even noticing it, Li Mu had already been ying the game for a whole day, or more urately, he had been chopping down trees for most of the time.


    He nced at his status screen and smiled.


    ¡°I should be able to reach level five afterpleting this task.¡±


    ¡°What the heck! as expected of a pro yer!¡±


    ¡°Goddang, we got a hardcore grinder here! It¡¯s only been what, a day? I think that¡¯s about three to four hours in real time, and you¡¯re already reaching level five?¡±


    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so popr Xiao Mu!¡±


    Several of his party members looked over him with admiration on their faces.


    Li Mu grinned, and a handsome smile appeared on his face as he exined, ¡°I was just lucky. I found a rare cedar wood at my first task, and Alice directly gave me 300 EXP points for it.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, you¡¯re so lucky man!¡±


    ¡°Is it the golden one back at the camp entrance?¡±


    People around him were turning green with envy.


    ¡°That¡¯s terrific! Damn, why is my luck so bad? Every task I¡¯ve been handed so far has been cleaning the temple, and the experience reward for that task is just so pitiful. Then, when I was finally given the task to collect wood, I was instead crushed by falling trees several times, and all the EXP points I gained was lost.¡±


    The yer with the username ¡®Demacia¡¯ on top of his headined sorrowfully.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re such a newbie man!¡±


    ¡°Being able to be crushed by falling trees everytime can be considered a talent in a sense.¡±


    ¡°Ahha, aren¡¯t you the guy that strip butt naked just moments after the server opens, and actively flirted with the NPC Alice? What a badass, I think you alone are the only man of culture in this game.¡±


    ¡°Demacia, what is your current favorability level with Alice?¡±


    Demacia opened his status screen and scrolled all the way to his social tab. His two pointed ears drooped as he touched his bombastic hair and said somewhat meekly,


    ¡°Negative¡­ negative one hundred¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh Sh*et, Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon dude, you¡¯re really going to make meugh to death, hahaha!¡±.


    ¡°Heh, no wonder you always get garbage tasks, hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Nah, I think it¡¯s simply because his luck is so bad¡­¡±


    Amidst theughter, this group of yers, who had formed a lumberjack team, joyously carried the wood together and returned to the campsite beneath the World Tree.


    The original area was covered in low shrubs, but it has now been cleared out into arge open space by the yers. Dozens of yers are partied together in pairs of three, using the collected stones and chopped wood to construct houses around the area.


    Several rudimentary wooden houses with different eclectic styles have already taken shape, and some experienced architectural yers have even built the foundation of a double-story wooden buildings.


    Looking at these newly formed buildings, Demacia couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°These guys are so talented! How can they built these houses in such a short amount of time?¡±


    ¡°Because they have prior experience! They also used magic in this game and using these skills could drastically expedite the construction process¡­¡±


    Some bystander exined and added,


    ¡°Think of it like this: we have levels in this game, right? The further we level up, the more skills we will eventually acquire, which in turn will make us stronger and expand the range of things we can do.¡±


    ¡°Of course, design is also crucial.¡±


    As the bystander spoke, he then pointed to the center of the construction site, wherein a tall and slender, pink-haired female yer wearing a robe was holding on to a blueprint made of an unknown material.


    She looks to be supervising the entire site as she gestured some kind of order with several other yers.


    The username ¡®HootyBird¡¯ was floating above her head.


    ¡°See that girl over there named HootyBird? I¡¯ve heard that she¡¯s a real pro. It seems she¡¯s studying civil engineering at some prominent university in real life, and also the one who designed several houses here as well. She¡¯s already about to reach level five bypleting all these construction tasks you know¡­¡±


    Li Mu looked over in surprise, secretly remembering the name ¡°HootyBird.¡±


    Other yers were equally amazed as well.


    ¡°Oh god, she¡¯s almost level 05 already? What the hell man, it hasn¡¯t even been a day since the game started for fu*ks sake!¡±


    ¡°Yep, I heard she¡¯s nning to design an entire town with other yers who also specialized in urban nning and architecture. I even heard that she already received permission to do so from the Saintess as well.¡±


    ¡°Damn, she¡¯s so talented!¡±


    ¡°I wish I could use my real-life knowledge in this game just like her¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your real-life talent anyway?¡±


    ¡°Ohh! Now I get it! The real purpose of the all task we were given must be to let us build a town, right?¡±


    ¡°Haha, well the main theme of ElvKing is the revival of the Elven Civilization after all! But don¡¯t tell me, do we really have topletely build even the starting town by ourselves?¡±


    ¡°The devs of this game really are thatzy huh?¡±


    ¡°Idiot, have any of you even yed Empire-Building games before? Building things from scratch is immersive experience!¡±


    ¡°Actually I think integrating our houses inside trees like the stereotypical elven dwellings depicted in most fantasy literature is far more immersive¡­think about it, chopping down trees and building eclectic houses that have so many different architectural styles feels so ¡®unnatural¡¯ in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, perhaps the devs put a deeper meaning to it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t put much deeper thoughts into it.


    Her main priority was to conserve energy and absorb divine power by converting vitality. After all, her survival was far more important than anything else so she kind of neglected designing these lesser important stuffs.


    Moreover, she was not a faith-based deity, but an ancient god who directly controlled the power of nature, so she did not have to strictly adhere to the rules of her Divinity.


    The yers can cut all the trees they wanted and she still wouldn¡¯t bat a single eyelid.


    <em>Building a novice</em> town¡­


    Li Mu pondered as he silently listened to the discussions happening all around him.


    He then carried the wood he harvested and came with his teammates to the center of the camp.


    A bonfire had been lit in the center of the basecamp as several yers gathered around the mes, nibbling on fruits they had picked from somewhere while chatting andughing.


    Meanwhile, the saintess, Alice, stood on the side, still busily checking and handling out tasks with some yers.


    For greater ease of movement, she decided to tie her long golden hair into a high ponytail. She appeared entirely focused, ignoring the few dirt marks and sweat drops on her face, which glistened in the reflection of the mes that made her look even more lovely.


    Li Mu¡¯s party arrived in front of the young maiden to give a report of their taskpletion.


    Alice raised her head and saw their party, specifically Li Mu amongst them and her eyes shone brightly in mild surprise.


    ¡°Have youpleted another task?¡±


    She had a deep impression of this particr male elf.


    Although this chosen one is rather reserved andnky, he still worked very hard and had even found a rare Cedar wood.


    Moreover, he was very polite,pletely unlike some of the Chosen Ones who are either rude or shameless¡­


    Alice¡¯s smile faded and huffed sofly when she saw the only member with distinct red explosive hair in the party.


    Demacia shuddered and somewhat sheepishly hid behind Li Mu. It seemed that the young maiden hadpletely remembered him for his streaking and flirtatious behavior.


    Li Mu cleared his throat and respectfully said, ¡°Lady Alice, we¡¯re here to hand in the task.¡±


    Alice turned her gaze back to him and her eyes once again brightened upon seeing the wood they were carrying.


    ¡°High-quality pine wood!¡±


    She then nodded at the group and said, ¡°Put it in the wood storage area. Your task isplete.¡±


    As soon as she finished speaking, all of them simultaneously received a prompt sound from the system, and they burst out cheering.


    Li Mu was delighted at seeing the 150 EXP points that had been added to his experience bar


    He could finally level up once again!


    After thanking Alice, Li Mu and his party left the location.


    Along the way, his teammates were chattering:


    ¡°Brother Mu, you¡¯re amazing! Why does Alice seem to be more nicer to you?¡±


    ¡°Brother Mu, what¡¯s your favorability value with Alice?¡±


    Li Mu hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°Not much, just only twenty points.¡±


    As soon as they heard this, the rest of the members instantly exploded.


    ¡°Not much you say? That¡¯s already high enough! I only have two points you know!¡±


    ¡°Bruh, two points? Really? Well, I have negative value, and I¡¯ve even worked hard to get closer to her for so long.¡±


    ¡°Forget it. The rest of us are also in the negatives too. I just don¡¯t get it man¡­shouldn¡¯t our rtionship points with her be high enough by now, since we alreadypleted tons of her tasks just like raising a character¡¯s gs in dating sims? Yet, Alice still never smiles at us¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard that female yers have more positive points.¡±


    ¡°The social scoring system in this game is just too difficult¡­I hope the devs patched it in the next updates.¡±


    ¡°You guys think you¡¯re miserable? Seriously, can you guys even talk like that when you all know that I have a whopping -100 points¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªThat¡¯s your own fault, idiot. Who asked you to mess with her hair anyway?¡±


    ¡°Brother Mu, what¡¯s your method of increasing your social points with Miss Saintess? Why does my score only increase by one point in every task I¡¯ve done?¡±


    Li Mu didn¡¯t answer immediately. He just walked slowly towards a tree stump and patted his buttocks before sitting down.


    The skies had alreadypletely darkened, as countless stars deeply formed a magnificent and breathtaking gxies, sparkling and twinkling high above alongside the moon with its lunar shine.


    The bonfire was burning brightly, crackling and flickering, as an amber hue tinted the whole surroundings.


    The numerous yers who were either collecting and gathering wood earlier had stopped doing their tasks and now gathered around the mes, eating fruits they had picked from the forest while chatting andughing enthusiastically amongst each other.


    There were also some yers holding parties around the bonfire. They were singing and dancing without a care in the world. Someone even made a bagpipe from an unknown material and started ying music to livened up the festivities.


    The whole campsite was filled with a jovial and lighthearted atmosphere as if a festival is currently being held within the area.


    Gazing upon all of this, Li Mu almost fell into a trance.


    He then picked up a purple-green berry that he had identally stumbled upon the road and put it in his mouth


    A white milk-like juice overflowed into his mouth as he slowly bit into it and a sweet and slightly sour taste spreads throughout his tastebuds.


    A chilly night breeze softly blew in the forest causing the bonfire to cast long shadows when the winds passed by.


    The yersughed and partied merrily as if they were living in a dream¡­


    Everything just seemed so clean and pure, as if they¡¯re very far away from the ugliness of the mundane world.


    Li Mu just sat quietly on a tree stump, gazing at everything before him with a tranquil expression.


    This feeling was absolutely wondrous.


    Unlike any of the previous games he had yed in the past, this game made Li Mu feel as though he was not ying one, but rather participating in an intriguingrge-scale outdoor camping activity back in reality.


    A group of strangers, away from the hustle and bustle of society and disappointments of the real world, came here in this game.


    To y together¡­


    To work together¡­


    To share happiness together¡­


    All of this felt like an surreal dream, yet at the same time, so unrealistically beautiful, like an illusion.


    A mirage that may only happen once in their lives.


    Taking a deep breath, Li Mu felt an unprecedented sense of calmness in his heart as he felt all his troubles washing away like soot basking underneath a morning rain.


    After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up and stated,


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of my sense of immersion. Don¡¯t you all feel like this world is real, even though it¡¯s just a game?¡±

 Chapter 17

    ??<strong>HYPE IT UP! </strong>


    ¡°For us, this is not just a game, but also a peaceful sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life¡­¡±


    ¡°Every tree, des of grass and flowers, even the most mundane things like the pieces of wood in this game looks so real.¡±


    ¡°With all our senses being fully recreated and NPC¡¯s that are so lifelike that you could easily mistook them for acutal people¡­¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­If it weren¡¯t for the game elements like the system interface and needing a stable inte connection in order to ess this game, I would¡¯ve really think that I had transmigrated into a real fantasy world of swords and magic.¡±


    ¡°Do you guys remember the promotional video? I think I have finally understood the true meaning behind the game publisher¡¯s words in that video about creating the most realistic, immersive, and epic fantasy game with the highest degree of freedom in all history.¡±


    ¡°The one who made this game really wants to depict a real world for us to explore and experience¡­¡±


    Li Mu ardently exhaled before turning to his party members, and said with a smile,


    ¡°By the way guys, have you noticed that we¡¯ve been here for so long yet did any of you actually stopped and think about what we¡¯ve been doing all this time?¡±


    The others looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions before shrugging each of their shoulders.


    ¡°Chopping trees?¡±


    ¡°Sweeping the floor?¡±


    ¡°Teasing NPC¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Mu pointedly stared at Demacia, who spokest, and borated,


    ¡°In fact, we¡¯ve been doing hardbor for almost an entire day now. If this were in real life, it would be like working as a construction worker! Who would want to do such boring work inside a game? But look, hundreds of us are excited like idiots doing menial tasks like chopping trees all throughout the day. Why do you think that is?¡±


    Demacia tugged at the fringe of his crimson hair and answered with a tone of uncertainty,


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because we can let loose here and do stupid sh*ts like going around naked or something.¡±


    Li Mu let out an exasperated groan as if fed up with his shenanigans and retorted,


    ¡°It¡¯s the sense of immersion! Everything here feels so real that we¡¯ve unconsciously forgotten it¡¯s just a game. It¡¯s as if we¡¯ve been given the chance to start a new life in another world. I believe that¡¯s the essence of this game.¡±


    The others felt deeply in agreement upon hearing this.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, bro. Now that you¡¯ve said it, I kinda feel the same way too. Maybe it¡¯s because this forest and the scenery around us are too beautiful. I feel like I¡¯ve forgotten all my troubles while ying this game.¡±


    ¡°Me too, me too! Sometimes, I wonder how great it would be if this game was actually real¡­ casting spells and going on endless adventures¡­ I couldn¡¯t ask for anything more, man¡­¡±


    Li Mu nodded as he listened to hispanions.


    ¡°Yes, I firmly believe that this immersive sensation that we are all experiencing is the essence of ElvKing¡­ The people who created this game truly are geniuses you know!¡±


    ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying bro, but what does it have to do with Alice¡¯s favorability?¡± Demacia asked as he took a sip of the beverage he was holding.


    Li Mu didn¡¯t immediately respond but instead finished the berry he¡¯s eating before spitting out the seeds. He then wiped his mouth off using his hand before responding,


    ¡°Since the essence of this game is immersion, we, the yers, can¡¯t treat the NPCs like we usually do. ElvKing isn¡¯t an ordinary game where you can simplyplete a task for an NPC to raise their favorability value. This isn¡¯t a dating-sim where the characters have a fixed dialogue. Instead, you mustmunicate with the NPC¡¯s on an equal footing as if they are actual people in real life.¡±


    Li Mu stood up steadily and jaunted towards the bonfire, leaving a profound impression upon his teammates as they viewed his back in silence. He then halted his steps and slowly gazed back with a look of calm akin to an enlightened elder teaching his students.


    ¡°As long as you are in this game, you should treat it as if it¡¯s reality. Simrly, you should respect the NPC¡¯s in the same manner you would respect a real person. Only then can you truly improve your rtionship with them. I think this is the true intention of the developers, and also the core ideology of the favorability system.¡±


    ¡°The reason why I have a favorability score of fifteen with Alice is simply because I have never seen her as just a mindless NPC, but rather, a genuine real saintess who is worth admiring andmunicating with. It is precisely because of my respectful attitude towards her that I have gained her approval.¡±


    After digesting Li Mu¡¯s words, his teammate¡¯s eyes lightened up and stated,


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it works!¡±


    ¡°No wonder Miss Alice¡¯splexion only improves a little, no matter how many tasks Iplete. It seems that my favorability value has never been high all along.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done for! Oh f*uck, why did I have to be so damn curious and tried to touch Alice¡¯s hair back then?¡±


    ¡°Bruh¡­Demacia, I think you just like to cause trouble man.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, I was just curious you know! I didn¡¯t have any malicious ideas when I did it¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it true though?¡±


    ¡°S-Shut up dude¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    As the other yers teased Demacia, Li Mu suddenly turned around and showed them a lighthearted smirk.


    ¡°To be honest, the immersion is only one aspect, but what really made me fall in love with this game is not just its realism.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The yers were stunned.


    Li Mu chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders and said,


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that in this game, your effort wouldn¡¯t be wasted since you will be rewarded just as long as you work hard? We can see our experience points rise, even though it¡¯s very little and once weplete a difficult task, we can get a big bonus as well¡­I think this sense of achievement is what¡¯s the most important factor in any games!¡±


    After hearing this, everyone nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I also feel that way exactly.¡±


    ¡°Although cutting trees is indeed slow, our EXP points are still actually increasing, however small it may be.¡±


    ¡°Although you can level up in most games through effort, I always feel that ElvKing¡¯s way of making us yers feel good whenever we gained a level is more unique and refreshing!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s the perfectbination of immersion and a sense of achievement!¡±


    ¡°The feeling of clearly getting stronger is so great!¡±


    ¡°The immersive use of magic is amazing as well!¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget the swordsmanship man! I always think that doing the Cross sh skill is so cool you know!¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    Upon seeing everyone¡¯s agreement, Li Mu revealed a mischievous grin. He then opened his own status screen while speaking to everyone, ¡°That¡¯s right. Thebination of a sense of aplishment and immersion is the most wonderful feeling. But do you guys know what¡¯s even more wonderful?¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Li Mu clicked on the level up button, much to everyone¡¯s eager anticipation.


    ¡®<em>Ding</em>¨C¡®


    With the prompt sound from the system, Li Mu ascended to level five amidst a brilliant glow.


    As he looked at everyone¡¯s envious gazes, Li Mu grinned triumphantly, revealing his white teeth beforeughing.


    ¡°It¡¯s when I leveled up and see those envious and jealous looks from you guys¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m sorry to say this, but I¡¯m one step closer into acquiring a job-ss. You guys need to work harder in order to catch up to me hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    The impromptu festival continued on passed midnight.


    However the yer¡¯s real bodies still experience fatigue.


    For low level beings, sleep is essential. Although yers can turn off the feeling of tiredness caused byck of rest in the system settings, what they cannotpletely avoid is the mental fatigue.


    What¡¯s more, the mind eleration further exuberates the rate of cognitive stress thus it is essential for every yers to properly manage their own mental health.


    If a yer simply ignores their mental fatigue, the overall functions of their real body will then decrease to some extent, and it may even lead to death, if it reach a severe state.


    Therefore, except for some hardcore few, most yers chose to rest after calcting the gains and losses of the day, nning to log out first, and y againter after their mental health recovers in a few hours. At that time, the in-game time will shift into daytime, and it should be more convenient to move around then.


    Countless yers entered the well-built wooden cabins, crowded together, and fell into a deep sleep, while their consciousness woke up back on earth.


    Li Mu also chose to log out like the majority.


    He stepped out of his game pod and checked his watch to find that only four hours of time in the real world had passed since he started ying, as if what he experienced inside the game just now was merely a dream.


    Taking a deep breath, he felt an overwhelming surge of emotion within him, akin to the sensation he got after ying a game for the very first time.


    ¡°ElvKing will be the greatest game that will go down in history!¡±


    After sighing with profound emotions, Li Mu finally opened hisputer and prepared to make a quick video review based on his recent experience.


    This time, he was going to hype ElvKing up so darn much!

 Chapter 18

    ??<strong>GAME REVIEW</strong>


    Back on Earth, only half a day has passed since the game¡¯s closed-betaunch, yet the reviews have already started pouring in from the first batch of beta-testers.


    At this moment, countless video recordings and screenshots of Elven Kingdom are constantly being uploaded to various sites and gaming distribution tforms, resulting in it appearing on the top pages of trending topics.


    One of the first people to release an in-depth review of the game was none other than Xiao Mu, a rtively famous streamer who has a decent following. As a result, his video garnered numerous views as soon as it was uploaded.


    When Ev¨¦ found the review video, a day had already passed since its posting, and by then, the video had surprisingly umted over a million views and more than ten thousandments that were still rapidly increasing by the minute.


    Ev¨¦ is somewhat familiar with this guy, because she used to watch his content back when she was still alive and living on earth. However, this time, in order to be the first to release a review, he seems to have foregone his usual style ofmentary with amazing motion graphics editing and simply uploaded himself talking without any added embellishments.


    Without hesitation, Eve clicked on the video, feeling mildly interested about his impression of the game.


    ¡°Greetings, everyone! I am your host, Xiao Mu and this is VR Corner. The show wherein I review thetest and some interesting VR games out in the market. Recently, I¡¯m sure everyone¡¯s social media feeds are being flooded with post regarding this new VR game that boldly ims to use ¡®mind eleration technology¡¯ and perfectly replicates a fantasy world like reality¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that infamous game, Elven Kingdom! Luckily, I was chosen by the game¡¯s publishers to be one of the initial three hundred beta-testers. This time, I won¡¯t be discussing any game strategies, as there are many beta testers who will surely publish theirs soon. Instead, I want to talk about my personal experience of this magnum opus of a game.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you heard me right, this is a masterpiece¡­a magnum opus that will transcend time and still be talked about even after centuries had passed!¡±


    ¡°I believe most people were either shocked by the game¡¯s trailer and doubted as to whether the gamey could really deliver the same experience. Well, let me tell you that everything that was shown in the PV is indeed true!¡±


    ¡°First of all, I believe what everyone is most curious about is the so called, ¡®<em>mind eleration technology</em>.¡¯ I too doubted its authenticity at the start, but upon entering the game, I found that the devs hadn¡¯t lied to us at all, this game can really speed up our thinking process!¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s only been half a day since the game¡¯s official betaunch, my in-game experience have already spanned an entire day! To prove this, I have uploaded the entire 12-hour recording of my gamey as well. I¡¯ve put the link to that video on the description down below¡­¡±


    ¡°For those of you whose nning to livesteam your ythrough, you may be disappointed because of the mind eleration technology. Everything in the game appears to be four times more fasterpared to reality, making the livestream looks to your viewers as if they¡¯re watching it on 4x the usual speed¡­ My live streaming audience can attest to that. Here¡¯s a short recording of the live chat at the time¡­¡±


    ¡°Just as it looks, you can still stream the game but the viewersments would have a hugetency dy on your perspective while it¡¯s the opposite for your viewer¡¯s whose watching your feed on breakneck speed, thus making interacting with your live audience in real-time almost impossible.¡±


    ¡°Nevertheless, I don¡¯t know how the developers had created this miraculous tech, but it¡¯s an undeniable fact that they can somehow extend the in-game time. This alone is enough to surpass all other online games currently out in the market! Think of all the possibilities! This will not only attract gamers but normal people as well.¡±


    ¡°As for the graphics quality¡­after experiencing the game, I can attest that the graphics of ElvKing are way beyond the current industry standard. As the promotional trailer says, it¡¯s truly ¡®the most realistic¡¯ and ¡®the most substantial¡¯ recreation of reality! It¡¯s truly an immersive experience! Not only that, but thendscapes in the game are incredibly beautiful as well. Look guys, this is an unedited screenshot I took¡­ doesn¡¯t it look way better than those heavily edited premium wallpapers?¡±


    ¡°For those people who enjoy viewing naturalndscapes, please take a look at the video I recorded of a forest inside the game¡­Look everyone, doesn¡¯t it look like those well-known tourist spots in our world?¡±


    ¡°In addition, everyone here should be familiar with my nickname. I have been looking out for bugs and glitches while I was ying, but to my surprise, it turns out that I cannot even find a single w.¡±


    ¡°Besides, as you all know, there are constantly more VR games being released nowadays. However, no one, not even the big names in the industry have yet to perfectly replicate the feeling of gravity and touch sensation in any of the games they have released so far.¡±


    ¡°But ElvKing is different. The gravity engine and sensory experience of the game are absolutely the most advanced in the industry, without any inconsistency. If I didn¡¯t remember that I was logging into a game, I would¡¯ve really think that I had traveled to another world!¡±


    ¡°As for the content of the game¡­ It seems the main objective at the present is to build a town. This coincides with the game¡¯s core theme which is the revival of the Elven Civilization. In fact, I seriously believe that this town we¡¯re currently constructing will be the eventual novice vige that will be used once the open beta-testunches¡­¡±


    ¡°I have to say that the devs way of involving yers in the game¡¯s infrastructure development is quite ingenious. I can predict that due to the yers participation, the game¡¯s historical depth will be much greater as the plot further develops.¡±


    ¡°The experience of using magic and sword skills is absolutely real, and the sense of achievement in leveling up is unprecedentedly wonderful. Personally, I am not very fond of grinding mobs to level up, but this game piqued my interest in that aspect! Although, I must admit that I only chopped trees all day to reach the level I¡¯m currently at. Ha ha!¡±


    ¡°However, what surprises me the most was none of these things¡­What truly shocked me the most is the NPCs of this game!¡±


    ¡°So far, I have only seen two NPCs in the game. The first one is the goddess named Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡­I have to say that this is by far, the best and my most favorite god-archetype model I have ever seen in all the games that I¡¯ve yed in my life. Here is a picture of her¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she beautiful and cool? I gotta say, she really exudes that ¡®<em>kneel down ye¡¯ mortals!</em>¡® aura when you meet her.¡±


    ¡°She is the personification of the World Tree, and only appears initially when creating your character in order to guide you. She will also give the yers their starter skills and as for what skills you¡¯ll get, well, it depends on your luck since itspletely randomized.¡±


    ¡°The goddess currently doesn¡¯t have any more appearances due to her still recovering her power, but it is rumored that she¡¯ll be an active NPC once she recovers her strength. So yers can look forward to interacting with this divine being when that timees in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°And the second NPC is one of the goddess¡¯ believer, the Saintess, Alice Galewind, a pure and lovely elven girl¡­ These are some screenshots of this character, beautiful isn¡¯t it? She¡¯s mainly the one you need to talk to if you want toplete some task.¡±


    ¡°Besides these two NPCs, it is rumored that there¡¯s also a third one which is an oak treant, but I couldn¡¯t find it. Some people said that they saw it lurking on the edge of the safe zone, as if exploring something, but you shouldn¡¯t dare mess with it since this treant seems to be very powerful. I suspect that this NPC is likely rted to the next storyline progression¡­¡±


    ¡°Now, I want to talk about the game¡¯s AI schematics in detail.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be missing out on alot fun stuff if you assume that the NPCs¡¯ in ElvKing are just like those in other games. That¡¯s really far from the truth I tell ya, since the NPCs in this game are definitely the most intelligent AI I have ever seen! They are so lifelike that they could be easily mistaken as real people!¡±


    ¡°This is not only reflected in their expressions and behavior but also within the interactions they have with the yers. Heck, the only thing that differentiates them from yers is the fact that they don¡¯t have their names floating above their heads like yers do! Here, let me show you a video¡­¡±


    ¡°This is a video of our interaction with the NPC when we first met. As you can see, when provoked by some yers, the NPCs¡¯ reactions are quite vivid, and even shows intricate expressions like shyness and anger¡­ ¡°


    ¡°At the beginning, most of us weren¡¯t aware that these NPCs had an advanced AI schematics. As a result, some yers acted as if the NPCs wouldn¡¯t be able toprehend their brash and silly behaviors just like the usual NPCs in most games at the present. We simply assumed that we could raise the NPCs¡¯ favorability value just as long as wepleted the tasks well.¡±


    ¡°But we were wrong. All those cheeky yers who had acted mischievous and flirty had their favorability value decline into negative digits and were given cold shoulders by Alice. She was able toprehend that they¡¯re fooling around and might even inadvertently looking down on her, which is amazing.¡±


    ¡°If I analyze it correctly, the developers seem to have implemented emotional and neural learning schematics with a sizable memory data allocation for each individual NPCs. Every action you take with the NPC will receive feedback simr to that of real humans, and the NPC will remember every yer who has interacted with them. For example, the yer who provoked Alice has only received a cold response from her ever since then¡­¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, only by truly immersing yourself in the game andmunicating with NPCs on an equal footing, can you gain their favor.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­ this is also the developers intention. If it only had real graphics and touch sensation, then ElvKing would be at most, a great game with immersive and excellent experience; but with the implementation of an AI that is so real that it¡¯s hard to discern whether they are actually human is added, the whole game experience will be sublimated yet again¡­¡±


    ¡°It would no longer be just a great game, but a masterpiece that will stand at the pinnacle of the VR genre!¡±


    ¡°It gives me the feeling that this merely not just a game, but a real world full of magic and wonder!¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is a game that has achieved what most VR games are still hopelessly pursuing¡­which is to depict a real existing world for yers!¡±


    ¡°Believe me, in this game, you will experience unprecedented immersion like never before and start a brand new life in a fantasy world utterly different from our own!¡±


    ¡°I will stop here for now since the time in-game is already approaching dawn and I can¡¯t wait to chop more trees! Anyways, this is your host, Xiao Mu, signing off. Have a great day everyone!¡±


    After watching the entire video, Ev¨¦ simply stood motionless with an unreadable expression as if digesting every words from the review. She didn¡¯t immediately leave the video page afterwards but rather, scrolled down to look at thements section.


    ¡°No wonder, so this is the reason why the yers have been taking the game more seriously¡­¡±


    Not surprisingly, this video review had once again reignited massive public discussion and attracted the attention of countless people. The most discussed topic appears to be when Elven Kingdom willunch its public beta testing.


    Seeing this, Ev¨¦ knew that one of her goals had been achieved.


    ¡°In the future, there will be no shortage of yers anymore.¡±


    However, Ev¨¦ sighed helplessly whilst thinking of her ever increasing DP consumption since the arrival of these yers.


    ¡°I underestimated the difficulty of connecting the two worlds. It¡¯s only been less than a week in Saig¨¹es, and I¡¯ve already consumed around 0.3 divine power, while the returns I¡¯m gaining from my investments is still far from enough to break even¡­¡±


    ¡°s, I don¡¯t know when would this group of yers will finally turn my losses into gains¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt her heart bleeding while thinking about her less than 11 divine power points left.


    ¡°I wonder how long would I have to wait for my DP to finally reach 100 points¡­¡±


    Just as Ev¨¦ sighed, she suddenly heard a whispered prayering from within her mindscape.


    Ev¨¦ tried to identified the source and found that it was from the oak guardian Berserker. At this moment, his emotions seemed to be tinged with excitement.


    <em>Berserker?</em> Has he discovered something?


    Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    These days, Ev¨¦ ordered him to start exploring the area beyond the safe zone once Berserker cleared the threats within the inner ten-kilometer radius zone.


    Although Ev¨¦ inherited the legacy and partial memories of the previous World Tree, these memories were rather iplete, and her understanding of the Forest of Elves was not thatprehensive.


    In addition, after the Heavenly war and the passage of thousands of years, the Elfen Forest has long since changed its topography, thus rendering her inherited knowledge obsolete so she urgently needs to explore the area in order to update her information.


    However, Ev¨¦ is limited by her own weakness and cannot personally survey the surrounding area.


    Therefore, before the yers leaves the safe zone, Berserker has be the best candidate for exploring the outer rim of the Elfen Forest.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ immediately contacted the other party through the link within her mindscape and projected her consciousness over his location¡­

 Chapter 19

    ??<strong>DIVINE BLOOD CRYSTALS</strong>


    Ev¨¦ quickly checked Berserker¡¯s situation after connecting and projecting her consciousness into the thirty meter tall Oak Guardian.


    At this moment, he seems to be kneeling while praying amongst a grove of ancient trees.


    His massive form is blending well alongside the tall ancient trees, making it difficult to differentiate him from his woond surroundings.


    This guy seemed to be avoiding something¡­


    Could he have encountered some other sentient beings that were much more stronger than him?


    Eve felt slightly anxious.


    Although Berserker was the only one capable of exploring the outer map at the present, there was still a certain amount of risk involved in sending him to survey these uncharted areas all by himself.


    One of the potential risk was that the his identity might be recognized by some other sentient beings.


    Oak Guardians are a special kind of existences which are equivalent to humankind¡¯s archangels. Therefore, they are widely known all throughout the world, mostly due to their allegiance towards the World Tree.


    Her resurrection could no longer be kept a secret once Berserker¡¯s existence is exposed to any of the believers of other religions and they somehow managed to repot it back into their respective patron deities.


    And once her revival spread to the public, every enemies of the World Tree from a thousand years ago would without a doubte crawling out of the woodworks andunch an assault against her.


    It would be fine if Ev¨¦ is in a good condition, but s she¡¯s still suffering from her pseudo-death status. Luckily the mana on the mortal realm was currently weak, and the gods stationed in the heavenly realm could not really descend to Saig¨¹es in their true form, including Eve¡¯s potential enemies.


    Unfortunately, at present, she was still in critical condition and could not actively intervene. Thus, she could only scheme and manipte things in her favor from the shadows.


    She would very likely be in danger if followers of other gods arrived, even if it was just three or five legendary experts.


    Fortunately, Berserker was originally a woond creature and could blend well within the forest. Moreover, there are only few sentient races living around Elfen Forest. ording to Alice, there seemed to be only one hostile tribe loitering around in which primarilyposed of Orcs.


    Their overall poption are mostly warriors but there¡¯s also some few priests who have the capability tomunicate with their god, Uller, the god of winter and hunting.


    However these priests wouldn¡¯t leave their base most of the time, thus Berserker would not be exposed just as long as he is careful not to enter their stronghold and quietly eliminate the witnesses who identally saw him during his exploration.


    Did Berserker encountered some orc priest?


    Had he found their stronghold?


    Ev¨¦ sensed Berserker¡¯s position and quickly dismissed this assumption.


    Although the oak treant had already left the safety zone, he was still only thirty kilometers southeast away from her.


    It would have been exposed long ago if there was an orc tribe within this area.


    Therefore, Ev¨¦ estimated that the orc tribe¡¯s location would be at least sixty kilometers away from her.


    But if the reason he was hiding wasn¡¯t because of the Orcs, then what else could it be?


    Thinking this, Eve¡¯s gaze went beyond Berserker point of view and expanded her perception behind him.


    Her eyes then froze whilst looking at a particr dpidated structure.


    Several hundred meters behind Berserker were the remains of a wall covered in thick vegetation.


    Even though it was covered in vines and weeds, the exquisite patterns on the marble remains could not be hidden, and the stone tablets carved with ancient elvish writing also revealed the true nature of this ruins before her eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s a city from the ancient elven kingdom, and ording to the elvish script written upon the walls, it should be the remnants of the once holy city of Florence.¡±


    Ev¨¦, who possessed the inheritance of the world tree, quickly reached this conclusion.


    Florence was the city closest to the world tree back in the Elven kingdom, and it is also the holynd of the elven religion.


    Of course at this moment, Florence was already a ruin.


    In fact, Ev¨¦ had the intention of searching for these elven ruins when she sent Berserker to explore the surrounding areas.


    She just didn¡¯t expect results toe so soon.


    But why did Berserker hid himself in the first ce?


    Could something have happened inside these ruins?


    After thinking for a moment, Ev¨¦ decided to directly ask the Oak Guardian instead.


    She controlled her divine power and entered Berserker¡¯s consciousness¡­


    The Oak treant who was currently praying with his eyes closed, suddenly felt a soft and warm force caressing his mind. It was apletely new and wondrous feeling and his excited emotions instantly turned into calmness.


    It¡¯s the attention of the Matriarch!


    In an instant, the Oak guardian understood everything.


    He lowered his tall head even more and looked even more respectful. Meanwhile, the majestic and ethereal voice of Ev¨¦ rang out deep within his mind.


    ¡°What is it that makes you hesitate like this?¡±


    Berserker tried to reign his overexcited heart as he gestured a tree-shaped symbol with his thick arm across his chest and replied respectfully,


    ¡°Matriarch, I have found the ancient holy city of Florence, and while exploring the area around the city, I found this thing¡­¡±


    As he finished speaking, the trunk of the oak guardian split open to the sides, revealing a tree hole. Berserker then reached in and pulled out a shimmering object.


    It was a light green asymmetrical crystal, glittering with a soft light. It seemed to have some kind of mysterious and sacred power imbued deep inside it, making people unable to resist the urge to im it for themselves.


    <em>A divine-blood crystal!</em>


    Ev¨¦, who had inherited the World Tree, immediately recognized it.


    In an instant, Eve¡¯s mind shook violently, and she couldn¡¯t help the urge to fully project her consciousness into the scene to thoroughly inspect the crystal.


    As the name suggests, it¡¯s a divine-blood crystal that is formed from the solidification of a true god¡¯s blood.


    For ordinary creatures, the power of these divine crystal is too strong and cannot be absorbed or used by them, but it is the best material for making divine and holy artifacts, or for drawing forbidden spell arrays.


    For legendary beings and even demigods, these divine crystals are incredibly precious, since they can be analyzed and studied in order to unlock the secrets behind divinities or some unexplored mythos.


    And for true gods, each divine crystal contains a trace of their corresponding divinity, in which they can fully absorb and utilize, or use to analyze the divinites of other gods!


    The crystal in Berserker¡¯s hand was a divine-blood crystal belonging to the World Tree of ancient times!


    In an instant, Ev¨¦ guessed the crux of the matter behind these crystals¡­


    It was probably the remnants from the Heavenly War a thousand years ago.


    At that time, the World Tree was besieged by the gods, and almost fell. As a result, the Elven Goddess¡¯ golden divine-blood rained down like rain¡­


    These light green crystal is probably a byproduct of that time and was somehow preserved up to this day.


    Due to the existence of the preservation spell casted upon the World Tree to protect itself, these divine blood crystals were also inadvertently sealed and couldn¡¯t be sensed by others even after a passage of a thousand years had passed.


    Hence, it was lucky for them to remain undiscovered up until now.


    But the protection spell had finally disappeared when Ev¨¦ reawakened. As a result, the seal that concealed these divine blood crystals have also vanished as well.


    Naturally, people can now easily find these crystals due to them sensing the trace of divinity imbued within it.


    What a stroke of luck!


    Looking at the size of this divine-blood crystal, it can probably bring her at least one point of divine power!


    Ev¨¦ felt delighted.


    However, she soon calmed down.


    If all that he had discovered was merely these divine crystal, then Berserker would only need to pray and offer it to her as a sacrifice, and there was no need to hide himself¡­


    Thinking of this, the solemn voice of Ev¨¦ echoed in Berserker¡¯s mind once more.


    ¡°How did you discover this crystal?¡±


    Upon hearing the inquiry from the goddess, Berserker seemed to had expected it and respectfully replied,


    ¡°Matriarch, I found it on the leader of a few goblins I had eliminated.¡±


    <em>Goblins?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was slightly taken aback.


    Goblins are a small humanoid species with green skin, long pointed ears, and the ability to use rudimentary weapons and tools. Their strength is rtively weak, with the highest rank being an apprentice level of ten.


    The goblin race are mostly looked down upon primarily due to their low intelligence, gruesome appearance, and ferocious,zy, and weak nature. Generally speaking, even the gods would not even consider integrating them into their own religion, unless its under special circumstances.


    How could there be goblins loitering within the Elfen Forest? They didn¡¯t exist here a thousand years ago, so perhaps they must have just relocated here recently.


    Ev¨¦ was puzzled.


    But she was relieved as she brought up the habits of these weak creatures introduced within the inheritance.


    Goblins generally live in underground caves or certain ruins with their own social order and ethnic groups. They probably considered the ruins of the holy city of Florence as their newir.


    So, are they the ones collecting the divine crystals of the World Tree?


    But why are these goblins collecting divine crystals when they as a species, cannot even use it in the first ce?


    Perhaps¡­


    Is there someone ordering them to do so behind the scenes?


    Ev¨¦ fell into contemtion.


    ¡°Not only that, but I also found signs of a goblin priest inside the ruins of Florence,¡± Berserker continued.

 Chapter 20

    ?? <strong>God of Winter and Hunting</strong>


    <em>Goblin Priest?</em>


    Eve¡¯s heart sank.


    Generally speaking, it is impossible for goblins to have priests within their ranks simply because they neither have the custom of totemic practice or following a proper religion.


    However, if a priest actually appeared within these goblins, then it would probably mean that this particr tribe may have started their tribal totemic customs or¡­began worshipping a certain deity.


    It would be fine if it is the former, but if it is thetter¡­


    Thinking of Berserker¡¯s deliberate actions of concealing himself, Ev¨¦ already guessed the answer within her heart¡­


    Only by worshiping a certain deity could these Goblins spooked the mighty Oak Guardian and raised his vignce!


    ¡°¡­Who is it?¡±


    A solemn voice resounded within Berserker¡¯s mind, but this time, the voice carried a hint of urgency in its tone.


    Berserker immediately understood what the divine matriarch meant and respectfully replied in his consciousness,


    ¡°ording to my observations, the deity these goblins is worshipping should probably be the God of Winter and Hunting¡ªUller.¡±


    <em>As expected!</em>


    Eve¡¯s mood dampened to a somber manner.


    The Hunting God was exactly the culprit that came to her mind first, the instance she learned that these goblin tribe had begun worshiping someone.


    She knew that an orc tribe had established a stronghold around the outer regions south of the Elfen Forest.


    With these orcs being thergest source of believers that worships the God of Winter and Hunting, this particr orcish tribe also meant that they can be used by Uller as his eyes to monitor her territory.


    Did he perhaps noticed her revival?


    It seems unlikely, however¡­


    Ev¨¦ quickly scanned and gathered all the information regarding the Hunter God within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance. The data from a thousand years ago might be outdated but having this info would still better than not knowing anything at all.


    Anyways, based on the data stored within inheritance, Uller was a rtively young deity who belongs to the new generations of gods who solely uses faith in acquiring power.


    He was said to have been born from 2,000 years ago and ascended into godhood through the totemic practices of some primitive tribes, gaining the strength of a peak low-tier god upon his ascension.


    His divinity governs winter and hunting, and he had been at odds with the World Tree, which has the authority over nature, life, and elvenkind since ancient times. He was also one of the enemies of the World Tree back in the Heavenly War a thousand years ago.


    ording to Alice, this sadistic deity did not give up persecuting the elves even after the World Tree fell and has now be the biggest enemy of the elven race.


    All this data proved to Ev¨¦ that this god must be eliminated at all cost. Uller¡¯s name quickly soared on top of Eve¡¯s kill list and she vowed to avenge the old World Tree and gain power to defend herself against this new archenemy of hers.


    In any case, it seems that this deity have now began collecting the World Tree¡¯s divine blood crystals.


    In order to find these crystals, he even recruited these widely detested goblins and epted them into his service.


    Although goblins are generally low in intelligence and provide little power of faith, they are also afraid of the strong and are very suitable asborers. Therefore, it is not surprising that they were chosen by Uller in Eve¡¯s opinion.


    However, Uller¡¯s whole gathering operation most likely only should¡¯ve just began recently. After all, these divine crystals were in a sealed state just as recently well and its difficult for anyone to easily discover them.


    Upon thinking about this, she had some guesses.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ that the Hunter God want to gain the divinity of nature and life by analyzing the crystals he collected?¡±


    Uller¡¯s divinity of winter and hunting are both auxiliary divinities, one tier lower than fundamental divinities like nature and life, making his divine power inferior inparison to her.


    And the reason why Uller has been stuck within low-tier divine power for so many years is precisely because the essence of his divinity are fundamentally weak in the first ce.


    Furthermore, winter and hunting originally were under the scope of nature and life.


    Therefore, it was not surprising to Ev¨¦ that Uller wants to gain the divinity of nature and life by analyzing the crystallized blood of the old World Tree.


    After all, for a true god like him, studying these divine crystals are the fastest way to get the information out of other divinities.


    Nevertheless, Ev¨¦ did not think that Uller would immediately equate the unsealing of the divine crystals with the revival of the World Tree. At most, he would simply assume that it was because of the disappearance of the World Trees¡¯ preservation spell since spells no matter how strong it is doesn¡¯t normallyst for a thousands of years.


    So the disappearance of it wouldn¡¯t raise much suspicion.


    Besides, Ev¨¦ was not worried at all that Uller¡¯s n would even seed.


    After all, she has now regained the authority over nature and life after she had revived as the World Tree.


    Divinities are a unique kind of power exclusive to those who beholden it, so even if Uller tried his best, he will never be able to analyze the divine power he desires for he has no authority over it.


    Uller¡¯s n had already failed the moment Ev¨¦ revived.


    But even so, absorbing the divine crystals of the World Tree even if cannot unlock its secrets, can still provide Uller with some divine power, making him even stronger.


    This is not something Ev¨¦ wants to see.


    After all, these divine crystals of the old World Tree should have originally belonged to her, its sessor. Absorbing these crystals also means an opportunity for her to quickly regain her strength!


    Thinking about this, Ev¨¦ continued her inquiries.


    ¡°What is the strength of these goblins?¡±


    ¡°Matriarch, most of them are above level 5, with a few elite ones at level 10, but the goblin priests have the strength of an Iron-ranked around level 11. s, I still cannot determine the overall numbers of these goblin priests.¡± Berserker promptly replied.


    So their strength isn¡¯t that particrly strong.


    Ev¨¦ nodded in agreement in her heart.


    Given the opponents¡¯ abysmal power levels, Berserker could easily exterminate them all with just a flick of his finger. The only problem with him doing so would be these goblins reporting it back to Uller.


    ¡°The head priest is at level 11, elites are level 10, and the rest are levels 5 to 9¡­¡±


    ¡°Their level are quite suitable for yers to train and gain experience.¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered within her mindscape.


    After doing various menial tasks for several consecutive days, the overall strength of the three hundred beta-testers have improved quite significantly, with the majority advancing to level 7 or higher.


    Moreover, some hardcore daily grinders and construction bigwigs have already advanced to level 10, the peak level of the apprentice rank, with only one level away from the next rankings which is Iron.


    With their current strength, the yers would still find it difficult to fight against other powerful Iron-rank monsters, but would be suitable enough tobat these goblins. Even if the goblin priests were at level 11 of Low Iron-rank, they would pose no threat if the yers banded together.


    During these days, while the majority of yers have been working hard toplete various tasks, the long-term repetitive work has also caused some to feel bored.


    Currently, there are already many impulsive yers who have began ignoring the introductory guide and are now trying to explore areas outside the safe zone.


    At this time, the best solution for Ev¨¦ is to provide them with something more exciting to do other than repetitive manualbor.


    Originally, Ev¨¦ nned to let Berserker constantly drive some suitable monsters towards the safe zone for yers to hunt in order to gradually raise their levels. She initially wanted the yers to at least reach level 11 first before encouraging them to explore the outer areas of the forest.


    However, the appearance of these goblins gave Ev¨¦ an even better idea.


    ¡°After all, Berserker is a druid who is an advocate of nature. Although he doesn¡¯t say it, such crude actions will inevitably affect his faith if I keep ordering him to gather wild animals just for yers to brutally ughter¡­But, these goblins are different.¡±


    ¡°They already began worshiping my enemy and are rtively weak. Hunting them won¡¯t affect the impression of the natives in regards to their faith, and a goblins overall strength is not so threatening towards the yers as well.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but letting yers hunt these goblins can also undermine Uller¡¯s n and indirectly appease the resentments of the haunting elven spirits lingering around and gain their recognition.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, the yers can also help me find more divine blood crystals thus elerating the pace of my recovery.¡±


    ¡°Ahha, it seems that I can soon get the first return of my investment from these yers!¡±


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ already had an idea in mind.


    She wanted to design a sidequest and develop the start of the main questline which is going to ur within the ruins of Florence, where the yers would go after the goblins!


    These yers are different from Berserker.


    As Eve¡¯s follower and believer, Berserker would definitely attract Uller¡¯s attention if he acted against the goblins who is now worshiping the hunter god.


    But these yers would not.


    Although they have the same appearance of elves, they are not her believers. And with them not following her religion also means that there is no divine stigma etched upon their souls.


    Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter even if a yer is a believer of her faith since their souls are still situated back on earth, and they can only connect here via their consciousness whilst using Eve¡¯s divine power as a medium.


    If Uller really wants to investigate the existence of the mark of faith, then he would first need to go to earth first and Ev¨¦ highly doubt that he¡¯s even aware of the existence of other worlds.


    Even if the yers take action, at most, they will only make Uller assume that some of the faithless elves have returned back to the Forest of Elves and should not arouse any suspicion in regards to the revival of the World Tree.


    After all, it would only be natural for the prideful elves to be angry with the goblins whom had dared to live within the ruins of Florence, the once holynd of the elven faith.


    And if there is no direct participation of divine believers, just killing some goblins wouldn¡¯t be enough to attract too much attention from the hunter god.


    Plus, Ev¨¦ did not fully believed that the goblins in Florence were the only goblin tribe that Uller had recruited. Since the goblins had already appeared the Elfen Forest, the other elven ruins scattered around the surroundings would probably be also infiltrated by Uller¡¯s minions.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ did not think that she could hide her revival for so long.


    Since Uller already discovered that the seal upon the divine crystals had been broken, it would only be a matter of time before he also realized that the World Tree¡¯s protection spell had disappeared too.


    In that case, it would be inevitable that Uller would eventually order his stronger followers in order to check the situation of the World Tree¡­


    Luckily, the Hunter God is a deity with a weak divine powers and it seemed that he was the only one amongst the Parthenon gods who had noticed the divine crystals for the time being.


    Ev¨¦ need to improve her strength as soon as possibe, before her revival is fully exposed.


    For this reason, it was worthwhile to take some risks.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ already decided on what to do next.


    ¡°Berserker, I need you to do something.¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 21

    ??<strong>IS THIS A HIDDEN QUEST? </strong>


    Back on Earth, it had already been three days since theunch of Elven Kingdom¡¯s closed-beta program, while inparison, twelve in-game days had passed in Saig¨¹es instead.


    As time goes by, more and more yers out of the initial three hundred beta-testers have finally advanced to level ten.


    Demacia is no exception.


    He became a level ten, melee-type yer just a day ago.


    However, the amount of experience needed to advance from level 10 to level 11 is way beyond any of the yers¡¯ predicted expectations, requiring a whopping 10,000 EXP values, whereas it only takes 3,000 EXP just to level up from level 9 to level 10.


    After familiarizing themselves with the mechanics of the game over the past few days, the yers have began figuring out the two most efficient methods in gaining experience in Elven Kingdom.


    It¡¯s eitherpleting tasks or hunting mobs just like in other games.


    However unlike in other games, the visualization of killing monsters in this game are quite realistic, almost as if you¡¯re actually murdering a true living being in real life. This life-like depiction of gore has made people wonder how the hell did the publishers even managed to convinced the regtory board to grant the game a license to operate.


    Many yers were initially not used to this level of carnage, but eventually some hardcore ones becamepletely numb to it¡­


    After all, it is proimed to be the most realistic virtual game! If anyone can¡¯t stand it, then they can just alter their own censorship settings to have any of the game¡¯s gory materials to be entirely pixted.


    After reaching level nine, most yers were divided into two factions regarding the issue of level development.


    Some rtively conservative yers, such as HootyBird, chose to stay in the camp and intended to focused onpletingbor task in order advance to Iron-rank.


    On the other hand, some radical yers who were eager for adventure chose to leave the ten-kilometer safe zone and test their luck outside.


    The yers could umte experience points either by performing tasks sush as cutting trees or the traditional method of killing mobs. However the avable mobs within the safe zone have gradually declined and the only ones still around have became too weak primarily due to the yers being overleveled, hence the EXP they would gain upon hunting these mobs have lessened, far lesser than that of doing tasks.


    Therefore, since the safe zone couldn¡¯t amodate their needed EXP anymore, some yers proposed to finally try venturing out of towards the outer zones, and perhaps find more powerful mobs out there that can provide a morerger amount of experience in which they needed.


    Swayed by the proposal, a few yers decided to leave the safe zone after reaching level nine. They explored the unfamiliar outer zone to test their luck and see if whether they could find those mobs that could offer a more higher experience points.


    As it turned out, their choices were not wrong. On that same day, a yer with the username ¡®Boxlunch¡¯ led a team outside the safe zone and encountered a level nine Forest Python. They killed it altogether and gained a considerable amount of experience points.


    The news of their great achievement spread to the entire yerbase, causing an uproar all throughout the various chatrooms, and many yers were tempted to copy the actions of these brave pioneers, including several yers who originally nned to advance to level 11 bypletingbor tasks.


    Nheless, the vast majority of yers still chose to follow the introductory guide provided by the system and advance steadily through the more safer method of finishing tasks.


    After all, as their level increased, the penalty for dying also got increasingly severe. Nobody wanted to lose all their hard-earned progress and start from scratch yet again.


    In fact, some yers are already feeling resentful in regards to the game¡¯s exceedinglyplex and brutal mechanism of resurrection.


    Completely reverting one¡¯s progress back to level one just after experiencing death is simply too sadistic and ridiculous in their opinion.


    Quite a lot of yers have actuallyined about it in the game¡¯s official forum for so many times that Ev¨¦ was starting to be concerned by their growing numbers¡­


    Henceforth, she finally considered making some adjustments to the death mechanics.


    Apart from that, even with the use of mosaic censorship, the vicious and gruesome way of fighting mobs made some yers ufortable. Therefore, only a minority of yers, most notably males, ultimately choose to embark on the wild adventure outside the safety zone.


    Demacia was one of these yers and exploring the vast unknownpletely excites him.


    He had died several times before reaching level five and had worked his ass off to get back to where he was currently. Meanwhile, his peers like Li Mu and HootyBird are already duking it out to see who will reach the Iron-rank first!


    He didn¡¯t want to fall too far behind his brother Mu, so he ultimately chose to embark on the adventure and invited three other male yers who are also at level 10 to take their chances.


    The four of them consisted of three melee-based yers and one spellcaster, and they decided to leave the safe zone and venture into the dark outer areas.


    As they left the safe zone, Demacia¡¯s team realized that the vegetation of the outer regions are more denser, making it more difficult to navigate around.


    Demacia and his team walked through the forest, using their weapons to cut a path while remaining vignt and searching for potential mobs to hunt.


    ¡°Man, there are too many nts here¡­it¡¯s so hard to walk with these shrubs blocking our way.¡±


    ¡°Well what do you expect, it¡¯s a primitive forest after all.¡±


    ¡°Bro, is your information really reliable? Are there really forest pythons around here?¡± One yer asked while giving Demacia a doubtful look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! My sources are credible! I personally bought the information from that well-known yer ¡®Boxlunch¡¯ with a Sun Pine wood, and that guy told me he saw it with his own eyes.¡±


    Listening to his teammates¡¯ inquiries, Demacia reassured them whilst patting his chest.


    Currently there isn¡¯t an official mary system in Elven Kingdom, thus the yers could only barter for any of their transactions. Resources like weapons or equipments were not abundant hence raw materials like wood are more widely used as an item for exchange.


    However Ev¨¦ had already implemented a contribution system as the game¡¯s mode of currency, which would be unlocked after the yers reached level 11.


    ¡°Oh, I see!¡±


    After listening to Demacia¡¯s exnation, his teammates felt relieved.


    The team continued to move forward.


    Meanwhile a hundreds of meters away, a pair of sharp, hawkish eyes were watching every movements of Demacia¡¯s party.


    It was the Oak Guardian, Berserker.


    The Oak treant was hidden in the crevices of an ancient trees, silently observing these yers, while holding a trembling goblin in his hand¡­


    He had caught the goblin while lurking on the edge of the ruins of Florence. The green creature had a strength of level 10, but Berserker had already beaten it half to death.


    As he held the goblin like a dead goose, Berserker kept an eye on the movements of the four male yers.


    Demacia and hispanions did not notice anything as they continued to chat merrily as if they¡¯re on a pic and move forwardpletely unaware of their surroundings.


    ¡°Do you guys know far have we gone out already?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I think we¡¯ve already gone almost seven kilometers beyond the safe zone.¡±


    ¡°Shhh, keep your voices down. This isn¡¯t the safe zone anymore. It¡¯ll be game over for us if we encounter an iron-rank mob here identally.¡±


    Suddenly, Demacia, who was acting as the vanguard, changed his expression and his pointed ears twitched slightly as if rmed by something.


    He raised his hand to signal for silence and whispered to his teammates, ¡°Quiet! I think I heard something!¡±


    Contrary to his serious behavior, his voice carried a hint of excitement in its tone.


    The team immediately quieted down, and everyone became highly alert.


    They lowered their bodies and held their breath as they widened each of their eyes to perceive any movements within the surroundings.


    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah!¡±


    Suddenly, a sharp and animalistic scream came from the front, startling a group of flying birds.


    Each of Demacia¡¯s teammates hearts tightened, and they quickly drew out their weapons in preparation for the inevitable battle.


    ¡°Wah! Rah! Ah!¡±


    The screams grew more closer, and they could already feel the madness contained within the creature making such noises.


    All the four male yers tensed up and quickly took abat stance with their hearts pounding in nervousness and anticipation.


    ¡°It¡¯s just right front of us¡­¡±


    Demacia said gravely.


    As soon as he spoke, the bushes in front of them suddenly rustled, and a thin and weak-looking green-skinned creature rushed out.


    The creature was dressed in tattered clothes, with a fierce expression and bloodshot eyes, and it charged at the group as if it had gonepletely mad.


    ¡°G-Goblin!?¡±


    All of them shouted in unison.


    The only spellcaster in the team used an appraisal spell, and then his eyes brightened looking relieved.


    ¡°Level 10! But it seems to have been injuried!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it has any weapons with it!¡±


    ¡°Damn this goblin is so fierce! Isn¡¯t it afraid of us?¡±


    A hint of excitement shed in Demacia¡¯s eyes. He waved his wooden sword and eximed,


    ¡°Who cares! It¡¯s just a prey that offered itself into us! Let¡¯s do it guys!¡±


    ¡°Surround it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it escape!¡±


    His teammates also shouted.


    With that, the entire team wielded their wooden swords and hacked at the goblin while shouting nonsensical battle cries.


    However, what surprised them was that the goblin did not dodge at all, and it just charged forward with its blood sttering everywhere. It felt really anticlimactic since the goblin was easily killed directly in just a flurry of swords and knives¡­


    In its final moments, a hint of relief shed in the goblin¡¯s eyes.


    The hidden passive skill war sacrifice activated in the background, and the goblin¡¯s body instantly aged and turned into fluttering ashes in the blink of an eye.


    Meanwhile, the four yers received a system prompt notifying them that they had gained some experience. However, they inadvertently ignored it, as they were still a bit bbergasted at the moment.


    ¡°Why¡­didn¡¯t this goblin just hide instead of attacking us?¡±


    ¡°I think this mob is seeking its own death¡­¡±


    ¡°I agree. It¡¯s like this goblin is running away from something¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­h-help me up guys, I feel dizzy¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, what is this?¡±


    Suddenly, one yer squatted down and fumbled out a shiny crystal from the goblin¡¯s ashes.


    It was an irregr light green crystal that seemed to contain a mysterious power.


    ¡°Hmm? A drop item?¡±


    ¡°Is it some kind of gemstone?¡±


    ¡°Wait guys, let me appraise it¡­ huh? That¡¯s weird¡­it says, unable to appraise. Could it be a quest item?¡±


    All four yers were both feeling a bit perplexed and excited.


    Just then, the trees in front rustled again, and this time, a giant towering figure appeared before them with its shadow fully enveloping the whole team.


    Berserker walked out of the woods and stood in front them in an imposing manner.


    Looking upwards at the thirty-meter-tall oak guardian that suddenly emerged out of nowhere, all four yers involuntarily swallowed their own salivas as their eyesically popped out of their sockets¡­


    ¡°What the f***! What is this!?¡±


    ¡°Holy Sh*t A tree man!?¡±


    ¡°S-So¡­ so big¡­¡±


    Demacia thought for a moment and a proverbial light bulb lit up in his mind.


    ¡°Guys it¡¯s the Oak Guardian! We¡¯ve encountered the Oak Guardian!¡±


    ¡°Oak Guardian? The rare NPC that Xiao Mu mentioned in his video?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It must be him! I¡¯ve seen some of his screenshots!¡±


    After speaking, Demacia suddenly realized something.


    ¡°No wonder that goblin was running for its life, it must have been chased by the Oak Guardian from behind¡­¡±


    And then he fell silent¡­


    <em>Wait a minute¡­</em>


    Did their group just KS (killsteal) this Oak Guardian¡¯s prey?


    Some of his other teammates also thought of this and looked awkwardly at each other, before raising their heads back warily towards the colossal NPC, ready to run at the instance this wood man turn hostile against them.


    They already knew that they could not measure the NPCs in this game with their experience of that in other games. The NPCs in this game exhibitplex emotions. Although this Oak Guardian belongs to the same faction as the yers, there is still a possibility that it is not a peaceful creature and may attack them despite its allegiance with the Elven Goddess.


    <em>What if it has a bad temper¡­</em>


    Anyway, looking at the thirty-meter-tall figure and its ferocious appearance, the group felt a little bit scared for their lives.


    This big guy doesn¡¯t look easy to deal with at all¡­


    However, the Oak Guardian¡¯s next behaviorpletely stunned them.


    They saw the giant tree man who stood up to thirty meters tall, suddenly bend his body and mildly bowed his head toward them. He then gestured a tree symbol upon his chest afterwards and spoke in a deep voice akin to an old refined gentleman.


    ¡°Esteemed Chosen Ones, I thank thee for eliminating the evil bandit for me. As a token gratitude, I can fulfill one appropriate request for your group.¡±


    Demacia¡¯s team looked at each other and seemed to still be lost in the Oak Guardian¡¯s words.


    ¡°A bandit?¡±


    ¡°Is he talking about that goblin who had that gem?¡±


    ¡°One request?¡±


    Suddenly, Demacia¡¯s face brightened, as if he understood something.


    He pped his thigh and loudly eximed, ¡°You guys are all stupid¡­It must be a hidden quest! We must have stumbled upon a hidden questline!¡±

 Chapter 22

    ??<strong>TEAMING UP WITH AN NPC</strong>


    <em>Hidden sidequest</em>?


    The other three yers were taken aback first, before being delighted upon hearing Demacia¡¯s words.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, bro?¡±


    Demacia patted his chest and said confidently, ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve been ying games for so many years and seen so much of these type of plot development than you can ever imagine!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Xiao Mu say that ElvKing cannot be measured by our prior preconceived knowledge of games?¡± Someone whispered in a skeptical manner.


    Demacia was taken aback.


    He coughed awkwardly and then waved his hand sheepishly before asking, ¡°W-Well! How will we know anyway if we don¡¯t try it in the first ce?¡±


    After saying that, he then nced excitedly over at the Oak Guardian who was silently waiting for the group¡¯s response, and cautioned his teammates, ¡°I¡¯ll do the negotiating okay? You guys should just watch and listen to me. Don¡¯t just speak out recklessly. If there are any rewards, then we¡¯ll split them equally among us!¡±


    The other three yers nodded their heads and quieted down.


    They still trusted Demacia because although his normal behavior could be consideredical and he had a tendency to fool around, he was still a very loyal and generous person at his core.


    ¡°Have your group finally reach a conclusion?¡±


    At this point, Berserker¡¯s heavy voice resounded from high above theur heads.


    Demacia rolled his eyes before chuckling in a wily manner.


    He wanted to appear harmless and genuine in order to win over the Oak Guardian¡¯s favor, but for some reason, his fabricated demeanor and temperament shed with his avatar¡¯s handsome appearance, thus creating a dichotomy wherein he still ended up having the vibes of a clown and a pervert.


    ¡°Ahem, hello! Yes, we have discussed it. Um¡­may I ask if you are the Oak Guardian?¡± Demacia imitated the other party and drew a tree symbol upon his chest, but the gesture was somewhat awkward and looked particrlyical.


    The Oak Treant paused for a moment and answered, ¡°Indeed, I am the Silver-ranked Oak Guardian. I had been given the name Berserker and the Matriarch has ordained me to find any divine relics in the name of the Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! Silver? What level do you need to be in order to reach that rank?¡±


    ¡°Berserker?..Be¡­.Uncle B?¡±


    ¡°You know what, this NPC actually looks a bit like him¡­¡±


    After hearing the Oak Guardian¡¯s answer, the few other yers in his team couldn¡¯t help but whisper quietly to each other. Demacia turned his head and red at them, doing a ¡®zip it¡¯ gesture, before looking back at the Oak NPC.


    He then rubbed his hands together and cheerfully stated, ¡°So it¡¯s Berserker, ahem¡­sorry¡­I didn¡¯t mean to be disrespectful your Lordship. The relic that you mentioned, could it be this?¡±


    While he spoke, Demacia took out the light green crystal that he had just found in the goblin¡¯s ashes.


    The Oak Guardian¡¯s eyes shed in a bit of flicker and promptly nodded.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    <em>As expected!</em>


    Demacia felt a twinge in his heart.


    He thought for a moment and carefully confirmed once more, ¡°You mean¡­this relic is precious enough that it can satisfy a request from us if we give it to you?¡±


    Berserker merely nced at him and nodded before meaningfully adding, ¡°Yes, a ¡®suitable¡¯ one that is.¡±


    He emphasized the point.


    As the Oak Guardian stared pointedly at him, Demacia suddenly felt as if all his thoughts were being read by the NPC.


    He shuddered and coughed a few times, extinguishing the intrusive greedy idea that suddenly appeared in his mind.


    Demacia hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°This¡­Can you tell us what this is?¡±


    His intuition is strongly telling him that this unnamed crystal was definitely a key to unlocking some kind of quest.


    Judging from the attitude of the Oak Guardian, it should be impossible for them to obtain this divine relic. In that case, if this crystal is really is a key to a hidden quest, then the way to unlocking it must be rted to the information regarding this divine relic!


    After listening to Demacia¡¯s words, Berserker was silent for a second before confirming, ¡°Is this your request?¡±


    Upon hearing the NPC¡¯s words, Demacia¡¯s spirits were lifted.


    <em>There¡¯s hope!</em>


    The fact that he could continue the conversation meant that he had chosen the right direction!


    Demacia¡¯s excitement grew stronger and stronger.


    His teammates also thought of this, and they looked at each other and saw a hint of anticipation in each other¡¯s eyes.


    They nodded in unison and said, ¡°Yes! Please tell us the origin of this divine relic!¡±


    Upon hearing the yers¡¯ response, the towering Oak Guardian reached out to Demacia.


    The crimson hairedd was initially stunned, but then he realized what was happening. He quickly took out the crystal and ced it in Berserker¡¯s huge hand.


    After receiving the divine object, Berserker gestured a tree-shaped symbol upon his chest and eximed enthusiastically, ¡°This is the divine blood crystal left behind by the goddess after the heavenly war a thousand years ago. This relic can help the Matriarch recover her strength faster.¡±


    So it¡¯s actually used by the goddess to recover her strength?


    Several yers were shocked to hear this.


    Then they suddenly thought of the main theme of Elven Kingdom¡­


    To assist the ancient god Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill in regaining her strength and reviving the elven civilization!


    Could it be¡­what they really stumbled upon not just a mere sidequest but rather the game¡¯s main storyline?


    The hearts of all the four male yers were pounding with excitement as they were filled with anticipation.


    After speaking, Berserker looked at the yers and a hint of appreciation shed within his deep eyes, ¡°Chosen ones, I thank thee for your help. Your integrity and bravery are truly worthy of praise. I will now go to the Nature¡¯s Temple and report the matter of retrieving the divine crystal to the goddess.¡±


    The Oak Guardian then paused and added, ¡°Additionally, I would like to inform your achievements to the Matriarch, would you like to join me?¡±


    As soon as his words fell, several system prompts appeared in the field of vision of Demacia and his teammates. The notifications were then apanied by a wonderful chime.


    ¡¾ ? ¡¿


    ¡¾ Berserker¡¯s favorability towards you has increased by 20 points, and your rtionship has reached ¡®<strong>friendly</strong>.¡¯ ¡¿


    ¡¾Berserker invites you to a party with him, will you ept? <strong>Y/N</strong> ¡¿


    <em>Team up?</em>


    The eyes of the four yers lit up.


    There is a party system in Elven Kingdom.


    After teaming up, the experience gained will be evenly distributed ording to the individual¡¯s contribution, and the mini-map will also be shared amongst every members.


    However, up till now, the yers simply assumed that they could only form a party amongst each other. In that regard, this was the first instance that an NPC had proposed teaming up!


    At this moment, almost all of them were a hundred percent sure that what they had encountered was the main questline!


    Demacia and others were utterly ecstatic, nodding repeatedly, fearing that the Oak Guardian would change his mind.


    ¡°We ept! We definitely ept!¡±


    ¡°Very well!¡±


    The giant Oak Guardian nodded. He then slightly bent down and made a gesture inviting them to climb onto his back.


    ¡°Come up, the journey is quite far, and I¡¯ll take you back.¡±


    Can it be done like this?


    The yers looked at each other and became even more excited.


    Being able to use the Oak Guardian as a mount is definitely a rare opportunity not everyone could experience!


    Sure enough, the main questline is definitely more lucrative than a mere sidequest. They can already experience riding a silver mount even before it officially bes avable.


    They almostughed out loud while imagining the expressions that other yers might¡¯ve show when they return to the camp riding on the Oak Guardian¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°C¡¯mon guys! Let¡¯s get on the ride!¡±


    They all cheered before climbing onto the oak treant¡¯s branches like agile monkeys.


    ¡°Dude, this height is awesome!¡± Someone stated while they all sat down excitedly.


    ¡°Uncle B, you¡¯re amazing! How tall are you anyway?¡±


    ¡°Hey can you move over a little bit? I want to sit here as well to better view the scenery!¡±


    Demacia and his teammates were all extremely excited.


    ¡°Get ready, we¡¯re leaving,¡±


    After seeing the yers properly seated, Berserker slowly stood up and headed towards the direction of the World Tree¡­


    Elfen Forest, under the World Tree.


    The scenery within the base camp hadpletely changed drasticallypared to when the yers initially arrived a dozen days ago.


    With the aid from magic and sword skills, coupled with constantbor of hardwork, the three hundred yers fully replicated the efficiency and ingenuity of modern infrastructure construction.


    After a few days of construction, the campsite under the World Tree had undergone tremendous changes, and the elven town, which are designed by a few ¡°yer designers¡± such as the HootyBird, had finally taken shape.


    In the center of the town was a small and exquisite natural temple, along with a statue of the ancient goddess Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill which was enshrined at the podium. Naturally, it was also the residence of the Saintess, Alice Galewind.


    In front of the temple was a spacious bonfire square that could amodate up to a thousand people. At the same time, Alice had constructed a teleportation array here that could directly lead yers to the resurrection point on the World Tree.


    Going outwards from the square were the four main roads, with various wooden houses on both sides, belonging to each yer, many of which had their own personal courtyards.


    Vaguely, a novice town with an entirely eclectic style had gradually taken shape¡­


    At this moment, it was mid-afternoon within the game.


    Countless yers were still busy with doing various construction tasks in order to umte experience points.


    ¡°Boom¡­¡±


    ¡°Boom¡­¡±


    Suddenly, there was a rumbling sounding from the distance as its getting louder and closer, akin to the footsteps of some giant creature.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s that sound?¡±


    Some yers stopped their actions and looked towards the direction of the sound in confusion¡­


    Then to their surprise, a group of startled birds fly out from the southeast of the town¡¯s forest, before a giant treant, standing over thirty meters tall, slowly walked out after parting the branches and leaves blocking its way.


    This huge treant was so mighty that it attracted the attention of countless yers as soon as it appeared.


    ¡°Whoa! What is this thing? A tree man?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s the Oak Guardian! I¡¯ve seen one on the edge of the safe zone before! It¡¯s terrifyingly strong!¡±


    ¡°Why did ite to our camp?¡±


    The yers immediately made a hugemotion, as they ogled the colossal NPC with their extremely curious eyes.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Aren¡¯t one of those people on its shoulder Demacia?¡±


    Suddenly, someone with sharp eyes spotted the people on the Oak Guardian¡¯s shoulder and eximed in disbelief.


    Upon hearing this, the yers were all stunned.


    As the Oak Guardian approached, Demacia¡¯s smug and triumphant expression caught everyone¡¯s eye, and the yers exploded in a frenzy.


    ¡°Oh god! It¡¯s really Demacia, that idiot!¡±


    ¡°It really is them! How did they manage to sit on the Oak Guardian¡¯s shoulder?¡±


    ¡°So cool! I¡¯m so jealous dammit!¡±


    ¡°¡­What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Hey Demacia! Demacia! Can you hear me? How did you do it?¡±


    In an instant, all the yers within the vicinity paused what they¡¯re doing and rushed over as they gathered around the Oak Treant with curiosity and excitement.


    Looking at the envious and puzzled expressions around him, Demacia ced a hand and grabbed one of the vines that¡¯s hanging down from Berserker¡¯s head and stood up.


    He ced both his hands towards his waist and tilted his head back before proudly proiming,


    ¡°Ha Ha Ha! Listen to me everyone, my team and I triggered the main questline!¡±


    <em>The main questline!?</em>


    As soon as these words were spoken, the already chaotic scene devolved even further.

 Chapter 23

    ??<strong>EV¨¦ YGGDRASILL</strong>


    ¡°What? Did I hear that right? They triggered the main questline?¡±


    ¡°Does this game really have a main questline?¡±


    ¡°Is this your lucky day, Demacia?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the quest? Is it really the main questline?¡±


    The yers¡¯ discussions all around them were buzzing with excitement.


    Demacia and hispanions felt extremely pleased as they gazed at the small yers down below while proudly standing upon the shoulder of the Oak Guardian.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m just that lucky!¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha! We can¡¯t tell you anything, but just so you guys know, we¡¯re now going to the temple to personally see the goddess!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about the detailster! Ha ha ha!¡±


    Their voices were just oozing with vanity.


    ¡°They¡¯re meeting the goddess?¡±


    ¡°No way!?¡±


    ¡°Is it the goddess Ev¨¦!?¡±


    ¡°Ahrrgh! Goddammit, why was it not me who triggered the main questline instead of those idiots? I¡¯m so freakin¡¯ jealous, man!¡±


    ¡°What kind of quest is it that it even involves the goddess directly?¡±


    ¡°Well they did say that its the main questline, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°The rewards for this quest must be very generous¡­¡±


    ¡°This is just too enviable!¡±


    The rest of the yers were just full of envy and resentment as they continued on specting the matters regarding the main questline.


    Berserker didn¡¯t pay much attention to any of the other yers harping about the quest and just silently walked towards the Nature¡¯s Temple situated along the central square of the town.


    As he advanced, some yers followed behind him with each of their faces etched with excitement and curiosity akin to an army of ducklings trailing behind a mother goose.


    ¡°Hurry up guys, we need to catch up to them! Let¡¯s see what¡¯s going to happen!¡±


    ¡°This huge treant NPC is so cool!¡±


    ¡°Quick, let¡¯s take a screenshot and upload it in the forum!¡±


    ¡°What kind of quest is it? Why can¡¯t they tell us anything about it?¡±


    ¡°Hey slow down! slow down a little bit! I want toe up too!¡±


    There were even some few overly excited yers who wanted to climb up to Berserker¡¯s leg just like Demacia¡¯s team but¡ª


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    ¡ªApanied by a deep cold snort, Berserker merely nced coldly at the few daring yers who was recklessly attempting to climb up his feet.


    A powerful pressure then swept across the entire area with the Oak Treant at its epicenter, causing the reckless yers to stop what their doing as they involuntarily trembled before falling down into the ground.


    Immediately, there was silence among the yers just after it happened. The tense momentst for about a couple of seconds before it was reced by an eruption of excitement as if the pressure wasn¡¯t effective at all!


    ¡°Hot damn! This wood man sure have a strong pressure!¡±


    ¡°Dude that¡¯s just terrifying¡­just how high is the level of this Oak Guardian NPC anyway?¡±


    ¡°Definitely beyond Iron-rank, maybe even around the Silver-rank mentioned in the game¡¯s info?¡±


    ¡°So scary!¡±


    ¡°That one nce from him almost scared me to death.¡±


    The yers broke out in a cold sweat and eventually, the majority of them calmed down. Surprisingly, the few reckless ones did not try to do anything further as well. Hence as a result, no one dared to offend the Oak Guardian anymore.


    Soon, Berserker, who carried Demacia and his teammates, finally arrived at the front of the Temple.


    At this moment, the saintess Alice, who had received the oracle from Ev¨¦ much earlier, had already been awaiting for their arrival for quite some time.


    Berserker knelt down on one knee once again, before Demacia and the others jumped down from his body as they hopped along his branches to reach the ground.


    After all the four male yers safely climbed down from the treant, Berserker promptly stood up and chanted a rhythmic incantation, followed by his body slowly shrinking to only a four meters size in the blink of an eye¡­


    Alice smiled sweetly as she looked respectfully at the calm and reliable Oak Guardian in front of her.


    ¡°Praise be thy Goddess, the Mother of all! Wee back, Lord Berserker.¡±


    She drew a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest.


    ¡°Praise be thy Goddess, the Mother of all! Saintess, the anointed one.¡±


    Basaka responded formally in the same manner.


    Alice nodded and then finally turned around to wee as well the yers that came along with the Oak Treant. However, her smile faded a bit when she saw the face of Demacia.


    With a light sigh, she said with a little bit of uncertainty in her tone, ¡°Follow along with me, the ceremony is ready.¡±


    Then she just turned around and walked towards the interior of the temple without making any further attempts at conversation.


    Demacia just smiled awkwardly and then signaled to his teammates with his eyes before following along behind the holy maiden.


    Before entering the door, he then paused for a moment, thought for a bit, and turned on the built-in recording function of the system.


    Berserker walked at the rear end of the group. However as they were about to enter the temple¡¯s door, he stopped for a moment and said to the other yers who had followed along with him,


    ¡°Outsiders are not allowed in.¡±


    His voice was deep and he stated it in amanding tone that could not be refuted.


    After giving that warning, the Oak Treant simply walked inside after closing the doors of the temple.


    ¡°Damn! Why are they being all so mysterious?¡±


    ¡°I really want to see what¡¯s happening inside!¡±


    ¡°The windows! Quick, peek through the windows! The window¡¯s still not closed!¡±


    For a while, arge wave of yers peeked through any of the avable openings such as the windows or they tried to listen as they nted their ears close to the walls, and some even squinted their eyes through the gap in the door just to see anything inside¡­


    Inside the temple.


    Demacia and his teammates looked around curiously.


    Although this temple was also built by yers, his team did not participate in its construction, and this was their first time entering inside.


    Because the construction had just beenpleted recently, the temple was still very much empty, and the only noteworthy things inside are the small altar with a statue of the goddess on a podium.


    Around the altar were engravings of mystical magic arrays, with faint fluctuations of divine power emanating from within the magical circle as it releases a power that could soothe one¡¯s heart.


    Even Demacia and his teammates were affected by such soothing power and their initial excitement gradually calmed down as well.


    Alice and Berserker knelt down respectfully in one knee towards the statue of the goddess, and gestured a tree-shaped symbol upon their chests.


    They then devoutly proimed with their voices echoing with reverence and adoration,


    ¡°Praise be thy Mother of Nature.¡±


    ¡°Praise be thy Goddess of Life.¡±


    ¡°Praise be thy Great Matriarch of the Elvenkind¡ªEv¨¦ Yggdrasill!¡±


    After speaking, the two NPCs turned their heads and looked expectantly at the four yers.


    Demacia and the others were stunned for a moment. They looked at each other dumbfoundedly before reacting in unison as they all got down on one knee in the same manner and drew the tree symbol upon their chest just like the indigenous believers before shouting,


    ¡°Praise be thy Mother of Nature. Praise be thy Goddess of Life. Praise be thy Great Matriarch of the Elvenkind¡ªEv¨¦ Yggdrasill!¡±


    As soon as they finished speaking, the statue upon the altar suddenly burst into a golden light as it enveloped the entire group¡­


    Demacia suddenly felt a strong mystical force pulling along his consciousness. His vision suddenly turned nk, as the control of his body was suddenly stripped away from him in an instant.


    <em>Could this be¡­a cinematic cutscene?</em>


    His heart trembled.


    Apanied by an indescribable sense of weightlessness, Demacia gradually regained control of his body.


    His vision also gradually recovered.


    When Demacia opened his eyes and looked around to see where he was, he was suddenly stricken with a profound sense of shock that he couldn¡¯t even close his mouth at all.


    He found himself in an incredibly magnificent temple within a vast space as several huge stone pirs carved with exquisite,plicated patterns on both sides supported the entire structure.


    The temple seemed to be adrift along the starry skies. As profound and magnificent cosmic wonders could be discerned through the vicinity on both sides whilst the gxies from up above bathed them with extremely mysterious and bright radiance.


    Faint prayers and solemn chanting could be hearding from somewhere within the cosmic void. It soundedpletely obscure but no one could deny the divine and mysterious sentiment it embodies, making one¡¯s mind inexplicably calm while also producing a heartfelt awe and admiration to anyone who hears it.


    In front of the temple was a high podium, with mysterious and ancient characters painted on its sides and enigmatic symbols carved into it. The content of the symbols hinted at nature, life, and elves¡­


    On the tform was an intricate divine throne constructed entirely of gold as various vines and flowers, and even branches entuate its features.


    A graceful figure exuding a sacred radiance was sitting atop of the throne as she gives off the dignity of a sovereign whilst looking down at the new arrivals with profound gaze.


    It was the old ancient god, Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill in the flesh.


    She was wearing a white divine dress adorned with floral patterns along with a beautiful and luxurious crown of wreath ced on top of her head.


    Her long tinum straight hair reached all the way down to her waist as it glistened in an otherworldly light. Whereas her gorgeous and abstruse amethyst eyes radiated the brilliance of a divine power, making her overall countenance akin to a being that can only exist within a fantasy¡­.


    An aura of holy light covered her entire body, as she simply sat there silently, with one hand supporting her smooth chin while the other taps the armrest of the divine throne in a slow and rhythmical manner.


    A faint smile could be seen upon her lips, with an amiable yet still dignified visage.


    Ev¨¦ looked at her visitors, with profound eyes as deep as the starry skies, as if her simple gaze alone contained all the mysteries of the entire gxies around them. She then finally opened her mouth as her voice resounded in a transcendent and ethereal tone.


    ¡°Chosen ones, we meet again.¡±

 Chapter 24

    ??<strong>FIRST ACT OF THE MAIN QUESTLINE </strong>


    Ev¨¦ idly sat upon the divine throne she had created within her mindscape while enigmatically smiling at these fresh batch of people she had just pulled in from the outside.


    Yes, this is a space within her own consciousness.


    Everything here was created by Ev¨¦ based upon the Heavenly Temple of the Natural Mother back in the ancient period that¡¯s stored within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance.


    The yers from earth to put it simply, are merely just consciousness entities that were pulled in by her through Eve¡¯s connection with the inte, thus they could naturally be brought along into her mindscape simply by altering their connections and redirecting it into this special space.


    Berserker and Alice on the other hand, are already her followers that already have direct linkage with her thus they could also be summoned by her.


    Although Eve¡¯s current state was still very poor and she didn¡¯t have the necessary divine power to create a temporal avatar for them, it was different story if its done within the space of her own consciousness.


    Here, everything can be materialized simply just by using the power of her own imagination, thus she could create whatever she wanted, making it the best ce in tricking people.


    The discovery of these Divine Blood Crystals was crucial for Eve¡¯s further recovery. If handled properly, just by acquiring these things could give her a chance to turn her current disadvantageous situation around, so she decided to personally intervene this time.


    In addition, Ev¨¦ also wanted to reinforced her impression amongst the yers and cultivate their awareness and desire to fight for her¡ª<em>ahem or rather</em>, for the Elven Kingdom per se.


    Essentially, she wanted to establish her leadership position within the game.


    After all, Eve¡¯s role was not just a mere GM operating behind the scenes but also an important NPC whose actively guiding the yers. If she solely relied upon the indigenous people for everything, then she would be no different from a background character with no impact whatsoever.


    These yers wouldn¡¯t care at all whether she is a god or a tree for these guys won¡¯t truly support her unless they somehow benefit from her or recognize her as an important character. Therefore, she needs to actively participate within the game itself in order to integrate herself within their own hearts.


    And as it turned out, Eve¡¯s chosen entrance turned out to be a good choice.


    Not to mention Berserker and Alice, who were already moved to tears and are currently devoutly worshipping her for they were called upon their own patron goddess, the four yers from earth werepletely stunned as well.


    Although they had already seen her once during the character creation right at the beginning, The Ev¨¦ at the time was only a preprogrammed procedure set up within the game system, and the shock it gave the yers that time was far less than that of this current instance just now.


    The magnificent and grand temple situated under the magnificent starry skies along with the sacred and ethereal chants that¡¯s softly echoing within the background and finally, the immacte divine holy figure whom nobody could have any dirty or sphemous thoughts about.


    <em>A true god! This was truly a real god!</em>


    This existence is the apex of this world, the true ruler of Elven Kingdom!


    When Demacia first entered the temple, he had this rather bold idea of trying to use appraisal skill upon this divine being, but when he actually saw Ev¨¦, all these intrusive thoughts had instantly disappeared. He was instead left with an instinctive awe that ordinary people like him might¡¯ve felt upon encountering something way beyond their own understanding andprehension.


    At this moment, Demacia even almost forgot that he was currently ying a game¡­


    There was only one thought within his mind right now; ¡®Lady Goddess, are you still epting believers?¡¯


    ¡°Divine Matriarch, Your Majesty¡­¡±


    While Demacia was lost in his own thoughts, the fervent voice of the Oak Guardian, Berserker, resounded at the same time.


    ¡°I have brought back the sacred artifacts that belongs to you.¡±


    After speaking, he then knelt down on one knee and held up a pale green crystallized divine blood upon his hands, while respectfully lowering his head.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Ev¨¦ whose sitting on the throne just nodded lightly with her majestic voice containing a mix of kindness and satisfaction. She then idly ced her right hand upon the throne¡¯s armrest and began tapping its metallic surface with her finger in a rhythmic manner, as the pale green crystal in Berserker¡¯s hand flew up and merged into her body.


    As the divine blood crystal merged into her, the magnificent temple trembled slightly and the holy light encapsting her became even more dazzling, as well as the background chanting became even more pronounced. Her audience within the temple also felt that the goddess¡¯s power seemed to have grown faintly stronger just after assimting the sacred artifact¡­


    Ev¨¦ was pleasantly surprised at this oue as she felt the momentary increase of her divine power as it arose up to twelve points.


    ¡°Congrattions upon the Divine Matriarch for being one step closer to your former glory!¡±


    Alice and Berserker were pleased and began congratting the goddess, as if they also felt her inner joy. Seeing their devoted actions, Demacia and the other three yers also hurriedly imitated them as they congratted the goddess as well.


    After speaking, the Oak Guardian began gesturing to the four yers and stated, ¡°Divine Matriarch, Your Majesty, its due to these several brave and righteous chosen ones, that we were able to sessfully recover the artifact at this time.¡±


    <em>It¡¯s thanks to them? How could it be¡­him!? </em>


    Alice couldn¡¯t help but turn her head sideways and look incredulously particrly at Demacia.


    After hearing Berserker¡¯s words, these four yers was also surprised and they all thought of one thing,


    <em>The highlight of this event was about to begin! </em>


    The grand temple fell silent just then, with only the rhythmic tapping of Eve¡¯s finger upon the throne¡¯s armrest being heard as the four yers awaited her decision with bated breath.


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    ¡­.


    Apanied by a gentle tapping sound of her finger, Eve¡¯s solemn and dignified voice finally resounded.


    ¡°I already know the cause and effect of this matter. Chosen ones, thank thee for your assistance.¡±


    With the goddess¡¯s gratitude, a new system prompt appeared within Demacia¡¯s peripheral vision.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>The main questline has been triggered:</strong> The Resurrection of the Goddess! ¡¿


    <em>A questline hase!</em>


    It¡¯s really the game¡¯s plot!


    What¡¯s more, it¡¯s even the main questline!


    They actually triggered the core plot of the game!


    All the four yers rejoiced immediately upon seeing this notification.


    In recent days, some beta-testers have been discussing as to when will the main questline be implemented and in what manner it would start. However, what they did not expect was that it would be triggered by the yers themselves.


    Not only that, it seems that the honor of triggering the main storyline is going to fall upon Demacia and his party!


    ¡¾ Activate option dialogue mode¡­please choose a representative tomunicate with the goddess. ¡¿


    A system prompt popped up once again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it guys. I have yed a lot this kind of visual novel type of games before and had also yed thousands of characters strategically.¡±


    Demacia made an eye contact with his teammates before he took a step forward whilst sporting a calm and proud expression.


    However, his behavioral tics of rubbing his fingers had easily revealed his inner nervousness.


    ¡¾ Representative confirmed: <strong>Demacia</strong> ¡¿


    After the the four yers had confirmed their selection, Eve¡¯s sacred and ethereal voice echoed within their ears once more.


    ¡°Chosen ones, what kind of reward do you want?¡±


    As soon as she finished speaking, three visual options appeared within Demacia¡¯s peripheral view.


    ¡¾ <strong>Option A</strong>: Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, we righteous and selfless chosen ones do not need rewards! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option B</strong>: Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, serving you is our duty. We do not need such rewards! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option C</strong>: Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, could you talk about the matter of the divine artifact? ¡¿


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Goddammit, surely the people who had came up with these dialogue options must have had a few screw loose up their brains!


    Demacia chided within his heart but answered with a joyful facade, ¡°Y-Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, could you talk about the matter of the divine artifact?¡±


    After hearing his words, the expression of the goddess softened just a little bit.


    She nodded gently and exined, ¡°This is the crystalized blood of the World Tree, which was scattered all throughout the Elfen Forest after the Heavenly War a thousand years ago. Now, Uller is dispatching his minions¡ª<em>those evil goblins</em>, to collect these crystals in order to obtain the power that originally belongs to me.¡±


    After a brief pause, she then continued to borate,


    ¡°Uller is the God of Winter and Hunting, as well as my primary enemy. He also participated in the Heavenly War that destroyed the elven civilization a thousand years ago.¡±


    <em>Uller the god of Winter and Hunting? Another god?</em>


    And the goddess clearly regarded this new god as her enemy!


    Each of the four yers¡¯ hearts skipped a beat as they all realized that this was the beginning of the lore behind the main questline.


    After the goddess finished speaking, several new options appeared within Demacia¡¯s field of vision.


    ¡¾ <strong>Option A:</strong> Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, do you need our help? ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option B:</strong> Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, can we do anything for you? ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option C:</strong> Your highness, the Supreme Goddess, can we be your power? ¡¿


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Were there any differences between these options in the first ce!?


    ¡°¡­Your Highness, can we do anything for you?¡± He decided to simply randomly selected one as his response.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Eve¡¯s smile became even more brilliant.


    ¡°I need your power in order to disrupt Uller¡¯s devious schemes and strengthen my recovery for my eventual revival.¡±


    After uttering these words, she then raised her hand as a gentle divine power surged out from her fingers as it coalesce in midair and transformed into a visual projection depicting a real scene from the outside world.


    It was a broken wall covered with vine-like nts, and numerous goblins appears to be lurking there, as they offered greenish crystals as sacrifices on an altar to some god they worshiped¡­


    ¡°Once upon a time, this ce was once known as the holy city of the elven kingdom¡ª<em>Florence</em>. But currently as you can see, it has been reduced to mere ruins¡­a shell of its former glory.¡±


    Eve¡¯s voice carried a hint of sorrow and sadness as she briefly exined the origins of the said ruins.


    ¡°Now, this ruins has be a goblins¡¯ir. These creatures dwell deep within there, profaning the glory of the elves and stealing the power that originally belongs to the World Tree¡­Unfortunately, my strength has not yet been fully restored, and I cannot take action myself, lest I attract Uller¡¯s attention.¡±


    After she spoke, the goddess then looked over at the group with anticipation.


    ¡°Chosen ones, are you willing to take upon the quest of eliminating these vile evil desecrators and help me in reiming my power?¡±


    ¡¾ <strong>Option A:</strong> Your highness, the supreme goddess, we are willing! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option B:</strong> Your highness, the supreme goddess, we will not hesitate! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Option C:</strong> Your highness, the supreme goddess, we will do our best! ¡¿


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He was already feeling numb to these kind of ¡®options.¡¯


    Nevertheless, with the goddess looking at him in anticipation, he would not really change his answer even if there was actually no other choice in the first ce.


    Not to mention, this also involved the main questline.


    ¡°Your highness, the supreme goddess, we are willing!¡±


    Demacia replied.


    As his voice fell, the system¡¯s prompt sound can be heard once again,


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Chapter One</strong> : Main Questline Begins! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Act One</strong>: Uller¡¯s Conspiracy ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Activation of the main quest</strong>: Former Holy City ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest objectives</strong> ¡¿


    ??Establish a stable teleportation array within Florence.


    ??Eliminate the goblins upying the holy city of Florence.


    ??Retrieve the divine blood crystals belonging to the World Tree.


    ¡¾<strong>Quest time limit</strong>: No restriction¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of yers</strong>: No restriction¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest level</strong>: 9+¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest rewards</strong>: Completing any objective has the chance to earn experience points, perfect resurrections, and quest contribution points. ¡¿


    ??<strong>Quest hint 1</strong>: Berserker has the map coordinates for Florence and can be approached for it.


    ??<strong>Quest hint 2</strong>: Alice Galewind can draw teleportation arrays and can be asked for assistance.


    ??<strong>Quest hint 3</strong>: Unity is strength. The number of goblins is numerous, so please team up with other yers.


    ??<strong>Quest hint 4</strong>: The death risk for this quest is extremely high. Please try to ensure that you have obtained perfect resurrection times before engaging into battle. yers with the perfect resurrection buff will not lose levels upon resurrection, and the buff can resurrect a yer once with all their status intact.


    The Perfect Resurrection feature is Eve¡¯s modification to the resurrection mechanism of the game.


    In order to make the yers fight more confidently and work harder, she had specifically added this new feature of resurrection without any heavy punishment at all.


    For Ev¨¦, the cost of resurrecting a body is quite insignificant, and it is even way cheaper inparison to the cost of creating a yer¡¯s body right from scratch.


    Of course, if yers want to obtain perfect resurrection, then they mustplete various tasks first¡­


    The beginning of the main questline!


    Upon seeing the system prompt, all four yers were immediately excited.


    They have really triggered the main storyline! And it¡¯s the first act!


    When they saw the rewards, their eyes lit up as well.


    ¡°A Perfect Resurrection? It even guarantees the same level after dying and resurrecting!?¡±


    What a treasure! Such a good one!


    As an unlucky guy who died several times before reaching level five, Demacia almost cried when he saw this reward.


    His teammates also patted his shoulder excitedly.


    ¡°Brother! Well done! You selected all the options correctly!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    His mouth twitched involuntarily and replied, ¡°You guys would have selected all of them correctly too.¡±


    While these four yers were still excited, Eve¡¯s voice came once more,


    ¡°Brave chosen ones, I thank you for your support. In order to express my gratitude, I will grant you an exclusive title and the rewards you so justly deserve.¡±


    There are even titles and rewards!?


    All four of them were overjoyed as their eyes lit up in anticipation.


    Demacia smiled gleefully and pped his thigh.


    ¡°Exactly! How could there be no rewards for triggering the main act!¡±


    ¡°All hail the goddess!¡±


    Amidst the cheers of these four yers, Ev¨¦ waved her right hand as a new prompt entered their visions.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>You have obtained the exclusive title</strong>: Protector of the World Tree. ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>You have obtained the reward</strong>: 5x Perfect Resurrection chances. ¡¿

 Chapter 25

    ??<strong>ARE THESE PEOPLE EVEN RELIABLE? </strong>


    As the system prompt reverberated within their minds, all the four yers discovered that a purple title had been added just below their green usernames.


    <em>Protector of the World Tree.</em>


    It looked very fancy with its cool font, and it even had a somewhat shing effect added to it.


    ¡°Whoa! An exclusive title!¡±


    ¡°Five perfect resurrections?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡±


    Demacia and his party all felt extremely excited after receiving their rewards.


    ¡°Brave chosen ones, please take my blessings and embark upon your journey once more,¡± Ev¨¦ said with a smile as she waved her hand, sending their consciousness back to the outside world of Saig¨¹es.


    With the four yers departure, only Alice and Berserker were left in the temple¡¯s hall.


    ¡°Alice, Berserker, this matter concerns my revival. Both of you should assist them properly.¡± Ev¨¦ instructed as she gave her two believers a profound look.


    ¡°Yes, Divine Matriarch.¡± The two native followers answered simultaneously in a respectful manner.


    ¡°Divine Matriarch, Your Majesty¡­¡± Berserker, the Oak Guardian, hesitated for a moment, seemingly to have something to say to her.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Ev¨¦ nodded.


    With the permission of their patron god, Berserker breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully asked,


    ¡°Actually¡­ you could have just let me convey the instructions instead, and there was no need to personally direct and summon them here upon your sacrednd, right?¡±


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t answered right away but instead gave the oak treant an inquisitive look before chuckling in amusement.


    ¡°No need to direct and summon them here in person, was it?¡±


    Berserker lowered his head and answered in a deep voice, ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Ev¨¦ lightly tapped the armrest of the divine throne, and the only sound left within the temple was the echoing of her finger as it rhythmically hit the throne¡¯s metallic surface.


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    ¡°Tap¡­¡±


    After a moment, she let out a softugh and said, ¡°This is simply their way of entertainment, you will understand it in the future.¡±


    With that, she waved her hand again and sent the two followers out of her mindscape.


    Demacia and the rest of his party all felt dizzy as they found themselves back inside the natural temple in the novice town where they originally came from.


    At this moment, they all had an exclusive title hovering above their heads, and the system bar showed an additional line;


    ¡°Perfect Resurrection Count: x05.¡±


    The group exchanged a brief nce, before cheering out loud and rushing out of the temple with joyous steps.


    ¡°Hahaha! I have to share this news with everyone!¡±


    ¡°Exclusive title! Hehe, its just only us four that have this limited edition title!¡±


    ¡°I recorded the entire cutscene just now. It was just so exciting man. I will upload it to the video tform as soon as possible!¡±


    As the group pushed open the door of the temple, they soon found out that the surrounding area was already jam packed with a lot of yers.


    Excitedly, Demacia shouted, ¡°Brothers and sisters! We have triggered the main questline! We have a main quest!¡±


    However, at this moment, the yers within the small town were already in a frenzy and ignored their promation.


    ¡°Hey let¡¯s team up to explore this new dungeon! It¡¯s called holy city of Florence right? Anyways, we need a level 10 melee-based yer, possibly also aren¡¯t squeamish with blood and gore either!¡±


    ¡°We need a spellcaster proficient with CC (crowd control) magic! We are a party of four and only need one more member!¡±


    ¡°Does anyone have an experience with being a party leader? Our team needs a leader!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­???¡±


    The four yers who just came out of the temple stared dumbfoundedly at the bustling crowd of yers within the entire vicinity.


    <em>Hmm? </em>


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    Howe it feels like everyone here already knows the matters regarding their conversation with the goddess in an instant?


    At this moment, a yer approached him and gave him a thumbs up.


    ¡°Demacia, you guys are amazing! You actually triggered the main questline!¡±


    ¡°It was so great! Dude, I also want to talk to the goddess!¡±


    Hearing the other¡¯s words, Demacia was slightly stunned.


    ¡°You all knew already?¡±


    The yers close to his vicinity nodded and exined,


    ¡°Yes! When you were summoned by the goddess, everyone also received a cutscene but it was from an observer¡¯s perspective. I envy you guys so much¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah! The cinematic effect of the cutscene were so great! Ev¨¦ the goddess is just so gorgeous!¡±


    ¡°Haha, I even recorded it and uploaded the video online, let those who didn¡¯t get the closed beta invitation envy us more, hehehe!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Of course, a big event like the opening act the questline would have been announced to the whole server.


    Demacia smacked his forehead, feeling a bit annoyed at this oue.


    Dammit, he had wanted to personally tell everyone about their feats.


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    Someone had already recorded and uploaded it way ahead of him?


    F*ck¡­


    At this moment, someone approached him, admiringly looking up at his exclusive title.


    ¡°How nice! Protector of the World Tree! Aw man, I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll ever have a chance to get it as well.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Demacia couldn¡¯t help but curl up his lips. His previously downcast mood suddenly dissipated as he proudly stood up straight and put his hands upon his waist before stating,


    ¡°Haha, sorry dude but you can¡¯t have this title. This is our exclusive title!¡±


    After speaking, he then continued,


    ¡°Oh, by the way, the tip states that it¡¯s best to have some perfect resurrection before doing this quest, so you should be careful when you team up and choose your own party members!¡±


    As he spoke, Demacia moved over and proudly disyed his status bar with the ¡®Perfect Revives: x5¡¯ stats.


    Upon hearing Demacia¡¯s words, the other person simply smiled and also showed off their own status bar.


    ¡°Hehe, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. After the main quest starts, all yers who choose to participate in the opening act will be provided a three chances for perfect resurrection by the goddess.¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahem, w-well that¡¯s good then.¡± He then coughed a few times while waving his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s end our conversation here. I¡¯m going to look for Brother Mu!¡±


    After speaking, Demacia left the other person behind, before shaking his head while dramatically sighing.


    ¡°Ah¡­ my title as the ¡®Protector of the World Tree¡¯ is just too dazzling, oh soo dazzling¡­¡±


    The main questline of Elven Kingdom has begun! The first opening act titled,<strong>¡¾ Ancient Holy City ¡¿</strong>has been released!


    Completing the quest not only rewards yers with arge amount of experience, but also a chance to obtain more perfect resurrections and some contribution points, which will only be unlocked after reaching level 11!


    In addition, to provide the yers with a better gaming experience, the great mother of nature, Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill, has also gifted each participating yers with free perfect resurrection up to three chances!


    More pieces of news came one after another and all the higher leveled yers above level 9 made amotion after hearing this matters.


    Except for a few reclusive yers, the vast majority were eager to sign up and form various parties amongst one another.


    Elven Kingdom actually does not limit the number of party members one can have, but to better utilize each person¡¯s strength, most yers almost automatically choose to form five person teams, which is themon teamposition in most virtual reality games.


    Moreover, in thetest strategy guide for Elven Kingdom, some experts analyzed that a five person team will be the most ideal and efficient formation for attacking mobs. For example, Boxlunch¡¯s party who had coborated to defeat a powerful Forest Python also structured their own partyposition as a five-man cell.


    In just a span of fifteen minutes, several yers have already formed up to 21 teams consisting a total of 91 people as a whole. Furthermore, all participants at the very least had a strength of level 9 or above, and 37 of them had even reached level 10!


    However not everything ironed out smoothly and the yers had some disagreements amongst each other particrly in regards to establishing the teleportation circle¡­


    ¡°What? Lady Alice only have the adequate materials for a single teleportation circle?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard that she didn¡¯t have the magic materials needed to make more and finding the items she needs would be quite hard due to its scarcity¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me¡­that only one team canplete the first quest objective?¡±


    ¡°H-How is this possible¡­ we can¡¯t divide the rewards like this!¡±


    ¡°How should we decide then? Should we draw lots?¡±


    ¡°Drawing lots is not a good idea. There¡¯s only one set of teleportation circle materials, and there¡¯s only one chance toplete the quest. Besides, we must also ensure the stable operation of the circle after it is built because the enemy would surelye to destroy it and the yers will have to even protect it afterwards.¡±


    ¡°This sucks man. I think we should just let strength speak for itself, and let all the teamspete with each other.¡±


    ¡°Then how should wepete? Do we have to fight in a battle royale or something!?¡±


    ¡°How can we divide the rewards fairly? Heck, is that even possible!?¡±


    For a while, the yers were stuck in a rut and constantly argued amongst one another.


    Looking at the bickering chosen ones, Berserker who had been silently waiting for a long time, frowned in dismay.


    When did the elves have be so disorganized and undisciplined? The mission had not even started yet, and they were already quarreling over a teleportation circle?


    Do they not have the qualities of unity and modesty that elves are inherently supposed to have?


    Can this group of undisciplined ruffians reallyplete the mission imposed by the Divine Matriarch?


    Although those goblins are rtively weak, inparison to these disorderly rookies, Berserker still thinks that the former is far more powerful inbat than thetter.


    Although he was surprised by the chosen ones¡¯ ability to swiftly build a town, the real test was going to be the uing battles!


    A hammer and a chisel wouldn¡¯t help them at all upon their next task, only knives and swords will!


    The Oak Treant still remembers when he peeked at Demacia and his friends back in the forest, and their nonchnt behavior¡­


    It is clear that this group of chosen ones have never once experienced realbat in their life, and some of them even faint at the mere sight of blood!


    Not only that, but the goblins have already produced a priest, which means that they have a highly intelligentmander within their ranks.


    Sadly, this group of chosen ones are simply unruly and chaotic. No one is willing to obey another person and there¡¯s not even a volunteer that wants take the leadership position¡­


    Not to mention that none of them have even been promoted to at very least, iron-rank.


    Under these circumstances, can they really seed?


    <em>Matriarch, is your choice¡­ really correct?</em>


    Thinking of this concerning matters, Berserker¡¯s frown deepened.


    Looking at Berserker¡¯s increasingly growing unpleasant expression, the saintess Alice gave him a sympathetic look.


    Faintly, she had a feeling of finding a kindred spirit within him.


    These ruffians¡­disguised as elves, don¡¯t have an ounce of noble character that the elves are supposed to have. They are more like those profiteering money-hungry humans!


    No¡ª


    They don¡¯t even have the discipline of humans either! They¡¯re merely just a bunch of extremely careless, happy-go-lucky hooligans!


    ¡°Ding! Ding! Ding¨C!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    While Berserker was frowning and lost in thought, a loud shout apanied by several knocking sounds interrupted the ongoing arguments. All eyes of the yers around the vicinity were then instantly drawn to the source that boldly intruded upon this chaotic scene¡­


    There stood Demacia, standing atop a pile of wood as he used a wooden sword to strike a rock while holding a giant leaf horn with his other hand.


    ¡°Stop it guys! Stop the noise! Brother Mu has something to say!¡±


    <em>Brother Mu? Li Mu?</em>


    Upon hearing Demacia¡¯s promation, the crowd gradually quieted down.

 Chapter 26

    ??<strong>THE MOST SHAMELESS PLAYER</strong>


    Human beings have always been like this.


    When a group of peoplecking a leader met someone with some strength and boldly steps forward, everyone within that group would at least hear out what this person wanted to say.


    Moreover, the name Xiao Mu was a rtively well-known streamer within the gaming sphere. Additionally, he had also published the first video essay of the game. Thus, everyone was willing to at least listen to him once and give him face.


    Seeing the yers within the vicinity quietening down, Demacia felt very satisfied. He took a small step aside and gave the horn to Li Mu who came up to the center stage.


    Li Mu took the horn, coughed a few times, before starting,


    ¡°Be quiet, everyone. We shouldn¡¯t resort to infighting when the quest has not even started yet. ElvKing is vastly different from the games we have yed before. We cannot hastily make our decisions without sufficient preparations¡­¡±


    After listening to him, themotion resumed once more as the yers began to digest what Li Mu had just spoken.


    ¡°Brother Mu, what do you mean?¡±


    Someone asked him in doubt.


    Li Mu looked at him and exined,


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that, although we have already acquired the quest info, we still didn¡¯t know the exact dungeon¡¯sposition nor the goblin¡¯s overall situation. We will most likely fail if we act upon in an unorganized manner. After all, except for Demacia and his teammates, each of us have only three perfect resurrection chance.¡±


    As the yers listened to his exnation, each of their expressions gradually became serious as they showed more willingness to listen.


    Seeing that everyone was willing to hear him out, Li Mu felt satisfied as he breathe a sigh of relief. He then cleared his throat and continued,


    ¡°This is not a conventional dungeon exploration. We have no unlimited resurrection chance and after dying three times, those who did will have to start everything from scratch. Also ording to the details of the quest, the uing fights will likely be a battle of attrition. Therefore before we leave, we must first work out a detailed n instead of just dividing into countless parties and swarming the enemies mindlessly.¡±


    ¡°Uncle B also mentioned that Florence is 30 kilometers away from our town, which is around 20 kilometers beyond the safety zone. If we blindly rush to get there in a hurry, the variables within our journey would just be too risky. We might even encounter danger along the way and expose ourselves to the goblins.¡±


    ¡°In addition, we have only one teleportation circle. If we set up the array and fail to protect it under the goblin¡¯s counterattack, then we might not even be able to achieve any of the objectives of the quest.¡±


    Seeing the eloquence of the yer named Li Mu, Berserker showed a little bit of surprise.


    Oh Matriarch, luckily it seems that there are still some sensible people left amongst these chosen ones.


    However¡­


    Who is this Uncle B they¡¯re referring to?


    Berserker was lost in thought.


    <em>It¡¯s actually you!</em>


    Ev¨¦, whose currently observing everything from high above, perceived the oak treant¡¯s doubt due to their link of faith and inwardly sighed within herself.


    ¡°Brother Mu, do you have some sort of n in mind?¡±


    Another yer asked.


    Li Mu smiled and replied,


    ¡°Of course. I suggest that we form a special attack team, which is primarilyposed of yers who are good at stealth. They will first go to Florence along with the materials needed for the teleportation circle, but they won¡¯t enter the dungeon. Instead, they will choose a safe ce far away from Florence and set up the teleportation circle there.¡±


    After detailing his initial ns, Li Mu then curled his lips before resuming,


    ¡°There is no time limit for the quest. The first objective also didn¡¯t state that we have toplete it first. Sure, the materials of the teleportation circle might be only be for one setup but as long as we do things efficiently, we could probably dismantle and reassemble the array a couple of times before the energy stored within the catalysts ran out.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, we can first establish a hidden teleportation circle far from the vicinity of the dungeon. This can serve as our temporary stronghold and this initial array will be used to teleport all the participants within that location. Afterpleting the second and third objectives, we will all then team up together, dismantle the array and take the materials to Florence by foot.¡±


    ¡°My final n is to only reassemble the teleportation circle once we have already fully secured the dungeon thus eliminating the need of us protecting the array in the first ce since it would no longer be threatened by any goblins at that point. Moreover, it can also ensure that everyone will share the rewards for establishing the teleportation circle!¡±


    <em>Can things be really done like this?</em>


    The yers¡¯ eyes lit up in excitement.


    As expected of a veteran streamer that specializes in finding bugs within any game!


    Ev¨¦ was also partly amused as she continued on to silently observed their proceedings.


    ¡°Additionally, after establishing the teleportation circle for the first time far away from Florence dungeon, we can also lure some goblins out by kiting them to test how powerful they actually are.¡±


    ¡°If they are weaker than us, then we will take the initiative to attack. But if they are more powerful, then we will use guerri tactics instead outside of Florence and slowly drain them of their strength.¡±


    ¡°I think that hunting within the safety zone during this period of time has made everyone realize that the mobs in this game do not respawn. Instead, ElvKing simtes the ecosystem in the real world. Thus goblins can eventually be exterminated one by one given enough time. We can absolutely win by battling it out protractedly!¡±


    ¡°If the enemy advances, we then retreat instead. If the enemy bunkers down, we then disturb them incessantly. If the enemy felt tired, we then fight them head on. If the enemy retreats, we then chase them to death!¡±


    Li Mu kept talking in an impassioned manner.


    ¡°That is a good idea!¡±


    The yers all nodded in unison.


    ¡°No wonder you are a veteran streamer. Your ability tomand and your insight are both impable.¡±


    ¡°Brother Mu, you are right! We will listen to you as our leader for this quest!¡±


    In the meantime, quite a lot of people also suddenly realized something.


    ¡°No wonder there is no living critters within the safe zone recently. I just noticed just now that we have only been eating fruits these past few days. Why, it turns out that mobs wouldn¡¯t indefinitely respawn, so maybe the animals are also the same.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I was wondering why I smelt barbecue in the woodsst time. Was it you guys!?¡±


    ¡°Sure, we can just eat fruit every day. But roasting barbecue definitely taste better, especially with the kind of pheasant living within the safe zone. That pheasant is purely organic without any sort of moderm chemicals, making it extremely tender you know. Man, if only the saintess was not watching us in the camp, then we would have held a barbecue party already.¡±


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The saintess who was silently standing beside the Oak Guardian was almost stunned by the yer¡¯s words.


    Oh dear matriarch high above, was this actually the reason why the animals in the forest all suddenly disappeared!?


    <em>T-These group¡­ These hooligans¡­!!</em>


    She gritted her teeth, not knowing how to describe what she¡¯s feeling in words.


    The yers continued on with their discussion not noticing the enraged state of the blond holy maiden at the sidelines.


    ¡°Just wondering, how do we lure the goblins, Brother Mu?¡± Someone asked, bringing back the discussion at the main topic at hand.


    Upon hearing the question, Li Mu furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before hesitantly replying, ¡°This is indeed a problem. Maybe we can try to use food to lure them¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait! Bro! Brother Mu! I have a great idea! This can definitely lure those goblins!¡± Demacia interrupted as he came up to him in excitement.


    Li Mu nced at him skeptically but still gave Demacia the horn.


    Demacia took it eagerly and let out a pervertedugh, looking quite vulgar with his behavior.


    ¡°Hehehe, well¡­we need the help of our female yers for this one.¡±


    ¡°Female yers?¡±


    ¡°Demacia, are you thinking of some perverted idea again?¡± the male yers jeered, while the female yers frowned in disapproval.


    ¡°Oh no no no, not at all¡­¡± Demaciaughed awkwardly, then continued, ¡°You see, Uncle B¡¯s information also includes the habits of goblins, right?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, so¡­you all remember, goblins don¡¯t have females right? Instead they reproduce by using female humans or some other sentient creatures as their breeding stock¡­and well, now it¡¯s spring, the season of love and mating¡­¡±


    Demacia then grinned mischievously, ¡°You see, the elves are already beautiful, and goblins are also humanoid creatures that like aesthetics simr to ours. So, the girls could you know, bait them with their looks and all¡­just a little bit, for a good cause, right?¡±


    ¡°W-What¡¯s it called? Honey trap? Of course, we¡¯re just luring them out, so we still need to take safety precautions!¡± Demacia said while looking pleased with himself.


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡±


    Berserker: ¡°¡­..¡±


    All the yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Describing everyone¡¯s reaction at that moment as dumbfounded would be an understatement.


    Ev¨¦, who was also watching everything from high above, choked and couldn¡¯t help but sigh as she taps her forehead in exasperation.


    ¡°This guy really lives up to his title as the most shameless yer in the game¡­¡±

 Chapter 27

    ??CROSS DRESSING YOUNG MAN!


    Upon hearing Demacia¡¯s shameless proposal, the Oak Guardian¡¯s gaze immediately darkened.


    Berserker¡¯s eyes shed with utter disappointment and disgust as he spoke, ¡°Chosen one, I thought you were a noble warrior, but never had I expected you to be such a vile despicable person. You sully the title of ¡®Protector of the World Tree¡¯ given to you!¡±


    The saintess Alice simply looked at him indifferently, yet her eyes were increasingly growing much colder as if she was looking at a pile of revolting garbage.


    ¡¾? ¨C Your favorability rating with¡¯ <strong>Berserker</strong>¡® has decreased by 40 points, dropping down to ¡®<strong>Dislike</strong>¡® Impression. ¡¿


    ¡¾? ¨C Your favorability rating with ¡®<strong>Alice Galewind</strong>¡® has decreased by 40 points, retaining ¡®<strong>Disgust</strong>¡® Impression. ¡¿


    Demacia looked on with shocked expression at the system prompt that shed right before his eyes and uttered, ¡°What the? Did the favorability rating decrease because of my proposal?¡±


    The yers were also skeptical in regards to Demacia¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°This n¡­doesn¡¯t sound good isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What if something dangerous urs that we didn¡¯t expect? Although this is merely a game, the demerits would still be unimaginable.¡±


    ¡°Right. This game is not like those typical online games we¡¯ve yed before. It¡¯s an almost a realistic VR game¡­¡±


    ¡°We also cannot go offline during battles. Even if we forcibly quit the game, our avatars will still remain at the battlefield. Who knows, what if something bad happens on our unconscious bodies¡­¡±


    ¡°In that case, our experience will get really mentally traumatizing once we logged back in.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about everyone, but I feel very ufortable about this whole n. Those goblins looked very nasty creatures.¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t n to go anyway if that would be our n. Screw this whole damn quest if you are willing to risk us like that.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t go either.¡±


    ¡°Demacia you horny dog! I bet you¡¯re definitely single since birth, right?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to have any girlfriend in your life, pervert!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­..¡±


    While everyone was chiding Demacia for his shameless idea, Li Mu remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. His eyes then suddenly brightened and murmured to himself,


    ¡°Seduction? It¡¯s actually not a bad idea.¡±


    Some yers heard it and were instantly shocked as they looked at him as if he suddenly grew another head.


    ¡°What!? Brother Mu, don¡¯t tell me you really think this n is possible?¡±


    ¡°Bruh, have you gone insane?¡±


    ¡°Bro, are you a lonesome dog in heat as well like this red-haired punk? You know, the stereotypical virgin that wears boxers and big slippers while picking your nose up before buying soy milk and fried breadsticks every morning all by yourself?¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    He awkwardly cleared his throat and immediately said,


    ¡°N-No, no¡­Although the idea of a honey trap may sound foolish, it¡¯s actually quite ingenious if you tweak it a little bit. What I mean is that, it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be a female yer who takes on such a risky role of bait.¡±


    He then looked at Demacia up and down in a scrutinizing manner, before rubbing his chin and curled up the corners of his lips.


    ¡°If I remembered it correctly, someone got a ¡®Transfiguration¡¯ skill from their starter draw.¡±


    Demacia shuddered at the implication and suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body as well as a chill running down his back¡­


    The Elfen Forest.


    The towering trees that mostly block out the sunlight from reaching onto the ground, as well as the untamed thickets sprawling around everywhere made the already difficult task of traversing across these wild terrain even moreplicated.


    But for the Oak Guardian, such task is nothing.


    Berserker effortlessly moved through the dense forest as if he were strolling through his own backyard, while four elves in linen armor leisurely sat upon his shoulders, and finally, a sweating red-haired yer running behind him in desperation.


    These five individuals are the special operations team that the yers themselves decided on after much deliberation.


    In addition to Demacia, the ones sitting upon Berserker¡¯s shoulders are Li Mu, HootyBird, and two other yers named Boxlunch and Little Salty Cat.


    Amongst these yers, Li Mu and Little Salty Cat are spellcasters, whereas Demacia, Boxlunch and HootyBird are melee-type yers.


    Li Mu had initially intended to form a team consisting of five yers who were proficient in stealth.


    However, due to the scarcity of yers possessing any stealth skills, he had topromise and create a teamposed of yers withplementary strengths, both inbat and support instead.


    Li Mu has two primary skills: Healing(minor) as well as Entangling Vines. He is good at healing and crowd control, as well as being the team leader.


    Little Salty Cat is a petite female yer who drew the rare illusion skill¡ªTransfiguration, which can change the appearance of a single target for a certain amount of time,sting about approximately twenty minutes.


    HootyBird, despite being a girl, has actually practiced taekwondo in real life and has strong closebat ability. In addition, she also has a skill called Sharp Ears, which can hear distant sounds and can be used for reconnaissance.


    Finally, Boxlunch is a reclusive male yer who doesn¡¯t have any stealth or detection skills, but has a strong reconnaissance abilities, which is why he was able to discover the level nine Forest Python back in the early stages.


    As for Demacia, he has the skill called Whirlwind sh and Indomitable Will. He is a pure tank-build yer that can output a lot of damage as well.


    Also¡­after several discussions and so much persuasion, it was eventually decided on that he will also y the crucial role of a honey bait for the goblins.


    All these five yers have the minimum base level of ten.


    After discussing the intricacies of the n, they finally decided to set off while riding Berserker, but the Oak Guardian vehemently refused to let Demacia climp up his shoulders, so the red-haired punk could only desperately follow behind them.


    The rest of the yerbase instead watched their actions through a live stream as they awaits for the teleportation circle to be constructed.


    Yes, a live stream.


    Although the flow of time between Saig¨¹es and Earth are vastly different, theg does not actually affect the yers inside the game who are watching the special operations live-stream via the game¡¯s own system window.


    This can also be considered a new ystyle discovered by the yers, somewhat simr to the voice chat programs from much earlier years, except that it is the video counterpart of it. Some yers have even used this trick for individual reconnaissance while hunting monsters beforehand.


    When Ev¨¦ discovered this exploit, she was amazed by the yers¡¯ ingenuity, and she also tuned in the live broadcast within her Celestial Domain as she silently mingled alongside the livestream audience.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Suddenly, the colossal Oak Guardian stopped at a particr spot. He then partially knelt down and ced the people riding him down on the ground, before saying,


    ¡°We¡¯re less than a kilometer away from Florence. To prevent my identity from being discovered by the goblins, I won¡¯t proceed much further. Instead, it¡¯s now your turn to upheld upon your required tasks and act on your own discretion.¡±


    After speaking, he simply turned around without saying another word and disappeared deep into the forest.


    Demacia, who had finally caught up to the group, gasped for breath as he leaned against a tree. He then rubbed his sore knees and looked at the retreating cold back of the Oak Guardian after exhaling a rueful breath.


    ¡°Man, why is Uncle B so bothered¡­ It¡¯s merely a suggestion you know¡­sheesh, I lost so much favorability in an instant, and I wasn¡¯t even allowed to ride upon his back.¡±


    HootyBird merely him a cold nce.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even realize it yourself how outrageous idea you came up with.¡±


    Meanwhile, the stream¡¯s chatroom was also filled with yers¡¯ teasing the red-haired punk.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, running can exercise the body and also gain one or two points of experience, so it¡¯s actually quite beneficial.¡±


    ¡°Haha, Demacia, did Berserker¡¯s favorability rating of you plummeted down into the negatives?¡±


    ¡°Lmao¡­I remember he was boasting about reaching a friendly impression with Uncle B before, but then he still managed messed it all up.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I just realize that NPCs consider the goblins to be the most lowest sentient beings. Only that brain dead idiot coulde up with a honey trap n and the girls should lure the mobs. Demacia, you deserve the dislike of all the females as well as the NPCs. Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Lmfao, and in the end, the role of ¡®bait¡¯ eventuallynded upon himself.¡±


    ¡°Lol, that¡¯s karma for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to watching him lure some mobs while wearing some fancy dress!¡±


    ¡°Me too xD¡±


    ¡°Me to as well xDD¡±


    Watching the barrage ofments sh by within the livestream, Demacia¡¯s face turned green as he resisted the urge to counter me the people mocking him.


    HootyBird did not continue to ridicule him and instead resumed her reconnaissance duties as she tilted her ear and listened quietly for any noises within the vicinity¡­


    <em>Skill¡ªSharp Ear.</em>


    ¡°No other creatures nearby.¡± She reported a momentter.


    Boxlunch also shook his head after scanning the surrounding areas.


    The rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Li Mu then looked around a couple more times before taking out a set of materials for constructing magical formation that Alice had personally entrusted him.


    ¡°I think the terrain here isn¡¯t bad. Let¡¯s clean up the area and finally set up the magical array. A distance of one kilometer is adequate enough, and getting closer more than this will simply increase the risk of exposing ourselves.¡±


    After speaking, he then looked specifically at Demacia with a slightly amused expression and said,


    ¡°You should also prepare. We¡¯ll go straight into kiting goblins to test their strength after we set up the magical array.¡±


    As soon as Li Mu spoke, Demacia suddenly deted like a punctured balloon, as he moved to the side with fear and trepidation etched upon his face, while nervouslyughing a couple of times.


    ¡°B-Brother Mu¡­ um¡­are we really going to do it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this method proposed by you, Demacia?¡± Little Salty Cat jokingly said, before taking out a light green dress from behind her and sporting a mischievous smile.


    ¡°Put this on quickly, this is a gift from Miss Alice.¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face instantly turned pale after seeing the little fancy dress,


    ¡°Damn it! A-Are you guys really serious!? You want me to crossdress and act as a bait? I said honey trap, not handsome trap! I am a man, you know!¡±


    ¡°There would be no problem, since my transfiguration skill is specifically prepared for this task. I guarantee that you will be an absolutely gorgeous bait with my magic.¡± Said Little Salty Cat with a mischievous smile.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°I remember your house isn¡¯t built yet right?¡± The town¡¯s construction captain, HootyBird casually asked with a hint of threatening undertone within her voice.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you really want a female yer to take on such risk?¡± Boxlunch frowned.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­.¡±


    Even the audience at the livestream goaded the red-haired punk.


    ¡°Hahaha! Be brave Demacia, just put on the damn women¡¯s clothing already and transform into a muscr girl!¡±


    ¡°Quickly put the dress on idiot, you will definitely be popr!¡±


    ¡°After all, this is your own damn idea, hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Lol put it on already, or else your house will never bepleted, hahaha¡­¡±


    Demacia: ¡°..¡±


    Li Mu cleared his throat and patted Demacia on the shoulder, ¡°Demacia, just do it. You have a lot of lives, eight in total, including the lives you got for triggering the main quest. Besides, aren¡¯t you a man not afraid of death nor being caught by those goblins, so you being the bait is less risky than having any of the girls take on such role. Cough cough, if you get caught and are about to be uhh¡­you know, justmit suicide.¡±


    Demacia: ¡°.¡±


    Does he have to risk his manlihood too!?


    Nheless, Demacia saw everyone¡¯s expression getting more and more annoyed the longer he put off wearing the damn dress, thus he finally relented and grabbed the dress with a reluctant look.


    ¡°Fine¡­I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go, okay?¡± He said as tears stream down his checks while taking off his clothes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t undress here idiot, we don¡¯t want to see such an obscene scene close hand!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Lmfao!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡±


    Thements from the live stream rapidly cascaded down without any signs of stopping¡­


    Even Ev¨¦, who was also watching the live stream, chuckled a little bit. However as she watched the lively scenery as well as the light humored banter within thements section, she gradually felt a tinge of sadness within her heart.


    ¡°That¡¯s so nice¡­¡±


    ¡°I also want to have a body that can move freely¡­¡±


    Sometimes, it is only after someone have finally lost something of value that they will realize its true importance.


    Unfortunately, without enough divine power at her disposal, Ev¨¦ could not create an avatar strong enough that could amodate a divine soul like hers.


    At this moment, Ev¨¦ suddenly felt that the joy and livelymotion within the livestream were so far away from her¡­


    So far away¡­


    Just like two different worlds.


    ¡°Someday¡­for sure.¡±


    She murmured deep within her heart.


    <strong>? </strong><strong><mark>PREVIOUS</mark></strong><strong> ? ?? ? NEXT ?</strong>

 Chapter 28

    Idiots, You Are Fooled


    In the ruins of Florence.


    Green-skinned goblins were scattered everywhere. They sat in groups of two or three. Some were sleeping. Some were heating a cauldron on a bonfire, which gave off an indescribable smell. Some were ying with the soil together¡­


    Four elves and a "human girl" were lying down on a clump of grass nearby. They were the special attack team members who lurked there after constructing the teleportation circle.


    Looking at the ruins that copsed yet was still magnificent in the distance, Little Salty Meow could not help but exim,


    "That is Florence¡­ I cannot imagine how beautiful the intact city would be."


    Cuckoo Bird closed her eyes and listened with her ear tilted to one side. Her expression became serious.


    "There are a lot of goblins. Apart from these goblins we have seen, I cannot hear how many goblins are hidden in the ruins. Besides, there are some powerful creatures that are probably at Iron levels. One of the powerful creatures is very cold in a horrible way. It makes me feel very scared."


    "Psst--"


    On hearing this, the chosen ones took a breath of cold air.


    "Fortunately, we didn''t let the yers swarm the city, otherwise all of them would have been destroyed."


    Box Meal said seriously.


    Li Mu patted Demacia on the shoulder and said,


    "Demacia, act ording to the n. The three goblins are ying with soil there. I feel that they are not powerful and their equipment is poor. None of them seemed to reach level ten. It''s up to you to lure the monsters here!"


    Demacia, "¡­"


    He managed an ugly smile.


    "I¡­ Can I not go?"


    "No."


    The four said at the same time.


    Demacia, "¡­"


    "Ah, let it be. The wind is rustling and the water is cold¡­"


    Demacia gave up the struggle. He flicked the long air he got through Transfiguration and stood up from the grass.


    ¡­


    On the edge of the ruins.


    Three goblins sat together, yed with clods of dirt happily, andughed strangely from time to time.


    All of a sudden, a stone came flying from behind. Straight and direct, it just hit one of the goblins on the head.


    Boom! Blood was sprayed.


    The goblin hit by the stone was knocked to the ground in an instant.


    It stood up and looked around, only to meet the gaze of apanion.


    It immediately got angry. It groaned and struck thepanion''s head, which made the other goblin freeze.


    Then the two goblins scuffled¡­


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Another two stones came flying through the air and hit the two goblins'' head with excellent precision.


    The third goblin stood up with its eyes wide open, pointed to a distant ce and yelled, "Ah ah."


    The two goblins were attracted by theirpanion''s voice, stopped their movements immediately, and looked at where the third goblin pointed at¡­


    Tens of meters away from the ruins.


    An enchanting woman was leaning on an ancient tree, ying with her hair curls and stroking her thigh.


    When "she" saw the three goblins looking towards her, she winked at them, licked her lips, and stretched out her hand to make a kissing gesture.


    The three goblins'' eyes were immediately fixated on her.


    At this moment, their simple brains started the mostplicated calction for a goblin to have.


    Head + two legs + upright posture + nice clothes = human beings


    Human beings + XX + XX = Women


    Women = Offspring


    ¡­


    Their eyes immediately brightened, stars could be seen within them.


    They took their weapons, croaked, and ran to the "woman".


    As soon as the goblins chased after the woman, she turned and ran towards the forest like a vigorous cheetah.


    The goblins did not notice anything was wrong. They followed closely and ran increasingly faster like hooked fish¡­


    After a few minutes, the three goblins finally perceived something was wrong.


    This woman ran too fast like an elf, "the child of nature."


    But at this moment, they had already followed the woman to an open area surrounded by lush shrubs and trees.


    The woman in front of them suddenly stopped. Turning around, "she" smiled vulgarly and said in a rough, yful voice,


    "Idiots, you are fooled."


    After these words, "she" shone and turned into a red-haired elf in a dress--Demacia.


    The three goblins saw the transformation and instantly froze.


    Before they had time to react, several vines suddenly burst forth from all around them and shot at the three goblins.


    It was Li Mu''s skill, Twining Vines.


    Then, Cuckoo Bird and Box Meal jumped out of the grass and surrounded the goblins in a triangr formation with Demacia.


    "Destroy them!"


    Demacia took the wooden knife he had hidden aside and rushed up excitedly.


    The three goblins panicked at first, then let out an angry howl. They took their weapons and shed the vines¡­


    nk¡­


    To Li Mu''s surprise, the goblins'' scimitars easily cut through the magic vines, while the three yers of the strength system were fighting against the goblins.


    But the scene turned a bit hectic after they started fighting.


    "Damn! Sister Cuckoo Bird, you almost kicked me!"


    "Sorry, you blocked me."


    "These goblins have great power!"


    "Wait, I seem to have been cut¡­"


    "Curing Minor Injuries!"


    "Where is the magic support? Where is Little Salty Meow''s magic support?!"


    "I''ming!"


    "Damn, your fireball almost burned me! Can you aim urately?!"


    "Don''t fight too hard! Save your magic and physical strength. Focus on protecting yourselves! Wait for the opportunity to attack! We outnumber them. They cannot drain us of our stamina!"


    In actualbat, all ns were invalid. Under the crazy assault of the three goblins, the five yers were very unorganized. For quite a while, unexpectedly, they were suppressed.


    This was especially true with the three yers of the strength system who were fighting at a short distance. Demacia and Cuckoo Bird would have been seriously injured if the agile Box Meal did not help them repeatedly.


    But even so, the three people were struggling desperately.


    Hiding in the forest nearby, Berserker frowned when he saw all of this.


    "It''s a joke that five level ten chosen ones are suppressed by three level eight goblins."


    There was deep disappointment in his voice.


    The fact was that goblin was synonymous with stupidity and weakness on the continent of Sagas. For example, it was like a collection of human prejudice against pigs and cockroaches on the blue.


    On the continent of Sagas, goblin was not only a noun of a species, but also a curse.


    "You goblin!" was the greatest insult one could say when provoking intellectual creatures.


    It was also the reason why Berserker and Alice were so disgusted when Demacia proposed seduction for their n.


    This was equivalent to letting human beings on the blue lure wild boars with themselves as bait, which would still be extremely risky¡­


    "Mother God, it seems that although they are good at construction work, they are not good at fighting. Why do you expect so much from them?"


    Berserker knew that Eve was also watching thisbat, so he did not hide his doubts.


    Eve, who was watching the live-stream, chuckled. Then His majestic voice resounded through Berserker''s mind,


    "Don''t worry. Just continue watching them."


    Hearing Eve''s answer, Berserker felt helpless. But he still watched on with a frown.


    All right, let the goblins defeat them, lest they would be frivolous all day long.


    Gradually, however, the situation seemed to change in atent way.

 Chapter 29

    Really Fragrant


    After the initial frenzy, the yers seemed to be gradually familiar with the goblins'' attack rhythm.


    Instead of attacking actively, they began to defend passively and maintain their physical strength. In the meantime, the coordination between them increasingly got better.


    Although these yers were gradually getting more injured, they grasped the initiative bit by bit, switching from passive defense to active defense.


    Goblins were gradually exhausted. After all, they were only at level eight. With inherent racial disadvantage, the goblins felt drained the more they fought even though they had morebat experience.


    Atst, after they were locked inbat for five or six minutes, the yers finally started to fight back.


    "They are slower!"


    "They are tired. It''s a good chance! Use your skills, Demacia!"


    "Tenacity! Whirlwind sh!"


    Demacia roared. First, he added the buff of Tenacity onto himself, instantly improving his defense and attack. Then, he exhibited his powerful attack skill, Whirlwind sh. Luckily, or rather unluckily for the viewers, the whirlwind he generated with his attack blew up his green dress, revealing the faint holy light under his dress.


    With three snapping sounds, Demacia suddenly deprived the three goblins of their weapons.


    "Go!"


    With a roar, Box Meal and Cuckoo Bird rushed forward and exerted their skills at the same time. They stabbed two goblins in the heart.


    Seeing the situation turning for the worst, the third goblin turned to run away.However, it was immediately entangled by Li Mu''s vine and subsequently got burnt to ashes by Little Salty Meow''s fireball.


    The three goblins finally died. Their bodies were reduced to ashes under the operation of War Sacrifice, leaving only tattered equipment behind.


    The five yers received a message from the system saying that each of them had gained a considerable amount of experience points. Meanwhile, a new message appeared in their system bar, [Goblins you have destroyed: 3].


    When the goblins died, Eve felt two forcesing across the void. The weaker of the two forces was the vitality of the goblins and the stronger force was the resentment of the elves'' ghosts. The two forces returned to him, providing Him with about 0.03 points of divine force.


    The three yers of the strength system sat on the ground, breathing heavily while receiving Li Mu''s treatment.


    "We finally killed them."


    "I did not expect that these goblins would be so difficult."


    "Box Meal, you did a good job just now! I would have probably died once if you did not help me."


    Demacia copsed on the ground and said while exhaling loudly.


    Box Meal said nothing. He nodded and silently gathered the weapons left by the goblins.


    Cuckoo Bird''s eyes shone as she saw those weapons.


    "These scimitars are good. They are sharper than our wooden knives."


    "Ha ha, our first loot."


    "Ah¡­ There are no divine blood crystals. It''s a pity."


    The yers chatted.


    Seeing the yers happy, Berserker was unhappy.


    "They took such great effort to destroy only three goblins. How can they be proud?"


    "Don''t worry, just continue watching."


    Eve smiled and answered in Berserker''s mind.


    Hearing the voice, Berserker had no choice but to continue peeping.


    After some treatment, the yers'' injuries finally healed.


    The five yers gathered and started a meeting.


    Li Mu sighed with a serious expression.


    "I did not expect that three goblins would be so difficult. It seems that we need to improve our coordination and practical skills."


    Cuckoo Bird nodded.


    "I agree."


    The battle in this game was too realistic. Their previous fighting experience with those brainless weak wild monsters were almost invalid when they faced goblins that were barely intellectual creatures.


    "However, this experiment also proves that Demacia''s strategy is useful. Although there will still be risks, Goblins'' legs are too short to catch up to us and it seems that we elves can run faster¡­"


    "It''s a wise choice not to enter Florence directly. These were just the three weakest goblins. I cannot imagine how powerful the goblins inside the ruins will be."


    "The war of attrition n is still practical. We can lure the weak ones out first, and slowly improve our cooperation and skills throughbat. When we are powerful enough, we will fight against those powerful goblins."


    "Their endurance is very weak. As long as we resist the initial frenzy, we would be able to turn the tides around."


    "Their eyesight also seemed to be problematic. If we use high-speed skills while attacking, the effect would be great."


    "I agree. I think that other yers can participate too. But we should remind everyone that it is best for the whole party to be at level ten. If not all the party members are at level ten, it is best for two teams to act together."


    "yers of the magic system cannot use their skills casually, otherwise they will probably injure their teammates identally."


    "Additionally, everyone must keep quiet and improve silently. Don''t be noisy. If we attract all the goblins here, that will be the end of us."


    "We can do it this way, let one person lure a dozen goblins at a time to a distant ce. Then every team chooses a target to fight against respectively. Since we definitely cannot defeat the goblins one-on-one, let''s gang up on one goblin as a group."


    "If we fight as a group, we can absolutely defeat a single goblin. When we be more powerful, we will counterattack!"


    "I agree."


    "I agree."


    "¡­"


    Berserker also heard the five yers'' discussion and felt a bit surprised at their analysis.


    "Mother God on high. It seems that they don''tck solidarity or discipline. They may not have the noble character of elves, but they are somewhat cunning and clever like humans. To lure andbat goblins in groups¡­ Only they can think of it."


    On hearing Berserker''s exmation, Eve shook His head.


    They were originally humans in elf skin¡­


    After the discussion, the five yers of the special attack team summed up theirbat experience, made a simple strategy, and fed it back to other yers through the live-stream.


    The rest of the yers waiting in the camp started teleporting themselves through the teleportation circle.


    Before long, dozens of yers had appeared in the forest.


    "It''s time to act in groups!"


    "I have been looking forward to it for a long time! I was so excited when I saw them in the live-stream just now!"


    "Demacia''s movements were too stiff! If it wasn''t for Box Meal the bigwig, I think he would have kneeled to the goblin just now!"


    Seeing the yers excited, the five pioneers hurriedly reminded them,


    "Don''t get too excited. These goblins are not weak. Don''t blow our single chance."


    But the yers were quite optimistic.


    "Ha ha, rest assured. We will fight as a group. Five can always defeat one. Besides, we have three Perfect Resurrection."


    "Thebat is so realistic in this game! I don''t know whether I can adopt it in reality after being proficient in it¡­"


    "Who is luring the monsters? Demacia, will you go again?"


    Demacia, "¡­"


    His face darkened as he rejected the suggestion determinedly,


    "You can go if you want to. I won''t go!"


    It was ridiculous. He was an eight-feet-tall big man. It was enough for him to be in a dress just once!


    "If you go lure the monsters, our party will share the loot with you."


    "Our party will also share the loot with you."


    Demacia was silent for a few seconds, then turned to look towards Little Salty Meow who was snickering aside, and said numbly,


    "Do you still have magic power? It''s called Transfiguration, right? Come on, I''m ready."

 Chapter 30

    Chopping Melons and Vegetables


    One kilometer away from the ruins of Florence, more than 90 yers who had formed 21 teams waited quietly.


    Bribed by the loot, Demacia turned into his female version again to do the job of luring the goblins.


    This time, he went a little deeper and lured arge group of goblins at once. In the group, there were three level 10 goblins, which were called elite goblins.


    The scimitars and wooden sticks-wielding goblins croaked and chased after him in excitement.


    Moreover, several goblins got bows and arrows. But when they were going to shoot, the elite goblins stopped them from doing so.


    They wanted an intact humanoid female. It was best to catch her live without injury.


    The goblins'' idea made Demacia''s honey trap smoother.


    He lured the goblins to the forest clearing again and stopped.


    While the goblins were assuming that this "female human" they chased was tired from running, nearly one hundred tall figures emerged from the surrounding grass all at once with a roar


    El¡­ Elf?


    The group of goblins were stunned instantly.


    "It''s goblins!"


    "Goblins areing!"


    "One, two, three¡­ a total of 18! One for each team! As for the elite monsters, two teams fight against one!"


    "Come on! Let''s gang up on them!"


    The elves seemed excited with their eyes red and their gasps loud. They wielded their wooden knives, shouted and rushed the goblins'' positions as if others would rob them of their monsters a secondter.


    The group of goblins werepletely shell-shocked.


    This¡­ Where did these lunatic elves from?


    How could there be so many elves in the forest of elves?! Weren''t they all gone?


    Wait¡­ Were these guys really those elegant, reserved and long-eared elves who were high up in the air?


    The God of Hunting on high, were they mad?


    The goblins wanted to escape, but they had already been surrounded byyers of yers.


    "Quick! Magicians use control skills to separate them! Offensive magic will do too!"


    "Surround them! Surround them! The one over there is going to escape!"


    "Damn! Don''t use area-of-effect skills! You will identally hurt your ally!"


    The goblins were gradually separated under the interference of a series of distant magic and began to meet the encirclement of the yers in parties.


    If the five pioneer yers had a hard time tobat three goblins previously, it would be a piece of cake for more than 90 yers to fight against 18 green-skinned goblins.


    With the predecessors'' strategy, the yers hadpletely gone into a state of cooperation and confrontation.


    Each party of yers had found their own target. They took turns to go forward, sh once and run away without entanglement. If the goblin wanted to chase, it would be harassed by magic. If the goblin wanted to escape, control skills would be used to stop it¡­


    Even if goblins had a lot ofbat experience, they were no rivals to the yers'' madness. More than ten minutester, the yers chopped thest goblin to death. The yers only paid the price of a dozen minor injuries and one death for the victory.


    The one yer who had died was unfortunately killed by an ally yer''s magic.


    Even Li Mu and the other pioneers were shocked by the yers'' power,


    "Damn, you guys are really ferocious¡­"


    The yers were not satisfied,


    "The scene is a bit bloody¡­ But it''s so cool."RE??ad updated st??ries at n/??/vel/bin(.


    "Not enough, not enough. 18 goblins provide too few experience points¡­"


    "I only sh once¡­"


    "Demacia, go to lure some more."


    Demacia choked.


    "Hurry up and go. We will share the loot with you!"


    "If we find a divine blood crystal, we will share the goddess''s rewards with you!"


    The yer said again.


    On hearing this, Demacia instantly looked serious,


    "You have to do what you say!"


    "I''m going¡­"


    Demacia shouted loudly, patted the little green dress on his body and headed for Florence again.


    After a while, another group of goblins came, chasing him and croaking¡­


    Another round ofbat started.


    With this method, the yers started their task of destroying monsters near Florence.


    As they fought, the coordination between them was getting increasingly better.


    At first, one team fought against one goblin. Then one team fought against two goblins.


    Afterwards, a team of level ten yers could even fight against three elite goblins.


    Perhaps each of them was still not as powerful as a goblin, but the battle was getting increasingly more rhythmic.


    The division ofbor among the yers was clear, some luring the target, the others attacking it on the side. Each person only made one sh at a time and immediately fled. In this way, the goblin was drained to death¡­


    Furthermore, the yers enjoyed gaining experience points. They also looted the goblins'' rtively sharp scimitars. The smoother they fought, the happier they were¡­ It even helped a dozen level nine yers to level up directly to level ten.


    With increasingly more goblins dead, the yers also discovered the second divine blood crystal.


    "A divine blood crystal! It''s a divine blood crystal! It''s our team that found it!"


    The yer lifting a pale green crystal said in excitement.


    "Damn! You are lucky!"


    "Which monster dropped it?"


    "It was an elite goblin!"


    The lucky yer answered excitedly.


    That was an unlucky goblin that had just collected a divine blood crystal from the forest. He was about to go back to the nest and give it to a priest, but was unfortunately lured by Demacia halfway to the city¡­


    An elite goblin?


    On hearing this, all the yers'' eyes shone.


    "It turns out to be a rare object that only elite goblins can drop¡­"


    "The drop rate is too low. More than 90 people fought together and killed nearly one hundred goblins. Among them there were more than twenty elites. But there is only one divine blood crystal¡­"


    "Bah, the drop rate is a pitfall again."


    "Damn the game designer."


    "Don''tin, you guys! When I was looking for mysterious crystals in another online game previously, the drop rate was totally outrageous. To have to kill twenty elite goblins to drop one divine blood crystal is satisfactory."


    "Anyway, give me more elite goblins. I don''t believe that I cannot get more divine blood crystals today!"


    "Where is the bait? Where is the bait?"


    "Hey Demacia, hurry up and lure monsters! Lure more goblins here. Lure more elites!"


    The yers shouted.


    Demacia, "¡­"


    Seeing the yers getting increasingly more enthusiastic and theirbat effectiveness rising, Berserker, who observed secretly, was finally touched.


    Confronted by goblins, the chosen ones showed solidarity and enthusiasm, which was far beyond his imagination!


    In addition, the speed of their progress was incredible. Their enthusiasm forbat was also incredible.


    What was even more touching was that although they were not Mother God''s believers, they were willing to fight for the goddess without fear!


    At this moment, Berserker had faint respect for the yers.


    "Mother God, your wisdom left Berserker in awe."


    "I finally understood why you summoned them. These chosen ones may not be born warriors, but they have unlimited potential to grow into a powerful army! Although they are not your believers, they are more fanatic than ordinary believers!"


    "However, they can never be chivalrous¡­ Besides, they are greedy to a shameless extent."


    Looking at the yers who almost fought for the scimitars dropped by the goblins, Berserker shook his head helplessly.


    But Eve could understand them.


    The wooden knives He created for the yers were rough. Although the goblins'' scimitars were not of good quality, at least they were plundered from human caravans and made of metal which were infinitely sharper than the wooden knives they had.


    For the yers, all they wanted was better equipment.


    Feeling the feedback of force from the yers after they destroyed goblins, Eve was delighted.


    "A total of 1.2 points of divine force."


    He thought happily.


    Perhaps because these goblins had upied elves'' holy city for a long time, the resentment of the elves'' ghosts fed back after the goblins were destroyed was considerable. In less than half a day, Eve''s investment in the yers'' bodies was about to be repaid.


    If He added the new divine blood crystal found by the yers, He had already started to profit.


    "Although it is still far away, I''m finally one step closer to having an avatar."


    Looking at His divine force that was close to 13 points, Eve thought of His goal of 100 points andforted Himself.


    He was already bored being in the background.


    The yers'' battle continued. As arge number of goblins in Florence started disappearing, the goblin priests in the ruins were finally aware that something was not right.

 Chapter 31

    Goblin High Priests


    It was a dpidated temple.


    The tablet with the symbol of Mother of Nature and elf script had long been destroyed by sharp weapons and was sshed with dirty blood of profanity.


    The original statue of the goddess was smashed and had long been reced by a wooden male god statue wearing a fur jacket while holding a tomahawk and a longbow in his hands.


    That was Ullr, the God of Winter and Hunting.


    Under the statue, an old hunchbacked goblin prostrated himself to worship him.


    On his body was a shabby mage robe that was snatched from a human caravan and on his head there was a nondescript felt hat. At the front of the hat, there was a crystal shining with pale green light.


    "The great God of Winter and Hunting, this is the third divine blood crystal I found this month. I will find seven more to add up to 33, the minimum quota for sacrifice. And then I will sacrifice them to you together."


    He bent down, his eyes turbid, his face covered with deep wrinkles that were almost engraved into his bones, with his expression being fanatically pious.


    As Ullr''s body was in heaven, a transborder sacrifice would cost a great amount of energy. In order to save divine force, He could only have His followers collect enough tributes to have them sacrifice all the crystals together to Himter. Usually, He only had simplemunication with His believers at most.


    As the goblin prayed, the statue emitted a faint golden light that caressed his body slightly.


    In an instant, the old goblin felt that his aged body got younger.


    "The God of Winter and Hunting be praised!"


    The old goblin rejoiced slightly and bent his head even lower.


    After praying to the god, the old goblin stood up.


    He straightened the felt hat on his head, carefully picked up the skeleton staff iid with huge orbs from under his body, wiped it in his arms with care as if it was a treasure, and then walked out of the dpidated temple with satisfaction.


    The old goblin''s name was Guru. He was a level 11 goblin priest, a Low Iron creature.


    However, Guru preferred to call himself a high priest. Because among all the goblins that entrenched in the ruins of Florence, he was the most powerful. The other three goblin priests could not match him and therefore had to bow down before him.


    The reason why he was so powerful was not because of Ullr''s favor, but because he had experienced adventures, obtained a magic staff and became a rare goblin magician before Ullr recruited him.


    Moreover, he had also mastered mysterious undead magic!


    It was through his mastery over the undead magic that he was able to suppress the other two level 11 goblin priests.


    Nevertheless, he was still very old.


    Normally, he would not be able to live for three more years.


    Fortunately, the appearance of Ullr gave him hope. The great god had promised to give him a new lease in life if he was able to collect 33 divine blood crystals of the World Tree within this year.


    Guru''s luck was not bad.


    For some reason, in a thousand years after the War of Gods, people forgot the World Tee''s divine blood crystals that were lost in the forest of elves. Ullr had only recentlyunched a secret search task for them.


    Therefore, it was not difficult for the believers to collect some crystals as long as they worked hard.


    With all the goblins'' effort, he had managed to already collect 26 crystals within a few months.


    "Power is essential for one''s status in this world!"


    Guru caressed his skeleton staff as he muttered to himself in intoxication.


    Outside of the temple, Guru came to the street of the ruins of Florence.


    But as he looked at the empty broken walls, his old eyebrows gradually furrowed.


    "Why are so many missing?"


    Guru looked around and saw a sleeping goblin.


    Guru snorted, walked over, and kicked it.


    The awakened goblin was furious by the sudden disturbance. It picked up its stick and was about to fight back. But when it saw the source of its disturbance clearly, its fury instantly deted. It bent over on the ground like a well-behaved little chicken, while muttering "Oh oh oh" and kissing Guru''s toes¡­


    There was a flicker of contempt in Guru''s eyes.


    He looked down on his low IQ peers.


    In his view, although they had the same appearance, they werepletely two different species.


    This group of weak good-for-nothings could not even speak the generalnguage!


    If it wasn''t for his undead summons not being able to touch the divine blood crystals, making them unable to meet his need for crystal hunting, why would he make use of this group of good-for-nothings?


    Nevertheless, in order to achieve his own goal, these dumb goblins'' power was still indispensable at this moment.


    Thinking of this, he kicked the goblin on the ground and asked,


    "Where are the others? Why are so many missing overnight?"


    On hearing Guru''s question, the goblin looked dazed. Then it suddenly realized something. It quickly yelled "Ah ah ah" and gestured to Guru.


    "Huh? You are saying they saw a human woman passing by outside the ruins? And they went to catch her?"


    Guru frowned.


    The goblin nodded repeatedly.


    Getting its confirmation, Guru''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "A human woman?"


    They were hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest human kingdom. And human caravans only passed through this ce in the summer. Where did a human womane from?


    This group of good-for-nothings went crazy for a female!


    In a fury, he flung the goblin that answered his question and walked towards the edge of Florence.


    As Guru advanced, its face became increasingly gloomier.


    Because he found that the number of goblins in the ruins had decreased more than he thought.


    "I''m afraid that at least two hundred goblins ran away¡­"


    He gnashed his teeth.


    While Guru was thinking of a suitable method of punishment for these deserters, amotion sounded out in the southwest of the ruins of Florence.


    Guru raised his eyebrows and walked there quietly¡­


    ¡­


    The southwestern exit of Florence.


    Demacia, who had changed his appearance, was making poses as usual.


    Moreover, in order to lure more elite monsters, he walked inside the ruins boldly.


    "Come on, you little cuties!"


    Demacia sneered from within as he saw that the goblins were gradually lured out by him.


    However, his instincts smelled danger all of a sudden.


    Demacia got nervous, as he felt that he was targeted by a vicious snake¡­


    The perception of an elf was very keen.


    Demacia subconsciously turned to look at the source of danger.


    And when he saw the source of danger, he instantly felt his scalp turning numb.


    On a broken stone tablet in the ruins, a goblin shrouded in a dark robe was gazing at him coldly.


    It was Guru, the goblin high priest.


    Demacia could perceive the eerie aura around him even at a distance of tens of meters.


    "Ah¡­ Bad luck. I must have attracted the boss!"


    Demacia groaned secretly as he perceived his gaze.


    "I''ll slip away¡­"


    He turned and ran away without hesitation.


    "A human woman¡­"


    Guru let out a chuckle.


    At first nce, it recognized that this so-called "woman" seemed to be under some transfiguration magic.


    Could it be a mercenary?


    Guru had some guesses.


    However, since he discovered the female human, he did not want to let her run away.


    Two hundred missing goblins were not a small amount!


    He would definitely catch this nasty bastard!


    Guru gritted his teeth from within.


    He did not worry about whether there was any hidden mercenary group behind the female human. Since the female human did not dare to appear before him aboveboard, the female human must know she was not as powerful as him.


    The female human even had to resort to insidious methods to deal with goblins, which just indicated that the female human was unconfident!


    Thinking of this, he decisively wielded the huge skeleton staff. An iparably cold energy emanated from the orbs on the staff.


    With bouts of weird energy fluctuations, big skeleton hands stretched out from under Demacia''s feet and forcibly moved towards his legs to catch him¡­


    At the same time, Eve, who was watching the yers'' live-stream in the space of His godhead, was shocked and instantly felt palpitations that emerged slowly.

 Chapter 32

    The World Boss!


    What happened?


    Eve''s heart was pounding.


    He hurriedly turned off the live-stream, left the space of His godhead, and put His consciousness into reality.


    At this moment, His palpitations still existed. More urately, it seemed to be an inexplicable call.


    This situation arose for the first time. Different from the prayers Eve heard before, the palpitations were vaguely familiar to Him. But at the same time, it seemed to be mixed with other things, or¡­ emotions.


    Sadness, pain, despair¡­


    The feelings made Eve very ufortable.


    After pondering for a while, Eve emptied His mind.


    After His divine soul calmed down, He finally found the source of the palpitations¡­


    "The northeast¡­"


    Eve thought of something and looked somewhere in the forest of elves.


    That direction was where the yers had assembled.


    What did they trigger?


    Eve frowned deeply from within.


    Something was not right. He just watched more than 90 yers in the live-stream, and they did not do anything extraordinary¡­


    So, he pushed down his suspicions.


    But suddenly, Eve thought of something¡­


    No.


    It was not right!


    He did not pay attention to one yer!


    Eve realized that He had neglected one person, so He hurriedly returned to the space of His godhead and went straight to thework channel of the blue.


    In the pale green space of His godhead, there were three hundred small photons constantly shing and rotating around the blue ball of light that symbolized the Inte world of the blue.


    This was the connection channel between Eve and the three hundred yers, which was an important part of the gamework system.


    As soon as Eve came here, He now could clearly feel the inexplicable call.


    He concentrated and found the source of the palpitations--a constantly flickering photon.


    "This is¡­ Demacia''s. Did he encounter something? He should be luring monsters in Florence¡­"


    Eve''s heart was pounding.


    Without hesitation, He immediately separated a wisp of divine consciousness, touched the connection channel between Demacia and Him, and instantly "saw" where Demacia was¡­


    ¡­


    "Damn! What the hell is this?!"


    On the edge of Florence, Demacia''s face almost turned green when he saw the skeleton hands emerging from the ground.


    "Undead magic?!"


    He took a deep breath and roared,


    "Tenacity!"


    He used his buffing skill, increasing his power of defense and attack immediately. Demacia''s strength briefly doubled in an instant. He tried his best to kick away the bony hands that moved towards him and ran away quickly¡­


    "Ah, priest¡­ It must be a goblin priest. It must be the one that has the aura of coldness and horror like what Cuckoo Bird had mentioned. I''m seriously dead."


    Demacia cursed as he ran.


    When he used his skill, the transfiguration magic instantly washed away, revealing his original appearance.


    "An elf?!"


    In the distance, Guru looked at Demacia''s back and froze.


    He thought that the female was a human being. He did not expect that the female human was actually a male elf!


    But why did a male elf disguised himself as a human woman? Where was the reservedness and pride of an elf?


    Wait, he is weak!


    This was the first time Guru saw an adult elf who was not at Iron levels!


    He narrowed his eyes slightly as if he was thinking of something.


    "An elf? I haven''t killed any elves yet¡­ ha ha."


    Guru smiled and licked his chapped lips.


    "The race the God of Winter and Hunting hates most is the elves. If I can catch this elf and sacrifice it with the divine blood crystals to His Majesty, I will definitely please him¡­"


    Thinking of this, he wielded the skeleton staff again.


    With his movements, the orbs on the staff immediately released a deep purple cloud of energy that turned into a dozen human skeletal undead, each one being level 10!


    But even with Guru summoning so many undead skeletons, he still looked unperturbed as if he did not use much energy.


    "Catch him."


    He ordered.


    Upon receiving the order, the undeads made creaking noises and chased after Demacia with their teeth and ws out.


    Feeling a gust of cold wind behind him, Demacia subconsciously looked back. When he saw what was behind him, his face turned pale.


    "Damn! Is he really a level 11 priest? His ability to summon undead is too exaggerated! He doesn''t even look like he spent any significant amount of energy!"


    Demacia cursed the game designer from within and tried his best to run back.


    However, just after a few steps, he hesitated and quickly changed his direction.


    "No¡­ This NPC is too difficult. If I bring it back and the yers cannot beat it, all of us will be over. I might as well lure it somewhere else. If it doesn''t work, I''llmit suicide¡­"


    Demacia murmured.


    He still had the heart to not cause his teammates'' downfall. If they lost, the goblin priest would destroy the teleportation circle and they would fail in their first task.


    An elf''s agility was great indeed. When Demacia used all his strength to escape, the undead actually fell behind him for a time.


    "You want to escape?"


    Guru squinted his eyes, held his staff, sneered, and chased him.


    In his view, this audacious elf was doomed.


    He would surely be sacrificed to the one true god!


    At this moment, Eve''s eyes also fixed on Demacia.


    "Undead?!"


    Eve slightly froze when He saw the skeletons that were chasing after Demacia.


    Then in an instant, His heart sank.


    "They are undead elves¡­"


    Eve made a judgment.


    The skeletons of elves were very simr to those of human beings. Generally, it was hard to tell the difference. But as the master of elves, He immediately recognized them as soon as Heid His eyes on them.


    At this moment, He finally understood what were the inexplicable palpitations.


    Someone openly enved the undead elves in the ce He dominated. It would be strange if Eve, the master of elves, did not react at all.


    When Eve clearly saw Guru enving the undead elves, His mood got even worse.


    "A goblin priest that believes in Ullr?"


    Eve''s voice was icy cold as He had already sentenced the goblin priest to death in his heart.


    But at the same time, He felt doubtful.


    How could a level 11 goblin priest have the great power to enve so many undead elves?


    Although all the undead elves he summoned were only at level 10, the number of them was too crazy. Moreover, Eve could feel that the goblin priest did not use all his strength to summon them.


    When Eve saw the staff in Guru''s hand constantly emitting light, He immediately realized something.


    "It''s the power of that staff. That staff is weird¡­"


    After knowing the reason, Eve calmed down.


    As Eve looked at the goblin priest that was chasing Demacia like mad, He suddenly chuckled.


    "Ha ha¡­ Undead elves?"


    If the level 11 goblin priest enved any other undead creatures, the yers might not be able to beat it. But undead elves¡­


    The wooden knives Eve made for the yers originally had the effect of purification. And since He was the master of elves, the weapons He made had the best effect in purifying the ghosts of elves!


    "All right, the yers have enough practice and they still have many Perfect Resurrection. I can let them have a try and see the effect."


    Thinking of this, Eve used His divine force again. He waved His big hand--


    In the meantime, some notifications started popping up from the game system before all the yers'' eyes. Red light shed in the whole system!


    [Ding--]


    [WARNING! WARNING!]


    [The yer "Demacia" has triggered the world boss! The yer "Demacia" has triggered the world boss!]


    [The world boss tasks start--]


    [Task target: Goblin undead priest (level 11/Low Iron)]


    [Task objective: Kill the goblin undead priest and sacrifice the undead staff to Eve the goddess]


    [Task rewards: An exclusive title "Goblin yer," three Perfect Resurrection, a lot of experience and contribution points]


    [Task tip: The weapons given by the goddess have a blessing effect that can increase the damage to the undead]


    [Brave chosen ones, for the glory of the goddess and the elf race, charge!]


    The yers were stunned at first, and then made a greatmotion!

 Chapter 33

    Destroy It!


    "Gosh! It''s the world boss!"


    "How can Demacia be so lucky? Isn''t he always unlucky?"


    "The rewards are so rich. An exclusive title of ''Goblin yer!'' Three Perfect Resurrection and a lot of experience and contribution points!"


    "I need a few hundred experience points to level to level 11."


    "Me too! Me too!"


    The yers were so excited that their eyes shone brightly like the stars in the sky.


    In most games, elite monster tasks like fighting world bosses were something that had always been a profitable, cost-effective business for all yers.


    "Huh? Why is Demacia running increasingly further away from us with the boss¡­"


    At this time, someone found that the red dot on the minimap was moving in a strange direction.


    "Damn, is he so scared that he forgot the way back?"


    "He might want to protect the teleportation circle¡­"


    Suddenly, someone''s expression turned grim as he thought of something bad.


    "No. He must not fail alone. If he dies, the boss will disappear from the game. We might fail the new task."


    "Damn, it''s really possible!"


    "It makes sense! Let''s go there quickly!"


    "Go go go! Get the world boss!"


    The yers analyzed the situation in a few words and instantly decided to leave for the boss lest it should run away.


    "Let''s go get the world boss!"


    "Let''s take wooden knives and wooden staffs! The task tip says they can increase our damage!"


    "Wait, notify the group of yers back in the camp and tell them to hurry ept the task. They can gain experience points by damaging the world boss. It will also be a great experience as this is the first world boss!"


    All of a sudden, the whole army of yers worked like a well-oiled machine. Nearly a hundred elves carried the scimitars and bows collected from the goblins on their backs, recing them with their original wooden weapons, and rushed towards the red dot on the minimap in a big group.


    After countless battles with the goblin, they had now gained a lot ofbat experience. When they started marching towards the world boss, they actually had an aggressiveness aura around them.


    Meanwhile, countless yers back in the camp received the news, took their weapons, and came here through teleportation with clear excitement. They all epted the task and nned to take their share of the loot by damaging the world boss. All of them were extremely excited.


    All at once, the three hundred chosen ones moved!


    Berserker, who was observing the chosen ones secretly, was stunned when he saw them suddenly going in a mad frenzy.


    "Mother God on high! What happened to them?"


    "A goblin priest appeared, and it is a powerful goblin priest that enves numerous undead elves. I told them about it."


    Eve felt relief when He saw the enthusiastic yers. So, He exined in Berserker''s mind.


    The goblin priest that enved undead elves?


    On hearing this, Berserker instantly got angry.


    Goblins were evil and depraved. This was the greatest insult to Mother God!


    He wished to fly there immediately in person and p this audacious goblin to death!


    But as he thought of the one behind the goblins, he had to reject his idea.


    No¡­ He could not undermine Mother God''s n¡­


    Huh? This was not right¡­


    Wait¡­


    Suddenly, Berserker realized something. He stood up from the woods, watched in disbelief as the yers ran somewhere crazily, and said with shock,


    "Mother God¡­ You¡­ You mean that this group of chosen ones are going to kill the goblin priest?"


    Although Berserker had not seen it, he could guess that the goblin priest was absolutely not weak, for it was able to enve undead elves.


    This would definitely be a difficult challenge to the chosen ones.


    They were not Mother God''s believers. But when Mother God''s dignity was challenged, this group of chosen ones took the initiative to fight and advanced without hesitation!


    Berserker heard the yers'' shouts of "Forward!" "For elves! For the goddess!"¡­


    At this moment, Berserker was actually touched.


    Mother God on high! Although this group of chosen ones were cunning and greedy, they were so sincere and reliable when it came to defending Mother God''s honour.


    Mother God, your choice was really far-sighted!


    Thinking of the previous prejudice he had against the chosen ones, Berserker felt that he might need to get to know them more.


    Furthermore, when Berserker clearly saw the yers'' eyes turning red and their expressions turning so excited that their faces slightly distorted, his gaze changed again.


    They didn''t look like they were going to fight a fierce battle, but to attend a carnival instead!


    Even if they were not real warriors, they were really brave!


    Recalling the chosen ones'' former battles, Berserker could not help but exim at this moment,


    "Mother God on high, your wisdom and vision put me to shame¡­"


    "This group of chosen ones'' enthusiasm forbat is surprising, far beyond ordinary elves¡­ This is also the quality that the peace-loving elvesck on the road to the peak."


    "Mother God, you are right. I think that one day, they will lead elves to the peak and stand on the continent of Sagas again!"


    ¡­


    Inside the dense forest.


    Demacia was stunned as he looked at the notifications from the system before his eyes.


    "World¡­ The world boss¡­"


    He twisted his face and murmured,


    "Am I lucky or unlucky?"


    Looking back at the undeads that wereing increasingly closer behind him, Demacia did not feel good.


    "Damn, do they have to chase so hard¡­"


    He took a deep breath and sped up again.


    "Since this is a world boss, I will run in circles. Brother Mu and the others will definitelye here when they get the system notifications. Before theye, I cannot die. If the boss disappears from the battle, we may fail the task."


    Demacia immediately threw away the idea that he should lure the monster somewhere else andmit suicide.


    When he thought out the new n, he changed his direction and started running in circles.


    Surrounded by undeads, Guru sat on the shoulder of a tall skeleton and followed behind Demacia closely.


    "Ha ha¡­ You want to dy?"


    His eyes were full of mockery as he looked at the sweaty elf.


    "Or are you waiting for yourpanions?"


    Now, Guru was absolutely sure that there was a group behind this elf.


    However, with the undead magic at hand, he was not scared of fighting against a lot of enemies alone.


    Although the undead were not intellectual creatures, they were numerous and felt no pain. They did not know what death and fear were. They were fearless weapons of war!


    Besides, Guru did not think that the group behind the elf was strong. Otherwise, they would havee for him long ago.


    "This is an opportunity for me to see who is making trouble behind the scene. Ha ha, there is an elf involved. Perhaps I can catch some big fish this time."


    He intended to take the opportunity to force the enemy out¡­


    As Demacia constantly ran, his physical strength was rapidly decreasing.


    Finally, he gradually stopped because he was unable to run any longer.


    "You cannot run anymore?"


    Guru jumped off from the shoulder of the undead, looked at Demacia and kept sneering.


    He waved his hand and a dozen level 10 undeads quickly swarmed and surrounded Demacia.


    Demacia turned his head, gasped and wiped the sweat on his head, but his expression did not show any trace of tension or despair.


    Looking at his fearless gaze, there was a flicker of surprise in Guru''s eyes.


    "You are not afraid?"


    Demacia looked at the goblin priest that dressed like a magician. Suddenly, he smiled, showing his pearly white teeth.


    "Afraid of what?"


    He booed and spat at the goblin priest.


    "My reinforcements have arrived!"


    At the same time, there were shouts of excitement all around.


    "It is the world boss! It is the world boss!"


    "Kill it! Don''t let it run away!"


    "For elves! For Her Majesty Eve!"


    "Beat the goblin!!"


    "Destroy it!"

 Chapter 34

    Mad Elves


    With loud shouts, numerous figures wearing linen robes and wooden armor while wielding wooden knives and staffs emerged from the woods from all directions.


    Guru the goblin high priest was shocked by the shouts of excitement.


    He looked up. When he clearly saw the tall figures, he cried out involuntarily.


    "Elves?!"


    God of Winter and Hunting on high! How could there be so many elves in the forest of elves?


    Hadn''t they gone away long ago?


    Guru subconsciously wanted to escape.


    The only reason why was the inherent idea that hadsted for a thousand years. Even if the elf race had declined, ordinary elves had the power above Iron levels.


    In the face of Iron level elves, he was just a little goblin. Even if he had be an undead priest, he could not beat hundreds of elves.


    But he soon rejected his own idea of escape.


    "Huh? It is not right¡­"


    Guru thought of something.


    If there were actually so many powerful elves, the goblin race would have been driven out of Florence long ago.


    Thinking of this, Guru took a closer look, which made him feel more at ease¡­


    This group of elves turned out to be rookies who had not even possessed the power of Professional!


    In an instant, Guru understood how 200 goblins disappeared.


    Yes, it was them who killed the goblins!


    But then, the old goblin got more confused.


    Where did these elves who hadn''t reached level 11 came from?


    He thought about this matter with its limited brain capacity¡­


    He could not figure out the reason why¡­


    So it stopped thinking and became eager to release his deep-seated desire.


    "Let it be, God of Winter and Hunting on high! No matter where you are from, you are unlucky to face me! Sacrifice your lives to His Majesty the one true god. I will definitely earn His rewards and favour."


    He would definitely earn the god''s rewards by exterminating so many elves!


    Although elves were powerful, they did not value violence. Since they loved peace, their fighting ability had always been weaker when they faced opponents on equal grounds.


    In Guru''s view, this group of elf rookies who did not even reach level 11 were inferior to a group of goblins at level 10!


    Him alone was more than enough to deal with enemies at this level!


    Ha ha, the elves would flee the moment they are injured. No, they might flee when they see his undead army¡­


    Thinking of this, Guru sneered and wielded its staff.


    Purple-ck energy was released from the skeleton staff. In an instant, another dozen skeletons were summoned¡­


    "Destroy them! Don''t let one go!"


    Guru ordered.


    Upon receiving Guru''s order, the undeads took out their bone knives and rushed towards the elves, showing their teeth and ws¡­


    "Damn, it is really undead magic!"


    The yers who came here were stunned and hesitated for a moment.


    The goblin high priest saw the yers'' eyes widen and became even prouder.


    Ha ha¡­


    They are scared?


    The appearance of the undead skeletons were horrible indeed. And the undead he summoned were of the special kind, as their breath of death could even erode the souls of the weak!


    No creature was not afraid when they saw his army!


    Yes, this was the power of death. This was the power of an undead necromancer!


    Guru was intoxicated as he felt the power in his staff¡­


    Be afraid!


    Flee!


    And enjoy being hunted by the undead!


    But then the elves'' words confused him slightly.


    "Damn¡­ It''s so realistic¡­ It almost scared me¡­"


    "No wonder this game is said to be almost one-hundred-percent realistic. The special effects of undead magic are so good!"


    "These undead skeletons look cool too!"


    The elves looked at the undead with visible excitement. They were not afraid at all.


    They¡­ were not scared?


    Their souls were actually not affected by the breath of death?


    Guru was shocked.


    But afterwards, its expression became contemptuous again.


    Ha ha¡­


    It seemed that they were not aware of the power of the undead. They did not know that they would be gradually eroded.


    What a group of rookies who knew nothing about the world.


    "You elves know nothing about the power of the undead."


    "You will soon see what a real undead army is! You will soon prefer death over life!"


    Thinking of this, Guru wielded the staff again to maximize his strength¡­


    In an instant, another dozen undead skeletons were summoned.


    Countless undead gathered together, exuding a strong smell of death. For a time, the temperature in the forest dropped significantly.


    Feeling the power of the undeads, the goblin high priest was extremely proud.


    He would let these foolish rookies know how horrible death could be!


    "Damn! He summoned more undeads!"


    "Hurry and appraise his power!"


    "The boss is at level 11, while the skeletons are at level 10!"


    "The skeletons are protecting the boss. Let''s beat the skeletons first! Let''s exterminate all the skeletons!"


    "The yers of the strength system go first. Magicians will support them from behind!"


    "One party will deal with two skeletons. Those parties with all level 10 members look for an opportunity to attack the boss! Look for their weaknesses and find out their attack patterns! Prevent him from summoning any more!"


    "Those who died hurry up ande back from the resurrection point!"


    The elves said words that Guru could not understand and took surprising actions.


    To the surprise of the goblin high priest, no elves chose to escape. On the contrary, they got even more excited.


    They wielded wooden knives and rushed towards his undead army!


    The two parties immediately fought against each other.


    Blood sshed everywhere.


    The level 10 undeads were terrifying indeed. Although the yers had gone through a certain amount of training, they were not its opponents. In an instant, the first group of yers who fought were seriously injured and fell down on the ground under the vicious assault of the undead.


    Guru could not help but sneer when he saw the elves dying and getting injured in an instant.


    Ha ha, they were actually fools to physically fight against undeads.


    He could almost foresee the shock and escape of the elves.


    The elf poption was already sparse. In Guru''s view, they could not afford excessive casualties!


    He believed that once a few elves died, the elves would start to flee.


    But then, something beyond Guru''s imagination happened.


    Those elves who were injured and fell down on the ground struggled to stand up again. They looked extremely excited while ignoring the bleeding wounds on their bodies.


    This was especially true with male elves.


    They wielded their weapons as if they were not injured or bleeding. They shouted and continued to sh at the undeads.


    Guru did not have a game system to harmonize some discordant scenes.


    Therefore, in his eyes, this battle was extremely terrifying.


    He saw that some elves had their legs cut off but still did not retreat. Instead, they hopped or crawled over and continued shing with wooden knives.


    He saw that some elves had their arms broken by theirpanions'' magic but they would just turn around to curse, "Fire urately, you fool!" And then they turned back and rushed into the battlefield again¡­


    He even saw an undead stabbing through the abdomen of an elf, causing his intestines to hang outside the body, but it seemed that the elf did not notice it. He continued tough fearlessly while fighting against the undead.


    The elves used their knives tobat like mad dogs, regardless of their own injuries and the gradual loss of vitality.


    Every elf who approached death looked happy and joyful. At most, they would drop an unexpected sentence, "Damn I''m going to die!" And then their eyes rolled back and closed as they died.


    In the same way, they did not care about the life and death of theirpanions. No one felt sad about the death of theirpanions. It was like all they could see were their enemies.


    Moreover, some elves would gloat at the unfortunate death of apanion and collect his equipment on the spot¡­


    Guru was shocked to see it.


    This¡­ What was the matter with this group of elves?


    Don''t they feel any pain?


    Don''t they have emotions?


    They¡­ are not afraid of death!


    No, they are really not afraid of death¡­


    Guru even saw an elf shouting aloud, then directly taking the initiative to pounce on the bone knife of the undead skeleton. The elf was then stabbed in the heart, but he continued to hug the undead tightly while vomiting blood and yelled to hispanions in excitement,


    "I caught this skeleton, hurry and take the opportunity to tear it down!"


    At this moment, Guru waspletely shocked.


    He shuddered abruptly and murmured,


    "Mad¡­"


    "They must be mad¡­"


    "This group of elves must be mad!"

 Chapter 35

    The Copsed High Priest


    What for?


    Guru wanted to ask these elves "What for?"


    If he were them, he would have escaped long ago. Why did these elvese to die one after another¡­


    Were they still the elves who imed to be elegant, noble and appreciative of life?


    Were they still the peaceful, conservative and prudent elves?


    Guru swore these were the maddest and most iprehensible elves he had ever seen in his life!


    No, he was not right¡­


    These elves were the maddest intellectual creatures he had seen in his life!


    They did not fear death or pain. They were even willing to die together with the enemies in order to destroy them¡­


    In an instance, Guru even suspected that these elves were high-level undead in elf skin!


    They were too horrible¡­


    They were really too horrible!


    Although they were not that powerful, they feared neither pain nor death, which made the old goblin priest shudder!


    Additionally¡­


    Guru thought that he could exterminate these elves soon. But to his surprise, whenever he killed an elf, another elf would rece it as if they could never be exterminated.


    Of course, because of racial differences, he could not distinguish the elves'' appearances well. It could not see that many elves came back after their "death."


    However, Guru noticed that after these elves died, their bodies would slowly disappear.


    Guru''s eyes widened when he saw the iprehensible scene.


    "Devils¡­ They must be devils!"


    His hand was quivering with the staff as he doubted whether he was under an illusion spell.


    But the undeads that constantly went down showed him a harsh fact; all of these were no illusions!


    This was what made Guru gradually feel worse.


    The undead he had summoned should have turned into pure energy and gone back into the staff after they were destroyed. But this time, the connection between them as if they were really destroyed¡­


    As the number of the undead decreased, Guru finally began to panic¡­


    It looked up at the elf army, only to discover that there were still so many elves. Or rather, it seemed like there were more elves¡­


    Just now, there were only more than a hundred elves. Now, there seemed to be almost three hundred!


    Besides, their power just seemed to increase¡­


    Just now, Guru perceived that only a few dozen elves were at level 10. But now, Guru roughly estimated the number of elves at level 10 and found it was more than one hundred!


    "This¡­ Are there more powerful elvesing here?!"


    Guru froze.


    God of Winter and Hunting on high! Did all the elves in this worlde here?!


    He wanted to retreat.


    As the battle continued, although Guru had killed numerous elves, for some reason, his staff did not capture any new undead elves. On the contrary, the undead it had summoned were constantly permanently destroyed¡­


    Feeling the energy decreasing in the undead staff, Guru finally made up his mind.


    He gritted his teeth, red at the elf army in hatred and turned to leave.


    To protect his retreat, Guru summoned back the undeads to his side to get rid of the elves near him and quickly retreated.


    Seeing that the goblin high priest wanted to retreat, the elves went into a frenzy state.


    "He wants to escape!"


    "He must be at the end of his wits!"


    "Don''t let it escape! Catch up with it!"


    As the yers'' levels were lower than that of Guru''s, they could not appraise Guru''s magic power precisely. But they guessed off Guru''s movement, and their guess was almost right--Guru was not injured but his magic power was almost exhausted.


    Without magic power, a low level magician was basically a dish.


    "Catch him! Don''t give it a chance to recover!"


    The elves let out a roar of anger as they chased after Guru with red eyes.


    In an instant, they became more radical.


    Guru found it incredible to see a bunch of elves pouncing on the undeads, choosing to die together.


    With splendid magic, a dozen undead skeletons copsed with the suicidal elves¡­


    More elves wielded their weapons and rushed towards Guru as if they were chasing an enemy who had killed their fathers.


    Finally, after facing a bunch of suicidal elves, he was alone.


    Guru almost copsed as he looked at the desperate elves.


    "What for? What for?!"


    Why didn''t they run away? A trace of grievance could be detected in his trembling voice.


    However, how could he run faster than the elves as an old goblin with short legs?


    A gust of wind blew behind him, Guru smelt danger.


    All at once, a vigorous figure rushed to him and instantly seized his thin body.


    Guru turned in shock and immediately met a big face that wasughing fiercely.


    Sharp ears, red explosive hair, and the awkward smile on the lips¡­


    Even if a goblin could not distinguish elves'' appearances, Guru instantly recognized this elf.


    "You are the bastard who pretended to be a female human!"


    He gnashed his teeth.


    It was this guy!


    It was this guy!!


    Guru regretted. He regretted it very much!


    Why did it follow this guy out of the ruins?


    "I have captured it!"


    Demacia seized Guru tightly and yelled in excitement,


    "Comrades! Fire at me!"


    Numberless elf magicians chanted and executed their magic skills. Countless knives and swords shining with the brilliance of skills followed closely. As Guru watched in shock and Demaciaughed triumphantly, the magic, knives and swords drowned the two¡­


    [Ding--]


    [Guru the goblin undead priest is dead]


    [The world boss task: Objective 1pleted]


    [All participating yers get the exclusive title--"Goblin yer"]


    [The yers who participated in destroying one undead get three Perfect Resurrection and one thousand experience points]


    [The yers who participated in destroying two undead get three Perfect Resurrection and two thousand experience points]


    [The yers who participated in destroying three undead get three Perfect Resurrection and three thousand experience points]


    ¡­


    [The yers who participated in destroying the goblin priest get one extra Perfect Resurrection and three thousand extra experience points]


    With the wonderful sound of the system, all the yers received the notifications of taskpletion¡­ and a lot of rewards.


    All the yers were stunned at first, and then gave a cheer.


    "Ha ha ha! We won!"


    "Wow, I got four Perfect Resurrection and five thousand experience points!"


    "I can level up to level 11!"


    "Huh? Aren''t we told there would be contribution points? Where are the contribution points?"


    ¡­


    Looking at the excited chosen ones, Berserker the oak guard walked out of the forest in a daze.


    "Mother God on high¡­ This group of chosen ones are horrific indeed."


    He murmured as though he had not recovered from the elves'' suicidal attack just now.


    The yers'' eyes shone as they saw Berserker.


    "Uncle B! Uncle B ising!"


    "By the way! There is another objective in the task. We need to sacrifice the staff to the goddess now! I think we can gain our contribution points by sacrificing it!"


    "What''s the use of contribution points?"


    "It is said that its benefit will show at level 11. We will know it after leveling up to level 11! It must be a good thing since it is rted to the goddess!"


    "Stop talking. Hurry up and give Uncle B the staff and let him sacrifice it to the goddess!"


    The yers chatted as they took out the staff from Guru''s ashes.


    Apart from the staff, Guru''s other equipment was shattered by magic skills.


    "Damn, what material is this staff made of? It alone is intact¡­"


    "Let me try to appraise it¡­ Uh, I cannot identify it."


    "What the goddess wants should be a task item, right?"


    The yers touched the staff curiously, but found nothing, so they quickly put it into the bewildered Berserker''s hand.


    "Uncle B, sacrifice it quickly!"


    They looked at the oak guard expectantly with their eyes widely open.


    Berserker, "¡­"

 Chapter 36

    The Orb of the God of Death


    At the World Tree, Eve, who had just rewarded the yers for their task, soon perceived Berserker''s prayer of sacrifice.


    He epted it and opened the channel of sacrifice. Afterwards, a small skeleton staff appeared in the space of His godhead.


    Eve was slightly delighted. He waved His big hand to send the message "Task objective 2pleted" to every yer who had participated in the task through system notification and rewarded each person with three hundred contribution points.


    The contribution function would start appearing when the yers leveled up to level 11. At level 11, the yers could use the contribution points to change their upations and exchange skills and equipment in Eve''s temple. Additionally, the yers could conduct transactions with contribution points, which qualified as a mary system at the early stage of the game.


    At the beginning of the game, Eve had too few NPCs and few yers. So, He could only introduce the contribution points for upation transfers, skill learning and equipment exchange. He would start the contribution point exchange system in the temple.


    In the future, however, Eve nned to gradually distribute these basic functions to other NPCs. On one hand, He would improve themunication between the yers and the NPCs with this system. On the other hand, He would reduce the burden of the game system, saving divine force in the process. After the system improved and more NPCs were avable, he would then only focus on the exchange of some special skills or rare equipment.


    After rewarding the yers, Eve focused on Guru''s undead staff.


    As soon as the undead staff entered the space of His godhead, Eve felt the strong palpitations again. He used divine force to touch it slightly. A purple-ck energy immediately emanated from the orb on the top of the staff, which turned out to be the pure energy from the ghost elves.


    Perceiving the despair and sadness of the ghosts, Eve sighed from within and purified it.


    "Your nightmare is over."


    With holy, soft divine force, the purple-ck energy was instantly purified into elves. They prostrated to Eve, chanted the ode to nature with gratitude, turned into a huge amount of pure faith power and poured into Eve''s godhead.


    The purple orb also lost its original color and became crystal clear. If it wasn''t for a crack on it, it would be a perfect staff.


    After purifying the undead elves, Eve clearly felt that His divine force rose by five points.


    Previously, the yers destroyed more than two hundred Goblins, providing Him with 2.4 more points of divine force. The yers offered Him another four points of divine force by destroying the goblin high priest and his undead army. They found a divine blood crystal and provided 1.5 points of divine force to Him again.


    Even after factoring all kinds of consumption, His divine force now exceeded 25 points, the highest in history!


    Eve was delighted when He saw His divine force going up so high.


    "Destroying goblins seems to be a good method. If they can exterminate all the goblins in Florence, my divine force will increase by a few points!"


    "Huh, I can ask the yers to exterminate the remaining goblins in Florence after they level up and change their upation. The remaining priests should not be a threat. The divine blood crystals they have collected should be hidden somewhere in the ruins. There must be at least four or five pieces?"


    Eve thought expectantly.


    "Besides, there should be six or seven more elf city ruins in the forest of elves, including the elf capital¡­"


    "Goblins even appeared in the nearest city, Florence. Ullr might have infiltrated these areas. If I can destroy the goblins in these ces, my divine force may exceed 50!"


    "In addition, this is without the divine blood crystals. If I add the divine blood crystals, it is likely that I can get rid of my dying state early!"


    Thinking of this, Eve was delighted and felt that He was one step closer to freedom of movement.


    As He was delighted, He wanted to use divine force to transform the undead staff into a legendary staff of good quality and then put it in the exchange system of contribution points for the yers to exchange.


    It was not the first for Him to transform or strengthen equipment.


    Eve divided the equipment on the continent of Sagas into four types: Golden legend, purple epic, blue rarity, and white ordinary.


    Apart from the wooden weapons given to the yers after they logged into the game, He got all the remaining equipment of the orcs killed by Berserker previously, using 0.1 points of divine force to refurbish them, He put them into the exchange system for the yers to use. All of them were purple equipment.


    He was now waiting for the yers to start the exchange system after changing their upation and exchanging their contribution points for better equipment.


    Eve clearly knew the yers'' obsession with equipment. As long as this system started and more contribution points were used as task rewards in the future, the yers would definitely fight as He ordered without hesitation.


    Thinking of this, Eve prepared 0.05 points of divine force, intending to turn this staff into a golden legendary weapon at Iron level, which would be unique to the entire game server.


    However, as soon as the divine force entered the staff, there was an unexpected scene.


    The transformation of the equipment did not take ce as He imagined. The orb of this staff sucked His divine force directly!


    "Hum?"


    Eve''s heart was pounding.


    Every good staff would have an orb on the top that could store magic power, but He had released divine force!


    Divine force was not any ordinary power but the power of a true god. It was the most powerful form of energy of the highest quality in the world.


    "What''s the matter with this orb?"


    Eve took a closer look at the staff again and instantly saw a clue.


    "The material of the staff handle is actually devil wood? A sealing material?"


    Devil wood was a special precious nt growing on the continent of Sagas. It had the effect of sealing objects. The effect of a thousand-year-old devil wood could even block the sight of a true god to a certain extent!


    Eve looked carefully and found that the handle of this staff was used to seal the orb!


    Previously, He just thought it was a staff that could store the energy of the undead, but He was mistaken.


    "This orb is strange! Right, if it is ordinary, how could a mere goblin enve so many undead elves!"


    Eve became cautious as He thought of this.


    "It seems that I was too happy after gaining a victory over the goblins."


    Alerting Himself from within, Eve nned to deal with this piece of equipment again.


    Ordinary objects could not absorb divine force, so he wanted to find out what this orb was.


    Without hesitation, Eve took the orb from the staff and broke the seal.


    After the seal was broken, the originally crystal clear orb suddenly gave off a soft glow with a vague sense of solemnity.


    Eve turned solemn and used His identification ability.


    To His surprise, two points of divine force were consumed. The real name of the orb appeared in His mind:


    [H the God of Death''s orb, used for storing souls (damaged)]

 Chapter 37

    Eve''s Avatar n


    H the God of Death?


    Eve''s heart started pounding as the rted memories in the heritage of the World Tree suddenly emerged.


    H, also known as the God of Death and the Lord of the Underworld, was an ancient true god in charge of death, aging, and disease. Although H was at the top of the intermediate-grade gods, She was extremely mysterious.


    It was said that She lived somewhere in the Underworld and hardly participated in the struggles between true gods. Even if Her divine mission was almost theplete opposite to the World Tree''s, She did not participate in the War of Gods 1000 years ago.


    Of course, there were also rumors that She did not participate in the disputes of the gods because She had been trying to recover from a severe injury She got in a battle from ancient times.


    But even if She had been injured, no one dared to plot Her downfall.


    Because, in the underworld, H was invincible.


    In addition, it was clear that this true god was not interested in the struggles of faith except for the souls of living beings. Her followers seldom walked on the continent of Sagas.


    "How did H''s soul-storing orb end up in the forest of elves?"


    Eve was puzzled.


    However, He knew this orb being on the continent of Sagas was not idental.


    In the world of Sagas, true gods often rewarded their followers with their belongings as divine objects for them to use.


    In the struggle between different parties, the loss of divine objects wasmon.


    Except for those divine objects the true gods extremely valued, they were not interested in recovering ordinary divine objects after they were lost.


    After all, those ordinary divine objects might only contain a few points of divine force of the god. Moreover, the divine force in the divine object didn''t contain any power of divine mission like divine blood crystals, so the powerful true gods did not care about them very much.


    It was not worth scouring the continent for such few points of divine force.


    The consequence of this indifference was the proliferation of divine objects in the normalbat in the world of Sagas¡­


    Eve smiled as He thought of it and yed with this soul-storing orb in His hand.


    Sure enough, after examining it in detail, He found five points of H''s divine force in it!


    This discovery made Eve slightly happy. Although His divine mission was the total opposite to that of H''s, the absorption of the divine force in this orb would still provide Him with three points of natural divine force!


    However, He gave up this idea after pondering for a while.


    "If I absorb the divine force in this orb, it will no longer be a divine object."


    Eve looked at the orb as He thought,


    "H''s research on the subject of souls is quite in-depth. It is said that She is even able to make divine objects that can contain divine souls. Who knows whether this orb has such a function?"


    Unfortunately, the orb was currently in a damaged state. Eve appraised it and found that it only had the functions of "storing divine force," "storing soul power," and "transforming the undead."


    "Maybe I can see its full strength after I repair it. Ha ha, if it really can contain a divine soul, I might be able to realize some of my ideas in advance."


    Eve was very excited.


    He was thinking of creating an avatar!


    In fact, the main reason why He hadn''t made an avatar was because His current amount of divine force was not enough to make a body that could support His divine soul.


    But if this orb could contain the power of a divine soul, He might be able to make a body with His divine soul in the orb as the core of it!


    Furthermore, the existence of H''s divine force in this orb could mask His aura and prevent other true gods from identifying Him, which would be more useful than the avatar He was nning to make for Himself!


    Although the yers'' potential was unlimited and the indigenous believers were good helpers, Eve still could not rely on thempletely, as they were still too weak. Thus, it would be more convenient for Him to do some things by Himself using an avatar.


    For example, if Eve had a body with H''s soul-storing orb as its core, He could have destroyed the nest of goblins alone without having to worry about the revenge of Ullr the God of Winter and Hunting.


    He could also secretly take action when the yers confronted Ullr''s followers. If He was there, He would be able to solve the problems that the yers could not solve.


    With the avatar, Ullr would not be able to guess that it was Eve who was messing with His followers. At most, Ullr would assume that they died under the followers of the God of Death.


    But did H''s followers have anything to do with the World Tree?


    Ahem¡­ Anyway, H the God of Death only dwelt in the underworld and nevermunicated with other gods. If Ullr really thought that the culprit was H, H could be made as a scapegoat.


    But would Ullr, a weak god with low-grade divine force, dare to trouble a god with intermediate divine force?


    In summary, from every perspective, it was necessary to have a body that could move freely.


    Thinking of this, Eve immediately began to repair the orb. However, when He started to repair it, He found that if He wanted to restore the orbpletely, He would have to spend at least 20 points of divine force, which would take a long time to recuperate.


    "Now I only have 25 points of divine force. If I immediately start repairing the orb, my divine force will go lower than 10 points and I will soon fall into deep sleep again."


    With this in mind, Eve decided to postpone the matter. He would not act until the yers finished exterminating the goblins in Florence.


    "I hope that the number of the divine blood crystals collected by the goblins won''t disappoint me."


    He thought expectantly.


    ¡­


    In the forest of elves.


    After the yers fought for the whole day, the sun had set in the west. The yers felt tired and decided to return to the camp to rest.


    On the one hand, they were tired and wanted to rest. On the other hand, a lot of the yers nned to transfer their upation, and the other yers wanted to watch them.


    After this task, more than half of the 300 yers had reached level 10. And nearly 100 people had reached level 11, the standard of Iron.


    Different from the leveling pre-level 10, in order to level up to level 11 of Low Iron, the yers must go through the process of transferring their upation in the Temple of Nature. So, to do exactly that, the yers went back and lined up in front of the Temple of Nature in the elf town¡­


    "We have to line up in order to transfer our upation. Isn''t this just like the real world?"


    Demaciained when he saw dozens of people in front of him in the queue.


    On hearing him, Li Mu shrugged.


    "You have to queue for a task, let alone to transfer your upation."


    "Now I''m very curious about how they will do it in the open beta."


    "That''s not something we should worry about."


    The two men talked while moving forward in the queue.


    At the forefront of the queue, the yers who had sessfully transferred their upation came out.


    Li Mu could vaguely hear them talking about "contribution," "equipment," and "skills" in excitement, which made him very curious.


    Could it be that we could exchange contribution points for equipment and skills?


    He had some guesses.


    The yers who had transferred their upation sessfully looked very excited. They moved around while trying new sword skills or magic skills in high spirits.


    From a distance, Li Mu could feel that the yers'' power had been greatly enhanced. It could even be said that their power was overwhelming whenpared to their past self.


    He clearly saw Little Salty Meowing out of the temple. This elf girl excitedly threw a fireball at an ancient tree on the right, but then she identally sted an unfinished house on the left of the tree.


    Of course, Cuckoo Bird, the construction captain, soon asked her to tea for a talk right afterwards.


    "I don''t know whose house it is, but that guy is really unlucky."


    Li Mu shook his head.


    On hearing Li Mu, Demacia followed his gaze curiously¡­


    His smile gradually disappeared¡­


    "Damn! That is my house!"


    After these words, Demacia yelled in grief,


    "Little Salty Meow, stop! My two-story vi!"


    After yelling, he ran out of the queue and rushed to his now burnt down house.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    He mourned for Demacia for a second and continued to wait in the queue.


    After a while, it was finally his turn.

 Chapter 38

    Regret


    Li Mu took a deep breath and walked into the temple.


    At this moment, the area in front of the statue of the goddess had already been vacated.


    He read through the instructions on how to transfer the upation in the game system and respectfully walked up to the statue of the goddess.


    After calming down, Li Mu got down on one knee and said carefully ording to the instructions,


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves--Eve Euktrahill!"


    After he said these words, the statue shone brightly and the light slowly enveloped him.


    Li Mu was in a trance. After gaining his bearings, he found himself in the character creation space again.


    [Ding--]


    [The transfer ceremony starts. Your current upation is "Magician." Please choose an upation you want to transfer to]


    [The transfer will cost: Ten thousand experience points and two hundred contribution points]


    [As this is the first time you are transferring upation, you will get an opportunity to transfer upation across different fields. After you have transferred sessfully, you will directly level up to level 11 (Low Iron)]


    [After the transfer, you will receive a gift from the goddess and obtain a professional skill]


    [After the first transfer, subsequent transfers will be fixed in the professional field. You cannot transfer across fields any longer. Please choose your upation carefully]


    With the wonderful sound of the system, Li Mu received the rules about the upation transfer.


    "To transfer across fields?"


    Li Mu''s expression turned serious.


    He read it carefully and soon realized that it was for the yers who did not like their current upations. That was to say, when yers transfer for the first time, the yers in the strength system could transfer to the magic system, and vice versa.


    "Ha ha, the game designers are quite humane."


    Li Mu eximed.


    He suppressed his anticipation and looked at the options avable for him.


    There were six upations altogether.


    The upations in the strength system were shooters, warriors, and hunters. Their respective directions of development were long-range explosion and sniping, melee damage output and tank, tracking and assassination.


    The upations in the magic system were druids, sorcerers and priests. Their respective directions of development were auxiliary control and support, long-range damage and magic creation, auxiliary cure and defense.


    Li Mu was satisfied with being a magician, so he did not want to transfer to the strength system. He looked at the three upations in the magic system.


    He did not like wildly flinging magic, nor did he like inscriptions or magic equipment creation. So he first ruled out the sorcery profession.


    Although the priest was on the list of his options, Li Mu took a closer look at it and found that this upation was temporarily unavable. So there was only one choice left--


    "Transfer to druid."


    He confirmed.


    He positioned himself as a leader, so control and support skills were the most suitable for him. The versatile druid had great advantages in this respect. It was the best choice.


    Moreover, the two skills he had now, Twining Vines and Curing Minor Injuries, were druid skills.


    [Confirmation: Transfer to druid]


    [Starting transfer]


    After Li Mu confirmed it, ten thousand experience points and two hundred contribution points in his game system were instantly deducted. A soft, sacred power immediately enveloped him¡­


    Li Mu once again felt the feeling of getting stronger. He felt his five senses improving. His sense of magic, especially the sense of nature, became increasingly more acute.


    The transfer ended in a few seconds. Li Mu could not wait and check his character card--


    [Name: Li Mu]


    [Race: Elf]


    [Profession: Druid]


    [Level: 11 (Low Iron)]


    [Experience Value: 0/30000]


    [Life Value: 1500/1500]


    [Magic Value: 2000/2000]


    [Attributes: Constitution (150), Strength (100), Agility (100), Magic Power (200)]


    [Skills: Curing Minor Injuries (one ring), Vine Magic (one ring), Natural Whispers (one ring)]


    [Title: Goblin yer]


    ¡­


    All the attributes were doubled! And his constitution got stronger!


    Li Mu was delighted.


    Moreover, his Curing Minor Injuries and Twining Vines had been upgraded to one-ring skills!


    Apart from these two skills, he gained a new skill: Natural Whispers.


    Li Mu checked and found that this skill was used tomunicate with nts and animals in order to get information from them.


    "I''m going to run wild on the auxiliary road!"


    Li Mu smiled.


    Besides the three skills, he found that he still had two vacant skill slots.


    Professionals of Low Iron coud master five skills altogether.


    [Sessful Transfer]


    The voice of the system sounded again. The light enveloped Li Mu and he immediately retreated from the character creation space


    The scene changed before his eyes. And before he knew it, Li Mu found that he was still standing in front of the statue.


    [Ding--]


    [The yer has reached level 11. The following functions are now avable--]


    [The exchange function is avable]


    [The friends function is avable]


    [The union function is avable]


    These three functions weremon in online games. Eve had already made them in the system.


    Li Mu skipped thest two, but he could not wait to check the exchange function.


    [The exchange function: In the temple of nature, you can exchange contribution points for equipment, skills, resetting the opportunities for upation transfer, Perfect Resurrections, Transfiguration skills, and many more. Contribution points can be traded among the yers.]


    Reading this description, Li Mu touched his chin.


    It seemed that this was the store of The Kingdom of Elves. Maybe the yers would spend money on contribution points in the future.


    He opened the list of the items avable for exchange.


    At this moment, there were only a few items on the list.


    Li Mu directly went to check on the list of skills avable for exchange,pletely ignoring everything else in the store.


    All he had now were auxiliary skills, so it would be the best for him to have an offensive skill for self-defense.


    "Wood-strengthening magic allows one to have the strength of an ox and the elegance of a cat¡­"


    With a nce, Li Mu saw many interesting skills. But when he took a closer look at how much they cost¡­


    "The cheapest skill costs two thousand contribution points?!"


    He dryly swallowed his saliva.


    Now he had only one hundred points left, which was far from enough¡­


    "No. I should hurry to do tasks and find a way to increase my contribution points!"


    Li Mu shook his head with a sense of urgency.


    All the yers of this type of game all oddly had the slightest obsessivelypulsive disorder. When they saw that their skill slots were not full, they could not wait to fill it up.


    Then he curiously opened the list of equipment¡­


    In an instant, dozens of equipment shing with purple frames greeted him.


    "Damn! Purple epic equipment!"


    The refurbished orc equipment at least looked very good regardless of their quality. Even if Li Mu was not in the strength system, his eyes shone when he looked at them.


    "Beast-head chest armor, refined scimitars¡­ but their quantity is limited. Gee, are they out of stock? They are so expensive¡­ The cheapest one costs five thousand contribution points¡­ How long must I work for it?"


    "Huh? There is an item called Devil Staff! Damn! A golden outfit! It is a piece of golden legendary equipment!"


    Li Mu''s eyes were fixed on it.


    The staff was the now orb-less devil wood staff. After the seal was broken, the devil wood was damaged.


    But Eve still spent 0.05 points of divine force to refurbish it into a piece of Iron-level golden legendary equipment. He named it as Devil Staff.


    Li Mu liked it at first sight.


    However, when he looked towards the contribution points beside it¡­


    "It costs 64800 contribution points?"


    He froze.


    Taking a deep breath, Li Mu covered his face with his hands and squatted down.


    "Argh! I regret it. I regret it so much."

 Chapter 39

    Devils Are Coming


    Suppressing his sadness about the lost he suffered from sacrificing the staff, Li Mu read the instructions for obtaining contribution points--


    [There are two ways to gain contribution points: 1. Complete the tasks given by the game system 2. Exchange objects for contribution points in the Temple of Nature]


    Tasks given by the game system?


    Li Mu was taken aback and then thought of the task they were doing now: The holy city of the past.


    At present, although they had killed many goblins, in fact, the three objectives of this task--


    "1. Establish a stable teleportation circle;


    2. Destroy all the goblins that are entrenched in Florence;


    3. Look for the divine blood crystals in the ruins."


    They actually were not done yet.


    Luckily, after the exchange system was used, detailed information about the amount of contribution points awarded by each objective was given


    [By participating in the establishment of the teleportation circle, you will be awarded five hundred contribution points.]


    [By participating in killing a goblin you will be awarded ten contribution points; by killing a goblin alone you will be awarded fifty contribution points.]


    [By participating in killing a goblin priest you will be awarded fifty contribution points; by killing a goblin priest alone you will be awarded five hundred contribution points.]


    [By sacrificing one divine blood crystal you will be awarded eight hundred contribution points.]


    [Contribution points will be settled after each task objective ispleted.]


    After Li Mu read the instructions, his heart started pounding with excitement.


    "Kill goblins, establish the teleportation circle, and look for the divine blood crystals!"


    Although Li Mu had already participated in the task before, now he wanted to immediately fly to Florence after understanding the value of contribution points.


    "I must act quickly. Now, many yers have leveled up to level 11 and as such, the threat of the goblins has been greatly reduced. The yers will soonpete in killing goblins. The task of establishing the teleportation circle can be done together. But the other two objectives will reward who is faster!"


    "Killing goblins and looking for the crystals are the main ways to obtain contribution points. I must do them first!"


    Li Mu quickly made the decision.


    Having figured everything out, he quickly retreated from the Temple of Nature and was ready to contact some old party members.


    But when he came to the camp square, he suddenly froze.


    In front of him, many yers who had leveled up to level 11 had already gathered in the square.


    Just now, it took too long for Li Mu to read through the lists of items for exchange. Normally, it would have been fine since it waste in the evening and a lot of yers would usually go offline.


    But with the sight before him, it looked like no one went offline after transferring. All thebat-focused yers'' eyes shone as they envisioned swimming in a bunch of contribution points.


    In the square, yers were constantly yelling,


    "Party up, Party up! Attack the holy city of Florence! Destroy goblins and look for divine blood crystals!"


    "We need one more to fill the party. We need a tank warrior! We only want someone of Low Iron!"


    "I collect divine blood crystals! I will pay eight hundred Chinese yuan for one divine blood crystal!"


    "I collect contribution points! I collect contribution points! I will pay one yuan for one point. I can pay you through Alipay or Wechat!"


    Even Demacia, whose house got blown up, came here in excitement,


    "Brother Mu, did you see it? An exchange system! All the items in it are purple epic equipment! There are less than 30 pieces in the whole server! I want to obtain enough contribution points for a whole warrior set. Hmm, that might not be realistic. But at least I will obtain enough points for a scimitar. Would you like to stay up all night together and collect contribution points?"


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Mad.


    Everybody was mad.


    After learning of the contribution system, all the yers who knew about it went mad.


    More powerful skills and better, cooler equipment¡­


    All of these required contribution points!


    All thebat-focused yers who had transferred their upations could not resist the temptation and wanted to stay up all night to finish the objectives!


    There would be a sleepless night in the forest of elves.


    Eve, who watched everything from above, sighed.


    He silently drew a tree symbol for the goblins in Florence and prayed secretly,


    "I wish you happiness tonight, green-skinned cuties¡­"


    With the blessing of a true god, the goblins should have no more regrets in this life.


    Eve thought with satisfaction.


    ¡­


    In the ruins of Florence.


    After finishing their surveince for the day, the goblins also went back to theirir.


    Because of the yers'' booby trap, one-third of the goblins in Florence were gone. Even if their IQ was not high, they felt upset at theirpanions'' disappearance.


    What made the goblins more upset was that their leader, Guru the high priest, had been out for a day and had yet to return.


    It was very unusual for the high priest, who had never been far away from the temple, to stay out for this long.


    Fortunately, the presence of the other three goblin priests suppressed the goblin tribes'' unrest, preventing the panic from spreading among the goblins.


    However, it was only a temporary measure.


    Goblins were bullies and greedy creatures. Without a strong leader to suppress them, they would be in a state of disunity. At this moment, the other three goblin priests in Florence were having a dispute.


    In the dpidated temple.


    The three goblin priests sat around a basin of sparkling pale green crystals and fell into eerie silence.


    If the yers were here, they would definitely recognize that all the crystals in the stone basin were actually the divine blood crystals of the World Tree.


    There were 26 pieces!


    After a while, one goblin priest open its mouth and said,


    "The high priest must have had an ident. Otherwise, he won''t leave these crystals behind. These are the tributes to the true god!"


    "Ha ha, he has always been greedy, selfish and arrogant. If he really has had an ident, he deserves it."


    Another goblin priest gloated.


    It did not like Guru for a long time. All of them were the followers of the god but why should Guru be favored? Guru only just received the inheritance of the undead necromancer by sheer luck.


    The other two goblin priests did not refute it, for they were thinking the same thing. It was only because Guru was so powerful that they did not dare to say it before.


    After being silent for a while, the third goblin priest said,


    "The true god will only reward the one who makes the sacrifice to Him. What should we do with these crystals?"


    It pointed to the divine blood crystals before the three.


    After it said these words, the atmosphere in the temple turned inexplicably stifling in an instant.


    It was no wonder that many intellectual creatures despised goblins. Even if some of them transfered to be priests, they were still not wise or far-sighted.


    When the high priest was missing, their first thought was not to see if there was any potential danger around or to report it to the true god by praying, but how to divide the fruits left by the high priest.


    After a while, the goblin that spoke first chuckled and said in a sharp voice,


    "Isn''t it obvious? Only the strongest one can get the opportunity to talk with the true god."


    After it said these words, the atmosphere between the three goblins turned more stifling in an instant.


    Just when they were about to fight, there was a faintmotion outside the temple.


    The sound of shouts, groans and weapons was endless.


    The three goblin priests'' ears twitched. They saw a trace of doubt and vignce in each other''s eyes.


    At this moment, a goblin stumbled into the temple. Its body suffered several wounds and its face looked fearful.


    "What happened?"


    The goblin priests frowned.


    The injured goblin copsed. It fell down on the ground as soon as it entered, gesticting incessantly as if it had been shocked.


    Seeing its state, the three goblin priests stood up at the same time. They found it absurd.


    "What?"


    "You said the devils areing?"

 Chapter 40

    Didn''t They Say to Hit the One on the Right?


    The three goblin priests looked at each other and snorted.


    "Hide the tributes first. Let''s go out and see what is going on."


    "I agree."


    "Hum!"


    They hid the divine blood crystals behind the statue and followed the injured goblin out of the temple.


    It was alreadyte at night. The silver moon in the sky was as deep as a jade te, but the goblins on the ground were in no mood for appreciation.


    At this moment, Florence was already in aplete mess.


    mes and shouts were everywhere, turning the originally unordered ruins of Florence even more chaotic in the dark night.


    When the three goblin priests came outside the temple, they finally saw the so-called "devils."


    Goblinsmonly did not have good eyesight, especially at night. They couldn''t see the invaders'' appearances clearly, but they could clearly see the eyes that shone in the dark night.


    Unlike goblins, elves on the continent of Sagas had nocturnal vision. Their vision was minimally affected at night like that of felines on the blue. Their eyes were sparkling in dim light likenterns in the dark night under the gleam of silver moonlight.


    They really resembled the devils with the ferocity, greed, and coldness in their eyes and the cheers andughter they let out while killing goblins.


    "What monsters are they?"


    The three goblin priests instantly felt creeped out.


    One of them shuddered and boldly chanted a light magic skill.


    With bright light hanging above them, therge area in front of them was immediately illuminated. The goblin priests now could see the faces of the invaders clearly.


    "Elves?!"


    The three goblin priests were simultaneously shocked when they saw the big, ferocious and excited elves with the scimitars, bows, arrows and even ragged clothes which were almost stained red with goblin blood.


    No¡­ Were they really elves?


    Elves weremonly known as peace-loving creatures. Even when their race was in its most difficult time, they would only expel goblins and never perpetrate a massacre!


    But these guys¡­


    Even at a nce, the priests saw from them something that elves should never have¡­


    Greed, coldness, ruthlessness¡­


    They looked at goblins as if they were looking at their prey.


    They killed only for the sake of killing, and even got excited about killing.


    They even ignored their own injuries in order to hunt as though they werepletely uninjured.


    In addition, every time they killed a goblin, they would loot away all its belongings, even if it was just a moldy stick or a piece of ragged clothes¡­


    God of Winter and Hunting on high! Are they devils from hell pretending to be elves?!


    The three goblin priests felt creeped out.


    After the goblin priest casted light magic, the elves saw their figures as well.


    In an instant, all the elves'' eyes lit up. Their eyes that were like those of carnivorous beasts made the goblin priests shudder in ce.


    "Priests! They are goblin priests!"


    "One is worth 50 contribution points! You''ll get 500 if you can kill one alone!"


    "Get out of the way! Our party saw them first!"


    "Kill them!"


    "They must give good loot!"


    The elves''s voices turned even more high-pitched and excited. They quarreled, shouted, and rushed to the three goblin priests like a tide.


    The three goblins immediately felt their scalp turning numb. Perceiving waves of Low Iron-level energy around them, they immediately wanted to retreat.


    "R-return to the temple!"


    Without hesitation, they turned around and ran for their life.


    "Twining--!"


    However, before they took two steps forward, a quiet voice echoed beside their ears. With waves of magic power, several vines as thick as wrists suddenly burst out of the ground and rushed towards them.


    The three goblin priests were shocked.


    They tried their best to evade, but the vines still entangled one of them.


    "Brother Mu, well done!"


    The elves around them gave a cheer.


    The entangled goblin priest was terrified. It didn''t dare to dy and started chanting desperately. However, as soon as it started chanting, it felt inexplicable palpitations in his heart.


    Danger¡­


    There was danger!


    Suddenly, a cold light shed by his eyes.


    It only felt as if there was a gentle breeze blowing behind it, then it lost consciousness.


    Its head flew up into the sky, its blood flowing.


    Meanwhile, an elf with a scimitar slowly emerged from behind its body.


    His whole body was hidden in the darkness, his expression cold. Without a word, he was like a silent killer.


    "Damn! You have killed it with one stroke."


    "One slice at the neck! Box Meal is superb!"


    "Are hunters so strong?"


    The elves around eximed.


    There were actually assassins?!


    The two retreating goblin priests looked back and increased their speed in fright.


    They separated and ran towards the temple, one on the left, the other on the right.


    Flee!


    They must flee into the temple!


    Only by fleeing into the temple would they have a chance to survive!


    Seeing the two priests take the opportunity to get far away, all the elves made a greatmotion.


    "Don''t let them escape!"


    "Long-range magic! Long-range magic!"


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    With drastic waves of magic power, fireballs exploded behind the goblin priests.


    Nevertheless, the elves seemed to be not very skilled, as their long-range attack wasn''t very urate.


    Meanwhile, the goblin priest on the left heard the devil elves'' shouts again.


    "Little Salty Meow! Don''t mess it around. Hit the right goblin!"


    "Aim now and hit the one on the right!"


    On the right?


    The left goblin priest nced at itspanion on the right and felt relief.


    The goblin priest on the right almost peed himself.


    However, before the priest on the left could rejoice, arge fireball hit it and swallowed it with a big boom.


    "Ha ha, so urate!"


    "Well done, Little Salty Meow!"


    The elves praised her from behind.


    In thest second before the goblin priest lost consciousness, it had only one grievance:


    Didn''t they say to hit the one on the right?


    Witnessing the death of its twopanions, thest goblin priest ran faster and casted all the magic it could to bless itself!


    Thanks to the sacrifice of the twopanions, it finally broke free and fled into the temple.


    Without hesitation, the goblin priest stumbled before the statue, hurriedly took out the hidden divine blood crystals, began performing a ceremony with trembling hands, suppressed its fear and started praying,


    "Praise¡­ Praise winter, praise hunting¡­ Your Majesty the true god, your servant¡­ Your servant needs your help!"


    As soon as it finished saying its prayers, faint lights began to converge around the statue!

 Chapter 41

    The seventh!


    Box Meal took a deep breath and pulled his scimitar from the goblin''s throat.


    The feeling of cutting flesh with the de was so realistic, with warm blood spraying all over his head and face.


    He didn''t select the option to reduce the goriness in the game system.


    Unlike many yers who could not get used to blood, he enjoyed killing. It made him feel like he was an actual soldier on a battlefield.


    In this way, he could indulge in the freedom and satisfaction he could not feel in reality.


    This was especially true after he leveled up to level 11 of Low Iron, transferred to be a hunter, and possessed the [Stealth] skill.


    Wiping the de clean on his linen clothes, Box Meal frowned.


    The de seemed to have chipped.


    Although these scimitars from the goblins were sharper than wooden knives, they were a lot less durable.


    Of course, Box Meal didn''t know it was because Eve had made the wooden knives in person. Although they were not sharp, they were more durable.


    He threw away the scimitar and reced it with another one from his back, which was dropped by the other goblins he had killed before.


    Afterwards, he raised his head and looked around.


    Possessing an elf body gave Box Meal excellent nocturnal vision. Even in the middle of the night, he could see everything in Florence clearly.


    All the goblins in the city had already been awakened. At present, more than 70 yers who had leveled up to Low Iron were shouting and chasing the goblins.


    The difference in attitude caused by the change of level was terrifying indeed.


    In the afternoon, the yers still needed to cooperate in groups of two or three to kill a goblin. But after they leveled up to Low Iron, their constitution got stronger and their skills improved. With their improved condition, the goblins were no rivals to the yers in a one-on-one fight.


    With the [Stab] skill at hand, even those rtively timid female yers could run forward and stab the goblins while screaming in fear and excitement.


    But then, before they had the time to react, blood started spraying out of the goblins'' body. Being drenched in blood, they were so scared that they screamed louder.


    This was even truer for those bloodthirsty yers and determined yers who had gradually adapted to the gruesome scene of the battle.


    For them, Florence had be the best yground and hunting ground tonight.


    Looking at the hectic scene, Box Meal shook his head and used his [Stealth] skill again.


    The moment he used the skill, his heartbeat and breathing started to slow down to a crawl. The breath of the person gradually faded into the darkness.


    He was going to hunt thest goblin priest.


    If he was not mistaken, it should have just fled to the temple.


    More than one yer had the same idea as Box Meal. The yers who participated in killing priests also rushed to the temple.


    The contribution points of killing one priest equalled those of killing five goblins!


    Moreover, the experience points one would obtain by killing priests were much higher than killing ordinary goblins.


    Besides, judging from the situation just now, the three priests were much weaker than the previous world boss. Compared to the world boss, they were a piece of cake.


    Furthermore, ording to the task information provided by the goddess, divine blood crystals should most likely appear in the temple!


    A piece of divine blood crystal was worth 800 contribution points!


    With overflowing desire for experience points and contribution points, the yers rushed towards the dpidated temple in a swarm.


    ¡­


    In the temple, the only goblin priest knelt and prayed under the statue of the God of Winter and Hunting.


    As it prayed, the lights on the statue became increasingly brighter, even the 26 divine blood crystals in front of it began to glow faintly.


    Under the goblin priest, a mysterious giant magic circle slowly formed. Silver lights constantly formed mysterious patterns.


    This was what the yers saw when they rushed into the temple.


    "Divine blood crystals! So many divine blood crystals!"


    Their eyes lit up as they shouted in excitement.


    But Box Meal who came in with stealth looked deeper into the situation.


    He nced at the magic circle on the ground and his expression gradually became solemn.


    That is a magic circle for sacrifice?


    His memory was always good.


    When Berserker the oak guard sacrificed the skeleton staff to Eve the goddess, he watched silently at the side, so he had a vague impression of a magic circle.


    Although the magic circle under the goblin priest was slightly different the one Berserker drew, they were simr on a general level.


    Almost in an instant, Box Meal figured out what was going on.


    "It''s a magic circle for sacrifice! No! Everybody, stop it! It will sacrifice the divine blood crystals to a god!"


    Following closely behind his shouts, Li Mu''s anxious shouts came from the entrance of the temple.


    Obviously, this senior anchor also recognized the sacrificial circle under the priest.


    "A sacrificial circle?"


    On hearing him, the yers immediately made a greatmotion.


    "No! Stop it quickly!"


    "Where are your long-range skills? Use your long-range skills!"


    "Destroy that magic circle!"


    Almost at the same time, all the yers who had long-range skills started using them wantonly.


    Under the shocked gaze of the goblin priest, fireballs, wind des, lightning strikes, vines¡­ Almost all the one-ring offensive magic skills it could think of were used to attack it.


    With a loud bang, the ravages of magic smashed the green stone floor. The magic circle that was about to take shape was instantly destroyed. Even the goblin priest in the center of the magic circle spewed a mouthful of blood because of the magic. Its body withered in an instant..


    Nevertheless, although the magic circle was damaged, the lights on the statue did not weaken. On the contrary, the lights became increasingly stronger.


    Before the yers had time to rejoice at the destruction of the magic circle, they heard a majestic, holy and cold snort¡­


    "Hum--!"


    The voice was deafening, illusory and ethereal as if it crossed the void. The voice was furious as if the speaker was offended.


    Everyone was stunned for a while. They felt dizzy, their blood flowed out from their nose and ears¡­


    Even Box Meal, who came in with stealth, could not help but spew a mouthful of blood. He fell out of the stealth state.


    "W-what happened?"


    "Didn''t we trigger the boss?"


    "Cough! Damn, I lost about half of my blood."


    The yers slumped on the floor. While coughing out blood, they widened their eyes with struggle and looked towards the statue at the center of the temple vigntly.


    Suddenly, the lights on the statue became brighter, and the 26 divine blood crystals scattered on the ground were slowly floating up and flying towards the statute as if they were sucked towards it.


    Under the yers'' shocked gaze, the divine blood crystals began to merge into the statue gradually, generating an intense light!


    With the pressure gradually intensifying and the light constantly expanding, the statue finally turned into a translucent energy giant made of golden and green photons¡­


    He had a blurred face and a strong body, and was holding onto a huge axe and a longbow¡­


    Its appearance was simr to the statue of Ullr!

 Chapter 42

    The goblin priest, who was withered by the bacsh of the destruction of the magic circle, struggled to raise its head. Its eyes widened as it looked at the energy giant as tall as several meters in front of it in disbelief.


    He looked exactly like the God of Winter and Hunting in its memory¡­


    "Y-your Majesty¡­"


    Its lips were dry. In fear and awe, it even couldn''t say a proper sentence.


    The energy giant nced at it with no expression. He was neither happy nor sad. There were no emotions on His face. He snorted coldly at the goblin, expressing his dissatisfaction. Hearing the dissatisfied snort, the goblin priest shuddered unconsciously.


    Deciding to deal with thiscking believer, with brilliant silver lights and distant holy chants, the giant released a holy, coercive force¡­


    This was the natural oppression of lower-tier beings by higher-tier beings.


    The coercive force of a true god''s divine soul!


    The goblin priest only felt an irresistible force attacking its heart and hit its soul directly, which gave it a piercing headache. The pain was so unimaginable that it screamed in horror


    It fell down on the ground, not moving. But inside, it roared with happiness,


    "He is a true god!


    This is a true god''s power!"


    After dismissing the goblin, the energy giant soon turned his attention towards the invaders of the temple.


    "Elves?"


    There was a trace of doubt in his hoarse, deep and solemn voice.


    When he saw the appearances of the yers, his blurred face showed an expression of surprise.


    Somehow, under the pressure of the giant''s divine soul, the yers did not shudder like the goblin.


    On the contrary, although they were spewing blood, their eyes shone brightly as if their souls were not affected.


    They looked at him in curiosity and vignce without fear or respect. They only seemed curious and excited.


    Some yers even started eximing endlessly.


    "He is the boss! He must be the boss!"


    "Damn, isn''t He Ullr? He looks like the statue!"


    "He is really ugly. His appearance is iparable to the goddess."


    "But the special effect this game has is marvelous. I was frightened just now."


    "I can feel that he is very strong. I cannot see through him."


    "Will he kill all of us¡­"


    "Shall we escape? I have only one Perfect Resurrection left¡­"


    The energy giant, "¡­"


    Although he did not quite understand the words of these tiny creatures, he took offence at their disrespectful and almost indifferent words.


    Nobody could profane the dignity of a god!


    The energy giant let out an angry roar and pped the yers with his huge hand. All of a sudden, four or five unlucky guys were pped into a bunch of mosaics.


    "Damn!"


    "Damn!"


    "¡­"


    The remaining yers froze.


    The killed yers had no time to even spew out blood. The remaining yers stood up and started to escape, while cursing the game designer''s sense of bnce.


    The temple almost copsed with one p from the giant. The gap between His and their strength was too vast!


    However, the energy giant seemed more surprised when he looked at the bodies of the elves he killed, for he could not perceive any trace of soul in them.


    "They are not elves¡­"


    His deep voice sounded.


    The moment the energy giant appeared, Eve had already perceived His presence tens of kilometers away.


    He paid His attention towards Florence gravely.


    "A foreign divine force?"


    His heart soon sank.


    Because He found that some of those photons symbolizing the yers in the space of His godhead extinguished at the same time.


    Additionally, more photons were extinguishing incessantly.


    "Instant death¡­"


    He pondered for a while, separated a trace of consciousness, hid His breath, and carefully casted His consciousness into those photons that were still constantly shing.


    The scene in front of him changed. Eve soon gained the perspective of the yers in the temple.


    At this moment, the energy giant seemed furious. He attacked the yers as if He was pping some flies. Some unlucky yers were hit now and then.


    Suddenly, the temple was in a mess.


    As the yers could not see the hope of victory, a lot of them had already ran away. But many yers still stayed. They struggled to hide themselves with the intention of trying to face the giant again.


    "Ullr?!"


    With the inheritance of the World Tree, Eve also identified the energy giant.


    He was stunned.


    It was really strange. The yers were just killing goblins. How did they provoke this guy?


    Besides, He had a divine-force avatar!


    How could He have gathered such arge amount of divine force to cross the border? Why did Hee to save a few goblins?!


    Eve felt that this god was simply mad, for He did not follow themon sense of things. He instantly disturbed Eve''s n.


    With His ns disrupted, Eve wanted to flee¡­


    Obviously, if Ullr discovered His existence, He woulde for His head. Moreover, He was currently in a very weak state now. If Ullr really came for him, He wouldn''t be able to put up a fight!


    A divine-force avatar at least had the power of Legend!


    But Eve soon rejected the idea of escaping.


    "Huh? There is something wrong."


    "His avatar does not seem that strong, and it seems to have not discovered me!"


    The killed yers would be teleported to the World Tree to be resurrected.


    Although Eve had already tried to reduce His natural breath during the teleportation, an avatar of a true god with divine willpower would not fail to notice Him.


    Thinking of this, Eve boldly observed the energy giant again.


    Looking at him, Eve discovered something.


    "That is actually a temporary avatar shaped by natural divine force?"


    Gazing at the pale green photons on the energy giant, Eve understood.


    Afterwards, He eximed,


    "What arge amount of divine force!"


    He soon understood the state of the energy giant.


    Ullr came indeed, but only a trace of consciousness came.


    In fact, He forcibly used natural divine force to shape His avatar.


    In this state, the avatar''s energy was in a mess. Even if there was a trace of divine willpower, He could not perceive Eve''s breath.


    After all, his avatar was filled with the divine force of the World Tree!


    Furthermore, it was very hard for Him to control this avatar whose energy was in a messy state!


    Thinking of this, Eve observed the state of the energy giant again.


    This time, He discovered something more.


    "It''s the divine blood crystals! This guy forced the divine blood crystals to shape an avatar, so that is why the avatar is unstable! With Him constantly needing to suppress the bacsh of natural divine force, He cannot exert all the power of His avatar!"


    "No wonder He came here forcibly. He came for the divine blood crystals. There are at least more than 30 points of natural divine force provided by the divine blood crystals. I want them too¡­ Huh¡­ More than 30 points!"


    Eve was avid.


    "In this unstable state, as long as the avatar is disturbed by constant outside force, the energy bnce will be broken, and the avatar will soon copse! The divine blood crystals will also leave the avatar."


    Eve felt relieved after figuring out the situation.


    Looking at the yers who were struggling to avoid the avatar, Eve already came up with an idea.


    It was a fact that Ullr''s avatar was strong.


    Even if the avatar was forcibly shaped, His power was still far beyond the yers'' capabilities to beat. The intensity of each punch or swipe was almost as high as that of Legend.


    But if Eve''s n was to disturb the avatar''s bnce of energy¡­


    As long as the elves had enough lives, it was not impossible to aplish that!


    After all, Ullr''s avatar was very slow and cumbersome since He had to split some of His concentration to suppress the bacsh!


    His movements were even not as smooth as those agile elves!


    With this in mind, the avatar could be dealt by the yers.


    Thinking of this, Eve took a deep breath,


    "Alright, let me give more this time."


    After these words were said, Eve began to operate divine force.


    However, as soon as He started, He stopped. After thinking for a while, He took out H''s soul-storing orb, drew 0.1 point of divine force, and forced himself to put it into the coding function of the game system.


    Afterwards, He nodded in satisfaction from within and used His divine force again to send a message to the yers in Florence.


    As soon as that happened, the yers in the temple received a new message from the system--


    [Ding--]


    [WARNING! WARNING!]


    [The boss of the story has appeared! The boss of the story has appeared!]


    [Story description: In order to gain the power of the world tree, the despicable Ullr formed an avatar by force and snatched the divine blood crystals that belong to the goddess. However, His state is currently unstable. For the glory of elves, you decide to fight against Him bravely and take the goddess''s power back!]


    [Task target: Ullr''s avatar shaped with divine force]


    [Task level: 11+]


    [Task rewards: ording to the yers'' contribution in the killing of Him, they will be awarded with corresponding contribution points and experience points. The yers will be awarded with at least 300 contribution points and 1000 experience points.]


    [Task tips: Ullr''s avatar is unstable. If you disturb His energy, He will copse. Ullr will try to retreat from the battle, so don''t give Him the chance to retreat!]


    [Ding--]


    [The task of the story starts. All the yers fighting in the battle have Unlimited Resurrection]


    [Unlimited Resurrection: Before Ullr''s avatar is destroyed or has retreated, all the yers participating in the attack will be constantly resurrected with their levels unaffected after their death]


    [The condition of victory: Ullr''s avatar dies]


    [The condition of failure: Ullr''s avatar''s retreat]


    [Ding--]


    [The state of the boss is updated. The current stability: 100%]


    Under all the yers'' surprised gaze, a red band appeared on the energy giant''s forehead.


    That was the stability of Ullr''s avatar¡­


    Or health bar!

 Chapter 43

    "There is a health bar!"


    "It''s Ullr! It''s really the boss of the story!"


    Seeing the message from the system, the yers'' eyes shone.


    And when they saw the task rewards and the line [The yer''s state: Unlimited Resurrection] in the system bar, they removed all their worries.


    They took heart. When they looked at the giant again, their expression was not of fear anymore.


    In their eyes, the energy giant was no longer a horrible boss, but a lovely bunch of experience points and shining contribution points!


    The task rewards of this boss of the story were not less than the previous goblin world boss!


    Moreover, they did not have to worry that their level would decrease!


    In an instant, all the yers were motivated to the max.


    Seeing all the elves looking at Him like a pack of hungry wolves, somehow, Ullr''s avatar felt uneasy.


    Once again, He let out an angry roar and sent a p at the elves, smashing two careless yers to meat pies.


    But this time, no one escaped.


    Demacia nced at the system bar in excitement and shouted,


    "What are you waiting for?! Come on! Let''s destroy Him!"


    Saying so, he rushed towards the giant cheerfully.


    ncing at him coldly, Ullr''s avatar stepped on him.


    "Boo¡­"


    Demacia was smashed t on the ground. Even his equipment did not survive¡­


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Box Meal, "¡­"


    Little Salty Meow, "¡­"


    Seeing this, the yers calmed down their excitement.


    They looked at each other, nodded, and turned to run outside of the temple.


    "You want to escape?"


    The avatar chuckled, moved His cumbersome body and chased after them.


    However, when He came outside the temple, He froze.


    The elves surprisingly didn''t continue to flee. On the contrary, they walked towards Him threateningly with their weapons.


    The only thing different from before was that now they did not bring any equipment with them except for the wooden knives and wooden staffs in their hands. This was especially true for the closebat elves.


    In a distant ce, more elves were still passing their equipment to the lower level yers who watched the battle from afar for safekeeping.


    At this time, a holy light covered the whole of Florence.


    But different from the previous holy light, the holy light this time was dim and gloomy with vague hints of the breath of death.


    Eve created it with H''s divine force. He deliberately exaggerated the breath of death in order to cover His own breath of nature.


    Seeing a group of elves shining with the breath of death, Ullr''s avatar stopped.


    His blurred face looked doubtful.


    "H?"


    He could not help but wonder.


    Among all true gods, only two were quite knowledgeable about souls.


    One was the World Tree--Euktrahill, who had high-grade divine force, and was in charge of nature, life and elves, but had already fallen.


    The other was the God of Death and Lord of the Underworld--H, who had intermediate-grade divine force!


    Ullr could not perceive the breath of nature in these "elves", but He could smell the vague sense of the breath of death!


    The answer to his doubts was obvious.


    Now, Ullr was almost sure that this group of strange "elves" were created by H.


    However, instead of clearing his confusion, He felt even more confused, as He did not understand why H''s followers would appear in the secr world.


    But as he was thinking about the reason why H would send Her followers to him, the yers couldn''t wait any longer.


    The elves in front of Him let out a cry of excitement,


    "Come on!"


    "For elves! For the goddess! Destroy Him!"


    "Defeat Ullr!"


    "Go!"


    After shouting, dozens of elves of the strength system rushed towards Him, their bodies shing with numerous skills.


    In a distant ce, another dozens of elves walked towards Him while chanting. shy magic constantly fell on Him.


    They had no respect for a deity!


    They had no fear of death!


    Ullr''s avatar could not feel emotions. But as the elves continued to tantly disrespect Him, He got absolutely furious.


    Although He feared H''s power, it did not mean that mortals could profane the dignity of a true god!


    He didn''t care whether they were H''s followers anymore! Those who dared to disrespect the dignity of a true god must die a horrible death!


    He roared.


    With the angry roar, the avatar of divine force drew out His battle-axe.


    Now, He got serious.


    Since they dared to attack a god''s avatar, they must pay the corresponding price!


    With a swing from the huge axe made of divine force, a horrible fissure instantly appeared on the earth, which was so deep that no one could see the bottom of it.


    All the yers hit by the swing were sliced in half.


    "Damn! The boss got stronger!"


    "Go behind Him! Let''s go behind Him! The giant is slow!"


    "Let''s kite Him!"


    The yers first let out a cry of shock, but they were not afraid. Instead, they continued to attack around Him like flies.


    Ullr''s avatar got more irritated.


    Although the elves'' attack was weak, He knew He was not in a good state¡­


    He couldn''t afford a protracted battle. He must exterminate them quickly!


    The eyes of the divine-force avatar shed as He let out a howl. His attacks became more fierce.


    After He intensified His attack, the elves quickly suffered heavy casualties.


    However, while Ullr''s avatar was still under the impression that He would soon exterminate this group of awful worms, dozens of holy-lighted elves with the breath of death were shouting and rushing towards Him from afar.


    The divine-force avatar looked at them subconsciously and instantly froze.


    It was because He discovered that theseing elves were actually the ones He had just killed!


    "Immortals?!"


    The deep voice of Ullr''s avatar sounded sober.


    At this moment, He realized something.


    Elves lost their true god, so the souls of dead elves would go to the Underworld.


    But these elves'' souls seemed hidden.


    They were immortal beings like the undead whose souls were hidden!


    Could it be¡­


    "They are H''s elite ghost army?"


    He said in disbelief.


    But how could H''s elite ghost army appear in the continent of Sagas?


    They were a true god''s household troops, having the solemn duty of guarding the Kingdom of Death and the Underworld!


    But, how could they be so weak?


    At this moment, Ullr was more puzzled than ever.


    But the yers did not care about His thoughts. Their eyes lit up as they saw that the energy giant seemed to be lost in contemtion.


    "He is stiff! The boss is stiff!"


    "Quick! Take the chance to attack Him!"


    "Attack Him with more long-range magic! This way, His health bar will reduce quickly!"


    In an instant, countless magic and sword skills were used to attack Ullr''s avatar.


    The giant''s expression slightly dropped as He felt the divine force inside Him gradually getting more unstable.


    He roared angrily,


    "Get out!"


    He wanted to retreat.


    It was unnecessary for Him to stay here any longer. If they were really H''s elite ghost army, He could not defeat them unless He sent His true avatar or the guard of His totem here.


    H must be plotting something in the forest of elves.


    But it seemed that H did not follow the events here closely, which indicated that Her plot was not a priority.


    Ullr didn''t need to stay here any longer. He would have His believers secretly investigate the matter in the forest of elves.


    Now, the most important thing was to send back the divine blood crystals in the avatar!


    Thinking of this, Ullr''s avatar wielded His axe again to force the elves back, while preparing to retreat secretly.


    "Ha ha, now He wants to escape?"


    Eve, who saw the change of divine force in Ullr''s avatar from the perspective of the yers, sneered and used divine force again.


    Suddenly, below the yers'' eyes, an orange bar appeared below the health bar and an alert from the system followed--


    [Ullr''s avatar is preparing to retreat. The retreat will begin after the orange bar is empty!]


    The yers'' eyes turned red when they read the alert.


    "No! He is going to retreat!"


    "We cannot let Him retreat! We have fought so hard, and we already reduced a quarter of His health bar!"


    "We cannot lose our rewards! We have been fighting for so long!"


    "Hurry and stop the orange bar from emptying!"


    "Hah!"


    They let out a loud cry and stopped maneuvering around the energy giant. Instead, they charged desperately towards Him.


    And as for those yers from the magic system, they stopped preserving their magic power and wantonly used all their skills. If their magic power was drained, they wouldmit suicide, rush back from the spot of resurrection quickly and continue to fling magic at the giant.

 Chapter 44

    Ullr felt ufortable when He saw that the elves were suddenly going on a rampage.


    "What''s the matter with this group of worms? Do they want to prevent me from retreating?"


    When He thought of their disrespectful actions, He instantly got angry.


    But He soon calmed down¡­


    The pupils of Ullr''s avatar slightly shrank when He perceived that the natural divine force in His body bing increasingly unstable under the yers'' assault.


    No. They wanted to disturb the energy bnce of His avatar!


    Suddenly, He realized something.


    The divine blood crystals¡­ H must havee for the divine blood crystals in His avatar!


    Yes. H''s divine mission of death was not perfect. She had been stuck at the top of intermediate-grade divine force for thousands of years. It was said that H had been severely injured while trying to strengthen Herself to gain high-grade divine force. Until now, She had not fully recovered yet.


    Like Ullr Himself, H must have been aware that the seal of the World Tree''s divine blood crystals were broken. In order to perfect Her divine mission, H had set Her aim at the World Tree!


    Death and life were the opposite to each other. But at the same time, they had something inmon.


    Once something went to the extreme, it would be the opposite. If one understood life, he could look through death as well!


    As the god who made the fastest progress in two thousand years, Ullr had always been proud of His wisdom.


    At this moment, He thought that He had already discovered the truth!


    The huge divine-force avatar suddenly raised His head and shouted to the west,


    "H! I don''t want to act against you. With your ability, you absolutely can continue to look for other natural blood! Don''t disturb my business!"


    His voice was so loud that it spread far and wide with extra vignce and barely suppressed anger.


    "H?"


    Eve, who was peeping from the perspective of the yers, slightly froze.


    What did Ullr mean? Did H the God of Deathe?


    Eve immediately became alert, thinking about whether He should first hide the soul-storing orb¡­


    But after a while, Eve did not smell the breath of the God of Death.


    He was doubtful. But then He thought of something, and gradually came up with some ideas.


    "Did the breath of death in the yers confused Ullr into thinking that the yers are the followers of H?"


    Eve did not know what expression He should have.


    Frankly speaking, when He obtained the soul-storing orb, He really wanted His future avatar to pretend to be H''s follower.


    In fact, the reason He spread H''s divine force to the yers was simply because He wanted to make sure that He didn''t expose Himself.


    But He had not expected that He would overdo it.


    Ullr actually regarded His elf army to be H''s followers!


    Ahem, it was a pity¡­


    Nevertheless, let it be!


    After all, Ullr had weak-grade divine force, so He wouldn''t dare to provoke a god of intermediate-grade divine force. He absolutely didn''t have the courage to confront H.


    Plus, because He thought H was involved, Ullr''s movements in the forest of elves might be more careful in the future.


    As a result, Eve would also have more time to develop secretly!


    Thinking of this, Eve decided to make H, who had always been dwelling in the Underworld, a scapegoat on the spot.


    Ahem, after all, the little sister H was so powerful that She wouldn''t care about the hostility of a god of low-grade divine force.


    In fact, Eve''s army of yers was simr to H''s elite ghost army to some degree.


    But if Eve was going to name His army, He preferred to name them "Disaster Army"!


    After Eve figured out the name of His army, He dug out one point of divine force from H''s soul-storing orb painfully, threw it into the channel of connection to the yers, and activated it in the way He operated divine force¡­


    In an instant, the yers saw a new message from the system again.


    [Ding--]


    [You are determined without fear! Your courage has touched the great goddess. She decided to bless you in the battle!]


    [You gain an extra BUFF: The goddess''s blessing]


    [Your weapon gains an extra BUFF: The goddess''s blessing]


    [The effect: In the next hour, you will lose all your negative emotions. You and your weapon''s attack and defence will increase by one hundred percent. All the damage of the skills will have a "lethal" effect, which can double the disturbance of energy!]


    [The end of life is death. The end of death is a new life.]


    [Brave chosen ones, for the glory of the goddess and elves, charge!]


    With a dim gleam of divine force, all the yers felt a cold breath covering their bodies. Afterwards, all their physical attributes were strengthened!


    "Another buff!"


    They rejoiced.


    They became highly motivated when they felt the increasing power in their bodies and saw the boss before them whose health bar kept reducing.


    Generally, when this kind of extra buff appeared in game battles, it meant that the yers would soon win.


    Victory was near!


    The yers all got serious. They became more exhrated and shouted incessantly--


    "The goddess has supported us! We are strengthened!"


    "The boss will soon copse!"


    "Defeat Ullr!"


    "For the glory of the goddess and elves, charge!"


    "Argh!!!"


    In an instant, all the yers strengthened by the divine force of death started fighting desperately.


    The face of Ullr''s avatar almost twitched as He perceived the effect of death magic on the elves.


    "H!"


    He let out an angry roar and began to step back constantly, wanting to retreat from the encirclement of the elves.


    He was acting just like the previous goblin high priest Guru before his death.


    But there was no way for Him to escape.


    The one point of divine force of death Eve released was like thest straw that broke the camel''s back.


    Strengthened by the divine force of death, the yers attacked more fiercely. The bnce of the energy in the giant''s body became increasingly unstable with noticeable speed.


    Ullr was smacking many yers to death like flies. But they would soon rush back from afar¡­


    Seeing this, Eve started spending divine force wantonly.


    In order to provide yers more Perfect Resurrections, He spent 1.5 points of divine force at once!


    With the infiltration of the divine force of death, the originally unstable divine force of nature in Ullr''s avatar got even more chaotic.


    "Get out!"


    Aware that His state was getting increasingly worse, Ullr''s avatar yelled furiously. He decided to change His strategy.


    The energy avatar''s divine force suddenly dropped significantly. He slowly floated upwards from the ground, escaping from the encirclement of the yers.


    "Damn, He is flying!"


    "That''s unfair! We cannot fly!"


    "Where are the long-rang skills? Fire at Him together!"


    "The health bar is almost empty! Come on, everybody!"


    The yers shouted when they saw the divine-force avatar fleeing into the air.


    However, the divine-force avatar waved His hand and a half transparent barrier appeared below Him, blocking all the magic skills.


    "Damn¡­"


    "No! We cannot hit Him!"


    "The orange bar is starting to go down again!"


    "One hit! One more hit will be enough! The health bar is almost empty!"


    All the yers grew anxious when they saw the divine-force avatar flying increasingly higher.


    "Huh, ants are ants after all."


    Ullr''s avatar sneered at the clump of yers on the ground and continued to fly away.


    However, just before the orange bar was empty, a sturdy figure rushed out of the group of elves.


    It was Box Meal.


    He held a wooden knife. His expression wasposed as he was neither happy nor sad. He was like a ruthless warrior.


    He climbed the broken walls of Florence like an elegant wildcat, and soon reached the top of the temple.


    Afterwards, he glowed like one would when activating a skill. He jumped with his feet so fiercely that he crushed the sculpture at the top of the temple below his feet.


    Skill--[Galloping Fast and Flying High]


    With the help of the skill, he jumped almost as high as seven or eight meters in the air. He stepped gracefully in the air, rolled twice, went through the barrier directly and rushed towards Ullr''s divine-force avatar!


    Skill--[Stepping in the Air]


    Under the divine-force avatar''s surprised and angry gaze, Box Meal threw out his wooden knife in the air.


    The wooden knife pierced the eyes of Ullr''s avatar. The breath of the divine force of death in the Box Meal resulted in his end.


    "H--!!!"


    After a desperate roar, His body started twitching drastically. Brilliant lights constantly agglomerated¡­


    While the series of changes took ce in the air, the other yers on the ground were stunned.


    After throwing out his knife, Box Meal began to fall.


    Before he hit the ground, he used the[Stepping in the Air] skill again. He rolled beautifully andnded on the ground steadily.


    After that, he got down on one knee emotionlessly.


    Behind him, a deafening sound came.


    With dazzling light, the energy giant turned into a splendid firework disy. The explosion sted Him into pieces.


    The light of divine force shone on the ground. Box Meal''s figure flickered in the glittering light. The divine blood crystals shining with pale green light fell and scattered around him.

 Chapter 45

    "We won!"


    "Well done!"


    The yers cheered when they saw the destruction of the divine-force avatar.


    Afterwards, they focused their attention on the person who made the greatest contribution:


    "It is Box Meal!"


    "Your movements were so agile! Your skills are so handsome!"


    "How did you do it just now?"


    Box Meal heard other yers'' praise and said nothing. He bowed down silently and collected the divine blood crystals on the ground.


    Meanwhile, a new system message appeared before all the yers'' eyes.


    [Ding--]


    [The boss of the story, "Ullr''s divine-force avatar" has already been defeated]


    [The yer who has defeated Him: Box Meal]


    [All the yers who participated in the battle will be rewarded ording to their contribution in killing the boss!]


    [You will be rewarded now¡­]


    The system message also appeared before Box Meal''s eyes. But unlike other yers, he saw a chibi-version of the goddess apuding him with fireworks behind her.


    Then, he was rewarded--


    [Ding--]


    [In this task, your contribution to the damage is 4.53%. You gain 4532 experience points and 1373 contribution points]


    [As the one who has defeated "Ullr''s divine-force avatar", you gain extra task rewards: 1000 contribution points, three Perfect Resurrection, and the exclusive title "The Fearless Man"]


    [The Fearless Man: Even if you face a god, you are strong enough and fear nothing!]


    The Fearless Man?


    Seeing the system message, there was a flicker in Box Meal''s dark eyes.


    He stretched out his hands to close the system message that asked him whether he wanted to give his equipment a title. Afterwards, he stood up and walked towards the yers.


    The yers also received their rewards. After rejoicing for a moment, they focused their attention on the boss''s loot again.


    "Where are the divine blood crystals? I just now see so many falling down to the ground!"


    "This boss is so rich. No wonder He has a divine-force avatar."


    "There should be at least 20 pieces!"


    "It seems that Box Meal has put them away."


    "How do we divide the crystals?"


    While the yers were discussing, Box Meal came up to Li Mu.


    Although Li Mu did not contribute much to the damage in the battle just now, he had been participating by giving orders to the yers. In a sense, he was like the leader of the yers in the pre-OBT. His status was simr to that of a team leader who set up a team.


    Box Meal walked straight to Li Mu, passed the 26 divine blood crystals to him, and said briefly and determinedly,


    "You divide them."


    Li Mu raised his eyebrows and nodded. He took the divine blood crystals.


    In an instant, more than 70 shining eyes looked towards him at the same time.


    After taking the divine blood crystals, Li Mu felt a headacheing when he saw the yers looking at him with such bright eyes.


    After pondering for a moment, he said,


    "I have two ideas. Let''s decide by vote. Raise your hand if you like the first idea. The minority will listen to the majority."


    "The first idea is to exchange all the divine blood crystals for contribution points and we will divide the contribution points equally."


    "The other idea is to roll the numbers, which depends on luck. We will give a number to everyone and we will pick 26 numbers. The 26 lucky people will each get one divine blood crystal."


    The yers looked at each other, nodded, and started raising their hands to vote. The result was that the majority wanted to exchange the crystals for contribution points and divide the points equally.


    The function of the divine blood crystals, after all, was only to be traded for contribution points. In fact, they were simr to money. They yers thought that it was rtively fair to divide them equally.


    Li Mu nodded when he saw the result of the yers'' vote,


    "Then we will first exchange them for contribution points. There are 26 divine blood crystals altogether, which can be traded for 20800 contribution points. Seventy three yers have participated in the battle. Each yer will get 284 points on average. The remaining 68 points belong to Box Meal who gave thest hit. Do you guys agree?"


    On hearing Li Mu, all the yers nodded.


    Box Meal said, "Okay."


    Little Salty Meow said, "No problem."


    Fried Tomatoes said, "I did not realize that after them equally, I will get so few¡­"


    Demacia said, "Ha-ha, it is still enough. If you sell them to the person who collects contribution points, you can get almost three hundred Chinese yuan."


    ¡­


    Seeing the yers nodding, Li Mu felt relieved.


    Looking at the sky, he said,


    "Then I''ll keep the divine blood crystals temporarily. Let''s continue to destroy the goblins in Florence first. We should try to finish "Exterminate the Goblins" objective in the mainline task "The holy city of the past" before sunrise. When everybody is here in the morning, we will establish the teleportation circle again and finish the remaining task objectives together!"


    Because of the appearance of Ullr''s avatar, they temporarily stopped hunting the goblins.


    However, after the yers already destroyed the boss, they would naturally go back to their original intention, exterminating the goblins.


    Although a lot of goblins escaped from Florence in the chaos just now, many did not flee. They thought that if they hid they would not be discovered, so they hid themselves in the ruins.


    But they were doomed to be found.


    Many level 11 yers got detection skills. Creatures at lower levels could not hide themselves in the presence of detection skills.


    Moreover, the game system would reveal the number of the remaining goblins in Florence in the task bar.


    Even Eve could detect them with His keen perception of lifeforce.


    After Li Mu finished speaking, the yers took action and started searching for the remaining goblins in the ruins of Florence.


    The goblins'' screams and the yers''ughter sounded everywhere in the ruins now and then, which was a little eerie in the dark night.


    Li Mu did not continue to hunt the Goblins. Instead, he took his equipment, put away the divine blood crystals, and turned to walk towards the teleportation circle.


    He was going to give the divine blood crystals to Berserker the oak guard, who was guarding the teleportation circle, and let him sacrifice them to the goddess.


    It was still not safe to carry the divine blood crystals on him. He was afraid of dropping them.


    The earlier Li Mu exchanged them for contribution points, the earlier he would feel relieved.


    This was his responsibility. Since the yers trusted him, he absolutely wouldn''t disappoint them, even if this meant getting less experience points and contribution points by not killing the goblins.


    "I wish there was a storage system in this game. Although it is virtual reality, it does not have to emte everything in reality. It is very inconvenient to move with so many things on me."


    Li Mu shook his head as he felt his full and heavy pockets.


    "But this is also the charm of the game. I heard that high level magicians can create magic tools that could store objects. I will create one myself after reaching a high level."


    He walked while thinking happily.


    The forest at night was darker and colder. But elves were not affected as they had nocturnal vision.


    Li Mu was nonchntly walking in the forest.


    Suddenly, he sensed danger!


    Li Mu''s expression faltered as he subconsciously tightened his body. With thebat experience he gained in games, he dodged to the side by reflex.


    As soon as he dodged, a wooden knife shed where he was just now. The wooden knife shone with the glow of a skill and chopped off a tree that was as thick as a bowl!


    If Li Mu did not react fast enough, he might have been cut into two pieces by now!


    He turned back in shock. When he saw the attacker, he instantly got angry.


    "Fried tomatoes? What are you doing?!"


    Game ID: Fried tomatoes


    He was a level 11 yer who had just participated in the battle against the boss of the story!

 Chapter 46

    "Hmph"


    Fried Tomatoes snorted while looking regretfully at his knife. He drew back his wooden knife with a dark expression.


    Li Mu soon realized what had happened. Suppressing his anger, he calmed down and said,


    "If you leave right now, I can forget the whole matter."


    Money turned people greedy.


    Games were different from reality.


    Compared to the real world where ethics and thew ruled, the game world allowed yers to have more freedom, which in turn made them more audacious. Without a dominant force ruling over their heads, the darker side of human nature would be more visible.


    In reality, three hundred yers couldn''t always stay united.


    Twenty six pieces of divine blood crystals could be exchanged for 20800 contribution points. In the early stages of the game, they were worth at least 20000 yuan.


    It was not surprising that someone would be willing to break the current peaceful status quo for them.


    However, it was obvious that Fried Tomatoes was not ready to act against all the yers in pre-OBT. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have tried to use his unique skill to stealthily kill Li Mu in one swipe.


    The Kingdom of Elves was really very different from other virtual online games.


    In fact, instant kills were not umon in this 100% realistic game.


    Although it was rare, a lower level yer could instantly kill a higher level monster with a single hit as long as he acted at the right time and aimed at the vitals.


    Though it was different from the mechanisms of other games, it was more realistic for the yers.


    Moreover, it made the battles in The Kingdom of Elves more dramatic and interesting.


    Sometimes, thepetition of intelligence and courage was more important thanparison of level.


    At least, this was the case when the level gap wasn''t too wide.


    It was because of this, Fried Tomatoes dared to attack Li Mu.


    If Li Mu was unknowingly killed in a single hit, he would never be able to exin the loss of the divine blood crystals. Then Fried Tomatoes could get away with a smooth crime.


    But unfortunately, he underestimated Li Mu''s reaction speed, and his ambush n failed.


    The two men suddenly came to a deadlock.


    Li Mu''s profession was not under thebat category. As a druid who specialized in supporting others, he hadn''t obtained a single offensive skill yet.


    In The Kingdom of Elves, skills were extremely powerful, especially the skills given by Eve.


    If an original inhabitant of Sagas tried to learn a skill, they would have to study, practice, and get familiar with it until he was fluent with it¡­


    But the skills given by Eve were different.


    He directly helped the yers to gain the full understanding of the skills in their minds through the connection with the yers'' consciousness. And He even assisted the yers to use the skills through the game system.


    For the yers, this meant that they couldpletely master the skills in a short time.


    That was to say, the effect of skills was far beyond ordinary harm.


    Because of this, Li Mu was not confident of defeating Fried Tomatoes who was a warrior by profession in one-on-onebat.


    Since Li Mu was a leader figure, everybody knew of hisbat ability clearly. If the two men really fought, Li Mu was not confident in escaping from Fried Tomatoes.


    If Li Mu''s memory was right, Fried Tomatoes was quite a remarkable yer even amongst the three hundred yers. Except for Box Meal, few people could match him.


    As such, no matter how angry Li Mu was, he could only try to hold up Fried Tomatoes and persuade him.


    "Fried Tomatoes, I understand your actions roughly. I don''t want to make too much of this situation. Since you didn''t kill me just now, we can pretend nothing has happened. I suppose that you don''t want to pit the other 71 yers against yourself, right?"


    It was necessary to threaten him appropriately.


    Of course, Li Mu also gave him some leeway.


    "I''ll repeat my words again. If you leave right now, I can forget the whole matter,"


    Li Mu said calmly.


    Fried Tomatoes'' expression slightly dropped. He seemed to be struggling internally for a moment but after a while, he sneered.


    "So what? It''s just a game. This is only a pre-OBT. Even if I offend more than 70 yers, gaining 20000 contribution points is worth it. Open beta has not started yet. In an online game, there will be conflict sooner orter. Plus, I don''t want to always y house with you guys either¡­"


    "Besides¡­"


    Fried Tomatoes'' expression turned slightly yful as he said,


    "Only the two of us are here. Even if I kill you right now, how will you prove that I did it?"


    Hearing his words, Li Mu visibly showed contempt but soon became serious.


    Fried Tomatoes was right. Only the two of them were here. If he was killed, he could not prove Fried Tomatoes did it.


    Although he was the temporarymander of the yers, he didn''t really hold much sway.


    Furthermore, with Fried Tomatoes being so bold, Li Mu was afraid that there were others behind him.


    He was probably not alone. Or perhaps he had already prepared his alibi beforeing to kill him.


    By then, people might not believe it as long as he refused to acknowledge it¡­


    Damn, is there no red name-like mechanism in this game?


    At this moment, Li Mu could not help butin internally.


    "Ha ha, let''s not dy anymore. Let''s fight to settle the matter quickly."


    Fried Tomatoes chuckled, raised the wooden knife again, used the skill [Charge] and rushed to stab Li Mu.


    Li Mu''s expression fell as he hurriedly looked for trees to hide himself. While doing so, he started chanting a spell.


    However, as his skill was not designed to take effect in an instant, he was slower than Fried Tomatoes.


    With one swipe, Fried Tomatoes sliced Li Mu''s right arm that was holding the magic staff.


    Blood spilt everywhere.


    "Ha ha."


    Fried Tomatoes slightly curled his lips as he looked at the health bar above Li Mu''s head decreasing by a quarter instantly.


    However, before he had time to continue his assault, a system message suddenly appeared before all the yers'' eyes¡­


    [Warning! Warning!]


    [With the yer "Fried Tomatoes" maliciously attacking the yer "Li Mu", he has been sentenced to be a red-named yer in the primary stage of the game]


    [The punishments of a red-named yer in the primary stage are as follows: In this state, the experience and contribution points gained by the assant will reduce by fifty percent. All the yers are now allowed to attack this person with no repercussions. When the assant dies, the objects they obtained in the red-name state will be taken away and be returned to the original owner by force]


    [The punishments of a red-named yer in the primary stage willst until the assant dies. After the assant dies, their level will reduce by one regardless of the number of Perfect Resurrection in the inventory. For first time assants, the red-name state willst for 24 hours]


    [The current reward for killing a red-named assant: 50 contribution points]


    Fried Tomatoes, "¡­"


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Was there a red-name mechanism in The Kingdom of Elves?


    Of course there was one.


    Eve had yed so many online games in the past that He could not forget about them.


    In fact, when Fried Tomatoes attacked Li Mu, He was paying attention to it as well.


    Eve made a conservative estimate and found that the 26 pieces of divine blood crystals were worth 35 points of divine force in total. As such, he was also worried that an ident would ur to such arge amount of assets.


    If it was not for the need to leave the mechanism of the game undisturbed, Eve almost wanted to directly grab the divine blood crystals from Li Mu.


    Therefore, when Li Mu left Florence, Eve kept watching his movements and was surprised to see the scene.


    When he saw such an act, Eve despised Fried Tomatoes.


    Even if he would eventually sacrifice the divine blood crystals to Eve after taking them by force, he would have broken the rule of the game for doing so.


    In an instant, Eve was even wondering whether He should ban the guy''s ount for good.


    But as the GM of the game, He needed to think of the bigger picture¡­


    Games were different from reality. It was impossible for all the yers to always stay united.


    In real society, there were numerousws, rules, and ethics that regted human beings and maintained the normal operation of human society.


    Such restrictions deprived people of certain freedom, namely the freedom of falling into one''s desires, greed, and violence.


    Conflicts and wars filled human history. There were genes of killing and destruction in the bones of human beings. Although civilization removed people''s fangs and made them more virtuous, it couldn''tpletely exterminate their inherent evil side.


    The evil side would rarely emerge where the regtions existed. But once those regtions disappeared, they would appear in en masse.


    Games were likely to arouse the other side of human nature.


    It was because real life rules didn''t apply in games!


    Additionally, for a lot of yers, indulging themselves in games had be their norm.


    But The Kingdom of Elves was not just a game!


    Therefore, if Eve wanted to make the yers obedient, He also needed to regte them with rules.


    The first rule Eve chose¡­ was the red-name mechanism.


    Judgement would be based on the yer''s "malice" and the degree of the damage he caused.


    Of course, the sanction should be appropriate. It would be best that the sanction could maintain order without discouraging the yers.


    More than maintaining the order of the yers, this could also help prepare for the return of elves in the future.


    Eve didn''t want to see the yers belittling elves and doing everything they liked at will!


    After all, He could never know the ethics of the yers.

 Chapter 47

    Li Mu''s expression was odd as he read the system message that shed before his eyes and saw the spot of the red-named yer marked on the mini map in the system.


    He sighed and said,


    "You see¡­ There is a punishment mechanism in this game. Why did you do it¡­ You have worked hard to get to Low Iron, which cost you ten thousand experience points and two hundred contribution points¡­


    Fried Tomatoes, "¡­"


    "Besides, from the moment you tried to kill me, I took a chance to start video recording. You should understand the consequences if you continue, right?"


    Li Mu pointed at the screen of his system and said slowly.


    Fried Tomatoes, "¡­"


    His face darkened.


    Now, it really wasn''t worth it.


    Eve shook His head when He saw the awful expression on Fried Tomatoes'' face from Li Mu''s perspective.


    Isn''t it good to be an obedient little leek? Why take the shortcut¡­


    Every chosen one cost Eve of His precious energy. Thus, Eve would not let them fight against each other at will!


    However, as a goddess who loved truth, kindness and beauty, Eve wouldn''t forget to give those kids who made mistakes a chance to change.


    When Fried Tomatoes froze at the abrupt system message, a new box of options appeared before his eyes¡­


    [Ding--]


    [The great goddess is kind enough to forgive those sinners who repent. As you are a chosen one and your offence is minor, the goddess is willing to listen to your request:]


    [Option A: The great, kind goddess is right. I will repent my sins. (You choose to lose 200 contribution points and return everything you have taken by force and your red-name state will be cancelled)]


    [Option B: Although I adore the great goddess, I don''t regret my choice! (You choose to lose 100 contribution points and you will remain in the red-name state)]


    Fried Tomatoes, "¡­"


    His face almost twitched.


    What else could he choose?


    Ultimately, all the yers would go after the first option to avoid further damage¡­


    Fried Tomatoes took a deep breath and gritted his teeth under Li Mu''s surprised gaze.


    "The great goddess is right. I will repent my sins."


    [Ding--]


    [The yer Fried Tomatoes has chosen to repent. He lost 200 contribution points and his red-name state was cancelled]


    Instantly, a message shed in all the yers'' game system.


    One more message appeared before Li Mu''s eyes, which read, [You get thepensation of 100 contribution points from Fried Tomatoes]


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Fried Tomatoes nced at him furiously, snorted coldly, took the wooden knife and disappeared into the forest.


    Seeing Fried Tomatoes giving up, Li Mu felt relief and began to heal himself with healing magic.


    Eve, who watched everything behind the curtain, nodded with satisfaction and pondered.


    "Although the problem is solved this time, suppressing the yers is not a long-term solution. They will have internal conflicts sooner orter. Sometimes, they need to fight to solve the internal conflicts¡­"


    "It seems that it''s time to arrange a PK system."


    PK, orparing notes, learning from each other, was a prettymon mode in MMO-RPGs. A lot of yers were very enthusiastic about it.


    There were even many yers who yed online games merely for the sake of PK!


    In other words, they just wanted to fight against other yers!


    These kinds of yers were usually called PVP yers.


    Eve naturally thought about adding this function to the game system. After all, this function would not only make the yers more passionate about the game, but also train them forbat.


    His current idea was to provide the yers with two PK modes.


    One was to PK in real battles. That was to say, the yers would fight against each other face-to-face with real knives and guns. In this mode, they could actually kill each other.


    The yers would need to spend their contribution points to use this mode. And when the yers got to higher levels, they would need to spend increasingly more contribution points to use this mode.


    After all, it would cost Eve energy to resurrect the yers. As the yers got to higher levels, they would do greater harm to the environment while fighting against each other.


    If some yers got to Legendary levels one day, two of them could even destroy a small part of the forest of elves inbat.


    The other PK mode was virtual. Eve would create a scene in the space of His consciousness, draw the yers'' consciousness there, and let them do whatever they liked.


    This mode wouldn''t cost contribution points. The yers would pray to Eve and Eve would answer. He only needed to create some scenes beforehand in this mode and set the corresponding program in the game system.


    Thinking of this, Eve decided to formallyunch the PK function for the yers after this task.


    With more divine force, He could afford to spend more.


    At the end of the day, the yers were His leeks and His bosses.


    If Eve wanted them to work hard for Him, help Him recover and assist elves to restore their glory, He naturally should meet their needs of entertainment.


    Eh, Eve thought that He was conscientious in designing the online game. The yers didn''t need to spend too much money or work too hard.


    One of the best weapons like the Golden Legend only cost 64800 contribution points. Killing 1296 goblins would be enough to buy one.


    ¡­


    Without any yer stopping him, Li Mu, who had healed his injuries, went back to the teleportation circle smoothly.


    He used [Natural Whisper] and soon found the oak guard sleeping nearby.


    The yers already knew that the NPCs also needed to sleep.


    Moreover, ording to Demacia, the NPCs also needed to clean themselves and eat like the yers¡­


    But when Li Mu asked him how did he know, he prevaricated.


    Just several days before, Saint Alice seemed to be colder toward Demacia.


    Ahem.


    In this game, everything was realistic to the extreme.


    Sometimes, Li Mu wondered whether this game was made by aliens.


    Standing before the oak guard, Li Mu hesitated and decided to wake him up.


    Li Mu really didn''t want to hold the 26 pieces of hot potatoes any longer.


    He poked Berserker''s wooden beard and said carefully,


    "Lord Berserker? Lord Berserker?"


    The huge tree man turned around and continued sleeping.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    "Lord Berserker!"


    He yelled again.


    The tree man opened his mouth and breathed out through it.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    This guy slept so deeply¡­


    He thought for a while, picked a twig with leaves and barbs, and poked the tree man''s nose hard.


    Feeling an itch on the nose, Berserker shook and sneezed hard.


    After a daze, the oak guard awakened from his deep slumber. When he saw the smiling yer clearly, he frowned.


    "Chosen one, why did you disturb me?"


    After these words, he nced at Li Mu with surprise.


    "Huh? You are actually at Low Iron?"


    This group of chosen ones leveled up so quickly!


    The oak guard found it incredible.


    Li Mu smiled and said moderately,


    "Thanks to the blessing of the goddess¡­ I''m sorry to disturb you but I need your help to hand in these divine blood crystals."


    Divine blood crystals?


    Berserker cheered and stood up quickly.


    It was the most important matter as it was rted to Mother God''s recovery!


    In an instant, he no longer cared that Li Mu had disturbed him.


    "How many?"


    There was a trace of anticipation in Berserker''s voice. He looked at Li Mu enthusiastically with shining eyes.


    Li Mu opened his palm where 26 crystalsid quietly and glittered naturally.


    "26 pieces altogether."


    26 pieces!


    Berserker widened his eyes and unconsciously took a cold breath, finding it incredible.


    "Mother God on high! There are actually so many!"


    After these words, he looked towards Li Mu with admiration and satisfaction.


    "You all have done a good job!"


    He took the divine blood crystals off Li Mu''s hand carefully as if he was taking treasures of the world.


    After passing the divine blood crystals to Berserker, Li Mu suddenly thought of something and said,


    "Lord Berserker, in fact¡­ I have another thing."


    "Huh?"


    Berserker nced at him in doubt.


    Li Mu curled his lips and said sincerely,


    "It is that if there are no further idents, we can exterminate all the goblins in Florence by tonight. Elves can finally regain the holy city of the past."


    "You can exterminate all the goblins by tonight?!"


    Berserker became more surprised.


    He had been sleeping since dusk, so he naturally didn''t know of the yers'' recent achievements.


    Li Mu nodded. Remembering the NPCs'' praying manners, he drew a tree symbol of the Mother of Nature on his chest, straightened his body, and said solemnly,


    "We want to invite Lord Berserker and Saint Alice to participate in the ceremony of establishing a stable teleportation circle in Florence!"

 Chapter 48

    In the morning.


    The golden sun slowly rose from the east and shone brightly. The whole forest glittered under the sunlight.


    Alice, the saint of nature, finished her morning prayer, wore her ceremonial dress for sacrificial activities, and came outside of the temple.


    Berserker, the oak guard, had already been waiting there for a long time. Today, he looked very happy. His big eyes shining brightly, he stood aside while singing strange songs, songs he learned from the chosen ones.


    Alice''s emerald eyes smiled when she saw the oak guard.


    "Good morning, Your Highness Berserker."


    She held the corner of her priest dress, slightly saluted Berserker, and drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature on her chest.


    "May nature be with you."


    Berserker also saluted the maiden. There was a trace of softness in his low voice,


    "Good morning, Your Highness Saint Alice. May nature be with you!"


    After the two saluted each other, Alice looked towards the yers who gathered on the square in doubt and asked curiously,


    "What''s the matter with them today?"


    Usually, the chosen ones would ask her for daily tasks at this time. But somehow, very few people came to meet her today.


    They gathered on the square, seemingly waiting for something. Everyone was excited.


    Berserker nced at the yers on the square with a flicker of delight. He drew a tree symbol on his chest again and said to Alice,


    "Your Highness Saint Alice, Florence¡­ is regained. All the goblins are dispelled."


    "What? The holy city is recovered?"


    Alice''s emerald eyes instantly widened when she heard Berserker.


    She knew of the chosen ones'' task. But in her view, it would take a long time to dispel the goblins in the holy city. She didn''t expect that the chosen ones could finish it in such a short time.


    She vaguely remembered that she had followed her mother to dispel the goblins in elf ruins when she was young. Those goblins were extremely sly. After being dispelled, they would soone back¡­


    "Yes. Furthermore, the chosen ones will establish a new teleportation circle in Florence together. They have invited us to go there with them."


    Berserker looked devout.


    The recovery of the holy city was a glorious matter for every believer of nature!


    "They have actually invited us¡­"


    Alice''s expression wasplicated when she heard Berserker''s words.


    Frankly speaking, her general impression of the chosen ones was not good. She even despised some of them.


    Recently, the chosen ones seemed to have gradually gotten familiar with the world here and started being polite.


    But Alice still disliked some of their bad habits.


    For example, they regarded those poor animals in the forest as food.


    The forest of elves had abundant resources. The yers would have enough to eat by just picking fruits. Why did they have to kill other living beings?


    So far, Alice couldn''t understand their actions.


    However, since Mother God didn''t say anything about it, Alice gave up her anger.


    Because Alice disliked the chosen ones, she never thought of befriending them. The chosen ones had been here for a long time, but Alice didn''t even know one of their names.


    Naturally, Alice could not see the yers'' names.


    The yers'' names only appeared in the game system. So only the yers could see the green names above each other''s head. The original inhabitants in the world of Sagas couldn''t see them.


    Without friendship, Alice thought that she would just contact the chosen ones to finish the tasks given by Mother God.


    Because of this, Alice was greatly surprised when she heard that the chosen ones had invited them to participate in establishing the teleportation circle.


    Elves were arrogant and proud.


    To invite other elves to participate in ceremonies meant kindness and reverence. To ept the invitation meant the recognition of the other party.


    Alice''s expression becameplicated as she thought of this.


    She nced at those chosen ones who gradually gathered on the square and thought of their hard work these days. Her expression was unreadable.


    Finally, the elf maiden sighed and said,


    "I¡­ ept the invitation."


    ¡­


    Florence, the forest of elves.


    After killing goblins for the whole night, the yers had already turned all the goblins there into experience points.


    When thest goblin that hid in a deserted drainage system was exterminated, the yers received a system message [Main task objective: Destroy all the Goblins in Florence, the holy city (Finished)]


    Eve kindly rewarded all the yers who had participated in the extermination of goblins with 1000 experience points, one Perfect Resurrection, and 500 contribution points.


    Now, there was thest task objective--to establish a stable teleportation circle in Florence!


    At this moment, the Low Iron yers, who had stayed up for a whole night, already had gathered in front of the temple in Florence.


    Under the direction of Li Mu, they stood in two lines, waiting for Alice, Berserker, and other yers who had received the main task like troops waiting to be reviewed.


    When Alice and the oak guard Berserker came to Florence with other yers, they saw this scene.


    The elf maiden first looked at them in surprise. Then she stretched out her hand to touch the stone tablet with a blurred script. Her expression was sad yet gratified.


    "Florence¡­ We are back."


    Seeing Alice and Berserker, Li Mu, who had informed the other yers beforehand, hurriedly winked at them.


    The yers looked at each other and said at the same time,


    "Wee Saint Alice and the oak guard to Florence! We did not disappoint you. We have recovered the holy city from the evil goblins sessfully! We are here for the goddess to see our aplishment!"


    All the yers spoke at the same time. Obviously, they had rehearsed beforehand.


    Alice was stunned. She opened her mouth slightly, stretched out her hand to cover her mouth, and gazed at these familiar yet strange chosen ones before her in disbelief.


    Alice had to admit that she was actually touched at this moment.


    They¡­ They¡­


    It turns out that they can be so sincere?


    Seeing all of the chosen ones smiling sincerely, Alice firmly believed that they were exhrated as well.


    At this moment, the maiden''s expression gradually turned soft.


    "Thank you, brave chosen ones."


    She held the corners of her dress and bowed down to the yers, her voice slightly trembling.


    Anyway, they were the warriors chosen by the goddess¡­


    Perhaps they had some bad habits. Perhaps they often did things that were hard to understand¡­


    But, they were trustworthypanions!


    At this moment, Alice''s impression of the chosen ones changed.


    [Ding--]


    [Alice Gale''s impression of you has increased by 40 points¡­]


    [Berserker''s impression of you has increased by 40 points¡­]


    In an instant, all the yers who saluted them received the messages from the system.


    All the yers'' eyes lit up when they saw the messages from the system. Gradually, they were lost in contemtion.


    Suddenly, a surprised and excited voice sounded from the group of people, breaking the originally touching atmosphere,


    "Damn! Brother Mu you are really terrific! You have really improved the little sister and the big man''s impression of us!"


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    All the yers turned to re at the source of the voice.


    Alice and Berserker were also attracted by the voice and immediately saw the shameless face and the awkward smile.


    It was Demacia.


    The two''s faces gradually became cold.


    [Ding--Berserker''s impression of you has decreased by 40 points, reaching "dislike"]


    [Ding--Alice Gale''s impression of you has decreased by 40 points, reaching "dislike"]


    In an instant, new messages appeared before Demacia''s eyes.


    Gazing at the system bar, his smile gradually faded away.

 Chapter 49

    Although the chosen ones could be theirpanions and excellent warriors, it did not mean that all the chosen ones were respectable.


    At least, the guy with red explosive hair was not respectable.


    At this moment, Alice and Berserker had the same thought¡­


    Demacia''s mood fluctuated radically. When everyone was here, the ceremony of establishing the teleportation circle formally started.


    Cuckoo Bird had already removed the temporary teleportation circle back in the forest.


    After participating in the main task, she realized that she wasn''t skilled inbat, even though she had learned taekwondo in reality.


    Therefore, Cuckoo Bird chose to transfer to the other field while changing her upation. She became a level 11 elf sorcerer. She nned to revolve around creating magic tools and setting up magic circles.


    This time, she would host the construction of the teleportation circle.


    The location of the circle was right in front of the dpidated temple.


    This ce was once the holy square of Florence and where the yers had defeated Ullr''s avatar.


    In order to gain contribution points, all the yersing here had already formed one big party. Eve did not bother about it.


    The construction ceremony formally started after Saint Alice held the legal code of nature and prayed silently towards the direction of the World Tree.


    Cuckoo Bird took out the material needed to set up the teleportation circle, took a deep breath, and aligned it again ording to the blueprint.


    Hundreds of eyes were watching her movements in anticipation.


    Cuckoo Bird was very serious. She did it neither fast nor slowly. Her carefulness even made Saint Alice who was giving instruction on the side, nod internally.


    "This female chosen one is gifted in magic circles!"


    Alice could not help but think of this. She even vaguely thought of imparting the skill of drawing magic circles to Cuckoo Bird.


    As Cuckoo Bird continued to set it up, the round teleportation circle gradually took shape.


    Finally¡­ With a bright light, waves of magic power came through the circle.


    She had built the teleportation circle sessfully.


    [Ding--]


    [The main task objective 1: Establish a stable teleportation circle on Florence (Finished)]


    [Every yer who participated in the establishment of the circle is rewarded 500 contribution points]


    [Ding--]


    [You have already finished the main task: The holy city in the past!]


    [Every yer who participated in the mainline story is rewarded 5000 experience points, one Perfect Resurrection, and 500 contribution points!]


    In an instant, all the yers who had participated in the main task received the new system messages.


    "We have made it!"


    "We havepleted the task!"


    "Ha ha ha!"


    Seeing the rewards they got, the yers cheered repeatedly.


    Alice the saint of nature and Berserker the oak guard were also touched and apuded.


    The background music changed when the yers received the system messages.


    Suddenly, all the yers'' background music in the game system became jubnt. The pleasant music made everyone feel as if they were walking in a lively city.


    The music was named ''The Morning of Florence''. It was elves'' ethnic music. It sounded very pleasant.


    Since Florence had been recovered, a new main city of elves would be gradually built here in the future.


    At first, Eve nned to have the yers build a new city of elves under the World Tree, and the yers and indigenous believers would live there together.


    But He changed His original n after discovering the ruins of Florence.


    Now, Eve nned to use the small elf town under the World Tree merely as the yers'' stronghold. He would use Florence as the home of the returned elves!


    He came up with this idea after pondering carefully. Themunication between the yers and the original inhabitants would not be smooth in a short time. It would be best to separate them while giving them some time to get used to each other.


    Previously, Eve was only able to control a radius of ten kilometers, and thus could not dominate Florence.


    But things were different now.


    With the 26 pieces of divine blood crystals Berserker sacrificed to Him, His divine force instantly increased by 37 points.


    Moreover, the yers also provided Him with 10 points of divine force by exterminating all the goblins in Florence.


    Now, Eve had 67 points of divine force altogether.


    As Eve was still in a dying state, He was still only able to control 10 kilometers at most. But He could now build a new statue and dominate the area centering around the statue.


    This was a shortcut. After calcting, He found that if He put the statue in Florence, it could cover the temple in Florence and the attached area.


    The area of Florence was nearly thirty square kilometers. If Eve wanted to cover it, He had to continue to recover His power.


    Of course, as the indigenous believers had not returned yet, Eve didn''t worry about it too much.


    Next, He nned to have the yers explore Florence.


    Florence had already existed for a thousand years.


    With Florence being once the holy city of elves, there were many ssic books of the elf civilization in there. Eve believed that there should still be many of them there now.


    Although Eve had gained the inheritance of the World Tree and obtained much knowledge about the elf civilization, it was far from enough.


    In addition, Eve expected to find some ways for the professionals to cultivate their vital energy in Florence.


    It was impossible for the yers to always depend on His divine force to level up. It was unsustainable for them to just level by killing other creatures and absorbing their vitality all the time.


    The yers must cultivate their own vital energy.


    Otherwise, they would waste the gift and talent Eve had endowed them.


    Although Eve was able to give the yers skills and power, He did not quite understand how the professionals cultivate their vital energy. The knowledge about cultivating vital energy was unfortunately lost when He inherited the position.


    Although Eve was able to learn the way to cultivate vital energy by using divine force, He did not have much divine force to do it now.


    But Florence gave Him hope.


    Furthermore, while the yers were cultivating their vital energy, War Sacrifice would enable them to give some energy back to Eve.


    This was a win-win solution.


    To summarize, it was urgent to explore Florence!


    Apart from having the yers explore Florence, Eve decided to try to repair H''s soul-storing orb.


    But with Eve forcibly taking the divine force of death from the orb, it worsened the condition of the soul-storing orb.


    Analyzing it in general, Eve found that it would cost Him nearly 21 points of divine force and ten days to repair it.


    However, after He studied it, He found that it would not cost Him much less to create the orb that could bear a trace of His divine soul. It only needed five points of divine force.


    But it would greatly limit the power of the avatar centering around the orb.


    Fortunately, Eve did not need the avatar to be too powerful.


    He was not looking for a permanent body. He just needed a tool that could walk and another identity that would not be recognized¡­ in order to tackle something that was inconvenient to tackle with the identity of a true god.


    And¡­ He enjoyed the freedom of movement sometimes.


    Apart from these things, Eve decided to recruit a new batch of yers in the near future to perform a second pre-OBT!


    This time, He nned to recruit 900 yers at a time!


    He also nned to add some functions like a PK policy to the game system with the second pre-OBT!


    After writing up the ns for the near future, Eve used His divine force again and prepared to give the exploration task to the yers.


    But at this moment, His divine soul suddenly shuddered. He felt that a great faith powering through the distant void and directly merging with Him.


    In an instant, Eve''s divine force increased dramatically again. It increased by 18 points at a time to reach 85 points, which Eve had never possessed before!


    Eve was extraordinarily surprised when He felt His divine force suddenly soaring.


    He checked it carefully again. To His surprise, He found that more than two hundred new green photons suddenly appeared in the space of His godhead!


    In the meantime, numerous prayers slowly came. They sounded ethereal, filled with anticipation, anxiety and hope¡­


    They were¡­ Eve''s believers!

 Chapter 50

    The dark mountain range was in the southwest on the continent of Sagas. Its northern side was near the forest of elves. Its western side was beside the endless sea. Its eastern side was adjacent to the abundant in. Its southern side reached the desert of death¡­


    The dark mountain range derived its name from the fact that there were so many shiny ck stones in the mountain range that made the mountain peaks look pitch-ck.


    However, as the dark mountain range was steep and barren, it was no paradise for animals and nts. There were only some drought-resistant shrubs, patches of grass and a few kinds of wild animals.


    But it was said that in ancient times, the dark mountain range was not barren. At that time, it was as abundant and beautiful as the forest of elves. It even had another beautiful name--the emerald mountain range.


    But after the War of Gods, heaven copsed and the earth cracked. Everything was destroyed.


    Now, the environment of the dark mountain range was almost as bad as the desert of death.


    Apart from trade caravans that had to cross the mountain range and those dwarfs and humans who were trying to look for mines in the dark mountain range, few people came here¡­


    In a hidden valley in the northwestern part of the dark mountain range.


    At the corner of the valley, simple and crude stone houses scattered all over like stars in the sky, forming a small vige.


    Although the stone houses were simple and crude, they were very tidy and clean. Beside every house there were flowers and bushes. Obviously, the owners loved nature¡­ These flora were a very rare sight in the dark mountain range.


    At the center of the vige, there was a small open square. A simple tform made of stones and vines was on the square.


    At this moment, more than two hundred inhabitants gathered below the tform. There were the elderly and the young. All of them wore linen clothes and hoods that could cover their appearances. They were thin and weak with numb expressions. From their appearance, one could tell that they lived a very hard life.


    Their sharp ears and outstanding looks that could be vaguely seen exposed their identity--elves.


    The elves sat in groups of two or three, looking towards the tform curiously.


    Two elderly elves were standing on the tform.


    One of the elderly elves wore a gray sacrificial robe. He had white hair and white beard, but was radiating health and vigor. He was the elderly priest, Samuel Gale, who went to gather elves as Eve ordered.


    The other one was an elderly female elf.


    Her name was Flosil me. She was the vige head and Samuel''s old friend.


    The female elf nced at Samuel beside her and sighed.


    "Samuel, I have already summoned all the elves here as you said. Can you say the matter now?"


    Samuel''s expression was veryplicated as he looked at more than two hundred elves under the tform.


    "Are all the mes here?"


    Flosil''s eyes lowered as she said sadly,


    "Only these ones remain."


    "Ah¡­ I did not expect that the mes with a poption of nearly ten thousand would have declined to this degree."


    Samuel sighed sadly.


    However, the mes were better than the Gales who hadpletely disappeared.


    Flosil''s expression became vague as she heard Samuel. She managed an awkward smile and said,


    "Are there any solutions? Without the blessing of the true god, all of us are merely homeless children to be bullied¡­ It''s already lucky for us to find a ce to hide in the emerald mountain range."


    In the world of Sagas where gods existed, it was very hard for an ordinary intellectual race without a true god''s blessing to survive the struggles between different races.


    Elves were especially attractive to other races.


    Because of their beautiful appearances, long life expectancy, and innate magic constitution, without power and protection, they were highly attractive to other races.


    In addition, elves stood aloof from worldly strife, loved peace and were kind by nature. They were not used to being aggressive at all. Therefore, in a series of conspiracies and conflicts, the elf race became increasingly weaker.


    The blessing of the true god?


    Samuel''s eyes lit up.


    He took a deep breath, smiled brilliantly, and said passionately,


    "In fact¡­ I''m here for that matter."


    "Huh?"


    Flosil looked towards him in surprise.


    The chief of the mes hadn''t discovered that the old friend before her seemed to be vaguely different from the image she had of him until now.


    Although she had not seen him for many years, Samuel looked more vigorous. There was a faint light in his eyes as if he had hope for the future.


    Many years ago, the gray old man never looked like this. The numbness and despair that were once in his turbid eyes thoroughly disappeared.


    Flosil fixed her eyes on him.


    The Gales were the most special among all the elf tribes. They had the duty of sacrificing to the Mother of Nature. They were also called the tribe of priests.


    After the fall of the World Tree, the Gales were also the most persecuted.


    As the elder of the tribe, Samuel Gale witnessed the decline and fall of the Gales¡­ Every time she saw him, he always looked sad and desperate.


    If she got it right, Samuel had always stayed near the forest of elves with thest saint of nature and kept sacrificing to nature in the hopes of awakening Mother God.


    But now¡­


    Flosil suddenly came up with an incredible guess when she saw that Samuel was in high spirits and his eyes were shining with hope¡­


    Could it be¡­


    Her heart that had been quiet for so many years suddenly pounded quickly.


    "You¡­"


    She gazed at Samuel, her voice trembling. She seemed to be wondering and anticipating something.


    Samuel turned to smile gently at his old friend and opened his arms¡­


    A brilliant holy light radiated from him, filled with appeasing power and a strong breath of nature.


    In an instant, Samuel seemed to be the beloved of nature in the brilliant light. The strong breath of nature instantly enveloped the whole square¡­


    Perceiving the great power of nature in the elder priest, Flosil widened her eyes and said in surprise,


    "Silver¡­ Silver priest!"


    A Silver priest!


    After the Mother of Nature fell, how many years had passed since she saw a priest at such a high level?


    Silver was a boundary. Only a true god could afford a Silver priest!


    At this moment, Flosil felt her old heart beating passionately as if she was young again. Her originally absurd guess that was filled with hope had vaguely pointed to a fact!


    "This¡­ This¡­"


    She murmured. She was almost unable to speak.


    The power of the holy light attracted all the elves below as well. They looked up at the elder elf on the tform in shock and puzzlement.


    Seeing them watch him, Samuel smiled.


    He faced the north, piously drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature on his chest, and said gently yet powerfully,


    "My fellow elves, our true god Her Majesty¡­ hase back. She has called us to return to the forest of elves and recover our glory!"


    After these words, he took out a golden leaf, which was a sacred object with Eve''s divine force--the World Tree''s leaf.


    Samuel held the World Tree''s leaf up high and released its power piously and respectfully¡­


    In an instant, intense natural divine force spread all over. The branches sprouted and the flowers bloomed wherever the divine force reached. Immediately, the square was surrounded by flowers and verdant vines¡­


    All the elves were shocked as they looked at the scene before them that was like a miracle.


    "Natural divine force! This is natural divine force!"


    Some elder elves recognized it and said in excitement.


    With the miracle, an ethereal and holy voice resounded through the air,


    "Children,e home."


    Children,e home¡­


    The voice was dignified, soft, and pleasant¡­ with sighs as if the speaker had experienced the vicissitudes of life. It had an amazing power to appease people''s hearts.


    This was the oracle Eve recorded in the World Tree''s leaf.


    In an instant, all the elves felt warm energy pouring into their bodies. Their bodies that had been weak because of their long-term vagrant life gradually regained strength!


    Flosil got down on her knees with a flop. Two lines of turbid tears fell down as she gazed at the bright leaf of the World Tree and felt the vitality inside.


    Her expression was filled with surprise and sadness when she raised her head.


    "Mother God¡­ This is the power of Mother God!"


    "Mother God¡­ is back!"

 Chapter 51

    "It''s Samuel. He has found the remaining elves."


    After casting His consciousness to Samuel, Eve soon understood the whole matter.


    After traveling for dozens of days, the devout elder priest crossed forests and high mountains. Finally, in the corner of the dark mountain range, he found the me tribe, which was one of the many tribes of the elf kingdom in the past.


    With the miracle and oracle he showed, Samuel smoothly rose the elf tribe''s faith.


    Perceiving the photons of faith in the space of His godhead, Eve was very satisfied.


    It was a good start. Although most of the elves were shallow believers, as they had just ced their faith in Eve. Other than them, only the chief Flosil and some elder elves were devout believers.


    Although the mes could not match the Gales, Eve was already very happy with this result.


    When Eve listened to the believers'' prayers and saw their living condition in these past few years through their memory, He sighed repeatedly.


    They led a wandering life to hide themselves from human and orc hunting teams. As theycked food due to their tortuous environment they were in, they had to resort to eating grass roots and bark to survive the hardest times.


    Numerous elderly elves walked theirst step while migrating. Countless elves in their prime died while fighting against enemies along the way. And arge amount of young elves died an early death or became possession of others.


    Among the many elf tribes, the me tribe with an original poption of nearly ten thousand was considered as a big tribe. However, less than three hundred elves remained now. Moreover, most of them were old, weak, sick or mamed. Their average level was lower than Low Iron.


    In 1000 years, the elves had suffered a lot. Eve never doubted that if this situation continued, elves might just live in history books in less than a hundred years.


    "You all have suffered a lot. Since I have obtained the inheritance of the World Tree, I will bless all of you."


    Eve sighed deeply, took a few points of divine force, and gave them to the elves across the void.


    With Eve''s divine force, the mes who recovered their faith instantly felt as if a ring of holy light fell upon them. Warm and tender, the light immediately dispelled all their sickness and pain.


    Everybody felt the newfound vitality in their bodies. Even the elderly elves whose bodies declined radiated vitality and vigor.


    Moreover, they also felt vaguely that some shackles broke inside them. Their whole body and soul seemed to be freer.


    It was the sealing spell put on elves after the War of Gods, which passed on from generation to generation. It was also the reason why elves fell from Silver levels.


    After they restored their faith, Eve was able to break the spell on them.


    Of course, because the spell wasn''t truly binding, those enemies wouldn''t notice that Eve had dispelled it.


    With the shackles on them broken, the elves'' level instantly increased exponentially. Several elves even crossed the boundary between the levels directly to reach Intermediate Iron!


    Of course, that was the limit of their improvement.


    It wasn''t because Eve couldn''t continue to help them increase their level. But because if they continued to level, they would drain their potential.


    These indigenous elves were different from the yers. They were the offspring of the original elves. They were not directly born from the World Tree.


    Although these elves had a long life expectancy of 1000 years like original elves, they were not as gifted as the original elves.


    But with the yers'' bodies being created by Eve, they were considered as the original elves.


    In addition, their bodies had been modified to some degree. They were not only gifted but also able to bear more divine force given by Eve. Their innate constitution was far better than the indigenous elves.


    "The favor of the god! This is the favor of the god!"


    Feeling their bodies changing, every elf in the me tribe were exhrated.


    Some old elves even started devoutly praying while crying in a low tone,


    "Mother God did not leave¡­ Mother God did not leave¡­"


    "Kind Mother of Nature, the true god we love, thank you for your favor¡­"


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves!"


    Seeing the elves so excited, Flosil was tearful. She trembled, got down on her knees and bowed down deeply towards the north. After staying in that position for a while, she stood up with Samuel''s help.


    "Go home¡­"


    Her lips moved and the wrinkles in her face quivered as she looked at the elves under the tform.


    "Go home¡­!"


    She said it again more determinedly, her expression more pious.


    "We go home!"


    She yelled in excitement. Her trembling voice spread far with the elves'' prayers¡­


    Very far¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    With Samuel''s help, the me tribe started their journey.


    This time, they were no longer wandering. This time, they were no longer confused.


    They knew where they belonged¡­


    They were going home now.


    Perceiving more than two hundred believers'' anxiety and exhration in the space of His godhead, Eve sighed deeply.


    "The former World Tree, what on earth have you done? Why did the gods besiege you? Did they really only covet your divine mission and religion?"


    At this moment, Eve was more curious than ever about the truth of the War of Gods 1000 ago.


    Although Eve had obtained the World Tree''s inheritance and knew who were His enemies, the reason for the War of Gods was vague in His memory. The former World Tree only talked to Him about the conflicts of religions.


    But when Eve saw the former Silver race being reduced to such a miserable state, He couldn''t help but wonder whether some important clues were missing from the iplete inheritance.


    However, Eve couldn''t afford to think of these matters now. Now, He needed to recover His power as soon as possible.


    His enemies woulde back sooner orter. The truth would emerge one day.


    What Eve needed to do now was to make Himself powerful enough before facing them. He would then defeat all the enemies and be the strongest in Sagas again!


    The process would be difficult, but it was not impossible with the assistance of the elf race and the yers.


    Thinking of this, Eve became increasingly more determined.


    "The yers'' growth and the elves'' return are joyous asions. Ha ha, a second pre-OBT seems urgent now. The 300 current yers are barely enough."


    He pondered for a while and decided to have the second pre-OBT one and a half monthster, which was ten dayster on the blue.


    Eve made the decision based on the mes'' returns. He calcted that the mes would need about two months to return to the central area of the forest of elves. By then, Eve would have trained the new yers to help them settle down.


    As for the 300 current yers in the first pre-OBT, Eve had already thought of a new rival for them.


    It was the orc tribe entrenched near the forest of elves.


    But before this, Eve might as well have them explore Florence, as they might discover something new.


    Thinking of this, Eve used divine force to give the yers a new task:


    The main task: Explore the holy city!

 Chapter 52

    Two days had already passed since the recovery of Florence.


    After the yers formally established the stable teleportation circle and finished the first main task, the following task of the story came.


    That was to explore the holy city of the past and look for the heritage of the elf civilization.


    This time however, some yers didn''t choose to ept the exploration task.


    After getting to level 11, somebat-focused yers chose to leave the safe zone for more blood-pumping adventures in arger area.


    That was to say, they wanted to level up by killing monsters.


    The Kingdom of Elves was different from other games. The mechanism ofbat in this "virtual reality game" provided great freedom. After getting familiar with the rules, the yers soon fell in love with thebat in the game that was simr to that in reality.


    Adventuring in such a game allowed them to experience what it was like being mercenaries and hunters in the real world.


    Furthermore, after logging off from the game, many yers who got used to fighting found that their reaction speed and reflex had improved tremendously.


    There was even a rumor that someone used a skill from the game to defeat a criminal while he was being robbed.


    This finding made the yers even more passionate about battles.


    Additionally, therge forest outside of the safe zone made it possible for the yers.


    Outside of the safe zone, numerous magic beasts existed in the forest of elves. The majority of the beasts were at Iron levels, which was suitable for the yers to practice their skills.


    Those Low Iron monsters were especially suitable.


    Of course, there were powerful Silver creatures in the forest, but they generally existed in the northern part of the forest.


    That was said that there were more powerful creatures at Golden and even Legendary levels further up in the north.


    Sure enough, those Legend creatures were beyond the imagination of the current yers.


    The yers obtained these pieces of information from Alice after adopting all kinds of methods they could think of to please her.


    Alice even taught them how to distinguish the tracks of powerful wild beasts, how to avoid high level magic beasts, etc.


    All of this was due to the improved rtionship between Alice and the yers.


    After the yers invited Alice to Florence, her rtionship with most yers improved except for Demacia.


    This was especially true for those yers who had recovered the holy city. Many of them had a friendly rtionship with her.


    In this situation, Alice was finally willing to go deep in conversation with the chosen ones.


    Besides, Alice appreciated Cuckoo Bird''s talent in magic circles, so she began to teach her now and then, which made a lot of yers envious.


    Cuckoo Bird became the first yer to study under Alice. She became the first chosen one to learn magic circles.


    Eh¡­ At least the yers thought so.


    ¡­


    In the ruins of a tract of elf buildings in Florence.


    Holding a flickering torch, Li Mu explored carefully in the dim light.


    As a yer who loved the stories, he declined other yers'' invitation to go adventure in the wilds but chose to do the task of the story instead.


    After the previous task and sacrificing the goblins'' scimitars, bows, arrows and sticks to the goddess, he had already umted enough contribution points and exchanged them for two new skills.


    [The Elegance of a Cat] and [The Strength of an Ox].


    The former improved agility and thetter improved strength.


    As for equipment¡­


    Alright, he had already done his best for the two skills. He couldn''t ask for more.


    He was not a rich man who nevercked money.


    However, soon after the yers finished their task, a new batch of weapons emerged in the exchange system.


    The majority of these weapons were scimitars, bows, arrows and some good-looking magic staffs.


    They were delicately crafted and cheap. They were only at a price of one to two thousand contribution points. All of them were Blue Rare equipment.


    Although they couldn''t strengthen the attributes as much as Purple Epic equipment, they were better than the goblins'' weapons seized by Li Mu and the others.


    Li Mu thought they were the equipment the official gamepany designed for themon people.


    He nned to umte enough contribution points and exchange them for a magic staff.


    Frankly speaking, there was a familiar subconscious feeling when he looked at this batch of equipment, but he could not tell where he had seen them before.


    Perhaps he was wrong.


    Li Mu shook his head and continued to explore the ruins.


    There was arge tract of ruins in Florence far from the temple in the holy city. The whole ruins looked to be a splendid building made of huge stones in the past.


    Li Mu was a feeling that only in this kind ofrge ruins was it possible to find the treasures of the elf civilization.


    Unfortunately, he had already explored the ruins here for two hours but found nothing.


    What was more annoying was that someone followed him and kept constantly talking¡­


    "Brother Mu, why did you choose to explore the ruins? We have been wandering here for two hours. There is nothing here."


    Demacia chewed the end of a straw in his mouth, followed Li Mu and murmured.


    "I''ve heard that Box Meal and the others have killed a level 13 rock boar. They are really close to level 12. Ah, Brother Mu, why don''t we organize field sports?"


    Demaciained as he watched Li Mu''s back.


    As a ridiculous tank warrior, he felt ufortable that he had forgonebat for a few days.


    He hadn''t experienced cutting with the Epic scimitar he exchanged yet. For the sake of the scimitar, he temporarily gave up on learning new skills.


    On hearing Demacia''s constantints, Li Mu frowned and said,


    "Don''t worry. We won''t bete even if we go to the wilds after finishing the task of the story."


    "But we have explored the ruins for two days and discovered nothing¡­ Ah, ording to the story, it has been 1000 years since the city turned into ruins. Even if there are treasures here, they should have been destroyed by the goblins,"


    Demacia said while shaking his head.


    Li Mu thought about it and exined,


    "A task is in the story for a purpose. The harder it is to find, the more precious the rewards will be¡­"


    Frankly, after wandering for two days, he was not confident when he said this.


    Sometimes, Li Mu alsoined that it was perverse of the game designer who designed Florence.


    Therge area of ruins turned out to be actual ruins. Except for the goblins'' domestic garbage, there was nothing in them


    "Ah, I''ve heard that Fried Tomatoes has set up abor union specially aiming at field strategies. He looked so proud. Boo¡­"


    Demacia pouted.


    "Brother Mu, did he really want to rob you of the divine blood crystals? I remember that when the system warned him, it specially said he was attacking you¡­"


    He asked curiously.


    Li Mu paused for a moment and said,


    "You ought to make better of your time to look around than to ramble on endlessly."


    He did not deny it, which for Demacia was as good as a yes.


    "Hey, I know that he is a bad guy."


    Demacia sneered.


    "Ha ha, after rivalry starts between the unions in the future, I will teach Fried Tomatoes a lesson!"


    After finishing the first subsidiary task, the yers started setting up unions.


    An organization like a union could help the yers unite. Furthermore, it could train the yers to cooperate in parties. Additionally, it could give impetus topetition between the yers, making the game more interesting.


    In order to increase the task efficiency of the yers, Eve did not ignore this function.


    In fact, even if Eve did not set up unions, the yers would form their own small groups, as humans loved uniting by nature.


    But it was better for Eve to take the initiative in creating yers'' unions so that He could make use of them.


    At present, there was only the public chat channel and the function of sharing mini maps in the union.


    In the future, Eve nned to train the yers''bat skills and their ability to cooperate.


    Eve''s ultimate purpose was to turn the yers into a well-trained army using the unions!


    It cost ten thousand contribution points to set up a union.


    This was arge sum. But if the yers contributed together, they wouldn''t have to spend much individually.


    The yers in the pre-OBT cooperated, contributed together, and finally formed three unions.

 Chapter 53

    The yers in the pre-OBT formed three unions.


    One was created by Li Mu and Demacia. It was called "The Heart of Nature". More than 180 yers were in this union.


    Li Mu was the chairman of "The Heart of Nature". With Li Mu making nothingpulsory for the members, the union was considered prettyx.


    The second union was created by Cuckoo Bird and Little Salty Meow. It was called "The Lovely Committee". The chairwoman was Little Salty Meow. Nearly half of the members were female yers. There were more than fifty members. It was a union that specialized in leisure and life.


    They were the main force that constructed the elf town.


    Thest one was called "The First Army" created by Fried Tomatoes. There were more than forty members. Their aim was to train through battles. They also loved adventures in the wilds. All of them were extremely determined yers.


    Although Eve did not like Fried Tomatoes, he improved a lot after being warned thest time.


    Additionally, this guy was very hard-working. He respected the NPCs and almost all of his party members he led were extremely determined, who repaid Eve considerably.


    So Eve was kind enough to forgive him and wait to see his development in the future.


    Moreover, although Li Mu was an able person, Eve thought that he was toozy sometimes. Thus, Eve decided to give him a rival to arouse his potential.


    Apart from them, some yers didn''t join any union. Among these yers, the most famous one was the master of the entire server--Box Meal.


    This reserved strong man drew thepanionship from a few yers and formed an adventuring party that wandered in the wilds every day. His experience points soared drastically. Many yers considered him to be a mogul.


    Even Li Mu found him amazing.


    Nevertheless,pared to killing monsters, Li Mu was more anxious about when he would find something of value in the ruins.


    He looked at the time on the screen of the system, pondered for a while, and said to Demacia,


    "We will search for another hour. If we still find nothing, we will go back for the time being."


    "Go back? Great!"


    Demacia immediately smiled happily.


    "Ha ha, I heard that there is a bonfire party tonight in Florence. We can go to the party if we go back early!"


    After the first day in the game, the yers of The Kingdom of Elves formed the habit of holding bonfire parties regrly.


    The forest of elves was so beautiful that people felt that they were camping far away from the secr world while holding evening parties in this virgin forest.


    The yers ate fruit, barbecued meat while the saint little sister was not on the alert,ughed together, chatted and farted together¡­ They were happy.


    A bonfire party?


    Li Mu''s eyes lit up.


    If he got it right, this evening party was to celebrate the rebuilt temple in Florence.


    The previous temple was too badly damaged. In the past two days, Cuckoo Bird was engaged in repairing the temple with her construction team. It was said that this was also one of the tasks given by the goddess.


    With it being almost repaired, people now could worship the statue of the goddess there.


    Thinking of this, he nodded


    "Eh, we will go back an hourter. And we will ask Alice along the way to see whether we can obtain any information about Florence from her."


    Saying so, Li Mu pushed away a piece of rubble and continued to explore.


    "Alice!"


    Demacia''s eyes lit up and he suddenly looked mysterious.


    He went near Li Mu''s ear, chuckled and said,


    "Brother Mu, we have yed the game for a long time. Have you discovered the punishment mechanism of the game?"


    On hearing Demacia, Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said,


    "This game is highly realistic. If you behave ording to the principles in reality, you won''t be punished in general."


    Saying so, he nced at Demacia in surprise.


    "Did you make trouble again?"


    "No no¡­"


    Demacia smiled awkwardly and then said,


    "After the red-name alert, I was curious about the punishment mechanism and had a try on a few yers privately."


    "A try?"


    "Yes. Just the red-name mechanism! We had a try. The mechanism seems to judge whether one should get a red name based on the yer''s "malice" and the degree of the harm he has done to another yer. The yer can use his contribution points to cancel his red-name state. And there should be different degrees of punishment. We concluded that the punishment of killing a person might be very severe. The killer''s ount might even be banned¡­"


    Demacia said.


    "Like this¡­ So severe?"


    Li Mu recounted his memory and found it incredible.


    He remembered that two days ago he read that Demacia had be a red-name yer in a system message. But soon afterwards another system message read that he had repented. It turned out to be like this¡­


    This guy had too much time to kill.


    Li Mu found it annoying yet amusing.


    However, if Li Mu behaved as before, he would have been looking for bugs everywhere like Demacia.


    Now, as the game developed, Li Mu liked the game increasingly more. Gradually, he forgot things like looking for bugs.


    "We found out more information!"


    Demacia became serious.


    "We had a try on the NPCs and found that we can''t attack the NPCs!"


    On hearing Demacia, Li My red at him.


    "Isn''t it normal? If you can attack the NPCs, the game will be in aplete mess."


    "No, I mean that if we wanted to attack the NPCs, we would lose control of our bodies in an instant. We couldn''t regain control until we gave up the idea. But at present, our experiments are limited to little sister and the big guy¡­"


    Demacia shook his head and said.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    "You¡­ tried to attack Alice and Berserker?"


    His lips twitched.


    Demacia scratched his head.


    "I just wanted to have a try. And I discovered that I couldn''t attack them."


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    "You should feel lucky that you couldn''t attack them. Otherwise, I think they would beat you until you revert back to level one."


    He nced at Demacia, feeling speechless.


    "Huh¡­ Their impression of me will not improve anyhow¡­ so I just had a try¡­ I still have several Perfect Resurrection¡­,"


    Demacia said awkwardly.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    In fact, Eve had set the rule that the yers could not attack the NPCs.


    His original n was to prevent the yers from attacking the NPCs with the same red-name mechanism. But after thinking about it, He felt that it was not secure. So He directly forbade the yers to attack the NPCs.


    More precisely, the yers could not attack His believers.


    Whenever a yer had the thought of attacking the believers of nature, they would lose control of their body.


    The reason why Eve was able to make this mechanism was because there were channels connecting the yers and the believers in the space of His godhead. Eve could modify and set the program of the system to end the yer''s control of their body when they turned hostile to a believer.


    As for other intellectual creatures, there was no way to prevent the yer''s harm to them.


    If there were other original inhabitants that admired Eve but were not believers of nature, Eve could only discipline the yers with a severe punishment from the system.


    As for why Eve didn''t prevent the yers from attacking each other¡­ Eve had His reason.


    The rtionship between the yers was not as simple as that between the yers and the NPCs. To maintain peace among the yers by force might not be a good method sometimes.


    It was because the yers who had conflicts had many ways to cause the downfall of each other while not using any force, meaning that the punishment mechanism wouldn''t be activated.


    Eve preferred the red-name system than to maintain peace by force. If a yer was too troublesome, Eve would just directly ban his ount. This way, Eve would also remove the cause of future troubles.


    Eve felt that He was fishing the criminals and enforcing thew.


    As for those who were willing to repent, Eve would give them a chance to repent and just impose a fine.


    Eh, Eve thought that He was very kind.


    ¡­


    On hearing Demacia''s experiments, Li Mu patted him on the shoulder helplessly.


    "Demacia."


    "Huh?"


    Demacia''s eyes shone as he looked at Li Mu.


    "Brother Mu, what''s the matter?"


    Li Mu nced at him and said softly,


    "Do you have very few friends?"


    Demacia was shocked.


    "How do you know?!"


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    He did not answer, but he shook his head helplessly, sighed and continued to move forward.


    Demacia touched his nose awkwardly and followed Li Mu step by step.


    However, as soon as he took two steps, he stumbled and almost fell down.


    "Damn, what''s this?"


    He cursed, shone his torch at the thing that stumbled on, and saw a broken te with strange characters written on it.


    "What''s this?"


    He picked up the te curiously.

 Chapter 54

    It was a te with dust all over on it. Some vague characters could be seen.


    Demacia''s eyes lit up as he picked up the te.


    "Brother Mu! Brother Mu! Come and see what this is! Is it elf characters?"


    He hurriedly called Li Mu.


    "Huh? Elf characters?"


    Li Mu stopped and turned to look towards Demacia who held the te high in excitement.


    "Let me have a look at it."


    He took the te, wiped off the dust and observed it carefully.


    The te seemed to have been made such a long time ago that the characters on it were no longer clear. But Li Mu, who had a good memory, still recognized that these strange characters seemed to be simr to those on the tablets outside Florence!


    "Perhaps¡­ They are elf characters!"


    He rejoiced.


    Characters recorded civilization.


    Whatever was written on the te, it could be a crucial discovery for them.


    And the most important thing in the task of exploring Florence was to look for ssic books on elf civilization!


    "Where did you find it?"


    Li Mu asked in haste.


    "Ahem, I stumbled on it. I picked it up and saw it. It was just over there."


    Demacia pointed to the debris on the side and answered.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Why was this guy so lucky?


    He took a few steps towards the spot Demacia pointed to, crouched and shone on it with the torch.


    With the light, Li Mu found to his surprise that there seemed to be more tes buried here!


    As he had been talking with Demacia, he actually didn''t notice them on the way.


    If Demacia hadn''t stumbled on them, they might have missed them!


    "Demacia! We have probably discovered some treasures. Come and help me get all these tes out!"


    Li Mu said in exhration.


    Most of the tes were covered by the debris. There was only a trace of them on the surface. He needed to dig them out in order to see them clearly.


    "Treasures?"


    Demacia was stunned before being delighted.


    "Damn! Have we really run into some literature? Will there be treasure maps and methods of cultivating vital energy hidden here?"


    "Don''t fantasize too much. Come help quickly!"


    Li Mu put the torch aside, dug out the tes from the debris one by one and ordered Demacia.


    "Okay! Okay!"


    Demacia hurriedly crouched out and helped Li Mu dig out the treasures.


    They spent half an hour digging all the tes out.


    They did not know how many tes they had dug up. After calcting the number of the tes, Li Mu found in surprise that they had actually dug out 73 tes!


    Every te was one-centimeter thick, as big as a washbasin and square-shaped with dense and mysterious characters on it.


    But unfortunately, most of the tes were broken and many of the characters were blurred. The two men picked out six rtively intact tes.


    Looking at the six tes, Li Mu was excited.


    He pondered for a while and said,


    "Let''s hide the rest of the tes first and bring these six rtively intact ones back to Florence. Let''s ask Alice to identify what is written on them."


    In 1000 years, the elf characters did not change much. Although the yers could not understand the elf characters, Alice could as the saint of nature.


    "Good! Ha ha, our hard work has finally paid off! We have found something atst! I don''t know whether these are treasure maps or something else! Ha ha, we have probably started the next storyline with this!"


    Demacia said in exhration.


    The two put the rest of the tes in the corner, buried them with debris, made a mark that only they knew, and left with the six tes happily.


    ¡­


    In the central temple of Florence.


    The originally dpidated temple was already refurbished after the yers repaired it in two days.


    Normally, repairing the temple would take a long time, but the existence of magic elerated the process. In only two days, the yers almost finished all the repair work.


    At this moment, Cuckoo Bird led some yers to do thest decoration work. For the sake of the decoration, they had even specially referred to several famous cathedrals in Europe. They decorated the originally solemn Temple of Nature to be more sacred and magnificent.


    This was not only their hobby, but it was also the task in the following storyline of the holy city. They would get rich rewards for it.


    "Put these flowers under the windowsills of the temple and then help them take root with natural magic."


    After giving orders to a union member, Cuckoo Bird continued to look at the blueprint.


    "Hi, Cuckoo Bird!"


    Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted her.


    She frowned and looked up. When she saw them, she raised her eyebrows.


    "Brother Mu?"


    They were Li Mu and Demacia who had returned.


    At this moment, the two men looked very excited and the tes in their hands were conspicuous.


    Cuckoo Bird automatically ignored Demacia who was beside Li Mu. Her eyes shone when she saw the tes in Li Mu''s hand.


    "Have you finally discovered something?"


    All the yers knew that Li Mu and Demacia had been searching in the ruins.


    Li Mu nodded with a brilliant smile.


    "Yes! We have found tes with characters on them. We are looking for Alice to identify them!"


    "Characters?"


    Cuckoo Bird raised her eyebrows.


    "Right!"


    Li Mu took out a te and showed it to her.


    "I have seen these characters before. They are very simr to those in the temple. I guess they are elf characters."


    Cuckoo Bird showed interest. She leaned forward, got closer to it and read the characters on it carefully with full attention.


    "Silver calendar¡­ Elves¡­ Celebration¡­"


    She frowned and read it slowly.


    "It seems to be about elf celebrations."


    Cuckoo Bird thought for a while and made a judgement.


    Li Mu and Demacia were instantly stunned.


    "You¡­ You¡­ You understand it?!"


    Demacia stammered in great surprise.


    Cuckoo Bird nced at him, then looked towards Li Mu and exined,


    "Recently, Alice imparted the knowledge of magic circles to me. It is necessary to use the elfnguage to set magic circles so I have been learning the elfnguage as well."


    "So¡­ This is really the elfnguage?"


    Li Mu rejoiced.


    Then he thought of something and looked at Cuckoo Bird strangely.


    "Wait¡­ You have only learnt it for two days? And you can understand it now?"


    Cuckoo Bird frowned and shook her head in disappointment.


    "No. The elfnguage is too difficult. There are more than ten thousand words. I stayed upte for two nights and only mastered more than 1300 words now. I can only read one to two tenths of the text at most."


    Saying so, she sighed helplessly and looked disappointed.


    Li Mu, "¡­"


    Demacia, "¡­"


    They looked at each other and were left speechless for a long time.


    Was this¡­ the power of a super student?


    Two days! In two days!


    Cuckoo Bird was terrific.


    No wonder that she was a super schr in Jinghua University¡­


    Li Mu remembered clearly that he had struggled for two semesters to learn the six thousand words for College English Test-6 yet he still did not master them all.


    But Cuckoo Bird¡­


    She mastered more than one thousand strange elf words¡­


    She was terrific.


    Li Mu had some understanding of the elfnguage. It was apletely different system. It was said that there were 72 letters. The game designers were crazy to develop a set of characters that was asplicated as Chinese.


    However, for some yers who were interested in stories and cultures of the games, this was a pleasant surprise.


    Seeing Cuckoo Bird disappointed, Demacia sighed deeply to the sky.


    "Ah, I have no chance to learn magic circles in my life."


    "Why would you learn magic circles as a warrior?"


    Cuckoo Bird nced at him scornfully.


    Demacia, "¡­"


    Li Mu coughed and hurriedly passed the other two tes in his hand to Cuckoo Bird.


    "Cuckoo Bird, help me read these two tes."


    Cuckoo Bird nodded and took them. After reading them carefully for a while, she said,


    "I think it is about the elves'' history. But I don''t understand the content in detail."


    "They are neither treasure maps or secret skills?"


    Demacia asked quickly.


    "It seems they are not."


    Cuckoo Bird shook her head.


    In an instant, Demacia became disappointed.


    "Gosh, are they really just a pile of rubbish?"


    Li Mu was also very disappointed. He sighed and passed the three tes in Demacia''s hand to the girl.


    "Cuckoo Bird, there are three more. Please have a look at them as well."


    Cuckoo Bird took them.


    "It seems that they are also about history."


    After a while, she gave the first te back to Li Mu.


    "This one too."


    She soon gave back the second one.


    Immediately, Li Mu and Demacia felt disappointed.


    However, Cuckoo Bird did not return the third one after a long while.


    "What is the matter? Is there anything wrong with this one?"


    Seeing her frown deeply, Demacia asked in curiosity as his heart started pounding quickly.


    Cuckoo Bird shook her head and looked at them in a strange way.


    "No¡­"


    She nced at the te twice again and said unsurely,


    "This one seems to be about the method of meditation."

 Chapter 55

    "The method of meditation?"


    Li Mu and Demacia froze at the same time.


    Then Demacia''s eyes lit up.


    "Is it like those secret martial arts skills in other online games?"


    Cuckoo Bird looked at the te carefully, nodded, before shaking her head in denial.


    "It is not like that. It is more like how to practice magic power¡­"


    "Hey! That''s a secret skill!"


    Demacia patted his thigh excitedly.


    Elf warriors needed to use magic power in order to perform some skills, so practicing magic power was still useful to him.


    "Practicing magic power?"


    Li Mu''s eyes also shone.


    As a druid, magic power was the source of his strength.


    "However, I can only infer the general information in this te. You have to go to Alice for the detailed trantion,"


    Cuckoo Bird said.


    After these words, she hesitated and asked embarrassedly,


    "That¡­ If Alice agrees to help you decode the content on the te and impart the knowledge of meditation, can you teach it to me?"


    She was very curious about the content of the te. Furthermore, she was also a magician now. If it was really the method of meditation for magicians, it would be very useful to her.


    Li Mu and Demacia looked at each other, smiled, and answered directly,


    "No problem!"


    And then they went to Alice with the tes in a hurry.


    ¡­


    In a side chamber in the Temple of Nature.


    "The method of meditation?"


    On hearing Li Mu, the elf maiden stopped cleaning the statue.


    Alice turned around, took the te from Li Mu''s hand, and began to check it carefully.


    After a while, she rejoiced,


    "It is really the method of meditation. And it is the "Element Meditation" that the elf race had lost. It can be directly used until High Silver! "Element meditation" is a very effective method of meditation. It is said to be able to increase magic power and the fusion of elements!"


    It was really the method of meditation! And it actually could be used all the way to the Silver levels!


    Li Mu and Demacia were exhrated.


    They knew that the highest level in the current version of this game was level 40, and level 40 was the peak of High Iron!


    If they could use it until they were at Silver levels, did it mean that they could use it until the next version?


    This method of meditation was so powerful!


    "Then¡­ may I ask what is the reward if we hand in these tes? By the way, can we learn the method of meditation?"


    They asked in anticipation.


    Alice gazed at the te for a while and shook her head.


    "There is no way to learn this, for some crucial information on the te cannot be seen clearly. So I am not able to restore the method of meditation. As for the reward you can get¡­ I don''t know either. You will know it after sacrificing them to Mother God."


    After talking to the chosen ones for so many days, Alice already knew that there was a certain connection, or¡­ trade, between Mother God and the chosen ones.


    When the chosen ones finished their tasks, Mother God would give them strength.


    This made her understand the reason why the chosen ones didn''t show much faith but still worked so hard.


    Most of them seemed to be pursuing strength morbidly. They were eager to be stronger than human beings.


    "Ah? You cannot restore it?"


    In an instant, Li Mu and Demacia were in low spirits.


    Seeing Li Mu disappointed, Alice hesitated and said unsurely,


    "Nevertheless¡­ Mother God may be able to repair it. If you want to restore it, pray to Mother God while sacrificing it."


    After these words, she nced at Li Mu and thought of something.


    Maybe¡­ This was a chance to have the chosen ones ept nature and be true believers?


    To pray to the goddess?


    Li Mu and Demacia looked at each other and took heart.


    They totally weren''t aware that Alice was preaching to them.


    Demacia got close to Li Mu''s ear and said in exhration,


    "The task of the story! Brother Mu, I guarantee you with my experience of having started the main plotline that this must be the hidden story! Perhaps the reward will be the method of meditation!"


    On hearing Demacia, Li Mu also had great anticipation.


    In fact, he also thought the same.


    The two men looked at each other and nodded.


    "Since this is the case, then we ask Alice to set up the sacrificial circle and help usplete the task."


    Li Mu asked Alice respectfully.


    Alice nodded.


    "Wait a minute, I''m going to prepare for it."


    The fact that the true god and the believers were in the same world allowed the cost of sacrifice to be extremely low.


    It would cost Eve less divine force and the believers would use less power.


    Therefore, as long as Eve was not bored, He would have the believers of nature sacrifice something to Him daily.


    Alice soon drew the sacrificial circle.


    After praying to the direction of the World Tree, she awaited for Great mother''s answer.


    ¡­


    The moment Alice prayed, Eve perceived the tremble of a photon of faith.


    He stopped repairing the soul-storing orb and turned His attention there in curiosity.


    "It is Alice? Is she going to sacrifice something?"


    Thinking of this, Eve took heart.


    "Could it be that the yers have found something in the ruins?"


    When Eve thought about this, He opened the sacrificial path and epted what the saint of nature sacrificed.


    With a light, several tes appeared in the space of His godhead.


    "Huh? tes?"


    Eve checked them curiously.


    "It''s actually about the history of the elves!"


    Eve was surprised.


    "Huh? There is an article about the method of meditation?"


    Eve was pleasantly surprised to see the content on the one te.


    Even if the te with the method of cultivating vital energy on it was iplete, Eve could repair it easily with His own power, and this process wouldn''t cost too much divine force.


    Moreover, if He wanted to, He could further derive a high-quality method of meditation from the current one!


    Of course, Eve did not n to do it now. The yers'' levels weren''t high enough for that. Eve would need to spend less than one point of divine force to repair Element Meditation.


    Thinking of this, He started using divine force to repair Element Meditation on the spot, instantly restoring it.


    These two yers had done a great job!


    Seeing the te before Him, Eve was very satisfied.


    He spent His divine force generously¡­


    Soon, a system message appeared before Li Mu''s and Demacia''s eyes, informing them that they had finished the task. Each of them was rewarded with 3000 experience points and 500 contribution points.


    "This¡­ is the end of it?"


    Gazing at the system message before their eyes, the two men were stunned.


    Alice hurriedly winked at Li Mu.


    "The sacrificial path is still open. Mother God can hear your prayers. Speak out your wishes quickly."


    Li Mu''s eyes lit up when he heard Alice.


    He hurriedly got down on one knee like the maiden, drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature on his chest, and said piously,


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves--Eve Euktrahill! Beautiful and precious goddess Your Majesty, we hope that you can help us restore the principles of Element Meditation and impart the method of meditation to us!"


    Eve heard Li Mu''s request in the void.


    He slightly froze, pondered for a while, and figured out the whole matter soon.


    Hearing Li Mu''s formal prayer, Eve chuckled.


    This group of fellow countrymen really adapted well.


    Although Li Mu was just pretending, his expression was like that of a pious believer.


    Even if Li Mu didn''t pray, Eve still nned to pass Element Mediation to the yers after improving it.


    Eve didn''t worry that the reality of the blue would be affected if He imparted the method of cultivating one''s vital energy in the world of Sagas to the yers.


    It was because the energy levels on the blue were too low to support the yers'' cultivation. If the yers cultivated vital energy in reality, they could only strengthen their bodies at most.


    Of course, the yers needed to pay Eve for what He imparted.


    At first, Eve nned to just put it in the exchange system for the yers to exchange for. But since Li Mu begged Him to impart the knowledge, Eve decided to impart the method of meditation to the two men as well since they had discovered it.


    "Alright, since you guys have discovered it, you should enjoy it."


    Thinking of this, Eve tranted the Element Meditation into Chinese, sent it into Demacia and Li Mu''s system, and formally activated the function of meditation method exchange and the function of subsidiary practice.

 Chapter 56

    [Ding--]


    [The kind goddess has heard your pleas. She will impart "Element Meditation" to you as a reward for your discovery of it]


    [You have gained the method of practicing magic power: Element Meditation]


    [You have locked the function of subsidiary practice. Now you can add the practice method: Element Meditation]


    With the beautiful and sweet voice of the system entering his ears, Li Mu and Demacia''s game system bar instantly unlocked the function of practice methods. A practice method of magic power appeared in it: Element Meditation!


    They could check it at any time and practice it with the assistance of the game system!


    "We''ve made it!"


    The two men rejoiced.


    Following the message, several purple system messages shed before all the yers'' eyes.


    [Announcement--]


    [Congrattions to the yers "Li Mu" and "Demacia" on their discovery of the precious epic-level ssic method "Element Meditation!" Element Meditation is now avable for exchange in the exchange system. The function of practice will formally begin in The Kingdom of Elves!


    [As the yers who have discovered the ssic method, "Li Mu" and "Demacia" will receive amission of 0.5% for every Element Meditation exchanged in one year on the world of Sagas]


    [All yers will enjoy a 50% discount for Element Meditation for one year on the world of Sagas]


    To start the function of practice? The practice method was in the exchange system? Amission?


    Li Mu and Demacia were stunned.


    They checked the exchange system and found that the exchange for meditation method was really avable.


    But at the present, only the Purple Epic Element Meditation was avable.


    "It turns out to be a practice method of the epic level!"


    Li Mu slightly eximed.


    He clicked to see the detailed description of the practice method.


    [The Element Meditation: A purple-level practice method of magic power that can cultivate magic power and element attraction. Can be used until the peak of High Silver (level 70). Contributors: "Li Mu", "Demacia"]


    [Exchange Requirement: 5000 contribution points (fifty percent discount)]


    In order to have the yers exchange for the method and start practicing it sooner, Eve did not set the price of the method too high.


    Since the function of contribution points formally started, the yers who had reached level 11 could obtain a sizable amount of contribution points even if they just did some daily tasks.


    Therefore, as long as the yers were determined enough, everything was possible!


    In addition, Eve also set a subsidiary practice system. With this, the game system would help all the yers who exchanged for the official practice method in the exchange system and enable them to be proficient in the practice method quickly!


    As for those ones who bought the "pirated copy" privately, they wouldn''t benefit from the system.


    Additionally, in order to encourage the yers to look for more practice methods, Eve set the rule that the discoverers would be rewarded with amission in the first year.


    That was to say, for one year, the discoverers of the practice method would receive amission of the contribution points yers exchanged for the practice method!


    Of course, this period of time was in Sagas. On the blue, it was three months.


    And Eve had set themission to be 1%.


    If two yers discovered the method, each of them would receive amission of 0.5%.


    In Li Mu and Demacia''s case, the discoverers of the Element Meditation, they would get 25 contribution points per Element Meditation exchanged in the following year in The Kingdom of Elves!


    They could umte the contribution points to exchange for more items. Or, they could just consider this as their passive ie for the following year..


    After figuring out the mechanism of the function of the practice method, Li Mu and Demacia breathed deeper.


    "We''re rich! Brother Mu! We''re rich!"


    Demacia was exhrated.


    In the back of their minds, they were thinking about the other 67 tes that were still in the ruins!


    Although there was only one practice method among the six tes they brought over, who knew whether the rest would have more practice methods on them?


    Li Mu also thought of this. He took a deep breath and said to Demacia,


    "Let''s go! Find a handcart and let''s hurry to get the tes!"


    After he said this, the two men borrowed a simple wooden handcart from Cuckoo Bird in excitement and ran with it.


    When the new system message appeared on the entire server, every yer was shocked.


    "Damn! It''s Demacia again! When did he get so lucky?"


    "A practice method? Hurry and have a look at it!"


    "The Element Meditation¡­ could cultivate magic power?!"


    "Five thousand contribution points¡­ I feel so jealous¡­ A daily task is only worth 50 points!


    "Damn, won''t Demacia and Li Mu get rich just through themissions?"


    "Shall we go to explore Florence as well?"


    ¡­


    In the beginning, the yers would gain more experience points by killing magic beasts in the wilds. Thus, many of them gave up the exploration task, since it was really difficult to find anything worthwhile. Considering the amount of time they could spend in the wilds, they started going on adventures in the wilds.


    But Li Mu and Demacia''s discovery arose people''s passion for exploration again. It was like a pebble that was cast into a pond of tranquil water!


    Immediately,rge swarms of yers quickly returned to Florence and started exploring the holy city!


    Everybody wished to be lucky enough to pick up one to two practice methods.


    It would be best to pick up epic or legendary methods, making them rich overnight!


    After Li Mu and Demacia moved the rest of the tes back to the temple, they set off a new upsurge of interest in exploration again!


    With Alice''s help, they actually brought back seven other ssic practice methods excluding Element Meditation!


    Three of the methods were suitable for the yers of the strength system to practice. Two of the methods were suitable for the yers of the magic system to practice. There was also a method suited towards yers who specialized in magic circles. Lastly, there was a method for the yers who specialized in the creation of magic tools!


    However, the levels of these ssic practice methods were lower than that of the Element Meditation. Except for the method for creation of magic tools that reached the level of Blue Rare, all the others were White Normal.


    In spite of this, these practice methods were worth around eight hundred to two thousand contribution points.


    By sacrificing these practice methods, Li Mu and Demacia obtained a considerable amount of experience points and contribution points. They leveled up to level 12 on the spot, which made many yers green with envy.


    After Eve restored these practice methods and put them in the exchange system, almost all the yers scrambled to exchange for them in a hurry. All of them wanted to start experiencing meditation in the game.


    After handing in all the tes, Li Mu temporarily stopped exploring.


    One''s luck was limited. He regarded himself as lucky to find so many treasures. And the participation of more yers also contributed to his decision to stop for the time being.


    The real reason why he stopped was because he wanted to try meditation!


    After finding a quiet corner in Florence, Li Mu sat cross-legged and chose to load the Element Meditation in the subsidiary practice system of the game.


    With the help of the system, Li Mu instantly understood this meditation method as if he had already studied it numerous times.


    He began adjusting his breath ording to the description of the meditation method. He operated magic power, and a special power inside him started assisting him to operate it, enabling him to be in the right condition.


    While in the state of meditation, Li Mu felt his whole mind turning peaceful.


    Various kinds of magic elements floating around him started gathering towards him, rushed into his body and increased his magic power. Additionally, his constitution gradually became stronger with the effect of increasing magic power¡­


    With great talent and the assistance of the system, the yers practiced at a tremendous speed even if Eve had reduced the effect by half.


    This state gradually stopped after two hours.


    Li Mu opened his eyes and began to check his condition.


    Afterwards, he found to his surprise that his experience points had increased dramatically. His constitution and his capacity of magic power also improved slightly!


    "The effect is excellent! I improve a lot!"


    Perceiving the effect of his meditative session, Li Mu rejoiced.


    "If my rate of improvement continues at this rate, my level will increase dramatically even if I spend every day practicing and do nothing else!"


    But after being aware of his state, he shook his head.


    "No, I cannot practice it all the time. The effect of this kind of practice can onlyst two hours every day. After two hours, it won''t be that useful."


    Naturally, the yers couldn''t practice all day long.


    The original inhabitants in the world of Sagas, as well as the yers, were not able to meditate all day long.


    The capacity of the body was limited.


    Generally, two hours every day was the ideal amount of time to practice.


    Therefore, Eve set the subsidiary practice system to operate for two hours every day at most.


    After two hours, the yers could still try to practice by themselves, but the effect would be discounted. It would be much better for them to do some tasks or destroy monsters instead.


    From now on, the yers of The Kingdom of Elves had a new daily task after logging in every day.


    They would practice for two hours!


    The practice method for the yers of the magic system was meditation, while for those of the strength system was to exercise.


    Sitting cross-legged and doing martial arts exercises became a beautiful andmon scenery in the forest of elves¡­


    As the yers practiced, Eve finally benefited from reaping the leeks.

 Chapter 57

    Li Mu and Demacia''s discoveries were considered the first great sess.


    Afterwards, the yers sessively discovered ssic elf books and handicrafts that were lost. Moreover, some yers even dug out some elf equipment that was created 1000 years ago.


    Unfortunately, after being buried for 1000 years, the equipment had long been damaged. This was especially true for those pieces of magic equipment that had long lost their magical light. Their lines of verses werepletely damaged, turning into a pile of junk¡­


    In the Temple of Nature in the elf town.


    A male yer holding several pieces of elf equipment dug out from the ruins was talking with Saint Alice.


    "What? Can''t these treasures be sacrificed to the goddess?"


    Looking at the broken antiques in his hands, he asked in disappointment.


    He found them after exploring in the ruins of Florence for a long time.


    Alice sighed and exined patiently,


    "Mother God is too noble to ept these objects. It will be sphemous of you to sacrifice them to a true god!"


    "That¡­ Miss Alice, let me just have a try. May I? Previously, we managed to sacrifice the goblins'' equipment. If it doesn''t work, I will give up."


    The yer did not surrender and argued relentlessly.


    Alice''s expression gradually hardened as she heard more of his nonsense.


    She was finally irritated and said,


    "Chosen one, even if you are not a believer of nature, you need to show Mother God the due respect!"


    "Only those sacred objects Mother God needs or orders us to find can be sacrificed!"


    "Mother God asked you to explore Florence in order to find the cultural remains of the elf civilization! These broken junk cannot be sacrificial objects for a true god. At most, they can only be put in amemorative museum! Do you want Mother God to help you fix the equipment?!"


    "Previously, you guys mixed in the goblins'' equipment with the sacrificial objects without permission. Since it''s a past event and Mother God didn''t me you, we didn''t me you either."


    "But if you guys want to repeat it, I will never agree!"


    The maiden''s voice became more firm as she talked.


    The yer must be joking, right? Although Mother God was amiable, a true god was high up in the air!


    How could these junk be put before a true god''s eyes?


    It was profane!


    Mother God on high!


    Mother God was kind to ept the chosen ones'' sacrifices and forgive them for their impertinence!


    But this did not mean that Alice could connive the wrong sacrifices!


    Thinking about it, Alice looked even firmer.


    Her serious expression and the dominating aura of a Silver priest suppressed the yer.


    The yer''s expression fell and he sighed.


    "Alright."


    After these words, he left the temple in low spirits.


    Seeing hime out, his party members who had been waiting for a long time outside the temple immediately came up to him.


    "What is going on? Did you manage to sacrifice them?"


    Seeing the antique equipment still in his hands, his members instantly got disappointed.


    "They aren''t allowed?"


    "The saint little sister disagreed."


    The male yer shook his head.


    "How could this be¡­ Previously, Berserker had even helped us sacrifice the goblins'' equipment!"


    "Ahem, don''t forget that we collectively activated the sacrificial circle he had drawn and sacrificed them ourselves while he was sleeping. Plus, he got angry at us after waking up."


    "¡­"


    "Then what should we do?"


    The yers grew silent.


    After a while, a yer of the magic system came up with an idea.


    "Since we have seeded in sacrificing the goblins'' equipment, we should also be able to sacrifice these antiques. Shall we try to draw the magic circle and sacrifice them ourselves?"


    "Eh? Can you draw the magic circle?"


    The others asked him.


    "Ahem, I have never drawn one before. But I have recorded the process of drawing the magic circle while Alice was performing a sacrifice in the past. Maybe we can try to learn it?"


    The magician touched his head and answered.


    "Eh? It sounds good. We should have a go at it! This game provides a great deal of freedom after all. What if we actually seed?!"


    The other yers'' eyes shone.


    After figuring out what they needed to do, they packed their things, found an open area and prepared to have a try.


    While Alice and Berserker drew the magic circle, they used a special blend of magic paint.


    This blend of paint was produced by a magic nt in the forest of elves. The yers had used much of it while repairing the temple.


    Therefore, they just looked around a little and collected a lot of paint.


    When the paint was ready, they started copying the steps shown in the video recording.


    It turned out that their ability to copy was outstanding.


    The yers failed a few times before finally managing to draw a sacrificial circle with faint magic waves!


    "We seed!"


    They rejoiced.


    "Do you still remember the process of a sacrifice?"


    "I remember! I remember! Pray first, and after getting an answer, put the sacrificial objects onto the magic circle!"


    "Huh¡­ Okay then you have a try!"


    The yers took action. One person stood up, slightly saluted the direction of the World Tree like the NPCs, drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature on his chest, and prayed respectfully,


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves--Eve Euktrahill! Beautiful and noble goddess, we have found the relics of the elf race. We want to sacrifice them to you!"


    Hearing his promation, the other yers sweated.


    Relics sounded good but in fact, they were just a pile of junk.


    "Will the goddess answer?"


    They were not sure.


    But suddenly the magic circle glittered brightly and actually started operating!


    Seeing this, the yers instantly rejoiced.


    "Damn¡­ It really works?"


    "The sacrificial channel is open!"


    "Be quick! Let''s see whether we can throw these junk onto it!"


    The yers hurriedly ced the broken equipment they had collected onto the magic circle.


    As soon as they put them onto it, the junk equipment glittered and then disappeared.


    After a while, the yers who performed sacrifice received a system message about the contribution points they obtained, which only amounted to several dozen.


    "We seeded!"


    The yers gave a cheer.


    Although there were only dozens of contribution points, at least it proved that junk could be exchanged for money!


    "Could this be a bug in the game?"


    Seeing the junk disappearing before their eyes, a yer said doubtfully.


    He found it weird that the goddess would actually ept junk metals as sacrifices.


    Other yers looked at each other and smiled.


    They patted him on the shoulder and said,


    "Why do you think so much? Who cares whether it''s a bug? It''s good as long as we can make money!"


    "Ha ha ha, there are many pieces of broken equipment in the ruins. We can collect them and earn some money even if we cannot find ssic books!"


    "Let''s go and find some more!"


    "Ahem, if it''s truly a bug, we need to make more money before the official gamepany discovers it. Otherwise, we won''t be able to sacrifice junk after they fix the bug."


    After saying so, they rushed towards the ruins in Florence again¡­


    ¡­


    High above.


    Eve renewed the junk equipment on the spot, added some special effects, and then threw them into the corner for safe keeping.


    "I have equipment to sell again,"


    Eve said slowly.

 Chapter 58

    Even junk could be sacrificed!


    This fact was soon spread among the yers.


    Although the NPCs didn''t permit the yers to sacrifice junk, the yers could exchange junk for contribution points if they drew the sacrificial circle themselves!


    Some bigwigs spected that this should be a bug of the game''s sacrificial system.


    After all, how could a deity collect junk?


    How could the goddess who was high up in the air ept junk?


    So there must be something wrong¡­


    But some yers believed that this might be a part of the game''s sacrificial mechanism!


    This was a game after all.


    A deity in the game was not a true deity.


    Maybe¡­ This kind of sacrifice was actually a recycling mechanism in the game system, simr to the effect of selling junk to the merchants in other online games of before.


    However, the yers ultimately didn''t care about the reason.


    They only cared whether they could make money through this exploit.


    The sacrificial circle received the junk equipment all the same and the system would give a small amount of contribution points in return.


    Although there were barely more than a dozen contribution points each time, the yers could earn a lot if they slowly umted them.


    Maybe from the perspective of Alice and Berserker, these pieces of junk equipment that had lost their effectiveness only had a memorial value. It would be extremely profane to sacrifice these rotten objects to Mother God.


    However, these audacious yers didn''t care.


    What theycked most were contribution points. They were more than happy to exchange these useless junk for contribution points.


    Ahem, if this function was a loophole, then they hoped the official gamepany would discover it muchter!


    Or that they would never discover it!


    The yers felt that they were lucky to discover this little secret.


    All the yers began to learn how to draw the sacrificial circle after the first sessful attempt!


    On the Inte of the blue, some kindizen even expressly summarized the whole process and posted it.


    Of course, the yers didn''t discuss this matter in the official webpage of The Kingdom of Elves.


    After the yers mastered the skill of drawing the sacrificial circle, they began to pray to the goddess formally in the two NPCs'' absence and sacrifice the junk they picked secretly.


    Eh¡­ They mainly sacrificed some pieces of broken equipment they picked from Florence and the animal bones they got by killing magic beasts in order to make some pocket money.


    As for those rare ssic books they found, they would give them to the NPCs.


    This was because sacrificing ssic books through the NPCs would be considered aspleting an exploration task. This way, the yers could gain extra experience points and contribution points.


    But sacrificing every kind of junk they could find wouldn''t count.


    By experimenting, the yers discovered that the sacrificial circle didn''t swallow everything.


    The sacrificial circle never rejected broken ssic books, damaged equipment, materials from the magic beasts they killed, and even ores.


    But the sacrificial circle gave no answer to broken handicrafts, household rubbish, rotten bones the yers dug out, and the berries they picked.


    After some time, they called the former as recyble rubbish and thetter as nonrecyble rubbish.


    As the yers kept exploring and performing sacrifice, Eve rejoiced.


    During this period of time, Eve umted arge amount of equipment in the space of the godhead.


    Most of them were Purple Epic. There were even some Golden Legend equipment!


    Moreover, ranging from Iron to Silver, the equipment at these levels were abundant. Several sets of them were even at Gold levels!


    Eve spected that the yers would earn Him millions of contribution points for this batch of equipment!


    And Eve collected these pieces of equipment from the yers at an extremely low price.


    That was right.


    Eve received the junk sacrificed by the yers, repaired them with divine force, recycled them with some special effects, and made these equipment.


    It was hard to make apletely new set of equipment with raw materials. But it was easy to repair and recycle old equipment with divine force.


    If divine force was not enough to mend them, some yers even kindly sacrificed animal bones and ores.


    The elves had many kinds of equipment in 1000 years. Many of their creations were originally very advanced. Although mortals couldn''t mend them, a true god could.


    Nevertheless, perhaps nobody would think that a true god would appreciate secr equipment and stoop so low to repair them with divine force.


    After all, from the perspective of the creatures in the world of Sagas, true gods were too noble to care about these things¡­


    Besides, cross-border sacrifice would cost much divine force. As many creatures thought, heaven was the dwelling of true gods.


    Maybe only Eve, a deity who was in the same world with the yers, could afford therge-scale sacrificing and recycling.


    All of these sacrifices, after being renewed, would be themodities Eve sold to the yers.


    However, Eve didn''t put all of the renewed equipment into the exchange system. Instead, He first selected a batch of low-level magic equipment and Golden Legend equipment for the exchange system.


    As for the remaining ones, Eve nned to gradually bring the more advanced items to the market in batches ording to the yers'' levels, of course after they had bought all the equipment in the current exchange system¡­


    This was called a rational analysis of the consumers'' potential, which would maximize thepany''s profits.


    Moreover, with therge boom of interest in exploration, Eve received arge quantity of ssic books, and thus He gained a better understanding of the history of elves 1000 years ago.


    Unfortunately, these historical ssic books still didn''t describe the secret of the War of Gods.


    Why did the world tree get besieged?


    Why did the kind true god have no ally?


    The other gods¡­ Were they afraid of something?


    Eve didn''t know.


    Nheless, He didn''t worry much, believing that He would discover some clues to the secret one day.


    In addition, as the yers continued to explore, the game''s exchange system of practice methods was almostplete.


    The yers found several dozen ruined and moldy ssic books about practice methods in the ruins of Florence in less than one week!


    After being repaired by Eve, all these ssic books appeared in the exchange system.


    However, most of the ssic books were of Blue Rare or White Ordinary quality. Most of them were only useful for the yers at Iron levels.


    Only three practice methods were useful for Silver-level yers.


    The Element Meditation method discovered by Li Mu and Demacia was the most advanced.


    This was within Eve''s expectation.


    While the elves were migrating away from Florence, they must have taken as many precious ssic books as possible. The ones they had left behind were definitely not important.


    Eve was already lucky enough to have found Element Meditation.


    The basic ones were already there. If the worst came to the worst, Eve could always use His divine force to derive advanced ssic books from the lower level ones.


    When the yers got to Silver levels, Eve would have recovered more of His power. By then, it would be a piece of cake to use divine force to derive advanced practice methods for the yers.


    Generally, everything in the forest of elves was developing in the right direction.


    The little leeks were growing healthily and happily¡­


    The construction of the elf town was almostpleted.


    The yers repaired the temple in Florence and put Eve''s statue in it.


    Furthermore, the yers systematically undertook the reconstruction of Florence¡­


    The yers constantly expanded their area of activities as they got higher in levels.


    The forest of elves was exuberant andplicated with various kinds of magic beasts.


    Therefore, the yers explored slowly. Outside the safe zone, the yers could now explore 30 miles in one day.


    In spite of this, as time went by, some yers gradually came to the edge of the forest.


    After exploring for some time, they gathered a lot of material.


    Because of this, the yers even spontaneously set up sections such as "Pictures of Monsters," "Pictures of nts," "Public Maps" and "Battle Strategies" in the information bar of the game''s official forum.


    The Kingdom of Elves became a hot topic discussed on the Inte of the blue.


    When the official gamepany announced the news about the second pre-OBT, the hype for this epic masterpiece finally reached a climax again!


    The quota of the second pre-OBT was 900!


    Numerousizens rushed to the game''s official forum to register in hopes that they would be the lucky chosen ones.


    Meanwhile, Ullr the God of Winter and Hunting gave a new oracle to His believers atst¡­

 Chapter 59

    This was a dim cave. The torches on the wall left long shadows in the cave.


    On the two walls of the cave, there were crude pictures illustrating the War of Gods 1000 years ago. It was the legendary story of the gods cooperating to seriously damage the World Tree and subsequently crippling the elf civilization. This story was sung in the orc tribes for generations.


    At the center of the cave, there was an altar made of skulls.


    A crude statue was carved on the altar. It was Ullr, the God of Winter and Hunting.


    Before Ullr''s statue, a one-eyed old orc in a gray priest robe was praying devoutly on his knees.


    The low prayers sounded through the quiet cave incessantly, turning the atmosphere even solemn.


    Suddenly, the statue glittered with faint light, lighting up the originally dim cave brightly.


    The one-eyed orc trembled and looked up towards the statue frantically in surprise.


    "Oracle¡­ It is an oracle¡­"


    He bowed down to the ground in excitement, letting the great force caress his body.


    The orc''s brain went nk in an instant as a dignified yet thick voice sounded through his head.


    "Investigate¡­ Florence, the elves. Be careful¡­ of the followers of the God of Death."


    After returning to heaven, Ullr figured out something.


    Those elves were absolutely not H''s elite ghost army!


    Because¡­ They had bodies, while the elite ghosts in H''s army did not.


    Besides, if the elite ghost army really appeared on the continent of Sagas, other gods would react fiercely.


    Even H could not afford to make enemies of the other gods.


    Euktrahill''s end at that time could serve as an excellent example!


    But even if that was the case, those elves must be rted to H''s followers.


    It was because only H could make the creatures immortal!


    So Ullr needed his believers to investigate the whole matter further¡­


    Hearing the deity''s voice, the old orc priest''s body slightly quivered as he bent his head even lower.


    "The chief priest of the orc grotto tribe, Mountain, is listening to the oracle!"


    Afterwards, the statue glittered again. A vague scene appeared in his mind.


    It was a scene of unlucky goblins being hunted madly by a group of red-eyed elves!


    And those elves hanged various kinds of broken equipment all over their bodies, which seemed to be the goblins'' equipment¡­


    The scene changed. Some elves were pped into pancakes by a mysterious force, but they soon emerged again with vigor.


    Seeing the scene, the old priest was immediately shocked.


    "Elves? How can there be so many elves?! What are they doing?! They are actually immortal?"


    He couldn''t help but exim outright.


    The statue didn''t answer.


    In an instant, the old priest realized that he had lost hisposure.


    He took a deep breath, got down on his knees, stretched out his hands, and drew a bow symbol on his chest.


    "Praise winter. Praise hunting. Praise Great Father!"


    After a while, the lights on the statue slowly disappeared.


    Raising his head, the old orc found that his back was sweating.


    "Oracle¡­ It is really an oracle¡­"


    He murmured in exhration.


    The fact that he could receive an oracle meant that he won the god''s favor and was watched by Him!


    Taking a deep breath, Mountain the chief orc priest calmed down and thought about the content of the oracle.


    "What on earth is the scene about?"


    He postured around, frowned, and pondered.


    "Is it the forest of elves? But didn''t most of the elves migrate? Where are those elves from? Are they attacking the goblins in Florence? Are they immortal? Are the followers of the God of Death behind them?"


    He knew that Great Father had recruited a group of goblins in the forest of elves with the purpose of helping Him find the divine blood crystals of Euktrahill, the fallen Mother of Nature.


    In fact, as the recent chief priest of the orc tribe in the forest of elves, he had contributed much to the matter.


    He had done so even though he despised those weak, ugly goblins.


    But now there seemed to be an ident.


    "The followers of the God of Death¡­"


    Mountain the chief priest murmured.


    "Could it be that the God of the Underworld created them?"


    His expression became solemn as he thought of this.


    "It seems necessary to send some orcs to investigate it."


    "Two days ago, the tribe''s stronghold in the forest of elves reported that two teams of orc mercenaries disappeared. This time, I will take the chance to have this matter investigated!"


    Taking a deep breath, Mountain the chief priest left the ancestral cave of sacrifice.


    Outside of the cave, the surroundings instantly became bright. A huge valley emerged.


    The ck mountains glittered under the sun.


    At the foot of the mountains, many houses made of stones and straws surrounded the cave in an organized way.


    As far as the eye could see, there were no less than one thousand houses.


    This was the grotto tribe, the orc tribe that was the closest to the forest of elves.


    The grotto tribe was a medium-sized orc vige with a poption of five thousand. It was situated in the southeastern sector of the border between the forest of elves and the dark mountain range. The distance from the tribe to the center of the forest was more than 300 kilometers.


    The leader of the tribe was Mountain, a Low Silver chief orc priest.


    Mountain came to the vige and watched his fellow orcs with satisfaction.


    When he was young, the grotto tribe was only a small tribe with a poption of less than one thousand.


    After developing for so many years, the tribe gradually expanded with the help of a true god.


    During this period of time, the profits they made by hunting elves counted were considered as the lifeline of the grotto tribe.


    Mountain''s expression gradually became solemn as he thought of this.


    If there were problems in the forest of elves, it would be a heavy blow to the grotto tribe.


    Mountain sighed deeply as his frown darkened.


    "Call ckstone toe here."


    He ordered his men.


    A strong orc soon came up to Mountain.


    He had a body that was like an iron tower. He was nearly two-meter tall. He was bald. His long, sharp, protruding teeth were outside of his mouth. He looked fierce.


    ckstone, a famous warrior like the missing Rock of the grotto tribe, was at the peak of High Iron!


    "ckstone is here to greet Your Highness the chief priest."


    He came before Mountain and got down on his knees respectfully.


    Mountain nced at him and nodded.


    "Stand up."


    Receiving Mountain''s order, ckstone got up and stood aside silently.


    Mountain was extremely satisfied with ckstone''s reverence for him.


    Mountain thought for a while and said,


    "ckstone, you are one of the strongest warriors in the tribe. This time, I will give you a task¡­"


    "You will take a team of warriors of Intermediate Iron, a priest, and the best equipment in the tribe and go to the tribe''s stronghold in the forest of elves to organize an investigation of the ruins in Florence!"


    While speaking, he stopped to think for a moment. Then he took a piece of bone from his clothes and put it in ckstone''s hand.


    "This is a holy object in the tribe. It can arouse Great Father''s power. It will perform a miracle at crucial times. Additionally, it has the power to purify the undead!"


    "In this investigation, you may encounter with the followers of the god of death. Therefore, if there is danger, return instantly. You can give up the stronghold if need be¡­"


    "By the way¡­"


    Mountain''s expression changed as he got serious.


    "If you encounter the strange elves, you must find a way to capture one and bring him back to the tribe."


    "If you can do this well, the tribe will offer you ample rewards!"

 Chapter 60

    Time always passed quickly in game.


    Having the temptation to buy equipment and get to the higher levels, the yers in the pre-OBT became extremely passionate.


    Sessively, many yers umted enough contribution points to exchange for the equipment they desired.


    Much to Eve''s surprise, someone soon exchanged for the several sets of Golden Legend equipment He had put in the system.


    Moreover, it was one person that exchanged for these Golden Legend equipment.


    Eve was familiar with her nickname, Little Salty Meow. She was the chairwoman of "The Lovely Committee".


    This female yer was a magician who loved fireballs. But unfortunately, she seldom hit the right object. Eve had a deep impression of her¡­


    Paying a little attention to this matter, Eve found that after the sets of Golden Legend magician equipment were on the exchange system, this girl started buying contribution points desperately from the whole server as if they were free¡­


    After counting, some yers found that she had at least spent two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand yuan in order to collect the needed contribution points¡­


    "She is super rich¡­"


    Eve could not help but exim, while remembering the time He spent in poverty on the blue.


    There was no truly fair online game in this world¡­


    Could one really get stronger without spending money?


    The construction work of the elf town was finallypleted one monthter after the recovery of Florence.


    At this moment, the yers'' stronghold under the World Tree was already on a considerable scale. It was already an elegant small city except for the fact that it had no walls.


    Additionally, because of the yers'' interests, this small town was different from traditional elf architecture. The small town was filled with various ssic buildings of European, Chinese, Japanese and even Arab architecture.


    Several yers majoring inndscape and architecture brought their knowledge into y. These buildings of different styles assembled without any oddity. Instead, they created a magnificent sight together.


    Between the buildings, there were elegant gardens andwns of various styles. They were ced in turn, which made the whole town situated in an ocean of green leaves and bright flowers. It showed the "nature-loving" characteristic of elves.


    It was said that in order to design the buildings andndscape of the small town, the yers even offered a reward on the blue and consulted many bigwigs in the field.


    The final result was that the yers made the stronghold, which Eve originally nned to have them construct the bare minimum, increasingly more delicate and beautiful.


    Among the yers, the construction team led by Cuckoo Bird made the greatest contribution.


    It was said that her dream was to build a small town filled with various styles of the entire world. She didn''t expect the opportunity toe in the game.


    This made Eve seriously doubt whether there were "My World" and "Virtual Cities" addicts among these yers He had chosen¡­


    Besides, the yers had reserved developing spaces while designing the small town. So it could expand in the future.


    Cuckoo Bird said that they prepared those areas for future yers.


    When the small town was finished atst, Eve was almost shocked.


    "If this group of yers ns to restore the Summer Pce, they will definitely do a great job."


    At this moment, Eve could not help but exim at the elf town that was like a refined garden.


    Even Alice and Berserker were stunned by the chosen ones'' masterpiece.


    "Mother God on high! These chosen ones must be the best artisans in their world!"


    Alice could not help praising the yers when she saw the delicate garden.


    All the yers in the pre-OBT assembled in the square of the elf town.


    The central square was big enough to hold 300 yers.


    In Eve''s view, it could hold up to 3000 yers.


    Today was special, as the elf town was finallypleted. Cuckoo Bird had posted about it in the game''s official forum long ago, inviting all the yers in the pre-OBT to cut the ribbon at thepletion ceremony.


    Although the construction team was the main force in building the small town, all of the three hundred yers had contributed during this process, so this small town was the fruit of all the yers'' efforts.


    Besides, their home was here in the game. Everyone had a delicate house with a small garden attached to it.


    Here was their home in the world of Sagas!


    It was a miracle in the field of games that nobody among the 300 yers withdrew from The Kingdom of Elves since the start of its server.


    Furthermore, the time the pre-OBT yers spent online each day on average was actually more than 12 hours!


    People had to admit that this data was so crazy that it proved the yers'' loyalty to The Kingdom of Elves.


    Sure enough, the fact that the yers'' bodies on the blue would fall into a deep sleep after they entered the game was one of the reasons why they were online for such a long time.


    Because of this mechanism, many yers chose to go online at night on the blue. Their bodies were asleep on the blue, while they were conscious in the game¡­


    Although they might be mentally tired in the morning, they were determined to spend more of their time in game!


    Because of this, many yers who needed to work during the day found it incredible.


    After these days, they vaguely regarded the game as their second life!


    At this moment, all of the yers on the square were excited.


    At the center of the square, arge stone tablet was fixed beside the teleportation circle. It was connected to the spot where the yers had been born on the World Tree.


    It was originally a lump of natural rock the yers found in the forest of elves. They polished it carefully and made the stone tablet from it.


    Dense characters were engraved on the whole stone tablet.


    They were Chinese characters.


    And the contents were names!


    They were the 300 pre-OBT yers'' nicknames. They were the names of people who had participated in the construction of this elf town!


    Cuckoo Bird, Li Mu, Demacia, Box Meal, Little Salty Meow, etc. All of them were included.


    Below the names, there were the introduction of the small town''s design, the yers'' perspectives, their building experiences, and the time ofpletion of the elf town.


    Eve proposed this idea through Alice, and all the yers agreed excitedly.


    From now on, this tablet would be a lovely view in The Kingdom of Elves as the elf town continued to develop.


    Every yer who came to the small town would see this stone tablet and learn of the efforts of the yers in the first beta test.


    With the revival of the elf civilization, this stone tablet with the first chosen ones'' names would definitely appear in bards'' stories and be sung for generations until it became an ancient myth¡­


    Here was the beginning of the elves'' epic!


    The yers in the square sat in a circle enthusiastically.


    At their invitation, Alice and Berserker also came to the square.


    Cuckoo Bird passed a little knife to the elf maiden in solemn saint clothes and said reverently,


    "Miss Alice, please cut the ribbon for the small town!"


    Saying so, she pointed to the stone tablet.


    The yers had already coiled up a colorful ribbon on the stone tablet.


    They made the ribbon with various kinds of flowers and grasses in the forest to rece the red ribbon on the blue.


    With the yers informing Alice beforehand, she knew cutting the ribbon was a ceremony in the yers'' home so she was very careful with this ceremony.


    Seeing the chosen ones'' smiling faces, she sighed internally.


    "Although there are still problems, they have gradually adapted to this world!"


    Taking a deep breath, Alice smiled sweetly. Under the gaze of 300 yers, she cut the ribbon on the stone tablet.


    "Congrattions. Chosen ones, you have built your own home!"


    She congratted them sincerely.


    "May nature be with you all forever!"


    The yers gave a cheer when Alice blessed them.


    The magicians incessantly released fireballs and other explosive magic objects into the air, which were like fireworks¡­


    Everything was like a festival.


    While the yers were celebrating, a splendid, holy light fell from the sky all of a sudden¡­


    Countless photons were sprinkling in the air like rain. It was a dreamy scene.


    The stone tablet glittered brightly. All the characters engraved on it had a holy golden sheen to it.


    A vague hymn came, which sounded ethereal and purified everybody''s heart.


    "A miracle! It is a miracle!"


    Seeing the sudden change, Alice was pleasantly surprised.


    She turned to the direction of the World Tree, piously drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature on her chest, and said happily,


    "It is Mother God! Mother God is also congratting all of you!"


    The yers looked at each other and their eyes lit up.


    Someone suddenly started shouting,


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves--Eve Euktrahill!"


    Afterwards, other yers joined him¡­


    Numerous yers raised up their weapons, made amotion, and yelled in exhration,


    "Praise the Mother of Nature. Praise the Goddess of Life. Praise the Great Master of Elves--Eve Euktrahill!"


    But as they yelled, they changed the content of their shouts.


    "Goddess, I will strive to revive the elves. So in the new version of the game, you must bless me so that I can dig out epic secret books!"


    "Me too! Me too! In the new version, you must bless me so that I can trigger the hidden story!"


    "And me! Please bless me so that I can buy a Golden Legend equipment!"


    "Praise nature! Please give me a girl yer in the second pre-OBT!"


    "¡­"


    Alice, "¡­"


    Berserker, "¡­"


    High up in the air.


    Eve, who had basically repaired the soul-storing orb, was very delighted as He watched the lively square in the small town.


    As for the yers'' prayers, Eve ignored them.


    On the World Tree, hundreds of human-shaped "chrysalises" already took shape, inside of which there were mature elf bodies sleeping.


    Eve yed with the soul-storing orb for a while and then cast it into a "chrysalis".


    The second pre-OBT would soon start.


    At this moment, Eve was fairly hopeful about the future!

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61: The second closed Beta!


    "Aunt Liu, I''m full!" Chen Guoguo put down her chopsticks and smiled at the middle-aged woman on the other side of the dining table, who showed a faint smile in turn.


    But when she moved her gaze to the two vacant positions on the other sides of the dining table, her gaze dimmed slightly.


    "I''m going back to my room now." She said after a moment of silence.


    She stood up and started walking to her bedroom upstairs. The middle-aged woman across the dining table hesitated a bit and then reminded her of something.


    "Guoguo, you will be in the third year of junior high next year. Don''t spend too much time ying games. If it starts affecting your academic performance, Mr. Chen and the others will be angry."


    Chen Guoguo stopped. With a mockingugh, she said: "Angry? They are busy making money. They don''t have the time to get angry at me."


    She realized that what hade out of her mouth sounded overly harsh, so she added: "Don''t worry, Aunt Liu, I was first in ssst time! I met a big sister in the game from Jinghua University. I often ask her for help with my homework, and she''s really good!"


    The middle-aged woman frowned suspiciously. "Can you still learn your courses in games? Can you really put in the time and effort while ying?"


    She hesitated and continued: "You shouldn''t stay in your room all day long just to y games. You should also go out more and y with your ssmates. You''re at an aristocratic school, and the students theree from strong households. Now is the time to develop connections with them. It''s also for your own future..."


    "Did they ask you to tell me that?" Chen Guoguo interrupted the middle-aged woman, and thetter''s voice went silent.


    "Guoguo..." The middle-aged woman looked a bit helpless, but her silence was enough of an answer. Chen Guoguo smiled self-deprecatingly and did not utter anything else.


    She turned to walk to her room and closed the door with a bang.


    Looking at the closed door, the woman sighed and quietly cleaned the table.


    Chen Guoguo entered her bedroom. She leaned against the door, and gently closed her eyes. "Interests, interests...All that you can see and think of are interests and benefits..."


    She clenched her fist and smacked it against the door. "This is why... I despise reality the most..."


    After a moment of silence, Chen Guoguo raised her head. Her gaze fell on the VR cabin in the corner of her bedroom. The girl''s eyes gradually softened.


    "Speaking of which... Today is the second closed beta..." She said to herself.


    Then, the girl stuck out her white wrist and looked at her watch: "It''s twelve o''clock..."


    Sighing in relief, Chen Guoguo patted her cheek. All the worries in her mind disappeared.


    "If I remember correctly, we have the task of guiding new yers in this closed beta. Hmm...the rewards aren''t that great. I don''t n on guiding anyone, but it''s fun to see everyone getting excited... Hehe, it''ll be very interesting to watch the expressions of those new yers entering the game for the first time."


    As if thinking of something, the girl smiled sweetly, showing a shallow dimple at the corner of her mouth. She quickly put on her bear pajamas as she was saying that.


    After that, the girl tied up her hair with a stick, opened the cabin, andy into it with practiced movements.


    "Start ''Kingdom of Elves''!"


    As if in a minor trance, she came to a familiar character interface.


    [Ding!]


    [You are sessfully connected to the game...]


    [New version found, "Kingdom of Elves" 1.02]


    [Version update...]


    [Ding!¡ªSessfully updated]


    [Logging in¡­]


    [Game ID: Salty Little Meow]


    [Chosen One, wee back to "Kingdom of Elves "!]


    Apanied by the familiar sound of the system, the scene in front of Chen Guoguo suddenly changed.


    She now was in an elegantly decorated wooden bedroom.


    There were all kinds of pieces of furniture, as well as many exquisite handicrafts. Thetter were all Florence antiques she had collected from the yers.


    This was her home in "Kingdom of Elves".


    Bright light shone through the window, and she smelled the pure air that was unique to the Elven forest.


    It made the girl feel as if all her real-life troubles had vanished in an instant.


    She stretchedzily and sat upright on the bed.


    Unlike on Earth, Chen Guoguo could feel the powerful magic power in her body the moment she came here.


    Her five senses were sharper, she had greater physical strength, and her vision became clearer.


    Here, she felt as if she had started a new life.


    Chen Guoguo liked this feeling very much. She was currently not Chen Guoguo, but Salty Little Meow.


    With a sigh of relief, she looked at the in-game time disyed in the game system.


    "It''s 8:50 in the morning... Just the right time."


    She jumped off the bed, and her chest shook.


    Little Salty Meow took off the exquisite mage robe hanging on the wall and equipped it with practiced skill.


    This mage robe was the only Low Iron golden legendary item on the entire server. It had cost her a full 100,000 points to redeem it.


    Then, she took out a pair of mage boots from under the bed. These gale leather boots were also Low Iron golden legendary, and she had bought them a while ago.


    After putting them on, she moved a bit and felt very satisfied. She then grabbed the demonic staff that was ced in the corner. She struck a pose against the long emerald mirror in the room.


    It felt very good. It was golden legendary equipment, and also the only one of its kind on the whole server.


    Most important of all, Li Mu of the "Heart of Nature" guild had been quite envious of her for a while after she bought this unique staff.


    Thinking of this, Salty Little Meow felt that the pocket money she''d spent on Kingdom of Elves was worth it.


    Wasn''t money intended to be spent to make one happy? In any case, it was just her monthly allowance... and besides... her olddy had quite some money!


    Taking a deep breath, Salty Little Meow shook her head. After getting rid of her jumbled thoughts, she pushed the door open and walked out.


    The moment she showed herself in town, she immediately attracted the attention of the other yers.


    "Isn''t that Salty Little Meow? Good morning!"


    "Good morning, Ms.mittee president!"


    "Good morning! Big sis Meow!"


    "Big sis Meow, the local tyrant! Do you still need people to cling to your thighs?"


    "We''ll fawn over you and tter you!"


    Countless yers greeted her enthusiastically, and Salty Little Meow responded with a smile: "Good morning! Good morning!"


    "Hahaha~ Good morning to you!"


    "Sorry, I have enough thigh-huggers, I don''t need any more."


    Although it was noon on Earth, the yers had already adapted themselves to Kingdom of Elves''s in-game time schedule. When Salty Little Meow arrived at the central square, a lot of yers had already gathered there.


    They had all epted the system''s tasks of guiding the new yers and were there waiting for the arrival of the second group of closed beta yers.


    Unlike when they first arrived, this time, the new yers would be teleported directly from the world tree to the town''s central square!


    Salty Little Meow took a look at the system time: "It''s almost time."


    As soon as the words left her mouth, the bells at the Temple of Nature rang, making drawn out sounds... Apanied by the melodious bells, countless golden magic circles suddenly appeared on the square!


    Numerous spatial fluctuations spread out across the square, and there was a surge in magic power. Tall figures passed through the magic circles one by one and appeared in the yers'' fields of vision... They stood densely together and wore those beginner linen robes and wooden armor that made Salty Little Meow fondly think back on the past.


    And as she looked at the expressions that gradually turned from wonder to shock and excitement... the corners of Salty Little Meow''s mouth rose up slightly.


    Her eyes curved into wide crescent moon-like shapes, and she revealed a sweet and happy smile.


    She whispered to herself: "Wee to a world of swords and magic!"

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62: Strange yers


    "Haha, I''ve finally be a closed beta yer!"


    "*exhales*... what fresh air! What a beautiful forest!"


    "The authenticity of this game...I don''t know how to even express it anymore..."


    "Transmigrated, we must have transmigrated, this is definitely an alien conspiracy!"


    "Is this the town that was built by the first round''s yers? It''s so beautiful..."


    In the square, hundreds of second closed beta yers looked at this strange new world with curiosity and excitement.


    They were greeted by the beautiful forest scenery, the unique elven town, the fresh and pure air...As well as three hundred enthusiastic faces.


    "Hahaha! Wee, newbies, to the "Kingdom of Elves"munity!" Demaciaughed, squeezed himself into the crowd expertly, and put his arms around the shoulders of two somewhat shy neer girls.


    "Aren''t you very excited? Isn''t this world so open? But do you know how to integrate into this game more quickly?" As Demacia talked, he took out an Iron-level epic scimitar, which was bright purple, and said with pride in his voice.


    "Hehehe..e,e,e! Allow the entire server''s no. 1 tank to teach you how to get started!"


    As soon as he said that, someone kicked him in the butt. He fell to the ground like a dog chewing on mud.


    "These two are my IRL friends, don''t you dare hit on them!" Cuckoo Bird came over with a cold face.


    Demacia got up and shrank when she saw Cuckoo Birding over. He gave an embarassedugh.


    "Ahum... so they turned out to be friends of Big sis Cuckoo, ah... sorry... sorry, haha! Well, then I''ll go look for other neers who are interested in taking the warrior ss ...haha, I''ll take my leave now!"


    After saying that, he ran away in a hurry.


    "Pft..." Looking at Demacia''s disappearing back, Salty Little Meowughed. This guy Demacia really was some strange creature that was one of a kind in the entire server.


    To be honest, his heart was in the right ce, but why was his EQ so low? Salty Little Meow shook her head.


    She looked at Cuckoo Bird, who was chatting with her new game friends.


    She hesitated for a moment before deciding not to bother her.


    Gradually, the first closed beta yers who had taken the guidance task also found their targets one after another and began to help the neers with their tasks.


    This was the task issued by the Goddess.


    Whenever a yer did well guiding a neer, they would receive a lot of contribution points.


    The task contents were very simple: as long as the neer you were guiding managed toplete a daily task, both would be rewarded with contribution points.


    The first closed beta yers all wanted to buy epic equipment in the system store and learn various exercises and skills.


    This meant that the 900 second closed beta yers had be walking contribution points in their eyes¡­ Each and every yer was fighting to guide people, and some even snatched four or five neers in one fell swoop.


    Their level of enthusiasm almost frightened the neers, who had just entered the game.


    Salty Little Meow did not intend to guide anyone. In fact, she just wanted to watch and see what the new people were surprised about.


    She liked the game atmosphere of "Kingdom of Elves". Although yers would asionally quarrel with one another to advance their own interests and sometimes had conflicts, there was an overall sense of unity and sincerity when they were dealing with theirpanions.


    There was sincerity even in those thigh-hugging yers who fawned over her, a local tyrant.


    They were a lot better than those fake guys in the real world who wore smiling masks.


    However, while Salty Little Meow hadn''t intended to guide any new people, some things were outside of human control.


    When the second closed beta yers started to notice her, she became the centre of attention.


    Weapons restored by Eve certainly had very powerfulbat effects, but they were even more effective as status symbols.


    Especially the Iron golden legend equipment that radiated luxury. Even Alice thought it was a divine artefact when she first saw it.


    Wearing golden legend equipment, Salty Little Meow was undoubtedly a bigshot in the eyes of the yers.


    Plus, she was a girl... soon, a swarm of second closed beta yers had surrounded her.


    "Salty Little Meow?! Is that THE Salty Little Meow, the one from the forum? Newbie here, please guide me!"


    "Big sis Meow, could you be my master?"


    "Big boss! Please add this newbie as friend!"


    For a while, the surrounded girl felt a little overwhelmed. "Ehm... sorry, I''m not going to take on anyone for the time being."


    In the end, she had to say no apologetically.


    The rookie yers who''d been rejected were disappointed. But they were soon targeted by the other first beta veterans and pulled away ...


    Gradually, the area around Salty Little Meow emptied out.


    She didn''t mind this at all and sat down in the corner of the square.


    She smiled as she watched the hustle and bustle of yersing in and out of the town.


    The neers were excited. The veterans were excited. And the saint of nature, Alice, was very busy. It was such a lively scene.


    Compared to reality, the people here seemed to be more energetic and more authentic.


    Salty Little Meow loved this feeling. Her eyes swept across the crowd, and she enjoyed this idling feeling.


    Suddenly, a figure came into her view.


    She was a strange novice yer. Unlike the other excited yers, she looked very quiet. She was not in a rush to do tasks, nor did shemunicate with the veteran yers.


    She just stood quietly beside the stone monument in the center of the square. She stretched out her hand and slowly caressed the stone tablet. It was impossible to know what she was thinking about.


    Salty Little Meow had just nced at her, but she felt that she couldn''t take her eyes off her.


    It wasn''t as if her beauty was out of the ordinary.


    Her hair color was the mostmon type of blonde, her eyes were the mostmon colour of emerald, and even her shoulder-length hairstyle was asmon as one could get. Her figure was average, and so was her height¡­ everything had been set to the most basic character system setting.


    Just from her looks, it could be said that this yer was no different from any other yer.


    But¡­ her temperament waspletely different.


    Temperament is a very peculiar thing. Everyone''s looks could be simr, but you had ssy people and people with bad temparement. The difference was noticeable when you put the two types together.


    To give an example, Demacia had a handsome face, but he gave people a sense of wretchedness whenever heughed.


    But this female yer was different. She was obviously standing right there in the physical sense, but she felt ¡­ out of ce.


    She exuded an aura that made it impossible for others to approach her.


    She clearly looked in, but gave off a noble, elegant, and otherworldly aura¡­As if she could leave this world any second.


    The corners of her mouth curved upwards in a faint smile. It was a smile that came from the heart, but it seemed to carry an indescribable feeling.


    Satisfaction ... and yearning...? Somehow, these two words suddenly came to Salty Little Meow''s mind as she observed her.


    She got more and more curious.


    Salty Little Meow took a look at her yer ID. It only consisted of a single word.


    "Wind?"


    She raised her eyebrows. Wind, huh...?


    Wind had no roots, no shadow and no form. The wind followed the heart and moved with the mind ¡­


    A spark of curiosity ignited within Salty Little Meow, and she stood up. She tidied up her dress and walked over towards the other party¡­

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63: are you ... andscaper?


    "These are the names of all the yers who built this town."


    Salty Little Meow stood behind the novice yer called "Wind", took a deep breath, and had spoken in the tone that she thought sounded the most kind.


    Hearing the voice from behind, the female elf''s hand movements paused slightly.


    Wind slowly turned around and looked behind her.


    A pair of emerald eyes stared at Salty Little Meow.


    Her gaze was pure and calm,pletely unlike those of a yer who had just entered the game for the first time.


    And there was a vague glint of light in those eyes that made her faintly look as if she was descended from superior nobility.


    That kind of look, Salty Little Meow had seen it before in real life.


    Only those who had spent a lot of time upying a top position could have such bright and confident eyes.


    And her demeanor unconsciously exuded an elegant and dignified aura, which further convinced Salty Little Meow ... that she must be a person of great status and position in real life.


    For a moment, Salty Little Meow actually felt slightly reserved and ufortable.


    Looking at her, Wind gave a faint smile:


    "Thank you."


    Her voice was pleasant to the ears and had a melodious tone that made one feel close to her.


    It was diametrically opposed to the aura she exuded that discouraged strangers from approaching her, but for some reason it did not feel contradictory at all.


    And her smile, which was even more warm and natural, felt like a spring breeze.


    Was ¡­ was this the temperament of a true noble? Involuntarily, such a thought popped up in Salty Little Meow''s mind.


    She hesitated for a moment, and then blurted out as if possessed by a ghost:


    "Uhm¡­ excuse me, do you happen to be still unfamiliar with this world? Uh ¡­ do you need me to assist you with the game tasks?"


    Unconsciously, she had even used honorifics.


    Upon hearing her words, a trace of surprise was could be seen in Wind''s emerald pupils.


    Her smile was as if the world was weing the arrival of spring.


    "Very well."


    For a moment , Salty Little Meow felt as if her heart was about to melt, and her heart jumped slightly in joy.


    But she quickly thought there was something wrong ... huh? Why ... why did she feel as if she''d just been acknowledged by her elders?


    On the streets of the elven town, Salty Little Meow was walking side by side with Wind.


    Despite her being themittee president of one of the three major guilds in "Kingdom of Elves", at this moment, it felt as if she was being evaluated by her superior ... As they walked along, she pointed to various buildings buitl in all kinds of architectural styles on both sides of the street, and gave exnations with both pride and shame.


    "This is our elven town, which was built by our first closed beta yers.


    Of course, the main building force of the town is our guild''s construction team, and the other yers merely provide building materials ..."


    "In the future, newly built houses can also be owned by newbies. If they want to, they can also spend their contribution points and hire our guild''s construction team to customize their houses¡­ As long as you pay enough contribution points, you can even have homes customized into castles!"


    "Customizing houses with contribution points?"


    Upon hearing this, Wind made a surprised sound for the first time.


    It seems that this mildly surprised her.


    After saying that question, she had a puzzled expression, and she slightly raised her voice in her next words.


    "Your guild is really talented!"


    Hearing thepliment from Wind, Salty Little Meow''s eyes curved into crescent moons from joy. She patted her well-endowed chest and said with pride:


    "Exactly! There are so many great people in our guild! They''re studying civil engineering, gardening, architecture, everything you can think of!"


    "Those gardens, and all these European or Chinese-style ssical buildings, they were all designed and built by our guild''s big-shot designers! They even have their own construction teams in ''Minecraft''!"


    "And by the way, would you like to join our "Lovely Committee" guild? Our guild is all about life skills, and we''re very weing!"


    Salty Little Meow introduced her guild as she looked at Wind with bright shining eyes.


    Wind only smiled and did not say anything.


    Having got no clear reply from her, Salty Little Meow inexplicably felt a sense of loss.


    But soon afterwards, she adjusted her mind and smiled sweetly.


    "Ehm ... it''s too soon in any case, as yers can''t join guilds unless they are at least level 5."


    "So ... do you want to take a novice quest?"


    Salty Little Meow asked again.


    "A novice quest?" Wind frowned.


    "If so, we''ll have to go to the Temple of Nature to find Alice."


    "Alice is the game''s Saint of nature, and she''s a very gentle NPCdy.


    By the way, the NPCs in this game are real! We can perfectlymunicate with them as if they were real people!"


    Salty Little Meow exined.


    "Alice¡­" As Wind heard this name, the corners of her mouth faintly curved upwards.


    She then shook her head gently and said:


    "I''m fine, I just want to walk around."


    Listening to Wind''s words, Salty Little Meow suddenly had a realization:


    "Then¡­ are you andscapr?"


    "Landscaper?"


    There was a slight pause in Wind''s pace, and the tone of her voice was a little strange.


    Salty Little Meow quickly exined:


    "Ehm ... It''s a gaming term for yers who don''t seek upgrades andbat, but who prefer to take in-game screenshots and enjoy the scenery."


    At her words, Wind smiled faintly.


    "I know."


    She turned around and walked over to a shop in the small town that sold various kinds of berries.


    She said in an indistinct voice:


    "I can''t spend much time online, so¡­I guess I could be considered andscaper."


    "What do you mean by ''could be considered''?"


    Salty Little Meow muttered.


    Not being able to spend much time online¡­At that moment, Salty Little Meow had a certain hypothesis as to what the other party''s identity was in real life.


    Only high-ranked people can''t spend much time on games, right? She was probably very busy in reality¡­For her, the game was just a ce for rxation and enjoyment.


    In real life, she must be a senior executive, who was highly respected and loved by others, and had many subordinates under her ¡­ She might be from a bigpany or even the government! Could it be that it was such a person who became curious about this amazing game? Having formed this hypothesis, Salty Little Meow felt that she was cut out for a career as a detective.


    When she saw where Wind was standing, and especially the bright eyes with which she was looking at the berries, her eyes lit up again.


    Salty Little Meow picked up a berry and introduced with enthusiasm:


    "Don''t these berries look delicious?"


    "In fact, they ARE delicious! I think it tastes much better than the fruits on Earth! I don''t know how the developers managed to design it though ... oh and by the way, in this game we also need to eat, and berries are great for that.


    The shops are run by the yers themselves and the berries are gathered from the forest.


    You just need to exchange contribution points to buy them!"


    "Contribution is kinda the game''s currency, you need to be a certain level before being able to gain contribution, until then new yers have to go to the forest to find berries on their own. But the Elven Forest is very rich in produce, and berries are very easy to find!"


    "Of course, if youplete a quest for Alice, you can also get food!"


    Salty Little Meow shouted in the shop:


    "Anyone? Is there anyone there?"


    There was no answer.


    Salty Little Meow tapped herself on the head.


    "Oh, I forgot, everyone is currently guiding the newbies!"


    She grabbed two purple berries directly from the fruit basket, took one and gave it to Wind.


    "Here, please, try it! I know the yer who manages this shop, it''s one of our guild members. He has tracking magic applied on the merchandise, so I will pay himter."


    Surprised, Wind took the berry and gently took a bite.


    It was juicy and fragrant.


    Her eyes became brighter in an instant.


    From her expression, it was as if it was the first time in a while since she hadst tasted delicious food.


    "How is it? It''s delicious, isn''t it?"


    Watching her expression, Salty Little Meow was very happy.


    "Mh."


    Wind nodded.


    She chewed slowly, very slowly, and seemed to really enjoy the process of eating it.


    "It''s delicious," she said.

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64: I love it here


    Wind was a very strange yer.


    Salty Little Meow thought this.


    At first, she thought that she was one of those people who enjoyed leisure and scenery.


    But soon, some of Wind''s actions began to contradict her spections.


    Wind was neither very excited to look for beautifulndscapes to take photos with, nor did she ask her where the most beautiful ces were.


    Salty Little Meow was a yer who was half into life skills. She therefore had many good spots to show but was unable to.


    However, Wind seemed to have a soft spot for food in this world.


    Along the way, whenever she saw food she was interested in, she would stop to taste it.


    It was akin to a traveler who had not tasted food in a long time.


    Besides, she seemed to be no stranger to this world. Although Salty Little Meow couldn''t tell why she thought so, she felt that way.


    Perhaps ¡­ It was the way in which Wind was freely and leisurely enjoying herself.


    She had none of the restraint and excitement one should have when entering a new world, rather, it was as if she was strolling through her own back garden


    ... No, Salty Little Meow must be overthinking things.


    She shook her head.


    However, she became more and more curious about Wind.


    Although strange, she was very gentle. She always had a smile on her face, especially when she saw yers doing tasks with excitement stered on their faces, upon which her smile seemed to be softer. In addition, she liked to walk very much.


    Salty Little Meow had been with her for a while now, and they had been wandering non-stop.


    It seemed ¡­ as if she enjoyed this kind of stroll.


    "Do you happen to like walking?"


    In the end, Salty Little Meow couldn''t help but voice her curiosity.


    Wind turned around, and her emerald pupils shone with a deep light.


    She put a small red berry into her mouth, and said in a faint voice:


    "I like this feeling of freedom."


    Freedom... Salty Little Meow''s heart skipped a beat, and somehow she suddenly thought of how she herself was in real life.


    She faintly understood how Wind felt.


    But at the same time, Wind seemed even more mysterious in Salty Little Meow''s mind.


    "She is like¡­ like a princess who secretly snuck out from the castle¡­" Somehow, Salty Little Meow had this thought.


    She must have read too many fairy tales! However, as soon as the thought came to her, she felt that Wind did fit into the role of a princess ... despite having the most basic appearance setings, she could not hide that mysterious, noble aura of hers ... although she was near her, Wind gave off the impression that she would leave in the next second and return to her rightful ce ... as if she did not belong here.


    It also seemed that she didn''t intend on truly blending in here.


    As if this ce here was not her world nor her future.


    She was like a lonely wanderer who had temporarily stopped by to take a rest.


    Soon, she would set off again¡­ She must be lonely, right? Thinking this, Salty Little Meow hesitated before inviting her.


    "Tonight, we will hold arge bonfire party in the square to wee the new yers. Would ... you like to join?"


    Listening to Salty Little Meow''s words, Wind was somewhat startled.


    A bright glint shed in her eyes, and she nodded gently.


    "Very well."


    Night soon fell.


    After being guided by the veterans, the second closed beta yers have gradually be familiar with the gamey in "Kingdom of Elves".


    As they praised the game for living up to its reputation, they also epted the veterans'' invitations to the evening banquet.


    At some point, having a bonfire party at night had be a traditional celebration in "Kingdom of Elves".


    A four-metre-high pile of firewood had been set up in the middle of the square and was set alight amidst a chorus of cheers and whistles.


    The roaring mes, which reached seven or eight metres high, illuminated the entire square.


    The first closed beta veterans had set up a feast in the square that boasted a variety of berries from the Elven Forest, as well as some nice-tasting, unidentified nuts and delicious grilled meat from hunted magical beasts.


    The meat, of course, had deliberately been ced in a concealed position to avoid the eyes of Alice and Berserker, who would inevitably have reprimanded them.


    In addition, there were yers who had obtained honey from the forest and had brewed honey tea using a nt that resembled chrysanthemums from Earth. This was served as a drink.


    yers gathered in twos and threes, standing shoulder to shoulder.


    Some yers had specially created a board game. A group of people gathered together, ying andughing happily.


    Some internal beta yers were exploring the PK system on the square. Their magic and sword skills were gorgeous, and attracted a crowd of yers that watched and apuded them. The fight was reckless and merciless, which made the eyes of the second closed beta newbies shine.


    There were also bigwig yers who had created guitars out of wood and hair from magical beasts. They yed and sung along, creating a crowd of yers who whistled and apuded ... The whole square was immersed in a festival-like atmosphere.


    Salty Little Meow and Wind were sitting on a square rug made out of rattan, tasting the mountainous delicacies while enjoying the spectacles on the square.


    Wind had a very soft expression.


    Her gaze shone like stars under the light of the fire, as if it was the surface of a sparklingke in daylight.


    Seeing her focused expression, the corners Salty Little Meow''s mouth gradually curved upwards.


    "The degree of freedom in this game is incredibly high, so¡­ as long as we want to do something, we can almost certainly do it.


    We''ve held these bonfire parties many times since the start of the game¡­" After Salty Little Meow said this, she stretched, took a sip of sweet honey tea, and smiled.


    "That being said, it''s also fascinating to see.


    So many of us are actually not very social in real life¡­ Yet we still fell in love with the bonfire parties in the game."


    Wind did not speak, but sat beside her, eating fruit while listening to her in silence.


    "Many of my guild members have told me that they are actually quite introverted in real life¡­" Salty Little Meow said as her expression gradually wandered.


    "But¡­here, they''re different."


    Her expression gradually softened as she watched the happy, smiling faces.


    "When they told me that, I was quite surprised at first.


    Because in my eyes, everyone here is very outgoing and very warm.


    I can''t really imagine most of these people being dull and introverted in real life."


    "In the past, someone told me that... although many people don''t like socializing, it''s not because they are actually introverted, but it''s because they are able to see past the sophisticated and smooth reality and hate the hypocrisy, the useless interactions that only go surface level ... Instead, they prefer to stay in their real little world rather than live in a false world and blend in."


    "But that doesn''t mean they hate interacting with people, they just don''t know the right people."


    "People who are not on the same wavelength cannot talk with one another¡­ People who are, even if they have to cross mountains, will eventually end up together. People who are ipatible, even if they spend much time together, are ultimately not the same."


    "Before, I didn''t know the meaning of these words, nor could I identify myself in it."


    "But aftering to this game, I think¡­I finally understand the meaning of these words."


    Salty Little Meow emptied the honey tea and the corners of her mouth melted into a sweet smile.


    "Here, everyone has found their home ¡­ you don''t have to hide yourself or conceal what''s on your mind. It''s as if everyone has started a new and reckless life."


    "Perhaps¡­this is the charm and beauty of this game."


    A few momentster, Salty Little Meow sighed.


    "This game ... really has a different kind of magic to it. Sometimes, I find myself really wishing that this wasn''t a game but a real world."


    "I really want to give a big thank you to the people who developed this game."


    "To thank them¡­ for this different, beautiful life that they''ve shown us¡­"


    "BOOM!"


    "BOOM!"


    "¡­" A loud noise interrupted Salty Little Meow.


    The two raised their heads subconsciously and looked up at the sky.


    Up in the skies, ''fireworks'' created by magic were blossoming one after another¡­ It was a colorful and beautiful disy.


    The glow of the magic fireworks was reflected in Salty Little Meow''s pupils, shining brightly.


    It urately showed how she currently felt.


    Wind turned her head to her and her gaze stopped at the side of Salty Little Meow''s face. She smiled.


    "You must really be enjoying this game."


    Salty Little Meow nodded fiercely while watching the magical fireworks. Her voice was unwavering.


    "Of course I do!"


    "I truly enjoy it."


    Wind smiled, then stood up gently.


    Seeing Wind suddenly getting up, Salty Little Meow was slightly stunned.


    "Where¡­ where are you going?"


    "It''s gettingte, I should go back."


    Wind said.

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65: Thank You and goodbye


    Listening to Wind''s words, Salty Little Meow raised her eyebrows. She then checked the system time and eximed in surprise:


    "Ah! Oops ... It''s gettingte, it''s been five hours on Earth! Eh ¡­ so, are ¡­ you ¡­ are you going offline?"


    Wind was silent for a while, then nodded.


    Salty Little Meow caressed her chin and said:


    "If you''re going offline, go to the ''morgue'' first. When you log out, your body will stay in ce where youst were. It is better to find a safe ce to go offline."


    "Go to¡­ the morgue?"


    Wind''s expression showed obvious surprise and confusion for the first time.


    "Ah¡­cough cough, it''s our nickname for the offline point."


    Salty Little Meowughed a few times and exined:


    "It''s like this. We have a centralized offline point in the town. yers who don''t have a ''home'' can log off there. There''s a magic circle there that''s protected by Alice, so it is safe to go offline there."


    "You see ... this game is a full simtion. After going offline, the body does not disappear but you instead lose control over it. It basically turns into a corpse, and it makes for a creepy spectacle when yers park their bodies in rows there, so we jokingly started to call it a morgue ..."


    Wind was speechless.


    "Of course, cough cough¡­ if you don''t mind, you can go offline at my house as well. You see ¡­ my bed is quite big." Salty Little Meow said.


    She had a good impression of this new, quiet yer and faintly entertained the idea of befriending her.


    Wind, however, did not immediately agree to her proposal.


    Instead, she just smiled and shook her head gently.


    "It''s fine. I have troubled you a lot already today, and I don''t want to trouble you even more."


    Although it was a polite refusal, her words that felt like a warm spring breeze and her warm smile made it impossible for Salty Little Meow to feel even a hint of difort.


    "Is that so."


    Salty Little Meow pinched the ridges of her clothes with some regret.


    Wind took a deep look at her, wearing a faint smile.


    "Thank you for apanying me today. I was very happy.


    The berries were delicious and the bonfire party was really fun.


    Let''s meet again sometimeter. I have to go now."


    She gave a slight nod to Salty Little Meow, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.


    "Ah! I didn''t even tell you where the morgue is located!"


    Salty Little Meow shouted before hurriedly chasing after her.


    However, there was no trace to be found of Wind in the crowd.


    "Where''d she go?"


    Salty Little Meow, taken aback, looked around for a while.


    However, she could not find Wind anywhere.


    She tapped her head, somewhat depressed.


    "Aah! I''ve been talking with her for almost a day, but I forgot to add her as friend. I''m so stupid!"


    ¡­In the Elven Forest.


    A graceful figure was strolling.


    It was Wind.


    As she walked along, the nts on both sides, seemingly paying homage to a queen, moved aside by themselves and cleared a path for her.


    The leaves rustled and the fireflies danced around her, as if greeting a Supreme Being.


    With her every step, her body emitted a faint glow that appeared mysteriously holy in the darkness of the night.


    Her hair gradually grew longer, and its originally golden colour gradually turned into a magnificent silver.


    The height of her figure gradually increased, and she became taller and more elegant.


    Her eyes gradually faded from emerald green into a mysterious and noble purple.


    Her facial features became refined and even more outstanding.


    The original beginner''s clothing on her body transformed into a holy dress made out of condensed divine energy.


    In an instant, it was as if she had turned from an earthly escaped princess to a heavenly goddess.


    No.


    She actually was a goddess.


    Had any yers been here to see her, they would definitely have noticed that she looked exactly like the divine statue enshrined in the Temple of Nature!


    The Mother of Nature, the Goddess of Life, the master of the elves - Eve Euktrahill.


    Indeed, Wind was an avatar that Eve had made for herself.


    The core used for the body was H''s soul storage orb! Her body''s strength gradually increased, and an intimidating power began to spread outward.


    Until¡­ It reached a climax.


    "Barely gold¡­?" She observed her strength and sighed.


    "The soul storage orb has not beenpletely repaired. It can only exert this level of power for the time being."


    "But still, it''s enough to enjoy the freedom I''ve long lost."


    "Nh¡­ I haven''t eaten anything in a long time. I didn''t expect the food from the Elven Forest to be so delicious."


    After saying that, her mind suddenly shifted again.


    A breath of death gradually spread across her body.


    Her waist-length silver hair was dyed in a darker tint, changing from bright silver to dark silver.


    Her pair of eyes changed from purple to scarlet.


    Her appearance transformed. It was no longer holy and perfect, but more delicate and pretty.


    The pointed elven ears also turned into human ones.


    In addition, her originally gorgeous divine dress changed once again to a somewhat austere, ck, armoured skirt ... a piece of equipment that Eve had upgraded from the elven equipment that yers had given her.


    Observing her state, she faintly smiled.


    "I can use the divine power of the soul storage orb to power my own avatar, but also appear as an avatar shrouded in the God of Death''s breath."


    "That''s like having two little puppets at the same time! I''m truly a genius!"


    She turned her head and looked in the direction of the elven town again.


    The lights there could still be faintly observed from where she was standing, and she could still vaguely hear theughtering from the yers.


    A small smile appeared on her face.


    "I created this ''game'' for my own sake, but even I was a bit affected seeing how happy they were."


    "From now on... I should treat them slightly better, mhh¡­Let''s give 50¡­ Nah¡­500? ... More contribution points for each mission.


    Any more than that and it''ll lead to points intion."


    But gradually, the smile on her face made way for a sad expresion.


    "I wonder if it''s the effect from merging with the World Tree¡­ But I have the impression that I can never experience my original state again."


    She rubbed her forehead.


    She first thought that, after possessing an avatar, she could naturally blend in with the yers.


    After all, she used to be one of them, a human.


    However, it turned out that as a true god, she was unable to retrieve that human feeling again.


    Her character and her temperament seemed to have been affected in some way.


    Even if she changed into an avatar, she couldn''t hide her unique aura... She was bing less and less human and more and more an unreachable True God.


    She sighed and wondered if this was good or bad.


    Of course, Eve guessed that this might also be because she hadn''tpletely mastered the powers of a true god.


    In any case, she, who had acquired the inheritance of the World Tree and likewise the enemies of said World Tree, knew that the world of Sagas was not as nice as the yers thought it was.


    As she summoned increasingly more yers and had elves searching for historical artefacts, she also gradually started to realize how different she was... Being a true god, the authority of the World Tree seemed to be even more influential than she had thought.


    And the secrets behind the Thousand-year War ran far deeper than she imagined. She still had a long way to go; it would be an arduous road full of hardships and uncertainty, but also one that could lead to infinite possibilities.


    It was bound to be a lonely road.


    It was also bound to be a road where she would continuously be stronger.


    Still, on her way to bing a supreme divine being, in her heart she hoped that she would be able to retain some of her original humanity.


    "In the future ... if I have some free time, I might as well y around like this again ..."


    Eve believed that, maybe, having yers around would allow her to continue to retain that sliver of humanity on her path towards supreme godhood.


    Rather thanpletely bing a deity who looked down from high above and who regarded everyone as insignificant ants.


    "Well, I''ve had my day of fun, it''s time to go back."


    With a soft sigh, divine light blossomed from her body and her body slowly disappeared.

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66 - The wise Lord ckstone


    In an overgrown ruin full of vines and weeds.


    Several goblins were gathered around a campfire, roasting a plump mountain hare.


    Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over them ... And before the goblins could turn their heads, arge, thick hand picked up a goblin as if he were a chick.


    When the other goblins finally turned their heads around, they were so frightened that they immediately turned their bodies in that direction and bowed to the ground on their knees, shivering.


    In front of them was a small band of fierce half-orcs, and at the head of the group was none other than ckstone, who was at the peak of upper Iron.


    ckstone looked at the goblin he''d picked up, who was trembling in fear, and a glint of disgust shed in his eyes.


    He casually threw the goblin to the ground.


    "Where is your leader?"


    Despite having been tossed to the ground, the goblin was not angry.


    Instead, it scrambled to its feet and smiled subserviently at ckstone while pointing in the direction of the meat.


    "Aaaahhhh." It gestured.


    Looking at itsical expression, ckstone grunted coldly. He smoothly removed the mountain rabbit meat from the campfire and took a bite.


    Soon, however, he frowned and spat out the rabbit meat, seemingly dissatisfied with the goblin''s cooking.


    The goblin, who was watching ckstone''s movements, was terrified. It bowed his head and whimpered as it did so.


    ckstone kicked the goblin.


    "Lead the way."


    His voice brooked no refusal.


    Led by a few goblins, the half-orcs came to a copsed building among the ruins.


    A few goblins took a few steps forward and lifted a patch of straw, revealing arge hole in the side of the building.


    They then crawled in with practised agility.


    The half-orcs bent down and followed the goblins into the building.


    The building was littered with the debris of copsed ruins and discarded rubbish that exuded an unharmonious smell. In the middle of it all, there was a winding path.


    Guided by the goblins, the half-orcs continued to venture deeper.


    And as they went deeper and deeper, the view before ckstone and the others gradually opened up, and eventually they entered an open cave that led into several directions.


    It was the hidden stronghold of the Cave tribe in the Elven Forest, a ce that also acted as a staging post for hunting elves.


    There was a campfire in the centre of the cave where three half-orcs werezily lying around, snoring.


    Beside them were a few goblins who held huge leaves and used them to constantly fan the half-orcs.


    Nearby, in a deeper part of the cave, there was an artificially made stone prison.


    Through the iron bars, a few pairs of eyes full of fear and despair could vaguely be seen.


    ckstone first nced at the stone prison, looking surprised, before turning his attention to the three half-orcs.


    The sight of the half-orcs sleeping leisurely made his already vicious face look even more ugly.


    With a cold snort, he walked straight over and gave each of the three a kick.


    "Which one of you bastards was it that disturbed your grandpa half-orc''s beautiful dream!"


    As the three half-orcs were awakened with a kick and yelled, they drew out their weapons in anger.


    But when they saw the other party''s appearance clearly, theirplexion suddenly changed. They immediately shrank and cowered.


    "Uh ... Lord ckstone, what brings you ... to the stronghold?"


    They smiled with fake and fawning expressions as they hurriedly hid their wolf''s-teeth clubs andrge knives behind their backs.


    "Hmph, you three walking bags of waste that don''t have a hint of vignce in your bones!"


    ckstone first cussed them out, and then said in a deep voice:


    "Chief priest Mountain sent me to investigate the situation here. I want to ask you something."


    The three half-orcs looked at each other, their expressions gradually bing serious.


    "Are you here to investigate the disappearance of the orcish hunting party?"


    ck Stone nced at them and nodded.


    "That''s also why I''m here, but before that, has there been any kind of disturbance in the Elven Forest recently? Especially¡­ near the ruins of Florence."


    The three half-orcs were taken aback. They looked at each other and then shook their heads.


    "There''s ... nothing to report in particr."


    ckstone''s expression sank slightly.


    "You''d better think again ... don''t tell me you''ve just been sleeping in the cave all this time."


    As he said this, the pressure of his upper Iron-level body gradually radiated out, pressing the three lower Iron half-orcs so hard that they did not dare to breathe.


    Under the pressure of a higher being, the three fell to their knees almost simultaneously. Their expressions changed dramatically into that of fear as beads of sweat continued to fall.


    Suddenly, one of the half-orcs raised his head, trembling as he shouted.


    "Lord ckstone, I ... I''ve noticed something, I''ve noticed something! I remember a recent disturbance!"


    Hearing his words, ckstone gradually withdrew his intimidating aura.


    "Speak."


    The kneeling half-orc sighed in relief, then said cautiously:


    "Recently... recently, there seem to be more low-level monsters nearby, and many of them are monsters that used to be active only in the vicinity of Florence. They seem to be migrating collectively..."


    "Huh? Immigrating low-level monsters?"


    There was a sharp gleam in ckstone''s eyes.


    The magical beasts in the Elven Forest were quite territorial. In normal circumstances, they would never migrate.


    There were generally two situations for when immigrations did ur.


    One reason was that they had found a better ce to live and were moving on their own initiative.


    The other reason was that they felt a certain threat and were forced to migrate¡­As the Elven Forest was rich in resources and a veritable paradise for magical beasts, the first type of situation almost never happened.


    Besides, the area around the stronghold where the Cave tribe was located was inherently barren ... So the first reason could safely be ruled out.


    That only left one other, obvious conclusion.


    "They are running from something ... Something has caused a sense of crisis and they have been forced to migrate en masse.


    And the source of that disturbance¡­ is probably located in Florence!"


    ckstone''s eyes shed.


    If he was right, he feared that this might be the key puzzle in the investigation ordered by the chief priest Mountain.


    After pondering for a while, he asked another question.


    "Are there any powerful monsters nearby?"


    The half-orc shook his head.


    "No ... all of them are very weak magical beasts, the highest of them only reach up to lower Iron, so we haven''t really paid attention to them before."


    Only weak ones? ckstone''s eyes shed again.


    This meant that the threat of the disturbance was not very high, since high-level magical beasts did not feel the need to migrate to here ... ckstone was reminded of the strange elves in the oracle mentioned by chief priest Mountain before the trip.


    "Elves killing goblins ..." He was lost in thought.


    Could it be...that the disturbance were those weird elves mentioned by Mountain? And the Death God''s followers that had also been mentioned by the chief priest...


    "Right! I remember! I remember two more things!"


    As ckstone contemted, one of the other half-orcs also raised his hand.


    ckstone looked at him.


    "Speak."


    The half-orc took a deep breath and said:


    "About a month ago ... a few dozen fleeing goblins rushed into the stronghold. But most of them seemed to have been frightened in some kind of way and they were mentally very unstable ...


    And the destination of the orcish hunting party under Lord Rock was the core area of the Elven Forest, where Florence is located ..."


    ckstone''s face sank.


    "Why didn''t you tell me these things earlier!"


    The half-orcs trembled slightly. One of them said carefully:


    "Ehm¡­ goblins have always been timid, and we didn''t understand what they were yelling about so we didn''t care¡­ As for Lord Rock¡­ Lord Rock¡­ I was too nervous just now to think about it¡­"


    "Humph, you trash!" ckstone cursed.


    He did not spare another nce at the three half-orcs butbined the information he had received in his mind.


    Vaguely, he already had a certain suspicion.


    "A group of low-level elves have returned to the Elven Forest, and they seem to be favoured by the God of Death. They banished the goblins from Florence as well as the nearby magical beasts, and are probably nning something there...


    It is likely that the Death God''s followers are involved in this. The disappearance of the orcish hunting party led by Rock may well have been because they discovered this secret ...


    The Death God''s followers are probably very strong ... Otherwise Lord Rock and the others wouldn''t have met such an untimely end. Even with the holy relics handed to me by the chief priest, I may not necessarily be able to win against them.


    It would be very dangerous to just frontally storm Florence...


    Oh ho, it seems that those long ears aren''t as loyal as the legends said they are, to get themselves involved with the God of Death ..."


    ckstone''s expressions revealed a hint of mockery.


    With a sh in his eyes, he asked another question.


    "Is there still a steady stream of beasts fleeing from that direction?"


    "Y-Yes¡­That''s correct¡­" The half-orc who answered said, trembling.


    ckstone fell into thought again.


    The fact that the beasts were still fleeing from there meant that the elves should still be around Florence.


    In other words ¡­ He should have the chance to grab and interrogate a tongue around Florence! This was the safer way!


    With this in mind, ckstone issued an order.


    "Go and gather a group of goblins and follow me to investigate the situation around Florence."

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67: Run if you can''t beat them


    In the south-eastern part of the core area of the Elven Forest.


    A group of weirdly dressed elves were exploring the area.


    Most of them wore ordinary linen robes and wooden armor, and only the three in the front of the group wore gorgeous battle equipment.


    And the group leader was the most heavily armed out of everyone. He had rare, afro-like red hair, wielded an exquisite scimitar, and wore this heavy armour that didn''t quite seem to match the image one had of elves. This leader was currently sporting a look of triumph ... It was none other than Demacia.


    As he moved forward, he said to the bright-eyed teammates behind him:


    "Hey, neers, we are out of the safe zone now. From now on, you will gradually start encountering legendary magical beasts!"


    "Thebat mechanism in this world is incredibly realistic, and it is difficult to get ustomed to it in the beginning.


    So if you don''t want to die, when you get into a fightter, you must work together with several other people. Do not fight alone!"


    "Oh, and although you will be resurrected when you die, if you don''t have enough perfect resurrections, you will have to start over again from level 1."


    "But don''t worry! The three of us will protect and guide you!"


    After days of grinding, Demacia was now level 14.


    As the highest-ranked tank in Heart of Nature, he had taken on the task of training the neers, and had decided to bring along a few guild members who had levelled more quickly than the others. It was to make them more interested inbat in the wilderness and to have a bit of fun.


    Originally, his n was for the team to save up a few perfect resurrections before going on this hunt. Unfortunately, there were no quests that rewarded yers with perfect resurrections these days.


    Li Mu, who had recently been busy with learning magic circles, had caved in against the curiosity of some of the new guild members who were enthusiastic about fighting. So, he eventually decided to have Demacia guide and escort them in the rtively safe wilderness.


    The yers asked many questions after Demacia''s promation.


    "But ... Brother Demacia, we haven''t seen any animals yet on our path ..."


    "Yeah ... didn''t they say the wilderness was a dangerous ce?"


    "We''ve been walking for over ten kilometres now, haven''t we? It''s getting dark ..."


    Hearing his teammates'' words, Demacia scratched his head and said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice:


    "Don''t worry, don''t worry ... there are no monsters in the safe zone because, uh, we ate them all. But there are definitely some in the wilderness!"


    His teammates nodded. They''d eaten them all.


    These days, the safe zone around the World Tree hardly had any magical beasts anymore.


    As the Chosen Ones, the yers had taken full advantage of their racial characteristics. Almost every single critter that looked remotely edible had gone into their stomachs ... and those that managed to escape the Devouring had fled to other areas.


    Without any wild game, some yers were even thinking about getting into breeding livestock ... and without magical beasts to practice with, Demacia was forced to take the new people out of the safe zone and into the wilderness.


    Fortunately, after early explorations, yers had discovered that the area in the southeast of the Elven Forest seemed to be rtively barren, and the strength of the monsters there was weak.


    So Demacia had some confidence ining here that they could keep the new yers safe.


    "Keep going everyone, you will definitely get to encounter some beasts."


    He said to the other yers.


    He gave a smile.


    "But be careful. It''s fine to encounter weak monsters if you''re lucky, but if you''re unlucky you maye across an intermediate or even an upper Iron rank beast."


    "Ha ha, but this ce we explored earlier was originally barren, so we probably won''t encounter those."


    "And if you really happen to encounter something you can''t beat, you really don''t want to die and start from scratch again. Just run!"


    Listening to Demacia''s words, several second-beta newbies looked at each other and nodded in agreement.


    As they walked on, the first-round beta yer at the front of the group with the Hunter profession suddenly stopped.


    "I hear movement!"


    With a serious look, he made a gesture for everyone to keep silent.


    The expressions of Demacia and the others brightened up, and they immediately shut up.


    The hunter yer, on the other hand, took a deep breath. He observed the surrounding bushes and listened to the sounds as he cautiously moved forward, bent over.


    Everyone held their breaths.


    He broke away from the group and quietly made his way to a bush diagonally in front of him, and slowly pushed aside the leaves ... Soon, his look turned to surprise and then from surprise to excitement! He turned around and gestured to the other yers.


    GO-BLINS!


    Go-blins ... Mimicking the mouth movements of the hunter yer, Demacia and the others started to think. Wait ... goblins?! He suddenly thought of something.


    It had been a while since theyst saw those lovely creatures after wiping them out in the ruins of Florence.


    And if he remembered correctly, these cute walking bags of experience and contribution points tended to live in caves and ruins.


    And there were no caves in the Elven Forest ... Could it ... could it be that there were ruins nearby?! For a moment, Demacia''s breathing got a little ragged.


    Ruins! There may be ruins around! Although yers had explored this area before them, they hadn''t gone any deeper in this direction because of how barren thend was. So there might really be elven ruins! Could it be that ... he, Demacia, was going to trigger another hidden plot again this time?! Thinking of this, his spirits lifted. He hurriedly waved to his teammates behind him and he whispered:


    "We might''ve hit the jackpot!"


    "Don''t make any noise and move forward quietly!"


    The group of yers got excited after listening to his words.


    Demacia quietly approached the hunter yer and looked into the distance.


    In a clearing not far away, a few goblins had gathered together¡­ it wasn''t clear what they were doing.


    Demacia''s eyes lit up.


    He whispered to the teammates who followed in his wake:


    "On the count of three, I will rush at them first. You guys cover both nks. Don''t let them get away."


    But when he finished speaking, he thought about it and then decided to change his strategy.


    "No, wait ... you guys slow down enough to let one or two escape. We''ll follow the fleeing goblins and find their base camp!"


    He began to count down.


    "One ... two ... three!"


    He took a deep breath, grabbed his scimitar, and jumped out of the bush!


    "Little cuties! I missed you guys so much!"


    With a shout of excitement, he charged at some goblins! The goblins seemed stunned by the sudden attack.


    They uttered strange cries, picked up their weapons, and began to fight.


    However, Demacia''s strength had improved by leaps and bounds from when he fought goblinsst time. With a mere sweep, he cut two of the goblins down. The other ones saw what was happening and turned to flee.


    By this point, the rest of the team had arrived.


    Demacia shouted:


    "Outnk them!"


    After saying that, he chased after the fleeing goblins before anyone else could.


    Strangely enough, as if they had nned this, the goblins did not scatter and run in all directions, but chose to flee in the same direction.


    This lifted Demacia''s spirits.


    The ruins! They must be fleeing back to the ruins! Thinking of this, he ran even faster and became more excited.


    As the chase continued, the surrounding forest gradually grew denser.


    Goblins did not have the physical stamina that elves possessed. Demacia soon overtook them one by one and chopped them down, leaving them to be harvested by the new yers who followed in his wake.


    Eventually, he caught up with thest goblin. Demacia was nning to slow down and follow the goblin to discover the location of the ruins. But suddenly, all his senses screamed out in warning.


    His whole body trembled. He reflexively used his scimitar to guard in front of him.


    A ck shadow shed past and mmed against his scimitar. Shockingly, the sheer force of the impact broke the epic Iron-level scimitar! Even worse, the huge kic force had not been blocked but also hit him hard in the chest.


    Even his epic, Iron-level heavy armour was ripped apart like paper in an instant.


    Demacia felt the blow connect with his chest. For an instant, his consciousness drifted as he flew backwards under the impact.


    He crashed into a giant tree behind him and spat out a mouthful of blood ... in the blink of an eye, his health had been reduced by half.


    If it hadn''t been for the 95% pain reduction, he likely would have passed out and died ¡­ He raised his head in horror, and saw a strong, hideous figure appear in front of him.


    The half-orc ckstone slowly retracted his fist.

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68 - it''s so boring to talk to oneself


    Looking at almost two-metre-tall half-orc in front of him, Demacia''s face turned pale.


    One blow¡­ with just one blow, he had all but lost his ability to move.


    His eyes noticed the "Disabled" status that shed non-stop in his game interface. Demacia became more and more terrified of his opponent''s strength. Except for Ullr''s incarnation, he had never really stood eye to eye with such a powerful enemy.


    And Ullr''s incarnation had been a special situation to begin with. Since that enemy had been a boss-level deity, the yers could ept his terrifying strength.


    Furthermore, Ullr''s incarnation was supposed to be a plot boss, and had been ''nerfed'' to make the fight more fair.


    Its incarnation state had been unstable to begin with, else it would never have been overwhelmed by the yers'' zerg tactics... But the ugly orc-like monster in front of Demacia was different.


    Unlike Ullr''s iplete reincarnation, the half-orc had no weaknesses¡­ It could destroy Demacia with a single blow.


    Moreover, the half-orc appeared to be quite at ease, as if he had barely exerted any effort.


    Such a terrifying monster! Demacia had no doubt that, faced with such a powerful monster, even if the yers charged at it with their usual zerg tactics, they''d die in droves... It would be akin to a group of chicks charging towards a hound.


    "Damn it, did I just encounter the game''s top-level monster?"


    Demacia inwardly cursed.


    It looked like he''d die this time.


    However, Demacia did not neglect his duties as the team captain before his inevitable demise.


    He turned his head and shouted:


    "I bumped into a wild hidden boss monster, you guys run away! I''ll cover you!"


    The tone of his voice ... was very dramatic and sad. Unfortunately, as he finished speaking, he was stunned to discover that there was no one behind him.


    There was a slight breeze. A single, swaying leaf leisurely fell to the ground.


    A bit further away, he could vaguely make out several tall, elvish figures disappearing in the distance. Demacia was left speechless.


    ring at the running backs of his teammates, he murmured sorrowfully:


    "F$ck me, you guys are a real piece of work aren''t you?"


    He sighed, looked at the half-orc standing in front of him, and stretched his neck.


    "Come on, make it a clean kill."


    As he waited for the enemy to kill him, he looked awe-inspiring and unfazed in the face of imminent death.


    ckstone raised his eyebrows as he looked at the elf.


    This elf actually had some backbone.


    Chief priest Mountain had informed ckstone that these elves most likely had the ability of immortality.


    At the same time, however, ckstone also believed that there must be certain limitations to their immortality.


    He had dealt with a necromancer in his early years and had some knowledge on the secrets of Death.


    It was said that some followers of the God of Death possessed the power of immortality, but at the cost of weakening their souls over and over again. Each time their physical body died and their soul was drawn away, the soul suffered irreparable damage.


    If this process was repeated several times, the soul would eventually break apart.


    Therefore, in the eyes of ckstone, even if such a follower possessed the ability of immortality, they would still be keen to avoid death.


    After all, no creature can be truly immortal! All they did was dy their eventual death. And having one''s soul break apart was a worse fate than a normal death ... ckstone therefore had an ounce of respect for the elf.


    At this point, several more half-orcs had joined him, and they prepared to go after the other elves who had fled.


    However, they were quickly stopped by ckstone.


    "No need. This elf should be their leader. As long as we catch him, we can get the most information out of him."


    ckstone waved his hand.


    "You, tie him up."


    Several ugly half-orcs came over, snatched the scimitar out of Demacia''s hands, and tied him up tightly with ropes ... Watching them in action, Demacia froze.


    Wait ... why was this boss monster acting strangely? Weren''t they supposed to just stomp the yer to death in such a situation? Why were they tying him up?


    Wait. he couldn''t actually have triggered some hidden plot, could he?! Demacia suddenly recalled some information that Miss Saint had mentioned to them.


    Orcish hunting parties ¡­ hunting elves ¡­ trading them to humans ¡­


    Wait a minute. Had he encountered such a hunting party? Demacia''s eyes grew brighter.


    Half-orcs were the archnemesis of the elves! Damn! Demacia''s eyes gradually brightened.


    A hidden plot! This was definitely a hidden plot!


    In an instant, the sadness he felt disappeared as he no longer worried about possibly dying, wasting his perfect resurrections, and having had his equipment destroyed.


    Seeing that the elf he had caught was neither frightened nor furious, but actually excited, the perplexed ckstone frowned.


    Was this elf ... really in his right mind? He shook his head and waved to his men.


    "Let''s go back to the stronghold first."


    Having seeded in capturing a tongue, he didn''t n to stay here any longer than necessary.


    He was scared of attracting the attention of powerful followers of the Death God. Since this elf wasvishly equipped, it was clear at first nce that he was a leader-level figure. He should have a lot of information! Although ... his actual strength fell a bit short.


    Even though ckstone had prepared himself for a tough opponent, he did not expect the elves to be so weak! Only Lower Iron, hah ... as weak as paper! He nced at Demacia in disdain.


    As ckstone gave his order, one of the half-orcs lifted and carried Demacia on his shoulders like a bag.


    "F$ck¡­ Don''t carry me like that, it hurts, I''m suffocating!"


    Demacia shouted.


    The half-orc nced at him for a second, grabbed his leg, and slung it over his shoulder so that the elf was now dangling upside down.


    Demacia was speechless.


    His face turned pale.


    "My lunch¡­ my lunch¡­ my lunch ising out¡­ blurgh¡­" But this time, no one paid him any attention.


    With their upside-down ''trophy'', the group of mighty half-orcs made their way back.


    Demacia had been tied very tightly, and his captor''s sweeping, slow stride almost made him empty his stomach.


    Despite this, he was not afraid or worried at all, but rather excited.


    He understood that the half-orcs were definitely not going to kill him.


    Instead, they ... seemed to be holding themselves in from hurting him ... hurting him.


    Wait. Wait. These half-orcs didn''t have those tastes, right? For an instant, Demacia trembled.


    Especially when he took another look at ckstone''s sturdy body and his fierce appearance ... he got a little terrified and hisplexion turned a bit green.


    No no no no no¡­ the half-orcs were nning to sell him for money, and the buyers wouldn''t want second-hand goods, would they? Demacia shook her head andforted himself.


    Whatever, his main issue was to find a way tomit suicide and return to the elven town! He wondered if elves could kill themselves by biting their tongues. But then again, this kind of suicide method found in martial arts novels didn''t actually seem to have any scientific basis in the first ce.


    Or maybe ... couldn''t he just bang his own head against the wall? Or a tree? Demacia''s thoughts began to wander off into strange directions ... but one thing was certain, and that was that he should be safe for the time being.


    With that in mind, Demacia gave up on that train of thought and got cocky instead.


    He started striking up a chat with his captors, trying to get some information out of them and see if he could unlock a hidden plot or something.


    "Hey hey hey, big fes, are you half-orcs?"


    "You have such big tusks! But they''re a little yellow ... How long has it been since you guysst brushed your teeth?"


    "Oh, your scimitars look so sharp! What rank are they? Are they golden legend? Can I touch them?"


    "Hey, Iron-level chump! Iron chump! The Iron chump at the front! What level are you?"


    "Are you the rumoured hunting party? Did you catch me to sell me off?


    "Where are you taking me? I don''t suppose you ... have any strange ideas about doing things to male elves?"


    "Um¡­Although I am handsome and dashing¡­ uhm, cough, I think that some things should only be done withdies, don''t you say¡­ no?"


    "Ah, actually ... I ate so much spicy food during lunch that my intestines are burning... and I have hemorrhoids ...


    What are you guys nning, anyway? Tell me. I''ve been caught by you anyway¡­


    Hey hey hey, can you respond to me, it''s so boring to talk to myself!


    Heeeeyyyy!"


    "¡­" Demacia talked like a non-stop machine gun and bbered constantly during the trip. Eventually, ckstone had enough of him.


    "Shut up!"


    He picked up a goblin that was following him, snatched off his smelly ragged loin cloth, and stuffed it into Demacia''s mouth before putting a cloth bag over his head.


    The world turned peaceful and quiet.


    Demacia was rendered speechless.

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69 - Whatever, I confess everything


    "Brother Mu! Something''s gone wrong, something''s gone wrong! Demacia was kidnapped!"


    Li Mu, who was trying his hand at a ss on magic circles at the Temple of Nature, had his thoughts interrupted by a series of friend messages.


    He looked at the game interface and saw that the messages wereing from the deputy leader of the squad led by Demacia.


    Demacia, kidnapped?


    Stunned, he began to reply back.


    "What''s going on?"


    soon, a reply came back.


    "We encountered some very strong monsters in the wilderness, and they kidnapped Demacia! They were hideous, much like the half-orcs described by Alice!"


    Half-orcs? Li Mu frowned.


    Then, his heart skipped a beat. Could they be¡­ the half-orc squad that hunted elves that Alice had mentioned?


    "How strong were they? Where did they take Demacia?" Li Mu asked.


    "They were incredibly strong. Demacia was destroyed with a single punch! We ran away on the spot, and we haven''t been able to contact Demacia ever since."


    A single¡­ a single punch¡­ Li Mu took a deep breath.


    Demacia was the number one taunt tank on the entire server and had a huge health pool. To be able to annihte him with a single punch, how powerful must these enemies be ... However, soon, he started thinking about it.


    He then replied quickly.


    "This isn''t necessarily a bad development! This guy, Demacia, might have started some kind of hidden plot mission again. You guys keep an eye on him ... I think he might be upied at the moment, once he''s free, he will definitely get back to us!"


    After sending the message, Li Mu thought for a while. He then decided to tell Alice immediately.


    No matter how he viewed it, it would be impossible to deal with half-orcs with the current strength of the yers! If need be, you had to ask the NPCs for help! His favourability with Alice was so high that even Cuckoo Bird was no match for him.


    If one asked for help, he was sure that the kind-hearted saint would definitely not refuse them.


    After taking another deep breath, Li Mu got up from the cushion he was sitting on.


    "Lady Alice, I''m sorry to interrupt your lecture, but I have an urgent matter to tell you!"


    ¡­ When the hood covering Demacia''s head was taken off, he found himself in a dark cave.


    He had been tied to an iron frame, and in front of him were a few half-orcs whose looks could make a child cry.


    ckstone, who had annihted him with one punch, was present among them. So too was a half-orc priest wearing sheep''s clothing.


    A chill was sent down his spine when he realized that a group of burly creatures were surrounding him.


    Especially scary was that bald guy ckstone! ckstone stepped forward and ripped the cloth out of his mouth.


    As he could finally breathe again, Demacia exhaled deeply, only to smell the sickening stench in the cave. He nearly vomited. At that moment, the half-orc finally spoke.


    "Speak. What are you doing in Florence? What are you plotting? Who is the mastermind behind you?"


    ckstone''s voice was low and very oppressive.


    Demacia was taken aback.


    Eh? It didn''t seem as if they were here to hunt elves ... Were they ... investigating what had happened in Florence?


    His mind was still sharp, so he quickly figured out what it was all about. If he remembered correctly, the main followers of Ullr, the god of winter and hunting, were half-orcs. And the yers had recently destroyed the incarnation of Ullr. Had theye here to revenge the old dude? Demacia felt that he understood everything now.


    And at the same time, he suddenly thought of the main storyline.


    "Act one: Ullr''s conspiracy!"


    Main storyline! He''d definitely triggered the main storyline! They weren''t trying to get revenge for what the yers had done to Ullr''s reincarnation, were they?


    Demacia''s spirits were lifted.


    "Speak!"


    ck Stone grunted, then pulled a red-hot branding iron out of the campfire ... further away, Demacia also saw whips, wolf''s-teeth clubs, iron truncheons, barbed knives and other tools. He twitched.


    Was he... going to be tortured? He nced at the pain adjustment scale in the system interface. It was at 5%, which he thought was endurable.


    A righteous person would not falter and confess.


    Only the mighty and unyielding could maintain their heroic spirit


    Besides, since it involved the main storyline, how could he, as the most devotedpdog of the great Goddess, ever spill the beans? Thinking of this, he taunted the half-orc and shed his white teeth.


    "Good boy, call me daddy. I¡­ won''t tell you anything."


    "Tch¡­!"


    A glint of anger shed in ckstone''s eyes as he pressed the branding iron directly against Demacia''s chest.


    Along with the sizzling sound, a scent of burning meat began to fill the air.


    Demacia''s eyes went wide for a split second, which was followed by a groan of unrestrained pleasure.


    A few moments, he sighed quietly.


    "This feels kindafortable¡­ continue."


    ckstone was speechless.


    Did this guy¡­ really have such strong willpower? The half-orcs stared at him in surprise.


    "Tch!" It''s just a long ear with a big mouth!"


    ckstone tossed away the branding iron and grabbed a leather whip.


    Demacia''s eyelids twitched and he shouted: "Hey, you can hit anywhere except the face."


    *Smack!*


    ckstone whipped his face.


    Demacia: "..."


    ckstone went on to try all the torture methods that he had learned from the humans: beating him with sticks, cutting him up with knives, and denailing him ... but the elf in front of him continued to act unconcerned, as if he didn''t feel anything.


    He¡­ really didn''t care about the pain and injuries! Apart from when he whipped his face ¡­ Gradually, even ckstone couldn''t help but feel some respect for Demacia.


    "You truly deserve to be a follower of the God of Death, to be able to face pain and death this calmly. Elf, you are a real warrior."


    He grunted.


    Listening to his words, Demacia was taken aback.


    Wait ... God of Death? Wasn''t he a follower of the Goddess? When did he suddenly be a follower of the God of Death? Seeing the astonished look on Demacia''s face, ckstone sneered.


    "Surprised?"


    He put down the torture device down and asked:


    "Actually, we already know what you are.


    Speak. What are the God of Death and the underworld nning to do?"


    "Death¡­the God of Death?"


    Demacia''s face turned strange.


    Wait¡­ wasn''t there some huge misunderstanding at y here?


    "Hehe, judging from your expression, do you finally admit it?" ckstone sneered.


    Demacia: "..."


    "Would you believe me if I told you I don''t know anything about the God of Death?" he said, testing the waters.


    "Hah."


    ckstone continued to sneer.


    Demacia: "..."


    "I really don''t know anything about the God of Death¡­" he repeated somewhat glumly.


    "Hah."


    ckstone was still sneering.


    Demacia: "..."


    After a while, he sighed.


    "You know what ¡­Fine ¡­ Forget it, I can''t convince you guys, so I''ll tell you the truth! The God of Death huh? I know everything ... it doesn''t matter whether or not I tell you ..." Demacia''s expression gradually grew serious.


    As a result, the group of half-orcs also got serious.


    Demacia suddenly raised his head, wearing a somewhat domineering expression. He then spoke in a gloomy voice:


    "Actually, my real name is Thanos. I am a member of Soul Society and the founder of the Gotei 13... My mission in Florence is to find the seven Dragon Balls in order to make a wish to Shenron, to obtain the Sharingan ninja eye technique and finally to find the One Piece treasure left behind by the legendary great pirate king Jack Sparrow!"


    As the words poured out, ckstone and the others listened, awestruck.


    Soul Society? Gotei 13? The Dragon Balls? Sharingan? The One Piece treasure? What ... What the hell was all this ¡­?


    *********


    Author''s note


    I''m quite sure I butchered some anime references but ehh sue me


    Thanos - Marvel universe


    Soul Society and Gotei 13 - Bleach


    Dragon balls - I mean, this is an obvious one ...


    Sharingan - Naruto bloodline trait stuff I didn''t quite understand


    One piece and the pirate king - yeah no surprises there, One Piece


    Jack Sparrow - ...

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70 - This must be some kind of prophecy!


    In the Temple of Nature.


    Alice listened to Li Mu''s report with a stony face and frowned.


    "So what you want to say is that... it is likely that Demacia has been caught by half-orcs? And because youck the strength, you wish to request my assistance?"


    Li Mu nodded.


    "That''s right. As you know, Lady Alice, we have a way to locate ourpanions, so we know where Demacia is right now."


    Demacia was still in the group he had formed with his teammates when he was captured, so his coordinates were being disyed on the system''s minimap.


    Although he could not be contacted at the moment, his location was still visible to the yers.


    Alice and Berserker, having spent much time together with the yers, were also aware of things like their location-tracking abilities.


    "What I was thinking is ... we can turn his capture into an opportunity. Didn''t you say that the half-orcs were likely to have a stronghold in the Elven Forest? I see this as an opportunity to destroy this orcish encampment in one fell swoop!"


    As Li Mu finished his plea, he looked at Alice''s somewhat hesitant look and continued:


    "Besides, I think that this would please the Mother Goddess..."


    "The Mother Goddess ..." Hearing these words, Alice''s heart skipped a beat.


    But she returned to her previous, somewhat torn expression... After a few moments, she sighed.


    "It''s not that I''m unwilling to help you, but since the half-orcs have a stronghold, they probably also have an orcish priest there."


    She looked at Li Mu and exined.


    "As you know, the Mother Goddess has many enemies. Although She has returned, She cannot publicly show herself for her own safety, otherwise a horde of frenzied enemies would immediately descend on Her ... As Her followers and believers, Berserker and I must at all costs avoid showing ourselves in front of the followers of other gods, as this will most likely expose to them the fact that the Mother Goddess has recovered ...But unlike us, you yers are not believers and your souls are strange, so your presence won''t arouse any suspicion ..." Hearing Alice''s words, Li Mu could not help but smile bitterly.


    "But ... we cannot possibly defeat the half-orcs with our current strength alone. Their leader annihted Demacia with just one blow."


    "Just one blow ..." Alice fell into deep thought and her face turned solemn.


    "That leader is likely an upper Iron half-orc warrior. At your level, you would indeed not be a match for the half-orcs..." After thinking about it, she said:


    "About this matter ... I shall pray to the Mother Goddess, who is merciful and omniscient, and inform her. She will surely enlighten us with her all-knowing wisdom!"


    She moved over to Eve''s divine statue, closed her eyes, and began to pray.


    Eve was immersed reading an e-book called "Game Design Essentials" obtained via Earth''s inte when she noticed Alice''s prayer. "Hm, is that Alice?" Did something happen to the yers?"


    She stopped reading.


    Despite her game system, it was not possible for Eve to monitor the yers'' movements 24/7.


    This was why she had once asked Alice to pray and report to her as soon as possible if there was any problem involving the yers.


    It seemed something had happened to the yers? She first nced at the divine space that was filled with small blue masses of light, each dot representing a yer. She did not see any problems.


    With a little more peace of mind now, Eve listened to Alice''s prayer. A few momentster, she did not quite know what to make of it.


    "Demacia has been captured by half-orcs? And the yers are requesting Alice''s assistance?"


    She pondered for a moment, and then sank her consciousness into the little light ball that symbolized Demacia.


    Eve''s vision changed suddenly, and she soon "saw" through Demacia and noticed his situation. Inside a dimly lit cave, a bruised Demacia had been tied to a stone pir.


    It appeared as if he had been severely tortured. A group of half-orcs were surrounding him.


    This was not a hunt for elves, but an interrogation! Listening to the half-orcs'' conversations, Eve quickly guessed the truth. "I didn''t expect that Ullr would send someone to investigate so soon."


    She suddenly felt a sense of urgency and crisis.


    And upon seeing the serious looks on the half-orcs'' faces, Eve''s heart beat faster.


    Wait a minute ... Demacia, this fellow, hadn''t told them anything he shouldn''t have, had he? Then, the half-orc at the front of the group spoke up.


    "So, you said your name is Thanos? And you''re the founder of what? Where is this Soul Society located? What are these Dragon Balls and this Sharingan? Who is Jack Sparrow? What is this One Piece treasure?"


    ckstone stared at Demacia, firing off his questions.


    Eve was speechless.


    What was this nonsense? For a moment, she froze up, thinking that she had somehow traveled back to her high-school anime club in second grade on earth. Seeing ckstone ask these questions with such seriousness, Demacia was stunned as well.


    "Gosh, I was just bullsh$tting¡­ They actually believed all that?"


    He mumbled.


    Unbeknownst to Demacia, elfkind, as a famous and noble race in the world of Sagas, has always been known for their unity, kindness and honesty.


    In their worldview, the word lie didn''t even exist.


    Put differently, elves could not lie.


    They either told the truth or didn''t say anything at all! This was how the elves were in Sagas.


    So, the half-orcs, although they were dumbfounded, did not doubt the veracity behind Demacia''s words.


    Eve picked up Demacia''s whispers and soon had a good idea what had caused this nonsensical scene.


    "This Demacia fe sure knew how to talk while being interrogated, huh?"


    After thinking about it, she realized that the yers weren''t really afraid of torture. So why would they just give away secrets?


    On the other hand, it was quite possible that an NPC would have cracked under interrogation.


    Seeing that the half-orcs actually believed him, Demacia continued his nonsense.


    "Ahem¡­ Soul Society is where the Shinigami death gods dwell."


    "The Dragon Balls, on the other hand, are a precious treasure. Legend has it that if you collect all seven of them, you will be able to summon the divine dragon Shenron and have any wish fulfilled!"


    Sharingan is a powerful bloodline power¡­As for Jack Sparrow¡­ he is a famous hero in the human world! If you find his treasure, you can obtain all the wealth, fame, and power in the world!"


    Demacia shook his head, pretending to be genuine.


    Eve was speechless.


    The half-orcs, too, still looked dumbfounded.


    Why ... Why did the half-orcs, despite understanding every one of Demacia''s words, not understand at all what was being said when the words were arranged into sentences?


    The sole half-orc priest, who had been thinking deeply, then suddenly eximed:


    "I understand now!"


    What¡­ What?! Demacia looked at him in astonishment. What did he understand?


    Eve also looked confused. What did he understand?


    ckstone''s eyes twinkled, and he looked over at the priest with an air of respect.


    "Priest, what did you discover?"


    Although ckstone was far more powerful than this lower Iron half-orc priest, the servants of Father God deserved his full respect. The priest took a deep breath and then said:


    "Shenron, powerful magic, and mysterious treasures ... Lord ckstone, all these things are beyond ourprehension. Some sort of encryption must be at y here! I am afraid this is some kind of prophecy!


    Although we cannotprehend this message, if we pray to Father God, He will undoubtedly be able to decrypt it!"


    The priest''s expression contorted into that of a fanatic.


    "Lord ckstone, please assist me immediately by organizing a sacrificial ritual so that I can inform His Majesty the true God of this news! If we do this, you and I will definitely be able to receive a reward from Father God!"


    The priest was not a fanatic believer and his power of faith was not sufficient to support direct interdimensionalmunication with Ullr. So, aside from having the priest''s soul ascend into God''s kingdom after death, the only way tomunicate with Him was by means of a sacrificial ritual.


    Hearing the priest''s words, both Demacia and Eve were stunned into silence.


    A reward? The only reward they''d get would be getting whipped ... a momentter, Eve sighed inwardly.


    "How wise could the elvish race possibly be, to allow themselves to get hunted down and thinned out by retards of such calibre..."


    But now that she thought about it, elves were originally also incredibly single-minded with those rigid mindsets of theirs... However, she believed that was bnced out by the mental retardedness of the half-orcs, so she didn''t worry too much.


    A sacrificial ritual? Eve noticed that there was no divine statue of Ullr here. If they wanted toy a cross-dimensional sacrificial magic circle, they had to gather the materials first. This would be a great opportunity for the yers.


    As long as the operation was properly nned and executed, even the weak yers could overwhelm them. More importantly, the half-orcs would give her a delicious amount of life energy.


    With this in mind, Eve prepared to issue a quest.


    It was just then that she suddenly noticed the stone prison in the cave ... "Hmm?"


    Her eyes immediately became sharp.


    "Oho, this is indeed the stronghold of an elven hunting party."


    Eve''s voice was icy and solemn.


    She paused for a moment to make some modifications to the mission quest, and then contacted the saint Alice.

 Chapter 71

    Chapter 71 - a new mission


    "The Mother Goddess has responded to me, and She will soon make the revtion known to you directly!"


    Inside the Temple of Nature, Alice looked at Li Mu in delight.


    But gradually, her expression turned serious. After a few moments, she sighed.


    "And this time¡­I shall go along with you."


    "Eh?"


    Li Mu froze.


    Didn''t she just say that she was worried exposing themselves? Alice looked at him and exined.


    "The Mother Goddess sent me an oracle ... She said that the half-orcs have a few of our people imprisoned in their stronghold."


    "Elves¡­ will never abandon theirpanions! This is why I must go at all costs.


    But don''t worry. the Mother Goddess has made her own preparations, and I won''t be reckless."


    The reality was that, ever since Eve possessed an avatar, she could theoretically just strike and finish off the half-orcs all by herself.


    It was just that whenever Eve had such thoughts, there was this sense of anxiety in her heart.


    The hunch of a true God was very urate. This was why she had decided to observe from the shadows and leave everything to the yers and NPCs first.


    Shortly after Alice finished speaking, the yers received a system notification.


    [Ding¨C]


    [yer Demacia has triggered a quest: The orcish hunting party]


    [Quest objective: (1) Kill all enemies in the orcish stronghold (2) Save the elves that were captured by the half-orcs!]


    [time limit: unlimited]


    [Maximum number of participants: unlimited]


    [Mission level: for all levels]


    [Quest rewards: experience points , perfect resurrections, contribution points]


    Demacia was stunned, but then became very happy.


    "F$ck! I knew it was a hidden quest!"


    His shouts made the group of half-orcs look at him as if he was a lunatic.


    Soon though, his expression became puzzled.


    "Save the elves? Does that refer to me?"


    ckstone nced at him and gave an order.


    "Throw him in prison."


    Several half-orcs came forward, carried off Demacia, and put him in a prison cell.


    Demacia couldn''t care less. His attention was currently fully focused on the system interface in front of him. This particr quest was different from the others. Surprisingly, it even included a plot description for him personally. He read it with great interest.


    [Quest Plot Description]


    [As the greatest enemy of the elves, half-orc hunting parties have always constituted a huge threat to the elves.]


    [Countless elves have been hunted and killed in the past few centuries. The once glorious race has gradually fallen into decline.]


    [And now, these hunting parties have finally turned their evil gaze upon you. Having observed your infinite resurrection ability, they suspect that you are involved with the God of Death and proceeded to torture you.]


    [As one of the brave and fearless Chosen Ones, you refused topromise or bow down to the forces of evil. With your cunning lies, you have managed to deceive the half-orcs!]


    [The half-orcs have beenpletely tricked! They have even decided to report your story to Ullr, the God of winter and hunting! And now, you have been thrown into prison.]


    Looking at the system messages that appeared one by one, Demacia was amazed.


    So cutting-edge! What a cutting-edge hidden quest system! He couldn''t believe that it automatically generated a plot purely based on his actions! The description continued.


    [Now, it is time to make full use of your brilliance!]


    [By observing the half-orcs, you have discovered that they have to make a sacrificial magic circle in order to contact their God. An idea has popped up in your mind.]


    Seeing this, Demacia was taken aback.


    "Huh?" Half-orcs needed sacrifices to contact their God? Didn''t they just have to pray? Now that he thought about it, the half-orc priest did say something about a sacrificial ritual.


    And hold on ... what did the system mean with ''an idea has popped up in your mind''? He didn''t have a clue! Demaciained in his mind.


    The description continued.


    [The half-orcs are extremely powerful. You don''t think the Chosen Ones can defeat them on their own, so you must get the assistance of the NPCs. But because there is a priest among the half-orcs, Alice and Berserker cannot publicly take action without exposing themselves.]


    Demacia: "..."


    I ... I guess I came up with all that?


    [You also suddenly recall some knowledge about sacrificial magic circles. At the same time, you discover a way to eliminate the half-orc priest!]


    [Once the priest has been killed, the followers of the Goddess can act and strike at the remaining half-orcs!]


    Demacia: "..."


    Was that so? He stared nkly at the messages.


    And wait a minute, since when did I know anything about sacrificial magic circles? And¡­ I''ve been tied up, so what could I even do? he muttered in his thoughts.


    [But, you are not in a position to do this on your own.]


    [And then, you suddenly think of your teammates.]


    [In your mind, a n is slowlying together.]


    Demacia: "..."


    This was a bit weird. And ... Howe he had a feeling that he was being ordered? Wasn''t this a pre-arranged quest? Ah, whatever, it was important to contact his team mates first! Quest, quest! This had to be a quest task! Speaking of which, because of everything that had happened, he hadpletely forgotten to contact his teammates. Demacia hurriedly opened his friends list with his consciousness and was shocked to see that the friend messages addressed to him numbered 99+.


    All of them were asking about his well-being ... as well as about his quest. Taking a deep breath, Demacia excitedly contacted Li Mu.


    "Brother Mu, Brother Mu, ahahaha! I have activated a hidden quest yet again!


    It''s about the orcish hunting party! And I''vee up with an excellent idea that can wipe them out in one fell swoop!"


    Reading out everything from the system description, he told Li Mu about the entire n.


    in the Temple of Nature, Li Mu was in awe.


    "This guy¡­ wasn''t his luck too good?"


    After a few exchanged messages, the two of them quickly reached an agreement.


    "I know that you already have a good n.


    I will contact the Iron yers nearest to your ce and ask them to team up with you. I will also contact Salty Little Meow, Box Lunch, Alice, and Berserker to go and support you with your quest!"


    Li Mu replied.


    After thinking about it, he added:


    "You must hold on at all costs. Don''t die or the coordinates will be lost.


    And also, take care of the captured elves."


    Demacia: "..."


    "Chill, you guys! It''s so damn dirty and smelly in here. I want to just kill myself and respawn in town.


    And wait¡­ what do you mean by the captured elves? Didn''t that refer to me?"


    he replied.


    "You trash! It''s the original elves who are being held hostage! Look around for them! Just put up with the dirtiness and turn off your sense of smell if it stinks!"


    Li Mu replied.


    Demacia: "..."


    "Fine... you guys hurry up, I don''t want to stay in this ce for a second longer than is necessary!"


    He replied bitterly.


    That was when a brittle voice interrupted his thoughts.


    "You¡­ are you okay?"


    Demacia was taken aback when he looked and saw that there were three weak figures in the prison cell.


    When his eyes focused on the other person''s delicate face and his pointed ears, he couldn''t help but exim in excitement:


    "F$ck! Elves?!"


    There was an elf in here? So there really were hostages! There were three scrawny elves, covered in dirt. They seemed to be very young children, no older than 12 or 13.


    There was one boy and two girls.


    It was the male elf who had gathered up the courage to talk with Demacia.


    The other two female elves were hiding behind him, timidly.


    Their appearance was wretched, and their expressions had a few traces of apprehension and fear. But their eyes were still pure.


    "You ¡­you''ve lost a lot of blood¡­" The young elf said with a timid voice, a hint of worry present in his words.


    His innocent eyes that were filled with heartfelt concern reminded Demacia of a pure little angel.


    Demacia had aplicated expression.


    After a few moments, he sighed.


    "Hey¡­ Brother Mu, I''ve changed my mind.


    I''m not in a hurry to leave at all. You guys hurry up ande. I''m going to hold on while I wait.


    And, by the way, when you ... arrive, make sure to bring some tasty berries and three sets of clean clothes with you."

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72 - yer ambush


    Demacia found three young elves in the prison of the stronghold! When he posted the screenshots to the forum, almost instantly the yers exploded. Humans were very emotional creatures and naturally felt sympathetic for the weak.


    The yers'' outrage was exacerbated by the fact that most people couldn''t resist cute, cuddly creatures.


    The young elves fit the bill perfectly. Their big eyes filled with unparalleled innocence, their squishy, fair and tender skin, and their childlike faces ... Everything could absolutely be described as 100 percent innocent and lovely.


    Their dirty clothes and the frightened and desperate emotions that surfaced from time to time in their expressions. The faint wariness and detachment that their bodies unconsciously exuded. It all added to the feeling as if the three young elves were little kittens that were being bullied.


    The sympathy of the yers was overflowing. "Too ... too cute, ah ... no, this is too sad!"


    "The half-orcs have gone too far, to dare and hurt our noble and beautiful elves! Count me in on this quest!"


    "And you, Demacia, keep a distance from them and don''t touch them with your hands!"


    Demacia: "..."


    "Go go go! Save our elvenpanions!"


    "I''ming!"


    "I''ming!"


    One by one, the yers who were already excited by the hidden quest became even more enthusiastic.


    Eve was surprised to discover that what had originally been just a few dozen yers epting the quest had quickly snowballed into hundreds of participants. They all joined Demacia''s group and began to move in groups of twos and threes in the direction of the stronghold.


    She found that they were attracted by not only the quest rewards, but also Demacia''s screenshot. Eventually, Li Mu even had to specially open a group voice chat and act as the teammander. This was so that the yers would not rush over in swarms to ruin things.


    "You guys are a group of shota and lolicon lovers ..."


    Eve fell silent.


    The sun was setting.


    In the southeast area of the Elven Forest, four lower Iron half-orcs were walking through the forest.


    They were carrying a dead unicorn wind deer.


    It was a lower Iron beast that had strong magical conductivity in its blood. This made it an excellent material for drawing spell circles.


    However, such creatures were difficult to find, and it had taken the half-orcs a lot of effort to finally catch one.


    They chatted as they trudged along.


    "Ugh, this was really not easy. It took us a whole day just to hunt a wind deer. I wonder if the priest will be angry ..."


    "There''s not much we can do about it, this area is so barren ..."


    "If you ask me, I think the priest is too eager and hasty. Must he reallyy down a circle tomunicate with Father God right now?"


    "Haha, you must not realize. If we reported this secret to the main tribe, how could their reward possibly be better than the reward we get by reporting it directly to His Majesty Father God?"


    "Fair enough ..."


    Suddenly, the half-orc at the front stopped.


    "Wait!"


    He nced to his left and right with a stony face.


    "Something''s wrong, it''s too quiet here ..." As he said that, he took a deep breath through his nose.


    In a sh, his face changed.


    "This is bad, there are enemies around us!"


    As soon as the words left his mouth, an "Attack!" was shouted.


    Countless fierce magic attacks wereunched in their direction: fireballs, wind des, lightning strikes ... They came down like rain and smashed into their faces.


    The four half-orcs werepletely surprised.


    They hurriedly threw away their deer prey and began to take cover.


    But the sheer density of the magic barrage meant that they could not avoid getting hit. In a matter of seconds, they all suffered injuries, and the worst hit half-orc among them even lost an arm ... And before they could react, there was another shout.


    "Go!"


    Screams rang out as a dozen, tall figures poured out from the bushes.


    They were allvishly equipped, had excited faces, and branded weapons. They sped towards them while screaming "Hurrah!" and "Charge!"


    The attackers sported hideous expressions as if the half-orcs had personally murdered their fathers right in front of them.


    Where did these elvese from?! And how did they know that they were here?! Looking at the four dumbfounded half-orcs, the corners of Li Mu''s mouth curved upwards as he smoothly fired off a vine spell and gave out amand.


    "Everyone, don''t fight too hard! They''re strong, but we have the numbers, we''ll wear them out!"


    He also added:


    "And stop hitting them in the face!"


    He had beenmanding the yers lying in ambush here for quite some time now.


    The movement of the half-orcs was visible to the yers because of Demacia.


    If the half-orcs wanted toy down a sacrificial circle, they had to go hunt for magical beasts in the forest.


    The only magical beasts that could meet their needs were a long way from their stronghold. One especially suitable creature was the unicorn wind deer, which the yers happened to know where to find.


    Through the minimap that Demacia had shared , Li Mu had judged that this should be the return path that the half-orcs would take. So he had brought a group of yers here beforehand to ambush them.


    Finally, they had caught some half-orcs.


    The half-orcs were very strong. Although the yers had also reached the same rank as them, lower Iron, they were far more inexperienced when it came tobat.


    However, the yers were unafraid of pain and death and fought without paying attention to their own safety. They fought like desperates, which allowed them to surprise and tie down the half-orcs.


    But even so, a few yers were immediately cut down after the first sh.


    But the yerspletely outnumbered the half-orcs, and, despite the half-orcs'' strength, the wounds on their bodies became more and more numerous. When the strength of both parties were roughly equal, the human wave tactic was a surefire way to kill enemies.


    yers were a nightmare for enemies whose strength was not too far removed from them.


    "Crazy! They must have gone crazy!"


    Facing this group of ''desperate'' elves, the four half-orcs'' morale finally broke.


    They backed away and shouted:


    "We surrender! "We surrender! We will leave the Elven Forest and not fight anymore!"


    After saying this, the corners of the leader half-orc''s mouth curved upwards slightly.


    This was the half-orcs'' surefire way of surviving through this ordeal!


    Elves were peace-loving beings.


    As long as the enemy was willing to surrender, these straightced long ears would have mercy on them and not wipe them out.


    This was the tried-and-tested experience that the half-orcs had umted over their many years of hunting elves.


    Unfortunately, it did not work this time. "surrender? Hehe, we don''t take prisoners. Be obedient and be contribution and experience points!"


    The yers ridiculed them and attacked even more fiercely.


    "They can''t hold on for much longer!"


    "Kill them!"


    "Down with the evil half-orcs, save our fellow elvish citizens!"


    "Urrah¡ª!"


    Listening to their shouts and seeing the bloodthirst in their eyes, the four half-orcs were stunned.


    Hold on a minute? They¡­ they were really going to kill them all?! Since when have elves be so bloodthirsty? Several half-orcs inexplicably shuddered as their knowledge of elves became void in an instant.


    "Are these ... truly elves? ..." They murmured in disbelief as they looked at the handsome yet hideous faces.


    The yers, however, did not give them a chance to mull over things. They used all kinds of skills and attacked the half-orcs in a whirlwind of frenzy.


    One elf would make a cut and then retreat, only for another one to immediately fill in the gap and attack.


    It was a great feat of cooperation. Eventually, the first half-orc was felled.


    He copsed after being stabbed in the chest.


    After the death of the first half-orc, the momentum was decisively on the yers'' side. In the blink of an eye, the few remaining half-orcs were killed one by one. Eventually, at the cost of eight yers, thest half-orc fell to a storm of swords.


    And immediately afterwards, the yers rushed to strip them of their equipment and started looting everything.


    Li Mu did not participate in the looting, but looked at the blood-stained bodies of the half-orcs with a serious expression.


    "I didn''t expect the half-orcs to be this powerful ..." A total of 27 yers above level 11 had been organized to ambush them, yet they had suffered such arge number of casualties.


    And these were just lower Iron half-orcs! Li Mu had no choice but to ept that there was a huge gap between thebat power of dumb magical beasts and intelligent creatures of the same level.


    Sighing, he called out one of the elven girls.


    "Salty Little Meow, tell Box Lunch to start the disguising operation."

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73 - Our allies have arrived


    Al had turned 80 years this year.


    For as long as he could remember, his grandpa always talked about the glorious history of the elvish race.


    How they had been thergest empire in the world at one point in time.


    How they had established the most brilliant civilization in the world.


    However, after the catastrophe, the elves fell down the power rankings, were cursed, and gradually fell into decline.


    Al could not even imagine how prosperous the elves had been a thousand years ago. To him, his grandpa''s tales sounded like myths and fairy tales.


    His life was that of cold reality, where they always had to hide and wander like fugitives. Despite this, his grandfather believed that everything would eventually turn out fine.


    "Do not forget, Al, that we are the great Silver race. Our present decline is only momentary. Once the Mother Goddess returns, our golden age will surely return once again."


    His grandfather would often say that.


    Al had once asked Grandpa who this Mother Goddess was. Grandpa replied that the Mother Goddess was the greatest being in the world, the true ruler of the world as well as the benevolent Mother who watched over them. "So ... we elves have our own God?"


    Al had asked in surprise.


    "Silly boy."


    Grandfather stroked the boy''s head with an expression of fervent devotion.


    "The Mother Goddess is not some mere deity, but a true Ancient God!"


    From that day onwards, Al waited for the Mother Goddess''s arrival with great anticipation.


    He personally longed for a happy and stable life, with a small garden of his own.


    Yet ... until the day that his grandfather died, Al still had not seen the return of the Mother Goddess.


    But even so, he continued to believe in his grandfather''s words. Until the day that a group of hideous-looking half-orcs finally discovered their elvish settlement. After a brutal battle, the young and strong died in battle, while the women and children were taken captive ... including him and his two sisters.


    And it was then that Al realised that there was a worse fate than a life of wandering and hiding.


    No, the worst fate was to have one''s home destroyed and to be turned into a prisoner.


    One by one, the female elvish prisoners disappeared.


    The remaining prisoners were kept in a small stone prison deprived of sunlight or any view on the outside sky.


    Every day, they only received underriped fruit to ay their hunger.


    ording to the half-orcs, they were waiting for a human caravan to pass by so that they could sell Al and the others for a good price. Humans ... Al trembled.


    If the half-orcs were demons, then humans were definitely devils ¡­Back during his time in the settlement, he had heard countless tales about the tragic fates that befell those who became ves to humans¡­ Those cunning, greedy, lustful, and evil bastards were capable of doing anything.


    During these times, he even entertained the idea of dying by going on hunger strike.


    But his heart faltered at the thought of his two sisters.


    "Al, you''re a boy. Make sure to protect your sisters."


    These had been his grandfather''sst words of advice to him on his deathbed.


    Thinking about his words, Al clenched his fist. "Grandpa ... I''m so useless ... I''m so useless ..." As time went on, Al became increasingly desperate.


    But because of his two younger sisters, he had no choice but to be strong and pull himself together.


    He was thinking of ways to escape all the time, but the half-orcs were simply too vignt.


    This went on for several months.


    That was until something happened today.


    *ca-thunk*


    The prison door, which had not been opened in a long time, was finally swung open.


    Al winced and observed warily, while his two sisters hid behind him like frightened deer.


    "Is today finally going to be the day? Where they are going to ... sell us?"


    Al clenched his fists as he began to think about a way to escape while he still had the chance.


    However, the half-orcs did not enter but instead threw a tightly tied figure in the prison cell before turning to leave.


    Al looked at the figure in shock.


    "An ... elf?!"


    This ... was the first time in months that he had seen a fellow elf.


    The elf was very strange.


    His whole body was covered in blood, he was seriously injured, his face was abnormally pale, and his breath was ragged.


    However, his eyes were extraordinarily bright and full of life.


    Al could not take his eyes off him.


    This elf was different, as he seemed to carry an aura of defiance that Al had never seen before.


    His gaze, unlike those of Al''s former n members , were not dull and cloudy.


    There was a faint smile on his lips, and he had this kind of unrestrainedness, as if he took everything in this world lightly.


    He even stuck out his tongue against the backs of the half-orcs when they turned around! He was a funny person ... and so full of energy and hope! Al had never seen such an existence among the elves he knew.


    He was brimming with curiosity.


    After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly:


    "Are¡­ are you okay?"


    The elf seemed to be surprised. When he turned to see Al, he couldn''t help but cry out:


    "Damn! "Elves?!"


    Al flinched at the sound of his voice and retreated slightly.


    The strange elf''s face in front of him changed several times. First, it was an expression of delight, then of excitement, and finally aplicated expression.


    Al hesitated and then continued to ask:


    "You ¡­you''ve really lost a lot of blood¡­ Are you really okay?"


    The strange elf''s expression softened all of a sudden.


    He nodded and smiled as he coughed up blood.


    "Yes yes, I''m fine."


    Al: "¡­"


    "You¡­you just vomited blood!" he said.


    Not caring about anything else, Al rushed forward to help untie the elf.


    "Have ... Have you also been caught?"


    He asked curiously as he wrapped the elf''s wounds with strips of cloth.


    After being freed, the elf first nodded before shaking his head.


    "Nah, I''m just a well-behaved locator beacon."


    Al: "¡­"


    Al found that the weird elf spoke strangely as well.


    But as they interacted, Al discovered that the elf was, despite his weirdness, a gentle and optimistic person.


    They chatted.


    He told many interesting stories, much to the delight of Al and his sisters.


    He knew a lot and always had these fresh ideas that Al had never thought of before. He was hooked by all sorts of bizarre and funny stories.


    Gradually, he took a liking to this funny guy.


    And through chatting, Al also learned where the elf came from.


    He came from a far, far away ce. He was a warrior that had been summoned by the Goddess.


    The Goddess? Al''s curiosity was sparked.


    "Big brother Demacia, do elves also believe in other Gods?"


    Demacia smiled, his expression turning a littleplex for an instant.


    "No..." A reverent expression appeared on his face.


    With his hand, he drew a tree symbol on his chest and said in a deep voice:


    "There is only one Goddess in my heart!"


    Al froze when he saw that gesture.


    His grandfather used to draw it constantly! The Mother Goddess of the elves¡­ Did she really exist? Had he ... really been summoned by Her? Al felt a bit dazed.


    "Al."


    Still in a daze, Al heard the elf call his name.


    He turned his head and saw where Brother Demacia''s eyes were looking at.


    He was staring through the prison bars. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and a wicked smile appeared.


    Al followed his gaze and saw four more half-orcs who had entered the cave at some point. Their hands were carrying what appeared to be a ravaged magical beast.


    "Our allies have arrived."


    Al heard Demacia say.

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74 - We are immortal


    Allies? Al looked at the four burly, ugly half-orcs and felt a little confused.


    Soon, another half-orc in sheep''s clothing approached them. He inspected the creature''s body before nodding.


    "Well done! Now, assist me in bleeding it out!"


    The blood of creatures with magical power was highly potent and active. Even if several hours had passed after its death, the unicorn deer''s blood would not coagte as long as it was handled properly.


    Several half-orcs slit the wind deer''s neck, and sticky blood was slowly released.


    The half-orc in sheep''s clothing took out a weird bone pen, dipped it in the deer''s blood, and began to paint with it on the ground¡­ Al looked at his movements, and then an expression of surprise appeared on his face.


    "Huh? A sacrificial circle? That half-orc ¡­he wants tomunicate with a God?"


    "You recognize that?"


    Demacia nced at him in surprise.


    He was surprised that a small child like him could recognize a magic sacrificial circle.


    Al nodded as nostalgia flooded him.


    "Well, I used to study with Grandpa more than 20 years ago¡­"


    Twenty¡­ Twenty years ago¡­ Demacia almost choked.


    "Cough cough cough¡­" He couldn''t help but cough, and he started coughing up blood again. Al quickly turned to him, worried.


    "Big brother Demacia¡­are, are you okay?"


    Big brother¡­ Big brother¡­ "Cough cough cough¡­" Demacia coughed even harder.


    Heughed dryly, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and gave Al an odd look. He then shook his head.


    "I''m fine."


    Demacia hesitated for a moment and then asked cautiously:


    "Child ...or elder ..¡­... Hey, Al, how old are you this year?"


    Al scratched his head and said shyly:


    "If I remember correctly, I just became 80 this spring¡­"


    Demacia: "..."


    Demacia then started to calcte his grandfather''s age.


    Oh no, Al was at his grandfather''s age¡­Seeing him fall silent, Al quickly exined:


    "Big brother Demacia! Don''t look at me as a mere 80-year-old child ¡­I¡­I know a lot already! I¡­I am not a kid anymore¡­"


    Demacia: "..."


    After a while, he sighed and said:


    "Yes¡­you indeed are not a kid anymore."


    Demacia muttered: "I am the kid¡­"


    By the heavens, he just celebrated his 18th birthdayst month!


    Fortunately, this was just a game¡­Al continued to watch the sheepskin half-orc''s actions.


    Arge spell formation soon appeared on the ground.


    And then, the sheepskin half-orc kneeled before the formation and started chanting an incantation with rising intonation.


    As he sung, an etherael glow gradually covered the blood red magic circle, and a wave of magical power was converging¡­


    "He is going to seed¡­" Al couldn''t help but say.


    Although he didn''t know what the half-orcs were up to, whatever these evil beings did could not be good!


    "Don''t worry, he won''t."


    Besides him, Demaciaughed in between coughs.


    "Something was added to the blood."


    He gloated.


    Al did not understand what Demacia had just said and gave him a strange look.


    But soon, he understood.


    When the fluctuations reached their peak, the blood seemed to suddenly have been affected by some strange phenomenon. It began to sizzle.


    Soon, the light of the spell formation began to flicker wildly.


    The face of the half-orc in sheep''s clothing contorted in surprise and horror.


    "The ¡­the magic is boiling? Not good! There is a problem with this blood!"


    Before he could say anything else, the magic circle suddenly exploded, creating a red brilliance.


    "Priest!"


    ckstone''s face turned solemn and he hurried forward.


    The four half-orcs who had assisted in bleeding out the deer also followed.


    But by the time the smoke cleared, the half-orc priest, who had been very close to the magic circle, was already dying from being hit by both the magical bacsh and the explosion.


    ckstone''s face turned ugly.


    At that moment, three of the four half-orcs suddenly drew their weapons and charged towards ckstone at the same time!


    As they ran, the three attackers were enveloped in a faint glow and they suddenly transformed into elves. "Elves?!"


    Al stared nkly as all this happened in the mere span of a few seconds.


    "Yes, they are mypanions. They are here to save us."


    Demacia smiled.


    "To save¡­save us¡­" Shocked, Al nkly looked at the elves.


    The half-orcs too were stunned by this unexpected development.


    "Elves?"


    ckstone''s astonishment quickly turned into fury.


    His eyes burned with anger.


    With just one kick, he sent the three attackers flying across the cave.


    The elven attackers hit the wall directly. They spit out a mouthful of blood and then softly dropped to the ground.


    "Humph!" ckstone let out a cold snort of disdain.


    But soon, his expression changed.


    "Oh no!"


    He quickly turned his head in a hurry, but he was toote. He just saw how a half-orc stabbed his dagger into the chest of the dying half-orc priest lying on the ground.


    The half-orc priest''s mouth was slightly ajar. His eyes showed a hint of fear and bewilderment, as if he couldn''t process what had just happened.


    He twitched a few times before craning his neck and drawing hisst breath ever.


    At the same time, the half-orc who had stabbed him to death changed into an elf.


    He had gray-ck hair and an indifferent expression. It was Box Lunch.


    "Bastard!"


    ckstone''s eyespletely turned red.


    Half-orcs had no wizards¡­Every priest was a precious spellcaster for the half-orc race! Not only that, but they were also responsible formunicating with Father God and acted as healers and supports in tribes.


    He had let a priest die. Even if ckstonepleted his task now, he would still get punished! He was livid.


    He roared, drew his scimitar, and shed at Box Lunch.


    Box Lunch''s face remained stony as he ducked for cover.


    He twisted his body like an athletic bobcat. ckstone''s scimitar struck the ground where he''d been only a split second ago, splitting it and creating a three-metre-deep gully.


    "Catch this f$cking bastard!"


    ckstone gritted his teeth.


    The remaining half-orcs roared and rushed towards Box Lunch at the same time.


    Box Lunch took a deep breath and used the skills [Air Step] and [Flying Leap] to dodge the attacks left and right.


    "You must run away ¡­Run away¡­" Al gripped the prison bars with distress and anxiety as he watched on.


    However, just as Box Lunch was about to sessfully escape, a stout hand managed to grab his shoulder.


    "Caught you."


    ckstone sneered. He put force into his hand.


    Box Lunch''s shoulder was shattered in an instant, and blood sttered everywhere.


    However, his expression remained indifferent, as if the pain did not register in his mind at all.


    There was a fierce look in ckstone''s eyes and he growled: "Die!"


    His hand grabbed Box Lunch''s head.


    As Al watched on in horror, Box Lunch was twisted and crushed ¡­His body twitched a few times before he fell to the ground slowly.


    "Ah¡­" Al covered his mouth and his eyes turned wet.


    Suddenly, a big hand grabbed his shoulder.


    He turned his head while sobbing and saw Demacia''s pale face.


    However, big brother Demacia was neither angry nor sad, but instead smiled slightly.


    "Don''t worry, they are not dead."


    Not¡­ not dead? Al, stunned, turned to take another look at the fallen elves.


    He was surprised to discover that the elven corpses gradually faded and then disappeared!


    "Heh heh, we chosen ones are the favoured followers of the Goddess and we are immortal existences!"


    Next to him, Demacia''s voice sounded with great pride and confidence.


    At the same time, he could vaguely make out faint shouts that were lusting for murder from outside the cave.


    "Can you hear that? our main forces are arriving."


    Demacia said smugly.

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75 ¨C Where did it go wrong?


    When ckstone saw the elven corpses on the ground slowly disappearing, he quickly realized something was off.


    And when he heard those faint shouts outside, his face contorted.


    "This is bad! Our location has probably been exposed!"


    At the same time, doubt started to well up in his mind.


    ¡­Where did it go wrong? The half-orc priest had made sure to erase their tracks on the way here, so how did the elves know of their hideout?


    And ¡­ since when did these straitced long ears know how to employ a ruse? Even now, ckstone still found it hard to believe that those prideful elves could disguise themselves as half-orcs, their archnemesis, and deceive them by blending in to directly kill the priest!


    This did not sound like something that elves coulde up with, rather, this was a tactic that those cunning humans would use! But at the moment, he had more important things to worry about.


    These weird, seemingly immortal elves were weak, but ckstone didn''t dare to rule out the existence of a more powerful force controlling these elves behind the scenes.


    ckstone has always been very cautious.


    He never confronted enemies that he couldn''t figure out and that hadn''t shown all their cards yet.


    He had even been ridiculed for his cautious personality.


    Even so, ckstone did not give up the prudence that he had learned from the humans.


    And soon afterwards, the facts proved that his way had been correct.


    The reckless fellows who had once mocked him have since ascended to the Kingdom of God after dying in futile battles.


    He, on the other hand, was still alive and kicking.


    But this time, he felt that he had been caught up in something inexplicable and baffling.


    With the death of the priest, his mission was now officially a failure.


    Luckily, however, he had also managed to catch an elf.


    With this in mind, he turned his head to look at Demacia in the prison cell. His expression shifted a few times before he finally gritted his teeth and barked:


    "Take them with us, we''ll use the secret path!"


    He did not n on a frontal confrontation with those strange elves.


    Instead, if he could bring back the captured elf, along with the secrets that they''d pried from him, he might still be forgiven by chief priest Mountain.


    This was why ckstone decided to retreat.


    At hismand, the half-orcs carried Demacia and the three young elves out of the prison cell and took them into another secret cave passage.


    This secret path was connected to another ce one kilometre away.


    "Hmph, we''ll pay them backter for this!"


    ckstone nced bitterly in the direction of the cave entrance, and ordered his troops to retreat into the secret passage.


    After thest half-orc disappeared, he took a deep breath and used all his strength to m against a nearby wall.


    The cave started copsing immediately,pletely blocking the way in.


    ckstone entered the secret passage just before the cavepletely copsed.


    Dozens of half-orcs were slowly advancing.


    Meanwhile, ckstone was still pondering over what had gone wrong.


    The question was ¡­ Where was the leak?


    Obviously, he had been very careful, so he couldn''t have left any traces. Had the half-orcs who''d gone out to hunt been caught and forced into spilling the beans? But¡­ he had personally hand-picked those half-orc warriors. To their dying breath, they would never betray the tribe!


    The elves had acted fast, so fast that he almost started to think... that someone had directly shown them their location somehow. But as they walked on, ckstone still could not think of any exnation, despite his best efforts.


    Eventually, the half-orc party neared the end of the secret passage.


    They dug their way out of the secret tunnel. Their vision suddenly brightened as they re-entered the Elven Forest.


    ckstone breathed a sigh of relief.


    Wherever the leak had originated, they were safe now.


    Relieved, a look of satisfaction emerged on his face.


    But at that very moment, the surrounding vegetation suddenly moved and hundreds of tall elves appeared.


    ckstone''s expression stiffened.


    Looking at thevishly equipped figures who all wore excited expressions, the corners of his mouth twitched a little and his expression froze.


    Elves ... Elves?! Where¡­ Where did they alle from? How did they know they were here? And the already excited elves became ecstatic at the sight of the half-orcs appearing.


    "We found them!"


    "Look! Demacia is there!"


    "Those three cuties are here as well!"


    "Destroy these evil half-orcs and save our fellow elves!"


    "Urrah¡ª!"


    They shouted before charging forwards with bravery.


    A hint of annoyance shed across ckstone''s eyes as he looked at the group of desperate elves.


    it would have been another thing if there had been someone with Silver or upper Iron strength.


    But these elves, the most powerful among them was only middle Iron. How dare they try to stop them with such meagre power?


    "Get lost!"


    He shouted before taking out his wolf''s-teeth club and mming it into a charging elf. The impact turned him into pulp.


    "Sh$t! So powerful!"


    His action had startled the other elves.


    Then, ckstone heard a nasty voice from one of the elves.


    "That''s the boss monster! Don''t fight him! Everyone, focus on holding off the army of half-orcs!"


    What the hell was a boss monster? ckstone thought, perplexed.


    But soon, he realized that they were referring to him.


    Because in the next moment, the elves avoided him like the gue and began to engage the other half-orcs.


    More importantly, they also attacked the three half-orcs who were guarding the elven prisoners.


    Suddenly, as if he had just realized something, ckstone''s expression changed.


    "This is bad! They must be trying to buy time!"


    He gritted his teeth, easily wiped out several elves who were trying to rescue Demacia and the three kids, and shouted at the other half-orcs:


    "Do not get entangled with them, break out!"


    But as soon as he said that, suddenly, the entire forest seemed to shake.


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    It was an ear-splitting sound, like the footsteps of a giant.


    the corners of Demacia''s mouth curved upwards.


    He suddenly shouted:


    "[Berserk]!"


    A powerful aura suddenly erupted from him.


    Demacia''s face turned fierce and his entire body swelled up, with veins popping out. [Berserk] was a desperatest trump card skill that he had bought from the store with contribution points. It unlocked his full potential and made him explode with great power.


    The duration of the skill was 10 minutes.


    The cost of the skill was that he would die afterwards.


    Demacia picked up a scimitar from the ground and shed the half-orc beside him, who failed to react in time. Immediately, he picked up the two young elven girls with his other arm and roared at Al:


    "Let''s go!"


    It was now or never.


    Seeing the prisoners break free, ckstone got furious.


    He was about to step forward, but suddenly, several thick vines sprang up from the ground and entangled him. To ckstone''s shock, even with his strength that was at the peak of upper Iron (level 40), he couldn''t break free from these tough vines!


    A huge figure loomed over him.


    "What ... What is this?"


    "A tree¡­ a tree man?"


    All around, the other fear-stricken half-orcs screamed out.


    ckstone''s heart tightened as he hurriedly looked up and saw a huge body. The creature was more than thirty meters tall,parable to a dragon, and sported thick branches that almost covered the sky. Its eyes looked at him coldly, as if they were staring at a dead man walking.


    ckstone''s pupils shrank.


    "An oak¡­ an oak guard?!"


    He nearly lost his voice.

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76 - ckstone''s trump card


    "Uncle B is here!"


    "Uncle B! Kill them!"


    When the oak guard Berserker arrived, cheers rose up from the yers.


    Berserker stretched out his arms and mmed the ground.


    He roared:


    "War ... Sacrifice!"


    In an instant, his arms turned into countless vines and rushed towards several half-orcs. Under the shocked and horrified gazes of the other half-orcs, they were entangled one by one and were drained of their life force. In the blink of an eye, they had been turned into a dried husk before eventually disintegrating in ashes.


    "F$ck! Uncle B, don''t attack the mobs! Leave them to us!"


    "Uncle B! Hit the big guy with the wolf''s-teeth club! That guy killed many of us!"


    Seeing Berserker kill four or five half-orcs in an instant, the elves looked a bit pained as those points went up in smoke.


    At the elves'' words, Berserker looked at ckstone again.


    All of ckstone''s danger senses immediately screamed out ¡­ He felt his scalp tingle.


    An oak guard! Having once served as a guardian of the Holy Land, ckstone could not have been more aware of this legendary creature. He had seen images of these creatures carved into the frescoes.


    During the Silver Age, tales of mythical oak guards abounded in Sagas.


    They were terrifyingly strong, with the highest among them even approaching Demigod rank and being capable of fighting legendary dragons. What''s more, their abilities were incredibly bizarre. Their unique War Sacrifice druid skill gave them them the unparalleled ability to sustain themselves indefinitely in group battles.


    Even the weakest oak guards had Silver strength, but the average oak guard had strength higher than Gold rank. If it were not for the fact that oak guards were unable to reproduce and give birth to offspring, they would even have been called a golden race, on par with the dragons!


    However, it wasn''t these mythical tales about them that struck fear in ckstone''s heart. It was the significance behind seeing a living one in person ... oak guards could only be animated by the World Tree, who controlled the force of nature and life! And the life of an oak guard was inextricably linked to the World Tree!


    It was then that ckstone understood everything. "It''s not the God of Death moving behind the Elves, it''s the World Tree!"


    Only the World Tree had the power to create oak guards! And it was also only the World Tree that couldmand theplete allegiance of all elves! It also exined the bizarre resurrection ability of the elves ... To raise the dead was to vite thew of nature, and such actions inevitably had a cost associated with them.


    Because reanimation dealt with the secrets of the soul, this cost would be high. A cost so high that even true gods would refuse to dabble in it! Only the divine force of life and death could bring back the dead at a cost that was not too steep! Among the true Gods, since the beginning of time, only two Gods have had this ability ...


    One was H, the God of Death.


    The other one was the World Tree Euktrahill! Before, ckstone had thought that these strange elves were H''s doing. But the appearance of the oak guard overturned everything. And the appearance of another new figure reaffirmed his suspicions.


    Alice, the saint of nature, appeared among the elves in her noble ceremonial dress.


    She closed her eyes in prayer, and radiant holy light spread out with her at its centre. A constantly spinning ball of light with a strong aura of nature and life was generated.


    At Alice''smand, the ball of light darted among the elves, and the wounds on every elf it touched began to close at an astonishing speed!


    [Spirit of Healing], a fourth-grade divine healing spell and the most powerful mass healing spell that lower Silver priests could cast! The elves got even more excited seeing their bodies recover.


    "Alice''s support is here!"


    "Let''s go! Kill them all!"


    They took up their weapons again and attacked with increased fury and recklessness.


    "A Silver priest! A Silver priest of nature!"


    ckstone''s pupils shrank slightly again.


    Silver-level priests and clerics could only exist by the faith of a true God! Now, there really was no doubt anymore ... what with the followers of the Death God? It was all bullsh$t! The truth was in to see. They were the followers of nature!


    "The World Tree ... has really revived!"


    ckstone felt his whole body tremble, his heart being overwhelmed with fear. Ullr''s contribution in the victory over the ancient god Euktrahill had been an epic legend passed down from generation to generation among the half-orcs. It remained the greatest battle achievement of the God of winter and hunting.


    And now, this legendary God, who had been the unequalled master over all of Sagas in the previous epoch, had recovered! He then thought of the recent disappearance of the half-orcs. Fear gripped ckstone''s mind once more.


    "She ... she is taking revenge. She''s back and she''s going to take revenge on us half-orcs! She will take revenge on Father God!"


    The majesty of a true God could not be desecrated.


    And since the half-orcs had been persecuting the elves for millennia in an attempt topletely stamp out the faith of the World Tree, they would never be forgiven by this ancient god!


    "This news must be passed back to the tribe! The half-orcs are in danger!"


    ckstone instantly made his decision.


    He gritted his teeth and said in a voice tinged with hatred:


    "To send in two intermediate Professional ranks, do you think I really have no way to fight back?"


    Caution had always been his life motto. Suddenly, the aura around ckstone began to rise ... pressure was being constantly released.


    In an instant, his strength rose directly from the peak of upper Iron (level 40) to lower Silver! Level 45¡­This was the true strength of ckstone. He too had been hiding secrets!


    "He''s also Silver!"


    Berserker and Alice were surprised.


    And then, ckstone took out his pocket a piece of bone on which a mysterious pattern had been carved.


    He immediately wore a holy and pious expression.


    He raised the bone fragment high and mumbled something under his breath. A faint wave of divine power spread out ...


    "This is bad!"


    Eve, who was watching the battle from the yers'' perspective, had a sinking feeling in her heart.


    Before she could do anything, the bone fragment in ckstone''s hand burst into a dazzling light, forming a huge arrow of energy hovering in the air!


    [Hunting Arrow], an eight-grade offensive technique used by Ullr''s priests. It was a true, high-level technique!


    A powerful aura was being released from the arrow. The expressions of both Berserker and Alice changed dramatically at the same time.


    "Everyone, take cover now!"


    However, it was toote.


    The energy arrow suddenly burst into a silvery brilliance and spawned several more arrows with a swishing sound. In the blink of an eye, a ring of arrows pointing outward had been formed.


    One by one, the arrows flew off into all directions.


    Thergest arrow flew towards the intermediate Silver (level 51) oak guard Berserker! Berserker, with a serious expression, roared:


    "Oak barrier!" A barrier made out of oak branches appeared in front of him.


    Alice also took action and shouted:


    "Nature''s armour!"


    A green energy shield appeared on everyone''s bodies.


    The arrows collided with the barrier and shields in a violent explosion.


    *BOOM*


    The ground shook.


    For a while, the world was white.

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77 - I dedicate my life and soul!


    As soon as ckstone raised the bone fragment, Eve understood why she had previously been so anxious.


    High-level magic! ckstone possessed a high-level divine technique! [Hunting Arrow] was an eight-grade spell unique to high priests who believed in Ullr.


    The magic spell''s special ability was that it would never miss. It created an energy arrow from which more energy arrows would spawn. This ranged attack was capable of striking nearby targets with 100% precision.


    It was a true intermediate Gold-level attack! Even Eve''s current avatar, if caught off guard, would not have been able to deal with an attack of this level.


    In the worst case, it would have destroyed the soul storage orb, which had not been fully repaired yet, causing the destruction of her avatar.


    And it had hit the oak guard Berserker, who merely possessed intermediate Silver strength.


    As the arrows exploded, the dazzling light and ear-shattering noise drowned out everything.


    A powerful storm of energy raged, blowing away the surrounding trees and wreaking havoc.


    All the yers were blinded and deafened. When the light faded and calm returned, the battlefield hadpletely changed.


    The ce where Berserker had been standing had been turned into a huge crater with a radius of over ten meters. The soil had been overturned and white smoke was still rising from the area.


    Berserker had half of his body directly destroyed. He had fallen to the ground and was dying.


    Oak guards truly had great tenacity and vitality. Even an eight-grade divine spell had not killed him, but he had still been renderedpletely incapacitated.


    Another reason was that ckstone only had lower Silver strength. Furthermore, he was not a spellcaster and only had a vague grasp of divine magic.


    If Hunting Arrow had been cast by a lower Silver priest, the resulting blow would have wiped out everyone including the yers.


    But even so, the battle state of the elves was beyond miserable.


    Alice had also fallen to the ground, her abdomen having been pierced by an energy arrow. Blood was continuously flowing out of the hole.


    Meanwhile, half of the yers had simply been vaporized under the energy arrows, and not even a trace of their bodies remained.


    The remaining half, although they were lucky to not have died, were lying on the ground. They were badly wounded and out of action ...


    The only unscathed elves were Al and his two elf sisters, who had been protected by the berserking Demacia and had as a result managed to escape death.


    A single blow, just a single blow! Although it did not cause a total wipeout, it had basically produced the same result.


    Less than 30 yers were alive, and all of them had lost theirbat effectiveness.


    The only two remaining Silverbatants were also dying ¡­ only ckstone and a dozen half-orcs still capable of fighting were left on the battlefield.


    The area was far away from the yers'' safety zone, some fifty kilometers.


    Even if the yers were resurrected, they could not possiblye over in time.


    Even if they could, the yers had lost their high-end battle power and were left without any cards to y against the Silver-rank ckstone.


    The surviving elves struggled and looked at the half-orcs with pale faces.


    They looked bewildered, as if they hadn''t recovered yet from the explosion.


    How could the battlefield situation have been reversed in an instant? How did everything flippletely when they were about to win?


    "What a dogsh$t plot development, f$ck!"


    Looking at the miserable scene in front of him, Demacia cursed as he spat out blood.


    "Big brother Demacia!"


    With a worried expression, Al helped the pale-faced Demacia get on his feet. Al looked at the horrific and hideous wounds on his body with a helpless expression.


    There was nothing more painful than for one''s hopes to reach a climax, only to then have them crushed beyond repair.


    Al had recognized the legendary figure of the oak guard at first sight.


    And he also had gotten excited by the tenacious and fanatical elves around him, as well as by the exalted and great Silver priest saint.


    Could it be that the Mother Goddess, as Grandfather had referred to Her, had truly returned? Al had been ecstatic and felt something resembling hope brewing in his chest.


    But then, events had taken a sharp turn for the worse and his hope plummeted


    ... The half-orcs were so evil and powerful.


    Attacked by divine magic, the followers of nature could be overwhelmed like that


    ... Al felt despair.


    "Grandpa ... is there really hope at all for us?"


    Supporting Demacia who kept coughing up blood, Al''s eyes were bewildered as he clenched his fist and bit his lips until they bled.


    ckstone was stunned as well by the sheer power of the divine bone fragment in his hand.


    "Eight-grade ... It actually was an eight-grade technique ..." He muttered a few words with an ecstatic expression.


    His original n was actually to sneak away after using the bone fragment, but he hadn''t expected such a result! Looking around at the miserable state of the elves, the dying oak guard and the unconscious priest, the corners of ckstone''s mouth rose slightly.


    "Heh ... heh heh heh ... hahahaha!"


    He couldn''t help butugh out loud.


    "It seems that the followers of nature aren''t as strong as the legends say!"


    His heart gradually settled.


    And ... even if the World Tree had recovered, it probably only happened recently.


    The World Tree that had just been revived must be extremely weak, otherwise¡­ why would it have the elves perform ruses and acts of deception? If the World Tree was weak, the strength of their followers were of course also limited.


    Oh ho ... It looked as if he was going to be rewarded big time now!


    "The World Tree has revived ¡­ the protective magic that was applied to the body when she fell a thousand years ago must finally have been broken. For Father God, this is a great opportunity!"


    ckstone''s eyes shed and his expression gradually became frenzied.


    Hehe, this time, I am destined to receive the divine favour of Father God!"


    He took a deep breath, and gave amand to his men who were also in shock:


    "Take those three little elves and go!"


    Now that he had figured out their secret, there naturally was no need to take prisoners.


    What''s more, ckstone suspected that the elves had some way of locating theirpanions ... otherwise how could their locations have been exposed over and over again? But he certainly was not going to let go of three young elves.


    They were the best merchandise!


    Hearing ckstone''smand, the half-orcs looked at each other and nodded with a look of excitement.


    They walked over to where Al was, roughly grabbed his two sisters and him, and carried them on their shoulders.


    "Let me go! You evil bastards! Let me go!"


    Al yelled as he struggled.


    But he could not break free.


    He raised his head and looked in the direction of the World Tree with a sad look.


    "Mother Goddess¡­do you really exist?"


    "If you really exist, then why do you just watch on as your followers are dying in battle ...


    If you really exist, then why can''t you protect your believers¡­


    This ¡­ is your territory!"


    He shouted, cried and screamed at the same time.


    Watching the plight of the elves, the unconscious priest of nature and the dying oak guard, his expression gradually became sad again.


    "Mother Goddess ... If you can hear me, please save your servants!"


    Al raised his head with a determined expression.


    "I ... Al Moonlight, am willing to swear by my soul to dedicate my entire life and soul to You and be Your most faithful servant. If ... if You can protect us ... if You can save us!"


    Saying that, he stretched out his hand while struggling and, recalling his grandfather''s movements from memory, slowly drew a tree-shaped symbol on his chest.


    "Mother Goddess ... Please¡­ perform a miracle!"


    His childish voice, which rang out loud in the silent forest, carried far and wide ... Looking at Al, who kept struggling, ckstone revealed a cold smile.


    Before the half-orc could say anything, however, an ethereal, quiet sigh suddenly could be heard in the hearts of everyone.


    *Sigh*


    A radiant holy light suddenly burst forth from Al''s body!

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78 - God


    Dazzling light blossomed from Al''s body. The half-orc carrying him suddenly let out a miserable cry and his entire torso began to age rapidly, turning into ash in the blink of an eye.


    At the same time, along with the ethereal sigh, countless radiant green photons flew up from the ground.


    They rose slowly, resembling dancing elemental sprites.


    They were everywhere, too numerous to count ... The forest seemed to be suddenly immersed in a sea of green.


    Green photons of light circled around the yers, swirling and hovering, before entering their bodies.


    As the yers looked on in amazement, the wounds on their bodies began to recover immediately. Even broken limbs were gradually growing back.


    Life returned to the badly wounded oak guard, Berserker. Surrounded by photons, pale branches sprouted anew from his pale trunk. Soon, the other half of his utterly obliterated body was grown anew!


    The nts on the ground began to grow rapidly with the appearance of photons. They sprouted and spread before blossoming into flowers. In the blink of an eye, patches of colourful flowers appeared, covering the area in a sea of greenery and flowers.


    Meanwhile, countless butterflies made out of photons began to swirl around Al, entering his body as he watched on in confusion.


    Al''s aura began to surge. In the blink of an eye, he surpassed Iron rank and broke through to Silver. It was like a miracle.


    Demacia''s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the little elf boy, whose whole body was glowing, and rubbed his eyes.


    "Damn! So the young elf boy is the NPC who triggered the plot?"


    He nced at his character bar that indicated his health had beenpletely restored, and subconsciously pinched his thigh.


    It didn''t hurt ... but he quickly pinched his thigh again with more force this time.


    He took in a breath of excitement and said:


    "It''s not a dream! It''s a plot cutscene!"


    Watching this sudden change, the half-orcs were stunned.


    An unprecedented sense of crisis struck ckstone''s heart. He subconsciously wanted to cry out and order everyone to flee, but he then realized to his horror that he had lost control of his body. And it was at that moment that the half-orcs saw that countless photons had also clung to their bodies, restricting their movements.


    Immediately afterwards, a divine and vast aura suddenly descended upon the scene.


    Under everyone''s shocked gazes, a group of photons swirled on the ground, eventually coalescing into a human form ...


    A being appeared that was enveloped in holy light. She was dressed in a sacred and noble gown and wore a supreme divine crown.


    Her long silver hair reached her waist, and her magnificent and mysterious purple eyes shone with radiant light.


    A sense of invible majesty struck everyone''s hearts.


    The yers could not help but lower their heads after just one nce at her as they felt a heartfelt urge to worship her.


    Despite this one nce, her extraordinary figure had been carved into their minds, a memory that they would never forget.


    Berserker looked at the noble figure shrouded in the holy light and his expression became that of a fanatic.


    He got to his feet, then knelt respectfully.


    In a mournful, low, and an utterly solemn voice, he said:


    "Praise be to ... my Master!"


    Alice, too, was ovee with devout frenzy. She knelt down in the same way, and her clear voice rang out in a pious and solemn tone:


    "Praise be to ... my Master!"


    The dozen or so half-orcs looked horrified.


    Their eyes could see nothing but a blinding holy light.


    And when they looked, they felt a stinging paining from their eyes and souls at the same time.


    Along with screams, their eyes started shedding tears of blood ... They could not directly look at a true God! Or rather, No one could directly look at a true God without their permission!


    All at once, everyone understood. The Mother of Nature, the Goddess of Life, the Master of the Elves - Eve Euktrahill had descended in person!


    The goddess first nced at her two followers, a small smile floating at the corners of her mouth, before slowly walking towards Al.


    In the wake of every step she took, a cloud of flowers bloomed on the ground as a salute to the miracle of life.


    The fast-growing nts slightly bent in her direction as she moved along, paying homage to the Supreme Being.


    Al stared dumbly at the divine figure gradually walking towards him. His mind went nk.


    The Goddess came to him, reached out her arm and gently caressed his forehead.


    "Remember your vow."


    Her voice was sacred and majestic, and had a melodious grace to it.


    As she caressed him, Al''s forehead blossomed with a holy light. A tree symbol representing the Mother of Nature appeared before it gradually faded away. The aura of Al''s body changed again. It had not gained in strength, but it was clear that something had changed. A sacred breath could be detected from his body.


    Life was radiating from Al.


    At the same time, countless photons of light began to swirl around the two, while ethereal and sacred hymns could faintly be heard.


    "The favour of the Goddess! It''s the favour of the Goddess!"


    Observing the events as they transpired, Berserker''s expression became fervent.


    Upon hearing Berserker''s words, the yers snapped out of their stupor.


    They watched on in amazement. Al, who had undergone something akin to a knighting ceremony, was radiating a dazzling, holy aura.


    This was the third time that the yers had seen the Goddess in person, the previous two times being back when they first created their characters and when she issued the first plot quest.


    But unlike the previous two times, this time the Goddess seemed to be more realistic, more majestic and more sacred. The magnificent special effects of her descent had never been so awe-inspiring.


    The yers had no words to describe their feelings at the moment, and even if they had, they could onlye up with one word: WTF!


    "Al."


    Then, the Goddess spoke again.


    Her gaze turned to the remaining half-orcs on the battlefield and spoke in a tone tinged with majesty:


    "They are yours."


    Hearing the Goddess''s words, Al looked back at the half-orcs with a dumbfounded expression.


    They continued to struggle and cover their eyes as they wailed. His expression became somewhatplicated.


    Grandpa had always told him to respect all life and to be generous to others.


    Grandpa had always told him that any being was liable to make mistakes and deserved forgiveness as long as they learned from their mistakes.


    But at this moment, Al hesitated.


    Images came to his mind of his fellow elves being ughtered in the settlement. Images ofughing half-orcs, of wailing elves, of the despair on the faces of families forever broken.


    Why were the elves unable to defeat their enemies even when they were so powerful? How had the glorious Silver race be the hunting target of an Iron race? Al''s expression changed several times before it settled on a firm, determined expression.


    "To be merciful to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself!"


    Taking a deep breath, he picked up a scimitar on the ground.

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79: Elven spirit


    The half-orcs pried open their eyes with difficulty. They watched in horror as Al approached step by step wielding his scimitar; his face was pale and he was biting his lips.


    It was at this point that they discovered that they had regained their ability to speak.


    The half-orc nearest to Al quickly shouted:


    "Don''te any closer, don''te any closer! We know we were in the wrong! We will leave the Elven Forest!"


    Hesitation briefly came over Al.


    But when he remembered all the trials and tribtions his race had suffered, his expression turnedpletely cold again.


    "Too many times¡­" After saying that, he stood on tiptoe, swung his scimitar, and stabbed the half-orc in the chest.


    "It''s¡­ toote now."


    The moment the scimitar pierced his chest, the half-orc let out a wail of pain. Then, his entire body began to convulse and age rapidly, quickly turning into ashes ... War Sacrifice! After the Goddess bestowed the mark of nature on Al, this druid-exclusive skill had be his passive ability.


    The remaining half-orcs saw what had happened to their fellow half-orc and changed expressions.


    ckstone looked at the young elf in front of him in disbelief, and powerful emotions surged in his heart.


    "They have changed¡­ they have changed ¡­"


    After killing the first half-orc, Al looked at his blood-stained hands, and his expression became more determined.


    "If only war and bloodshed can save my race¡­ then I shall take the lead!"


    He turned and walked towards the next half-orc... crimson blood was sttered on his pale face. His messy silver hair and dark blue pupils made the boy look especially cold and resolute.


    Holy sh$t, how handsome! it was like apletely different person! Demacia looked at Al''s back and his mouth dropped in surprise.


    This cool and handsome young boy was probably going to attract a wave of female fans! Demacia recalled that there were a lot of shotacon people on the forum!


    He nced at the few surviving female yers and noticed that quite a few of them had glowing, starry eyes.


    Demacia: "..."


    "This is the era of handsome faces ..." He tilted his head 45 degrees to look up to the sky and shook his head sadly.


    But very quickly, Demacia looked at Al with a trace of distress.


    "F$ck, wait! My experience and contribution points!"


    "Al! Leave some for me!"


    He tried to rush to his feet and pick up his scimitar to join the ''fight'', but was surprised to find that he could not move his body at all.


    Demacia: "..."


    "This damn plot cutscene!"


    He cursed and sat down on his butt again.


    The other yers had noticed this as well.


    They were also unable to move and had to watch on as Al killed the half-orcs, who were unable to resist, one by one.


    Eve stood behind Al, watching his actions in silence.


    The elves were too naive.


    For the future of the race, the elves had to make some changes! In the world of Sagas, the confrontations between races of different faiths were always cruel and left no room for mercy.


    If the elves were to rise once again despite the odds, Eve''s support alone would not be enough. They too would have to shed blood and tears in order to forge the new spirit of a reborn race! The yers could help them with this, and so could Al.


    Eve hoped to bring about a change in mindset for the original elves, starting with Al.


    Peace could not be a synonym for weakness, and mercy could not be a synonym for retreat! Brandish your swords and show your fangs even in the face of a ferocious enemy!


    Seeing Al gradually walk towards him, ckstone''s pupils shrank.


    His expression changed and he threatened in a harsh voice:


    "Think this through. I am carrying a token of my God on my body. Not only that, I also used to be a guardian of the Holy Land. If you kill me, you will definitely attract the attention of Father God!"


    Hearing his words, Al fell silent.


    Relief washed over ckstone as he saw the boy fall silent, and he continued:


    "I will swear on my soul that, if I am released, I will keep your secrets. I will never again be an enemy of the elves, much less ... Her Majesty the true God ..." During his second sentence, he looked in Eve''s direction and bowed his head slightly in a respectful and submissive gesture.


    He didn''t dare to look straight at this supreme being, but his words carried a plea.


    Eve did not say anything.


    Neither did Al.


    He looked back at the Goddess, and she gave him a faint smile.


    Her smile was like the spring and instantly warmed Al''s heart, as if saying: Don''t worry about his threat, do whatever you want.


    Eve looked at ckstone with an indifferent expression.


    A token capable of attracting the attention of a true God, carried by a mere half-orc warrior of Silver strength? And she had already personally descended in her avatar. If she didn''tpletely wipe out all enemies, then her majesty as a true God would be tarnished.


    Furthermore, Eve''s sixth sense was very sharp.


    It told her that killing ckstone would cause some ripples but not pose much danger.


    As her strength gradually returned, this instinct of hers was bing increasingly urate, especially when it involved creatures of the secr rank.


    Having received a reassuring look from the Mother Goddess, Al became more and more determined.


    He drew his scimitar and, to ckstone''s horrified gaze, stabbed him in the chest.


    "Sorry ... you no longer have that opportunity anymore."


    With a miserable wail, ckstone''s body began to age rapidly. He struggled to look in Eve''s direction and stared as hard as he could. As his eyes shed tears of blood, he screamed:


    "Father God ... will never let you go! Never ... Never!"


    "Hmph."


    Eve let out a soft humph.


    ckstone''s body stiffened at her reply.


    Then, his body copsed like broken ss ... and turned into ashes.


    All the half-orcs had been wiped out.


    Eve made a slight gesture. A bone fragment flew up from the ground and into her hand.


    Silence reigned in the forest.


    The yers were all focusing their attention on her, the most dazzling and divine figure.


    They were holding their breaths. Eve looked around and smiled faintly at them.


    Every yer who met her eyes and dream-like smile could not help but feel a touch of intimacy and awe, and involuntarily bowed their heads again.


    Then, Eve''s figure turned into a brilliant light and slowly disappeared...


    [Ding¨C]


    [Quest: Orcish Hunting Party (Completed)]


    [All participating yers in the quest will be rewarded ording to the extent of their contribution and receive experience points, contribution points, and perfect resurrections ordingly]


    [Ding¨C]


    [All yers who participated will receive the blessing of the Goddess - "The Chosen One". For the next seven game days, you will gain 50% increased experience!]


    The yers were quiet for a moment, but then let out a burst of cheers.

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80: One hundred divine force points!


    Manipting the avatar, Eve quickly left the battlefield under the cover of holy light.


    And only after she did so could she breathe a sigh of relief.


    She had shown herself after a lot of careful consideration.


    She had a gut feeling there were going to be some unexpected developments back when she gave the order to hunt down the orcish hunting party. At the time, she had nned to use her avatar in case of emergency, but she never thought she would actually end up using it.


    When things turned south, she had originally nned to wait for the yers to fail the quest. Then, after the half-orcs had expended their trump card, she intended to wipe them out disguised as one of H''s followers.


    No, she definitely wasn''t thinking of denying the yers their insignificant experience and contribution points. It was because she wanted to retain her sense of mystique and safety!


    But upon hearing Al''s vow, she changed her ns.


    She believed that this might be an opportunity to start changing the mindset of the original elves in Sagas.


    Al''s full name was Al Moonlight.


    It was a very old surname among the elves, as the Moonlights used to be a branch of the royal family of the elven kingdom.


    After the fall of the kingdom and theplete extinction of the elven royal line, the Moonlight surname became the most influential name among the elves.


    So Eve thought that if she could win over Al and use him as some sort of banner to rally the original elves under, she would have an easier time convincing them through him. This would speed up the process to get rid of their silly, subservient benevolence.


    Another reason to personally descend was to gain attention. If she handled things well, she could set off a wave of poprity among the yers.


    This poprity could not be underestimated. As a former online gaming veteran, Eve understood the mindset of yers very well.


    Leader figures could garner a lot of affection, especially if they were cool and dazzling, not to mention handsome or gorgeous. If they preferably also had some touching background story and the ability to bring benefits to yers ... gamers would definitely go wild and give their hearts to such an existence.


    Eve was the only faction leader in "Kingdom of Elves". If she could increase the number of fans among the yers, they would also work harder.


    Touching backstory? Eve had it.


    Benefits? The quests were mostly issued by her.


    As for her appearance, she couldn''t be med for bragging, right? There was currently no existence that surpassed her avatar.


    She just had to look the part and made sure she gave off a majestic appearance.


    Hmm ¡­ Howe she had the feeling she was on the path towards bing an idol? Eve shook her head.


    In any case, it was after a lot of pondering that she had decided to descend as herself undisguised.


    As for the dignity that a true God had to uphold and so on ... She was a weak divine power on the verge of death, what good would dignity do her? Besides, she was not a true native God, but a former earthling who had somehow sneaked across and been thrown into the job of a God.


    Except for certain red lines that she would never cross, she would do anything that benefitted her.


    Moreover, there were many shameless gods in Sagas. It was said that there were some who secretly disguised themselves as ordinary people to experience the mortal world. As a result, their Demigod offspring were probably as numerous as several football teams ...


    Of course, even if they descended, true Gods were unable to remove their dominating aura.


    But Eve''s current avatar only had Gold-level strength, so she had to pay a certain price to keep pretenses and appear cool in front of the yers.


    Especially since the avatar had been a long distance away from her true body, outside of her area of control.


    She had to spend divine points to create special effects to bedazzle everyone, such as the blooming flowers, the green leaves, the radiant light and the ethereal hymns.


    She had pushed her avatar to the brink to achieve the best results.


    But with the avatar''s current strength, these special effects could be broken by poking at them. Still, they had been just enough to fool the spectators.


    Furthermore, Eve had given Al the mark because her avatar had been at her limit. She needed all her abilities simply to maintain the special effects on the field as well as to keep restricting the half-orcs.


    If she had had to finish off the half-orcs by herself, her fa?ade would probably have crumbled.


    The good thing was that as Eve was increasingly one with the World Tree, her divine power control was getting stronger and she was getting more and more efficient at using it.


    The AOE healing had only cost her one point of divine force, which was vastly more efficient than the point of divine force she had used up to heal just two believers when she first started out.


    The reason why the healing had still cost so much was partly because of the long distance, and partly because healing someone was different from creating stuff. Thetter relied on the instinct of the World Tree and consumed much less divine force, while healing waspletely based on divine force expenditure.


    As for the special effects and the crowd control, it had not cost her even one point.


    The results seemed to have been very good.


    The half-orcs had been annihted and the yers had been wowed. If she had also increased the yers'' favourability of her, that would be a great boon.


    Not only that, but she had also gained a new fanatic believer! Someone who had voluntarily given his soul and mind to be a divine follower! Al''s vow implied that he had given his entire being to her, which meant that he had be a being simr to an oak guard! Such opportunities did note often.


    Moreover, few people would be willing topletely devote themselves to a true God, and even if they were, few had the necessary qualifications to be a divine follower! It just so happened that Al, who had a hint of royal blood running through his veins, had those qualifications!


    That was not all. Al had not yet fully adapted to the faith of nature very well and still needed some time. Eve believed that as he continued to grow, so too would his faith. Sooner orter, he would be a saint on par with Alice.


    "With Al in the picture, he can now also take on a part of Alice''s and Berserker''s NPC work."


    Eve was very satisfied.


    She withdrew her avatar and her consciousness returned to her main body.


    Now, she began to check her harvest.


    Unsurprisingly, this time too she had obtained a load of divine force points! The annihtion of the half-orcs had brought in a total of 8 divine force points, the vast majority of which came from the lingering resentment of dead elves.


    And Al, who had be her divine follower as well as a fanatic believer, had provided 1.5 points.


    The half-orcs only amounted to 8 points ... The low harvest was a bit unexpected.


    Compared to the time when Berserker killed the half-orcs that were chasing Alice and Samuel, this time far more half-orcs had been felled, including a low Silver. Yet the divine force gain was only three points more than that time.


    But Eve soon figured out why this was the case.


    "There''s a limit to the resentment of elven souls.


    At the very beginning, the divine force gain had been substantial. But as I am bing stronger, the resentment umted over the millennia is bing more and more sparse. It''s also less and less effective."


    Of course, Eve didn''t expect to merely rely on the grievances of the dead to strengthen herself forever. As long as she could get out of her near-death state, it would suffice.


    She took a look at her divine force value. After substracting the points consumed and adding the bits of points gained after the engagement, she now had a total of 94 points.


    She still needed 6 points to get out of her dying state!


    Then, Eve took out the bone fragment she had taken from ckstone.


    Unlike the World Tree leaf that she had gifted to Samuel, which had a one-time effect, this bone fragment was reusable.


    This also meant that it still had divine force stored in it!


    Eve sensed it cursorily¡­ "10 points?"


    She was surprised.


    Overjoyed, Eve did not hesitate at all and chose to absorb it! 10 points of divine power were immediately extracted, and after a rough conversion, she received fewer than 7 points of natural divine force.


    Eve''s supernatural power finally broke through the 100-point ceiling!

 Chapter 81

    [Divine Power 101/500]


    One hundred divine power was the cusp of finally escaping this dying state.


    When divine power broke through this threshold, Eve instinctively knew He could revive the dying World Tree!


    The dying world tree is unable to feast on the ambient mana, but once revived, this innate ability will be unlocked.


    Eve had been waiting for this moment for too long.


    Immediately, He started concentrating on His revival process.


    By Hismand, one hundred divine power rapidly fled and was consumed. In response, His divine realm began radiating a brilliant green hue. The brilliance blossomed throughout the expanse of His realm and beyond, reaching and breaking through the spiritual realm and reaching to the physical body of the World Tree.


    The divine power poured out and enveloped the branches of the world tree¡­.


    Divine power split in two strands; one wandered upwards, traveling from the thick trunk and coiling alongside branches, reaching to the crown of the canopy; another meandered downwards, following the roots to the extremities, reaching to the uttermost depths extending to thin and withered root fibers.


    Consequently, a primal wave of satisfying pleasure washed over Eve, who felt a strange tingling sensation building up over His form.


    Finally, as the crescendo of divine power reached a peak, as if a seal was pierced, the breath of life gushed out and gathered from the World Tree.


    In an instant, an aura spread throughout the safety zone, altering the spirits of everyone within.


    And then, the ground started to shake, as if something was stirring underneath.


    The roots of the World Tree had begun to rejuvenate, with the original frail and withering fibers, growing and tunneling downwards.


    Above ground, the terrain shifted and shook, like an earthquake.


    "What''s Happening?"


    "Earth¡­ Earthquake?"


    Startled by the shaking of the terrain, the yers were anxious.


    A yer haphazardly nced back in the direction of the World Tree.


    Speechless, His eyes were wide with disbelief, which quickly transformed into excitement and shock.


    "Look! Look at the World Tree! The World Tree!"


    Hearing him, the other yers also turned back.


    Immediately, their mouths were agape with shock, too.


    The World Tree changed.


    The goddess had just recovered, and the condition of the World Tree was near death.


    Although the yer had seen the full glory of the World Tree in the game trailer, in-game, the tree had already withered.


    After the thousand-year war of the gods, the World Tree was left with bare branches and withering leaves.


    Furthermore, the withered tree has significantly shrunk physically.


    The remaining green clinging to the branches was sparse and rare.


    But now, the world tree had changed.


    The World Tree is now rejuvenated and full of life.


    As far as the eye could see, the magnificent trunk gave off a noble aura of the essence of life and nature.


    And at the top of the branches, countless leaf buds were drawn out. Then, they began to sprout and spread their leaves at a speed visible to the naked eye ¡­.


    In no time, the original bare and empty branches were covered in uncountable quantities of tender leaves.


    In spite of its sparse foliage, the World Tree now looked much more lively and cheerful than it did in its dpidated state, as if it were weing the arrival of spring.


    As the World Tree burgeoned, waves of a primordial power spread across the ground, carrying with it the power ofw.


    All the yers in the vicinity who had passed the wave felt as if a current of ice water had just engulfed them from head to toe. There was a sense of aweing spiritually into the soul.


    This is the natural response to the spiritual oppression of higher beings onto mortal lifeforms.


    Following the burgeoning World Tree, a magnificent green vortex of light stretches out from the trunk as its center.


    The yers that hade into contact with the brilliant light felt a physical change in themselves.


    Those who had checked their stats found that they had varying growths in experience and power.


    Druid sses, though, were in a league of their own whenpared to buffs from before.


    Meanwhile, the brilliant vortex of light continued to propagate and prompted all nts in the forest to thrive at a rapid rate, especially the ones in the safe zone and with the World Tree in the center.


    As if possessed, the shrubs and vegetation began to spontaneously sprout and burgeon with fanatical motions as their palms waved and grew to the visible eye.


    Even those trees that had been cut down by the yers for wood had sprouted anew into hearty saplings.


    Not just undergoing a rebirth, these saplings had grown ten meters in under a minute.


    As far as the eye could see, the ground has been fully covered in green once again.


    Even the wooden houses built by the yers began to grow leaves.


    Even more magically, they began to bud flowers and bear fruit.


    Nature had healed in a way that, as if shepherded by a will.


    Neither the public works nor the houses of the yer had been damaged by nature; the will of nature had taken them into consideration and had added to them in a benign way.


    At once, the vige had been transformed into a sea of flowers and thriving greenery.


    Countless flower pedals flew in the air, creating an orchestra of a thousand colors in the sky.


    The yers were all stunned in surprise.


    "My house is alive now, wow!"


    "Wow, my house is a tree house now."


    "It looks so pretty!"


    "Isn''t this too extravagant? Has the World Tree fully recovered?"


    There were even yers who casually picked the fruit off of people''s houses and took a bite.


    "Sweet."


    The forest and shrubbery in a 30-kilometer radius were rapidly revitalized and faced the World Tree.


    They bent down their branches and stems as if they were bowing to their general.


    The yers were shocked by this act of nature "worshiping".


    All things were in adoration.


    The awe it brings to the senses and in the flesh is indescribable!


    Being the cause and center of all this development, Eve felt immense changes in himselfparable to heaven and earth.


    As soon as leaves sprouted and reached for the skies, His grip on the world began to strengthen by leaps and bounds. His zone of control of 10 kilometers was erged to 30 kilometers!


    After the resurgence of the World Tree, the divine power spent on recovery started to umte rapidly, and Eve''s divine power began to recover rapidly.


    Hitting 90 points of divine power, the rally of divine power slowed.


    Eve checked her status once again.


    [Name: Eve Euktrahill]


    [Race: World Tree (Ancient God)]


    [Status: Weak divine power]


    [Godhead: Nature, Life, Elves]


    [Titles: Mother Nature, Goddess of Life, Patron God of the Elves]


    [Divine Power Value: 90/3000]


    [Believer Count: 222 (Saints 1, fanatics 3, devotees 31, shallow believers 187)]


    [Abilities: draw,municate, bestow, enlighten, heal, summon, divine descent ¡­]


    "Draw?"


    Seeing the new ability, Eve''s heart was trembling in excitement.

 Chapter 82

    ¡°Draw¡±?


    If Eve was right, then this was the original ability of the World Tree to draw energy.


    As the Ancient Gods, they had the power to seemingly manifest energy from nothing, by doing so literally from the Void itself, or other such methods.


    Now emerging from the deathly slumber, Eve has gained the power of Draw!


    ~He focused ~His will on the newfound ability, and the relevant information subsequently revealed itself.


    [Draw: The original ability of the primary form of the World Tree to manifest energy; targets the Void origin, dimensional nes, and life itself, which are drawn and transformed into divine power]


    It really was the ability to consolidate divine power!


    Eve felt deeply overjoyed.


    However, looking at the details of this ability, ~He found something peculiar¡­.


    ¡°The World Tree¡¯s primary form?¡±


    This was the first time ~He has heard of this phrase ever since bing the World Tree long ago; even in the legends and myths of the Word Tree, it was never mentioned.


    ¡°Could there be other forms? Which form did the previous World Tree reach?¡±


    Eve can''t help but wonder...


    If the primary form was already approaching the power of a weak Ancient God, then what were the subsequent forms like?


    Medium divine power?


    Strong divine power?


    Or¡ª something more?


    Suddenly, Eve found ~Himself humbled.


    Then, ~He focused on the targets of Draw¡ª.


    "The Void origin, dimensional nes, life itself..."


    The world of Cygnus is inherently different from the Milky Way.


    Instead, they could be categorized as twopletely separate universes.


    The Milky Way is dotted with countless constetions full ofs and stars. Gxies such as the Milky Way make up the celestial universe.


    In contrast, the world of Cygnus ispletely different.


    Cygnus is of a web of many nar worlds.


    The nar universe consists of many nes of varying sizes and environmental conditions, each world is sealed in a bubble-like barrier, and the web is suspended in an imperceptible aether.


    In Cygnus, this primal aether is coined as the Void.


    Cygnus¡ª the world of Eve¡¯s arrival, is the most ancient in this web and amodates a high dimensional level.


    Life springs easily from the main ne, which contains the most favorablews of the web.


    It¡¯s said that the Cygnus ne was the origin of all life in the nar universe.


    Contemting the origin of the Cygnus universe got Eve thinking about the rted powers of Draw, and a thought struck:


    ¡°The reason the former World Tree was targeted¡­ It couldn''t have been because of the power of Draw, right?¡±


    Targeting the Void origin is mundane, yet on the other hand, an ability that can directly target the origin of nes themselves can pose a serious threat.


    s, the origin of a ne sustains its very essence, so drawing on this critical resource can cause the ne to lower in dimensional level and even copse.


    As for drawing from the essence of life¡­.


    The gods of old¡­ especially the gods of faith ¡ª worship and faith are the lifeblood of their godhead ¡ª an ability that could sap this would essentially hold them hostage.


    If the predecessor had really been pursuing this form of absolute control over the origin of the ne, then it wouldn¡¯t be unrealistic for the gods to organize and besiege ~Him in the heavenly war a thousand-years prior.


    Though, if that were true, then the World Tree would have likely been framed as an evil god ¡ª yet, Eve has never heard of this nder.


    Although the World Tree was already withered and ruined, judging by the reaction of the Orcs, the beings of the world still held reverence and respect for the ancient god.


    Moreover, the elves ¡ª a race born from the World Tree ¡ª are a symbol of peace, grace, and nobility.


    ¡°Truly, the mystery of the heavenly war is shrouded in darkness."


    Eve sighs.


    Musing to a dead end, ~He decided to try to Draw.


    After calming down and consulting intuition, Eve activated the ability.


    As soon as Draw was activated, Eve¡¯s field of vision shifted.


    ~He found that ~His senses had begun expanding until ~He had broken beyond the barrier of the Cygnus ne and could ¡°see¡± the Void.


    Moreover, ~He could even ¡°see¡± the imperceptible aether that made up the Void.


    Small clouds of light carried the energy of the Void¡ª as they swirled around throughout the empty Void¡ª energy was eaten continuously by the Cygnus ne¡ª simultaneously, new clouds of light were birthed from the Void in an equilibrium.


    "Is this the ~origin power of the Void?"


    Eve was awed as Draw underwent.


    In ~His state of fascination, countless more clouds of energy sped due course for the Cygnus ne.


    Vast quantities of light rushed through the Cygnus ne¡ª portions were absorbed by the ne itself¡ª whilst other slices passed the barrier and rushed towards Eve¡¯s figure.


    As Void energy surged¡ª Eve felt a strange tingling sensation and divine power aggrandized.


    One point¡­ two points¡­ three points¡­


    The surge only slowed down gradually after umting 30 points.


    The evanescent moment concluded with the downturn of iing light ¡ª the flow of divine power had stabilized.


    Greedily, Eve peered back into the Void and found that the surrounding aether had all been consumed¡ª distant aether had not yet diffused to fill the absence.


    ~He estimated on the current rate of diffusion and adsorption, ~He could be guaranteed one point of divine power around every ten days.


    ¡°What a powerful ability! At this rate, even if I do nothing, I¡¯ll still be able to reach weak divine power!¡±


    Eve was delighted.


    Emerging from the deathly state, ~His divine power cap had reached 3000.


    At 3000 points of divine power, the cap of weak divine power is hit¡ª beyond¡ª one has to advance ~His godhead orws.


    However, in Eve¡¯s case, the godhead is already advanced¡ª as ~He gains divine power, ~He can simply return to the prior level of the predecessor.


    In other words, once he reaches 3000 points of divine power, he will be able to advance to weak divine power immediately.


    This is why Uriel was so rash in getting the godhead of nature and life.


    It is divine power that determines where the gods rank, without which their power is limited by capacity.


    ¡°Draw¡­ indeed, a very strong ability!¡±


    Eve was over-satisfied.


    While admiring ~His newfound ability, the entire ne of Cygnus shook with changes¡­.


    Eve sensed the level of magical power in the Cygnus realm was rising almost at a rate visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, it was a whole percent higher than before!

 Chapter 83: Pantheon

    "The magic level of the Sagas ne has increased!"


    Eve was firstly surprised, then her heart tightened.


    For thousands of years, there were two factors why the body of the World Tree could exist safely. Firstly, the previous world tree cast an istion curse spell on her body at thest moment of its fall, so true gods and below could not approach the world tree except for the elven race.


    Secondly, the magic power of the Sagas ne was steadily decreasing, to the point where the magic energy was no longer sufficient to support the presence of true gods!


    The first ¡®safeguard¡¯ was broken when Eve was reborn, and as for the second safeguard... that too was starting to change now!


    The magic improvement of the Sagas ne was not a good sign for Eve at this moment.


    She was first shocked in her heart, but soon figured out why the magic had increased...


    "It''s because of [Absorb]!"


    Whenever Eve drew energy from the void, the energy had to pass through the ne because she was rooted in the Sagas ne.


    In the process, most of the void energy was actually absorbed by the origin of the Sagas ne, while Eve absorbed only a small portion of it.


    And in the Sagas ne, the growth of the ne relies on void energy!


    Eve''s operation undoubtedly provided a wave of delicious nutrients for the Sagas ne, strengthened the origin of the ne, which naturally caused the magic level of the entire ne to rise.


    After thinking everything through clearly, Eve suddenly felt that she got a little bit smarter.


    This meant that [Absorb] was a double-edged sword that provided her with divine power but also restored the magic energy of the Sagas ne.


    And the restoration of the magic power of the Sagas ne was not only likely to attract the attention of the gods, but would also reopen the passage between the two realms, so that true gods could descend directly!


    In that case, Eve would be in tremendous danger!


    In addition, after further observation, Eve found that her absorption just now seemed to have activated some mechanism of the Sagas ne.


    Now, even if she stopped using [Absorb], the speed at which the Sagas ne absorbed Void Energy would increase a lot regardless.


    Not only that, but this improved absorption rate was elerating at a slight rate...


    This¡­.. It meant that even if she stopped absorbing, the ne channel of the Sagas ne would open again sooner orter!


    Sighing deeply, Eve began to calcte how long it would take for the magic of the Sagas ne to rise to the point where it could reopen the passage between the two realms...


    "If I stop absorbing, it will be a hundred years, and if I keep absorbing, it will be... Twenty years?¡±


    A sense of urgency arose in her heart.


    Twenty years...


    That is to say, in twenty years at the earliest, she needed to grow to the point where she would no longer be afraid of the siege of the gods!


    Eve felt her scalp tingle.


    If the previous world tree, who had powerful divine power, fell under the siege of the gods, how could she grow that rapidly in twenty years, a true god with weak divine power?!


    To say that this would be an arduous undertaking was an understatement...


    "Is there any way to stop the ne origin of the Sagas ne from continuing to grow..."


    Eve pondered.


    And suddenly, she grinned, "That''s silly, can''t I do it myself?"


    Her absorption ability can not only act on the void, but also on the ne!


    Since Eve was worried that the ne would recover too quickly, then couldn¡¯t Eve just swallow part of the origin of the ne?


    Anyway, she was the only true God still in the world of Sagas, only she was awake; the remaining true gods were all in the heavenly realm.


    If Eve absorbed carefully, she would not be discovered!


    Thinking of this, Eve decisively sank into her consciousness again and cast [Absorb].


    This time, she set her sights on the origin of the Sagas ne!


    As her ability unfolded, Eve''s consciousness changed again.


    This time, her vision was no longer in the void, but sank into the ne...


    She ¡°saw" her own intricate root system, "saw" the thick soilyers, "saw" theyers of rock, and "saw" the slow-flowingva...


    Ultimately...... The vision sank into the deepest part of the ne, and she "saw" a colourful blob!


    At this moment, Eve''s heart produced some kind of realisation.


    This is the origin of the Sagas ne!


    Taking a deep breath, Eve began to [Absorb]!


    And as she exerted her power, the origin of the Sagas ne suddenly began to tremble, and a trace of origin energy began to move towards Eve across space.


    Sensing the tremor of the origin, Eve was startled, and quickly weakened her own extraction, minimising the impact on the ne¡¯s origin so as not to attract the attention of other beings.


    Eve had to say thatpared to the chaotic void energy, the power of the Sagas ne origin seems to be more gentle and pure.


    With just a small sip, Eve was pleasantly surprised to find that she had instantly increased her divine power by 10 points!


    However, before Eve could continue to absorb, there seemed to be a strange force in the underworld that prevented her from absorbing further!


    "Huh?"


    Eve suddenly felt an inexplicable call on a whim...


    The call was strange, and Eve couldn''t sense where it wasing from.


    It seems toe from the void, and it seems to be everywhere.


    But this call did not make her feel threatened.


    A trace of curiosity arose in her heart, and Eve decided to ept this inexplicable call!


    And at the moment of receiving the summoning, Eve''s consciousness suddenly began to rise rapidly, and soon crossed the space...


    Her vision suddenly changed again, first nk, then slowly returning to normal.


    Only at this time, Eve was surprised to find herself back in human form!


    Not only that, but she also found that this ce was like her consciousness, and she was free to change her appearance and breath!


    "Here... Is it somewhere simr to the space of consciousness?¡±


    Eve had some guesses.


    At this time, the surrounding scene gradually became clear.


    Eve looked up and found herself in front of a majestic shrine.


    This temple is made of huge white stone pirs, carved with mysterious and intricate divine patterns, which exuded a solemn and sacred vibe.


    The surrounding area of the temple is a boundless starry sky, and countless twinkling starlight clusters around the temple, making it more mysterious and noble.


    Here, it was very simr to the legendary celestial realm.


    But Eve is sure that this is definitely not the celestial realm, more like a transformed world of consciousness!


    Eve carefully sensed it, and raised her eyebrows: "There is a taste of the Sagas ne, here... Could it be some special space formed based on the origin of the ne?¡±


    And at this time, Eve also understood what had prevented her from continuing to absorb the origin...


    It¡¯s likely this special space!


    And when Eve raised her head and saw a line of ancients above the temple, she raised her eyebrows slightly:


    "Pantheon?"


    Eve was a little curious.


    She first sensed it and found that she could return to her body at any time.


    After a moment of contemtion, she decided to enter the temple and take a look.


    It''s just that before entering, she changed her image slightly, changed her hair colour and pupil colour to ck, and then changed her appearance to be unrecognisable, and changed her divine power breath...


    When everything was ready, Eve pushed open the door of the temple.

 Chapter 84: The True God’s Throne

    With a creaking sound, the temple door was slowly opened.


    Eve took a deep breath and slowly stepped in while raising her awareness.


    Entering the Pantheon, Eve came to an iparably vast hall.


    Aftering here, Eve was surprised to find that her strength seemed to be limited in some way.


    She couldn''t extend her divine sense, she could only rely on her eyes to observe everything, and in an instant she seemed to change back to a mortal...


    Fortunately, Eve feels that her connection to the World Tree itself still exists, and she can return at any time if she wants.


    After ensuring safety, Eve began to observe the hall.


    It¡¯s extremely vast, like a huge conference hall, with luxurious and majestic shrines.


    There are many shrines, arranged in a fan shape, and there are at least thousands of them. Each shrine is different, with its own style and pattern.


    However, if you look closely, you will find that most of the thrones are bleak, and even many are somewhat dpidated and damaged, and only a few of them shine under the reflection of the starlight.


    These intact shrines are concentrated in front of the temple, and the number is less than a hundred.


    Seeing this, Eve had a realisation in an instant:


    "The Pantheon... So that''s the case, could it be that ce?


    Looking at the divine seat in front of her,bined with the inheritance of the World Tree, she finally knew where this ce was.


    In the World Tree inheritance she obtained, there was a supreme temple in the heavenly realm.


    The Temple of the Supreme Heaven symbolises the authority and status of the true gods and is also the ce where the gods gather.


    The temple is filled with shrines, belonging to true gods born since the emergence of life in the Sagas universe!


    However, in the inheritance of the World Tree, that supreme temple had already been destroyed in that divine war thousands of years ago...


    Thinking of this, Eve shook her head again:


    "No, this should not be the Supreme Temple, otherwise there would be no taste of the Sagas ne."


    "But... These divine thrones are exactly the same as those true god thrones mentioned in the World Tree inheritance, as if they were moved from the Supreme Temple..."


    "Pantheon... Could it be a substitute for the Supreme Temple? It''s just that...... The Supreme Temple was originally located in the Celestial Realm, how could this so-called Pantheon be involved with the Sagas ne?¡±


    Eve had some doubts in her heart.


    After some exploration, she has now determined that this special space is definitely located in the Sagas ne!


    As for the specific location, it is very likely that it is somewhere close to the origin of the Sagas ne¡­


    This feeling is very weird, but it¡¯s like...


    "It''s like suppressing something..."


    Eve guessed in her heart.


    The thrones in the Supreme Temple are blessed byws.


    Even if the true god falls, the divine seat left behind is a precious artifact.


    Although it is an artifact without any special abilities, because the great power of the true god remains, it naturally has the characteristics of suppressing all things.


    And at this time, Eve also understood what prevented her from absorbing the origin of Sagas''s ne.


    It is this pantheon!


    "Is it to suppress the ne origin of the Sagas ne?"


    Eve''s heart moved.


    But soon, she shook her head again:


    "No, it''s not suppression, it''s more like protection... Well, no, both suppression and protection!


    Thinking of some information in the World Tree inheritance, Eve had some guesses.


    In the inheritance, the divine war thousands of years ago was not only hurting the World Tree.


    The Celestial Realm and the Sagas ne were both battlefields for the gods.


    The destruction of the celestial realm equates to the copse of the Supreme Temple, and as for the Sagas ne, when the origin gets damaged, the level of mana plummets!


    Thinking of this, Eve already had some thoughts stirring:


    "Here, this could be a new council ce that the gods have moved over from the Celestial Realm and rebuilt, and only your consciousness cane. Not only that, but there is also the effect of protecting and suppressing the origin of the Sagas ne!


    The Sagas ne is thergest main material ne, and it is also the main material ne with the most intelligent beings who provide faith,


    It isn¡¯t unreasonable for the true gods to set up a new council ce here in order to protect this world.


    Although they could not descend to the world of Sagas in their true bodies, they could stille here with their consciousness.


    Thinking of this, Eve had more than a trace of fear:


    "My previous absorption was too reckless, if there happens to be a true God consciousness here, my existence could¡¯ve been discovered!"


    The effect of her first previous extraction was terrifying.


    The origin of the Sagas ne was damaged, and the speed of absorbing void energy for thousands of years was very slow.


    The void energy has natural characteristics of moving closer to the ne, and the amount of void energy umted around the Sagas ne was not a small amount for thousands of years.


    Under Eve''s absorption, these thousands of years of umted void energy suddenly poured in, instantly increasing the magic level of the Sagas ne by nearly one percent...


    If there happened to be a true God consciousness here at that time, Eve would have been discovered long ago!


    Although it is not necessarily obvious to guess the revival of the World Tree, it is certainly doubtful that something isn¡¯t happening inside Sagas.


    No...... Wait a minute!


    Suddenly, Eve''s heart moved.


    She looked at the many shrines and searched for them one by one.


    After a moment, her expression was strange:


    "No... The gods should not have guessed the revival of the World Tree, more precisely, they certainly won''t!


    Her gaze was focused on one of those ruined thrones.


    It was a shrine seat carved with intricate patterns, painted with flowers and vines, exactly like the throne of the World Tree that Eve knew!


    There is no trace of the true God in the throne.


    The divine mark and the seat are dpidated, indicating that the true god has fallen.


    Although Eve inherited the inheritance of the World Tree and has the same godhead, she is not the former World Tree after all.


    Her soules from a different universe, and her divine soul is also very different... Therefore, she did not inherit the throne of her predecessor.


    In other words...... Although the World Tree hase to life, the one registered in the Pantheon is still dead...


    Compared to the previous World Tree, Eve is actually more like her child.


    Thinking of this, Eve was a little bit crying andughing, but she felt quite lucky.


    But soon, she felt that this was also a good opportunity!


    This shows that as long as she does not expose herself, for a long period of time, even if the gods discover the magical changes in the Sagas ne, they will not suspect the world tree in a short period of time.


    And at this moment, Eve suddenly felt that inexplicable call again.


    But this time, a certain realisation rose in her heart:


    "So it is, is this summoning for me to leave my divine soul mark here?"


    Leaving the mark of the divine soul, a new throne will be created in the pantheon, which is also equivalent to Eve being epted by the gods.


    In other words, the new god getting initiated into the club.


    However, Eve decided to give up.


    "The divine seat is transformed through divine power, even if I cover my divine power breath, if I leave the divine throne, it will be exposed. In the worst case, it may also directly resonate with the previous World Tree God Seat and directly inherit the previous God Seat!¡±


    That would be embarrassing, equivalent to directly exposing yourself.


    This amount of risk is not enough.


    "What if... If I could have a new kind of priesthood, I could find a way to leave a mark¡­¡±


    Eve shook her head, sighed regretfully, and turned to leave the Pantheon.


    But not long after she left, several divine thrones in the Pantheon suddenly bloomed with shining brilliance!

 Chapter 85: Confused Ullr

    A burst of brilliant holy light descended in the pantheon, and three mighty figures appeared in the temple.


    They sat on their thrones, unable to see their faces, only a dazzling holy light.


    One figure is golden, and behind him there seems to be countless angels of faith singing, and many living beings worshipping.


    Another is bright grey, and behind him there seems to be countless blurry figures roaring, and the sound of swords of war can be faintly heard.


    Thest one is silver-blue, and behind him seems to be surrounded by countless brilliant stars, peaceful yet mysterious.


    The entire Pantheon began to echo with ethereal chants, and the brilliance of divine power rendered the hall extremely divine and magnificent.


    Suddenly, the golden figure spoke, his voice deep and majestic: "There is a strange aura of divine powering..."


    However, halfway through, his voice carried a hint of surprise:


    "Huh? I couldn''t even sense their divine power. ¡°


    Listening to his words, the bright grey figure scanned the audience and said with some surprise:


    ¡°There is no new throne."


    His voice was hoarse.


    After a moment of silence, the golden figure spoke again.


    "It''s a new god... However, they gave up leaving a mark of divine power.¡±


    After that, he looked at the third silver-blue figure.


    "Your Majesty Rigdal, where is the newest true god of the Pantheon in these hundreds of years? Why didn''t you do a good job of introducing the new gods?¡±


    The silver-blue figure was silent for a moment, looked at the bright gray figure, and said:


    ¡°It''s Ullr, the god of winter and hunting."


    Listening to his words, the golden figure suddenly looked at the bright gray figure, and his voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction:


    "Your Majesty Lord, Ullr is your god, this is your dereliction of duty."


    The bright grey figure was silent for a moment, and sighed:


    "I will punish him, Your Majesty."


    The golden figure nodded, and then suddenly let out a sneer.


    "Ullr... Are you still ying with the idea of that priesthood?¡±


    The bright grey figure nodded.


    "That one''s priesthood is verypatible with him. Although I have warned him many times, I am afraid He has not given up.


    "Nature and Life?"


    The golden figure turned around and looked at the bleak throne behind it.


    His gaze was focused on a certain throne engraved with flowers and vines, and his voice carried a hint of jealousy:


    "It''s been a thousand years, and I don''t know if the curse magic set by that one still exists..."


    "Ahem."


    At this time, the silver-blue figure coughed lightly twice.


    His voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction:


    "Your Majesty Iteo, you should remember our agreement a thousand years ago, that one has fallen, and what the Sagas ne needs now is to recuperate..."


    "With the current level of the Sagas ne, it is impossible to support our arrival, its ne origin is even more unable to withstandrge disturbances.


    "As for that one... I have said many times that he is too deeply involved with the Sagas ne, and the gods cannot intervene on it until the origin of the Sagas ne is restored. Or..."


    His words changed sharply, with a hint of mockery.


    "You want the Sagas ne to copse?"


    "Hmph!"


    The golden figure snorted coldly and stopped talking.


    Only a momentter, he let out a chuckle.


    "Huh? The magic of the Sagas ne increased?¡±


    The silver-blue figure nodded.


    "It''s been promoted. It''s been a thousand years, and although it''s much faster than my prediction, it''s indeed time for the Sagas ne to recover.¡±


    The golden figure was silent for a moment, and looked at the silver-blue figure again.


    "Your Majesty Rigdal, I don''t know exactly what your ns are, but our agreement thousands of years ago will not change."


    After speaking, he stood up from the throne, and his voice was low and powerful.


    "All existence that threatens the gods must bepletely erased!"


    Then, he said to the bright gray figure again.


    "Your Majesty Lord, please tell Ullr that he can find the newborn true God as soon as possible and bring it into the pantheon."


    After speaking, their body bloomed with brilliant brilliance, and then the entire figure slowly disappeared.


    The other two figures looked at each other and did the same.


    Calm was restored again in the Pantheon.


    ......


    > Ullr¡¯s Kingdom of God


    In a small shrine of about 10 million square kilometres, countless prayers are praying feverishly.


    In the centre of the Kingdom of God, there is a majestic snow-capped mountain, covered in snow, and a silver temple on it.


    In the temple, a majestic figure shrouded in holy light was ying with a delicate divine bow.


    Suddenly, his heart moved, and he stretched out his hand and made a gesture outward.


    A silver ball of light flew into his hand, and when he touched it, an angry roar suddenly resounded in the temple.


    "Ullr! A true God was born! For these hundred years, you will guard the pantheon! You will locate the newborn True God as soon as possible and bring it to the Pantheon! In addition, you have failed in your duty, and the time will continue for another hundred years as a punishment!¡°


    Ullr: ¡°...¡±


    Taking a deep breath, he stood up from his throne and bowed slightly in one direction.


    "Obey the oracle of the Lord."


    Hearing his words, the silver light seemed to be very satisfied, and then slowly disappeared.


    Ullr breathed a sigh of relief and said with some chagrin:


    "I didn''t expect that a true god would be born... How could I have known?"


    The Sagas ne has not seen a new true god for thousands of years, so he rxed his duty, but he didn''t expect for his duty toe running back to him.


    As if looking at something, Ullr looked in the direction where the light mass flew from, and snorted, a little unconvinced.


    "Hmph... If I had mastered nature and life, I would not be so subservient to God.¡±


    As the youngest and most promising (self-proimed) newborn true god in thousands of years, he has always wanted to be independent and have his own god lineage, but unfortunately the half-orc race is too weak, and his priesthood is also very weak...


    "I don''t know how those believers have investigated, and there has been no news for so long..."


    Ullr put down his divine bow and walked around the temple with some impatience.


    Suddenly, his heart moved.


    ¡°Huh?"


    He stopped and gently beckoned outside the temple.


    Soon, a thin half-orc soul floated over.


    It was an old half-orc, dressed in sheep''s clothing, a priest.


    If Demacia were here, he would find out that he was the unlucky ghost who was stabbed to death by Box Lunch.


    Ullr narrowed his eyes, then ced his hand on the top of the priest''s soul.


    In an instant, scenes unfolded in the temple...


    This is the experience of the priest''s life.


    Priests are different from other believers.


    When bing a priest, intelligent beings are equivalently,pletely opening their souls to the true God.


    In this case, once the intelligent creature dies, their memory will be protected by the divine power of the true god, and the soul will still have the memory of his life after ascending to the kingdom of God.


    And the true god can also read his memory!


    This is the real reason why Eve is guarding against the priests of Ullr!


    As he read the memory, Ullr¡¯s expression changed from expectant to solemn, and gradually changed from solemn to doubtful...


    After a moment, he lowered his hand and muttered a little dazedly,


    ¡°Seven Dragon Balls? Kaleidoscope writing wheel eyes? One Piece''s treasure?¡±

 Chapter 86: Monster of Silver

    > Inner Elven Forest


    A squad of elves in ornate armour and magic robes is lurking in the jungle.


    Through the dense foliage, they are watching a giant beast in the distance warily.


    It is a sub-dragon species demon beast covered in scales, about four or five metres tall.


    It is burying its head in the carcass of a wild boar, and from time to time it makes a low hiss.


    This kind of monster is called the Forest Monitor Lizard, and it is said that it has a trace of the blood of a green dragon, which can spit out fragrance in the mouth and spew out a very corrosive poisonous mist, which is a real silver beast in the early stage of the lower rank.


    Demacia looked at the forest monitor lizard with a serious face, and whispered to the elven boy beside him.


    "Al, see this monitor lizard?"


    Al nodded, his expression focused, like a good boy who listened carefully in ss.


    "I see, Brother Demacia."


    The elf boy at this moment is very different from before.


    He¡¯s wearing an equally brilliant armour and holds a shining silver sword in his hand.


    It was a reward given to him by the goddess, a symbol of those who belonged to the gods.


    As Demacia said, these equipment are Golden Legend equipment, and the Chosen Ones are very envious.


    Although Al didn''t know what Golden Legend meant, he knew that the equipment must be precious.


    This made him more grateful to the generous Mother Goddess.


    Looking at the elven boy with a serious expression, Demacia was very satisfied.


    He lightly coughed twice, and said seriously,


    "Al, although your strength has greatly increased, you still need to be tempered!"


    "As the goddess said, if the elven race wants to be strong again, they not only need a sincere heart, but also have the bloody nature of battle!"


    "The struggle between races is cruel, and benevolence without a bottom line will only put oneself in danger..."


    "Although your strength has greatly increased, the experience of fighting is still too little. This demon beast has the strength of Lower Silver. It¡¯s only ugly, but also a cruel carnivore, it¡¯s simply great practice!


    ¡°Its strength is not as good as ours, of course... Ahem, just for you to practise!¡±


    "Killing will still be a little unbearable, but don''t worry, let''s take our time, this time it''s the same as before, you just beat it to almost death, and we''ll do the rest."


    Demacia looked gentle and calming.


    Listening to his words, Al nodded obediently,


    "Okay, Brother Demacia!"


    Although he personally killed the half-orcs, the kind nature of the elves still made him unable to bear to attack these monsters.


    Thinking of this, Al looked at Demacia with some admiration, and a trace of warmth arose in his heart:


    In order to make me grow, Brother Demacia did not hesitate to risk the danger to find this powerful monster, and considering my psychological endurance, he allowed me to beat the monster to half-dead first, and they are responsible for the follow-up work...


    They are so nice!


    I...... You can''t let him down!


    His expression grew firmer.


    Taking a deep breath, Al said, "Brother Demacia, I¡¯m going."


    Demacia nodded equally.


    "Go, stay safe, the goddess will bless you."


    He drew a symbol of Mother Nature on his chest with a serious and reverent expression.


    After that, he couldn''t help but add,


    "It''s great to beat them half to death!"


    Al soon encountered the monitor lizard and fought with it.


    The fluctuations of the silver strength battle were extremely violent, which made the yers lurking on the side marvel one after another.


    After the battle began, Demacia''s serious expression suddenly became strained.


    The corner of his mouth slightly turned up. Looking at the monitor lizard in the distance, his eyes lit up:


    "Lower Silver... Hehehe, taking this cute lizard is estimated to be several thousand experience points.¡±


    Li Mu walked to his side and nced at him helplessly.


    "You guys, this one is not honest at all..."


    Listening to Li Mu''s words, Demacia grinned.


    "Brother Mu, Al is not a child, he is older than my grandfather!"


    After speaking, he rolled his eyes, and he smiled.


    "Besides, I didn''t do anything wrong, he practiced hisbat skills, and twirled our knives and earned some experience points, which is a win-win!"


    Li Mu rolled his eyes.


    "You just crave the strength of Lower Silver...¡±


    "Hehe, silver thug, don''t be so vain!"


    Demaciaughed.


    "If you let Al know the true psychology of yours, you are afraid that the few feelings you have will be negative."


    Li Mu shook his head.


    "I¡¯m not afraid, the two of us have squatted in a cell together! I told him a lot of stories!¡±


    Demacia patted his chest proudly. His expression became a little mysterious, and he leaned into Li Mu''s ear and said:


    "Did you create those stories? Al''s favourite story is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, well, although it''s a tragic version that I have changed..."


    Li Mu: ¡°...¡±


    Seeing that Li Mu did not answer, Demaciaughed a few times and changed the topic.


    "Speaking of which, I feel that there have been more and more monsters in the forest recently... Didn''t they all run away before?¡±


    Due to the hunting of yers, low-level monsters in the core area of the Elven Forest have long begunrge-scale migration for their own lives.


    However, since the revival of the World Tree, yers are surprised to find that these monsters have gradually returned.


    Not only that... Even some levels are a little bit higher.


    Bigger monsters also began to migrate to the core area.


    Li Mu looked at the surrounding jungles that were much more lush than before, and said uncertainly,


    ¡°Maybe it''s because of the recovery of mana? I''m a druid, and I still have a strong sense of magic in the forest. After the revival of the World Tree, I feel that the magic power in the forest has greatly improved, especially in the core area.¡±


    "These beasts must have migrated because of this. Not to mention them, even I feel that the effect of meditation has been much better recently.¡±


    The world of Sagas is a magical world, and ces of magic are often ces of abundance.


    Especially here is the forest, which represents the most abundant natural attribute magic, and it isn¡¯t surprising that monsters are attracted to it.


    Listening to Li Mu''s words, Demacia licked his lips.


    "It seems that I can eat wild game again recently..."


    Li Mu: ¡°...¡±


    The fighting soon ended.


    A momentter, Al returned to the yer''s team, wiped the blood stains on the short sword, and greeted Demacia.


    "Brother Demacia, I''m done fighting."


    "So soon?"


    Demacia was slightly stunned, and then looked at the monitor lizard.


    At this moment, the monitor lizard has fallen to the ground, dying.


    Its whole body was wounded, its scales fell to the ground, it was miserable, only its legs were twitching...


    Demacia: ¡°...¡±


    What a murderous old man!


    He nced at Al with an innocent look strangely, and then said dryly,


    "Ahem... Well done, well done!¡±


    After that, he winked at the other yers, and a group of people quickly brandished their weapons and excitedly rushed towards the monitor lizard.


    It fell to the ground.


    Follow behind the NPC and have free meat to eat!


    Seeing the Chosen ones rushing towards the monster excitedly, Al was already surprised.


    After the yers finished off the and sacrificed some scales, beast bones and other materials to the goddess on the spot, they returned to the elven town.


    And as soon as he returned to the town, Cuckoo Bird found Li Mu and their team.


    "Miss Alice has something to do with Al."


    She seemed so excited that she almost didn''t hold back her usually serious and cold character.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Li Mu asked strangely.


    ¡°The elven people areing back!¡±

 Chapter 87: The Flame Clan

    Receiving Alice''s summon, Al greeted Demacia and the others and immediately returned to the Temple of Nature.


    During this time, the Temple of Nature was expanded again.


    Originally, there was only one main hall in the shrine, but now several sub-halls have been opened, supposedly to wee future clergy.


    yers have always wondered what it means to be a future clergyman.


    After all...... In the yer''s avable sses, the priest column is not opened.


    But now, everyone finally knows.


    The elven nsmen areing back!


    In other words, ¡°Kingdom of Elves¡± will wee a new batch of NPCs!


    And this... It likely means a new main story!


    Many yers who got the news put down their work and rushed from all directions, skillfully listening to the walls of the temple.


    > Temple of Nature


    Alice is teaching the teachings of Mother Nature to two little elf lolis.


    They are Al''s sisters, one named Leah Moonlight and the other named Leia Moonlight.


    However, although they are said to be sisters, in fact, they are not rted to Al.


    Elves have a low chance of having offspring, and generally young elves of the same age will raise each other as brothers and sisters.


    And the three of Al are thest descendants of the Moonlight n.


    Unlike Al, who had be a goddess dependent, Leia and Leia were younger, less than 60 years old, and it was time to learn knowledge.


    Alice hopes to train them to be future priests of nature.


    When Al entered the temple, the two lolis, like sticky rice dumplings, were listening intently to Alice preaching the code of nature.


    But when they saw Al, their eyes lit up. Alice also put down the heavy holy scriptures, and smiled slightly at the two.


    "Come here today, you guys go out first, I have something to talk to your brother Al."


    The two sisters let out a cheer, they stood up and bowed to Alice, and their voices were sweet.


    "Okay, Ms. Alice!"


    Then they pounced on Al like butterflies,


    "Brother Al! Wee back!¡±


    Al smiled at the two and gently touched their little heads.


    "Don''t y too intensely!"


    Alice added another sentence.


    ¡°And don¡¯t always listen to the Chosen, understand some of their facies and don¡¯t eat things that you shouldn''t eat."


    Listening to Alice''s words, the two little loli shrank their heads.


    They withdrew the two wooden chopsticks that almost emerged from their arms, swallowed their spit, and giggled at Alice.


    Then, they also ran out of the temple...


    After the two left, Alice looked at Al and drew a tree symbol on her chest.


    "May the Mother God protect you, Your Excellency."


    Al also saluted back.


    "May the Mother God protect you, Lord Alice."


    Alice looked at the blood stains on Al''s body, and her expression froze slightly.


    "You... Did you follow the Chosen Ones to hunt monsters again?¡±


    Al nodded, his expression solemn.


    "Mercy can''t save the elven race, the tempering of sword and blood is necessary!"


    Alice: :/


    She gave Al aplicated look and sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, maybe... Your choice is also a path.¡±


    The Mother Goddess acquiesced to the actions of the Chosen, and allowed Al to mingle with them all day. which made Alice, who was a natural saint, gradually specte.


    ¡°...Perhaps Mother Goddess really wants to change the nature of the elven race...¡±


    Having seen too much blood and tears of the elven race, and seen the elven town that gradually prospered under the struggle of the Chosen, Alice''s original insistence gradually wavered.


    But no matter what, Mother Goddess is right!


    As long as she follows her will, she will surely be able to witness the glory of the Elven race again!


    Thinking of this, the faith in Alice''s heart became even stronger.


    She took a deep breath, her expression gradually became reverent and serious, and said to Al,


    "Your Excellency Al, Her Majesty the Mother has once again conveyed the oracle to me."


    Saying that, a light shed in her eyes.


    ¡°The me n will soon return to the Elven Forest!"


    "me n? That''s great!¡±


    Al''s eyes lit up.


    He had also heard his grandfather mention that the me n was a rtivelyrge tribe.


    Alice nodded, her expression serious.


    ¡°However, the me n has arge number of people, and they still have to pass through the junction of the Dark Mountain Range and the Elven Forest to return.¡±


    ¡°Based on the location of the half-orc stronghold we destroyed before, I specte that there is a very likely half-orc tribe in that area!"


    "Half-orc tribe..."


    Al''s expression also gradually became solemn.


    "So... For the safe return of the me n, I hope you can go and pick them up.


    Alice said.


    Although the old priest, Samir also has the strength of silver, the priest''sbat effectiveness is worse after all, and he is more sped to do auxiliary work.


    The World Leaf in his hand can only cast a gold-level defensive divine technique at most once.


    To be on the safe side, Alice hopes that Al, who is a master of battle, can take this trip.


    As for why not choose Berserker, the oak guard...


    Berserker is too big and too special, and it would immediately announce the revival of the world tree.


    Priests can also disguise themselves in front of other believers.


    Of course, this is also Eve''s instruction.


    After circling the Pantheon, he believed that as long as the World Tree¡¯s seat in the Pantheon was still damaged, even if there were natural believers, the true gods would only suspect that someone had inherited the natural priesthood of the World Tree at most...


    Who would think that a soul from another world would cross into this world and inherit the world tree?


    After Eve''s spection, the reason why the World Tree caused the siege of the gods was probably not from the priesthood, but perhaps the World Tree itself, and it was probably rted to the ability to [Absorb].


    Of course, the priesthood of nature and life is quite strong, and for some demigods as well as true gods, the attraction is enough.


    If it¡¯s really exposed, it¡¯s actually a double-edged sword... After all, you can catch a lot of greedy fish.


    Although Eve has the ability to [Absorb], this ability is too limited.


    If he wants to rise rapidly, he still has to grow the elven race, rely on the yer''s war sacrifices to contribute vitality, and find a way to eat some legendary creatures or demigod "corpses"...


    If Eve can catch some unlucky gods with the priesthood, it may not be that bad!


    Eve got out of a near-death state and now has some confidence.


    In the area she controls, she is the Lord!


    "Plus, you can choose some excellent Chosen ones and go with you! The Chosen ones are undead beings with richbat experience, which can be a powerful help!


    Alice said again.


    After Eve got out of his near-death state, his control tripled, and the range of movement that yers could move tripled.


    Reaching the edge of the Elven Forest and the Dark Mountains has been able to do so.


    Listening to Alice''s words, Al nodded.


    "I see."


    "So... Good luck on your journey!¡±


    Alice bowed her head slightly and saluted Al again, and Al also respectfully returned the salute.


    "Don''t worry, Lord Alice, I will definitely take the me n home safely!"


    With that, he turned and left the temple.

 Chapter 88: Touched Al

    Al left the temple and came to the town.


    The current elf town isrger than before.


    This is thanks to the continuous construction of yers, as building quests are always present and are the mostmon daily quest in Kingdom of the Elves.


    As the number of yers increases, the division ofbour is further refined.


    This isn¡¯t intentional by Eve, but spontaneous by the yers.


    Human beings are already social creatures, with a strong sense of group and division ofbour, and this trend has be more and more obvious after adapting to the rhythm of ¡°Kingdom of the Elves".


    In particr, the emergence of second-test yers has further supplemented thebour force, and now yers have faintly formed the prototype of the division ofbour order.


    Taking the construction work as an example, the design of the building has almost been taken over by the elf construction team of the "Lovely Committee" union, who are proper white-cor workers.


    The specific construction is carried out by some yers who have mastered magic and special skills, and they are grey-cor technicians.


    As for the weaker second-beta yers... They can only choose to collect building materials every day. And they are the bottom blue-cor workers.


    Not only that, the tumultuous operation of yers thinking of ways to make money has gradually appeared.


    The "Lovely Committee" hasunched a free DIY project for real estate development, and as long as you have enough contributions in your pocket, they can even help you build a gorgeous pce ording to your dreams!


    Of course, the only person who has done this so far is the guild leader Little Salty Meow, and the luxury vacation estate she threw money into building in the southwest of Elf Town is almostpleted...


    The "First Army" guild has opened a service for Second Test yers.


    As long as you have money, you can team up with the iron level bigwigs to beat up monsters in the wild. You only need tost-hit the monsters and eat up experience.


    There are also some lifestyle yers who have started to open various shops in the town, most of which provide food.


    After all, most yers still like to sightsee everywhere when entering the game, and although food in the Elven Forest is easy to find, it still takes time to collect.


    Some yers found a business opportunity and directly opened a store to sell berries.


    Have good cooking skills, do catering work, process the collected ingredients, open a small restaurant, and the business was quite good.


    Especially a few buddies who are engaged in underground barbecue behind the backs of Alice...


    In addition, some first-beta yers simply rented their own vacant rooms to provide amodation for second-beta yers who did not have the money to build a house and did not want to go offline in the morgue.


    All kinds ofmotion operations made the second test yers shout:


    "The gap between people is still so big!"


    It''s true.


    But even so, the second test yers are still in painful happiness.


    Everyone worked on tasks, umted experience and contribution points, and worked hard to get more strength, better skills, and shinier equipment, like a hardworking little bee...


    Sometimes, Eve wonders, if everyone is provided with a system that can see the value in the reality of Earth, will people be so lively?


    In fact, everyone justcks a visible goal and direction.


    For stronger yers, the most rewarded, richest, and most anticipated thing is a story mission.


    Unlike other games, ¡±Kingdom of Elves¡± story missions are all one-off.


    The story missions here can really drive the story forward, the sense of epess and participation is very strong. It¡¯s easy to make people feel a sense of belonging, and it has been well received by yers.


    At the moment Al left the temple, all yers received a new system message.


    [Main Quest: The Return of the me n]


    [Mission Description: The me n is an ancient branch of the Elven n, and after a thousand years of tribtion, they finally chose to go home... Now, it''s time to pick them up!]


    [Mission objective: Follow Al, protect every me n elf, and bring them home smoothly.]


    [Mission Time: Unlimited]


    [Mission Level: 11+]


    [Number of yers: Unlimited]


    [Mission Rewards: Experience Points, Perfect Resurrection, Contribution Points]


    Seeing the system message, the yers boiled again.


    As soon as Al came out, he was immediately surrounded by yers.


    "Al! Is there a new task?¡±


    "Want to pick up the nsmen? Be sure to bring me! I have a lot ofbat experience!¡±


    "Little Brother Al! I''ve just learned a new fire magic, and my fireball is quite powerful!¡±


    One by one, yers surrounded him, their eyes shining.


    Looking at the enthusiastic and expectant eyes, at the smiling faces full of vitality and energy, Al was very moved.


    Thinking of his former n, the corners of his eyes were a little moist.


    If his own tribe had so many brave warriors who aren¡¯t afraid of hardships and dangers, and dare to kill and fight, would the tragedy not have happened?


    These special nsmen who Mother Goddess called the Chosen... Selfless, brave, and strong!


    Al looked around, his eyes slightly red.


    He said excitedly,


    ¡°Yes, I will go to the edge of the Elven Forest and bring some nsmen home! I do need some help, however."


    After speaking, he paused and looked serious.


    "This time, we are very likely to encounter half-orcs. The risk is veryrge, everyone should seriously consider it."


    After the confirmation, the yers immediately became more excited.


    "Risk? My middle name is Risk!¡±


    "Hey, hey! Risks and opportunities coexist!¡±


    "Lord Al! Be sure to bring me!¡±


    "Finally there is a task! My level has reached level 11, and I haven''t done a story quest yet!¡±


    "And me! I''ll be right away from a level up!¡±


    They looked excited and seemed to be discussing not a dangerous action, but a fun game.


    Looking at the chosen ones who enthusiastically signed up, Al was even more moved...


    "No rush! No rush! Let''s go together! Let''s go together!¡±


    Al¡¯s chest was full of pride.


    ......


    > Cave Tribe


    The Chief Priest, Giantcliff, walked around the cave and seemed to be in a bad mood.


    He nced at the stone calendar used for timing, and his expression was very solemn.


    "It''s been so many days, why is there still no news from ckstone?"


    He told ckstone that thetest return date had passed, but the other party had not yet returned.


    ckstone had always been steady, and such a thing is unusual for him. He is very cautious and punctual...


    Not only that, the team of half-orcs sent by Giantcliff also had no news at all, as if they hadpletely lost contact.


    All this made the old priest more and more uneasy in his heart, and at the same time, there was even a faint hint of surprise.


    "Could it be... What really happened in the Elven Forest? ckstone is good inbat, after all..!¡±


    Logically speaking, ckstone sweeping through the core area of the Elven Forest is more than enough.


    "It can''t really be a high-level existence, can it?"


    Giantcliff fidgeted.


    Just as he hesitated to send some more men to investigate, a half-orc scout entered the cave.


    "Priest, Lord!¡±


    His voice was excited.


    Giabtcliff frowned and said with some displeasure,


    ¡°What happened?"


    The half-orc saluted him.


    "Our kin have found arge number of migrating elves nearby! It seems to be a n!¡±

 Chapter 89: Offering of the Cave Tribe

    "Elven Tribe?"


    Giantcliff was slightly stunned, feeling very surprised.


    The cave tribes made their fortune by selling elves, and arge number of elves were found around the tribe, which was undoubtedly a treasure sent to the door.


    It''s just that Giantcliff, who is already old, thinks more cautiously...


    He was not as excited and excited as the half-orc who reported the message, but was very calm and puzzled.


    "Elves... How did they end up here?¡±


    At present, except for those diehards who still believe that the World Tree will return, there are not many elves left in the Elven Forest.


    Because of the existence of the hunting party, the elves have almost all left their homnd and wandered and hid all over the continent.


    And in this case, arge number of elves appeared nearby?


    Migration? Do you still have to migrate to the Elven Forest?


    In his eyes, with no True Gods for protection and the shackles of the curse, the elves are simply looking for death in doing so.


    Unless... What is the reason for them to migrate!


    Giantcliff¡¯s eyes shed, and he suddenly thought of the investigation mission of the Elven Forest assigned by the Father God.


    In an instant, his eyelids jumped.


    "It can''t be that the World Tree has been revived, right?"


    He couldn''t help but look in the direction of the Elven Forest, his face solemn.


    But soon, he shook his head again:


    "It''s impossible, if it were the World Tree revival, the Sagas ne would have turned upside down a long time ago."


    Giantcliff turned and looked at the mural in the cave, and the torches on the cave wall illuminated his expression in the light and dark.


    As the only half-orc priest of the cave tribe who has been baptized in the Holy Land for thousands of years, and has the potential to be elevated to the status of a saint after death, he still knows a lot about the secrets of the gods.


    "If the World Tree is revived... God the Father will definitely give the oracle in advance!¡±


    And thinking of the strange elf in the oracle again, as well as the disappearance of ckstone and the others, Giantcliff¡¯s expression gradually became solemn.


    "It''s just... It seems that there really is an unknown force protecting the elves! I''m afraid the migration of the elves is also rted to this!¡±


    Combined with the disappearance of the oracle and ckstone and others, Giantcliff also had some spection.


    It has to be the forces of the Grim Reaper who are behind it!


    The Father obtaining priesthood of the World Tree is imperative.


    Those who dare to live with the forces behind the Father God, and may have intentions for the priesthood of nature and life, it seems that only the one in the underworld remains...


    However, even if it is really the power of the goddess of death behind it, as a believer in the god of winter and hunting, the enemy of the elf race, Giantcliff cannot just let the elves pass!


    Furthermore......


    Giantcliff¡¯s eyes shed.


    If it was really as he guessed, maybe he could get the secret of the Elven Forest from the mouths of those elves this time!


    However, ckstone, with the holy relic, was missing and Giantcliff was already a little scared.


    Now, he doesn''t want to send people to the Elven Forest anymore.


    In his opinion, the current Elven Forest is full of danger!


    Thinking of this, Giantcliff turned around again and looked at the scout.


    "How many of them are there?"


    The scout replied respectfully,


    "There are about two hundred people, old and young, and their strength isn¡¯t very strong, most of them are Lower Iron, but there are some older people who have Upper Iron."


    Listening to the scout''s words, Giantcliff nodded.


    This strength is basically a free meal for the cave tribe.


    Of course, this does not rule out that there are hidden powerhouses in the elven tribe, but in the eyes of the Giantcliff, the probability of that is too small.


    If worried, just line up some more hands.


    If it really doesn''t work, you can also ask the priest to go out together.


    Catch these elves, investigate the secrets of their migration, and sell them.


    More than two hundred...


    Hehe, if this is done, even if we abandon the homnd of the Dark Mountain Range and migrate to a distant ce, the cave tribe will have the confidence.


    But something must have happened in the Elven Forest, and if it is too dangerous, the best choice may be to ignore the elves.


    However, in that case, he is afraid that it will disappoint the Father God, so only as ast resort, Giantcliff will not choose to leave with his nsmen...


    The truth of everything will be known when these elves are intercepted.


    Thinking of this, Giantcliff¡¯s eyes shed, and he turned his head to look at a serving half-orc priest on the other side.


    "How long is it till the human caravanes?¡±


    The half-orc priest who was asked replied,


    ¡°ording to the usual time, there should be half a month to a month."


    Giantcliff pondered for a moment and said,


    ¡°Send someone to keep an eye on those elves first, and mobilise the young and strong in the tribe. We will go around in front of them in advance andy an ambush!¡±


    After that, he struggled for a while, gritted his teeth and said,


    "In addition, for the sake of safety, prepare meat for 100 people and send it to the mine in the back mountain of the tribe."


    Listening to Giantcliff¡¯s words, the scout thought of something, and his expression changed slightly.


    Giantcliff frowned.


    "Go quickly."


    The half-orc shrunk his neck and nodded before retreating.


    ......


    > Back Mountain Summit of the Cave Tribes


    There is an abandoned mine here, left by the dwarves hundreds of years ago.


    In addition, there is an old castle that has been destroyed.


    It belongs to the former dwarven civilization, but with the depletion of the veins, it gradually turned into history.


    There were no other nts and animals around the castle, not even a single bird, and it was very cold.


    The half-orc priest Giantcliff came to the outside of the castle with a group of half-orcs pushing wheelbarrows.


    All the half-orcs looked in the direction of the castle in fear, and even their legs trembled.


    Looking at the ugliness of the nsmen, Giantcliff frowned andforted.


    "Don''t be afraid. Lord Myrell is a little scary-looking, but he is very friendly.¡±


    After that, he nced painfully at the pile of meat in the wheelbarrow, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly in the direction of the castle,


    "Giantcliff of the Cave Tribe, we are carrying meat for a hundred people, to meet Lord Myrell!"


    His voice travelled far, under the blessing of divine magic...


    Just a momentter, nothing moved.


    Giantcliff thought for a moment and shouted again.


    "Lord Myrell, this meat belongs to murderous and evil carnivores, and eating them is a safeguard of justice! Furthermore...... This time, I came to see the Lord in the hope that the Lord can help us fight against other hypocritical and evil barbaric intelligent races! And help them on the path of order and civility!¡±


    This time, his voice travelled further.


    Gradually, the earth began to shake...


    With a once in a lifetime snort, a huge ck shadow shrouded all the half-orcs.


    "Against the evil race?"


    An interested voice resounded above everyone.


    "Take me quickly!"

 Chapter 90: For the Clan

    > Southeastern Junction of the Elven Forest and the Dark Mountains


    An old man in a hood looked at the lush forest in the distance and sighed, a little relieved.


    "We¡¯ve finally arrived."


    He turned his head and looked at the more than 200 nsmen behind him, carrying packages and bags, and covering their appearance with long coats and hoods, and smiled.


    ¡°We''re going home!"


    This old man is none other than the Lower Silver (Level 41) Nature Priest sent by Eve - Samir stwind.


    And those who followed him were the nsmen of the elven me Tribe.


    They have been travelling in the dark mountains for more than a month, and now are finallying out of the rugged and treacherous foothills.


    Hearing Samir''s words, the elves let out a cheer.


    However, Samir''s expression soon became serious.


    "We can''t let our guard down. If I am not mistaken, there seems to be a powerful half-orc tribe in the vicinity, and our entourage of more than two hundred people is quiterge. We can''t rest, and have to go to the Elven Forest at full speed!¡±


    Elves are nature''s darlings, and once they enter the forest, they will be like a needle in a haystack.


    Although the group of more than two hundred people is veryrge, it is still more hidden and more secure than in the bare Dark Mountains!


    The patriarch of the me Tribe on the side, Philosir me, also nodded.


    ¡°That''s right, the cave tribe of the half-orcs has settled nearby, and they have always been proud of hunting elves, and they can be regarded as the old enemies of our me Tribe."


    When she said this, she gritted her teeth.


    In the past thousand years, the elven race has lost the protection of the World Tree, and has borne the shackles of the curse of demoting the rank.


    Their strength has vastly plummeted.


    Not only did the elves lose all the middle and high priests, but even the birth of mages became very difficult, and the mages only mastered some instinctive zero-ring magic.


    They were not at all the opponents of the half-orcs with the support of the gods behind them.


    If it weren''t for the fact that there was only one path from the Dark Mountain Range to the Elven Forest, Philosir wouldn''t have wanted to take this risk at all.


    But...... It''s different now.


    The return of the mother god has been confirmed, and the shackles on the nsmen have been untied.


    Although everyone''s strength is still very weak, they also have a trace of confidence.


    "If we really bump into them, even if I lose my old life, I will let the little guys in the tribe go back!"


    Philosir¡¯s expression was firm.


    As long as the n can return to the Elven Forest, he is willing to give anything, even his life, for it!


    Philosir believes that with the protection of the World Tree, the race will grow again!


    Listening to Philosir¡¯s words, Samir looked determined.


    "Don''t worry, Philosir. I will also do my best to assist you. Not only that, but Mother Goddess must be watching our actions, and she will definitely protect us!"


    After that, he suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at the other elves.


    "Before we return to the core area, everyone temporarily suspend our daily prayers."


    Seeing the doubtful eyes of the nsmen, Samir exined,


    "The recovery of the Mother Goddess is still a secret. We are still in the stage of collecting the n and umting the heritage.


    ¡°During this period, we cannot expose the return of the Mother Goddess! The future of our elven race is at stake!¡±


    Listening to Samir''s exnation, the elves also nodded one after another, and many old elves who subconsciously wanted to draw tree symbols on their chests quickly stopped their movements.


    Seeing the cooperation of the nsmen, Samir was satisfied.


    He and Philosir looked at each other, nodded to each other, and gave the order,


    "Everyone, keep quiet, let''s go at full speed!"


    More than two hundred elves silently packed their bags, and quietly quickened the pace under their feet.


    Along the way, Samir remained more vignt than ever, holding the Leaf of the World Tree in his hands, ready to be inbat at any time.


    However, this time luck seemed to favour the elves again, and when they returned to the Elven Forest, the half-orc figure did not appear.


    Samir finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    He wiped the sweat on his forehead from his journey, and cast a [Nature Whisper] at the nts of the Elven Forest.


    He was not only a priest, but also a druid.


    This is a new druid skill that he learned after being promoted to silver under the gods'' favour.


    And as soon as he cast [Natural Whisper], his expression changed slightly.


    "Not good!"


    "What''s wrong?"


    Seeing his expression, Philosir''s heart tightened.


    Samir looked solemn.


    "Nature tells me that not long ago... Arge number of orcs have entered the Elven Forest!¡±


    Philosir¡¯s face changed, he frowned for a moment, and sighed.


    "I''m afraid... Our whereabouts are exposed. The advance of more than 200 people is extremely conspicuous, and exposure is an event with a high probability.¡±


    Although the elves are hiding their appearance, their temperament and some of their movements cannot be concealed.


    It''s an okay disguise to fool others, but it''s difficult to fool orcs who have extensive experience in elven hunting.


    Samir''s voice was solemn.


    "Half-orcs are extremely cunning and evil, we have to prepare for a battle."


    Philosir and the other elves listened to him, and their expressions gradually became firm.


    They ripped off their hoods and drew out their elven short swords and curved bows.


    "Hehe, I haven''t used this curved bow for many years, I don''t know if my arrow skills have regressed."


    "I think when I was young, I was also a good elven swordsman, until... Although I am old now, I can still afford to hold a sword.¡±


    "We¡¯ve alreadye here, and it''s impossible to quit anymore. For the future of the elven race, for the future of the me n, let''s fight!¡±


    Seeing the determination of the elves, Samir had aplicated expression.


    He sighed and said,


    ¡°Next, I will try to take everyone around the road, and avoid it if I can.¡±


    ¡°If we are unfortunate enough to engage... The elderly should rush ahead, the young and strong second, and everybody protects the children!¡±


    The elves listened and nodded in agreement.


    The old elves are the strongest, however they have lost their fertility.


    Although the young and strong have good strength and have taken over the inheritance, their experience isckingpared to the older elves.


    The children... They are the future of the elven race, and they must be protected!


    The morale of the elves reached a peak.


    Guided by Samir, they entered the Elven Forest.


    Only this time, the half-orcs seemed to have prepared for the encirclement and suppression operation.


    Samir had avoided the half-orc ambush as much as possible, but not long after entering the Elven Forest, they still ran into scattered half-orc scouts!


    The half-orcs looked overjoyed when they saw the elven team.


    Instead of stepping forward to attack, they took out a horn from their arms and blew it loudly.


    "Woo¡ª¡ª!"


    The loud sound of the horn was like a signal, constantly spreading around.


    "It''s the rallying horn of the half-orcs!"


    Samir''s face changed drastically.


    Half-orcs only use this kind of horn when dispatchingrge troops!


    In therge army of half-orcs, each dispatch has at least three hundred orcs, and all of them are brave warriors!


    Not only that, but the half-orc priests will also go with them.


    This was no longer a force that the weakened me n could resist.


    Samir gritted his teeth and shouted,


    "Throw away those bulky backpacks, everyone only bring weapons, we must break out!¡±

 Chapter 91: The Orc’s Ambush

    Hearing Samir''s words, the people of the me n hesitated for a moment.


    A trembling old elf reluctantly touched the bag in his hand, lifted a corner, and revealed a thick and ancient book engraved with gorgeous patterns.


    His voice was bitter.


    "This... These are all paper texts that we brought out of the Elven Forest back then, and they are the inheritance of the elven race for thousands of years.


    ¡°If we leave it behind, then the elven race..."


    Samir looked at him in aplicated way and sighed.


    "The mother god has returned, civilization can continue, but if the elves are dead, there will be nothing."


    Philosir touched the thick genealogy of the me n he carried, and a cloudy tear shed in the corner of his eyes.


    "s..."


    He sighed, and under the unbelievable gazes of the old elves, she ruthlessly threw the thick genealogy that had been passed down by the me n for thousands of years and recorded the countless history and glory of the tribe on the ground...


    "The n ... Patriarch!¡±


    Several old elves were shocked.


    Philosir nced at them and released the aura on his body...


    For a moment, all the old elves quieted down and looked at her with pleading faces.


    Philosir avoided their gaze, her voice was as cold as iron, and it carried an irrefutable momentum.


    "History is written by civilization, and the carrier of silver civilization is the elves themselves.


    ¡°After all, if we can''t even protect ourselves, these texts... Don''t!


    "Look at the children of the n! We still have a future, we still have hope! We have lived a life of discement all our lives, and we can''t let them live our miserable life anymore!¡±


    After that, she ordered loudly in an old voice,


    "Everyone, throw down the weights and dry food, carry only weapons, and protect the children to break through at full speed!"


    Seeing that the respected old patriarchs were like this, the elves hesitated, and then they all threw the luggage in their hands on the ground.


    For a while, there were some weeping in the crowd.


    The old elves had red eyes, drew their weapons, nced sadly at the luggage on the ground, and roared.


    ¡°Raarr¡ª!¡±


    Countless numbers of magical brilliance bloomed from their bodies.


    These old elves who have survived to the present, although they are already very old, they are also the most powerful warriors of the elven race!


    Looking at the nsmen who turned grief into strength, Fei Luoxier felt a little trance for a while.


    She seems to have returned to the days when she led the elven legion and desperately broke through from the elven forest under the blocking of thebined army of humans, orcs and half-dragons...


    Taking a deep breath, she raised her thousand-year-old me Staff!


    "Partners, let''s go! Let''s go home!¡±


    A dazzling magical brilliance was released from the staff, and the nts in front of them suddenly gave way to a path on its own.


    Three-ring magic, [Jungle Command].


    More than two hundred elves began to change formations.


    All the elderly elves came to the outermost periphery, spearheaded by elven warriors and elven rangers, backed by mages, druids, and elven archers.


    The elves in their prime carried the children on their backs and were protected in the middle of the group.


    "Rush!"


    They shouted and charged along the path opened by the patriarch.


    And after they left, the nts closed again, obscuring the original path.


    "Not good! Those elves want to avoid us!¡±


    The expression of the half-orc scout who had been staring in the distance changed, and he quickly blew the horn again.


    The team of orcs hidden in the Elven Forest also began to act under the guidance of the horn.


    "Those scouts are delivering messages, kill them!"


    Hearing the scout''s horn, Samir changed his expression and shouted at the elven hunters in the ranks.


    Several elven hunters hesitated, and they habitually aimed at the orc¡¯s limbs.


    At this time, an elderly elf grabbed the curved bow, aimed at the half-orc scout and shot over...


    The arrow arrived in an instant, piercing the throat of the half-orc with pinpoint uracy.


    Then, the old elf looked at the hunters and said with red eyes,


    "Don¡¯t be merciful! Think about how they''ve treated us over the years! Is your precise archery just for show?!


    "Even if killing causes us to die and descend us to hell, we will kill a way for the me n!"


    Listening to his words, a trace of shame shed on the faces of several elf hunters.


    But soon, their expressions became firm, and they all raised their bows and arrows.


    However, the main team of the half-orcs finally intercepted the elves of the me Tribe under the guidance of the horn.


    Nearly a hundred heavily armed half-orcs rushed out of the forest, and under the blessing of the priests'' divine magic, their bodies shed with the brilliance of divine power, blocking the elves'' path.


    At the same time, there were more orcs,ing from farther afield in the forest.


    "Don''t leave a single old elf, capture all the female and young elves alive!"


    In the half-orc team, the priest who led the team let out a shout.


    "Hmph!"


    Samir let out a cold snort, and powerful magic continued to gather on his body.

 Chapter 92: Reinforcements

    In the world of Sagas, intelligent beings can be divided into ordinary races, iron races, silver races, and gold races ording to their natural growth to adulthood.


    And the dragon, with a race history as long as the Sagas world is undoubtedly the best in the golden race, and an almost invincible existence in the same rank!


    Not only that, as a race with a longer lifespan than elves, when dragons live long enough, their strength will even break through the limits of the world, reaching legendary and even demigod level!


    The oldest dragon has a strength that even true gods would fear.


    Simr to some fantasy stories of the Earth, the dragons of the Sagas world are also divided into two camps: Metal Dragons and Colour Dragons.


    Unlike the kind and peaceful metal dragon, all colored dragons have an evil and bloodthirsty nature in their bones, and the ck dragon stands out because of its cruel nature.


    Therefore, when he saw the hideous ck dragon in the sky, Philosir felt terrified.


    It was a ck dragon with a wingspan of nearly twenty metres, and although it was not yet an adult, the dragon aura on its body had gradually appeared.


    Upper Silver!


    This is a juvenile ck dragon with the strength of Upper Silver!


    "ck Dragon?"


    Hearing Philosir¡¯s exmation, the young ck dragon''s expression suddenly became yful.


    It roared "Rua¡ª~", grinned, and roared angrily.


    "ck Dragon, ck Dragon! You are the ck Dragon! Your whole family is a ck Dragon! The Great Myrell is not a ck Dragon! We are a noble Silver Dragon, dammit! ¡±


    ¡°Ruaaa¡ª¡ª! Evil intelligent race! You will be justly punished by Lord Myrell!¡±


    Philosir: ¡°¡­.¡±


    Elves: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Silver...... Silver Dragon?


    Listening to the crisp and angrynguage, everyone was stunned.


    Looking at the hideous ck scales, as well as the horns and skeleton armour that belonged to the ck dragon, the elves were a little confused for a while.


    This ck dragon... Is there a bit of a brain problem?


    However, now is not the time to think about whether there is something wrong with this dragon.


    Because when it roars, the attacking dragon breath also followed.


    It was a thread-like strong acid breath belonging to the ck dragon, which was extremely corrosive.


    Samir''s face changed drastically, and he quickly summoned a wooden shield.


    However, the silver-level wooden shield was like paper paste under the breath of the ck dragon, and it was instantly corroded into arge hole.


    Strong acid sshed, and several elves who were affected were instantly seriously injured!


    The half-orc priest in the distance saw it, and quickly shouted with a heartache,


    "Lord Myrell, please don''t hit hard! Catch them alive! Please prevent them from escaping!


    Hearing the half-orc''s cry, the ck dragon turned his head and looked at them, dissatisfied.


    "You are too merciful! To fight evil, the toughest sanctions must be given!¡±


    Half-orcs: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Elves: ¡°¡­..¡±


    However, although the ck dragon said this, it no longer spat out dragon breath, but roared "Rua-!", while constantly pping its wings, and using a swooping and biting action to prevent the elves from leaving.


    An abnormal ck dragon that obeys the call of the half-orcs!


    The elves'' expressions changed.


    And just when the young ck dragon blocked the elves, the army of half-orcs finally arrived.


    More than 200 orcs came from all directions, besieging the elves who were about to leave the battlefield again!


    Samir''s expression changed a few times, and then he gritted his teeth and roared at the dragon in the sky.


    "Evil dragon, your opponent is me!¡±


    After that, he rushed out of the elf''s team and came to under the ck dragon in a few steps.


    As soon as he stretched out his hand, he took out a golden leaf!


    Samir reverently lifted the de and whispered the incantation, while the de in his hand bloomed with brilliant divine power light in an instant!


    "Leaves of the World Tree! There is still such a thing among the elves?¡±


    The half-orc priest immediately recognized the origin of the leaf.


    His face changed, and he shouted at the sky,


    "Not good! Lord Myrell, get out of the way!"


    However, it was toote.


    The leaves of the World Tree turned into ashes in a moment, and the dazzling holy light formed a cage and covered the ck dragon!


    [Cage of Light]


    Gold-level control Divine Art!


    This is a divine art that can be used both as a defence and as a prison.


    The juvenile ck Dragon Myrell let out an angry roar and mmed into the cage.


    However, under its impact, the cage only shook slightly.


    Myrell was angry and attacked again, but the cage of light only shed..


    Below, Samir kept vomiting blood while trying to maintain the existence of the divine magic.


    Controlling high-level divine arts is still very difficult for him.


    This is not a one-time attack magic, but requiressting control from the caster.


    Although the ck dragon could not break free for the time being, for every collision he made Samir, whose mind was connected to the cage of light, also suffered some damage.


    ¡°Rua-!! Evil bastards! Let go of the great Lord Myrell! Otherwise, Lord Myrell will definitely eat you!¡±


    Inside the cage, there was the irritated roar of the ck dragon.


    Samir did not care about the angry ck dragon, but looked at the elven team, and shouted, while spitting blood.


    "Avoid the half-orcs! While I can still control the cage, everyone break through! How many people can go! How many people can walk!¡±


    However, at this moment, the elves have fallen into the quagmire of battle.


    The encirclement of the orcs haspletely closed, and without the magical support of Samir, the elves can only gather together and struggle to support themselves under the siege of the half-orcs.


    With the continuous consumption of mana and the gradual decline of physical strength, it is only a matter of time before they lose.


    Not to mention... The ck dragon''s collision with the cage became more and more violent, and it was only a matter of time before it broke through the cage.


    The moment the ck dragon appeared, the elves had lost their best chance to break through.


    Looking at the besieged elves, the half-orc priest was extremely excited.


    "Everyone, fight slowly! They can''t defeat us! Capture all the women and children alive, and the priests will be rewarded!¡±


    Listening to the priest''s words, the half-orcs became even more excited.


    The casualties of the elves are increasing.


    Old elves continue to fall, and there aren¡¯t many young elves who go up to participate in the battle.


    Looking at the gradually dwindling nsmen, Philosit looked strained:


    "Could it be¡­ Will we get defeated?¡±


    The morale of the half-orcs was getting stronger and stronger.


    The elves are already at the end of the line.


    "No... You must find a way to break out, even if only one n member can get out!¡±


    Philosir gritted his teeth, ready to burn his magic and life force to find an opportunity for the nsmen to break through at the expense of himself.


    However, just as he was about to activate her magical power, there was amotion behind the half-orcs.


    In the air, faint magic fluctuations came from afar, apanied by violent explosions and faint shouts.


    Philosir¡¯s movements stopped.


    She suddenly raised her head and looked deep into the forest.


    The rear of the half-orc team began to be chaotic, and the shouts gradually became clear.


    "Kill! The me n is surrounded!¡±


    "Hurry up! Time is money! We can¡¯t let the NPCs fall!¡±


    "For the sake of the scriptures... Glory to the elves, rush!¡±


    "Kill the half-orcs!"


    "Urrah¡ª¡ª!!!"


    With an excited and crazy cry, hundreds of young elves appeared in Philosir''s sight!

 Chapter 93: Don’t You Die

    Hundreds of heavily armed elves!


    They alle in different shapes, most of them wear ornate armour, but they are all young elves.


    They were holding various weapons, their faces were crazy, and they looked at the half-orcs like they were killing their mothers.


    "It''s abominable! How could they be so fast? I haven''t arrived yet!


    This voice was tinged with dissatisfaction.


    "Another NPC has fallen!"


    This one was apanied by an exmation.


    "Everyone, rush! Rescue them!¡±


    This voice was filled with urgency.


    "What is that in the sky? Is that a dragon?¡±


    This voice was tinged with surprise and curiosity.


    "So handsome! Screenshot, screenshot!¡±


    This voice was tinged with excitement.


    "Screenshot my ass! That''s the enemy! Rush in first to protect the NPCs! Think about the experience and contribution!¡±


    This sound... It seemed that their heart hurt listening to the previous remark.


    "Yes! Kill! Protect the NPCs!¡±


    "Urrah¡ª¡ª!"


    Their voices were full of madness.


    The strange elves who were rushing out looked at the falling me n from a distance, their expressions excited and angry, like dragons who had been offended.


    It was the yers who arrived!


    After the previous encirclement and suppression of the half-orc hunting team, coupled with those second-test level emperors, the yers who have now reached a higher level approached four hundred people, and this time it can be regarded as an ant nest!


    Listening to their shouts and feeling the genuine concern in those words, the eyes of the elves of the me n turned moist.


    An old elf choked out,


    "Elves! It''s elves! It¡¯s our people who came to meet us!¡±


    .


    In an instant, the morale of the me n was revived!


    The team of half-orcs was suddenly confused by this sudden attack.


    "Why are so many elves popping up again?!"


    Looking at the hundreds of tall figures behind him and the gorgeous equipment, the half-orc priest''s scalp was numb.


    The chief priest, Giantcliff, did not tell him about the secret operation of ckstone, and the oracle of Ullr was not announced.


    Ordinary priests and half-orcs do not know about the changes in the Elven Forest.


    The hundreds of elves that suddenly appeared terrified them.


    Philosir''s eyes lit up, and she raised her staff and ordered,


    "Reinforcements have arrived! Everyone, work together, we will break through!¡±


    After engaging the strange elves, the half-orcs were stunned.


    Because they found that the strength of these elves was extremely poor, at most it was no more than the middle of the lower position of iron, and theirbat experience was very poor.


    With just one attack, several elves were cut to the ground like chopping vegetables.


    "Wait... So weak!¡±


    The half-orcs looked at an elf who was knocked down at greeting, and their faces were surprised.


    The priest''s eyes lit up and he shouted,


    "This is a pack of rookies! Catch these young elves!¡±


    The me n looked at the young elves who began to suffer casualties, their expressions full of guilt and sadness.


    The few dozen remaining old elves nced at each other and nodded one after another.


    The momentum on their bodies changed, and they began to fight hard without fear of injury!


    "Our people are using blood and lives to create opportunities for us, we must break through!"


    They shouted and rushed into the orcs to start fighting.


    And looking at these dozens of old elves who almost gave up their lives to fight, the yers'' eyes were red.


    "No! Uncles and aunties, you don''t want to do that!¡±


    "Experience points! Wasted experience points and contribution! My heart hurts!¡±


    "Go and help them!¡±


    "What about Lord Al! Where is Lord Al? Request support!¡±


    They shouted, they fought, and they fought hard.¡±


    And fighting again, gradually, the hearts of the half-orcs were full of shock.


    Because these elves who rushed up were not afraid of death, although their strength was poor.


    They did everything they could, and in order to inflict damage on the half-orcs, they even began a suicidal charge!


    Not only that, they didn''t seem to care about their injuries at all, if they had a breath, they would bite off a piece of flesh from the half-orcs...


    Many half-orcs were hugged by these crazy elves at once, and then shouted,


    "Shoot at me!¡±


    Then, being overwhelmed by the magic of other elves...


    "Crazy! These elves are crazy!¡±


    The half-orc priest looked at these elves who didn''t even care about the lives of theirpanions, and they werepletely stunned.


    The me n was also stunned.


    Filosir looked at the young elves who were charging suicidally, with heartache, appreciation, and confusion.


    She shouted,


    ¡°Kids! Don''t send yourselves to death!¡±


    However, the elves who came did not stop, and the casualties increased.


    In less than ten minutes, dozens of elves had already died.


    For a while, the me n also had red eyes.


    For so many years, they had never seen such a big casualty in a short period of time for the elven race!


    And...... It''s still young lives!


    "Children, don''t die!!"


    "Kill! Rush out!¡±


    "Evil half-orcs, I will fight with you!"


    All the me ns became angry and began to fight hard.


    Young lives... They are the future of the elves!


    And seeing that the me n began to fight hard, the eyes of the yers who came to support became even redder.


    "Please! Uncles, aunts, big brothers and sisters! Don''t fight!¡±


    "Leave us alone! We won''t die!


    "Someone died again, oh my God! My heart hurts!¡±


    "Kill quickly! One-on-one substitution! Fight these half-orcs with the sacrificial stream!¡±


    They fought aggressively.


    The half-orc priest looked at the elves who had lost their lives for a moment, and they were all stunned.


    A thin figure suddenly rushed out from the crowd.


    It was a short elven boy with silver hair and blue eyes, and a childish face with a bit of determination and anger.


    He held an elven short sword and constantly shuttled through the half-orcs.


    Every half-orc who engaged him was seriously injured by him in an instant.


    The momentum of the yers suddenly flourished.


    "Big Brother Al ising to support!"


    "Good! Al!¡±


    They immediately followed Al¡¯s actions, beating to death the group of half-orcs who had been badly injured by him.


    The casualties of the half-orcs began to increase rapidly, and their morale plummeted!


    "Silver! Another silver!¡±


    Looking at Al, who was constantly moving, a half-orc priest looked terrified.


    Alreadypletely messed up.


    If the appearance of the yer can still make the half-orcs persist, then Al is the weight thatpletely overturns the scale!


    The team of half-orcs has finally begun to rout!


    The yers who rushed to the front finally connected with the me n.


    "Brave children!"


    Looking at the yers who rushed up, Philosir looked excited.


    He waved his staff and prepared to continue fighting.


    However a yer suddenly rushed up and blocked her.


    Only listening to the "poof", hot blood sttered onto his head.


    A half-orc''s long sword pierced the yer''s chest.


    For a moment, Philosir froze.


    He quickly picked up this young n member who was constantly coughing up blood, with tears in her eyes.


    "Why... Why..."


    And the yer smiled at her while vomiting blood, with a sad expression:


    "Goddess... Having said that... Don''t let you... Hurt, we... Just definitely... Won''t let you guys... Hurt..." "But..."


    Philosir looked horrified.


    "Even if you don''t block it... I can stop him too..."


    yer: ¡°¡­¡±


    "Ahem..."


    He coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, his neck was crooked, and he was out of breath...


    A simr situation began to y out everywhere.


    "Child! I''m already very old, and it''s not worth blocking for me!"


    "Child! Cheer up!¡±


    "Why bother! Why bother!¡±


    "Aaaaah! Abominable half-orcs, they are all young, they are the future of the elven race..."


    yers joined the ranks of the me n one after another, but did not actively fight the half-orcs anymore... Instead, they fought to the death to protect the elves of the me n, for fear that they would be hurt in the slightest.


    Even at the cost of one''s own life.


    This made the elves of the me n moved and confused.


    They felt as if they had be the elven royal family in ancient times, and they were protected by a group of nsmen desperately.


    Gradually, the situation on the battlefield reversed, and the half-orcs began to flee under the pursuit of Al and some yers...


    The ck dragon in the sky was unable to break through the barrier.


    It could only keep crashing into the cage of light, looking at Al and the yers who were chasing and killing the half-orcs, and roared angrily.


    "You are indeed an evil intelligent race, you are so cruel! Ruaaa¡ª¡ª! We will not let you go, bastards!


    As for the elves who died at the hands of the half-orcs, they have already been ignored by it.


    Because in Myrell''s view, the evil race deserves the punishment of death...


    Listening to the roar of the ck dragon, the yers looked confused.


    "Evil intelligent race?"


    "This... They are talking about us?¡±

 Chapter 94: Angry Black Dragon

    The first-test yers were confused.


    "There seems to be nothing wrong¡­?"


    One of the second-test yers looked at the dozen war-mad first test yers whose faces were covered in blood, chasing and killing half-orcs behind Al, while bloodthirsty and excitedlyughing, and muttered softly.


    However, they were quickly given a head cone by Demacia on the side.


    "Don''t talk nonsense! We are the embodiment of goodness and justice, the chosen ones under the goddess!¡±


    Second-test yer: ¡°¡­¡±


    Well......


    Experience must be taken, but the character cannot be broken.


    After all, this game is about substitution!


    The elves of the me n are still watching!


    yers have not forgotten this mission and the impact it may have in the future.


    NPCs!


    These elves are all NPCs that will settle in Florence in the future!


    Having a good rtionship with them maye in handy sometime.


    This is why the yers are so desperate in this battle, with all kinds of tricks...


    On the way to support, there are already big guys who have analysed this mission in depth on the official website forum.


    ording to the usual straightforward nature of the nners, this rescue mission will definitely determine the direction of the entire game plot again!


    The big guys analysed and guessed, simr to letting yers build their own novice viges, these rescued elves may also be important NPCs in the new main city, Florence!


    Which is right.


    However, the me n did not know the curves in this, and they did not know that these young elves in front of them who looked at death like home were actually not afraid of death at all...


    They looked at these brave yers and were moved.


    And the yers looked at the system bar that popped up from time to time [so-and-so''s favorability of you increased by 40 points...], and they werepletely happy, and all kinds of blocking knives and death protection were even more tragic.


    Although most of the elves of the me n are still shallow believers, and there are not many devout believers, as long as they are believers, Eve can connect them to the yer''s game system.


    In this case, depending on the mood of the believer, he can easily manifest his favorability.


    And for yers, this is a great opportunity to brush up on good feelings!


    For how much benefit will be gained by farming NPCs'' good feelings, just look at Li Mu and Demacia.


    Because the former has a high favorability with Alice, Alice answers almost every question of his, and is even willing to let him learn the knowledge of Magic Circles with Cuckoo Bird.


    And thetter, because he was locked up in a cell with Al for a while, he somehow managed to get Al¡¯s good feelings high.


    Now that guy fools Al every day to beat up monsters everywhere, and he leads the team to harvest wildly in the back, triumphant, and with envy of the other yers...


    But now... The opportunity is again!


    More than 200 elf NPCs!


    ording to the setting of the elves, they have an extremely long lifespan and love to collect knowledge, so yers don''t believe that they can''t get a little from them after getting a good rtionship with them...


    The facts are also very exciting.


    Everyone can see the good feelings of NPCs that are shooting up like a rocket...


    Everybody became even more excited, treating the elves of the me n as enthusiastically as fellow yers.


    The reversal of the situation on the battlefield finally caused the half-orcs to collectively begin to flee, and even the priests, who were themanders, fled in panic under the pursuit of Al.


    Many yers also began to follow Al, chasing and killing the fleeing orcs.


    After all...... Half-orcs are also live experience points and contribution, not to mention that there is Al in front of them. They only need to harvest the seeds that they didn¡¯t sow.


    Emotions are contagious, and their madness even infected some of the young elves of the me n.


    They joined the chase with red eyes...


    Philosir and the old elves could only shout in worry:


    "Don''t chase! Don''t chase!¡±


    And at this moment, a childish and angry roar suddenly came from the sky.


    "Rua¡ª¡ª!!!"


    The cage of light suddenly bloomed with a golden light, followed by countless cracks, and finally shattered!


    Below, Samir¡¯s face turned pale. He spewed out a mouthful of blood, and then slowly fell to the ground, unconscious.


    ck Dragon Myrell is out of the cage!


    They had red eyes and were extremely angry.


    "Evil intelligent race, you will pay for your actions!"


    And seeing the ck dragon that had regained its freedom, the elves and yers who were chasing and killing the half-orcs also stopped, looking at this behemoth in the sky with a solemn face.


    "Uh oh, trouble!¡±


    "This ck dragon won''t be the boss of this mission, right?"


    The yers looked at the dragon in the sky, cautious and excited.


    After so long in the game, this is the first time they have seen a real dragon!


    Alive!


    The people of the Earth have a different kind of feeling for the dragon.


    Even if this dragon is a scary lizard in Western Fantasy, they looked at it excitedly and curiously.


    Seeing that the elves below were not afraid of him in the slightest, Myrell was angry, feeling that his status as a dragon was insulted.


    He roared again andpletely unfolded his dragon power!


    For a while, all the yers fell silent.


    Unlike Shenwei, which acts on the soul, Ryuwei acts directly on the body.


    Although the ck dragon is not yet an adult, the dragon power released by the silver lord is already terrifying.


    The yers, who were still very weak, trembled involuntarily, feeling that their control of their bodies was a little sluggish.


    And an instinctive fear hit their hearts


    "Hey... I...... I...... Why are you shaking?¡±


    Ryuwei... This must be the legendary dragon power!


    "... So strong!¡±


    The elves of the me n also changed their faces.


    "Not good! The ck dragon is out of prison!¡±


    Al raised his head and looked at the ck dragon Myrell''s gaze, full of rm.


    "ck Dragon..."


    His mood kept sinking.


    The ck dragon of Upper Silver strength... Although it is only a child, all the elves here together are probably not its opponents!


    Grandpa once told him that ck dragons of this strength are enough to ughter remote human cities!


    The ck dragon''s gaze scanned the audience, his eyes were extremely dangerous, and finally focused his attention on Al.


    The rout of the half-orcs was caused by him alone!


    At this thought, Myrell''s heart became more and more angry.


    "Evil bastards! It was really a great crime to embarrass Lord Myrell so much!¡±


    ¡°Go and die, pigs!"


    He aimed at Al, spewing out a strong acidic dragon breath!


    "Not good!"


    "Get out of the way!"


    Seeing the spouting dragon breath, the expression of the me Tribe changed drastically.


    They had just seen the power of dragon breath!


    Al also looked flustered and quickly dodged.


    The linear dragon breath sprayed at the ce where he was originally standing, instantly corroding a deep hole that was constantly emitting white smoke, with a radius of several metres!


    All of the affected nts turned to ashes in an instant ...


    That kind of power isparable to five-ring magic!


    And this is just a mouthful of phlegm from the dragon.


    And although he dodged in time, Al''s arm was still rubbed a little.


    He let out a muffled snort of pain. His entire arm decayed in an instant, and it was still spreading rapidly to his body!


    Al''s face turned pale, and he clenched his teeth and ruthlessly cut off his arm to stop this spreading corruption.


    Seeing that a mouthful of phlegm did not spray Al to death, the ck dragon Myrell became even more angry.


    It puffed out its cheeks again, brewing a bigger breath of dragon breath, and it spewed out instantly!


    And this time, it spit faster, had a wider area, andsted longer!


    Al didn''t have time to dodge anymore...


    "Not good!"


    "Danger!"


    Everyone eximed.


    And just when the dragon breath was about to spray on Al, a brilliant holy light suddenly descended!


    The reason why the god dependents are called the god dependents...


    Is because they gave their whole body and mind to a True God, and have always lived under the gaze of the True God!

 Chapter 95: The Power of a True God

    Under everyone''s surprised gaze, Al''s body suddenly bloomed with a burst of golden light.


    The ck dragon''s breath evaporated like mist the moment it approached him, without causing him the slightest damage.


    Not only that, at the moment when the light enveloped Al, the injuries on his body began to heal quickly, and even the broken arm grew back up!


    The elves of the me n looked at this miraculous scene and opened their mouths in shock.


    Then, an old elf suddenly shook his heart and suddenly lost his voice.


    ¡°The power of life! It''s the power of life! This is the life force held by the Mother God! He...... He is the god dependent of the Mother God!


    "It''s the Mother Goddess... It''s the Mother Goddess! She has paid attention to us through this boy!¡±


    The remaining elves looked at Al, and their expressions changed from shock to excitement, and then from excitement to ecstasy!


    Nothing is more proof of the revival of the World Tree than the appearance of a god dependent!


    For a time, the old elves were in tears.


    They knelt down one after another, while constantly carving the symbol of Mother Nature on their chests.


    They choked up excitedly,


    "Praise Mother Nature, praise the Goddess of Life, praise the Great elf Goddess!"


    "The Mother Goddess... We''re back!¡±


    Their kneeling caused a series of chain reactions, and soon, all of the me n elves bowed down.


    Al looked at the nsmen who were kneeling down one after another, and was at a loss for a while.


    Although he is a god dependent, he is only an eighty-year-old child.


    But soon, he reacted, and also knelt down, shouting reverently in the direction of the core area of the Elven Forest.


    "Praise Mother Nature, praise the goddess of life, praise the great elven goddess ¡ª Eve Euktrahill!"


    The air is fanatical.


    For a while, all the indigenous elves knelt down one after another, leaving only the yers with a dazed look.


    However, they soon realised something.


    The first beta yers who had participated in the siege of ckstone excitedly said,


    "Goddess! The goddess! Goddess Eve ising again!¡±


    "The plot cutscene ising! Record quickly!¡±


    Goddess Eve!


    In addition to creating characters, yers who have not seen the avatar of the goddess in person are dazzled.


    If you ask who is the NPC that makes yers most curious and crazy in "Kingdom of the Elves", it is Eve!


    As the protagonist of therge-scale virtual online game "Kingdom of the Elves", Eve Euktrahill has been sought after by countless yers for her beautiful appearance, benevolent personality, and generous heart!


    On the official website, yers have even set up a support club for the goddess!


    And the plot animation of the first few times the goddess appeared caused yers to kneel and lick after being uploaded to the earth¡¯swork...


    Although it is a game, who doesn''t love fighting for a strong, beautiful little sister?


    Even if it is only a closed beta, the name of the goddess Eve Euktrahill has already be popr along with the poprity of "Kingdom of the Elves".


    The yers skillfully turned on the recording function, and also knelt down from the crowd, and also shouted excitedly in the direction of the world tree.


    "Praise Mother Nature, praise the goddess of life, praise the great elven goddess - Eve Euktrahill!"


    From time to time, they looked up and peeked around...


    And as soon as the words fell, more shining brilliance fell from the sky!


    Countless green photons flew from all directions and poured into everyone''s bodies.


    Their injuries were also beginning to recover rapidly.


    Severed limbs reborn, injuries healed... Even seriously injured and dying elves regained their health in an instant!


    The brilliance of divine power slowly fell, and even the nts in the forest were affected.


    They grow and bloom flowers, worshipping the goddess who rules nature and life!


    In a trance, yers seem to see a beautiful goddess with a gand crown on her head, dressed in a luxurious long dress, followed by brilliant holy light...


    For a while, it seemed that heaven and earth were overshadowed.


    However, when they rubbed their eyes and looked again, they seemed to see nothing.


    And feeling the life energy pouring into the body, the expressions of all the indigenous elves became more reverent, and their heads were buried deeper...


    At this time, they heard a gentle and divine voice in their ears.


    "Wee... Come back.¡±


    That voice seemed to echo directly in their hearts, with a trace of vicissitudes, and seemed to cross eternity.


    At the same time, majestic and intimate.


    In an instant, all the indigenous elves had blurred tears and choked their voices.


    Mother Goddess!


    This is the voice of the Mother Goddess!


    Mother Goddess hasn¡¯t forgotten about them!


    The cry of mourning continued to sound among the elves.


    In the sky, Myrell widened his eyes in an instant.


    Looking at the miraculous changes around it, he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of spit, and an unprecedented sense of crisis hit its heart.


    For a while, Myrell was so frightened that he couldn''t even speak themonnguage, and muttered directly in dragonnguage.


    "God... True God... It turned out to be a true God!¡±


    What the hell!


    How could there still be a true god in the Sagas ne?!


    Although he didn''t recognize which true God it was, only True Gods could do this kind of miraculous power!


    Thinking of the legends about the true god in the dragon race...


    Myrell suddenly panicked in his heart.


    He didn¡¯t care about the kneeling elves below, and turned around and ran.


    As the world''s oldest secr race with the greatest growth potential in Sagas, dragons are walking money in the eyes of the true gods!


    Every true god will be interested in recruiting dragons.


    The power of faith provided by a dragon is considerable, not to mention that they are simply the best mounts and watchdogs for true gods!


    And even worse, it is said that some evil gods like to eat dragon crystals and drink dragon blood...


    Some gods even use dragons as toys for their entertainment!


    Once targeted by a true god, a dragon''s freedom is gone, and it bes statusless.


    As a dragon who inspires to be a great dragon who punishes evil and promotes good, he is not willing to lose its precious freedom!


    Myrell took a deep breath, tucked his tail between his legs, pped his wings and turned around¡­


    Run!


    Hurry up and run!


    If you don''t run, your cosy dragon life will be gone!


    At this time, Myrell suddenly heard an interested voice in his heart.


    "ck dragon?"


    That voice was extremely majestic, and there was a hint of curiosity.


    In an instant, the little ck dragon took a breath unconsciously.


    The only beings who can cross the dragon''s spiritual defense line and directly resound the words in its heart are those who are high above!


    A true god!


    It''s really a true God!


    At this moment, he didn''t think of anything, and used its whole body strength to fly back desperately!


    He was cursing himself in his heart, why did you want to follow the half-orcs...


    Myrell almost regretted not dying.


    If he knew that there was a true god behind the evil intelligent race he wanted to fight, no matter how courageous he is, he would not have dared toe!


    Then, he heard the creepy voice of the true god again.


    "It just so happens that the town stillcks a janitor."


    Ah......A janitor.¡­.


    Myrell''s eyes widened, terrified.


    It gritted its teeth, and the pair of small wings fanned faster...


    However, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky!


    The brilliant holy light turned into a dazzling rope, and in Myrell''s horrified sight, he was easily tied to immobility...


    It also entangled his mouth.


    "Snap!¡±


    The hapless little ck dragon fell from the air and plunged headlong into the soil.

 Chapter 96: Annihilation

    The ck dragon fell to the ground.


    The brilliance of the divine power slowly disappeared, and everything returned to its original state, as if the miracle just now was just an illusion.


    At the same time, all yers received a new system message again.


    [Ding¡ª¡ª!]


    [A total of 181 elves of the me n have been sessfully rescued. The elves can be escorted to Florence toplete the task. Rewards will be distributed ording to the contribution to the task and the number of elves sessfully rescued.]


    [Ding¡ª!]


    [Triggered the side quest: Transporting the captured ck dragon to the elven town]


    [Reward: 50 Contribution Points]


    "Capture the ck dragon?"


    Their eyes lit up, and they all looked at Myrell who fell to the ground and was entangled in the rope of divine power.


    Looking at the curious gazes cast by the elves, Myrell almost died of shame and indignation.


    It wanted to open its mouth to speak, but under the winding of the rope, it could not make a sound, and could only "whine" and swallow.


    "The goddess is so powerful! She caught the ck dragon!¡±


    "After all, it''s a true God!"


    While sighing, the yers came to Myrell''s side excitedly.


    They didn''t care about Myrell''s sad and indignant gaze, but while boldly and curiously touching its scales, they excitedly took screenshots around it.


    "This ck dragon is so cool!"


    "Its scales are so hard!"


    "Group photo!"


    "Wait... Let me pose!¡±


    Myrell: ¡°¡­..¡±


    yers also said some remarks from time to time that made Myrell quite frightened.


    "I don''t know if its scales can be used as a shield, it feels so strong..."


    "I remember the fantasy story that if you drink the blood of a dragon, you will gain great power! I wonder if its blood is useful? ¡°


    "That said... Is there a way to tame it as a mount? Dragon Knight... It''s dreamy to think about!¡±


    Myrell: ¡°¡­¡±


    It let out a low whimper while looking at these hateful bastards with sorrow and indignation...


    They really are a cruel intelligent race!


    They¡¯re so evil!


    These long ears are so evil!


    Not only do you want his scales, but you also want to drink his blood, and you want the great Myrell to be a mount!


    Is Myrell''s dragon birthing to an end here?


    Myrell has not yet be the greatest dragon, Myrell is unwilling!


    What does the future hold for Myrell?


    While thinking about it, crystal tears welled up in the corners of its eyes.


    "Wow! Actually crying?¡±


    "This ck gentleman is also too small, right?"


    Myrell: ¡°¡­¡±


    Myrell didn¡¯t look over and closed its eyes.


    He huffed and started to y dead.


    The elves of the me n fell into grief after cheering.


    This time, even with the breakthrough, dozens of old elves still died in battle.


    The remaining nsmen grieved and gathered the bodies of the dead in battle, ready to be cremated with magical mes.


    This is the Elven Forest.


    In the elven tradition, after the cremation of the dead body, the ashes scattered in the Elven Forest would return to the roots, and the soul would go to the heavenly kingdom of the mother god...


    However, when collecting the corpses, the elves were stunned to find that the young people who had died in battle were all gone...


    Not only that, but to their surprise, the surviving young nsmen did not seem to be at all saddened by the loss of theirpanions.


    Instead, they seem excited.


    Even if there were many grieving faces, It felt a bit contradictory.


    They seem to be suppressing their real emotions...


    The people of the me n felt that something was wrong, but they couldn''t say it.


    Before they could ask anything, the yers joined them as well, mourning the dead elves with grief on their faces and making them swallow the words in their throats.


    After Al recovers, he ns to hunt down the fleeing orcs again.


    Although these half-orcs had fled away when the power of the mother god came just now, Al was still not at ease.


    However, when he was about to leave, the voice of the mother goddess sounded in his heart:


    "No need to chase."


    Al stopped moving.


    However, since the mother goddess said that there was no need to chase, he gave up chasing and killing.


    Subsequently, he assisted the me n to collect the remains of the nsmen, and pulled the loot under the crowd of yers. The ck dragon Myrell, who pretended to be dead, began to return...


    ......


    The edge of the forest.


    The half-orc priest, apanied by the escort, fled in a hurry...


    This time to organise an ambush, the cave tribe sent a total of more than three hundred half-orc warriors, all of whom were young and strong!


    However, after those crazy elves and the thin silver swordsman appeared, the half-orcs died in dismay...


    Now there are only more than a hundred people left.


    Not only that, but what made the half-orc priest even more frightened was that Lord ck Dragon Myrell had not returned!


    Although there were no pursuers behind them, this discovery made him even more terrifying.


    "Leaves of the World Tre¡­ The power of the leaf shouldn¡¯t control Lord Myrell for so long... Are there more terrible enemies?¡±


    "Just now I seemed to feel fluctuations simr to divine power... Although I did not perceive a specific breath, this violent fluctuation must be the power of a true god!¡±


    The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more terrified he felt.


    The fleeing team suddenly stopped...


    "What''s going on?"


    The half-orc priest''s heart tightened. He looked ahead.


    A tall figure appeared at the exit of the Elven Forest.


    She was shrouded in a ck robe, her long dark gray hair hanging down from her hood, while a pair of scarlet eyes quietly watched the team of half-orcs.


    The expression was calm, like looking at a group of dead people.


    The pupils of the half-orc priest shrank slightly.


    Because...... He didn''t perceive the existence of this person at all!


    And this is either because the other party has a strong ability to conceal the aura, or the strength is far beyond his imagination!


    He was about to say something, when a huge coercive pressure suddenly came from the other party''s body.


    For a while, all the half-orcs were shocked in their hearts, because this pressure was countless times stronger than the ck dragon Myrell just now!


    Advanced Professionals!


    This is a high-level professional who has reached golden strength!


    The half-orc priest shouted madly in his heart, but he couldn''t make a sound in his mouth.


    Then, this mysterious person suddenly raised his head, and a cold and dead divine power suddenly spread out around her.


    All the half-orcs who came into contact with them froze, and then fell down one after another, losing their breath of life...


    And sensing the breath of that divine power, the half-orc priest suddenly widened his eyes.


    "Death... Die...... Death..."


    Before he finished speaking, he also lost his breath.


    Hundreds of half-orcs fell in such an unknown way.


    Not a single person escaped.


    The tall figure waved her hands again, and a vigorous divine power suddenly gushed out, swallowing all the remaining life force of the half-orcs in a blink of an eye.


    Her appearance changed again, turning into Eve''s appearance.


    "After killing so many people in my territory, don''t think about escaping."


    She dropped a word, and her whole body turned into a brilliant light and slowly disappeared.

 Chapter 97: Kingdom of God

    After using the avatar to pretend to be the Goddess of Death to destroy the fleeing orcs, Eve''s consciousness returned to the godhead space.


    This time, performing a miracle in front of the me n, she once again raised the faith of these indigenous elves.


    A small half of the original more than a hundred shallow disciples had directly crossed to the level of devout disciples!


    They provided Eve with 7 divine power points in one go!


    Not only that... The feedback from the elven revenants brought by the more than three hundred half-orcs killed directly and indirectly this time is also considerable.


    Although the feedback of this elven revenant has been much less than in the earliest days, it also adds up to 40 divine power points.


    But Eve estimates that after a while, this method of relying on the wishes of the elven revenant to obtain divine feedback will bepletely ineffective...


    Think about it, after all, thousands of years have passed, and although the resentment generated by the elf revenant is great, there are always times when it is worn out and used up.


    In addition to the 47 divine power points credited, a juvenile ck dragon with Upper Silver strength (Level 66) was an unexpected gain.


    However, Eve wasn¡¯t very happy.


    Because of this mission, a full 38 elves of the me n died in battle.


    The entire me n originally had 219 elves left.


    The 38 people who died in this battle were all old elves, and their beliefs were all at the level of piety.


    This made Eve feel remorseful.


    Because this time there was no harmless rescue, arge part of the reason was because of her.


    She didn''t expect that the half-orc tribe was actually near the entrance of the Dark Mountain Range and the Elven Forest, and they had prepared an ambush in advance!


    "Even with the power to get the battle out of a near-losing state, I wasn¡¯t paying attention, and I didn''tmunicate with Samir and them in advance!"


    Eve reflected to herself.


    If she had been a little more cautious and gave the yers the task of introducing him earlier, perhaps the tragedy would not have happened.


    Sighing, Eve''s thoughts moved, and 38 transparent souls flew from the outside world and entered his divine space.


    This is the soul of those dead elves.


    Low-level creatures, when they die, lose most of their memories, with only vague fragments of memory...


    And if they ascend to the Kingdom of God, their soul willpletely lose his memory when they cross the crystal wall system.


    Of course, except for priests and priests who were blessed by a True God, whose souls'' memory was protected by the True God while they were alive.


    Like those souls who ascended to the kingdom of God, these 38 elves were not priests, and they also lost all their memories the moment they entered the Godhead space.


    And the moment the souls of these elves entered the godhead space, Eve''s godhead space suddenly changed!


    The original godhead space was chaos, filled with countless flying green photons, but the moment the believer''s soul entered, the entire space suddenly began to change!


    As if opening the heavens and the earth, the chaotic part began to sink continuously, turning into a continent.


    Above is a canopy, and the photons, symbolising believers and yers. These twinkling stars were extremely bright!


    The souls of the 38 elves returned to their youthful appearance and turned into a devout elf invoker.


    And at the same time that they turned into invokers, the silent continent also changed again, countless nts emerged from the ground, and in a blink of an eye, it turned into a forest world suitable for elves!


    At the same time, a giant tree emerged from the centre of the world and quickly grew into the appearance of the world tree...


    Looking at the changes in the space of the godhead, a glimmer of realisation rose in Eve''s heart:


    "The Godhead Space is being transformed into a Kingdom of God!¡±


    In the world of Sagas, a Kingdom of God has two origins.


    One is that the gods seek a half-ne and open up the kingdom of God on it;


    The other is to take your own godhead space as the centre and incarnate the Kingdom of God!


    The former is more convenient, it is the path taken by the most gods, but it has the weakness of being easily discovered and besieged.


    Thetter, on the other hand, is rtively hidden, but it is more difficult to open up, because it means preaching faith in advance, and it requiresplete control of a priesthood...


    Only some ancient gods who were interested in faith would use the second method.


    For if you want to haveplete control over the priesthood, you must have the Kingdom of God.


    But without opening up the kingdom of God, ordinary life will not have a priesthood, so for secr creatures who want to be true gods, they can only take the half-ne approach.


    Only ancient gods who are already true gods themselves can take the second path!


    But...... The previous World Tree did not choose to incarnate the kingdom of God, but chose the half-ne method.


    Her Kingdom of God has long since fallen and shattered with the fall, and it is not in the world of Sagas.


    Eve inherited the World Tree, but did not inherit her kingdom.


    And now, when the soul of the believer entered Eve¡¯s Godhead space, it actually caused the divine kingdom to incarnate in the Godhead space!


    Eve didn''t stop the change.


    Because this means that as an ancient god, the authority of his faith will also bepletely mastered by Eve!


    In the future, her use of faith will be more efficient than before!


    A simr effect will also be reflected in the game system.


    The game system built by Eve is also simr to the belief channel, and it will also be affected to a certain extent.


    After the divine kingdom was built, Eve alsopletely dismissed the n to resurrect the elves.


    For she found that these spirits who became invokers seemed to offer him more faith.


    In the beginning, she also intended to have these elves born from the world tree as primordial elves.


    However, at the moment of the incarnation of the Kingdom of God, Eve discovered that her ability to give birth to elves had also changed.


    Previously, although she was able to create bodies, it took a lot of consumption to give birth to souls.


    Taking the initiative to respawn a primordial elf requires even more consumption than lighting an oak tree guard!


    But now, Eve has once again mastered the ability to automatically respawn primordial elves!


    In other words, even if she does not consume divine power, she can naturally give birth to true primordial elves on the world tree!


    It''s just that this speed is very slow...


    Eve perceived that without using divine power, she would naturally give birth to at most one Primordial Elf in a year.


    However, if Eve uses divine power, the speed will increase.


    Roughly for every 1 point of divine power spent, this speed will be elerated by a month, and up to 30 days.


    When an elf is born, the eleration effect is reset.


    In other words, for every 11 divine power points spent, Eve can use a month to give birth to an original elf!


    A newborn primordial elf is close to an adult, has the strength of the peak of iron (Level 40) from the beginning, and is naturally loyal to Eve.


    However, unlike the Oak Guardian, the life and soul of the original elves are not bound to Eve and cannot enjoy the inheritance of the system.


    As a result, when they are fresh, they arepletely nk te, and everything needs to be learned again.


    Considering the fragility of the newborn soul, Eve also gave them at most some basic knowledge, and the formation of self-awareness, beliefs, and worldviews must bepleted by themselves.


    In addition, they have a lot of potential to move up to higher levels.


    Because the original elves are the same as the yer''s body, they are also gifted.


    It''s just that...... Trading 11 divine power points for an original elf is still too luxurious for Eve now.


    But after a little thought, Eve decided to give birth to one first to try the effect.


    She painfully spent 11 divine power points to activate the ability to give birth to the primordial elf.


    At the same time, Ullr, the god of winter and hunting, also sensed the death of arge number of believers.

 Chapter 98

    ??<strong>The Furious Uller</strong>


    In the divine kingdom of the Silver Frost Tundra in the Heavenly Realm, The thick clouds in the sky rolled continuously, the ashen feather-like heavy snow fell, and the roaring cold winds howled¡­


    Countless denizens knelt on the ground, praying anxiously and devoutly.


    The weather in the divine kingdom was easily influenced by the mood of the true gods and at this moment, the God of Winter and Hunting, Uller, was in a state of utmost fury.


    Uller haes been very unlucky recently.


    At least, that¡¯s how he felt.


    First, he was caught by the chief gods for secretly collecting the world tree¡¯s blood crystal, and then he was ambushed by an unknown force in the Elven Forest.


    Even the incarnation of his divine power was destroyed by a group of seemingly death god worshippers!


    Being scolded by the chief gods was one thing¡­


    ¡ªBut having his incarnation destroyed by mortal creatures was a direct insult to him!


    The dignity of a true god cannot be desecrated.


    If this matter were to be spread, Uller would be aughingstock amongst the gods!


    And what was even more embarrassing for him was that this might be the doing of the death goddess H.


    But even if he suspected H, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it due to the power gap between them¡­


    Although both were true gods, H had mid tier divine powers, and her strength was far greater than his.


    She didn¡¯t even have to take turns guarding the Pantheon like Uller did with his weak divine power!


    And then, the Pantheon had another incident.


    Some entity had seemingly entered without anyone noticing!


    It should be noted that the preparations before godhood in the Saig¨¹es were quiteplicated.


    Preaching faith could not be hidden, and the energy fluctuations caused by deification were usually significant. In general, the gods would be notified in advance and report to the Pantheon after the ascension ceremony.


    But this time, they didn¡¯t even notice it until the supposed new deity entered the premises of the Pantheon then leave just as quietly.


    And Uller was also reprimanded for failing to find this new god as the task of finding the new god was also assigned to him.


    However he had already sent out many of his minions and almost searched the entire Heavenly realm, yet no one still couldn¡¯t find any trace of this mysterious new god¡­


    It¡¯s making Him increasingly depressed.


    And now, the only two ces he hasn¡¯t yet explored are the underworld and the Saig¨¹es Realm.


    And when the thought of how this newly-arisen enigmatic deity could easily enter and leave the Pantheon quietly, coupled with the recent increase in mana in Saig¨¹es¡­


    Uller highly suspected that this true god was probably born in the temporal realm!


    ¡­But if this is correct then it made him even more curious.


    Because ording to the current power level of the Saig¨¹es realm, it should not be able to support the ascension of a new god.


    Furthermore most of thends are already upied by some long established churches in Saig¨¹es. If the new god had truly been ascended in the mortal realm, then it will be even more difficult to conceal the fluctuations of such urrence.


    Not to mention hiding its Divinity!


    Unless¡­


    ¡°Unless there is a direct intervention of yet another gods!¡±


    And when Uller began to inquire about any recent strange happenings in Saig¨¹es, all the answers for which he got were all the same.


    The mortal realm, as per usual, was operating in the usual manner¡ª


    ¡ª<em>Except for the Elven Forest!</em>


    Right at the moment of mana expansion, the Elven Forest had thergest increase of it.


    Although it was one of the major magicylines within Saig¨¹es due to the existence of the World Tree. It¡¯s normal for the magic sources to have a greater attraction when the entire world¡¯s mana increases exponentially¡­


    But thinking about his followers¡¯ encounters within the Elven Forest and those strange elves, Uller gradually had a certain spection:


    ¡°Could it be that¡­someone has already obtained the divinity of nature or life?¡±


    His face hardened and turned ugly.


    Because if someone had truly ascended into godhood by obtaining a divinity, it would indeed then be more convenient and the fluctuations would be smaller.


    However, this kind of luck has rarely been encountered ever since the twilight of the ancient gods.


    How to analyze the blood of the World Tree,


    As of now Uller still couldn¡¯t extract the divinity of nature and life from it, but suddenly felt that it was very possible!


    After all¡­ the curse of the World Tree has disappeared, and the seal of the god-blood crystal has also been broken.


    If he can secretly study the blood of the World Tree, then surely can¡¯t others do it too?


    At that moment, Uller instantly thought of H again!


    Because the previous signs clearly indicate that the mysterious power hidden within the Elven Forest may be rted to H!


    Not only that, but H herself would be definitely interested in the divinity of life.


    Add to the thought that the new god may also be rted to H made Uller¡¯s mood became even worse.


    However, when luck is bad, bad things will surely happen¡­


    Just now, within a short period of a few tens of minutes, He actually sensed the deaths of more than 300 of his believers!


    Of course, if it was just the deaths of mere 300 half-orc believers, then it would not have made him so angry.


    After all, the believers who be sacrifices can provide more faith to the true gods like him.


    What really angered Him was the scenes He just saw from the memories of the dead priests¡­


    A figure wearing a ck robe, the cold and dark power of death, and¡­ the wanton ruthless ughter that urred!


    It¡¯s clearly obvious.


    He absolutely won¡¯t make a mistake!


    That¡­ is the Godwarden of the Lord of Death and ruler of Underworld ¨C H!


    And it is also possible that it is a divine envoy that she personally oversees!


    The Goddess of Death!


    Really it might be the Grim Reaper!


    Plus the resurgence of the Elven race¡­


    In that instant, Uller no longer had any more doubts.


    The forces within the Elven Forest are definitely the minions of H!


    And the newly ascended true god could be located deep inside the Elven Forest!


    Not only that, the opponent is very likely to be a Life aligned God trained by H!


    Because only by inheriting the divinity of life will it be possible to attract the return of those elusive elves, or even likes of dragons!


    At that moment, Uller¡¯s angry roar echoed all throughout the silver temple on the snowy mountain high above the Heavenly Realm.


    ¡°H¨C!!¡±


    Florence Ruins.


    With the yers¡¯ help and assistance, the elves of the Rageze n have finally returned to this once holy city.


    They looked at the ruined city in front of them with each of their expressions showing excitement, and then one by one, they all prostrated down again and prayed devoutly.


    Saint Alice, Oak Guardian Berserker, and other yers whom did not participate in the mission have also rushed over to greet them as soon as they received the news.


    Seeing the sacred Saint and the Oak Guardian representing the power of the mother goddess, all the elves of the Rageze n became even more excited:


    ¡°We¡¯re back! We¡¯re really back!¡±


    Alice was also overjoyed. She bowed to all the elves and spoke in a holy and gentle voice:


    ¡°Wee back home my fellow brethrens!¡±


    And after the elves arrived in Florence, all the yers who received the mission had finally received their rewards.


    At that moment, looking at therge amounts of experience and contribution points they¡¯ve received, all the yers had joyous expressions.


    At this time, Alice noticed a huge creature tied up along with in the team¡­


    ¡°¡­A ck Dragon?¡±


    She showed surprised in her face.


    ¡°This is a captive of the Mother Goddess.¡±


    The elven shota Ael was fanatical.


    And the yers who had never seen a ck dragon before were even more excited. Unlike the locals whom have feared dragons, they were full of curiosity.


    They surrounded the tightly bound ck dragon named Meryer, touching, eximing, taking pictures, and teasing, almost making the pretending-to-be-dead little ck dragon angry¡­


    And when the elves of the Rageze n regained their bearings, they requested to worship the World Tree from Alice.


    Although the World Tree is huge, here in Florence, which is far away due to geographical obstacles, they cannot see its true magnificence.


    Worshiping the World Tree is the sole wish of every elven believer!


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 99

    ??<strong>The Smile Disappears Again</strong>


    As the elven saint, the existence closest to the mother goddess amongst all of the believers, Alice¡¯s position is even more higher than that of the ordinary god¡¯s devotees.


    The saint herself is even more enthusiastic about the spread of Elven faith.


    First, she hugged the Elder Samuel, and then said to the elves:


    ¡°May the mother goddess bless you! Dear nsmen, please follow me!¡±


    As she spoke, Alice then drew a symbol of the Mother of Nature upon her chest.


    Then, she led the Rageze n¡¯s elves, surrounded by yers, towards the teleportation array at the center of Florence.


    Today, the core area of the Florence has been renovated by the yers. When the elves arrived here, many yers were seen busy with their daily tasks of building and repair.


    Watching these busy yers, the Rageze n¡¯s elves were both surprised and curious.


    Elder Philothea thought for a moment, and couldn¡¯t help but ask in curiosity.


    ¡°Lady Alice¡­ on our way here, we have received a lot of help from these young fellow nsmen, but¡­ I see that their hair color is different..may i ask from which n are they from?¡±


    Samuel had also noticed these young nsmen who seemed to be always full of energy and enthusiasm. Not only that, he had also saw that these people seemed very interested in him and the elves of the Rageze n.


    They were very friendly, perhaps¡­ much a little bit too friendly than an average elf.


    It felt¡­ even a bit pleasing surprisingly.


    This reminded Samuel of the crazy behavior he once had when pursuing his other half back when he was young.


    Nheless, Elder Samuel did not think that these younglings would be really interested in the same sex or the elderly.


    Suddenly with a realization, he was stricken and turned his head so quickly as Samuel looked at Saint Alice and said in an excited tone,


    ¡°Are they¡­ the Chosen Ones?¡±


    Hearing the old priest¡¯s words, Alice curtly nodded, thinly smiled and replied:


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s right, Grandpa Samuel. They are the brave and hardworking Chosen Ones that the mother goddess herself called from another world!¡±


    ¡°Oh Goddess! They are actually the heroes summoned by the mother ancestor! Which means that they are possibly high elves? Or mayhaps even be¡­ D-Divine envoys?!¡±


    The elves of the Rageze n were all amazed.


    Philothea was shocked deep within her heart, and she subconsciously looked at the young Saint.


    Facing the intense gaze of the chief of the Rageze n, Alice hesitated for a moment, and reluctantly nodded:


    ¡°Well¡­m-maybe.¡±


    The mother goddess has never mentioned the formal identities of these Chosen Ones¡­


    But since they look like elves, they should obviously¡­ be considered elves, right?


    Alice thought so.


    Seeing the surprised expressions of the native elves, the yers immediately rushed over like greed stricken merchants, shouting:


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right, we are the heroes called by the beautiful goddess!¡±


    ¡°Praise nature! Praise life! Praise the great goddess sister!¡±


    ¡°We are the chosen ones! We are elves who were born directly from the World Tree. From now on, we are a family!¡±


    ¡°Uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, if you have any tasks, just call us!¡±


    ¡°We promise toplete them in a timely and appropriate manner!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ cough cough, we are still young and have a lot to learn. We will need to ask for your advice in the future¡­¡±


    After hearing the yers¡¯ words, the elves looked at them with a different gaze yet again.


    These chosen ones¡­


    Why they are really a reliable group of kind, enthusiastic, humble, respectful, and eager to learn younglings!


    Seeing the moved expressions of her fellow brethrens, Alice hesitated for a moment and cautiously reminded them:


    ¡°Um¡­ although they are good people, please understand that sometimes they may do things that are iprehensible, and sometimes they may even¡­ have some human-like bad habits. You should be mentally prepared.¡±


    ¡°Un¡­unfathomable things? Human-like ws?¡±


    Elder Philothea was slightly stunned.


    Then she thought of the suicidal charge of these Chosens that was as fearless of death, the ruthless pursuit of the beastmen, the greedily looting of equipment after killing the beastmen, and the shining eyes when they saw the scriptures on their baggage.


    At this moment, she suddenly realized: ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how it is!¡±


    However, even if they have their ws, Philothea is still very much grateful to these Chosen Ones.


    Thinking of the young Chosen Ones whom had died in battle, she said with a sorrowful expression, ¡°s¡­in order to rescue us this time, they¡­they really sacrificed many of theirpanions. Nearly a hundred young lives were unjustly lost.¡±


    ¡°¡­Sacrificed theirpanions?¡±


    After listening to Philothea¡¯s words, Alice and the others made confused faces.


    The Oak Guardian, Berserker, who had already shrunk down to four meters in height, nced at the yers.


    Meanwhile, the yers avoided eye contact,ughing albeit awkwardly.


    Berserker: ¡­


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    The oak guardian grinned eerily, saying in a low tone, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, they are undead.¡±


    U-Undead?


    Philothea and the others looked astonished.


    Even Samuel had a surprised expression.


    Undead¡­ what does that mean?


    Before they could ask for more questions, the teleportation array in the center of the square suddenly burst into brilliant light, and dozens of tall figures appeared before them.


    They were dressed in simple wooden armor and hemp robes, and looked excited.


    ¡°Hurry up, hurry up! We heard they¡¯ve arrived! And they even caught a dragon!¡±


    ¡°Cough cough, I wonder what expression the NPC will have when they see uster.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Demacia, you acted too much just now, it¡¯s tragic¡­ Man you¡¯re really are a drama queen lol.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll handle it when we meetter.¡±


    Listening to hispanions¡¯ teasing, Demacia stood with his arms crossed and bragging proudly:


    ¡°Hehe, isn¡¯t it just to improve their favorability towards us?¡±


    ¡°These new NPCs are also elves, probably just as straightforward as Alice and the others. When ites to improving favorability, it¡¯ll be lightning-fast! And once the favorability is high enough , we can get anything we want!¡±


    ¡°Hatred, dislike, normal, like, intimacy¡­ the difference in these different levels of favorability is huge!¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you, the reason why I can go out and fight monsters with my buddy Ael is because our rtionship is intimate! Hahaha!¡±


    Then he realized that hispanions had gone silent.


    ¡°Hey why aren¡¯t you guys talking anymore? Did I say something wrong?¡±


    He muttered strangely, noticing that everyone was frantically giving him warning signals.


    Demacia instinctively followed their gaze.


    In front of him¡­


    All the NPCs were standing there.


    Demacia:¡­


    [<strong>?</strong> ¨C Your favorability with <strong>Berserker</strong> has decreased by <strong>20</strong> points, reaching ¡®<strong>Hatred</strong>¡®]


    [<strong>?</strong> ¨C Your favorability with <strong>Alice</strong> has decreased by <strong>20</strong> points, remaining at ¡®<strong>Hatred</strong>¡®]


    [<strong>?</strong> ¨C Your favorability with <strong>Samuel</strong> has decreased by <strong>20</strong> points, reaching ¡®<strong>Normal</strong>¡®]


    [<strong>?</strong> ¨C Your favorability with <strong>Philothea</strong> has decreased by <strong>20</strong> points, reaching ¡®<strong>Normal</strong>¡®]


    [<strong>?</strong> ¨C Your favorability with <strong>Ael Moonlight</strong> has decreased by <strong>20</strong> points, reaching ¡®<strong>Like</strong>¡®]


    ¡­


    Demacia:¡­


    ¡°B-Big Brother Demacia¡­¡±


    Ael looked at him with a sad expression:


    ¡°Did you¡­ really think like that?¡±


    Demacia¡¯s smile turned entirely stiff.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 100

    ??<strong>This Dragon Will Never Be a ve</strong>


    These chosen ones won¡¯t ever die!


    When those young elves whom they have witnessed died in the battle reappeared right in front of the Rageze n¡¯s elves, these natives expressions were particrlyical.


    However, instead of anger at being deceived, they breathed a sigh of relief instead.


    As Alice had said, even though these chosen ones had some peculiar bad habits, the Rageze n¡¯s elves were still grateful to them nheless.


    Perhaps it¡¯s because the yers left a good first impression upon the Rageze nsmen.


    However to those yers whom had clearly staged tragic fake dramas ended up receiving varying degrees of decrease in their favorability points.


    Especially the reckless ones like Demacia¡­


    Seeing Ael¡¯s affection for him swiftly dropping down from ¡®Intimacy¡¯ to merely ¡®Like¡¯ he was so green that he followed the little elf shota around , apologizing profusely whilst trying to appease him¡­


    Later on, the elves came to the square of the Novice Elven Town through the teleportation array.


    When their field of view changed and they saw such lush and exotic surroundings all around them, all the indigenous elves couldn¡¯t help but to exim,


    ¡°Oh dear Goddess, What a beautiful little town! The style of these buildings¡­Why I have never seen such a thing before!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit like human architecture isn¡¯t it, but it feels more delicate and closer to nature!¡±


    ¡°That wooden loft and tform are so beautiful! And those gardens made of stones and ponds have an indescribable splendor to it¡­¡±


    Every elf is a natural born artist.


    And the Novice Elven Town carefully created by the yers undoubtedly had proven such fact.


    Especially after Eve have recovered from her quasi-death state, the wooden buildings in the town regained their vigor and vitality, making the structures look more like nt houses in fairy tales yet still retaining the style and charm of the original buildings.


    This designs is very consistent with the aesthetics of the native elves.


    Listening to the elves¡¯ praises, Alice exined:


    ¡°This is the Novice Town, or¡­ the City of the Chosen Ones! It was built by all the chosen ones personally and also the home of them.¡±


    After speaking, she then pointed at the stone monument standing in the center of the square:


    ¡°See it? The names of all the chosen ones who participated in the construction of this town are engraved upon that monument, but¡­ it¡¯s carved in a mysterious script that only the chosen ones can understand.¡±


    The town was built by the chosen ones?


    The Rageze elves were awestruck to hear this fact.


    They looked at the yers whom were actively everywhere in the town which are constantly gathering here and there, then their expressions changed yet again.


    Philothea drew a symbol of the mother of nature on her chest and eximed,


    ¡°It seems¡­ they are not only fine brave warriors, but also such noble artistsans as well!¡±


    And Samuel paused for a realization as his expression turned shocked:


    ¡°W-Wait..Alice, you said that the town was built by the chosen ones, which means¡­ they built such arge town in just a few months?¡±


    Alice looked at the frolicking yers and nodded:


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Having received such confirmation, the elves of the Rageze n eximed once again in amazement.


    With the existence of magic, it wasn¡¯t really that difficult for the elves to build a city.


    But if they wanted to build a town that was like a work of art, with such a variety of styles then it would still be very difficult.


    At the same time, they were once again mesmerized by the sheer wisdom of their mother goddess.


    Only their god¡­could gain the loyalty of such brave warriors, right?


    ¡°The holynd! This¡­is definitely the mother goddess¡¯s new holynd!¡±


    An elderly elf eximed with excitement.


    And when the native elves looked up and saw the towering world tree, their expressions became even more fanatical.


    Especially the elders.


    Unlike the young elves who had never seen the world tree before with their own eyes, these elders had seen the prior form of the world tree, but at that time the world tree was already withered and dying.


    But now, the world tree was full of life!


    The lush green leaves covered the branches, brimming with vitality.


    Even standing in the square, the elves could feel the vibrant energy emanating from the world tree, as well as the faint sacred aura within it.


    They showed devout and pious expressions then knelt down one after another:


    ¡°Praise nature! Praise life! Praise the great spirit ruler!¡±


    ¡°Goddess, we¡­ have finally returned!¡±


    As they worshiped, the World Tree began to emitted a faint halo.


    Green firefly-like lights spread out as it slowly drifts all around carried by a soft breeze, once again turning the square into a viridian fantasy-like environment.


    At the same time, a misty and ethereal hymn was faintly heard, and all the elves felt their hearts soften in an instant with their whole bodies and mind rxed just like never before.


    <em>Wee home.</em>


    Within their consciousness, a majestic and friendly female voice resonated. For a moment, all the elves bowed their heads again, with reverence and excited expressions.


    Then, the goddess¡¯s voice echoed in their minds again:


    <em>The Rageze n¡­ will settle in Florence and rebuild the city with the help of the willing Chosen</em> Ones.


    Upon hearing the divine mandate, all the Rageze n elves answered fervently and respectfully:


    ¡°We shallply with the goddess¡¯s mandate!¡±


    After worshiping the World Tree, the elves of the Rageze n then returned to Florence in an orderly fashion.


    From then on, Florence would be their new home.


    However, the captive ck dragon, Meryer, was still left behind. This little ck dragon had been stunned when he was transported to the elven town:


    ¡°A Tree¡­ so tall¡­ such a big tree!¡±


    Due to some special reasons, the dragon¡¯s inheritance was notplete wthin its mind, so the little guy did not immediately recognize the World Tree in front of it as the once infamous God tree in the legends.


    However, it sensed the enormous and terrifying pressure from the other party¡­


    Dragons were very sensitive to mana.


    In just a moment, Meryer realized that this was a terrifying entity whose strength had reached the pinnacle peak of a true god.


    ¡°Great¡­ ancient god¡­ this is definitely an old god!¡±


    It shuddered whilst recalling the majestic voice it had heard.


    Great Old Ones¡­


    That is an existence that is rarer and more terrifying than the majority of true gods living in the Heavenly realm! Only a selected few could reach such pinnacle.


    ¡°Oh my lord! Is this Old Ancestral God reawakening here in Saig¨¹es!?¡±


    As Meryer was deeply shocked within its heart, the divine infused rope tied onto its body then disappeared as that terrible voice whispered in its mind again:


    I¡¯ll give you a choice ¡ª <em>serve me.</em>


    Meryer: ¡­


    Is that a choice or more like an order?!


    The ck dragon¡¯s face quickly turns aggrieved with indignation.


    It was a noble dragon, the longest-lived gold race that even gods are wary of! Their kind won¡¯t just easily submit to anyone.


    This is the pride of dragons!


    The ck dragon raised its head and shouted in a childish voice:


    ¡°Dragons¡­will never be enved! Even if I die, I will never surrender to you!¡±


    After speaking, Meryer found that the other party fell silent.


    It then suddenly felt a little uneasy¡­


    After a moment, that voice that made it nervous and palpitate sounded in its mind, with a hint of teasing:


    <em>Alright then¡­</em>


    ¡°Since you¡¯re not willing to serve, then die.¡±


    ¡°ck dragon is full of treasures, its scales can be used to make armor, dragon blood can be used to make magic arrays and inscriptions, and can also cultivate dragon-blooded warriors. Dragon meat is the most high-end ingredient that can improve the physique of secr creatures. As for the dragon heart and dragon crystal, they are even more useful¡­even the dragon soul can be trained into the soul of a bone dragon undead, which can bebined with dragon bones¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Well¡­thinking about it, mayhaps a corpse is not bad thing either.¡±


    Meryer : ¡­


    What a wicked god!


    This is definitely an old evil god!


    The little ck dragon shivered as tears welled up in its eyes.


    ¡°I¡­I surrender¡­¡±


    Its voice sounded very aggrieved.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 101

    ??<strong>I do not eat food that is offered toote!</strong>


    After subduing the ck Dragon Meryer, Eve then left a master-servant mark deep on its soul using the method passed down from the World Tree inheritance.


    The mark of a god is extremely firm and unless someone could kill Eve or an even stronger being intervenes in this matter, the little ck dragon will never be able to escape it.


    The dragon Meryer had no choice but to ept it with no matter what and just resign it its fate.


    Nheless despite this, Eve could clearly feel that the little ck dragon would not give up it¡¯s freedom easily.


    However she wasn¡¯t worried, there is still plenty of time to properly tame it. This silly little dragon was fooled by those Beastmen before so Eve didn¡¯t believe it couldn¡¯t be fooled again with cheap tricks.


    After that, Eve allowed Meryer to move around freely.


    The only condition was that he could not leave the three-kilometer radius zone around the elf town, nor could he harm any of the elves and the chosen ones.


    Hence Meryer could only bitterly dig a nest on top of a hill right next to the Novice town with a sad expression upon its dragon face.


    ¡°Ah¡­ my castle¡­ Ah¡­ my gold coins and gems¡­ Ah¡­ my unfinished righteous cause¡­¡±


    The little ck dragon muttered to itself as it ruefully built its new nest in indignation.


    It really was so unfair!


    ck dragons like itself preferred to live in swamps and ruins of civilization, but there are no such ces around the vicinity of the World Tree.


    The ruins of Florence was not bad, but s it was a bit far from Eve¡¯s original body.


    Moreover, because a certain ancestral ck dragon had participated in the war of heaven a thousand years ago and the roots of the World Tree were chewed upon by that said ck dragon, directly leading to the decline of the previous World Tree, the indigenous elves were full of hostility and caution towards any ck dragons¡­


    Therefore, beforepletely subduing this little guy, Eve ns to keep an eye on it.


    Of course, another reason was that she was toozy to personally train this little guy, and nned to leave the task of fooling the ck dragon to the yers.


    The personality of a dragon is as stubborn as an old donkey, especially since Eve even had to use her precious powers to subjugate it.


    If it were a mere normal dragon then that would be one thing.


    However, when the force suppressing them weakens, any dragons especially ck dragons will try every means to rebel.


    Therefore, it is nigh almost impossible to gain the loyalty of a ck dragon.


    But the thought process of this ck dragon seems to be a tad bit differentpared from that of ordinary ck dragons.


    It appears to be very naive and even thinks of itself as a metal dragon!


    In this situation, Eve feels that she should have a chance to truly conquer the heart of this little ck dragon.


    But if she wants to truly win its heart fully then it will probably take some effort.


    Eve ns to leave the initial persuasion work to someone else.


    So, she once again issued a task ¨C ¡°Tame the ck Dragon.¡±


    ¡¾??¡¿


    [<strong>Task</strong>: Tame the ck Dragon]


    [<strong>Task Content</strong>: The ck dragon Meryer was captured by the goddess in battle and submitted to her. However, it still does not truly agree with the ideology of the goddess. As a faithful servant of the goddess, you have decided to assist the goddess in thoroughly taming the ck dragon Meryer.]


    [<strong>Task Objective</strong>: Make the ck dragon Meryer truly recognize the goddess, ept the goddess¡¯s beliefs, and fight for the goddess!]


    [<strong>Task Time</strong>: Unlimited]


    [<strong>Task Level</strong>: Unlimited]


    [<strong>Task Reward</strong>: 3000 contribution points]


    Of course, this task is not on the main questline, and epting it is purely optional.


    However, when the yers saw this task, they were all very interested. Why because It¡¯s not just the high contribution points of 3000, but they also see it as an opportunity to get close to a ck dragon!


    If they can fully tame the ck dragon for the goddess¡­ wouldn¡¯t they also have a chance to ride upon on its back?


    If they¡¯re lucky, maybe they could even be a dragon knight!


    How cool is that!


    Don¡¯t forget, Demacia was able to take Ael out to the field to grind monsters because of their close rtionship.


    Hmm¡­ although It seems that the shota¡¯s admiration towards him have significantly cooled down.


    But this ck dragon¡¯s level even surpasses that of a silver rank!


    For a moment, many yers were tempted to ept the mission.


    However despite all their attempts, Meryer was not impressed by any yer¡¯s taming attempts and was still full of hostility.


    Those yers who approached it either got sprayed with its saliva, kicked away, or were directly suppressed by its dragon power, making them shiver in fear.


    In any case, the message it conveyed was <em>that, ¡°I¡¯m very annoyed and powerful so you bastards better not mess with me.</em>¡°


    Gradually over time, some yers lost their excitement and finally gave up.


    Only a few yers persisted¡­


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat was one of them.


    However just like everyone else, no matter how much she had tried to please it, Meryer remained indifferent towards her.


    Even when she got some grilled skewers from two guys which lives in northeastern China who sold barbecues as a living, Meryer was not moved at all.


    Not only that, the little ck dragon even pped the skewers on the ground, stepped on them hard, and spat on them to express its anger.


    ¡°This Lord dragon¡­ doesn¡¯t eat food that falls into its mouth!¡±


    No matter how much they tried to please or feed it, fewer and fewer yers persisted in the task eventually.


    After all, for ordinary yers, time is precious and they could be doing something else instead to gain experience and contribution points rather than please some temperamental oversized lizard.


    Gradually, only Li¡¯l Salty Cat, a semi-casual yer, was left.


    She didn¡¯t care about the mission reward anymore and she was simply interested in the ck dragon.


    But to her disappointment, the ck dragon Meryer still didn¡¯t care.


    However, Li¡¯l Salty Cat was just as stubborn, and Meryer¡¯s resistance only fueled her determination.


    She decided that no matter what the cost, she wouldplete this mission!


    After a long time, Meryer the ck dragon began to be restless¡­


    One day to Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s surprise, the Dragon suddenly pped its wings and flew up.


    She saw Meryer flying up into the air, circling around the small town and its surroundings for severalps while constantly looking around, as if searching for something.


    But when it came back, the whole dragon fell face nt into the ground looking disappointed.


    This look made Li¡¯l Salty Cat very curious.


    And at that moment, she suddenly heard a muffled sounding from inside the ck Dragon¡­


    More urately, it seemed to be from its abdomen.


    In an instant, her face showed a look of realization.


    This guy¡­isn¡¯t it hungry?


    Hmm now that she think about it, there¡¯s really not much to eat within the three kilometers zone, and all the edible things have been hunted by yers close to extinction.


    ¡ªExcept for some fruits that is.


    But s the ck Dragon is massive¡­and is a carnivore as well.


    Finding an adequate food for itself would be quite the task without anyone helping it, Salty Cat thought.


    The dragon seemed to has notice her strange gaze and as if reading her mind, Meryer suddenly shouted:


    ¡°Get out of here! You evil brat! Don¡¯t dawdle around in front of this Lord Meryer! Otherwise, Meryer will definitely eat you!¡±


    The sudden rage startled Li¡¯l Salty Cat.


    She felt something in her heart and pretended to leave, but returned a bitter and actually quietly hid and observed it.


    After Meryer thought that Li¡¯l Salty Cat had left, it then looked around as if checking if anyone was around.


    And after making sure there was no one anymore, it then looked at the meat skewer on the ground covered in dust and saliva, and with its expression showing a bit conflicted, the dragon lowered its head and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    ¡°Gurgle¡­¡±


    Another loud noise.


    After hesitating for a moment, Meryer then finally quickly opened its mouth and ate the dusty skewer in one bite.


    Then it smacked its lips after gulping it down, still unsatisfied.


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat: ¡­


    She covered her mouth, almostughing out loud, and started typing in her guild chats, #general_channel:


    ¡°@everyone Buying any meat at a high price, how much do you have, how much do you want!¡±


    By the way, she also personally contacted those two Northeastern brothers who can barbecue well.

 Chapter 102

    ??<strong>Dragon-Shaped Husky</strong>


    Meryer was stuck in a dilemma.


    That damned evil god had restricted its activity within a three-kilometer radius zone.


    But after checking the entire area, Meryer found that there was hardly any food here at all!


    ¡°Oh my lord! Is this great Meryer going to starve to death here?¡±


    It is a young teenage dragon, and this is the prime time when its body was constantly growing, so its appetite was as expected exponentially huge.


    It never before experienced such feeling of hunger even when it settled in the castle at the Dark Mountains of the Orcs.


    At that time, the Beastmen tribe would prepare everything it needed.


    Thinking of those simple and capable Orcs, and then thinking of these cruel and batshit crazy long-eared hellspawns inparison, Meryer felt that its future was getting darker and darker.


    ¡°Do I really have to surrender to these long-eared people?¡±


    Thinking of the taste of the meat skewer just now, Meryer subconsciously swallowed, but soon shook its head in resistance.


    ¡°No! No! How can I, the great Meryer bow down to the forces of evil?¡±


    It seemed to have forgotten¡­


    ¡ªIt had already bowed twice.


    But at this very moment, a more tempting aroma of meat wafted over the vicinity.


    Meryer sniffed, and in an instant, It felt its hunger getting stronger, and its dragon saliva couldn¡¯t help but drip all over the ground.


    ¡°Slurp¡­ it smells so good¡­¡±


    It¡¯s body subconsciously moved on its own towards the direction of the aroma.


    Crossing a small hill, Meryer quickly found the source of the fragrance at the edge of the town¡­


    It was that elf named Li¡¯l Salty Cat.


    She was roasting meat on the bonfire with two other male elves, and the meat sizzled and emitted oil on the bonfire, sprinkled with indescribable spices and honey. The rich enticing aroma could be smelled from afar.


    Meanwhile, the pile of monster meat on their side was as high as a small mountain!


    When Li¡¯l Salty Cat saw the sudden appearance of a giant dragon head peeking over the corner, those shiny dragon eyes and the conflicted little expression that seemed to be forcing itself not to look over here, her eyes then curved into a crescent shape akin to a mischievous feline.


    She took a skewer of roasted meat from the bonfire, took a slow deliberate bite and let the meaty aroma filled her mouth entirely.


    The savory and tender meat was delicious, crispy and shiny whilst fat melted in her mouth like butter. The tantalizing taste made her eyes sparkle.


    These Northeastern bro¡¯s cooking skills were indeed superb!


    Seeing her enjoying the food, Meryer¡¯s eyes also lit up slightly, and it salivated even more.


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat nced at it, and Meryer immediately hid its expression.


    It lifted its dragon head proudly, pouted like a sulking child, and gasped for breath, but its eyes kept ncing over the meat akin to an oversized slobbering husky.


    Seeing the proud dragon like this, Li¡¯l Salty Cat showed a friendly smile.


    She picked up arge skewer made of twigs from the bonfire and sniffed it in her nose¡­


    <em>Mmm, smells great!</em>


    She made an intoxicated expression and then raised the skewer, tempting Little ck Dragon:


    ¡°Do you want to eat?¡±


    Meryer: ¡­


    Little ck Dragon¡¯s expression became even more frustrated.


    ¡°Gulu¡­¡±


    Another loud noise came from its stomach.


    Meryer: ¡­


    It took a deep breath and made some internal excuses.


    ¡°Hmph, This is not a surrender! It¡¯s just a temporary truce! This is not eptance, but saving strength for the future freedom!¡±


    Then, the dragon walked timidly to Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s side and took a tentative bite off the skewer.


    ¡°Munch, munch¡­¡±


    Juices and fat overflowed, as the chewy meat and crispy texture were perfectlybined all together. The savory vor rapidly spread in its mouth¡­


    Delicious¡­it¡¯s really delicious!


    Meryer¡¯s dragon eyes widened instantly.


    After finishing the skewer, the dragon then smacked its lips, clearly still not satisfied.


    Perhaps because it was too hungry, even Meryer felt that this was more delicious than its usual food!


    Human cuisine is quite famous in Saig¨¹es, and Meryer¡¯s foster father was once a noble Silver dragon who loved human food. However, even when following its father, Meryer had never tasted such delicious grilled meat!


    Looking at Meryer¡¯s shining eyes, Li¡¯l Salty Cat smiled:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s a lot more¡­ but it needs to be grilled again.¡±


    After speaking, Li¡¯l Salty Cat thought for a moment and continued:


    ¡°Um, we have to wait for the grilled meat to be ready so maybe do you want to hear a story?¡±


    ¡°A story?¡± Meryer was slightly intrigued.


    It nced at this evil long-earedss with a proud and slightly curious expression.


    ¡°¡­What story?¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat raised the corner of her mouth:


    ¡°A story about a kind race that loves peace¡­¡±


    A kind race¡­


    Meryer frowned and sneered inwardly:


    <em>Kind?</em>


    Ha ha.


    Do evil races even know what the concept of kindness is? The Dragon highly doubt it.


    ¡°Hmph, fine then, you have one chance elf.¡±


    Meryer said coolly.


    Forget it.


    Since this Lord has eaten from this little female creature, let¡¯s hear what this evil girl has to say!


    This dragon¡¯s mental defenses seemed to have been breached a little. Just a little more push then Li¡¯l Salty Cat could make it apanion and lead this dragon onto the path of justice.


    After all¡­ the grilled meat was quite tempting to it.


    Seeing the elfss snickering to herself Meryer narrowed its eyes and thought,


    Hmph, this Lord is definitely not just here for the grilled meat!


    Looking at the Dragon bing more and more unrestrained under the temptation of Li¡¯l Salty Cat, Eve felt very satisfied.


    ¡°It seems that this dragon-shaped husky who seem to think that it is a Silver dragon will soon bepletely tamed.¡±


    She smiled in satisfaction and then shifted her focus onto her own body.


    Now that the elves of the Rageze n have returned and the number of yers is steadily increasing, someone will eventually took notice of such a big change happening in the Forest of Elves.


    Although she once again threw some diversion and misdirected some of the me to H, Uller would definitely not give up, after all, this forest is not the underworld where the Death Goddess reign.


    However, Uller¡¯s next move will certainly be a lot more cautious.


    Perhaps¡­ He would even order his divine envoy to investigate in person.


    With the improvement of her strength, Eve¡¯s concealment barrier which she had set up for herself, also expanded up to thirty kilometers.


    That is to say, what others see of the World Tree thirty kilometers away is different from what they can truly see within thirty kilometers.


    Nevertheless, if the enemy sneaks in directly and cautiously snoops around thoroughly then they might really discover the revival of the World Tree!


    However, after oveing her initial quasi-death situation, Eve felt that she had more precise control over her body.


    Therefore, she decided to further improve her main body¡¯s concealment.


    ¡°Expanding the a veil of illusion within a certain range is not as good as setting it up directly coating it close on my body. Its more mana efficient and I can directly apply power to my body, conceal my changes, and only let my believers and the yers see my true appearance!¡±


    ¡°In this way, even if there are hostile forces lurking in that somehow manage to intrude, just as long as they don¡¯t touch my body then they won¡¯t discover any changes whatsoever. They will only still see the fake withered World Tree!¡±


    ¡°Plus the yers and believers have long known that I need to conceal my revival from the outside world. s even if someone sneaks in, I can notify them immediately to respond.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm perhaps¡­ I can also use some more misdirection!¡±


    Previously, Eve¡¯s control over her divine power was not as precise, and her connection with believers and yers was also crude and not stable.


    But after regaining more of her power, she was able to do more things she couldn¡¯t before.


    Thinking of this, she quickly constructed a second barrier onto her body.


    At the same time, the NPC task system that she had initially been nning can also now be implemented due to the increase of native elves and the further strengthening of magic she could gather.

 Chapter 103

    ??<strong>NPC Task System</strong>


    The NPC mission system is a game mechanics that Eve has been considering to implement for a long time.


    Currently in ¡°Kingdom of the Elves¡±, the game missions are mostly personally issued and settled by herself, even the daily missions issued by Alice are also created by her in the background calctions.


    This micromanaging of everything really puts the strain upon herputing capabilities.


    This inefficient system cannot go on since soon, Eve ns to finally officiallyunch the open beta!


    By then, yers will definitely flood inrge numbers, numbering in the tens of thousands.


    As the number of yers increases, Eve certainly cannot do everything by herself, and many things can actually be outsourced to the native elves instead hereby lessening the processing capacity she needs to output.


    Eve¡¯s n is to connect the core game system she designed with her own faith channel, issue a partition of the input management into her believers so that they could output task by themselves even without her direct intervention.


    Making it so that they would actually function just like a true game NPCs!


    This¡­ is the NPC mission system!


    Specifically, based on the faith level of her believers, she will assign them certain game authorities, construct NPC temtes, and let them have the power to independently assign tasks and rewards to yers.


    This is a bit like turning ¡°Elf Kingdom¡± into apany.


    Eve is the CEO, Alice would then be a chief operations manager and the rest of her believers are the employees, while the yers are their customers and investment.


    The higher their level of reverence for her, the greater the administration rights she would grant upon them.


    Also in Eve¡¯s n, she ns to give different ranks like Saint-ss believers are purple NPC temtes, Fanatical-ss believers blue NPC temtes, and Devout-ss believers white NPC temtes.


    Shallow believers who provide too little faith will not be integrated into the system.


    If you want to have the ability to assign tasks to the chosen ones, then praise this goddess and be a devout believer as soon as possible!


    As for the only golden NPC, that would be her own avatar alone.


    The content of the tasks is set by the believers themselves.


    The content may benefit believers themselves, but it must not harm or even misconstrue the interests of the mother goddess, and it must have a positive feedback effect on the development of elven civilization.


    Of course, Eve will encourage believers to carry out tasks that are beneficial to Her.


    And if the tasks that believers carry out can make outstanding contributions to Her and the elven civilization, then Eve will also rightfully reward them!


    Considering the innate nature of elves in Saig¨¹es, Ev¨¦ for now is not worried that someone will mess things up.


    The rewards for such tasks can be provided by the believers themselves, or they can be allocated in the form of experience points and contribution points, or even the learning of some skills and career changes!


    Of course, the skills and career changes provided by NPCs and the ¡°direct infusion¡± in the contribution store are different.


    Skills and career changes obtained from NPCs require yers to learn from scratch just like the natives.


    This can be considered as another path provided to the yers!


    After all, not everyone has the money to burn on contribution points, and out of over a thousand people, there¡¯s a marginal chance that someone just like that certain salty cat who uses money akin to water might emerge in the future.


    The transcendent status of the contribution store will not change.


    In addition, the amount of experience points and contribution points that believers be allocated to will also be linked to their degree of faith.


    The more devout their faith in Eve is, therger the portion they will receive, and therger the one-time allocation will be!


    The amount is refreshed every 24 hours and cannot be umted.


    Of course, the amount of rewards allocated to NPCs must be significantly lower than that of the main questline.


    The most generous rewards, as well as the most special rewards, must still be held within Eve¡¯s own hands!


    However, daily tasks are not subject to these restrictions.


    Daily tasks can be repeated.


    Generally, the daily tasks during a certain periods are part of Eve¡¯s development n during that period of time.


    For example, the daily tasks now are to expand the elven town and repair the holy city of Florence.


    For daily tasks, Eve will specially design a daily silver task NPC temte, which can also bepatible with the ordinary NPC temte.


    For example, Saint Alice can simultaneously have both the daily task NPC temte and the purple NPC temte as well.


    That is to say, while freely distributing daily tasks, she can also distribute NPC tasks that belong to her ording to her own preferences.


    Once this system is activated, the gamey of the entire game will be more diverse!


    At the same time, Eve will also be partially freed from task distribution, and only need to oversee the game on a macro scale.


    Behind the scenes, the system runs and the main storyline is all that¡¯s needed her full attention.


    For the native believers, it will once again ignite their faith and deepen theirmunication with the yers.


    Eve can already vaguely foresee that all yers will be transformed into believers¡­especially those faithful and devoted elves.


    Additionally, Eve ns to evaluate the ¡°performance¡± of all believers¡¯ tasks every few months or a year.


    Those who make significant contributions to the development of civilization, the spread of faith, and the increase of Eve¡¯s strength will be rewarded generously!


    In this way, believers¡¯ enthusiasm will be stimted, and they will be guided in the direction of task distribution.


    Hmm, She is so clever!


    Eve is very satisfied.


    She had thought of these ns long ago.


    But before she became a god, Eve¡¯s control of faith was still rough and she could not connect the two systems well.


    But now she can.


    Thinking of this, Eve quickly began the relevant preparations and officially established the NPC task system!


    On the edge of the elf vige.


    ck Dragon Meryer gnawed on a roasted meat and sniffled:


    ¡°It¡¯s too pitiful! The elves are really too pitiful!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the name of the elven race, but I¡¯ve never seen this beautiful race before. I never thought they, who uphold peace, would be so tragic¡­¡±


    Just now, Li¡¯l Salty Cat told Meryer the history of the elves in the form of a story.


    And in order to make it more emotional, while Li¡¯l Salty Cat was telling the story, she searched for some other tragic stories in the Inte on Earth, specifically choosing the most tragic ones, and modified them into the elven version with some whisk of embellishment.


    However, considering that this ck dragon had already been deceived by the Orcs before, she did not directly point out that the orcs and humans persecuted the elves, nor did she describe what the elves looked like.


    This iprehensible ck dragon¡­doesn¡¯t it even know that it was these very elves on her story whom have caught it!?


    And the final result is that Meryer haspletely sunk into the story¡­


    ¡°So¡­the forces of evil must be eradicated! Ah, I don¡¯t know where the elves are now. If Meryer knew where they were, Meryer would definitely help them!¡±


    The gullible dragon said solemnly while eating the roast meat.


    Hearing its words, Li¡¯l Salty Cat smiled mischievously.


    She pointed towards a few Rageze nsmen visiting the Novice vige in the distance and said:


    ¡°They are the elves,¡± she said, then pointed to herself and continued, ¡°I am also a special elf.¡±


    For a moment, Meryer¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Impossible!¡± it eximed, spitting out the roasted meat he had been eating. Its draconic power surged as it angrily roared, ¡°You evil long-eared creature, you are lying to me!¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat was startled, but she still mustered up her courage to say a few more words, ¡°Your beliefs were instilled by those Orcs. And what I haven¡¯t mentioned yet is that it was the Orcs who persecuted the elves in the story!¡±


    ¡°These things can be learned by simply asking around in human society! The reason the orcs drove you was simply to capture elves and sell them as ves to humans. We are just rebelling against that.¡±


    After hearing Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s words, Meryer was momentarily stunned. It turned its head and looked towards the peaceful and lively atmosphere of the small town in the distance with its expression gradually bing lost.


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat wanted to say more, but her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden system notification that appeared in her field of vision:


    ¡¾?¡¿


    [<strong>Announcement</strong>:]


    ¡°Elf Kingdom¡± will be updated at 00:00 on the day after tomorrow earth time. Please prepare to log out in advance.


    An update? Li¡¯l Salty Cat was very curious. She checked the time, hesitated for a moment, and said to Meryer, ¡°You should think about it yourself! I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    With that, she got up and left, leaving only the ck dragon behind, lost in thought.

 Chapter 104

    ??<strong>The Mother Goddess is so Generous</strong>


    Carlos ze is over nine hundred years old.


    Although not a legend per se, the lifespan of elves is usually around twelve hundred years, and they reach adulthood at around two hundred years old.


    Although elves have a rtively a long period of youth and ages very slowly, they still gradually show signs of aging right after eight or nine hundred years.


    In human terms, Carlos is already equivalent to an old man in his fifties or sixties.


    Carlos often heard the thousand-year-old elders in his n talk about the former prosperity of the Elven Kingdom. Unfortunately, ever since he could remember, his experiences were mostly leaving home, hiding, and wandering outside.


    After the World Tree fell, the elven race still persisted living within Florence for several hundred of years, buts with many races gradually persecuting their kind, the elves had no choice but to leave their homnd one after another.


    It has been seven hundred years ago since the Rageze n left this Elven Forest. Being able toe back here and see the revived World Tree as it is, Carlos felt like it was all entirely a dream.


    But the fact is, they have really came back and settled in the holy city of Florence!


    The Elven Forest is still as rich as he remembers.


    Or perchance, with the revival of the Mother Goddess, it has be even more abundant than ever before.


    Except that there are fewer animals around Florence than Carlos imagined, the resources here are so abundant that they don¡¯t even need to worry about food.


    Because as long as you walk within the forest, you can discover countless berries. And if you know some natural magic, you can even quickly ripen some forages in the forest.


    The magic in the Elven Forest is quite abundant, and many fruits can be easily ripened, consuming only a trace of guiding magic.


    If there is a nt in the yard that can produce berries, then the elves don¡¯t even need to go out. They just need to ripen the nt whenever they are hungry.


    This is the kind of life Carlos couldn¡¯t even imagine before.


    Because when he was born, the Mother Goddess had already fallen, and the Elven Forest was not as great as before.


    At this moment, he also understands why the older elves would be so nostalgic for the past and call the Elven Forest the heaven on earth for the elvenkind


    The Elven Forest, after the revival of the Mother Goddess, is indeed as as if it belonged to the heavenly realm instead.


    At the same time, this also allows Carlos to vaguely imagine how powerful the Elven Kingdom was thousands of years ago at its prime.


    And Carlos knows that the reason they cane back is because they have regained the Mother Goddess¡¯s divine protection.


    The protection of the true gods is the greatest reliance of any intelligent races in Saig¨¹es.


    At this moment, Carlos is even more devout in his faith in nature tham ever before.


    He has finally grown from a shallow believer to a truly devout one.


    ¡°If you want to continue living here, if you want the elven race to rise again then we must strengthen our race and strengthen the power of the mother goddess!¡±


    Carlos decided to dedicate the remaining three hundred years of his life to the future of the mother goddess and the elven race!


    After thinking about it, he has ns to open a small forge here in Florence.


    He had inherited his father¡¯s forging skills and was a skilled cksmith with extensive experience in making magical tools and equipment. Most of the equipment of the Rageze n was also personally made by him.


    However, the ups and downs of the past few hundred years had gradually weakened his body and skills.


    But aftering to the forest of the elves, he nned to pick up his cksmithing mantle once again.


    The development of any wise race cannot do without tools, and weapons and equipment are even more a necessity during battles.


    Under Carlos¡¯s observation, he found that although most of these numerous chosen ones had equipment even some of which were quite splendid, they did however do a poor job of maintaining their equipments.


    Not only that, many people¡¯s weapons and equipment were badly damaged, and they seemed to have no intention of repairing them.


    How odd.


    Of course, What the Elder elf didn¡¯t know that this was because the yers engage in battles too frequently, and it¡¯smon for equipment to be damaged.


    Some yers have indeed considered repairing their equipment, but s they simply don¡¯t know how do it properly.


    The contribution store can repair equipment, but the price seems too gut wrenching, almost as much as exchanging for a new set of equipment which is absurd.


    Therefore, many people choose to secretly offer their scrap equipments to the goddess after it finally bes useless, while also using their contribution to acquire new equipments.


    Using their contribution to exchange for a new set instead of doing any sorts of repair.


    As a result, all the equipment that Carlos saw yers are using was not maintained or repaired properly.


    When Carlos nned to open a new forge, he was troubled because there were very few people from the Rageze n and his nsmen have just arrived in the Elven Forest and almost all are very busy.


    He found that he couldn¡¯t find any apprentices to assist him for his ns.


    At this point, Carlos thought of the Chosen Ones.


    But he had some doubts in his heart:


    ¡°Lady Alice mentioned that I could seek help from those Chosen Ones, but¡­ would they be willing to be my apprentices?¡±


    The Chosen Ones were beings personally summoned by the Goddess, and their status in Carlos¡¯s eyes was like that of divine messengers.


    Being an apprentice in a forge was a dirty and tiringborious job, and Carlos didn¡¯t n to seek any profits from this endeavor. If they were to be apprentices then there were no other benefits apart from learning some forging skills.


    The Chosen Ones had such great powers that they could even build cities like the City of the Chosen.


    Under these circumstances, why would they really be willing to assist him?


    He hesitated for a day and still couldn¡¯t make up his mind until he went to sleep that night¡­


    Then, Carlos had a dream.


    In the dream, he saw the kind and generous Mother Goddess herself before him.


    The Mother Goddess praised his faith and bestowed upon him an ability to assign tasks onto the chosen ones.


    ¡°Call upon thy name in your heart, and you shall have the necessary permissions to do your endeavor.¡±


    The Mother Goddess instructed in his dream.


    When Carlos woke up the next daypletely dazed, thingking of his bizarre vivid dream.


    He felt that he had probably been thinking too much during the day, which led to such a strange dream.


    He absurdityughed and was about to get up, but then suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Mother Goddess¡­¡±


    He pondered for a moment, and with a try-it-out attitude, he devoutly called out in his heart:


    ¡°Praise nature, praise life, praise the great spirit overseer- Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill!¡±


    As he thought of this, Carlos was shocked to find that his field of vision had abruptly changed!


    In front of him, there suddenly appeared a semi-transparent white box, on which was written in elvish tongue;


    ¡°<strong>Task Management Permissions</strong>.¡±


    ¡°Oh my Mother Goddess! This¡­this is not a dream!¡±


    He took a slow deep breath and drew the symbol of Mother Nature on his chest.


    After some investigation, he discovered that this ¡°Task Management Permission¡± was indeed an ability to assign tasks!


    Not only that, the control of this strange ability only required his consciousness and could be easily be hidden at any time, reappearing when called upon.


    The permissions included various functions that he had never heard of before, such as ¡°Task Settings,¡± ¡°Reward Settings,¡± and ¡°Favorability Adjustments,¡± as well as a user manual.


    After reading the user manual, Carlos had some clear understanding of these bestowed abilities.


    ¡°This is truly an ability to assign tasks to the chosen ones! And all the functions are aimed at the chosen ones!¡±


    Carlos was shocked.


    This is the power of an Old Ancient Ones!


    The Mother Goddess is truly benevolent, granting her followers such powerful abilities!


    After further understanding the rules, Carlos grasped that the Mother Goddess¡¯s true intention was to assist the chosen ones in reviving their race and increasing her power.


    Of course, the followers could also use this to have the chosen ones help them with tasks.


    And those strange rewards known as experience points and contribution points were all aimed especially for the chosen ones.


    The user manual exined that those rewards were the goals that the chosen ones had been striving for, and the followers could use them as exchanges to have them do things for themselves!


    Carlos was excited.


    He suddenly wanted to try it out.


    ¡°These rewards¡­perhaps they could help me get one¡­no¡­two apprentices!¡±


    His eyes gleamed with excitement.

 Chapter 105

    ??<strong>Rivendell</strong>


    Carlos made the decision to immediately go to the City of Chosen Ones to recruit them!


    However, when he came out of the makeshift wooden house, he found that Florence was already lively.


    For some reason, arge number of young chosen ones had poured into Florence, forming a densely packed crowd.


    Looking around the vicinity, the core area of the repaired temple was filled to the brim with people.


    Carlos was surprised and opened his mouth wide, wondering what was going on.


    Although there were many chosen ones in Florence usually, they only assisted the elves in repairing buildings in the holy city. But today¡­


    Carlos seriously suspected that all of the chosen ones hade to the Ruins of Florence.


    Moreover, the behavior of the chosen ones was also rather strange.


    Whenever they saw a Rageze nsmen, they would then enthusiastically surround them akin to a hungry oack of animals.


    Especially the older elves, several chosen ones surrounded each one eye¡¯s brimming with expectations.


    They smiled and kept ttering, scaring the old elves with their bizarre behavior.


    The old priest Samuel, who was stationed at the Florence Temple, was even more so popr. He had already been overwhelmed by arge group of chosen ones. He tried scolding them but to no avail no one ran away, instead more and more people came¡­


    Not only that, Carlos also heard the chosen ones eximing from afar:


    ¡°Oh my god! A blue ss NPC!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a rare NPC! Hurry up, hurry up!¡±


    ¡°Old Priest Grandpa! Please let me kiss your feet!¡±


    Carlos took a deep breath, not knowing what had gotten into these chosen younglings.


    As soon as he came out, more than a dozen pair of chosen ones faces lit up at the sight of him.


    ¡°Another one! It¡¯s white!¡±


    Their eyes shone like they had seen prey, and they rushed towards Carlos, surrounding him right away.


    At the same time, Carlos heard their excited and expectant voices:


    ¡°Dear Elf Grandpa, good morning!¡±


    ¡°Sir, do you have any tasks for us to help with?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ do you have any skills that we can learn here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very diligent and already level 15! I¡¯m strong and capable of doing anything!¡±


    Carlos: ¡­


    Looking at the chosen ones who were looking at him expectantly, Carlos was puzzled.


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    However, he quickly had a thought and remembered his dream from yesterday¡­


    No way?


    Is this¡­ the will of the Mother Goddess?


    Then, he felt a sense of joy in his heart.


    This is an opportunity!


    It seems that he is very likely to recruit some apprentices!


    However¡­


    He looked at these chosen ones and felt a bit uneasy in his heart.


    He didn¡¯t know if the chosen ones could bear the boredom of being a forging apprentice.


    You should know that the apprentices in the forging workshop not only have a boring job, but also work in a very bad environment and are always very tired at end of each day.


    They often work around the clock with their rugged bare arms and sweat pouring down their backs¡­


    And more importantly, Carlos couldn¡¯t offer much in terms of sry.


    After a moment of contemtion, he decided to try the ability that the Mother Goddess had given him.


    He cleared his throat and said with some anticipation and uneasiness:


    ¡°Um¡­ yes, I do need help here. I n to open a forging shop in Florence to manufacture and repair equipment and magic tools.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t have enough people right now and I need to recruit apprentices. However, the apprentices recruited will be very tired, and I can offer very, very littlepensation¡­¡±


    His voice gradually grew weaker and he seemed a little embarrassed but as soon as Carlos finished speaking, a new message appeared in the yers¡¯ field of vision:

 Chapter 106

    ??<strong>Being Popr Means Being Willful!</strong>


    ¡°Rivendell?¡­haha¡­this name sounds like something from ¡®The Lord of the Rings¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Could it be the ruins of another elven city?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­could we have triggered some hidden questline?¡±


    Upon hearing Carlos¡¯ words, the yers were immediately filled with excitement. They put down whatever they were doing and surrounded Carlos.


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, can you tell us more about this Rivendell?¡±


    ¡°Is it an elven city?¡±


    ¡°Where is it located? Is it near us?¡±


    Watching the chosen ones¡¯ excited expressions, Carlos felt somewhat curious. However, he realized that they had only recently arrived in this world and didn¡¯t know much about the elven history.


    He slowly put down his hammer and reminisced, ¡°Ah Rivendell¡­in elvennguage, it means ¡®<em>rift of the depths</em>¡®. It¡¯s an elven city located at the junction of the Emerald Mountains and the Elven Forest, south of the Elven Forest and north of the Emerald Mountains. It should be about one or two hundred kilometers from here¡­¡±


    After he finished speaking, Carlos expression then slightly dimmed, ¡°The Emerald Mountains, now known as the Dark Mountains. A thousand years ago, it was also the core area of the elven kingdom, but sadly everything was destroyed in the war.¡±


    ¡°Rivendell is a miraculous city. It¡¯s built in a valley with magnificent scenery, and it has thergest ore veins in the elven kingdom. It was also the kingdom¡¯s manufacturing center. The elven equipment and various magical tools produced in Rivendell were once all the rage in the world!¡±


    As Carlos spoke, his expression became increasingly excited, with a hint of pride and longing. But after a moment, he let out a defeated sigh.


    ¡°Unfortunately, a thousand years ago, the war destroyed both Rivendell and the Emerald Mountains. Now, only a bottomless chasm remains, left behind by the gods¡¯ battle, and now Rivendell has be just mere ruins¡­¡±


    ¡°The chasm opened a passage between the underground world and the surface world. Nowadays, Rivendell has reportedly be a paradise for underground monsters¡­¡±


    ¡°It was also the existence of the chasm that severed the connection between the Emerald Mountains and the Elven Forest. The only entrance and exit to the south of the Elven Forest is now in the southeast, near the Beastmen tribe. Otherwise, if we came back through other passages, we wouldn¡¯t have to endure such orc onught.¡±


    As Carlos spoke, he clenched his fists tightly.


    Almost all of the elder elves who died in battle before were his friends and family!


    Thinking of this, Carlos¡¯s eyes reddened, as his vision blurred slightly.


    He sniffled and forced out a rueful smile, saying, ¡°Heh pardon me, I¡¯m getting sentimental as I get older.¡±


    After speaking, he then regained hisposure and said with hope, ¡°Ah¡­ those are all things of the past, better not to mention them. Now that the mother goddess has returned, everything will be okay for the Elven tribe. I believe that one day, we will be able to expel the monsters that upy Revindeil, just like we did in the Emerald Mountains, and rebuild the glory of the Elves once again!¡±


    With great enthusiasm, he turned to the chosen ones and said, ¡°Everything will be okay. Let¡¯s work hard togethe¡ª¡±


    However, when Carlos turned around, he was stunned as he found that the chosen ones who had just been helping him and listening to his history were suddenly missing half of their numbers!


    There were originally thirty or forty people, but now there were only a scattered few, and half of them were women.


    Carlos:¡­


    ¡°¡­Where are the rest of people?!¡±


    His face was entirely bbergasted.


    A serious-looking, blue-eyed, golden-haired chosen one answered with a strange expression, ncing outside, ¡°I think¡­ they might have gone to look for Rivendell.¡±


    Carlos:¡­


    ¡­


    Carlos¡¯s storytelling was like a stone thrown into ake.


    About one or two hundred kilometers south of the Elven Forest, in the northern part of the Dark Mountains, there was another Elven city!


    It was called Rivendell!


    And¡­ it was once was thergest manufacturing center of the Elven tribe.


    <em>Treasure!</em>


    Not only that, it is also connected to the underground world, where many monsters are said to have exist!


    Treasure! Monsters!


    A new map!


    This must be a new map!


    Could it be¡­ another main questline?!


    At once, the chosen ones who received the news became excited.


    Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major yer guilds also received the message:


    ¡°Oh my god! Brother Mu, Brother Mu! It seems like we triggered a hidden questline! It¡¯s probably a new map!¡±


    ¡°Salty Cat, Cat! Extra! Extra! I found clues to the ruins of the new elf city! This time, our guild must lead the way. I heard that it used to be the center of the elf manufacturing industry, so there must be many ancient books on construction!¡±


    ¡°Hey Tomato! We found it! We finally found clues to the elf ruins we¡¯ve been searching for in the wilderness! I heard there are many monsters there! We can definitely have a great time killing mobs this time!¡±


    In an instant, all the chosen ones were boiling with excitement.


    ¡°Rivendell?¡±


    Li Mu, who had just epted the task of taking care of two elf little girls from Alice, looked at the guild group¡¯s message with a surprised expression.


    He thought for a moment, handed a berry to each of the elf girls, and let them y by themselves first.


    Then, he entered the Elven Temple, bowed to Alice who was distributing daily tasks, and respectfully asked:


    ¡°Madam Alice, do you know Rivendell?¡±


    ¡°Rivendell?¡±


    Alice paused for a moment, and a hint of nostalgia appeared in her expression.


    ¡°It¡­ was once one of the most prosperous cities of our elf race, but s it has now be ruins.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Li Mu¡¯s spirits were lifted.


    ¡°So, do you know the specific location of Rivendell?¡±


    Alice looked at him strangely and shook her head.


    ¡°I have never been there.¡±


    After saying that, she then added:


    ¡°But Rivendell was built in a valley and connected to the Great Canyon north of the Dark Mountains after its destruction. If you follow the canyon, you can definitely find it.¡±


    At this point, she seemed to have realized something and swiftly warned Li Mu:


    ¡°I want to remind you that it is said that there is a passage connecting it to the underground world, which has now be a paradise for monsters and is quite dangerous. You¡¯d better not take any risks okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay! Thank you, Lady Alice!¡±


    Li Mu looked pleasantly surprised at the saintlydy¡¯s words.


    He thanked Alice while messaging the guild members in his mind:


    ¡°I have confirmed with Alice that there is indeed an elven city named Rivendell! It was once quite prosperous! And Alice also told me some ways to find it¡­¡±


    ¡°But the Saint said it¡¯s very dangerous there. I suggest that interested guild yers form a few exploration teams and explore separately! As for the person in charge of the exploration mission, let it be Demacia!¡±


    Upon seeing Li Mu¡¯s message, the yers of the Natural Hearts Guild instantly replied ¡°received.¡±


    At this time, Demacia suddenly asked in the guild chat:


    ¡°Brother Mu, why don¡¯t you go?¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s mouth slightly curled up, and he replied by typing:


    ¡°I took a babysitting mission from Alice here, which rewards 1000 contribution points! Hehe, I can¡¯t leave.¡±


    Demacia: ¡­


    The yers of the Natural Heart Guild: ¡­


    ¡°Oh my god, 1000 contribution points, she really deserves to be the only purple ss NPC¡­¡±


    ¡°So jealous!¡±


    ¡°Pfft, high favorability means you can do whatever you want?¡±


    Li Mu proudly replied:


    ¡°Sorry, high favorability means you can do whatever you want!¡±


    Demacia: ¡­


    The yers of the Natural Hearts Guild: ¡­


    ¡°Hehehe!¡±


    ¡°( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Mu: ¡­


    <strong>¡ª </strong><strong> ¡ª</strong>

 Chapter 107

    ??<strong>Uller¡¯s Godwarden</strong>


    Searching for another elven city ¨C Rivendell!


    Although the yers did not receive any relevant main quests scenarios, as Carlos mentioned it, their fascination for this city grew stronger and stronger¡­


    And as yers further interacted with other NPCs, information about Rivendell, the once elven manufacturing city, became more and more abundant.


    A once miraculous city, thergest vein deposits, a legendary production capital¡­


    The halo on Rivendell is no less than that of the Holy City of Florence!


    In fact, Rivendell, Florence, and the capital of the Elvenkind are the three most famous cities within the old Elven Kingdom.


    In the game, there is no meaningless and valueless information!


    yers firmly believe that the information about Rivendell must be requirements for another hidden questline!


    Maybe it¡¯s also rted to the next main storyline!


    For a while, yers spontaneously or organized by guilds, have formed exploration teams, wanting to find this mystical city.


    Ruins mean treasures!


    And the ruins of Rivendell are said to be connected to the underground world, where countless mobs would probably exist!


    Adventure, isn¡¯t that what yers are pursuing?


    Their actions even rmed the NPCs.


    Many younglings from the Rageze n are also very curious about this city, and some even want to join the chosen ones who are preparing to explore, but they are instantly stopped by their elders¡­


    Moreover, they also received reprimands from the old elves:


    ¡°There are terrible monsters in Rivendell, unlike the Chosen Ones, you lots are not an immortal.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re almost two hundred years old, can¡¯t you be more mature for once?¡±


    ¡°Just longer lifespan without higher intelligence? Do you still think you¡¯re kids under one hundred years old huh?¡±


    ¡°Look at the envoy, Ael! He¡¯s only eighty years old and already so sensible, even blessed by the mother goddess! What about you?!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t behave, I¡¯ll send you to be an apprentice with Carlos!¡±


    Finally, the curious young elves had to give up momentarily and stay in Florence, helping their n repair the holy city with a dejected attitude¡­


    The yers¡¯ actions have also caught the attention of Eve.


    After a slight investigation, Eve knew the ins and outs of this new craze.


    ¡°Rivendell?¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred:


    ¡°s it¡¯s been abandoned.¡±


    This city was mentioned many times in the world tree inheritance that Eve received. She even had a picture of the city being split in half by the sword of the gods.


    And it was that sword that formed the Great Rift, separating the Dark Mountains and the Forest of Elves¡­


    ¡°Forget about the quests and treasures, but if it really connects to the underworld, then it might open up a nice new ghost-type focused map¡­¡±


    ¡°ording to the records in the inheritance, the underworld is not a peaceful ce, but to be honest, it¡¯s quite suitable for yers to mess around with.¡±


    Eve thought with great interest.


    She didn¡¯t release relevant missions but remembered the yers¡¯ movements and stopped paying attention.


    Now, her main focus was on repairing Florence and dealing with the nearby Orc strongholds.


    With her permission, the envoy Ael, the Oak Guardian Berserker, and the Saint Alice had already issued missions to find the Orcish stronghold.


    The Rageze n knew of the general location of the beastmen tribe but not the precise location.


    Everything needed to be explored.


    However, Eve believed that this process should have bore results soon.


    As for Rivendell¡­


    The terrain around the Great Rift was rugged, and there were many high-level monsters. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for yers to find Rivendell within one or two days.


    It would be good enough if they could find it in one or two months.


    After all, they could keep searching¡­


    The yers who continue to search are few, and most people would lose interest in it quickly without external pressure.


    ¡°The top priority now is still the orcs and the repair of the holy city. Well¡­ it¡¯s also important to get the Rageze n back on track. As for Rivendell, we can put it aside for now¡­¡±


    ¡°In case if they have really find Rivendell, then let¡¯s make it a hidden plot again.¡±


    Dark Mountains, Caverock Tribe.


    The days of the Orcish high priest have been very difficult recently.


    He hasn¡¯t slept for three days and nights.


    The only reason is that the team he sent to intercept the elves, like a stone thrown into the vast sea, has disappeared without a trace¡­


    More than 300 people, all the bravest warriors in the tribe and not one of them came back!


    This matter has caused dissatisfaction and panic amongst some of the tribe members.


    Not only that but even the ck dragon Meryer who went with them did not return¡­


    The Orcs has sent someone to the ruined castle on the top of the mountain to take a look but the magic protecting Meryer¡¯s nest is still there.


    In addition, you can faintly see through the window the gold and gems it has collected¡­


    Dragons all love treasure. If it moves, it is impossible not to take its treasure with it!


    This indicates that Meryer has also encountered some unforeseen circumstances and is unable to return¡­


    Or, he is already dead.


    At the thought of this, the elderly high priest became more and more frightened.


    Over three hundred Beastman, as well as the silver-tier ck dragon¡­


    They disappeared as if evaporated!


    The people from the tribe have inspected it, and there are only traces of fighting and some bloodstains left at the edge of the Elven Forest.


    There isn¡¯t even a single corpse¡­


    Not even a single piece of equipment left!


    What on earth happened to them?


    The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.


    At this point, the Elven Forest in his eyes had be a fearsome monster that devoured people.


    ¡°What kind of existence could do this? Could it be¡­ that there is something in the Elven Forest?¡±


    ¡°Is it¡­ the Godwarden of the Grim Reaper?¡±


    The high priest was already considering abandoning this stronghold and while taking his people elsewhere.


    The wealth umted by the ck dragon Meryer should be enough for the tribe to migrate.


    If Meryer were still here, then he would never have thought of taking its treasure, but now it¡¯s different.


    In its eyes, Meryer is probably more of a danger than a boon.


    However, the Caverock tribe settled here first, under the will of the god of winter and hunting.


    Without the oracle of the father god, the high priest move lightly¡­


    And he has prayed to the father god many times recently, requesting to move the tribe, but he has not received the father god¡¯s approval.


    ¡°Why¡­ isn¡¯t the father god responding to me?¡±


    This made the Orc high priest even more uneasy.


    Just as he was hesitating whether to directly set up a sacrifice circle andmunicate with the father god at the risk of angering him, a guard stumbled in from outside the tent:


    ¡°High Priest! High Priest!¡±


    He was gasping for breath.


    He then frowned:


    ¡°What happened again?¡±


    The Orc guard who had rushed over bowed to him and said excitedly as he gasped for breath:


    ¡°There¡­ there¡¯s a high-level professional who came to the tribe!¡±


    A high-level professional?


    The high priest eyes narrowed slightly.


    ¡°He¡­ he ims to be the father god¡¯s Godwarden!¡±


    The Orc guard eximed with excitement.


    <strong>¡ª </strong><strong> ¡ª</strong>

 Chapter 108

    ??<strong>The Atmosphere is Really Awkward</strong>


    When the High Priest of the Orc Tribe arrived at the council tent of the Caverock Tribe, J¨´sh¨¡n finally saw the guest.


    It was a tall figure sitting in the main seat, dressed in a luxurious ck robe with a high, white cor, and a blood-red rose pinned to the left chest.


    His features were handsome akin to an elf, with shoulder-length ck hair tied into a single ponytail, and pale skin. His crimson eyes were looking at the beastmen Priest with interest as he entered the tent.


    The High Priest¡¯s pupils slightly shrank, ¡°N-Night Wanderer?¡±


    Upon hearing his exmation, the mysterious guest¡¯s lips curled into a yful smile, ¡°Why I didn¡¯t expect my name to reach here.¡±


    He then snapped his fingers, and a ss appeared in his hand as if by magic. It was filled with fresh blood.


    He took a single sip and then said, ¡°However, I prefer to be called Count Night, please remember that.¡±


    The High Priest of the Beastman Tribe¡¯s spirit lifted, and he drew a bow-shaped symbol on his chest and bowed to the other party, ¡°Praise the Father God! Count Night, the Caverock Tribe wees your arrival!¡±


    Night Wanderer.


    He was a well-known Godwarden of winter and hunting within Saig¨¹es!


    Night Wanderer was not a Beastman but a member of the Blood n who originally believed in darkness. However, he was converted by Father God during a war and followed the faith of the Hunter God, bing a divine follower eventually.


    No one knew what Night Wanderer¡¯s real name was, but he liked to be called a Count because he was a true high-level professional with the power of a golden sub-level!


    In the Blood n, this was the level of a Count.


    Having identified the other party¡¯s identity, the High Priest of the Orc Tribe breathed a sigh of relief.


    The arrival of the divine follower also meant that the attention of the true God was focused here because a Godwarden was the eyes of the true God!


    Father God¡­ had not forgotten them!


    As one of the few other races who follow Uller, Night Wanderer have also received his favor.


    Count Night often contacts the beliefs of other true gods in the role of a visitor, mediator, or scout, much like Uller¡¯s diplomat in the secr world.


    And at the same time as seeing the infamous Night Wanderer, the tension that had been building up in the heart of the high priest for many days was relieved:


    ¡°Your excellency¡­ since you¡¯vee here then you should know about the Elven Forest, right?¡±


    He asked tentatively.


    Night Wanderer curtly nodded:


    ¡°I came here under themand of the Father God.¡±


    After speaking, he stood up from his seat, one hand behind his back, and slowly shook the ss in his hand.


    As he watched the blood in the ss shake with his movements, Night Wanderer¡¯s expression gradually became serious:


    ¡°The True God suspects that there is a new god being sealed in the Elven Forest, so He sent me to investigate it.¡±


    A young God being sealed¡­!


    The pupils of the high priest shrank slightly.


    If there truly was a new God hidden inside the Elven Forest, then everything would make sense!


    But he soon became confused again:


    ¡°Count Night, forgive me for being blunt, but there hasn¡¯t been any sign of a new god being sealed in the Elven Forest in recent years. And Saig¨¹es mana capacity has been weak for a thousand years, so all this time, not even the birth of a demigod has been heard of for a long time¡­¡±


    The requirements for ascendance of a god is very strict.


    Only a high-level realm with abundant mana can support it!


    Moreover, the fluctuations of godly ascension are very strong.


    If there is indeed a new god being born, the nearby Caverock Tribe cannot possibly not feel it!


    As the high priest knew all about these things.


    Night Wanderer smiled:


    ¡°Who said that an ascension ceremony must be held? That one¡¯s true form is still in the Elven Forest, and a thousand years have passed, so the awakening technique should have already been broken, right? You should have heard about how that batch of Crowns under the Twilight of the Gods ascended to the throne ages ago.¡±


    After hearing his words, the pupils of the high priest shrank again:


    ¡°Directly integrating the divine mandate and divinity? This¡­ how is that possible?¡±


    Night Wanderer smiled again:


    ¡°Normally it¡¯s impossible, but what if another god intervened? Like per say¡­ the one lurking in the underworld.¡±


    In fact, Uller originally had this n as well.


    Only limited by the warnings of the gods and the threat of being sealed, Uller dare not take action.


    But H is different. She stays in the underworld all year-round and although she also left a true god throne in the Pantheon, she rarely interacts with the rest of the heavenly gods.


    As the lord of the underworld, as long as H stays at home, she is not afraid to oversee the three major god systems of the Pantheon on her own territory.


    Therefore¡­


    Although the warnings of the gods are a pressure for H, it is not as deadly as it is for Uller.


    If she does something then it is not surprising.


    Of course, the believers do not know these things.


    This is a secret among true gods.


    It is enough for the believers to know that the goddess of death is likely to take action.


    Hearing this, Priest Jushan¡¯s mind shed and he associated it with the god of death¡¯s Godwarden mentioned by his father.


    In an instant, he felt that he had caught the truth of the matter!


    Seeing the change in the high priest¡¯ expression, Night Wanderer was very satisfied:


    ¡°It seems that you have also figured it out.¡±


    After saying this, his expression gradually became serious:


    ¡°Nature and life are the directions pursued by father god¡¯s for thousands of years, and at the same time¡­ they are also the target of the lord of the underworld. Although the lord of the underworld cannot appear in person, it is not a hindrance for her to support a new god!¡±


    H is in charge of death, aging, and disease.


    Although these divinity are contradictory to the divinity of life, there are also simrities.


    And H¡¯s divinity is notplete, which is also a well-known fact among the true gods in the heavenly realm.


    The divinity which mandates life also has a huge attraction for their god Uller.


    Although controlling contradictory divine positions can easily cause the true god¡¯s soul to fluctuate and may even lead to madness, H does not need to do this.


    She only needs to support a demigod rted to life and obtain information about the governingws from it, in order to perfect her iplete death divinity!


    All of this is Uller¡¯s spection.


    And He also informed His Godwardens about the possibility of H taking action!


    ¡°So¡­ Lord Night Wanderer, do you have any ns? The forces hidden in the Elven Forest are extremely powerful. We have already lost hundreds of warriors and a ck dragon.¡±


    The High Priest said worriedly.


    ¡°And¡­ they were killed with overwhelming force, without any sound.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the cup in Night Wanderer¡¯s hand shook slightly, and his expression became serious.


    But soon, he smiled faintly:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ I have already sent out my familiars to infiltrate the forest and investigate for me.¡±


    Familiars?


    The High Priest was pleased.


    Night Wanderer had the ability to summon familiars. This ability allowed him to control ordinary animals to explore the unknown.


    And Night Wanderer was especially good at controlling seemingly harmless creatures like rabbits and deer¡­ they were easily unsuspecting!


    Moreover, the images seen by the animals could be transmitted back, which was a very sophisticated reconnaissance ability!


    With that, Night Wanderer waved his hand, and magic gradually transformed into an image in front of him.


    The High Priest of the Orcs was excited and hurriedly looked into the image.


    He was also very curious about what had happened in the Elven Forest!


    However¡­ the image was ck.


    ¡°¡­.


    Dead?¡±


    Night Wanderer was slightly stunned.


    Seeing the unexpected expression on the High Priest¡¯s face, Night Wanderer coughed lightly and said:


    ¡°Cough cough, this ismon, after all, familiars are just ordinary wild beasts, idents can happen. However¡­ I have summoned more than one.¡±


    With that, he changed the image again.


    Still ck.


    Night Wanderer raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised:


    ¡°Uh¡­ they died too? My bad, let me try another one.¡±


    He waved his arm and changed the image again.


    Still ck¡­


    The High Priest J¨´sh¨¡n:¡­


    Night Wanderer:¡­


    Silence.


    The atmosphere turned awkward at a moment.


    <strong>¡ª </strong><strong> ¡ª</strong>

 Chapter 109

    ??<strong>Fine Wild Game</strong>


    Count Night switched several screens in a row, only to find that they were all ck.


    In other words, most of the familiars he sent out had for some reason died.


    This gradually made his expression look somewhat unpleasant.


    ¡°Um¡­ cough cough, Your Lordship, could it be that your reconnaissance was discovered?¡±


    The Orc high priest said cautiously, watching the vampire¡¯s face slowly turning from pale to blue.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    Count Night instinctively refuted loudly.


    He momentarily took a deep breath, calmed his mood, and continued to speak elegantly:


    ¡°The familiars I summoned are all ordinary animals, without a trace of magic exposed. It¡¯s impossible to be discovered so easily.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ must be a coincidence!¡±


    He continued to switch screens while speaking.


    After switching seven or eight times, Count Night finally switched to a normal screen!


    It was a wild rabbit¡¯s point of view, running fast, and the field of vision kept shaking.


    The Count¡¯s expression gradually show a trace of relief:


    ¡°See, there¡¯s still some left.¡±


    ¡°With the magic enhancement of the Elven Forest, the activities of the monsters have be frequent. It¡¯s normal for the familiars to be attacked, but as long as there is one survivor, I can still get what I want to see!¡±


    After hearing the vampire¡¯s words, the Orc high priest¡¯s expression also gradually became respectful.


    He is indeed a Godwarden!


    This kind of exploration ability is indeed powerful and unstoppable!


    The scene in the picture kept changing and the two of them watched it carefully.


    ¡°Looking at these nts¡­ we should be approaching the core area.¡±


    The expression on the high priest¡¯s face also gradually became expectant.


    At this moment, the field of view in the picture suddenly changed, and several tall figures in full armor appeared,ughing and chatting.


    ¡°They¡¯re elves!¡±


    The high priest¡¯s eyes lit up.


    At this moment, the elves seemed to have discovered a wild rabbit and looked in the direction of the field of view without any prior arrangement.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been discovered?¡±


    The expression on the high priests face tightened.


    The Count merely took a sip of blood and casually said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! It¡¯s just a wild rabbit. They won¡¯t care, and how could these long-eared fellows attack anima¡ª..¡±


    But s he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence.


    Because the several elves in their field of view suddenly became excited.


    They drew out various weapons and quickly rushed towards the vampires familiar.


    A spear flew towards the field of view.


    Soon, the screen turned red and then ck.


    High Priest:¡­


    Night Wanderer:¡­


    Silence


    The corners of the Count¡¯s mouth twitched.


    His expression changed a bit, and he gritted his fanged teeth and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect¡­ my familiars to be discovered by the other side. It seems that their control of the Elf Forest is even more terrifying than I thought!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I still have onest trick!¡±


    He waved his hand again, and the field of view suddenly changed to a high altitude this time.


    ¡°This is mystpanion beast, a mountain eagle,¡± said Night Wanderer with a calm facade.


    The field of view moved down, and the two gradually saw the scene in the forest below.


    The picture kept moving, and gradually they saw the fabled Florence ruins!


    Inside the ruins, the scene was incredibly lively. They saw a group of elves like ants moving around animatedly and repairing this ancient city.


    Looking around, there were hundreds of them!


    ¡°<em>What the</em>¡ªSo many elves!¡±


    The Orc Priest gasped in horror.


    Count Night, on the other hand, saw something else:


    ¡°A temple! There¡¯s actually a temple!¡±


    He saw the temple in Florence!


    From the outside, this temple had a bit of a human-like feel to it, but it was impossible to tell which deity it belonged to.


    However, this also indicated one thing-


    There really was a god¡¯s intervention within the Elf Forest!


    The mountain eagle¡¯s field of view gradually changed, and the silhouette of the World Tree came into view for the two of them.


    Just like in their old impression, the world tree still looks withered, but underneath it, a stunning city has miraculously appeared!


    ¡°Godfather in heaven¡­when did this city emerge?¡±


    Looking down at the elf town constructed by the yers, the Orc priest was stunned.


    ¡°What a beautiful city!¡±


    Night wanderer¡¯s eyes light up.


    This city is full of the natural style of the elves, but at the same time, there are many architectural styles that they have never seen before. They are perfectlybined, making the entire city look like an excellent work of art!


    ¡°Wait¡­what is that?¡±


    Suddenly, the high priest sees a few elves sitting around a campfire.


    The night wanderer¡¯s heart cramped, and the image in his vision is slightly erged¡­


    Those are a few elves sitting around a campfire roasting a mountain deer.


    The night wanderer falls deathly silent.


    Because he clearly recognizes one of them as his familiar.


    And seeing the elves roasting deer meat, the Orc Priest ispletely shocked:


    ¡°The elves actually eat meat now?!¡±


    Night wanderer¡¯s expression gradually bes serious as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    After a moment, he then sighs and says:


    ¡°That¡¯s right, behind the Forest of Elves, there is probably a new ascended god! Only a true god can forcefully change ones race¡¯s habits!¡±


    ¡°These elves¡­are probably following a new god. Moreover, the style of these temples is unprecedented.¡±


    ¡°Heh, it seems that the faith of these long-eared folks can still change¡­¡±


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, each true god¡¯s Parthenon has its own characteristics, and in many cases, it is possible to judge which deity it belongs to based on the appearance of the temple!


    But the style of the temple they see ispletely new.


    Coupled with the change in the elves¡¯ temperament¡­


    There is nothing that can exin the truth better than this.


    At this moment, the screen suddenly shook and turned red again¡­ then plunged into darkness.


    The two fell into silence.


    After a moment, Night wanderer stood up:


    ¡°My reconnaissance must have been discovered by the other side yet again. But¡­ that¡¯s good, I have the intention to pay a visit.¡±


    The Orc high priest tightened its expression:


    ¡°Are you going personally Count?¡±


    Night wanderer smiled and looked proud:


    ¡°I am Uller¡¯s Godwarden, and I have some strength go undetected, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The Forest of Elves.


    The ck dragon Meryer held a mountain eagle in its mouth and swallowed it with a smacking sound, spitting out feathers on the ground afterwards:


    ¡°It¡¯s really bad¡­ much worse than barbecue.¡±


    After speaking, it strangely looked at the giant tree:


    ¡°Why did that old evil god ask me to catch birds?¡±


    However, it soon didn¡¯t care and flew to several barbecuing yers down below.


    Seeing the sudden arrival of the huge ck shadow, the yers were already used to it.


    They all tried to please it:


    ¡°Ah! It turns out to be Lord Meryer, wait a moment! The venison still needs some more roasting!¡±


    ¡°Lord ck Dragon, let me tell you¡­ this venison is delicious! Recently, there have been many of these animals running around in the forest, and they taste much better than ordinary monsters!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! This is the best game meat!¡±


    ¡°Roast it quickly! We will give the most delicious thigh to Lord Meryerter!¡±


    Meryer listened, and a satisfied expression appeared on its dragon face.


    However, it soon became serious:


    ¡°Hmph! Shrewd people! I¡¯m just passing by and have no interest in your food!¡±


    After speaking, it smacked its lips and silently added:


    ¡°¡­If it¡¯s the deer leg, sprinkle some honey on it to make it taste better.¡±


    yers:¡­


    Silence


    In the high sky.


    Eve breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the mountain eagle being caught and killed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to attract the attention of others. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t see Berserker. It seems that the matter in the Forest of Elves can¡¯t be kept secret anymore.¡±


    ¡°We need to find a way to protect ourselves.¡±


    <strong>¡ª </strong><strong> ¡ª</strong>

 Chapter 110

    ??<strong>Soul Domination!</strong>


    In the southeast region of the Elven Forest, Boxlunch was exploring with his battle party.


    ¡°Hey Box, all the major guilds have started looking for Rivendell, why don¡¯t we go too?¡± a curious yer asked.


    Boxlunch remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°But we¡¯re on a mission.¡±


    ¡°What mission?¡± the remaining team members were stunned.


    One team member then sighed, ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think we have to strictly follow the instructions of the goddess every time we act. This game has a lot of freedom, and we can explore and perhaps even trigger hidden plotlines on our own.¡±


    Boxlunch remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°If we ept a mission, then we shouldplete it properly before doing a new one.¡±


    yers: ¡­


    Well he was not wrong. They had epted a mission from Alice to find the Beastmen stronghold, and finding the stronghold was indeed their top priority.


    However¡­even though they knew this, seeing all the yers on the forum frantically searching for Rivendell, the fabled city mentioned by NPCs, made them inevitably affected.


    ¡°It won¡¯t take too long,¡± Boxlunch said again, then jumped forward and ran ahead.


    The remaining team members all looked at each other and shrugged. Clearly they had no choice but to follow.


    They were approaching the edge of the Elven Forest. ording to the information they obtained from the members of Rageze n, they should be able to find the traces of the Beastmen soon.


    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the bull headed ck Dragon Meryer who refused to tell the way, the yers would have already reached the orcs¡¯ location.


    While they were on the move, suddenly¡­Boxlunch stopped.


    His expression became very serious in an instant.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Seeing their party captain looking like he was facing a formidable enemy, the other yers became alert.


    ¡°Someone is approaching, and they¡¯re very strong¡­¡±


    Boxlunch said in a low voice.


    The other yers¡¯ expressions instantly became guarded when they heard this.


    Boxlunch was a Hunter profession and had recently exchanged for a scouting ability,bined with his already powerful awareness, his ability to predict danger was very strong.


    Boxlunch¡¯s words were never to be disregarded.


    ¡°p¡­ p¡­ p¡­¡±


    While the few people were on guard, there suddenly came a burst of elegant apuse from far ahead.


    A slender figure appeared and walked leisurely before them.


    With a handsome and pale face, crimson eyes, a ck ponytail, and a ck cloak that never had a single wrinkle¡­


    It was Count Night Wanderer.


    He waved his hand slightly, and a goblet filled with blood appeared in his hand. He then took a sip and said,


    ¡°Not bad, very vignt.¡±


    At that moment, the yers¡¯ faces all became serious.


    Because they didn¡¯t sense this person¡¯s approach at all!


    At this moment, they once again marveled at Boxlunch¡¯s perception ability.


    After the alert, they gradually became excited again¡­


    Is this a new NPC? Did they trigger a hidden quest g?


    Night Wanderer is very powerful. Moreover, as a vampire who ims to be a noble race, they have a sense of style in their dress and behavior.


    In simple terms, he looks like a Boss mob, very cool and showy.


    With his appearance, he really stunned a few yers and made bbergasted.


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes also brightened, and he said in a low voice:


    ¡°¡­Who are you, sir?¡±


    Night Wanderer was somewhat surprised.


    The characteristics of the vampires were still very prominent, but these elves didn¡¯t recognize him¡­


    Moreover, after he revealed himself, he didn¡¯t conceal his powerful aura anymore. However, the several elves on the other side were not afraid or intimidated, but seemed to be slightly excited¡­


    What ignorant and strange elves!


    A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Night Wanderer¡¯s mouth, and his crimson eyes suddenly burst with a deep red light. His voice was unquestionable:


    <em>¡°Imand you¡­ tell me your origins, as well as the existence behind you. Who is nning what?¡±</em>


    A subtle mental wave spread from Night Wanderer and went straight into the brains of the yers!


    [<strong>Soul Control</strong>]


    This is a magic spell of Night Wanderer that directly affects the soul.


    Anyone whose soul power is lower than his will be his puppet!


    However, to his surprise, instead of a few people submitting to him, he was met with bewildered expressions instead.


    ¡°Why should we submit to you?¡±


    ¡°Why should we tell you these things?¡±


    Night Wanderer: ¡­


    It¡­it didn¡¯t work?


    He widened his eyes in surprise.


    ¡°Is this NPC¡­stupid?¡±


    A yer muttered as they looked at the vampire¡¯s nk expression.


    Night Traveler¡¯s face darkened.


    He snorted lightly and his whole body turned into a phantom.


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s face instantly changed.


    Before the other yers could react, the unlucky person who had spokenst was suddenly grabbed by the hostile NPC by the throat and then lifted up.


    Several yers looked shocked and quickly drew their weapons to attack the hostile NPC, but he simply raised his hand lightly to blocked all their attacks.


    ¡°So strong¡­!¡±


    The yers looked horrified.


    It should be noted that Boxlunch¡¯s team had the highest DPS and level amongst all the yerbase!


    They looked at each other, nodded, and then turned and ran.


    If you can¡¯t beat them, then run away.


    For yers, there is no point in being stubborn, especially now that the number of perfect revivals is dropping and every life is important to them!


    Even Boxlunch hesitated and looked at the yer who was caught by the NPC before choosing to flee as well.


    ¡°Hulu..sorry, I¡¯ll leave the hidden quest to you.¡±


    Before he ran away, he shouted loudly to the yer who was caught.


    Hulu: ¡­


    Upon seeing the few people attempting to escape, a hint of mockery appeared in the Night Wanderer¡¯s expression.


    He snorted coldly and countless ck bats flew out from his body, entangling and biting the fleeing yers.


    The yers were horrified to find their bodies losing control as they were bitten by the bats.


    Their bodies stiffened and they fell to the ground one by one.


    Boxlunch¡¯s face changed, and he drew his dagger to eliminate the bats that charged towards him. However, after knocking down the other yers, all the bats then focused on him alone.


    Even he eventually copsed after holding on for a while.


    Boxlunch gritted his teeth, raised his dagger and shed his own arm, causing blood to flow freely.


    But even so, he couldn¡¯t escape from this stiffness¡­


    After knocking down all the yers, the bats returned to Night Wanderer¡¯s body.


    These were his bat familiars that could secrete a special toxin of the vampire n, causing the bodies of those who came into contact with the toxin to be numb and ultimately lose control.


    This was also a toxinmonly used by vampires when hunting for blood donors.


    Even if Boxlunch self-harmed, he would not be able to escape.


    Night Wanderer was very satisfied. He shifted his gaze to the yer he had captured still in his grip, apparently named ¡°Hulu¡±.


    Hulu looked at his fallen teammates with a helpless expression, but his face showed no fear. Instead, he looked at the Night Wanderer with pure curiosity.


    Hmm¡­


    ording to Demacia¡¯s experience, cooperating appropriately when captured can stimte hidden plots¡­


    Night Wanderer:¡­


    Hulu¡¯s obedient expression surprised the vampire even more, and he even shuddered unexpectedly:


    What an ignorant and fearless, and slightly disgusting strange elf¡­


    He squinted his eyes and once again used Soul Control.


    This time, the target was only Hulu.


    However, his mental magic was as if it sank into the ocean, with no response¡­


    ¡°Huh, Immune to mental magic¡­¡±


    Night Wanderer muttered.


    He was baffled and his eyes turned crimson again:


    ¡°Tell me¡­ your secrets, and also¡­ what was the hidden mission you just mentioned.¡±


    This time, he gave up on mental magic and chose to use psychological suggestion that directly affected the consciousness instead.


    <strong>¡ª </strong><strong> ¡ª</strong>

 Chapter 111

    <strong>?? The Reaper¡¯s Chosen One</strong>


    This time, Night Wanderer¡¯s psychological attack seems to had finally work!


    The target¡¯s eyes widened, and his gaze gradually became blurred and empty.


    That was a sign that the psychological maniption was about to seed!


    Night Wanderer felt satisfied:


    ¡°Immune to mental magic, but susceptible to psychological suggestion is it? This indicates that their souls have problems. It¡¯s possible that their souls are being protected by something!¡±


    However, just when he thought his psychological suggestion was about to seed, Hulu¡¯s eyes for some reason suddenly rolled back as his head flopped to one side inanimatedly.


    Night Wanderer: ¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The vampire was baffled for this reaction had never happened ever before.


    Listening to the even rhythmic breathing of his prey, Night Wanderer¡¯s expression became bbergasted.


    ¡°Asleep¡­?¡±


    How could this elf fall asleep in this situation when he wasn¡¯t even using a sleep spell at all!?


    Night Wanderer¡¯s expression darkened and snorted coldly before punching this captive¡¯s chin.


    However, there¡¯s still no reaction from the guy¡­


    He checked onced again just to be sure but this captured elf really wasn¡¯t pretending but is actually in deep slumber.


    Night Wanderer¡¯s brow furrowed.


    He looked at the other yers again, and when they met his gaze, beganughing in an awkward manner.


    Seeing that the others Elves weren¡¯t afraid and didn¡¯t show any surprise at the ¡°sleeping¡± elf, Night Wanderer had a sudden thought.


    ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡±


    He looked at the other elves after pointing a finger to the asleep guy in his grip.


    ¡°What else could it be? He disconnected.¡±


    One of them curtly said as if its the most obvious thing in the world.


    Dropped¡­ disconnected?


    What does that mean?


    Night Wanderer was even more confused.


    However, he was quite sure that the other elves seemed to know something.


    So The Vampire decisively used his psychological attack on them as well.


    <em>¡°Tell me, who is the power behind you? What conspiracy is there?¡±</em>


    However, what made him irked but not entirely surprised at all was that after being exposed to his psychological attacks, the remaining Elves have also rolled their eyes and fell asleep just like the one earlier.


    Night Wanderer¡¯s expression showed full curiosity.


    ¡°Unable to resist psychological suggestion¡­ but they seem to have some sort of innate self-preservation ability. Will the rest also fall into a strange sleep before being suggested? Hmm¡­.¡±


    ¡°This is troublesome¡­Goddammit, being able to use this ridiculous countermeasures on every damn elf, it seems that the mastermind¡¯s understanding of the inner workings of the soul may be quite profound! It is very likely that this is the work of H the death goddess!¡±


    A hint of dread rose in Night Wanderer¡¯s heart at that thought.


    He quickly looked around his surroundings in high alert ready to escape for any signs of danger.


    Silence.


    Moments passed and when the vampire was certain that his presence in this forest is still wasn¡¯t discovered, Night Wanderer then let out a breath of relief before waving his hand, ready to eliminate the sleeping elves, but suddenly stopped at thest second for a very tempting fragrance caressed his nose¡­


    Night Wanderer raised his eyebrows and followed the scent trails, only to find that such delicious fragrance came from the wound on the wounded guy¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Elf Blood? Is there anything special added to it?¡±


    Night Wanderer¡¯s gaze suddenly became very deep.


    The Blood n cannot live without blood. They need to constantly drink the blood of other beings in order to maintain their own rational mind lest they fall into depravity and be mad beings not capable of thinking anything else but sating their carnal desire for blood.


    A high-quality blood is the highest form of delicacies every member of the Blood n desperately sought after.


    Night Wanderer licked his lips and came to the side of the sleeping elf, reaching out his slender fingers to touch a drop of blood and tentatively dip it into his mouth.


    As the elven blood spread to his tongue, Night Wanderer¡¯s eyes instantly showed intoxicated bliss.


    His expression curved in sheer delight as if he stumbled upon a priceless treasure:


    ¡°Oh my! What a rich and fragrant blood!¡±


    At this moment, his gaze towards the elves changed yet again.


    ¡°Although it is said that the blood of the Silver ranked kins in the n is extremely delicious, I did not expect that the blood of these elves would be so excellent as well. I bet even the Duke¡¯s precious wine is no match for it.¡±


    ¡°What is the identity of these elves with such high-quality blood? Moreover¡­ I seem to smell the breath of life within it.¡±


    Night Wanderer¡¯s gaze gradually became impassioned hot.


    At this moment, the elves in his eyes were not just elves, but also top-grade ingredients!


    No, they were top-grade blood ves!


    After a little hesitation, he took out a small red ring from his pocket and recited a spell in his mind.


    As he cast the spell, a faint light radiated around the wounded sleeping elf, and then his body slowly disappeared as it get sunked into his spatial ring.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the spatial ring is too small and can only hold one person.¡±


    The Night Wanderer felt some regret in his heart.


    This ring was his storage ring, and it had a magical spell that could support the survival of human sized living creatures, allowing the creature inside to maintain its life for 24 hours.


    The vampire then decided to capture an elf as their long-term blood ve!


    As for the rest¡­


    He looked at the elves lying on the ground and shook his head regretfully.


    There¡¯s no way to take any more people.


    However, it can¡¯t go to waste either!


    Night wanderer approached another one, helped them sit up, and then opened his mouth to bite the yer¡¯s neck!


    As the bright red blood seeped into his mouth, Night wanderer¡¯s expression became incredibly satisfied and intoxicated once again.


    He felt that he had never tasted such delicious blood in his life!


    And as the blood slids down his throat, he could even feel a slight loosening of his magical bottleneck!


    Truly miraculous blood!


    The Vampire¡¯s eyes grew brighter and brighter.


    <em>¡°Is it delicious?¡±</em>


    He involuntarily nodded.


    Indeed Very Delicious!


    Silence.


    His suddenly became horrified.


    Who was it?!


    Night wanderer quickly released his mouth and leaped away from the spot.


    As he looked up, he saw a strange hooded figure leisurely walk in front of him.


    It was a woman dressed in an intricate ck robe with an ashen colored hair and red eyes, just like him.


    However, unlike Night wanderer¡¯s vertical pupils, the woman¡¯s eyes were human-like instead.


    Seeing her poised and dignified countenance paired with her regal-like silent demeanor, Night wanderer recognized the woman¡¯s identity right away.


    ¡°The Godwarden of the Reaper!¡±


    His expression became extremely serious.


    As a follower of the god of winter and hunting, Night Wanderer has an incredibly clear perception of divine power.


    The other party did not hide the aura of the god of death at all. It was undoubtedly a God¡¯s Envoy!


    And looks to be¡­ very strong!


    Night Wanderer¡¯s perception has always been keen as he specializes in espionage, but even he did not sense the other¡¯s sudden approach!


    An advanced ranked!


    She, like him, is possibility also an advanced Gold ranked!


    Not only that, but if he were to fight her, the vampire get the feeling that he would probably lose! Various thoughts raced through Night Wanderer¡¯s mind in an instant as if time dted, and after some calctions he inevitably decided to quickly gave up the idea of fighting.


    His vignt expression suddenly changed into a spring-like facade of carelessness.


    He elegantly bowed to H¡¯s Godwarden:


    ¡°Good afternoon, respected beautifuldy.¡±


    The Death God¡¯s envoy seemed surprised by his greeting, and raised her eyebrows slightly.


    Her gaze then swept the ground, before asking in a tone as cold as ice;


    ¡°Is the Hunter god¡¯s Envoy attacking other God¡¯s followers on purpose to provoke a war between our respective forces?¡±


    After hearing her words, the Night Wanderer¡¯s eyelids twitched.


    As expected!


    There really are Gods lurking behind these elves! And¡­ it really is the god of death! It seems that the Hunter¡¯s god spection was right, and the goddess of death truly did make a move!


    No¡­wait, something¡¯s not right! Suddenly, Night Wanderer¡¯s mind shifted, and his eyes gradually narrowed.


    No! What she said was false and is actually trying to lure me away from the true fact.


    These elves don¡¯t have the aura of the god of death, but instead have the breath of life divinity instead!


    It¡¯s clearly a contradiction.


    The Death God¡­ may not be the same god controlling these Elves! Like opening a sealed door, Night Wanderer suddenly felt that he had finally discovered the real truth behind these mysterious elves.


    His eyes brightened, and a sense of realization rose in his heart: From a new god! This power must be from an another god!


    Migrating elves¡­ strange temples¡­ new true gods¡­ It must be so!


    The goddess of death has trained a demigod rted to life and supported it to be her puppet to control the elves!


    And only this way can it be exined why the elves have such a drastic change in temperament!


    And the H¡¯s Godwarden is actually covering up for the other party!


    This newly ascended God is probably still not proficient in using their divine power, or even not in full control of the Life Divinity at all.


    The other party¡­ must still be in a quite weak state! Otherwise, it would not be possible for me to hide from it and infiltrated this forest. And the purpose of the goddess of death here ¡­ is also clear now.


    ording to the words of some of the higher members of his divine faction, the divinity of the goddess of the underworld is iplete, and she is probably trying toplete her own divinity through studying the Divinity of Life.


    At that moment, Night Wanderer felt that he had now solved thisplex puzzle.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 112

    <strong>?? I¡¯m going to achieve great things</strong>!


    Night Wanderer internally did some calctions within the span of a few seconds and decided to change to a less hostile approach.


    He looked at the other person¡¯s unfriendly expression and faked shrugging his shoulders:


    ¡°Respecteddy, I did not harm them. These elves all fell asleep on their own.¡±


    After speaking, he then smirked slightly and added,


    ¡°Please convey my sincerest greetings upon the esteemed crowned Death God. The Life Divinity is a high-level divine power with endless potentials. I hope the Death Goddess can gain something from it.¡±


    After hearing his words, Eve, whom disguised herself as Death¡¯s envoy, raised her eyebrows slightly:


    ¡°¡­Are you threatening me?¡±


    Night Wanderer smiled again.


    He did not answer, but instead took a sip of the blood in the tall ss he materialized and said enigmatically in a whisper:


    ¡°Am i now? You mdy knew that us Godwardens are the eyes of our respective gods.¡±


    After speaking, he then gave Eve a meaningful look then bowed and slowly disappeared in thin air.


    Eve did not chase after him.


    She understood his meaning and her expression became a bit strange:


    ¡°Greetings upon the esteemed Death God¡­ and the Life Divinity¡­Did he just misunderstood that there¡¯s a new god here in the Elven Forest?¡±


    After realizing her own precarious situation, Eve has been disguising herself in this way.


    Her original n was to wear the mask of a Death follower.


    But in the process of execution, she found that even with the Death God¡¯s broken sphere, she could only use a bit of the Death God¡¯s divine power to cover up her own tracks.


    After all, there was only so much Death God¡¯s divine power contained within the sphere, and using even a little bit meant having less of it for future use.


    Under such circumstances, she could still bully the weak, but if she were to really fight with a powerful being beyond her own strength, or perchance even a Godwarden, she was very likely to expose her true divine power.


    In that case, the mantle of the Death God¡¯s envoy would be broken and the gains would not be worth it in the end.


    This was also the first reason why Eve let the vampire go.


    Although she wore a deception, if she were to kill the intruder, who had the power of a lower-level gold whilst also being a Godwarden then she might actually expose her true situation to Uller himself.


    However, after learning of the intruders misunderstandings and the fact that she inherited the divinity of Life wasn¡¯t exposed yet to the Pantheon gods, Eve had this new idea of wearing a second identity as a disguise.


    That is to disguise herself as a newly ascended Goddess of Life whom seemingly doesn¡¯t yet know anything.


    The yers¡¯ special race, the earthen style temple¡­ All these things can actually be misleading to some extent.


    Eve¡¯s n is to have two separate identities with the first disguise being the Godwarden of the goddess of death whilst the second is a newly born Life Goddess.


    In this way, she can evenpletely disguise her newly created NPC avatar as her own Life Godwarden toe and go as she pleases.


    The most difficult part of this n is how to make the outside world believe that all these identities are a separate entity and not just one and the same.


    But now it seems¡­


    ¡°That vampire helped me covered up the identity I want to disguise as. Goodness, I don¡¯t know whether tomend him as clever or stupid¡­¡±


    Thinking of intruder¡¯s confident expression just now, Eve¡¯s expression turned strange.


    ¡°Not only that¡­he even directly used the life divinity to subtlety threaten me!¡±


    <em>Please convey my sincerest greetings upon the esteemed crowned Death God. The Life Divinity is a high-level divine power with endless potentials. I hope the Death Goddess can gain something from it¡­</em>


    His words actually have two meanings.


    The first was to reveal that he has ¡®apparently¡¯ seen through the truth in the Elf Forest¡ªthat is, a newly ascended god in rtion to the life divinity has been born, and it is being controlled by the goddess of death.


    The second meaning is that the potential of the life divinity is huge, reminding the goddess of death to be really careful.


    After all, the divinity of death and the divinity of life are actually equivalent in power, cut out of the same cloth just on the pr ends of the spectrum.


    With her giving the allusion that H is trying to support a new god with an equal ranked divinity, the other gods mayunch a counterattack by knowing this fact since the matter of H¡¯s imperfect divinity is an open secret amongst the gods.


    In other words, what she¡¯s doing is inadvertently sowing discord between the goddess of death and the other gods.


    Fortunately that intruder¡¯s own conjecture was quite wrong and he also didn¡¯t uncovered any real substantial truth that may harm her.


    This fact is what made Eve decide to let him go for the time being.


    After all, an enemy who conveys the wrong message is more advantageous for her.


    This is the second reason why she spared the vampire.


    It¡¯s best to spread the fake ¡®truth¡¯ amongst the followers of Uller!


    This way, although it may attract the attention of some demigods, true Gods, and even Ancient Old Ones, it is still a hundred times better than exposing the revival of the World Tree.


    Sometimes, the best way to conceal a secret is to expose another facy to the enemy.


    ¡°Anyway, I knew his precise location due to the captured yer having innate tracking features linked onto me. This vampire seems to had came from the southeast and is probably stationed at the orc tribe¡­ Okay, let¡¯s set the position down.¡±


    Eve smiled in satisfaction.


    Slowly but surely the destruction of the Orc horde is being set in motion.


    That vampire¡¯s demise too can be packed together like a bundle alongside the Caverock Tribe¡¯s imminent destruction.


    This time it won¡¯t be the ashen haired Reaper¡¯s Godwarden who will destroy them, but a new Godwarden serving the New Goddess of Life instead.


    This way, their conflict will only be between two lesser ranked divinities and it won¡¯t attract more attention from the true higher ranked gods.


    It¡¯s inevitable for there to be conflicts between believers of different gods.


    But there is a difference between wars between divinities, wars between demigods, and wars between divine believers.


    Anyway.


    While acting as a new inexperienced Life God, she will give the illusion that she has incorporated the elves and awakened them to a new system of belief that basically want to seek revenge against Uller¡¯s minions.


    Just as long as it doesn¡¯t cause a bigmotion, the Great Older Ones usually turn a blind eye to these matters.


    But one concerning fact is that Uller has arger divine faction behind him, and Eve is not sure she can properly withstand them in case they decided to intervene.


    However, based on Eve¡¯s understanding of Uller¡¯s style of doing things, she is very suspicious as to whether the other party will conceal the matter of the new-born true god to himself.


    After all¡­his purpose is the divinity of life and nature!


    And if he knows that this new god is very weak, he will definitely have some wild ideas¡­


    Well, that way would be even better.


    Just wait for the other party to slowly deliver the dishes so to speak.


    Although still cautious now, Eve is not the same old Eve back when she just recovered.


    Thinking of this, she looked at the yers lying on the ground.


    Eve¡¯s expression gradually became serious.


    Just now, she forcibly cut off the work cables¡± of these yers.


    Although yers whose souls are in earth can ignore all soul spells, they still cannot avoid the effects of psychological suggestions, which is also the biggest weakness of the chosen ones.


    What Eve only can do is to warn in advance and cut off the connection.


    ¡°This weakness is very deadly and must be rectified for immediately. Otherwise, if one day the legion formed by the yers and the enemies are at war and the opponent issues a collective psychological attack, then it will be very dangerous¡­¡±


    Eve sighed and felt a growing headache.


    In all things, there are pros and cons.


    Fortunately, the ability to issue collective psychological attacks is still far from the reach of the yers¡­


    And if it¡¯s just an individual suggestion, Eve can help if she can bear it, or just cut the connection ahead of time if she can¡¯t.


    Eve shook her head, snapped her fingers lightly, and then slowly disappeared.


    After Eve left, the yers slowly woke up.


    ¡°I¡¯m finally online once again!¡±


    ¡°Bah, What year is this? Why are we still getting disconnected, damn this games server is a bit bad!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s everyone? They¡¯re gone!¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah! I got disconnected at a critical moment! My hidden quest!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­where did Boxlunch go?¡±


    On the edge of the Elf Forest.


    Night Wanderer escaped several kilometers all of a sudden, and then breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the Death God¡¯s Godwarden did not follow him.


    Then, his nervous expression gradually became calm again:


    ¡°Hehe, they didn¡¯t catch up¡­it seems that the Death God and the New Life God are not so harmonious. The nails have been hammered, just as long as they are not harmonious, there is a chance for the Hunter God¡¯s to stole the Life Divinity.¡±


    After speaking, his expression then became excited:


    ¡°This time, it seems that I¡¯m going to make great achievements!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 113

    <strong>??Totem Guardian</strong>


    Night Wanderer was very excited.


    One of his reasons for bing Uller¡¯s follower is that he wanted to gain immense strength, and now, he finally saw such possibility!


    It was difficult for a member of the Blood n to be promoted, also, he had already stayed too many years within the ranks of Low-Gold.


    ¡°Magical blood¡­ coupled with the favor of the Hunter God, hehe¡­ it seems that I have taken another step towards my goal of achieving the position of duke!¡±


    The vampire thought whilst rushing towards the base of the orc tribe in a joyous manner.


    However, he then abruptly stopped to a halt after a sudden foreboding premonition. His excited mood gradually calmed down as his expression slowly turned cold and calcting:


    ¡°Wait, something¡¯s not right¡­¡±


    He immediately took out his storage ring, give it a dubious look with his handsome and pale face etched in uncertainty.


    ¡°¡­That Elven Godwarden fore sure noticed that I abducted an elf, so why didn¡¯t she stop me from escaping?¡±


    ¡°Furthermore the Elven Forest is so vast yet why did she arrive so quickly just moments after I attacked those weird elves¡­¡±


    This entirely reeks of conspiracy.


    ¡°Hmph, did that woman really thought she could fool me, a specialist in subterfuge in my own game?¡±


    Night Wanderer snorted coldly and summoned the elf that he had hidden inside his ring and threw his limp body down on the ground to examine it.


    ¡°Does this elf have a tracer spell on him? I can¡¯t find anything but my intuition¡¯s really telling me that I shouldn¡¯t take him back to the base.¡±


    ¡°The elves have now became quite cunning¡­s, I will have plenty of opportunities to hunt them down in the future, there¡¯s no need to rush things right now. If I fail the Hunter God¡¯s mission just because of negligence, then all my aplishments would be futile.¡±


    The vampire took a deep breath,forted himself ruefully, and finally returned to the orc tribe without the captured elf, leaving the injured fellow on the spot with some reluctance.


    Finally when he returned to the tribe, Night Wanderer found that the Beastmen loitering outside are acting oddly lively as if there¡¯s some sort of a festival happening.


    He frowned slightly then saw more than a dozen lined up carriages parked on the open ground on the side of the Caverock tribe.


    The carriages were loaded with goods, surrounded by human mercenaries wearing full ted armor, and many orcs were crowding around the carriages, arguing with several well-dressed humans as they seem to bargain over fur and beast fangs, and so on¡­


    And in the distance, several strong orc warriors were escorting a chained elf girl, while they talk to the caravan¡¯s leader whose demeanor and attire implies that he¡¯s some sort of human noble.


    Looking at a certain emblem on the carriage, a hint of understanding crossed Night Traveler¡¯s face.


    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s the smuggling caravan of the Sauron Household¡­¡±


    The Sauron family is a wealthy household within the human society, that mostly rely on smuggling and very business to make a living.


    They smuggle magical materials and various rare items between several human countries all year-round, and also engage in the very trade of any kind of races.


    Their caravan passes through the Dark Mountains once a year in the summer, conducting some trade with the Caverock tribe along the way.


    Generally speaking, the Orcs would buy some products produced by humans in exchange for the fur and fangs they have collected, and would sometimes also trade elves in case they captured some for food andmon currency.


    Night Traveler took a few more nces at the goods but didn¡¯t pay any further attention when nothing had really caught his interest and instead just returned to the chieftains tent.


    Upon seeing the Uller statue ced at the center of the tent, Night Traveler¡¯s expression then became somewhat reserved.


    He coughed lightly as if in preparation and knelt before the statue, praying devoutly:


    ¡°Under the orders of the Hunter god, This Envoy has already finished investigating the Elven Forest and is now reporting some important news to you, your grace!¡±


    After speaking, the statue then suddenly emitted a brilliant light, enveloping him in an incredibly holy and awe-inspiring manner.


    The High Priest of the Orcs, who had already received the news, quickly arrived as well. When he saw Night Traveler surrounded by holy light, his expression suddenly became devout and respectful as well.


    He knew that the Count had received the favor of the Hunter God and wasmunicating directly with him!


    ¡°Godwardens! This is the power of an envoy! No need for any magic circles nor offerings, just a simple prayer can elicit a response from our god!¡±


    Looking at the Count¡¯s face radiating with holy light, the high priest ¡®s face revealed a hint of envy and longing.


    However, he quickly adjusted his mindset and knelt in the direction of the statue.


    The priest couldn¡¯t hear what Night Traveler and their god said, but he could clearly see that the light on the Night Traveler¡¯s body was bing more and more brilliant, while the divine power in the tent was increasing in intensity.


    From the looks of it¡­the Hunter god was extremely satisfied with the news the Count had reported!


    <em>What had he discovered in the Elf Forest?</em>


    The Orc chieftain became more and more curious.


    Finally, Night Traveler ended themunication with their deity.


    The light in the tent slowly dissipated, and at the same time, the high priest heard the weighty voice of the hunter god within his mind:


    ¡°Caverock tribe, assist my Godwarden with all your might.¡±


    After speaking, the statue finally stopped emitting glow and returned to normal.


    <em>Divine prophecy! It was another divine prophecy!</em>


    The high priest was excited.


    He suppressed his doubts and devoutly replied, ¡°¡­ I obey the divine decree!¡±


    The high priest then slowly stood up and inspect the vigorous looking vampire, before excitedly stammering,


    ¡°M-My lord Count, you¡­¡±


    Night Wanderer just nodded slightly, smiled, and said, ¡°Tribal Chief, there is now an opportunity to receive divine favor. Would you care to aid me?¡±


    Divine favor? Jushan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he respectfully asked, ¡°What did you discover in the forest? What do me and my tribe need to do to assist your excellency?¡±


    Night Wanderer squinted his eyes in satisfaction and said,


    ¡°As we saw before, a new god has indeed appeared in the Elven Forest, and it is very likely the very same one that our God has been searching for! Moreover, this infant god should be a subordinate of the goddess of death, but it¡¯s status should still be very weak, and possibly has not yet mastered its divinity¡­ It¡¯s divine power are probably rted to Life Divinity.¡±


    Hearing Night Wanderer¡¯s exnation, the Orcish Chief¡¯s expression changed greatly:


    ¡°Do you mean¡­ that the goddess of the underworld stole the divinity of the world tree and impart it to a new vessel?¡±


    Only the goddess of the underworld, who has a turtle shell-like defense, would dare mess with the world tree, despite the Hunter God eyeing it as well.


    Night Wanderer smiled slightly with a firm expression:


    ¡°Most likely.¡±


    After speaking, he then licked his lips and said, ¡°This is an opportunity for our divine lord, as well as for you and me.¡±


    The vampire stood up with an ecstatic expression, ¡°I have already reported everything to the Hunter God. He has decided to send down a totem guardian with demigod strength to deal a fatal blow to the forces hiding within the Elven Forest!¡±


    Directly sending down a totem guardian with a Demigod level strength! Jushan¡¯s expression changed dramatically.


    The Totem Guardians are the messengers of Uller whose status isparable to that of the Oak Guardians of the World Tree and the Archangels of the human gods!


    <em>This¡­ is really a big deal!</em>


    For thousands of years, the mana of the mortal realm has been to the decline, and the gods have long stopped descending on the surface. At most, what they can only do is to send avatars or messengers to deal with worldly affairs.


    However, crossing the boundary and descending with the power of a demigod within the realm of the mortals requires a great consumption of mana. Not to mention that the believers also need to spend a lot of resources for pre-preparation offerings. Every realm crossing action takes a huge toll for Gods living in the Heavenly Realm hence why events like these rarely happen nowadays!


    This time, Uller is really determined to get the Divinity of life at all cost!


    This recent discovery that H had already procured a new vessel for the Divinity of Life is really making him anxious.


    With her being an Old Ancient One, it would be easy stealing the Divinity of life from the almost dead World Tree and control the new vessel while hiding its presence deep within the Elven Forest.


    For Uller who has already regarded the power of Life as his, this is undoubtedly a great offense to make.


    Not only that, as time goes by, the new god¡¯s control over its powers will definitely be better, and its strength will also be stronger, not to mention that there is also the goddess of death who would surely expedite the process!


    But fortunately, this new god is hiding, which shows that it is still very much weak. The reason why it dare not show up must be that its strength is still not strong enough to protect itself!


    This¡­ is Uller¡¯s only window of opportunity!


    He did not intend to expose this matter to anyone, nor did he intend to let his divine faction know anything as well. Instead, he decided to directly send down his most trusted Totem Guardians to handle this delicate matters.


    The Totem Guardians are Uller¡¯s right-hand man.


    Also at a critical moment, Uller can even sacrifice them to achieve a pseudo divine descent!


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    After listening to the words of his Godwarden, the Hunter God was in a dilemma:


    ¡°There are not enough resources in this Orc tribe to support the descent of totem guardians.¡±


    Uller silently watch as the vampire pondered about this problem but then he smiled slightly and looked at the imposing castle situated on the hill behind the tribal base:


    ¡°High Priest, didn¡¯t you mention that there was a dragon¡¯s nest on the back hill before? although it was only a young dragon, but its umted wealth must still be considerable enough.¡±


    ¡°In addition, didn¡¯t the Sauron caravan just arrived? They are smuggling magical materials between the major kingdoms. They surely must have abundant goods infused with magic in their hands. Perhaps we can use the dragon¡¯s wealth to purchase a batch of sacrificial resources from them.¡±


    <em>Can it be done like this?</em>


    Uller¡¯s eyes lit up.


    After all, the ck dragon, is already dead.


    Its wealth is now just the wealth of the tribe, isn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 114

    <strong>??The Angry ck Dragon</strong>


    The Forest of the Elves.


    The ck dragon Meryer,yzily in its nest, watching two yers grilling food next to it. The rich aroma of sizzling meat wafters thru its nostrils making the dragon salivate as it stare at the food with hawkeyed precision.


    ¡°Hurry up! This Lord is very hungry already.¡±


    Its nest was no longer the dirt hole it had once dug at the beginning, but now a winter and summer fortress built by Moe Moe Committee for which Salty Cat personallymissioned using the power of wealth.


    Considering the habits of the ck dragon, the yers made the dragon¡¯s nest look like a real castle, at least¡­from the outside.


    Inside, it was covered in sparkling decorations.


    These decorations were all obtained by Li¡¯l Salty Cat using the CP¡¯s bought from the contribution store in exchange for equipment, causing a group of yers to exim that it was such a waste of valuable resources.


    They also criticized her use of real-life money here in this fantasy world and flooded the game¡¯s forums withints.


    However, Salty Cat only chose to buy the extravagant looking equipments regardless of howckluster the stats bonuses these items seem to have.


    Although not real treasures, the glittering shine was enough to catch the eyes of the ck dragon.


    At least, it could barely substitute for gems and gold coins.


    Meryer expressed great satisfaction and even found the peculiar long ears of the yers quite pleasing to the eye.


    Hmm¡­


    Although these guys were cruel and evil, if they could be taken as underlinings, it would then be a good choice for this Lord.


    At least, they were much more capable than those silly Orcs.


    Those guys didn¡¯t even put honey on the roasted meat so to speak!


    Hmm¡­


    Meryer was definitely not here for the roasted meat!


    The little ck dragon shook its head and thought to itself.


    It then nced at the two yers grilling food and continued to urge them, ¡°Hurry up! Whoever grills it first, this Lord Meryer will reward you with a mouthful of spit!¡±


    Upon hearing this, the two yers brightened up instantly and their movements became much faster.


    Watching the two yers work harder, the ck dragon felt very satisfied.


    It lifted its head proudly and looked down on them with a baffled expression. These weird and pitiful guys, it can easily buy them with just a mouthful of saliva!


    Lord Meryer is really smart and great!


    What Little ck Dragon doesn¡¯t know is that the dragon saliva that it deemed worthless is actually a rather decent magical material.


    For mages, dragon saliva is considered quite precious.


    Ever since a yer had collected the saliva of the ck dragon and exchanged it for amazing benefits from the Rageze n¡¯s mage, Meryer¡¯s saliva has be a hotmodity.


    As long as you give it grilled meat, you can get dragon saliva!


    Grilling meat is so simple!


    This is simply a cost effective benefit for the yers!


    As a result, more and more peoplee to barbecue for Little ck Dragon, grilling from day to night, and treating Meryer like a pig.


    Gradually, the yers became bolder, and someone finally had the guts to ask Meryer if it could provide some dragon blood or something¡­


    Of course, the yer who asked was kicked away by Meryer on the spot.


    Saliva is one thing!


    But wanting this Lord Meryer¡¯s blood?


    Dream on!


    Later on that day when Li¡¯l Salty Cat came to check ck Dragon¡¯s den, Meryer was per usual eating happily.


    She looked at Meryer¡¯s body and chuckled, saying, ¡°Why Little ckie, have you gained weight in these past two days?¡±


    The ck Dragon Meryer shook its tail and nced annoyingly at Li¡¯l Salty Cat, saying, ¡°You should call me Lord Meryer!¡±


    However, although it said so, it was not really angry when Li¡¯l Salty Cat called it endearingly.


    In these days, these petite girl¡¯s efforts were not in vain, and she finally managed to get along with Little ck Dragon.


    At least, ordinary conversations were of no problem.


    In addition, the dragon¡¯s nest was also prepared by Li¡¯l Salty Cat, and even those shiny little objects were provided by her hence Meryer was quite polite to her.


    After listening to the Dragon¡¯s lighthearted words, Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s eyebrows curved upwards in understanding.


    She took out a homemaderge brush from behind and came to Meryer¡¯s side skillfully, brushing the scales on its body.


    Feeling the rhythmic brushing with force from Li¡¯l Salty Cat, ck Dragon Meryerfortably squinted its eyes.


    Comfortable.


    This treatment is reallyfortable¡­


    Sometimes, it almost forgets that it¡¯s actually a captive!


    Hmm¡­


    Although these strange long-eared creatures are cruel and evil, their level of serving the dragon is iparable to that of those silly Orc Beastmen!


    Meryer is enjoying it.


    Looking at its joyful expression, Li¡¯l Salty Cat brushes its back and says with a smile:


    ¡°So¡­ Meryer, what do you think?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Meryer¡¯s expression gradually became defiant.


    It snorted and raised its proud dragon head:


    ¡°Meryer is a righteous dragon. No matter how you tempt me, I will not be a follower of an evil god!¡±


    Enjoyment is enjoyment.


    But it would be impossible if you really think this Lord is easy to deceive!


    It is a righteous dragon!


    As for the ck dragon¡¯s words, Li¡¯l Salty Cat was not angry, but continued to brush its scales and said:


    ¡°But¡­ you¡¯ve been with us for so many days. From your observations, are we really evil?¡±


    Upon hearing Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s words, the ck dragon fell silent.


    Are the long-eared creatures really evil?


    After observing them for days, to be honest¡­It¡¯s a bit uncertain.


    Apart from the battle on the first day, it never saw these strange creatures indulge in bloodlust and madness again.


    Not only that but they are also quite hardworking little bees, busily building their homes in the town andndscaping their surroundings.


    In addition, the long-eared fellows are quite harmonious with each other, and Meryer has not even seen them fight each other even once!


    It made Meryer remember the time it spent with the Orcs. Brawls and infighting aremonce in the Beastmen tribe, so it was really an eye opener for the dragon to see such peaceful tribe coexisting with nature.


    Of course¡­ What Meryer doesn¡¯t know is that long before it arrived, there was an incident where a PK match entirely destroyed a house once, hence Eve banned all yers from PK¡¯ing inside the main cities.


    ¡°I think¡­at leastpared to orcs, we can¡¯t be considered evil you know?¡±


    Seeing Meryer silent, Li¡¯l Salty Cat continued, ¡°Labeling us as evil might be your own prejudice but while we may not be as clever and capable as you, i think we are at least honest and kind! Sure some may be mischievous or cunning but I don¡¯t believe we as a whole are as evil as you say!¡±


    Meryer pondered for a bit before responding, ¡°You can¡¯t fool me little girl. Just a while ago someone even dared to demand for my blood and the eyes of those fellows giving me foods looks as if I¡¯m a just a living treasure trove. Definitely not the eyes of someone honest and kind like you so boldly ims, hmph.¡±


    Upon hearing the ck dragon¡¯s words, Li¡¯l Salty Cat felt a bit helpless. This dragon¡­ is really stubborn.


    As she was thinking about how to continue persuading it, suddenly, the ck dragon abruptly stood up as if it had sensed some disturbance from far away.


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat was startled and quickly backed away.


    She saw that the Dragon¡¯s demeanor suddenly became very agitated. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it was panting heavily, as if it had fallen into rage.


    ¡°Uh¡­ What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Li¡¯l Salty Cat asked cautiously.


    Meryer did not answer. Instead it rushed out of itsir, which it had been lying in for several days, flew to the sky before roaring with a loud voice;


    ¡°Who dared to touch this Lord¡¯s treasures!¡±


    It could feel even from a distance that it¡¯s oldir were disturbed just now!


    All the defensive magic it had left to protect its treasure in the old castle had suddenly been destroyed!


    Meryer took a deep breath then chanted something in its own dragonnguage.


    A ne hanging around its neck slowly rose as it emits a faint light.


    This ne was a magical tool given to it by its adoptive father, and was also a backup left by Meryer to monitor the treasures it collected!


    The ne emitted a faint halo and projected a picture of the old castle in front of Meryer.


    In the picture¡­


    Orcs were constantly moving Meryer¡¯s long-cherished gold and silver treasures out of the castle.


    Meryer: ¡­


    In an instant, the little ck dragon was furious:


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    ¡°These despicable, lowly, shameless, cunning, evil bastards!¡±


    ¡°Ruaaagh¡­ Meryer must eat you all!¡±

 Chapter 115

    <strong>??Human Caravan</strong>


    These bandits! Scammers!


    Those fools really dared to steal Meryer¡¯s treasure while it was away!


    The ck Dragon was absolutely livid and vowed severe consequences to those Orcs that dared to mess with its things.


    Without hesitation, Meryer immediately pped its wings and flew towards the direction of its old castle to retrieve the treasures those beastmen¡¯s are currently plundering.


    However, a familiar and solemn voice echoed in its mind as soon as the dragon flew past the area it was ordered not to leave.


    ¡°If you want to fulfill someone else¡¯s dragon-ying fantasies then by all means, go back right ahead.¡±


    Meryer paused.


    It then looked in the direction of the great tree with its eyes turning bloodshot red.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The voice sighed, ¡°One of my followers had already met the Godwarden of the Hunter God and is now at that ce you wanted to go. I estimated that he¡¯s more or less around the low to mid gold rank.¡±


    A Godwarden!


    Meryer¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.


    After witnessing Eve¡¯s abilities, it was already deathly afraid of the power of true gods like her.


    ¡°Since those foolish Orcs actually dared to touch your belongings, surely they must not be afraid of your return as well. I¡¯m fairly certain that they are anticipating for your return with some kind of trap. The title of Dragon yer is an honor for many after all.¡±


    Eve continued to coax and lead the conversation with some kind of n in mind.


    Although she worded it as if they deliberately plundered despite knowing Meryer was still alive, the truth was that the Orcs thought the Dragon was already dead before they went after its treasures. Nheless it was enough to trick the Little ck Dragon and sow discord between it and Meryer¡¯s former underlings.


    ¡°They dare! This Lord Meryer will definitely punish them!¡±


    Eve involuntarily smirked lopsidedly at seeing the ck Dragon¡¯s rage burn so fiercely.


    <em>Any moment now¡­ </em>


    ¡°I think Uller is even more interested in dragons than I do. You should think about it¡­He has the word ¡®Hunting¡¯ in his divine title for a reason.¡±


    In fact, although the vampire was a low-gold rank, Meryer was still a dragon.


    Dragons were almost invincible against any races despite being at the same level, while thebat capability of the blood race was always rtively inferior¡­


    If Little ck Dragon were to face him without the vampire using any divine power, Eve estimated that they would be evenly matched and at least be able to escape should things turn sour.


    However, it didn¡¯t hurt to scare the dragon with Uller.


    Upon hearing these words, Little ck Dragon immediately hesitated.


    It remembered the humiliation and fear of being caught by this evil god.


    It didn¡¯t want to experience that again.


    ¡°I am the enemy of this so called Hunter God named Uller. If you pledge your loyalty unto me then I will vow to send my followers to help you in retrieving your treasure.¡±


    ¡°Those Orcs true agenda has now been torn off. I¡¯m sure you had also realized that they only want your treasures. I don¡¯t think you still consider them as your loyal subordinates, do you?¡±


    Eve continued to sway its mind.


    After listening to her words, Meryer fell silent.


    To be honest, this evil god has been treating it pretty well so far. Moreover, those beastmen have disregarded it and set their sights upon its treasure!


    Any creature that dares to steal from a dragon¡¯s treasure is an enemy of dragons, no matter who they are!


    Meryer really misjudged those guys!


    Perhaps¡­ this mysterious evil god is right, it was deceived by those Orcs.


    Thinking again about how this female god caught it and let it live afortable life in the small town, with plenty of foods and drink with her believers pleasing and massages it on a daily basis¡­


    Inparison to its previous life¡­


    Meryer was somewhat moved.


    It seems¡­ not so bad?


    ¡°If you can retrieve my treasures for me, this Lord can also stand on your side¡­for now.¡±


    The little ck dragon turned its head away, feeling a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Eve softlyughed.


    With the confirmation from the evil god, Meryer breathed a sigh of relief.


    It struggled for a moment before making a decision.


    The little ck dragon flew down from the sky and slightly bowed in the direction of the god tree:


    ¡°So¡­ under the God¡¯s full grace, please tell this one your full name oh Great One.¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°¡­Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.¡±


    The ethereal and sacred voice resounded in Meryer¡¯s mind.


    Ev¨¦ <em>Yggdrasill</em>?


    Meryer was slightly stunned.


    ¡°Yggdrasill¡­ this name¡­ sounds oddly familiar¡­¡±


    Meryer muttered then its iris shrunk swiftly.


    ¡°Yg¡­Yggdrasill?¡­¡±


    Suddenly, the little ck dragon lifted its head, and its dragon face was full of dread and shock:


    ¡°I remembered now! You¡­ no, you are the Old Ancient One whom fought against the evil ancestral ck dragon, Niddhogg!¡±


    Boxlunch finally woke up and he found himself tightly bound with ropes with his mouth even covered with cloth.


    He furrowed his brow and instinctively tried to wiggle out but s he found that the rope seemed to be very special and had the power to bind his skills.


    After struggling in futility, he finally looked around and realized that he was trapped in a space that resembled arge cargo box.


    It was very dark around him, and the entire space was shaking slightly as if in motion.


    The confined space was made out of wood and had tiny hole gaps that allowed him to see the outside.


    Boxlunch leaned in and looked through the gaps before seeing a forest outside, with the scenery constantly moving backwards as the carriage jitters on a rocky road.


    At the same time, he could see several fully armed human mercenaries marching alongside as they steadily marches forward¡­


    Cargo box? Carriage? Humans?


    Box felt a stir in his heart.


    At this moment, he heard a rustling sound beside him. Boxlunch turned his head warily and saw another petite figure.


    It was another female elf who was tied up and leaning against the cargo, sleeping deeply with her long eyshes quivering slightly as if having a nightmare.


    NPC?


    Boxlunch furrowed his brow slightly.


    He fell silent for a moment, closed his eyes, and opened the chat interface in the game system.


    As he entered the board, he found that his inbox had been bombarded by pm¡¯s, all sent by his party and some guild members:


    ¡°Hey Box, where are you? Did that strange guy we saw earlier managed to catch you?¡±


    ¡°Yo Boxlunch, reply asap when youe online!¡±


    ¡°Hey, the ck Dragon has finally been tamed by the Goddess and is ready to take us to destroy a Beastmen stronghold!¡±


    ¡°Captain~ there¡¯s a new main quest!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to ept the quest first. If youe online, just join the team and find us okay?¡±


    A new main quest?


    Boxlunch was stunned.


    He quickly looked at the quest system and found that there was indeed a new one ¨C ¡°Destroying the Orc Stronghold.¡±


    After a moment of silence, he mentally epted the quest and then applied to join the raid team.


    Unlike other online games, in ¡°Elf Kingdom,¡± yers are automatically kicked out of the party after logging out, so they need to rejoin after logging back in.


    After Boxlunch joined the raid group chat, the #main_channel immediately became lively:


    ¡°Yo Captain! You¡¯re finally online!¡±


    ¡°Box where the heck did you go? Howe you were offline for so long?¡±


    ¡°Hey mane to Elf Town quick, we¡¯re farming resources to prep for a Raid! This time, the ck Dragon is included in the campaign!¡±


    ¡°Lol I don¡¯t know what the goddess did, but that dumbzyass lizard, who only knew how to eat grilled meat suddenly became so motivated and immediately became obedient lmao.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I heard that apparently some orc mobs raided itsir and Little ckie is furious lolol.¡±


    After reading everyone¡¯s deluge of pm, Boxlunch thought for a moment and replied:


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t log in before, it seems like I¡¯ve been captured by some human NPCs.¡±


    The chat lurkers were shocked:


    ¡°Huh, Captured you say?¡±


    ¡°Oh goddess! Wait¡­NPCs?! @Boxlunch where did you encounter those human NPCs?!¡±


    ¡°The hell? Box, your coordinates are so far away! You¡¯re still moving slowly what the¡­¡±


    ¡°Shocked_kitten.gif (¡ã¥í¡ã) !¡±


    ¡°Hidden quest! It must be a hidden questline!¡±


    ¡°Oi noob don¡¯t ping the mods unless it¡¯s important!¡±


    At this time, Boxlunch suddenly heard the humans outside moring:


    ¡°Hey, today¡¯s luck is really good. Not only did we make a big profit from the Orcs but we also picked up an injured elf along the way!¡±


    ¡°We sold a lot of magical materials at a high price, plus two elves. We¡¯re going to get rich this time!¡±


    ¡°After this deal, I¡¯ll apply to retire from the guild. Hehe, I¡¯m not so young anymore, I¡¯ve saved enough money already and it¡¯s time to finally settle down.¡±


    ¡°Ahh so envious¡­this is only my second escort mission. Speaking of which, isn¡¯t that tribe always dirt poor? How did they suddenly have so much money?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know this but I heard they raided a ck dragon¡¯sir¡­¡±


    ¡°What the¡­they¡¯re really daring! Aren¡¯t they afraid of retaliation?¡±


    ¡°Heh, since they dare to do it, the ck dragon must have been killed already, right?¡±


    ¡°Then why did they buy so many magical materials? Aren¡¯t those just the items the mage lords needs. Those big rough guys¡­hmph, they bought the goods and couldn¡¯t wait for us to leave. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re up to.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re asking me about this! I just happened to hear from the caravan¡¯s mage that those orcs seemed to be buying materials for a cross-realm summoning¡­hmm, they¡¯re all followers of the hunting god, so I guess that their god will target some unlucky forces again this time? Who knows¡­ maybe even elves!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re going to summon a divine messenger again? Tsk tsk, they¡¯re really bold¡­in the past few decades, the orcs have been the most troublesome. The expansion of the Winter and Hunting God¡¯s forces is so strong, I¡¯m afraid it will attract the attention of other churches¡­¡±


    ¡°Why bother with all that? This isn¡¯t a human kingdom idiot. The more chaos there is, the better. We can just rake in the money here! Hahaha!¡±


    <strong>Nihil¡¯s Note</strong> : As per readers suggestion (tnx Nathan!) Eve¡¯sst name is changed to Yggdrasill from now on instead.

 Chapter 116

    <strong>??Destroy the Orc Stronghold</strong>


    ¡°ck Dragon¡¯s Lair? Magic materials? Divine messengers?¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s gaze narrowed upon hearing these particr set of words from the people outside.


    After some thought, he then decided to leave another reply in the guild chatroom:


    ¡°Guys maybe¡­ it really is a hidden quest. I just heard my captors talking about some orcs¡¯ secrets or something.¡±


    Boxlunch then added the message he had just heard word for word.


    After receiving the message, the other people in the chat immediately exploded:


    ¡°Oh god! Summoning a divine messenger? Is this considered a quest info?¡±


    ¡°Very likely! Yo Box, you¡¯re amazing dude! Maybe you really triggered a hidden questline!¡±


    ¡°Hey someone report it to Saint Sister quick! Maybe something else can be triggered!¡±


    Soon, several members stopped chatting and seemed gone away to find Alice.


    The remaining guild members continued to ask in the chatroom:


    ¡°Captain, do you need us to help you since you¡¯re kidnapped now?¡±


    Boxlunch opened the mini-map widget and pondered for a moment before replying:


    ¡°No need, my current location¡¯s too far away.¡±


    It was indeed too far.


    He was now over a hundred kilometers away from the core area of the Elven Forest. Even with location tracking, yers wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up without a high-level tracker to guide them.


    Not to mention, the yers are still busy preparing for the main questline.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe here for now. I¡¯ll handle it myself. You guys should focus on prepping for the main quest.¡±


    Boxlunch then decided to closed the chatroom.


    Seeing that Boxlunch isn¡¯t responding any further, several teammates then gave up pestering him.


    They were indeed more interested in the main questline. After all, the main mission was known for its generous rewards! Besides, it¡¯s hard to say if Box¡¯s info was really rted to the main quest after all¡­


    ¡°Summoning divine messengers?¡±


    After receiving news from the chosen ones, Alice¡¯s expression suddenly grew serious.


    ¡°Could it be¡­the Totem Guardian?¡±


    After the World Tree fell, the elves were vigorously hunted down by various races, especially the Orcs. They had oftentimes summoned Uller¡¯s divine messenger the ¡®Totem Guardian¡¯ to attack the elves¡¯ settlements several times. And after the Heavenly War, some of the remaining elite forces amongst the elves also sacrificed themselves to fight off against the Totem Guardian¡¯s attack.


    After thinking for a while, Alice said:


    ¡°This news is crucial, I think¡­it is likely a conspiracy by the Orc Tribe against the Great Mother Goddess. I will immediately report this to the Goddess.¡±


    ¡°In addition, please contact ¡®Mr. Boxlunch¡¯ and ask him to endure for a while. He may have encountered a human smuggling caravan!¡±


    ¡°It is said that they have a stronghold near the Dark Mountains. This is also an opportunity to strike the human smuggling point, and we may be able to rescue some of our fellow nsmen as well!¡±


    The yers¡¯ names are getting more and more oundish, Alice also noted in an afterthought.


    However, because Eve had long used the game system to interfere when the yers said their names, they would automatically be tranted into a transliteration that the natives could somewhat ept. Therefore, although it sometimes sounded strange, it was not really a big deal.


    Human smuggling caravan? Rescue fellow nsmen?


    Several yers¡¯ eyes lit up.


    Perhaps¡­this is the hidden questline that Boxlunch encountered!


    After instructing the chosen ones, Alice quickly came to the Temple to pray.


    ¡°The Totem Guardian?¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart trembled slightly.


    Guessing by the behavior of the vampire Godwarden, she quickly deduced Uller¡¯s n.


    ¡°Is it because he thinks that I¡¯m weak and wants to get rid of me while I¡¯m still at my ¡®infancy¡¯ state?¡±


    The reason was probably easy to guess.


    After all, a true god was a true god. Unless it¡¯s was really weak, how could a god hide and dodge? Of course, the real reason why Eve was hiding and dodging was not because she was weak, but because her true identity could not be exposed.


    And after getting out of the quasi-death state, although her divine power was stillcking, it still was way better from what it used to be at the start.


    Thinking of this, she issued a divine oracle to Alice:


    ¡°I already know about this matter.¡±


    ¡°I will now bestow upon the protector of the elves, Ael, the power to summon my own Godwarden to go with you in this campaign.¡±


    After days of repair, H¡¯s orb jewel has finally been fully restored by Eve, and she can now use powers at the demigod level through the use of an envoy as a medium.


    However, since this is not an avatar directly condensed from 100 points of divine power like the chosen ones bodies, but rather made through by taking advantage of the Death God¡¯s jewel, this demigod level envoy can only be used for a short time.


    In her approximation¡­ it can only sustain itself for ten minutes at most.


    After issuing the oracle to Alice, Eve then shifted her focus to the yer named Boxlunch.


    In fact, Eve noticed it right away when the vampire threw the yer inside his storage space. But what surprised her was that she didn¡¯t know if this yer was either lucky or unlucky, as it was then actually picked up by a human caravanter on the side of the road.


    ¡°As for the other captive indigenous elf in the caravan, it was also a pleasant surprise.¡±


    Rescue aid is certainly a must, but not for now. Currently, the most important matter is to destroy the orc stronghold, which is rted to the southeast exit of the Elven Forest.


    Moreover¡­ Eve is quite interested in Uller¡¯s totem guardian.


    As for the human caravan, Eve n is to wait and see.


    After observing the direction of the human caravan¡¯s travel path, she had made a slight calctions in her mind.


    ¡°The direction of the Dark Mountain Range?¡±


    After a moment of contemtion, Eve then used her divine power.


    At the same time, Boxlunch received a new system message:


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You have triggered a hidden Quest</strong>: Human Trade Caravan¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: The human smuggling caravan has been active all throughout the continent, secretly trafficking elves. You have decided to take advantage of this opportunity and investigate the human caravan¡¯s base near the Elf Forest while in custody.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Mission Content</strong>: Stay in the human caravan, investigate the human base, and protect the other captured elvenkind.¡¿


    ¡­..!!


    Protect the captured elf?


    Boxlunch remained silent for a moment, looking at the female elf sleeping soundly beside him, despite being tied up tightly, as if she were back in her own home.


    Boxlunch:¡­


    Whatever.


    He took a deep breath and began to meditate.


    For now just like a soldier given a task, what¡¯s his main priority for now is to be in top form in order toplete this quest.


    Everything else can be decidedter on after he recovered his strength.


    Main mission: Destroy the Orc stronghold!


    After thoroughly subduing the ck dragon Meryer and having it as a guide, Eve then issued a new mission.


    This time, almost all the yers who had been promoted to the ck iron level chose to participate.


    Unlike the previous small bases, this time however, they were really going to raid a beastmen¡¯s stronghold!


    These past days, they were mostly either building small towns, doing chores for the Rageze n¡¯s elves, or grinding mobs for exp. Although it was still a lot of fun, yers still liked these kind ofrge-scale multiyer campaigns.


    So Exciting! Spectacr! Lively!


    More importantly, there was a real foreboding sense of war¡­


    This had a different kind of attraction for yers that¡¯s way used to the stagnant peacefulness back on earth.


    Even Alice and Ael would apany them on this mission.


    Even some of the elves from the Rageze n were eager to go as well.


    Especially those hot-blooded younglings who were less than two hundred years old.


    Of course, they were still being stopped by the old guys, for a simple reason:


    ¡°Can you resurrect like the Chosen Ones?!¡±


    However, even so, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the native young folks.


    The Chosen Ones are the apostles of the Mother Goddess, and the Chosen Ones¡¯ beliefs are the Mother Goddess¡¯s beliefs!


    Even Ael, who has royal blood, has changed his own views, hasn¡¯t he?!


    Is our old belief in kindness and justice that we persistently insist on really was always right?


    With this attitude, as they further interacted with the yers, the indigenous elves of Saig¨¹es gradually changed instinctively as well.


    After reuniting and leaning upon the new beliefs of the resurrected Mother Goddess, some natives finally realized that heedless kindness is not a good thing. Although such people are still the minority, it was still a great change for these stubborn indigenous elves.


    Its always good to be morally upright but when facing an enemy that tramples down on one¡¯s kindness as if it was nothing then only swords and blood is the answer!


    ¡°Treat kindness with respect and evil with death!¡±

 Chapter 117

    ??<strong>Only the Wealthy Can Be Dragon Knights</strong>


    ¡°Grandma Philothea, I¡¯m sorry¡­ but I still think we should join the Chosen Ones!¡±


    A young elf gazed firmly at the chieftain of the Rageze n with his voice still carrying a hint of youthful fervor in his tone.


    ¡°During these past few days¡­ I¡¯ve seen a side of them that I¡¯ve never seen before. They¡¯re always so full of vitality and passion whilst also willing to work hard for a better future! Not only that, but they¡¯ve been selflessly helping us¡­¡±


    His voice was brimming with ardor and resolution.


    ¡°They¡¯re our saviors! I believe that when they choose to fight, we can¡¯t just stand by and watch either!¡±


    ¡°I agree!¡±


    Another young elf nodded as well, his expression just as excited when he spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking¡­ is our belief really right? Is kindness really always the correct path?¡±


    ¡°I previously discussed this issue with some of the Chosen Ones, and we even had a bit of a dispute, but their wordspletely woke me up¡­ the struggle between races and beliefs is not something that can be won through understanding andpromise alone. This is war! War is brutal, it¡¯s a violent action where one race tramples over another!¡±


    ¡°Being kind to others is being cruel to oneself!¡±


    Many of the yers are also chronic keyboard warriors who spewed so much toxicity online, hence it was rtively easy to convinced these young naive elves who were as pure as a nk paper with their seemingly eloquent nonsense. Plus, there were simply too many simr propaganda back on earth that can rouse such fervent feelings.


    Just a few modifications were enough to get the job done so to speak.


    Elder Philothea was stunned as she looked at these younglings who have almost changedpletely after spending just a few days with the Chosen Ones.


    ¡°You¡­ you guys¡­¡±


    She understood the passion of the young elves, but¡­ the Rageze n only had less than two hundred people left. She really didn¡¯t want to see her own people take huge risks again.


    But looking at those determined gazes and thinking of the hints from the goddess, the Rageze chieftain could only worryingly sigh:


    ¡°Well¡­ go ahead. But¡­ please be careful.¡±


    Instinctively she then realized that no matter what the oue of this raid, the elves, are going to change.


    Even though many old elves don¡¯t allow it, there were still a dozen or so young elves who slipped out and decided to join the yers¡¯ campaign.


    However, this made the yers start to worry.


    For them, these native NPCs were not only tools to exploit for resources, but also crucial personnels that keeps the plot going.


    Furthermore the Goddess¡¯s mission also personally requested:


    NPCs cannot die.


    If an NPC dies, then yers will receive a high debuff and punishment!


    So, what yers hope for is that these elves can stay in Florence safely.


    But¡­the Goddess¡¯s mission also has a requirement:


    That yers cannot stop an NPC if they chooses to participate in the battle.


    yers: ¡­


    Okay, fine.


    These NPCs are walking treasures, and the Goddess is the boss who must be obeyed no matter what.


    This¡­is simply going to make them escort a group of delicate youthful looking fossils to fight, and the difficulty instantly multiplied several times fold.


    Are the NPC¡¯s tools, or are we the tools?


    However, after some deliberation, Li Mu, who was the raid leader of the campaign, finally had a good idea.


    Just let these dozen or so native elves take the back row and snipe from afar.


    Elves generally have good innate archery skills.


    Position them at the backrow as shooters, not only are they safe but can also y a good support role.


    Their aiming are much higher than most yers in terms of sniping. Furthermore majority of the yers have choosen to develop their melee skills first and neglected their long range skills hence¡­ their uracy is really not thatmendable.


    Especially for the melee-specialized yers with no aiming skill whatsoever, just making them shoot is a disaster and waste of arrows.


    However, the person who was most excited about all this actions was not the yers or the native elves nor even Alice and the others¡­


    It was the ck dragon Meryer.


    They don¡¯t know what the Goddessmunicated with it, but the once stubborn little ck dragon suddenly changed its nature and became so obedient.


    This surprised the yers and the elves, and they were once again amazed at the power of the Goddess¡¯s influence.


    In fact, even Ev¨¦ did not expect the dragon to be so docile after knowing her true identity.


    However, she did know the name mentioned by Meryer¡­


    <em>Nidhogg.</em>


    It was an ancient ck dragon that once participated in the Heavenly War thousands of years ago. This ancestral dragon was so strong that it even made the rest of the gods wary!


    It was also the one that chew off the root of the world tree, causing the former world tree¡¯s vitality to greatly decline.


    ¡°This little ck dragon hates evil, upholds justice, and calls itself a Silver Dragon¡­ Could it be that the one who raised it was a Silver Dragon?¡±


    Eve had some spections about the little creature¡¯s adoptive father.


    The evil ck dragon Nidhogg has always been the arch nemesis of the Silver Dragons. So for them to raise an enemy dragon as their own is quite unheard of.


    As for the Silver Dragons¡­ ording to the World Tree inheritance, their rtionship with the World Tree seems to be rather good.


    However, they seem to have not told anything about her to Meryer since the ck dragon onlymented, ¡°What a big tree¡±, when it first seen her and nothing else.


    This little dragon is also humorous and rather naive, a total contrast to the usual temperament of a ck dragon so it made Eve wonder what the Silver Dragons ns are for this young ck dragon.


    The Forest of Elves.


    All the participating team for the Orc campaign have assembled and been teleported to Florence.


    After a period of development, more than 900 of the 1,200 closed beta yers have been promoted to Iron rank, and more than 800 people have decided to join this main questline campaign.


    Under Li Mu¡¯s unifiedmand, the yers formed a simple formation, giving off a slight military aura.


    In addition to the yers, there are also more than ten young elves from the Rageze n who have joined the team as archers.


    More than 100 elves from the Rageze n have also came to see them off under the guidance of their tribal chief, Philothea.


    In recent days, the native elves have gradually settled down in Florence with the help of the yers, and they are very grateful to the yers.


    Although just as the Saintess said, the Chosen Ones do have some bad habits, such as eating meat, taking advantage of others, having twisted logic, being too ttering at times, and knocking on your door in the middle of the night¡­ and so on.


    But overall, they are enthusiastic and hardworking bunch and are really striving for the future of the elf race.


    Even the most rigid and stubborn elves cannot deny the help and contribution of the Chosen Ones.


    Watching the Chosen Ones, who although lookedx, but are excited and without any hint of fear, Philothea secretly nodded.


    Although their discipline is a bitcking¡­ they are really a courageous team that dares to fight to the death.


    Being fearless is the most terrifying thing.


    Plus with their undying abilities, as well as the assistance of the ck Dragon, the Saintess, and the Elven Protector, perhaps¡­ they can really defeat the beastmen forces that have been lurking near the Forest of Elves for many years and force them to move away.


    She turned back, waved her hand, and offered some magic materials along with some of her fellow nsmen:


    ¡°These are the materials needed to make the teleportation circle. I heard from the Saintess that these are what you need the most right now¡­ these were made by a few elf mages in my n overnight.¡±


    A Teleportation circle!


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up.


    The most crucial item for this mission is this thing.


    ording to the reconnaissance team, the Orc settlement is very far from here. Even if the elves rush with minimal rest, they would need at least 20 days, despite having the forest affinity buffs.


    Moreover, there are thousands of Orcs.


    To be honest, without the dragon and Ael¡¯s help, the campaign seems close to impossible.


    Their overall strength is weak, and the only thing they have going for them is the ability to resurrect and cooperate as a team to perform sacrificial rush.


    However, if they die in the vicinity of the Orc tribe, then it would be impossible to return since the current respawn point is set back here in the Elven Forest.


    But it¡¯s now a different story with the help of the teleportation circle¡­


    Li Mu nodded to Salty Cat who had been waiting by his side for a long time. The two then quickly took the materials for the teleportation circle and thanked Philothea repeatedly:


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    Philothea sighed while waving her hand:


    ¡°This is all we can do.¡±


    The young folks are enthusiastic about taking the initiative to attack the Orcs, but most of the older indigenous elves are not very interested.


    After receiving the teleportation circle materials, Li¡¯l Salty Cat waved to the dragon Meryer,


    ¡°We got the stuff! Li¡¯l ckie, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Meryer nced at the two yers beneath and reluctantly crouched down, muttering:


    ¡°Hmph, If I¡¯m carrying you this time then you have to roast meat for me for one¡­ no¡­ three days when we get back!¡±


    After hearing what it said, Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s eyes curved in mirth:


    ¡°Just three days? A week is fine you know!¡±


    After they finished speaking, they took the materials for the teleportation circle and, under the envious gaze of the other yers, the two jumped onto the dragon¡¯s back.


    After the two of them settled in, Meryer let out a long howl and slowly took off by pping its wings.


    As they watched the ck dragon getting smaller and smaller in their field of vision, Demacia kept sighing:


    ¡°Dammit it seems that you need a lot of cash to burn if you really want to be a dragon rider.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the yer beside him yfully rolled his eyes in jest.


    ¡°I think even if you had money, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to be one.¡±


    Demacia:¡­


    Bro, can you stop making snidements all the time?

 Chapter 118

    ??<strong>Second Beta-Test yer</strong>


    Meng Zhihan is a beta-tester from the second batch.


    As an ordinary person who neither grinds or spends real money nor even is a hardcore gamer, it wasn¡¯t until three days ago that she only umted enough experience and contribution points to finally switch to a job which is a level 11 druid.


    Actually, her pace have been much faster.


    ording to the first beta-testers, back when there were still many small mobs within the inner area, almost everyone teamed up to farm ponits gaining exp rather exponentially.


    It was quite a refreshing experience.


    But unfortunately, the low-level monsters in the inner area of the Elf Town that could be used for practice have now been wiped out.


    They either turned into experience points or fertilizer for nts.


    Unlike other games, ¡°Elf Kingdom¡±pletely simtes reality and thus, the creatures form their own ecosystem. Once you kill them, then they will be forever gone.


    And what¡¯s left now are just the mid-tier bosses mobs that newbies couldn¡¯t afford to engage.


    Unless you have the money and could hire yers from the ¡°First Legion¡± guild to give you a ¡®bus ride¡¯ to aid you into killing high level mobs at the expense of a ridiculous price, then your only other option is to grind exp slowly.


    Therefore, most second beta-yers who neither can grind for long hours nor spend real money can only choose to slowly level up by doing menial tasks¡­


    However surprisingly by doing these tasks, quite a few people have noticed that the life skills expertise that they have learned in the game could also be performed back in reality.


    Like chopping trees or building walls, and barbecuing¡­etc.


    Overall, with the increase in yers poption and the passage of time, the trend of prization is bing more and more noticeable.


    The strong bes stronger, and the weak bes weaker.


    Although there are many ways to be stronger, undoubtedly, the best resources are still always obtained by the strong first.


    Without money nor luck, neers can only rely on mind numbing slow grinding to level up.


    As a result, this have also been criticized by some yers, and a group of people areining about it on the forums.


    Everyone believes that simting real life so realistically is a good thing, but if it is too lifelike then what is the difference of it from reality?


    Reality is already so cruel, so howe they must also experience its bitterness here in a fantasy world as well?


    Games likes these are a way for one to escape their realities and one downside of being too ¡®realistic¡¯ is that it even simtes the unfairness of the real world which can be quite disheartening.


    As such there are also many people moring to withdraw from the game because of these factors.


    However¡­there wasn¡¯t a single person proven that withdrew in the end.


    Meng Zhihan is very open-minded about this matters.


    In her opinion, choosing something means losing something else instead.


    Since the main feature of ¡°Elf Kingdom¡± is its most realistic recreation of reality, then these unfair mechanisms may be intentionally put there by the developers¡­


    Being able to create such a masterpiece, the devs must have considered it more than the averageiners.


    Moreover, even if the game system is bizarre, with the game¡¯s unique realistic senses, intelligent NPCs, and mind-boggling thought eleration, everyone can still enjoy it happily even if they are not really a gamer.


    There are still manyizens online who are waiting eagerly for the open beta after all.


    The reason why she chose the Druid profession is that Meng Zhihan particrly liked the ¡°Cleric¡± profession whenever she¡¯s ying games in the past.


    The ¡°Cleric¡± profession has always been a popr support profession that¡¯s always been in demand in any online games.


    And if you have a good build, a solid foundation, and right equipments, then you will undoubtedly be weed by various guilds.


    Therefore, she had already decided to make her character stats to be a pure healing type of Druid build.


    Actually, if possible, she would have liked to choose the Priest profession.


    Even now, there are still videos secretly recorded by yers when the Saint Miss performs group healing on the official website.


    That special effect¡­is so stunning and awesome!


    Of course, the special effects of the Goddess are even more powerful, but can anyone evenpare to the Goddess?


    Unfortunately, perhaps due to it still being a beta version of the game, the Priest profession is still not open to yers, thus she can only settle for the Druid ss.


    This is her first time participating in the main questline.


    Before, although she had always hoped to participate in the legendary main quest, she was sadly limited by her low level and couldn¡¯t ept the quest.


    But this time, she finally had the opportunity!


    For this reason, she decided to spend the hard-earned 2,000 contribution points she had saved to exchange for a new skill!


    ¡®<em>Um¡­ I already have a healing skill, so let¡¯s exchange for an escape skill this time</em>.¡¯


    Going by her previous online game experience, Meng Zhihan made a decision.


    However, just before she¡¯s about to allocate points towards the skill, Meng Zhihan received a reminder from her guild leader Li Mu:


    ¡°Meng you already have two healing skills. If you want to gain more experience and contribution points this time around, then I suggest you go for a single-target control skill instead.¡±


    ¡°Control skill?¡±


    Meng Zhihan was slightly stunned, and then replied uncertainly:


    ¡°But¡­ I heard some experienced yers say that the control magic used on those mobs with high levels will be easily broken off by them¡­¡±


    Li Mu remained silent for a moment before responding:


    ¡°It¡¯s true that controlling only a single mob won¡¯t matter much. But if there are other yers who can do the same thing as well then we can use all these single-target casts like a collective skill to crowd control mobs altogether.¡±


    After hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, Meng Zhihan suddenly realized:


    ¡°Oh! Right, there are other yers who can aggro as well!¡±


    But soon, she was stunned:


    ¡°Wait¡­ control them all together? Is that really possible¡­?¡±


    Li Mu sent a nodding emoji and said:


    ¡°The tanks at the front will do all the hard work in protecting you guys. The atk skills of low Iron-rank should theoretically still be able to cause some stun dmg to the mobs for a few sec, but some may miss and counter instead which makes our strat less effective hence its that time where you support ss would be needed.¡±


    ¡°You see, if we use the suicide rush just as we n, then our tanks will be easy targets but s, this is the most efficient way to kill the enemies at the moment. Besides, we can somewhat exploit the game¡¯s resurrection feature, plus the guilds will also provide contribution points for suicide rushers in exchange for perfect resurrection chances.¡±


    Meng Zhihan: ¡­


    Oh yeah she remembered now that the contribution store can also be used to exchange perfect resurrection times with CP.


    Now that the number of perfect resurrection obtained throughpleting tasks are bing less and less, many yers are gradually choosing to exchange them with CP instead. 1000 contribution points can be exchanged for one if she remembered it right.


    It¡¯s quite expensive, but defeating a mid tier mob is worth at least 1200 contribution points, and the more higher level the mob you defeated,rger your CP gains would be.


    So, even though there is only a difference of 200 CP, it¡¯s still a small profit to exchange one life for another.


    Not to mention, you can also get experience points!


    However, not everyone can get this reward of contribution points.


    After the second beta-testers entered the game, all rewards have been allocated ording to the amount of contribution instead.


    Therefore, 1200 contribution points will be allocated ording to contribution of the yer.


    Generally speaking, if calcted this way, yers who are sacrificed will be at a clear disadvantage even if they have a higher contribution score.


    But it can be mitigated by joing guilds.


    The perfect resurrection of sacrificed yers will not be provided by themselves, but will given by the guild¡¯s instead.


    This is also a method that yers have discovered in the continuous exploration process of the game mechanics.


    ¡°So, when the timees, just cast a CC skill whenever a yer handles some mobs conveniently for you to control. In addition, the spoken code for charging is ¡®Urrrah¡¯, and the code for sacrificing is ¡®Fire at me¡¯, so don¡¯t cast it at the wrong target.¡±


    Li Mu sternly reminded.


    Meng Zhihan: ¡­


    Caverock Tribe.


    After collecting the treasures left by the ck dragon inside the castle, even the well-traveled Night wanderer couldn¡¯t help but sigh that the Dragon¡¯s umted wealth.


    Although it was apparently only a young dragon, the wealth it had umted was already equivalent to an annual ie of a typical average sized human town.


    The chief priest of the Orc tribe, was also extremely happy.


    Even if the expenses for buying magic materials from human smuggling convoys were deducted, the remaining wealth was still enough for the tribe to make a small fortune.


    Just when he was about to bask in this great windfall, an Orc guard suddenly stumbled in from outside.


    He looked at him with panicked eyes with his voice filled with fear:


    ¡°C-Chief Priest! It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not good!¡±


    ¡°That ck dragon¡­hase back!¡±


    <strong>Gaming Terminology</strong>


    <strong>Mobs ¨C </strong>Enemy monsters


    <strong>CC ¨C </strong>Crowd Control


    <strong>Rez</strong> ¨C Resurrection/Respawn


    <strong>Bus Ride</strong> ¨C Term for higher lvl yers aiding newbies and carry them to gain exp fast.


    <strong>Tanks</strong> ¨C A character that draws attackers away from other yers.


    <strong>Nihil Note</strong> : The image above is not an official art but was instead done by me. I ws thinking of adding some from time to time or perhaps even set it up as a gift for the tips i get at kofi or something.

 Chapter 119

    ??<strong>Enemy Attack</strong>


    The ck Dragon is back?!


    The high priest and Night Wanderer were both startled upon hearing the news


    The vampire nced at the Orc Priest as his brow furrowed in dismay. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the ck Dragon was already dead?¡±


    Feeling the pressure emanating from the Blood Count and his scathing gaze, Jushan¡¯s scalp tingled in rm. ¡°My Lord Count, the dragon¡­it never came back, and the warriors who went with it didn¡¯t return either!¡±


    He stuttered a bit after his exnation.


    Night Wanderer then sighed, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go out and see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Dragons have always covet treasures and messing with its possessions are a widely known taboo. Although it¡¯s just a young ck Dragon, we still cannot be careless nheless.¡±


    With that, he led the way out of the tribe¡¯s main tent.


    Seeing that Night Wanderer didn¡¯t seem too nervous, Jushan also breathed a sigh of relief.


    With a high-ranking Godwarden present and the summoning of the totem guardian imminent, a mere young ck Dragon in the Silver Rank should not pose too much of a threat to the tribe¡­


    When they reached the outside, they could already hear ck Dragon¡¯s angry roar from far away up high:


    ¡°Ruaaaaa~!¡±


    ¡°You despicable, shameless, evil, and cunning Orcs! Return this Lord¡¯s treasure right now, or Meryer will surely eat you all!¡±


    The dragon stood on the castle on the mountaintop, looking down at the Caverock tribe below akin to a monarch with Meryer¡¯s voice spreading far and wide.


    The intimidating dragon¡¯s aura spread in all directions, andbined with its provocative threats, the Orcs inside the Caverock tribe became somewhat agitated.


    Looking up at the ck Dragon from below, Night Wanderer smiled thinly and said, ¡°Lord ck Dragon, your treasure has been temporarily requisitioned by our Patron God. I can swear on my soul that it will be returned to you threefold within one week.¡±


    Three¡­ three times!


    In an instant, Meryer widened its eyes, and there was a hint of greed in its expression.


    ¡°A-Ahem¡­¡±


    At this moment, Li¡¯l Salty Cat that¡¯s hidden behind Meryer¡¯s back quickly coughed a few times and reminded, ¡°Li¡¯l ckie, I heard that they are preparing to summon a demigod ss guardian. If they seed in doing so, then can you still escape? Think about the things you said to me before like your cause of justice, think about thosefortable massages, think about that honey-zed roast meat¡­¡±


    ¡°The patron god of these orcs may not be as easy to talk to unlike our elven goddess¡­¡±


    Justice? Massages? Roast meat?


    Mayer¡¯s eyes lit up, as it subconsciously swallowed.


    But soon, the dragon reacted:


    Demi¡­god ss!


    In an instant, Mayer¡¯s face turned stiff.


    These damn bastards! They are deceiving it again!


    ¡°Meryer, dy the time and attract their attention again! Li Mu and I will build the magic array as soon as possible.¡±


    Seeing the silly little ck dragon being agitated, Li¡¯l Salty Cat continued to speak to some reassurance to it.


    As she spoke, Salty Cat rubbed her temples as it aches in frustration.


    Originally, the yers were nning for an ambush.


    But who knew that this stubborn ck dragon was too reckless and flew directly straight to the top of the mountain just below the tribe!


    And after listening to her words, Meryer nodded and shouted loudly towards the bottom of the mountain:


    ¡°Ruaaaa! No! Meryer must get its treasure now! Otherwise, Meryer will destroy your tribe immediately!¡±


    As soon as this statement came out, it immediately caused panic amongst the beastmen inside the stronghold.


    Count Night frowned.


    This is a critical period, and he cannot dy the timing of the summoning just because of this ck dragon¡¯s interference.


    Immediately, he had to find a way to temporarily appease this obnoxious ck dragon.


    Although his strength was one level higher than the ck dragon, the vampire is still not sure that he could kill the opponent rather easily.


    Plus he didn¡¯t want another troublesome enemy.


    Therefore, Night Wanderer continued the persuasion:


    ¡°Sorry, ck Dragon, I won¡¯t hide it from you. Your treasure has been used by us. But don¡¯t worry, I can swear in the name of the Hunter God that I will give you a satisfactory answer within a week! Not only that, but if you can join our side as well, then I will reward you ten times instead!¡±


    He then took a very low posture as if submitting onto it.


    Generally speaking, the dragons are still wary of the gods, especially those on par with the likes of legendary dragons.


    They will still maintain a certain level of respect despite facing the servants of Gods.


    Night Wanderer also believes that his words can appease the ck Dragon, or perhaps even move it¡­


    There is no dragon that is not tempted by ten times the treasure after all!


    Meryer eyes did jump a bit.


    However, the light coughing behind him came once again.


    Speaking in a gentle voice, but with a hint of disdain and very ostentatiously Li¡¯l Cat rebuked,


    ¡°Cough cough, isn¡¯t it just mere treasures? How much do you want in the future ckie, I can find a way to get as much as you want! I¡¯m definitely more reliable than him!¡±


    Meryer was moved.


    The dragon gave Li¡¯l Salty Cat an implicit look of ¡°I trust you so don¡¯t deceive me¡±, then looked down the mountain again before roaring at the Night Traveler with a snarling grin:


    ¡°No! No! This Lord Meryer wants it now! Triple it! No! Meryer wants ten times now! Otherwise, I will breathe my dragon¡¯s breath to your puny base!¡±


    Night Traveler:¡­


    This ck Dragon is being so difficult, does it brain have a loose screw or something?


    For a moment, The blood count felt the veins in his forehead throb in exasperation.


    He had neither the confidence to kill the ck Dragon in one shot, nor the ability to immediately satisfy its demands, so the two of them were just arguing about a pretty redundant matter.


    However, asmunication progressed, Count Night gradually realized that this ck Dragon seemed to be concerned about something and was only mouthing off nonsense.


    It even dared not fly down from the mountaintop.


    But¡­what¡¯s the point of that?


    Other than wasting time, then what¡¯s its actual aim?


    The vampire felt like he had encountered a greedy ck Dragon with a rotting brain.


    <em>Wait a minute¡­</em>


    Dying time?


    Suddenly, a proverbial bright light shed into Night Wanderer¡¯s mind, and his face became deathly serious.


    Almost at the same time, a strong spatial fluctuation suddenly came from the direction of the castle on the top of the mountain¡­


    Spatial magic fluctuations?


    Not good! It¡¯s a teleportation spell!


    The vampires expression changed in horror.


    In an instant, his vicinity was filled with numerous creatures with each of them waving weapons towards him.


    What the¡ªElves?


    The blood count was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned grave!


    Those are¡­the elves from the forest!


    Did these elves actually subdued an evil and greedy ck dragon?


    How did they do it?!


    If it was a kind-hearted Silver Dragons then it would be easy since he remembered those White Dragons were rather close to the world tree ages ago¡­


    But this is the evil ck Dragon Race!


    And it¡¯s infamous for being the most stubborn and rebellious than the rest of the dragon races.


    In an instant, the vampire stared in utter disbelief.


    At the same time, the ck dragon Meryer became more excited.


    It let out a roar and then pped its wings strongly, swooping down towards the mountain and unleashing a torrent of dragon breath!


    Night Wanderer surveyed the situation with hardened gaze. He didn¡¯t care about the ck dragon anymore but shouted ¡°Enemy attack!¡± while retreating back to the main camp.


    The Orc high priest was also stunned by this sudden situation.


    ¡°Elves¡­are attacking?!¡±


    Calling his expression shocked would be an understatement.


    The idea of elves taking the initiative to attack was the biggest joke in Saig¨¹es.


    Even though he knew that the elves in the forest were acting a bit strangetely, he never expected this day toe.


    Taking the initiative to attack a target was simply impossible for these peace-loving and submissive long-eared tree hugging folks!


    But soon, he reacted and roared inmanding tone:


    ¡°Enemy attack! Sound the rm!¡±


    With the sound of the horn, the entire Caverock tribe finally began to mobilize.


    And on the mountaintop, watching the ck dragon charge down recklessly , Li¡¯l Salty Cat felt even more annoyed:


    ¡°You stupid idiot! Why are you charging as well!? Can you beat that high ranked person you were talking to!? ¡°


    ¡°Our people still haven¡¯t even gathered fully yet! Come back and protect the teleportation array first!¡±

 Chapter 120

    ??<strong>For the Elf n! Kill! </strong>


    The ck dragon, Meryer, was like an overexcited dog rushing into a flock of chickens, wrecking havoc amongst the Caverock tribe.


    Even though Meryer was raised by a Silver dragon, he still retained certain traits of a traditional ck dragon. For example, when attacking enemies, he preferred to attack the weaker ones first and enjoys ying with his prey as they sumb to fear¡­


    The Orc warriors whom have just gathered together after hearing the rm immediately had themselves sted in dragon breath as their formation quickly got broken, causing them to scatter and flee in all directions.


    Being the strongest melee ss amongst all the dragonkinds, the little ck dragon had thick armor-like scales and could easily withstand the attacks of the Orc horde.


    ¡°Wow, Li¡¯l ckie¡¯s so strong?¡±


    Looking at Meryer that as he plunged the Caverock tribe inplete chaos in just a blink of an eye, Li¡¯l Salty Cat was entirely mesmerized.


    It was pure anarchy, the Orcish base was submerged in total chaos.


    Meryer was akin to a predator wolf entering a flock of helpless sheeps, causing a bloodbath everywhere he went.


    No one in the Caverock tribe could stand up against the overwhelming might of a Silver-Rank Dragon.


    Looking at the rampaging ck dragon and the ever increasing number of casualties, the high priest Jushan was livid.


    ¡°Count, Count! Please you need to stop that ck dragon now!¡±


    Night Wanderer¡¯s expression became deathly still, before chanting a spell as a summoning circle formed in front him. A huge three-headed hellhound then slowly came out of a portal he just conjured.


    It was a silver-rank monster as well and by far the strongest creature under Night Wanderer¡¯s familiars!


    It had a pair of bat wings with ck fur coating all over its body, and a ferocious appearance. Its size was even half that of a ck dragon.


    The melee capacity of the Blood n was rtively weak, hence they would generally raise some monsters as familiars to supplement what theycks.


    And the Vampire¡¯s strongest familiar was a Cerberus Hellhound with the bloodline of a three-headed dog from hell itself.


    ¡°Fight that ck dragon!¡±


    Night Wanderermanded the fiery hellhound.


    Upon receiving its master¡¯smand, the hellhound immediately let out a loud howl and pounced towards the ck dragon with wild abandon.


    ¡°A hellhound?¡±


    Meryer¡¯s eyes lit up and he immediately went to fight this new prey.


    However, it was clear that the hellhound was not a match for the ck dragon, and after severalbat exchanges, it had several wounds on its body already.


    After sending out his own familiar , Night Wanderer then coldly nced at Jushan and said,


    ¡°The ck Dragon and Elves have arrived. I¡¯m afraid that the Godwarden of Death and the followers of that mysterious new god will also follow suit. My hellhound is definitely not a match for the ck Dragon and cannot hold out for much longer. Sorry but I can¡¯t take action since I must quicklyplete the summoning of the Totem Guardian!¡±


    ¡°Have you seen those Elves at the mountaintop? They must have set up a teleportation array up there. If you don¡¯t want the Caverock tribe to be wiped out then you must hurry up and lead your people up there in order to destroy it!¡±


    ¡°But even if we can¡¯t destroy it, we just have to dy them until I sessfully summon the Totem Guardian!These Elves are very weak even if they¡¯re a bit strange, these fellows would pose no threat to the Orcs!¡±


    After speaking, Night Wanderer then swiftly left.


    ¡°God¡­warden!¡±


    Upon hearing his word, High Priest¡¯s expression suddenly changed.


    He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and shouted at Night Wanderer¡¯s back,


    ¡°All right, we¡¯ll do it immediately just as you say, but you must also hurry up as well your Excellency!¡±


    At this time, the majority of the yers¡¯ forces had also finally been teleported.


    Demacia arrived at the mountaintop and looked down at the densely packed Orc Horde down below, eximing in sheer amazement,


    ¡°Oh god¡­Just how many Orcs are there?¡±


    Li Mu, who stood next to him was equally surprised as well, but soon furrowed his brows when he noticed his surroundings.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we agreed that were going toy the teleportation array at the nearby forest instead?¡±


    ¡°ckie insisted that he must go back to his castle first to see how much treasure he has left.¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat shrugged.


    Li Mu: ¡­


    ¡°Tsk tsk¡­ it seems that the Orcs looted everything, otherwise that silly lizard wouldn¡¯t be so angry. Let¡¯s hurry up and go too! The ck Dragon has already engaged the Horde! Damn it! The boss is about to be killed by him you know! If we don¡¯t act fast then all we can get is meager experience and loot! Heck, I only need one more shoe to have a full set of golden gear!¡±


    Demacia looked at the three-headed dog being chased and bitten by Meryer, feeling crestfallen.


    ¡°Follow ourmand and don¡¯t act recklessly.¡±


    Hootybird said sternly.


    ¡°Tsk, we can¡¯t perma-die anyway, i don¡¯t think it really matters much since were still suicide rushingter on!¡±


    As Demacia sneered and skillfully took off his equipment to give to his teammates. He was then left with just the underwear that the native elves had given him to conceal the blurring ¡®Holy Light¡¯ below him.


    As the strongest aggro-tank in his guild, Demacia¡¯s mission this time was¡­ to be a cannon fodder and lead the team to suicide rush at the enemies on the forefront.


    However Li Mu stopped the yers who were just about to rush.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it just yet. There are still far too many mobs, and we¡¯re still too few. Even if we strat rush right now, we still won¡¯t get any advantage. Remember our goal is to make it a war of attrition so wasting your lives now would be pointless. It may also lead to the destruction of the teleportation array in the rear.¡±


    ¡°What we have to do is the opposite and kite the enemies so that these mobs wille and attack us instead!¡±


    ¡°Our current terrain is high and easy to defend, plus the teleportation array is close as well. If the enemye to attack us instead, then we will have the high ground advantage!¡±


    After hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, Ael, who had nned to charge with Demacia, immediately stopped and looked at the chosen one who was leading themand in surprise before asking,


    ¡°But how do we get the Orcs to attack us?¡± Li Mu was about to say something when he saw a cluster of Orcs gathering at the foot of the mountain, and his eyes suddenly lit up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re already here,¡± He said before turning his head to shout in amanding tone, ¡°All Mages in this area¡­prep your spells!¡±


    Destroy the elves¡¯ stronghold on top of the mountain!


    The order from the High Priest was quickly passed down to all the Orcs participating in the battle.


    And after the ck dragon¡¯s sh with the vampire¡¯s familiar, the chaos gradually calmed down and the Orc Horde regains its bearings.


    All the Orcmanders blew their respective horns, and the rest quickly teamed up and began to charge as they climb up the hill!


    The high priest Jushan in the rear began to give various battle blessings to the warriors climbing up the hill.


    For a time, the Orcs rushed towards the yers like a cascading onught, with each one within the Horde roaring with boundless fury.


    And the Elves also adjusted their formations in response.


    At the forefront were fully armed vanguard yers and just behind them were a secondary group of unequipped suicide squads, amongst are mostly yers belonging to the hunter profession.


    Further back¡­ were archers, mages, and druids, with some native elves with bows and arrows being protected in all directions at the rear.


    Watching the approaching Horde, Li Mu¡¯s eyes narrowed tightly.


    While the rest of yers were having goosebumps as their eyes shines with excitement.


    War! This really feels like a real war!


    ¡°All Mages, get ready! Eta in five..four¡­three!¡±


    As the Orc horde approached, Li Mu gradually raised his hand.


    And at hismand, all the mage yers began to chant spells.


    Fireballs, elemental des, and other spells began to take form around them. However, although the incantations were done, they still did notunch their skills as they awaits the signal.


    The Horde are almost within the striking distance.


    The ground began to shake as all the yers could discern the fierce expressions on the Orcs, as well as their sharp, dagger-like teeth. Their primal desire for wanton destruction was so potent that it began to affect the yer¡¯s bloodlust as well.


    And when the Orcs came within the striking range, Li Mu themander immediately shouted, ¡°Fire!¡±


    Right after speaking, a brilliant barrage of various magical spells shot out indiscriminately whilst hitting the charging Horde in an neverending cascading volley.


    At the exact same time, the system¡¯s casual and serene background music suddenly changed into abative tune which reached the ears of all the yers¡­


    It was a tribal battle-like folk metal with war drums thumping in a rhythmic beat selected personally by Ev¨¦ herself, that¡¯s suitable for the current scenario.


    For a moment while listening to the exhrating music, all yers were energized as if they had taken a shot of a potent drug, with their morale surging high like never before.


    In ancient times, war drums and patriotic songs were used to boost the spirits of soldiers.


    Simrly, in online games duringrge-scale group battles, yers usually y some passionate background music to boost morale.


    However this time, Ev¨¦ took care of everything.


    The music was so appropriate and perfectly attuned that it immediately sparked the yers¡¯ thirst for battle.


    Listening to the gant music, all yers felt as if they had transformed into barbarians wearing just bare minimum as if they¡¯re on a raid to defeat the boss or to save the world in the next seconds¡­


    Everyone¡¯s breathing became heavier as their feets began stomping rhythmically with the beats of the war drum.


    They felt their blood boiling and burning asunder inside their bodies!


    If you¡¯re not afraid of death then you have nothing to fear!


    And the perfectly timed background musicpletely stirred up the yers¡¯ bloodlust!


    If morale coefficient could be disyed, then the current yer¡¯s morale would definitely have maxed out their meter!


    The Orcs at the forefront of the Horde also raised their shields and despite the barrage of spells, still continued to advance forward without much slowing down, stomping on the newly dead bodies of their fallen tribesmen without much reaction.


    The magic hailstorm still persisted which caused even more violent explosion.


    Even with a shield and high priest¡¯s protective spells, many unlucky ones were still seriously injured. But the remaining orcs quickly changed their formation and continued to move forward¡­


    They roared and charged, while the system¡¯s background music reached its climax!


    Listening to the inspiring background music, Li Mu¡¯s heart was pounding like crazy.


    In this moment, various scenes from the game over the past few months shed into his mind.


    The gradually improving small town, the increasingly growing yers, the joyous campfire parties, and the kind-hearted and grateful elven NPCs¡­


    And Alice¡¯s sigh as she caressed the small town monument echoed in his heart once again:


    <em>¡°Chosen ones¡­ you will eventually be the great legends of this realm¡­¡±</em>


    In this moment, Li Mu suddenly felt that he had grasped the essence of this game.


    Indeed, this is merely just a game!


    Nevertheless, this is also their own adventure story, an epic that they have personally written by themselves.


    In an instant, Li Mu felt his blood boil to its utmost limit.


    He raised the druid¡¯s staff high and shouted excitedly:


    ¡°For the elves! Kill!!¡±


    ¡°Hurraaaah!!!¡±


    All the yers also let out a roar in unison and raised their weapons up high.


    Finally, the two sides sh in battle!


    ¡ª ¡ª


    thank you to Meowers, Dan and Johnson for the tip ????

 Chapter 121

    ??<strong>THEY ARE CRAZY! </strong>


    Graystone is a brave Orc warrior.


    As one of the few High-Iron ranked warriors in the Caverock Tribe, he is not only known as a powerful warrior, but also has his own independent team.


    He¡¯s already turning fifty years old this year, with an extremely richbat experience and countless enemies in. The elves have been sessfully hunted down by him that he already lost count of how many have fall victims to his de.


    And as for his overall evaluation of the elves, they are bunch of naive, innocent, pitiful, and pathetic creatures!


    As far as he could remember, he had participated quite a lot of elven sieges and ve hunts. But this is the very first time that these peace loving fellows have initiated the attack first.


    It¡¯s ridiculous!


    Purely based on their numbers andbat abilities alone? Maybe a thousand years ago then it is possible, but the current elves are just toothless tigers with no fangs, no they¡¯re more like harmless¡­rabbits!


    These rabbits actually want to attack us predators?


    Ridiculous.


    Graystone thinks these elves must be crazy. Even that whimsical ck dragon was with them in this attack!


    Perhaps¡­ that ck dragon had taken the elves as his new ves? Is he forcing them to do this? Graystone even had such thoughts.


    And the high priest¡¯s worried expression also puzzled him. What¡¯s the chief so afraid for? Hell Graystone even didn¡¯t want to leave anyone alive!


    These are just pathetic elves doing something futile. Graystone even wanted to thank them for attacking their tribe since even if they catch a living male elf, they can exchange still it for a carload of food!


    In fact, in order to prevent the Orcs in the tribe from panicking, Jushan has not revealed what transpired in the Elven Forest, so until now, ordinary Orcs still don¡¯t know what happened.


    Not only that, but the High Priest didn¡¯t even tell the warriors that these elves maye back to life¡­again and again.


    Because even the strongest warrior will feel a little fear when facing an undying enemy who can easilye back to life.


    However, as a muscle-head race with limited brain capacity, most Orcs don¡¯t need to know these truth, they just need to obey orders. So, under themand of the high priest, Graystone also led his team to join the main attack force andunched a charge towards the elves on the hillside!


    It¡¯s getting closer and closer.


    To Graystone¡¯s surprise, the elves, who saw the horde surging towards them like a flood did not show any hint of fear at all.


    On the contrary, he could see the excitement and enthusiasm on their faces even from afar.


    That expression was reminiscent as the feeling he had when he finished a sessful hunt and excitedly wrestled and gambled with other warriors in the tribe!


    It was the excitement and anticipation of being immersed in entertainment.


    <em>How could this be possible?</em>


    Did he see it wrong?


    Before he could think of anything else, numerous glittering magical spells rained down on them!


    Argh, so many damn spells!


    How did these elves produce so many offensive mages!?


    Graystone¡¯s pupils contracted in shock.


    Elves are naturally gifted magical beings.


    Even an elven melee-focused warrior will still have a huge amount of magic reserves and can learn one or two spells even if magic isn¡¯t their forte.


    However, as a peace-loving race, elves rarely learn those highly aggressive magic that¡¯s meant to kill.


    But this spell barrage was definitely an all offense-type magic!


    Not only that, but they were all the most destructive ones among the first-tier offensive spells!


    When did these elves be so aggressive?


    Graystone¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately raised his shield in front of him.


    The shield had already been buffed by the high priest, which could weaken the magic damage to a certain extent.


    The magical barragended in an instant, and there were immediately violent explosions and screams all around him in all directions.


    In an instant, several Orc warriors were severely wounded and some even fell lifelessly to the ground.


    However, their positions were quickly filled in by the Orcs behind them.


    Graystone was lucky, only receiving a few minor scratches from a wind de spell.


    He licked the bloodstains on his arm as his eyes turned bloodshot as he ordered, ¡°Spread out the formation!¡±


    The formation was too concentrated and can be too easily targeted by magic casters.


    With hismand, the front-line orc vanguards immediately changed into a scattered formation and charged towards the elves!


    At the same time, the frontline elven warriors also let out a roar of ¡°Uraah!¡± and made the same charging gesture in exact intensity just like them.


    Charging from the bottom of the hill put them at a disadvantage.


    But charging from the top down was a different story.


    With their mighty physiques, charging should have been the Orc¡¯s specialty.


    But the terrain had greatly weakened their overall strength.


    Even so, they didn¡¯t put the thin and weak elves off in their eyes as the two sides finally collided and immediately fell into a chaotic melee battle.


    As soon as they shed, Graystone noticed that these elves werepletely different.


    As a long-lived race with low-fertility, elves have always been cautious in their tactics and was overly conservative in battle.


    But these elves attacked with wild abandon, foregoing any sort of safety with their rough and hack-and-sh style!


    They fought with so much intensity and fervor that Greystone even suspected that they were actually a group of Orcs masquerading as elves!


    <em>How can these folks be so bloodthirsty!? </em>


    Although they have also put some defense, their primary actions are still more inclined to attack.


    Moreover, they fought incredibly fiercely, as if they were injected with demon¡¯s blood, roaring while hacking wildly, throwing various skills recklessly, seemingly ignoring their rapidly declining mana and stamina.


    Hell, they don¡¯t even seem to care, even if they are injured at all!


    Even with druids healing them from behind, their injuries are still rapidly worsening.


    To describe these elves as ¡®crazy¡¯ would be an understatement. Greystone looked at these elves and thought subconsciously.


    These elves are obviously very weak and have no prior formal experience inbat.


    They don¡¯t seem understand how to advance and retreat methodically as well, and only know how to attack like a group of reckless berserkers.


    Are these still the same old elegant silver-race depicted in the legends?


    This kind of ystyle may be fierce at first, but it will soon consume all their stamina and be mere cattles to be ughtered.


    In that moment, relying on his richbat experience, Greystone had already passed judgment on these elves in his heart.


    This kind of stupid and energy-wasting ystyle is a death sentence no matter how many people join in!


    Actually, it¡¯s not that the yers don¡¯t want to y dirty.


    But being forced into a defensive role, what lies behind them is the teleportation array which is the main lifeblood of their assault, hence there is no way for them to retreat.


    Facing the powerful horde, they can only fight desperately to gain an advantage.


    And limited by the hilltop terrain, yers also have no way to fully expand their formations.


    However, if yers cannot expand their formations, then the Orc Horde cannot do so either.


    In fact, only the frontal part of each side are engaged in the battle, while more people are waiting in the middle and rear to make up for any losses.


    Of course, it was also the yer¡¯s senseless madness that temporarily halted the Horde¡¯s progress.


    Greystone snorted and turned around, chopping down on an elf vanguard before shouting,


    ¡°Charge! They are fewer in numbers and won¡¯tst long!¡±


    As soon as he gave the order, a surprising scene unfolded before him.


    The elf warriors at the front suddenly made way and dozens of elves, wearing nothing but small shorts, rushed out from behind them.


    They all had fierce and excited expressions while screaming madly as they charged towards the orcs as if they all lost their damn minds.


    ¡°What are these guys trying to do!? Are they trying to get themselves killed?¡±


    Greystone was entirely confused as he watched these insane-looking elves ran wild without hesitation. He stabbed one of these mad elves who boldy charged at him, and the elf instantly fell to the ground.


    However, not all Orcs had Greystone¡¯s strength to kill their opponents in one strike.


    Many of the mad elves charged towards the weaker Orcs held onto them tightly, even though they were immediately wounded and covered in blood from the enemies angry strikes.


    Nontheless, despite their injuries, they held on tightly without any signs of pain nor fear of death, but with a sense of triumph in their eyes.


    ¡°These elves¡­ are they totally crazy?!¡±


    Greystone couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he stared at the elves who were naked and grinning madly while hugging the body of arade in a death grip.


    He shuddered involuntarily.


    Before he could process what he was seeing, something even more unbelievable happened.


    The elves coughed up blood, but they continued to shout excitedly, ¡°Fire at me!¡±


    ¡°Fire¡­at them?¡±


    Greystone was perplexed at the weird order.


    Then, he saw the glow of magic rising from behind the elves, forming into a controlling vine-like spell that ensnared the unarmed elves and Orcs in ce together.


    This was then followed by a volley of strong offensive spells, apanied by arrows imbued with skillful enchantments that instantly engulfed both targets hereby killing them together on the spot.


    All around him, simr situations urred as more than a dozen elves and Orc warriors were torn apart by magic or pierced like hedgehogs together¡­


    Greystone opened his mouth wide, looking at everything in shock.


    ¡°Madness¡­this is absolute madness!¡±


    What kind of ridiculous tactic is this? Suicide? Wasting lives?


    For the umpteenth time, are these elvespletely batshit insane?!


    To be honest, even if he looked down on the fighting abilities of the elves, deep down, Greystone still had some lingering respect for their kind, who were once called a silver race.


    The life of an Elfpared to the life of an Orc¡­


    Most people would value the former more than thetter since that¡¯s the general consensus of almost everyone living within Saig¨¹es. Heck, even he would feel that the life of an elf is far more precious than that of his own kind!


    In the ck market of ve trade, ten Orc ves cannot even exchange for one single elf ve!


    But¡­ what is going on with these elves?


    Do they really not care about their lives at all?


    Aren¡¯t they the race whom cherish life the most and value peace above anything else?


    <em>What¡¯s with all this absurdity¡­ </em>


    They would sacrifice more than one lives just to kill a single Orc?


    What kind of hatred must they have to go this far?


    How many of them will survive after this battle?


    How many of them can keep sacrificing themselves like this?


    Madness!


    This is just pure senseless Madness!


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 122

    ??<strong>MONSTERS! THEY¡¯RE MONSTERS! </strong>


    The senseless madness of the elves have also aroused the ferocity of the Horde. After the initial shock wore off, the Orcs have also disregarded safety and didn¡¯t hesitate to fight back against the Elves with the same level of intensity.


    However like Greystone, the other high ranking Orcs also believed that there¡¯s something abnormal with these crazy Elves.


    Otherwise, how could these peace-loving folks be ruthless enough topetely disregard their lives just to kill off an enemy?


    They are not humans with impressive fertility after all!


    The total poption of Caverock Tribe have already exceeded five thousands with almost everyone especially the males being full-time warriors.


    If these Elves really want to sacrifice a life for another, then even if they returned to the previous peak of their civilization ages ago, the elvenkind would still have to expend a significant portion of their own poption to just to fight off the Orcs.


    And these elves in front of them¡­ it¡¯s almost certain that less than a hundred would survive after this battle should they persist with this crazy suicidal tactics of theirs.


    However, what made Greystone increasingly surprised was that these elves seemed to be endless¡­


    He lost count how many elves he had already hacked to death.


    Anyway¡­ he stopped counting after ten.


    The one¡¯s he killed in this battle alone had already exceeded the total number of elves he caught in the past few decades or so.


    However, what¡¯s iprehensible was that even if these elves were killed again and again, their overall numbers did not seem to dwindle much at all.


    Looking around, their forces seems to have rtively remained the same which is bizarre.


    Not only that but every once in a while, another group of almost naked elves would once again rush out and scream, ready to die alongside the Orcs theytched onto¡­


    It could be said that after fighting for so long, Ny percent of the Horde have already either died or in such a miserable state due to this iprehensible tactic.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we kill all these elves?!¡±


    As he looked at the groundpletely stained with blood, Greystone suddenly had a strange premonition in his heart that their victory wouldn¡¯t be so certain anymore just like when he initially thought.


    What was even more unnerving was that every time these elves died, no matter how mangled their bodies were chopped up, their remains would still disappear into nothingness just moments after their deaths¡­


    For a moment, Greystone even thought that he was hallucinating.


    Could it be that these elves were using an illusion magic all this time!?


    However, the sensation of his curved de tearing through an elf¡¯s flesh and splitting their bones apart was so vivid and the blood spraying on his face was so hot that it can¡¯t be anything else but real.


    All of this foretold Greystone that his enemies were definitely not illusions.


    However if that were to be the case then what exactly are these elves?


    Greystone had became increasingly more irritable as he fought on without rest for hours now.


    The Orc warriors whom had followed him had all been reced already just as his teammates who led the charge earlier have all died in the suicidal attacks of the elves.


    This made Greystone even more angry.


    But at the same time, his heart became increasingly more suspicious.


    Because not only the elves would disappear but even the Orcs would age rapidly and turn into dust when killed as well¡­


    Although the way they disappeared was different from the elves, in the end, there were no corpses left on the battlefield except for some dust and bloodstains, only the equipment of the dead Orcs remained intact.


    Suddenly, Greystone understood why the High Priest was so cautious¡­


    These elves were definitely strange!


    <em>Abnormal!</em>


    Absolutely abnormal!


    At this time, the voice of the High Priest of tribe came from afar,


    ¡°Charge in! Destroy their teleportation array located on the top of the hill! Otherwise, we can¡¯t kill them all!¡±


    Teleportation array¡­


    Greystone suddenly realized why these elves couldn¡¯t be killed at all.


    It turned out that they have been teleporting the rest of their kind over here all this time!


    But then, Graystone became even more puzzled¡­


    Where did this teleportation array lead to, and howe there so many elvesing out of it?!


    Did they somehow managed to gather all the scattered elves across the world just to partake in this battle?!


    Why did their bodies disappear, and why did the bodies of their own kind disappear as well?


    At this time, he suddenly saw more than a dozen elves rushing out without any equipment yet again¡­


    But when he saw the face of the seemingly leader of this group, Greystone¡¯s pupils expanded sorge its as if seeing a ghost right in front of him.


    ¡°T-This¡­ this is impossible! !¡±


    He eximed in utmost horror.


    He recognized him instantly for he was an elf he had once killed before!


    Not only that, this guy was very slippery, and it took Greystone some effort just to kill this bastard at that time.


    He clearly remembered that this particr enemy waspletely cut in half at the waist by his strike, and his hot guts spilled all over the ground before disappearing.


    And the reason why Greystone could easily recognize him was not only because he was slippery¡­ but also because this red-headed guy made a taunting face at him when he was being cut to death!


    Not only that, this guy also disdainfully flipped him off with his middle finger before he died!


    Greystone didn¡¯t know what the gesture meant, but the elf¡¯s ridicule was clearly visible in his dying face.


    To mock him even when he was at hisst breath, how despicable!


    But what horrified Greystone was that once again¡­ he saw this elf who had clearly already died before, alive and well!


    He¡¯s now even jumping around without any scarring of the wounds Greystone inflicted onto him before!


    Oh great hunter almighty! What¡­ what was going on here?!


    Hasn¡¯t this elf just died?


    Are they immortal monsters?!


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    If these elves cannot die¡­ then what¡¯s even the point of this battle?!


    Looking at the petrified Orc Comannder who gradually showed a hint of fear in his eyes, Demacia smirked triumphantly and flipped him off again.


    ¡°Haha, didn¡¯t expect that, did you dumbass? It¡¯s still the same old¡¯ me!¡±


    Then, instead of rushing towards this high ranking Orc, Demacia instead looked up and shouted,


    ¡°Ael! requesting backup! There¡¯s a tough nut on the Iron-ranked side here for you to prey on!¡±


    Even in the midst of battle, they still have the gall to fool around?


    Seeing this, Graystone nearly forgotten his shock and became angry once more!


    ¡°No matter if you are an elf or a monster, or even the devil himself¡­ you will again die by my de!¡±


    He roared and once again charged towards Demacia.


    If once is not enough to kill this bastard¡­


    Then I¡¯ll kill just you again and again!


    However, just as his curved de was about tond a hit, a small figure suddenly shed by blocking his attack.


    Graystone felt a sudden pain in both his wrist as tightness grips his chest firmly.


    When he came back to his senses, he was horrified to find that both of his hands had already been severed as his chest was also cleanly stabbed while his blood leaks out and spattered all around him.


    Graystone could clearly feel his life flowing away with every seconds that passed by¡­and it wasn¡¯t until the end that he finally saw his killer.


    It was a thin and feelble looking male elf, with silver hair, azure eyes, and a young teenage face filled with determination and coldness.


    He just gave Graystone a brief cold nce before disappearing into another battlefield like a grim reaper.


    Silver¡­Silver-ss!


    In an instant, Graystone understood.


    ¡°There are silver-rank swordsmen among these elves who hide their true strength!¡±


    ¡°The elves are still hiding their strength!¡±


    ¡°When did they be so cunning?¡±


    Graystone opened his mouth to shout out this discovery¡­


    ¡ª<em>But s it was already toote.</em>


    Seeing his killer lose hisbat capabilities, Demacia¡¯s eyes brightened in sadistic mirth as he quickly picked up the curved sword that Graystone owns and dropped before cutting off his head with it in a single strike¡­


    In an instant, Graystone felt his whole world spinning.


    Vaguely, he heard an excited shout,


    ¡°Haha! Nice! A ck iron sword loot! I won!¡±


    After that, Greystone¡¯s vision finally faded into ckness.


    This Orc Commander wasn¡¯t the first to fall to these resurrected elves.


    Gradually, more and more Orcs have also discovered the fact that these elves couldn¡¯t die at all.


    This ridiculous revtion entirely caused panic amongst the Horde as their morale plummets down in a free fall.


    ¡°They¡¯re not elves! They¡¯re monsters! They must be immortal monsters!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t kill them! We can¡¯t kill them at all!¡±


    ¡°Devils! They must be minions of the devils!¡±


    Emotions are contagious.


    As the panic spread around widely, all the formations of the Horde also began to falter one after another.


    And Ael, who periodically sought out stronger enemies and killed them, became the final straw that finally turned the tide around into the Elve¡¯s favor.


    The Orcish Horde¡­ finally began to falter apart!


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Don¡¯t retreat! Listen to me idiots! DON¡¯T PANIC AND RETREAT!! ¡°


    Seeing the Orcs retreating in fear, Jushan quickly shouted in session to remedy the situation.


    s¡­ it had no effect at all.


    Defeat is like a mountain copsing; nothing can stop it once it all began rolling.


    Under the influence of their fear of the unknown, the Orcs discarded their armor and weapons then began ignoringmands as they flee the battlefield in droves.


    And seeing the enemies in disarray, the yers became more excited.


    They shouted, ¡°Uraah!¡± ¡°Charge!¡± ¡°Get the head!¡± and began to chase after the fleeing Orcs like a pack of rabid hyenas.


    In the process of pursuit, the Caverock tribesmen further sacrificed more than a dozen dead bodies before retreating from the hilltop¡­


    And seeing the Orcs retreat inside their base, the yers also stopped chasing.


    The enemies side still had the numerical advantage on their side and it would be pointless to continue pursuit and going inside the proverbial lion¡¯s den.


    The hilltop was already dyed dark red with fresh blood.


    This charge alone cost more than two hundred beastmen their lives!


    The yers also suffered some heavy casualties particrly they were still at a loss in terms of contribution points expenditures.


    Even with the resurrection advantage and Ael¡¯s assistance, they still had to sacrifice three lives just to kill one enemy which cost alot of CP.


    However, this didn¡¯t extinguish the yers enthusiasm at all.


    Because in addition to the beastmen who were killed, there was still piles of equipment littered on the ground¡­


    Courtesy of the fallen Orcs.


    You could say that this battle was worth it in the end considering the contribution value of the equipments when sold.


    They stopped and joyfully began to pick up loot, like a swarm of hungry locusts on a rice field.


    Jushan, the high priest whom had witnessed everything, fell deathly silent at the sight.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 123

    ?? <strong>PLAYER¡¯S SECRET WEAPON</strong>


    ¡°High Priest, t-they¡¯re monsters! these elves just won¡¯t die!¡±


    ¡°High Priest, I saw it with my own eyes, the elves I killed reappeared again!¡±


    ¡°Devils! They must be the devils!¡±


    ¡°Chieftain, what exactly are they? I bet you must have known, right!?¡±


    The retreating Orcs all surrounded the High Priest in panic. Seeing terror in everyone¡¯s eyes, the Orc chieftain was silent for a moment before sighing,


    ¡°They¡­they probably have been granted the power of resurrection by the Death Goddess.¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°Death¡­Grim Reaper¡­¡±


    The Orcs murmured in fear as their worried expressions morphed into utmost horror.


    ¡°You mean that these elves are just living undead beings?!¡±


    Seeing his fellow tribesmenpletely lost their will and fighting spirit, J¨´sh¨¡n tried to reassure them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if it¡¯s a gift from the Goddess of Death, I¡¯m sure these Elves can¡¯t resurrect without some sort of limitations¡­their revival must have a steep price! Everyone listen! As long as we continue to keep charging, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t be able to hold on for much long.¡±


    The Orc chief tried his best to raise morale but s, this time, all the Orcs just fell silent. Silence ensued as the feeling of dread permeates the air so thick, you could almost cut it.


    The tension was broken a momentter when an Orc bitterly muttered,


    ¡°¡­Are you just asking our brethen to sacrifice their lives?¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n couldn¡¯t answer such pointed usations but simply nced at the demonic hellhound, which was increasingly showing signs of decline in its battle against the ck dragon, with a hint ofplexity in his expression.


    But soon, he readjusted his mindset and shouted angrily:


    ¡°If you want to be caught in a pincer attack by the Elves and the ck dragon, then by all means just surrender here right now and give up the fight!¡±


    ¡°The familiar of the Godwarden can¡¯t hold on for much longer. If the ck Dragon finally breaks free then what awaits us isplete annihtion! They will massacre us and everyone in the tribe!¡±


    ¡°We must destroy the elves¡¯ teleportation array before the ck Dragon breaks free in order to reduce our enemies!¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re just fighting the ck Dragon alone then we can still beat it with the strength of our entire tribe. But with the addition of those undying elves, and the possible presence of an enemy Godwarden behind them¡­¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n paused for a bit and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before continuing,


    ¡°We¡¯ll be caught in a pincer attack from two sides¡­I¡¯m afraid that our Caverock Tribe will perish if that happens.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about running away! Our Father God has already enact a divine decree, calling us to assist his Godwarden. If the Envoy doesn¡¯t leave then we can¡¯t do so either!¡±


    After hearing their chieftain¡¯s words, the Orcs became restless. Their God was essentially ordering them to sacrifice their lives and that¡¯s a hard thing to swallow since the order especially came from the Supreme being whom they had pledged their loyalty into.


    A thick foreboding sense of helplessness seeps into the air within the surviving Orcs as no one really knows what to say but after a while, someone asked,


    ¡°High Priest¡­what exactly is the Envoy doing now? Isn¡¯t he a high-level expert? Why don¡¯t he deal with the ck dragon instead?¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n took a deep breath and showed a pious expression upon hearing the question.


    ¡°Right now, the Envoy is preupied with summoning the Hunter God¡¯s Totem Guardian and cannot be distracted. If he seeds in doing so then we will have a chance to turn the tides of the battle in one fell swoop!¡±


    Why, it turned out to be a Totem Guardian!


    In an instant, all the tribal Orcs morale was reignited as they see a glimmer of hope.


    Every Orcs knew how powerful divine guardians were.


    In their entire historyden with conflict, the Orc race have encountered numerous stronger enemies but every time they faced these foes, once the totem guardians were summoned, the battle would be easily reversed!


    Seeing his fellow tribesmen regain their morale, the chieftain momentarily breathed a sigh of relief.


    Riding the momentum he then continued,


    ¡°Therefore, we cannot let them destroy our ns! We must do everything we can to destroy the elves¡¯ teleportation array! But even if we cannot destroy it, we must at least block them from entering our base and make a desperate attempt to dy time¡­until the Totem Guardian are summoned!¡±


    ¡°Now, we change tactics. Our braverades who are good at archery would be divided into two teams. One team stays in the tribe to assist the Envoy¡¯s familiar in fighting the ck dragon while the other team specifically shoots at those elves outside, while the rest of the warriors continue to attack!¡±


    ¡°This time, our priority is to stall for time!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n also decided to change tactics since he could tell that the tribesmen no longer had the courage to fight the elves to the death.


    The high priest could understand it too¡­when faced with an absurd enemy that cannot be killed¡­even with the knowledge that their revival is likely limited, such fear cannot be easily erased within anyone¡¯s hearts.


    This isn¡¯t a fair fight at all!


    But if that¡¯s the case then, they will just have to drag it out!


    They will have to drag out the battle against the the elves and the dragon at least until the Vampire Count finishes his summoning!


    And after hearing what J¨´sh¨¡n said, the Orc could only organize their forces for another attack.


    However this time, they were much more cautious.


    Their goal was no longer to crush the elves, but to harass them and entrap them on the hilltop while preventing anyone froming down and distracting them so that they wouldn¡¯t get a clue of their summoning ns.


    This time¡­it¡¯s the elves¡¯ turn to suffer.


    The physical raw strength of the Orcs is far greater than that of an average elf. If they switch gears and avoid direct confrontation with the enemies, then the sacrificial tactic used earlier by their foes would no longer be just as effective.


    The battle resumed once again and some Orcs dispersed as they surrounded the Elves without attacking. When those yers without equipments came out, the Orcs instead retreated and shot arrows at them from a distance. Then after killing these suicide squads, the orc vanguards charged again and continued to harass the elves as these cycle of charging and retreating continued on for quite some time.


    As a result, the casualties of both sides began to decrease rapidly, but the situation remained at a stalemate.


    This was not a situation the yers wanted as they still needs to gain experience and contribution points in this conflict.


    s, this kind of harassment battlested for a long time, and most yers couldn¡¯t even kill a single Orc. This new style of battle shown by the Orcs annoyed the yers to no end for it greatly diminished their CP gains.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they fully charging at us anymore?¡±


    Looking at the Orcs whom shifted into a more conservative tactics, the guild leader of Moe Moe Committee, HootyBird frowned.


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes flickered slightly:


    ¡°They finally seem to have realized that we can resurrect.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do? We can¡¯t just keep dragging this out, can¡¯t we?¡± Demacia, who had just resurrected again, said in an urgent tone.


    ¡°We¡¯re not earning much experience and contribution points just like we used to!¡±


    ¡°Dragging this out doesn¡¯t seem to be doing the Orcs any good either, does it? Besides, I think Meryer has already gained the upper hand in his battle with that dog.¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat looked at the distance wherein the ck dragon was fighting¡­ or rather, yfully teasing the hellhound.


    The hellhound was clearly showing signs of fatigue.


    But it seemed¡­ that the little ck dragon was addicted to bullying it, and Meryer probably wouldn¡¯t kill his opponent until he had yed with it enough.


    Teasing its prey was etched within any ck dragon¡¯s instinct, and Li¡¯l Salty Cat had already yelled at Meryer several times from afar, but the damn Dragon still didn¡¯t end the battle quickly.


    Li Mu pondered for a moment and said solemnly.


    ¡°They¡¯re stalling for time, probably going to summon that Totem Guardian mentioned in the intel report! We can¡¯t let them seed!¡±


    After hearing what he said, Alice the elven saintess hesitated to speak.


    Regarding this matters¡­ In fact, before she leave for this expedition, Alice received an oracle from Ev¨¦ and the content was the Goddess telling her that there was no need to worry about the enemy summoning their divine guardian.


    The Mother Goddess seems to be very interested in this enemy guadian, and she seems to be very certain that she could handle it.


    However, Ev¨¦ also warned her not to interfere too much with the yer¡¯s decision and the Mother Goddess also said that she wants to see how far the Chosen Ones will grow, so its better not to talk too much.


    Alice thought about revealing this here but ultimately just closed her mouth.


    Their matriarch is indeed interested in the envoy.


    More precisely, she is interested in the power of the envoy.


    How strong is a demigod-level totem guardian?


    A being at the demigod level, hence surely they must already have a partial control of their chosen divinity, so these guardians would have a lot of divine power on them, right?


    Ev¨¦ really wants to see it in action¡­


    Maybe she could use her new facade as a newborn life god to fight off against this demigod guardian without revealing her true identity.


    However, the yers were unaware of this fact.


    They just wanted the Orcs to recklessly charge at them just like before and have a good bout with them!


    After all, with every head they took meant more experience points and contribution points they could umte.


    And of course, equipments as well!


    After pondering for a moment, Li Mu turned to the builders chief HootyBird and asked,


    ¡°How¡¯s the preparation going on at the base camp? Have youpleted making the things I¡¯ve asked beforehand?¡±


    HootyBird opened her chat system andmunicated with someone for a moment before responding,


    ¡°Yes they¡¯re done. My guildmates have already made four.¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Four? That¡¯s enough. Send them over right now.¡±


    ¡°Since these Orcs don¡¯t have the initiative to attack us anymore then let¡¯s just give them one! It¡¯s time to unveil our secret weapon!¡±

 Chapter 124

    ??<strong>DONGFENG EXPRESS, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED</strong>


    Upon listening to the conversation between Li Mu and HootyBird, the Saintess Alice became a little perplexed.


    She was unsure about what they were making but she had noticed that several hundred low-level chosen ones were not partaking in this mission but were instead busy with something else back in the yer¡¯s town.


    However, soon enough, she found out what they were up to when she saw the teleportation array glowing yet again, as four or five yers pushing arge structure came out of the portal.


    Alice was taken aback as she gazed upon therge wooden contraption that was brought over. And after the first item was sessfully transported, other yers brought over three more identical structures like the first.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Alice asked, pointing her finger at the bizarre yet somewhat familiar contraption.


    ¡°This is our secret siege weapon, mdy.¡± HootyBird answered with a smirk beforemanding some yers to start assembling.


    In no time, four huge wooden contraptions appeared on the hill.


    The contraptions were upright, sharp-edged, and had the word ¡°Dongfeng¡± written in chinese characters on the side. The main body of the machine consisted of two support columns with a fixed horizontal axis, and wooden wrenches and pulleys were installed on them. A lever that was perpendicr to the axis and could rotate freely around the axis was fixed on the horizontal axis. One end of the lever was inserted into a horizontally twisted rope, and the other end was arge wooden basket.


    Alice¡¯s tone was quite strange as she remarked, ¡°This¡­it seems to resemble that thing called catapult used by humans in their wars?¡±


    She was no stranger to these things.


    In Saig¨¹es, the current mankind¡¯s technological progress was somewhat simr to thete Middle Ages back on Earth. Although there were magical weapons such as mana-crystal cannons, catapults, which were cheap to make and could be easily made on the spot, were also used as siege weapons.


    As a fantasy world, the trebuchets in thisnd were generally mixed in with magic as well.


    However, Alice¡¯s impression of humankind was not good, and she did not have a positive view of the things made by them especially for warfare either.


    But even so, she had to admit that some of the things invented by humans were still useful.


    What surprised Alice was that the chosen ones could also make catapults as well!


    Of course, the yers could also make it.


    Since trebuchets, in fact, doesn¡¯t require much technical expertise, as it is simply based on the rudimentary principle of leverage. Moreover, there are plenty of online tutorials avable on how to make one.


    However, it can be a bit challenging to make arger trebuchet with a longer scope of range. But some yers in the ¡°Moe Moe Committee,¡± whom have expertise in engineering mechanics, somehow managed to make it.


    After learning that they were going to attack the stronghold of the Orcs, the yers began to prepare in various ways.


    Initially, they thought they would be attacking a fortified city, so some yers suggested making some heavy artillery. They wanted to make cannons directly at first, but ideals are lofty, and reality is harsh.


    Even with magical assistance, the yers found that they couldn¡¯t make gunpowder with their current equipment and resources. Hence, they decided to make the rtively simple trebuchet instead.


    Although it turned out that the Orcs didn¡¯t have the ability to construct a fortress, the yers¡¯ preparation was not entirely in vain. And now, these things are finallying in handy.


    When they saw the finished assembled trebuchet, Demacia¡¯s eyes widened with glee.


    ¡°Wow, Miss Hootie, your guild is really amazing! You actually made it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a simple application of mechanics, but unfortunately, we don¡¯t have enough materials. This one can onlyunch projectiles about 500 meters at most. Fortunately, we have the high ground and some magical assistance,¡± HootyBird said somewhat regretfully.


    Demacia:. ..


    What the hell, man? 500 meters is already quite far! Keep in mind that the average range of a heavy stone-throwing machine in medieval times on Earth was only about 300 meters.


    These crafting meisters are truly monsters!


    As Li Mu looked at the trebuchet, his mouth curved slightly upward. ¡°These Orcs have be cowards and are unwilling to fight to the death, right? Then let¡¯s just use these ¡®Dongfeng Express¡¯ to destroy their base!¡± he dered.


    The yers exchanged knowing smiles with each other, andughed maniacally.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡±


    Alice¡¯s mouth twitched.


    These chosen ones¡­ They are looking more and more like humans as time passes!


    After setting up the trebuchets, the yers filled the wooden crates with heavy objects and brought bags of broken stones to fill the oiled sacks on the other end of the lever.


    ¡°Does anyone have a fire-enchantment spell? It¡¯s best if it also has a dyed explosion property! It doesn¡¯t need to be dyed for too long; just a few seconds are good enough!¡± Li Mu asked again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll do it! I learned a fire spell before that can attach to an object for a short time! Dyed detonation is also not a problem! The power is absolutely huge as well! Hehehe¡­ I bet my house that it¡¯ll be the best explosion you¡¯ll ever see!¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat walked forward excitedly, rubbing her hands together to create a fireball.


    Demacia: ¡­


    Caverock Tribe


    After changing their tactics, the Orcs suffered fewer losses, while the elves were still trapped on the hilltop. Although a Silver-ranked Swordsman who roamed among the elves was still a big problem, the Orcs became alert and took some countermeasures, making it difficult for their opponent to act recklessly just like before.


    Unlike the yers, A¨¦l was still an 80-year-old child who couldn¡¯t be resurrected, and his stamina was limited, which made J¨´sh¨¡n breathe a sigh of relief.


    He then looked at the hellhound who was barely holding on with the support of the Orc archers, and his heart was somewhat settled.


    ¡°Lord Count¡­ should be finishing soon, right?¡±


    However, just as he was feeling a little relieved, the high priest suddenly heard a cry of rm from somewhere. He instinctively turned around and was horrified to see four ¡°meteorites¡± hurling towards the Caverock Tribe in mid-air, alight with scorching mes!


    These ¡°meteorites¡± then flew directly towards the tribe at a slightly angled trajectory.


    ¡°Quick, dodge!¡± the chieftain quickly shouted to the rest of the Orcs within the tribe.


    However, before the ¡°meteorites¡± evennded, they suddenly exploded in mid-air!


    With a deafening explosion, the ¡°meteorites¡± shattered into pieces, andrge and small stones mixed with mes flew around like a magnificent rain of fire¡­


    Their houses were primarily made of stone and grass, and the tents were made of animal skins, all of which were mmable materials. It had not rained near the Dark Mountain Range for many days, and the weather was arid.


    The stones, coated with mmable oil and scattered with mes, instantly ignited the houses they fell into!


    Seeing the zing scenes around him, the high priest¡¯s face turned livid as he shouted,


    ¡°Quick! Put out the fire! Put out the fire!¡±


    However, before the Orcs could extinguish the mes, four more ¡°meteorites¡± flew overhead, and another house was instantly engulfed in mes with a loud ¡°Boom!¡± Even worse, one ¡°meteorite¡± even exploded right next to the chieftain¡¯s tent, almost destroying it.


    Witnessing this scene, J¨´sh¨¡n was almost scared to death. Inside that main tent was Night Wanderer whose still performing the summoning of the divine messenger.


    ¡°It¡¯s the elves! It¡¯s those damn pesky elves! They¡­ they brought a catapult!¡± eximed a sharp-eyed orc, interrupting J¨´sh¨¡n¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°A catapult?!¡± J¨´sh¨¡n was surprised.


    Wasn¡¯t that a human invention? How did the elves even get a hold of it?


    It is worth mentioning that the Elves are a proud race, that¡¯s especially fanatical about their civilization.


    Even though their civilization has declined, this pride of theirs has never been lost.


    In their view, humans, orcs, and other intelligent beings are all just short-lived barbarians who can only create simple and inferior tools or some fancy but useless things.


    Therefore, their elven pride would not let them use such crude items.


    In fact, their thinking is rather reasonable.


    At the peak of elven civilization, other intelligent races were still in a primitive and barbaric era, while elven magical equipment has always been known for its exquisite beauty and magical functionality.


    Elven products are the most poprmodity worldwide!


    However, almost all of the elven items are not intended for use in warfare.


    The growth of many civilizations began from learning from or receiving assistance from the elven race. Therefore, it is normal for the old elves to feel proud of their inventions and tend to look down upon others¡¯ creations.


    The fact that these elves are using human trebuchets is unprecedented!


    As he watched the tribe gradually be engulfed in a sea of fire, the chieftain¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot, and he was filled with rage.


    No¡­


    This cannot be allowed to continue!


    These elves are bing just as cunning and vicious as humans are¡­


    If this continues on, the Caverock tribe will be reduced to ruins even if they win this battle in the end.


    They have stored all their possessions, umted over hundreds of years, here in the tribe!


    Not to mention, these trebuchets pose a huge threat to the main tent and the tribe¡¯s nonbatant people!


    ¡°Charge! Charge! Destroy their trebuchets!¡± J¨´sh¨¡nmanded with pained eyes.


    This time, the Orcs did not hesitate to charge.


    The previous explosions had already caused heavy casualties within the tribe. The priest¡¯s protective spells could not be cast on everyone, and these airborne explosions were already enough to pose a threat to the ordinary Orcs situated in the tribe.


    And the trebuchets were still operating continuously¡­


    ¡°Damn elves! They¡¯re despicable!¡± The Orcs gritted their teeth and, with mad eyes,unched another charge against the yers.


    Seeing the Orcspletely enraged, the yers on the hilltop let out a resounding cheers.


    ¡°This is how it should be!¡±


    They drew their weapons and fought against the rushing horde once again..


    Thus, the reckless melee warfare began anew.


    The two sides shed with swords as magic exploded everywhere.


    Shouts and screams could be heard continuously as people fell down from time to time but were quickly reced by others behind them.


    Meanwhile, the yers in the rear were not idle either; they continued to use catapults to throw fireballs into the tribe¡¯s base.


    Some yers even brought their own makeshift biochemical weapons: a bucket of excrement from the town sent over from the teleportation array.


    In ¡°Elf Kingdom,¡± everything is so realistic, including eating, drinking, and of course, defecating.


    As the number of yers increased, they naturally built public toilets around the town, making it not difficult to collect some biochemical weapons like these.


    They put the smelly projectiles in bags, attached them with dyed explosive magic, and threw them out with the catapult, making the orcs sick to their stomachs.


    In fact, many medieval armies in the history of Earth used simr tactics to lower enemies¡¯ morale in wars.


    Surprisingly, the effect was not so bad.


    When the makeshift biochemical weapons exploded, many orcs who were hit were entirely covered in filth.


    However, unlike humans, the orcs, who were not very intelligent and generally had a bad temper, became even more frenzied when faced with such insulting behavior.


    ¡°Disgusting sick bastards! These damn shameless long-eared cretins!¡±


    ¡°Ah ah ah! I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll fucking kill you all!¡±


    The horde became more and more violent.


    ¡°Wow! This is interesting! Let me try! Let me try!¡±


    Seeing that the catapult could still be used in this way, Demacia became excited. He didn¡¯tmit suicide but instead volunteered toe to the catapult and began to y with feces projectiles¡­


    Li Mu: ¡­


    HootyBird: ¡­


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat: ¡­


    The Orcs were taking heavy casualties once more in this chaotic battle, but they couldn¡¯t prate the yers¡¯ defensive line.


    Some Orcs who persisted the longest also noticed with horror that the elves¡¯ power was gradually increasing. They cried out in rm, and the news spread among the tribe, causing chaos once more.


    On the other hand, the yers¡¯ morale grew as they watched their experience points, contributions, and equipment umte in droves.


    Many of those who charged at the forefront had already leveled up, and they had gathered a pile of equipment into a small mountain.


    The yers thenunched a charge against the Horde, which once again showed signs of defeat.


    The high priest watched the Horde¡¯s formation gradually copse and felt extremely urgent. He wondered whether Count Night¡¯s summoning had been sessful.


    Just then, a terrifying energy fluctuation came from the central tent of the chieftain. A huge magic circle with mysterious and sacred runes belonging to the Hunter god appeared in mid-air, along with a silvery light.


    The hymn, which sounded like a battlefield chant, slowly echoed all around, as a golden hand suddenly reached out from beyond the magic circle!


    Seeing this scene, J¨´sh¨¡n was stunned at first.


    But when he saw the totemic runes on the magic circle clearly, as his grave expression instantly turned into shock and joy:


    ¡°This¡­ this is¡­ a summoning magic circle! It¡¯s¡­ a divine messenger!¡±


    ¡°Divine messenger?!¡±


    Hearing the priest¡¯s exmation, the Orcs first became agitated, and then quickly fell into ecstasy:


    ¡°Totem Guardian! The Envoy has finally seeded!¡±


    Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the silvery light became even more dazzling.


    A rough and ancient, yet with a hint of majestic and divine aura, spread along with the appearance of the golden hand, making all the Orcs awe-stricken¡­


    However¡­ just as the golden hand further extended outwards, an unidentified projectile suddenly flew over from the sky.


    It drew a beautiful curved trajectory, and moved straight into the range of the magic circle without any deviation.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    A stern cold snort resounded in the air.


    The goldenrge hand then grabbed the falling object and squeezed it hard.


    ¡°Crack¡­¡±


    The unknown object from the hilltop shattered into pieces, as ck and yellow fluids sshed all over the mysterious figure who had not yet emerged from the teleportation array¡­


    A very pungent smell gradually spread within the vicinity of the summoning circle afterwards¡­As everyone suddenly fell into a strange silence.


    On the hilltop, Demacia was surprised, opened his mouth wide unconsciously, and let go of his hand that was still holding onto a bucket load of feces¡­

 Chapter 125

    ??<strong>DEMIGOD VOLKER </strong>


    The golden hand hesitated for a moment, as if the mysterious figure from beyond the portal had been confused.


    Then, everyone saw the arm slowly retract as they heard the sound of ¡°huffing and puffing¡± as if someone was smelling something¡­


    Upon hearing this peculiar sound, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel a shiver down their spines.


    It felt¡­off.


    Sort of like a bad premonition.


    Soon, a destructive energy suddenly erupted from the magic circle, apanied by an extremely angry roar;


    ¡°Damn it! Who is it!!¡±


    The golden hand reached out from the magic circle again.


    This time¡­ the opponent¡¯s speed was very fast, and the whole body had been teleported over in an instant.


    Everyone finally saw the appearance of this summoned mysterious existence.


    It was a giant nearly ten meters tall, with a prominent body akin to a chiseled male bodybuilder.


    He wore a sheep skull-shaped helm and a shiny gold and silver fur robe whilst holding a silver axe surrounded by frost in one hand, and a cloak made of gray bird feathers onto his back¡­


    His face was painted with totem-like patterns, which were very enigmatic and arcane-like.


    Totem Guardian¡ªDemigod Volker.


    He was one of the three Demigod-ss divine messengers serving under the God of Winter and Hunting, Uller, and his status was second only to that of a true god!


    However, at this moment, the Totem Guardian Volker hadpletely fallen into a fit of rage.


    Tainted¡­


    He, a powerful demigod level being, was actually defiled by the filth of the mortal world as soon as he teleported over!


    Goddammit!


    Who was the daring imbecile whom had the gall to dared to do such sphemous sin against him!


    This¡­ was simply an insult to a demigod like him!


    They must pay the price!


    The other party must definitely fully pay the price with their lives!


    At this moment, Volker even felt that the task given to him by the Hunter god could be postponed for a little bit.


    He must first find the guy who had dared yed tricks on him, tear his body to shreds, then extract his soul, before purify it into the purest raw energy to feed it to his hunting dogs!


    His furious expression made Volker even look more sinister, as a demigod energy keeps converging around him, making the whole space around him change color in his hue!


    The magical level of within Saig¨¹es has not yet been fully replenished. Henceforth, the maximum supportable power any Deity can use is only at the demigod level.


    Not only that, but it can only be barely supported as it is.


    When Volker had gotten angry, the space around him seemed to also been affected as well and started to be chaotic because it couldn¡¯t withstand the violent energies fluctuating from him. Even the clouds in the skies were stirred into a huge vortex, which was particrly a spectacr scene.


    All the mages and priests within the vicinity felt that the elemental mana in the air was bing restless, and their control of magic was vaguely disturbed¡­


    At the same time, a frightening pressure radiated with the Totem guardian Volker at its epicenter.


    Unlike the vestige of Uller before, this time around, Demigod Volker actually came in person in his true form.


    He could fully release his true pressure!


    And this terrifying power almost made all the nearby Orcs lose their ability to move and could only tremble where they stood.


    If the yers were not far away, then they would have also lost control of their bodies as well long ago.


    But even so, they felt a deep fear from the bottom of their hearts, as their whole bodies seemed to move much harder.


    Both sides consciously stopped fighting and began to retreat slowly¡­


    When this high-leveled being had descended, the situation of the war was no longer something that any weaker beings could intrude upon.


    And in the sky, the ck dragon Meryer, who was still toying with the hellhound, widened his dragon eyes instantly.


    Looking at the dazzling aura emanating on the totem guardian, the Dragon couldn¡¯t help but to exim:


    ¡°Dem¡­Demigod!¡±


    Meryer quickly ended his bullying and pped the hellhound away with one paw, then turn around and run away with his tail tucked between his legs.


    His small wings pped quickly, just like when he bumped into Ev¨¦ the first time¡­


    ¡°Lord Totem! That is the enemy¡¯s ck dragon!¡±


    Seeing the ck dragon trying to escape, J¨´sh¨¡n immediately shouted.


    Dragons can hold grudges for a lifetime.


    The Caverock tribe has offended the ck Dragon, and they must not let the other party go lest they face his wrath once again in the nearby future!


    Upon hearing the voice of the high priest, Meryer¡¯s dragon face turned stricken:


    ¡°Bastard! This Lord will eat you sooner orter!¡±


    Meryer cursed and flew faster, vowing in his heart that he will return someday to punish this whole tribe.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    Volker gave the fleeing dragon a cold nce, then waved his hand lightly.


    A silver light shot out from his hand which then turned into a rope, shooting towards Meryer like a arrow¡­


    Divine Lock.


    This is a skill that all higher beings who can control divine power could acquire.


    Seeing the Divine Lock reach him in an instant, Meryer was once again binded to death just like¡­ when it first met that evil tree god.


    Meryer:¡­


    The dragon instantly lost his flying ability and fell down, burying himselfin the soil face first.


    ¡°Aooh~ Why do you gods all use this annoying move!¡±


    ¡°This Lord is so angry! I¡¯m really angry!¡±


    Meryer struggled in the crater he created while whimpering in grievance.


    yers:¡­


    ¡°F*ck¡­! This boss easily defeated the ck dragon in seconds? What kind of monster is this? Why does it feel more powerful than that silly incarnation we fought with before? Could this guy be the divine envoy that Miss Saint talked about?¡±


    Demacia stared with wide eyes at the enraged Volker.


    ¡°This boss mob¡­it looks like we can¡¯t beat it, right? Let¡¯s retreat for now. We¡¯ve already gained a lot of benefits in this battle. C¡¯mon guys, let¡¯s escap..I mean, a strategic retreat for the time being¡­¡±


    His voice sounded a bit cowardly.


    However, what puzzled Demacia was that no one responded to him.


    He then looked around and found that everyone had already moved far, keeping a distance of at least twenty meters away from him.


    Demacia: ¡­


    ¡°Who was it just now?¡±


    After catching the ck Dragon, Volker¡¯s deep voice sounded again.


    However, everyone could hear the suppressed rage in his tone.


    He was like a volcano about to erupt, which is extremely terrifying!


    Seeing the enraged Totem Guardian, J¨´sh¨¡n¡¯s felt relieved, as he pointed excitedly to the hill in the distance and shouted.


    ¡°Lord Totem guardian! It¡¯s the elves! It¡¯s those elves on the hill that besmirch you! They used a catapult to throw some feces onto you!¡±


    ¡°Elves? Catapult?¡±


    Volker¡¯s voice carried a hint of surprise.


    Then, his gaze swept towards the direction where the yers were situated.


    Seeing the boss¡¯s threatening gaze fell onto them, all the yers once again moved away from Demacia by a few more steps.


    Many yers even picked up their looted equipments from the ground and began to move stealthily towards the teleportation array, ready to retreat when things went south¡­


    In an instant, Volker saw clearly Demacia standing next to the catapult, holding a stick dripping with an unknown liquid, and a nearby¡­bucket emitting a pungent smell.


    Demacia: ¡­


    He quickly dropped the foul stick and coughed twice, saying:


    ¡°Ahem¡­uh, I have something to do, I think I need to go offline first!¡±


    After speaking, he turned and ran towards the teleportation array¡­


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    Volker coldly snorted again and waved his hand lightly, as another silver divine lock shot out like a bullet as it flew directly towards Demacia!


    The divine lock was extremely fast and it easily bound Demacia in the sight of all the yers


    With a pitiful scream, Demacia was pulled back by the divine lock towards the Demigod¡­


    However, just as Volker was about to catch him, another crisp icy snort came from above as another golden divine lock shot towards the Totem Guardian this time!

 Chapter 126

    ??<strong>The New God Who Stole the Divinity of Life</strong>


    The golden divine rope was extremely fast as it instantly interrupted the actions of Volker.


    The Demigod¡¯s eyes narrowed thinly as he quickly loosened the divine lock that bound Demacia and instead directed it towards the sudden attack instead.


    The two chains of divine power collided, causing a ripple of violent energies which created an expanding booming explosion.


    The whole earth trembled in fear with its intensity as all the yers felt their ears implode for an instant.


    When the dust have finally settled, they looked back at where Volker stood and to their shock found a crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter had appeared in in front him¡­


    The structures and Orcs that had originally been there have instantly vaporized into ashes as well.


    ¡°F*ck¡­this is a bit too strong, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Staring dumbfoundingly at the aftermath of the explosion, the yers subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    Only at this moment did they truly realized how great the difference was between the power of a demigod inparison to that of an ordinary person¡­


    Volker didn¡¯t seem surprised by the sudden attack and the appearance of the unfamiliar divine lock.


    He just snorted coldly as his deep gravelly voice imbued with vicissitudes of life echoed through the air,


    ¡°Hehe, the Hunter God¡¯s spection was correct. There really is a new deity who had ascended into one of the divine thrones. This divinity¡­ has the breath of nature and life¡­Sure enough, you have indeed stolen the power that should belong to his Majesty!¡±


    <em>A new diety¡¯s ascendance?</em>


    Upon hearing Volker¡¯s words, the Orcs were all taken aback for a moment, but soon fell into shock.


    ¡°A new god has been born to the Elven Forest!¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­ that this new god has subjugated the elves?¡±


    ¡°It must be so, otherwise¡­ how can you exin their drastic changes!¡±


    ¡°These long-eared folks have actually changed their faith?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­could it be the World Tree?¡±


    ¡°Impossible. If it really were the World Tree, then the Hunter God would have already descended long ago along with all his allies¡­¡±


    The Orcs discussed the matter amongst themselves, despite never guessing the correct answer.


    Well their ignorance cannot be faulted, as the news of the World Tree¡¯s downfall was widely known.


    Unlike the new gods whompletely relies on the power of faith to garner power, Old Ancient Ones can draw power from within the cosmic void just with their divine essence so neither having any sort of believers wouldn¡¯t much of a hindrance to these Ancient beings.


    The fall of an Ancient One also means the death of their essence, and it¡¯s almost impossible to rely on the faith of their believers alone for their resurrection unlike the new gods since a divine essence can never be fixed again once its destroyed.


    Furthermore, the gods which are hostile to the World Tree still hasn¡¯t showed any kind of reaction so far¡­


    One falsehood gives birth to another.


    Nevertheless, the revival of the World Tree being discovered will likely only be a matter of time due to Ev¨¦ finally taking actions.


    However, despite the potential risks, Ev¨¦ still decided to make an appearance here by donning a new facade.


    After all¡­ there isn¡¯t much time left for her.


    Twenty years may seem long, but for deities like her, this would just be a blink of an eye.


    She must seize every opportunity to strengthen herself!


    She must at least have the sufficient power to fight back against her enemies once the truth is finally revealed!


    Upon hearing the Orcs¡¯ discussions, the yer¡¯s side were also surprised as well.


    <em>A¡­newly ascended God?</em>


    Howe they¡¯ve never heard any of this before?


    When did this newly-born god emerged in their Elven Forest?


    <em>Isn¡¯t there only one Goddess?</em>


    Moreover, everyone could hear the crisp cold snort just now, and it was exactly the same voice of the goddess they heard back when they initially created their characters!


    Due to the Saintess Alice forewarning them, the yers knew that Eve¡¯s real identity must be strictly kept secret otherwise, once the news of the World Tree¡¯s revival is revealed, it¡¯s very likely to attract the siege of the gods!


    And considering the nature of this game, if that actually happens, then the plotline will definitely copse¡­


    It¡¯s all game over once the story copses.


    Elven Kingdom has plot and history lines that directly involves yer participation.


    The developers has also announced a news that in order to enhance the yers¡¯ sense of participation and realism, Elven Kingdom will not reset any of the game¡¯s storyline progressions no matter what happens.


    If a yer¡¯s recklessness causes the entire storyline to copse, then Elven Kingdom will announce the game¡¯s closure and suspension of service.


    This news has caused an uproar in within Earth¡¯s various online gamingmunities and it further created a wave of heated discussions all throughout the inte.


    Manyizens thought that the publishers of Elven Kingdom must bepletely crazy to implement such risky game mechanics.


    Because for example, wouldn¡¯t Elven Kingdom be ruined if someone with the ill-intent of sabotaging the game directly interferes with the main storyline in apletely malicious manner?


    However the beta-testers have a contrary opinion.


    The developers have a tight control over the game, not to mention, although they are reluctant to admit it, the yers are indeed far more cautious and also have a stronger sense of realism and immersion when ying such a high-risk, high-stakes game.


    A copse of the storyline¡­is not what the yers ever wanted to see.


    They created the novice town from scratch and it took a long time and colossal amount of cooperation in order just to build it. The yers performed various tasks every day, hunted monsters, and eventually got promoted to Iron-rank just to make their town fully functionalplete with its current amenities.


    This sense of aplishment made everyone fall in love with this game.


    The intertwined sense of belongingness and achievement brought these hardcore gamers genuine feelings of joy and recognition.


    No one wants to lose this game.


    The yers promised to themselves to beat down anyone who wants to mess around even before the Goddess takes action.


    Anyhow back to the main topic at hand¡­


    <em>What does the words of this strange enemy envoy actually mean?</em>


    The yers were left puzzled but as they were about tomunicate with each other, they suddenly found to their surprise that their ability to speak seemed to have been entirely sealed.


    All yers can¡¯t verbally speak anymore!


    Fortunately, the chat function on the game system is still functional, hence everyone shifted their discussions to their own chatgroups or the global #chat-channel.


    // Wait¡­why can¡¯t I talk anymore? Do you guys can¡¯t speak as well?


    // Yup, I cannnot speak either, it seems to be imposed by the system.


    // Cut scenes¡­I¡¯m afraid we have entered an animated cut scene! I heard he also lost control of his body when Demacia went to see the goddess!


    // So that¡¯s the case!


    The yers suddenly realized what¡¯s going on and everyone got excited as they watch what¡¯s happening in front of them with rapt attention.


    // But¡­what¡¯s the deal with this new god or sth? Isn¡¯t the goddess the same as the world tree?


    // Hey, did you guys forget what miss Saint said before? The goddess seemed to have mislead the enemies in order to hide her true identity. These misunderstandings must be her doings! Haven¡¯t we also got mistaken as a bunch of undead by the Orcs? xD


    // (¡ã¡÷¡ã)¦õI see!


    // Mmm¡­But why do I feel like the current appearance of the goddess has suddenly changed? I always remembered that ElvKing¡¯s goddess was wless and majestic, but it seems her looks just now has been nerfed like she¡¯s in a wretched state unlike how she was before¡­


    // Hahaha¡­ The goddess is also an NPC, not just a background character. As long as she¡¯s an active NPC in this game, surely she must have her own emotions as well. Maybe she¡¯s feeling down atm lol.


    // Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel much closer to the goddess! Guys I¡¯ll try to tter her when I offer an offering and pray next time. Lol who knows, what if I got chosen as one of her attendants?


    // Lmfao¡­ Keep on dreaming dude.


    // Record it! Livestream this scene fast! The goddess is definitely going to participate in the next battle!


    The yers happily opened their recording function.


    At the same time, the divine protector A¨¦l emitted a burst of brilliant holy light. He then devoutly kneeled down on the ground whilst silently praying with his eyes closed, before a vast and holy aura suddenly descended upon the whole scene.


    Under the solemn gaze of the demigod Volker, the gentle divine power continuously gathered and converged before forming an ethereal and sacred figure.


    It seemed to be the goddess, surrounded by a shimmering aura of divine power.


    A ray of holy light concealed her face, but her vigorous divinity cannot be hidden.


    The physical appearance of a god can be changed at will, but the aura of their divinity is difficult to disguise.


    In an instant, the demigod Volker instantly recognized her¡­


    This aura¡­ carried the essence of life and nature!


    However, he also noticed that her aura seemed unstable and intermixed with a hint of death as well.


    The demigod Volker¡¯s eyes slightly brightened.


    As expected by the Hunter gods¡¯ spection, this was indeed a newly born deity who relied on the assistance of the death goddess to steal the divinity of life and nature!


    Moreover, her condition was obviously not good, as she couldn¡¯t even properly control her own divine power!


    No wonder she was so secretive.


    This new god is probably not as powerful as an old experienced demigod like him!


    <em>This¡­ is an opportunity!</em>


    Volker straightened his back as a confident lopsided smirk formed onto his mouth.

 Chapter 127

    ??<strong>FIGHTING IN A DIFFERENT PLACE</strong>


    The power of a demigod is indeed formidable.


    The moment Eve saw the demigod Volker, she instinctively knew that her incarnation wouldn¡¯t be his match.


    After all, the avatar that she is currently using was formed using the jewel of death goddess as its core, and itsbat abilities could only output power up to a demigod level which also can only be sustained for a limited time.


    Furthermore, she still didn¡¯t have full control over her divinity just as Volker spected even though she was a genuine deity.


    Nevertheless, a true god is still a true god.


    Just because Eve¡¯s current incarnation wouldn¡¯t be a match against Volker, didn¡¯t mean that she would be also instantly killed by him.


    Even if she was only using her incarnation at the moment!


    Volker likewise sensed the approximate strength of Eve¡¯s incarnation. The difference was that he already mistaken Eve¡¯s incarnation as her true self.


    Well this was not his fault.


    For Eve¡¯s current incarnation wasn¡¯t a true god¡¯s avatar in the conventional sense, since the process of attaining godhood solely through faith alone involves detaching oneself from the mundane and worldly desires so that one could solidify their own divinity.


    Unlike the ancient old gods who have substantial divine essence imbued at their physical bodies, the essence of the gods that relies upon faith lies instead on their own believers as an energy source for which empowers their own divinity.


    Generally speaking, an incarnation condensed by the devotees of a god will also be in an iplete energy state.


    But Eve¡¯s incarnation inparison was quite different, since it was formed by taking advantage of H¡¯s soul-storing jewel as its core along with a capable elven body as her physical avatar.


    In other words, the aura that she¡¯s emanating gave demigod Volker the wrong impression that her incarnation is in an iplete state and that she¡¯s just an elf that somehow gotten lucky in acquiring the divinity of both nature and life.


    This is also the real reason why Eve, whom already had acquired over a hundred divine power points, chose not to use her power to produce a core for her avatar, but instead use H¡¯s soul-storing jewel as a recement in order to make stronger beings think that her incarnation is her actual true self!


    It was to give an allusion that she¡¯s ¡®weak¡¯ so that her enemiespletely underestimates her and make some hasty fatal mistakes.


    The yers widened their eyes and began to enjoy the ¡®cutscenes¡¯ once Ev¨¦ finally appeared.


    But what disappointed them this time, was that the goddess didn¡¯t seemed to radiate her usual heavenly aura that can make everyone worship and prostrate themselves the instant their eyesid upon her.


    Although she¡¯s simply surrounded by an infinitesimal amount of divine light, the goddess current demeanor was still just as regal and magnificent as ever, making people feel rather conflicted emotions¡­


    Sincepared to the previous two popr instances wherein she made her entrance so grandiose¡­ it felt like her current appearance wascking something.


    ¡°Hehe, it seems¡­ her condition is indeed not quite good since she looks to be conserving her divine powers and doesn¡¯t even properly demonstrating the dignity of a true god even when appearing in front of her own believers!¡±


    With this realization, Volker¡¯s confidence soared even greater.


    He raised his frost battle axe as a silvery aura emanates from his body. He then manipted his divine powers to continuously morphed it into many electric serpents.


    The axe he¡¯s wielding is a divine weapon bestowed upon him by Uller which is a genuine demigod-ss artifact!


    An oppressive pressure swept across the entire area, causing the clouds up in the skes to constantly churn and surge under Volker¡¯s power.


    The mana in the air then became restless, turning into a roaring gale after the demigod released his full aura¡­


    The temperature within a three-kilometer radius zone also suddenly began to drop rapidly, as snowkes slowly started to fall!


    <em>Celestial Domain!</em>


    This is a legendary ability that only the most powerful beings could ever use.


    The Orcs stared nkly at this scene, feeling incredibly shocked.


    Demigod!


    This is the might of a demigod!


    In actuality.. their power can even affect the weather!


    The yers on the other hand weren¡¯t too surprised by this show of force.


    After all, they already witnessed the miraculous powers of the goddess beforehand, which was a far more unforgettable disy of strength.


    The Demigod¡¯s power did not surprised them at all.


    Volker¡¯s majestic voice, brimming with boundless confidence then echoed all throughout the entire ce.


    ¡°Hmph! False god! You shamelessly stole the divinity intended for Uller, and even killed his servants and followers. Today would be the mark of your downfall!¡±


    It was actually a false god!


    The deity hiding in the Elven Forest turned out to be just a fake one!


    The Orcs were incredibly shocked.


    But then, they were filled with infinite joy!


    <em>How shameless! </em>


    Lacking the power of a true god, yet still iming to be one, is the mark of a false god.


    Since it isn¡¯t a genuine one, this fake goddess definitely can¡¯t be a match for Lord Volker!


    As one of the three demigods serving under the Hunter God, Volker¡¯s legendary feats are widely spread amongst all of Uller¡¯s followers.


    He¡¯s a legendary figure who have defeated false gods and demigods multiple times in the past while serving as a totem guardian!


    <em>What the? False¡­god?</em>


    The yers¡¯ faces looked rather strange after hearing the morings of the Orcs.


    This guy¡­who is a mere demigod, is boisterously iming that the goddess is a false god?


    Was this¡­ also one of the goddess¡¯s deceptions?


    If so, then what does the goddess actually wants to do?


    The yers all subconsciously looked towards the female figure surrounded by holy light, but failed to properly see her face, nor her emotions.


    The goddess at this moment seems more mysterious and unpredictable.


    However, the one thing that could be confirmed was that, the goddess definitely is nning something¡­


    <em>False god? Uller¡¯s stolen divinity?</em>


    Alice and A¨¦l¡¯s faces showed a trace of anger after hearing such sphemous wordsing out of demigod Volker¡¯s mouth.


    Such shamelessness! How despicable! A vile bastard who distorts right and wrong!


    But thinking of the teachings of their Matriarch, they both forcibly endured it and simply they looked at the enemy demigod with gazes as if looking at a rotten corpse.


    A true god cannot be sphemed!


    Even if he¡¯s a demigod, such wicked words cannot be easily forgiven!


    Unlike her two faithful believers, Ev¨¦ was not particrly angry despite hearing Volker¡¯s words.


    She simply sighed softly, as her ethereal and majestic voice resounded throughout the audience.


    ¡°This ce¡¯s not suitable for our battle, let¡¯s change the location instead.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, are you worried about the consequence of our fight endangering your believers?¡­indeed, you really are a stupid false god!¡±


    Volker let out a coldugh and sneered after hearing Eve¡¯s words. He then suddenly swung his silver axe and rushed towards Ev¨¦ with a roar!


    At the same time, Ev¨¦ also stretched out her hand and released two consecutive ripples of divine power¡­


    ¡°Ohh so they¡¯re about to fight!¡±


    The yer¡¯s eyes lit up in excitement, acting like movie watchers in a cinema.


    They instinctively sought cover and widened their eyes, fully expecting to witness an amazing godly battle.


    However, what¡¯s happened nextpletely blindsided everyone.


    The first ripple sent out by the goddess turned into a divine lock, shooting directly towards Volker.


    However, Volker just sneered and easily dodged the first attack.


    But in the instant he dodged, the second ripple suddenly turned into a huge teleportation array, moving exactly where Volkernded to avoid the initial attack and then envelopes himpletely.


    In the astonished gaze of everyone, the demigod then suddenly burst into a brilliant light.


    And after the lightshow, he just simply disappeared¡­along with the goddess who also vanished as well.


    Teleported away¡­?


    For a moment, everyone was stunned.


    <em>¡®Continue surrounding the orcs.¡¯</em>


    In an instant, a clear and ethereal voice echoed in the minds of all the yers.


    It was the goddess!


    The yers awakened from their stupor.


    This¡­ was still the first time the goddess internally spoke and personally gave orders towards them!


    At this moment, the yers found that their verbal functions have also been finally restored.


    ¡°Quick, look at the Elven Forest!¡±


    Suddenly, a sharp-eyed yer pointed to the rear, particrly at the other side of the teleportation array.


    The other yers followed the direction and were surprised to see clouds rolling over the Elven Forest¡­


    Did the goddess transport the Orc¡¯s Totem Guardian back the Elven Forest?


    In that instant, the yers understood her ns as their eyes shone in realization.


    The Elven Forest¡­ that was the goddess¡¯s home territory!


    ¡°Well¡­it seems that this enemy demigod will be finished this time.¡±


    ¡°Wait, with the main boss is now gone, so can we farm mobs again?¡±


    Thinking of this, the yers began to show a trace of eagerness.


    With the scary boss now teleported away¡­


    Does it mean that the enemies trump card was now rendered useless?


    However, some people were pounding their chests in indignation and angrily stamping their feets.


    ¡°Aw hell no! I want to see the goddess fight! I want to see the battle between those two godly beings!¡±


    Seeing their envoy being teleported away, the Orcs were equally stunned as well.


    But soon, they saw the eager expressions upon most the yers¡¯ faces.


    For some reason, the warriors of the Caverock Tribe suddenly felt uneasy as they looked at the yers¡¯ salivating eyes.


    However, the high priest still shouted,


    ¡°Elves! Our demigod has already taken action, your false god is now doomed! Don¡¯t make any unnecessary resistance!¡±


    After hearing his angry shout, the yers were first stunned, then burst into severalughters.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s finished is not certain yet!¡±


    ¡°Dumbasses! Look behind you idiots!¡±


    <em>Behind them?</em>


    The Orcs were slightly stunned.


    They instinctively turned their heads backwards and involuntary felt goosebumps all over their bodies as saw a huge overbearing shadow looming over them.


    Fierce face, ck scales, and very angry vertical pupils¡­


    It was the ck dragon.


    Meryer had finally regained his freedom once more!


    ¡°W-What¡­when?¡±


    Most Orc¡¯s eyes turned nk at the mere sight of this imposing creature slowly moving towards them.


    J¨´sh¨¡n¡¯s face also changed as something dawned upon him.


    ¡°The False God¡¯s initial attack¡­ it¡¯s just now unbind Lord Totem¡¯s divine lock, which released this damned dragon!¡±


    Indeed, it was Eve¡¯s divine lock.


    Just moments ago, Volker did dodged the first divine lock shot by Eve.


    All this time, Ev¨¦ never intended to bind him with it but instead her true goal was to rescue the ck Dragon all along!


    Looking at the ck Dragon with bloodshot eyes and righteous fury staring down at them, all the Orcs couldn¡¯t help but feel an inexplicable cold chill down their hearts.


    J¨´sh¨¡n¡¯s expression was frightened, and he quickly shouted,


    ¡°Retreat! Everyone retreat!¡±


    As soon as he finished shouting, the ck Dragon yelled, ¡°Ruaaah!¡± and rushed into a crowd of Orcs to begin a ughter.


    ¡°Damn it! Leave some mobs for us too!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going too!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡±


    ¡°Uraah!¡±


    The yers also roared in excitement and quickly joined the battle as well!


    Hereby making the scene chaotic once more.


    Elven Forest.


    High above the skies, Demigod Volker looked down at the dense forest below him as a surprised look formed into his face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect¡­ you to actually transported me here.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, is this forest your home territory? But I wonder¡­how much strength do you have left since you even dared transport a demigod like me?¡±


    Volker let out a mockingugh.


    The DP consumption of instantaneous teleportation is directly proportional to the power of the transfered target.


    Volker could clearly sense that after the teleportation, the strange false god in front of him had already lost most of her strength.


    ¡°The consumption is indeed not small.¡±


    After hearing Volker¡¯s words, Eve sighed slightly, seemingly a little heartbroken.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Her tone then suddenly changed:


    ¡°I believe its a worthwhile investment.¡±


    <em>What does it mean?</em>


    Volker¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he suddenly felt a trace of unease in his heart.


    Then, he saw the ¡®false god¡¯ in front of him suddenly radiates an intense emerald light.


    Under his astonished gaze, he saw the false god¡¯s body suddenly ¡®shatters¡¯ as it merges into the heavens and the earth all around him¡­


    At the same time, an inexplicable feeling of dread grows within Volker.


    In that moment¡­


    He felt that this entire forest¡­


    The entire world around him¡­


    ¡ª<em>Suddenly Came Alive.</em>


    Nihil Note : This is probably the hardest chapter I¡¯ve done so far. Just the initial paragraphs about gods and their powers at the start took me hours of research, which also gave me a bit of headache. That¡¯s why the release of this chapter waster than my usual schedule.

 Chapter 128

    ??<strong>DOMAIN OF THE GODS</strong>


    The entire forest seemed to havee alive the moment the ¡®false-god¡¯ shattered and disappeared.


    The nts began to flourish, as they grow more branches and bloom rapidly whilst multicolored flowers sprouted everywhere, as it adorned the surroundings like a veridian wondend.


    Radiant marble-sized orbs of light flew in from all directions, before turning into countless butterfly-like faeries as these forest sprites sways with the wind.


    Everything felt as if it came straight out of a fairytale¡­


    But Demigod Volker was feeling an entirely different sensation as he gazed upon this myriad of phenomenon.


    It was an eerie foreboding sense of dread and the Totem Guardian felt as if he had suddenly be the archnemesis of the entire world at this moment.


    The mana within the air, the flying elemental faeries, and all the nts in this forest¡­ seemed to inhibit strong hostility towards him.


    <em>It was weird. </em>


    Since the more flourishing the surroundings became, the more potent the killing intent he¡¯d felt!


    Its as if he had suddenly became ipatible with the world itself¡­


    Like mother nature itself is denying his very own existence.


    Volker had only experienced this kind of feeling once in his long and illustrious life. And thest time he experienced it was way back at the Heavenly War a thousand years ago¡­


    ¡°Is this¡­a manifestation of celestial domain!?¡±


    He widened his eyes showing expression of utter disbelief.


    As the name suggests, the Celestial Domain is the divine realm of a God.


    And only when a God fully mastered their own divinity could they corporeally manifest their own domain!


    Unlike lesser domains like legendary and demigod domains, Celestial domains is the pinnacle of territorial phantasm magic and also the most enigmatic one as well.


    Inside their own Celestial Domain, True Gods are almost invincible as they canpletely manipte the heavens and earth within it. In a sense, they be the master of the space itself just as long as they have sufficient divine power to sustain the domain¡¯s manifestation.


    Inside the Celestial Domain of a Deity, almost no one could contend against its owner once you enter it.


    Unless of course the one who intrude upon is another God who could also manifest their own domain.


    Volker knew he had made a grave mistake by entering this forest upon realizing that a Celestial Domain had manifested in this area.


    His heart was already filled with inner turmoil at this moment.


    <em>How could it be so!? </em>


    <em>Whose Celestial Domain is this!? </em>


    She¡­


    ¡ªNo, this domain shouldn¡¯t belong to that false-god who still can¡¯t fully control her own divinity right?


    <em>Impossible! </em>


    How could she¡­actually manifest her own Celestial Domain?


    There¡¯s just no way that could be true!


    This is Saig¨¹es, a realm wherein mana is quite sparse. There¡¯s no suitable ce in this world where a deity could sustain a manifestation of their Domain.


    If this se-god actually had full control of her own divinity¡­then, is there really any need for her to hide in the first ce?


    <em>S-She¡­ what kind of existence is she?</em>


    To be able to steal and control the divinity of life so quickly just after the curse of the World Tree was lifted¡­What kind of monster is this!?


    Could¡­it really be that the Goddess of Death is fully assisting her?


    B-But¡­why does she still need to hide? This action seems kind of pointless since she had already be a true god who could fully master her divinity.


    Volker feltpletely puzzled as he couldn¡¯t understand the reasoning behind her odd behavior.


    Well Ev¨¦ certainly has a celestial domain.


    In fact, when she gained possession of the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, Yggdrasill¡¯s celestial domain was also included as well.


    Yggdrasill is an Ancient Old God.


    The sense of control over the heavens and earth that Eve initially felt when she was just reborn came from the instinct of Yggdrasill¡¯s Celestial Domain!


    It¡¯s just that the DP consumption required to physically manifest the Celestial Domain is much too great. It wasn¡¯t until Ev¨¦ escaped from her initial quasi-death state and entered the domain mentally that this consumption came down.


    This¡­ allowed Ev¨¦ to manifest her Celestial Domain and gain an ability to fight against stronger opponents!


    Demigod Volker instinctively shuddered, feeling goosebumps all over his body as he remembered all his previous arrogant behavior.


    He¡­


    Did he just insulted a god who fully controls the divinity of life and incessantly mocked her as a false god?


    Him, a mere Demigod was unknowingly mocking a True God as if he¡¯s way above her all this time.


    It is said that, gods cannot be desecrated¡­


    If the other party decides to kill him because of his sphemous behavior, then there¡¯s nothing he could do about it, since the rest of the gods would not stand on Uller¡¯s side at all, even if he¡¯s a divine envoy of the God of Winter and Hunting.


    The power gap between True Gods and Demigods are so enormous even if they¡¯re just one level apart.


    Thinking of this, Volker¡¯s mouth ran dry, as endless regret and fear surged within his heart.


    He hadpletely lost the will to fight simply because he definitely knew that he couldn¡¯t win this battle!


    Having lived for thousands of years, he still had some instinctual sense of self-preservation in his heart.


    Volker suddenly starts falling from the sky, then he bowed respectfully in the direction where Ev¨¦ had just disappeared and spoke with an extremely bitter voice,


    ¡°This demigod, the totem guardian Volker serving under the God of Winter and Hunting, greets your majesty, the Supreme Ruler of Nature and Life¡­¡±


    Since the other party had already manifested her Celestial Domain and is also a dual-attribute holder of the path of nature and life, it is only natural that she would be proimed as the new ruler of Nature and Life!


    ¡°Hmn? Why are you so scared already?¡±


    A surprised feminine voice echoed from the sky.


    Volker couldn¡¯t help but let out a rueful smile.


    He submissively lowered his head, put away his weapon, and exined with an awkward tone,


    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding¡­ All of this was merely a misunderstanding!¡±


    He is an old being whom had lived for countless years. He had already experienced a lot of things in life and also quite proficient in the the art of survival.


    When it¡¯s time to admit defeat, then you should admit defeat.


    Those who have been stubborn and hard-headed either have unparalleled strength, or their bodies are already decaying six feet deep underground.


    ¡°No, this is not a misunderstanding.¡±


    The majestic voice resounded again.


    ¡°This ceased to be a misunderstanding the moment your master, Uller, tried to meddle with the affairs of nature and life. ¡°


    ¡°Anyhow, I¡¯m quite curious about the usage of the Celestial Domain and also about demigods such as yourself. Since you¡¯re already here, then please help satiate my curiosity.¡±


    Upon hearing this sentence, Volibear was horrified.


    He didn¡¯t think about anything else, but instead quickly turned around and ran away without ever looking back!


    <em>Escape!</em>


    Must escape fast!


    He didn¡¯t know where the endpoint of this Celestial Domain was, but this space should not be too big in scope.


    All he needed to do is to run in one direction!


    ¡°Why are you running?¡±


    Eve¡¯s ethereal voice resounded again with an added hint of yfulness in its tone this time.


    Volker scanned his surroundings as every nts in the forest began to wildly grow in size. A massive handposed of wodden substances then swiftly moved and tried to seized him!


    At the same time, Walker felt that all the mana in this domain was cut off and he now couldn¡¯t connect to any of it at all. He could not use any external energy except for his own innate divine power¡­as if magic itself is denying his existence.


    The strength of a demigod¡­aside from one¡¯s own inborn divine power,es from understanding the governingws of the world and its influence upon reality which is an integral part of a demigod¡¯s power.


    And the governingws inside the Celestial Domain conforms to the owner of the domain.


    Losing control of thesews would be fatal.


    Volker¡¯s power has already been reduced by half.


    All the nts grew rapidly wherever he passed, as vines turned into chains as it attempt to ensnare him in ce!


    Volker gritted his teeth, before pulling out his divine axe, and used all his strength to hack the vines entangling him.


    Silver colored divine power burst out from his body as his weapon fiercely collided with the nts¡­


    In an instant, bright light epassed the area.


    <em>Boom! </em>


    The sound of divine power exploding was like lightning rending the skies asunder!


    However, as the lightshow faded, Volker was horrified to find that he still couldn¡¯t cut through the entangling vines despite using all his might!


    You see, Volker¡¯s full-forced axe swing was enough to split a mountain in half! Yet his attack this time, only left a shallow cut on the nts¡­


    How did these vines became too strong!?


    Just a few minutes ago, these vines was nothing more than amon nt on Saig¨¹es¡­ even goblins could easily tear it apart!


    His eyes then brightened.


    <em>Domain Amplification!</em>


    These nts are being strengthened inside this domain!


    Once a domainpletes its full manifestation, all the things that corresponds to the owner¡¯s divinity inside their divine space will be reinforced exponentially!


    Volker was horrified as he looked at the numerous vines coiling around his axe like slithering serpents. Reluctantly, he dropped this prized weapon of his before continuing to run away but then he¡ª


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 129

    ??<strong>THE DEMIGOD¡¯S DESPERATION </strong>


    A strange scene urred.


    Volker let out a painful groan while Ev¨¦¡¯s fingers passed through his body¡­


    ¡°A body that is in a spiritual form? Is this what a demigod is?¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow.


    She could clearly feel that Volker¡¯s true form was just actually a mass of divine power!


    It seemed like his body was made by directly transforming divine power into a corporeal form.


    But unlike a true god, he did not have a divine essence of his own, but rather there was only an ordinary soul gradually transmogrifying into a divine soul within his body.


    ¡°So this is what it¡¯s like to be a demigod serving under a true god¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ pondered.


    There are more than one ways to be a demigod.


    One way for mortal beings to ascend to godhood is by using the power of faith to peer through the governing naturalws of the world and understand itsplexities. This understanding can gradually elevate their existence from a physical state into a spiritual state, ultimately enabling them to be a god.


    The transitional state in between is what a demigod is.


    Another way for demigods to be created is by true gods directly infusing their own divinity into suitable mortal souls in order to elevate its existence.


    The third way is for mythical creatures with immense potential to grow into the level of demigods, or to be born as demigod-level creatures right from the beginning¡­ such as the ancient dragons and the demigod-level oak guardians.


    If Ev¨¦¡¯s judgment was not wrong, Volker should belong to the second kind.


    With a thought, Ev¨¦ instantly drew out the divine power contained within Volker¡¯s body, and let it flowed into her own incarnation through her fingers.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Ahhhhh¡­!¡±


    As the divine power flowed out of his body, the demigod Volker let out a painful howl with his voice sounding extremely miserable.


    Ev¨¦¡¯s thoughts stirred as she analyzed the foreign divine power she just absorbed.


    ¡°It¡¯s simr to the divine power of Uller, but it has its own distinctions as well. While their power originates from the same essence, it appears to be a level lower than that of their master¡¯s divine power. This suggests that it may not be as pure and had been rather diluted.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s its still quite eptable. I can probably extract about forty percent if I absorb and transform this into my own. Well, as a seasoned demigod, this one should have a lot of divine power. Rejoice, in bing my nourishment from now on.¡±


    Hearing Ev¨¦¡¯s words, Volker looked terrified.


    <em>It was too frightening!</em>


    Simply too frightening!


    Has this Ancient Old One, upon returning, also changed in personality?


    S-She¡­actually wanted to extract his divine power!


    ¡­How did she be so ruthless?


    This wasn¡¯t the benevolent God Tree that he remembered in his past!


    <em>He will die¡­</em>


    He will certainly die if things continue on like this!


    Volker gritted his teeth and a hint of madness appeared on his expression.


    Suddenly, his body began to tremble, as the divine power within him started to boil!


    ¡°Hn?¡±


    Feeling the change in Volker¡¯s divine power, Ev¨¦ was momentarily surprised and halted the absorption process.


    ¡°You can still ignite your soul and divine power? Are you intending to fight me to your death?¡±


    It seems those at the demigod level have plentiful ways to fight.


    And one drastic method is tobust one¡¯s divine power and soul.


    What surprised Ev¨¦ was that he was still able to use this desperate move despite him beingpletely ensnared by her.


    Volker¡¯s aura suddenly rose by leaps and bounds as his divine power ignites on wantonly.


    He then once again regained control of his body!


    He looked ferocious as he struggled to break free from the entangling vines and then pulled out a piece of bone from his pocket and crushed it.


    Inside was an instant teleportation array that a demigod could use.


    As the bone was crushed, a silver portal suddenly appeared in front of him.


    Volker¡¯s eyes lit up as he roared and put all his effort into escaping into the portal!


    ¡°He actually broke free? It seems that my control over the domain is inadequate enough. I haven¡¯tpletely plundered his power yet¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought to herself.


    However, she was not in a hurry. Instead, she simply gently waved her hand in the direction that Volker was fleeing.


    With her gesture, the nts around her suddenly converged and transformed into several golden ropes.


    The divine locks then leaped up and quickly chased after the demigod!


    The Caverock Tribe.


    With the ck Dragon joining the battlefield, the orcs have beenpletely plunged into chaos.


    For a beastmen race whose general poption only reaching up to Iron-rank strength, a Silver-rank dragon is simply a walking disaster.


    Even the only Silver-rank priest, J¨´sh¨¡n, is not good atbat either.


    Meryer was in a state of rage and vented all the anger he had umted while imprisoned by Volker upon these ex-subordinates of his. Almost every minute, an orc was trampled to death by him.


    The hellhound that could fight him have already been torn apart as well.


    This angry ck Dragon was incredibly terrifying!


    With Meryer joining the fray, the yers also boiled over with excitement.


    Are they still considered yers, If they don¡¯ttched onto this free busride1?


    Think about all the experience and contribution points they can get!


    The ck Dragon hadpletely demoralized the Orc¡¯s morale. And it¡¯s the perfect time for them, the yers to capitalize and take advantage of the situation!


    So at Li Mu¡¯smand, everyone gave up their defense and rushed towards the Caverock¡¯s base!


    For a moment, the yers shouted excitedly, their expressions ferocious, akin to a group of bandits descending from the mountains!


    Looking at the chaotic scene around him, the high priest¡¯s face turned pale.


    ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ it¡¯s all over!¡±


    Chaos.


    Everything was inplete chaos.


    If only the elves alone are the sole attackers, then Caverock tribe could barely handle it.


    Heck, if there¡¯s only a single dragon attacking then his tribe could easily withstand the onught at a certain cost.


    But when these two force band together like this¡­


    His tribe would suffer great damage even if the Totem Guardian emerge victorious!


    ¡°Lord Count! Lord Count! Please help us fight the ck dragon!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n shouted as he pleads with bloodshot eyes to the direction of the chieftain¡¯s tent.


    Hearing the high priest¡¯s call outside, Night Wanderer whose hiding inside the tent felt very hesitant¡­


    Summoning the Totem Guardian had already consumed a lot of his power, and now his mana was almost empty.


    And his strongest familiar was defeated by the ck dragon as well.


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t want to take the risk of getting involved in this mess again before his own strength was restored¡­


    ¡°Anyway¡­ Lord Volker has gone to hunt down the false god and should win sooner orter.¡±


    The vampire thought as he tried to ignore the pathetic yelling outside.


    ¡°Lord Count! Lord Count! Pleasee rescue the people of my tribe! I promise I¡¯m willing to assist you in finding high-quality blood ves after everything is over!¡±


    <em>Blood ves?</em>


    Night Wanderer¡¯s eyes brightened slightly.


    Certainly, the caverock tribe was very good at hunting elves.


    This time¡­ the elves in the Elven Forest are probably doomed.


    It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if he intervened in this critical moment and let the orcs help him hunt the elves afterwards.


    Moreover¡­ Lord Volker has always been quick to fight and resolve the situation. He¡¯s probably returning any moments now.


    Although he had lost most of his mana due to the summoning ritual, it should still be easy to restrain a single silver-ranked ck dragon¡­


    This risk is eptable!


    With this in mind, Night Wanderer decided to join the battle.


    He straightened his clothes and elegantly walked out of the tent.


    ¡°ck Dragon! Your opponent is me!¡±


    The vampire said with a facade of calmness in his face.


    Right at that moment, a silver magical array suddenly appeared in the sky at the same time Night Wanderer finally walked out of the tent.


    Brilliant holy light radiated from the teleportation array while being apanied by a heavy divine power and then the demigod Volker roared out of it!


    Seeing this familiar figure, all the orcs¡¯ eyes lit up in relief.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­the envoy of the Hunter God!¡±


    ¡°The envoy of Father God has returned! He seeded!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, we are saved! We won!¡±


    Cheers resounded all throughout the tribe with the reappearance of their tribe¡¯s savior.


    Night Wanderer was also happy in his heart.


    ¡°We won!¡±


    He no longer hesitated and flew towards the ck Dragon, ready to have a good battle with it¡­


    And the yers were stunned too.


    ¡°The boss is back?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­what about the goddess?¡±


    However, before everyone could say anything else, they suddenly felt that something was wrong¡­


    This demigod looked weird and seemed a little frightened?


    Not only that, but his weapon had disappeared as well with his clothes inplete disarray and his breath was extremelybored¡­


    <em>Wait a minute¡­</em>


    This¡­seems a bit wrong?


    Before they could think any further, a crisp cold snort was then heard from beyond the array, followed by several golden vine-like chains suddenly dashing out of it and shot towards the totem guardian!


    Those chains writhed like tentacles with a terrifying divine aura imbued with each of it.


    Even the orcs felt the urge to worship and bow down in that instant¡­


    <em>The chains of gods</em>!


    These are the divine lock of a true god!


    The chains swiftly rushed towards Volker, entangling him tightly!


    The demigod looked panicked, he struggled to break free, but to no avail.


    ¡°No¡­no¡­! It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s¡­¡±


    He wanted to say something, but the chains instantly wrapped around his mouth, and then pierced into his body, prating his chest¡­


    ¡°Arrrrghhhhh¡ª¡±


    Voke¡¯s eyes widened in an instant, his expression filled with despair and fear.


    He struggled to grab hold of the ground with his hands, desperately trying to prevent the chains from pulling him back to the terrifying forest.


    However, it was of no use. The golden chains pulled his whole body back forcefully¡­


    The desperate animalistic cries of Volker echoed loudly before disappearing into the magical array.


    And the only sign that he momentarily came back was the two deep w marks left on the ground where he once stood.


    Then, the teleportation array finally shattered, as if nothing had happened in the first ce.


    Back on the battlefield¡­


    Everyone fell into silence.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 130

    ??<strong>YOU, DESERVE RESPECT </strong>


    The yers stared dumbfoundedly at each other as they looked at the deep w marks left by the totem gurdian on the ground.


    ¡°Did the goddess win?¡± Someone asked.


    ¡°That tentacle-like vines earlier should belong to the goddess, right?¡±


    ¡°It should be. That cold snort definitely was from the goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ That was a bit terrifying,¡± Another yer shuddered.


    ¡°Me too¡­ the howling of that mob boss was so pitiful!¡±


    ¡°¡­I suddenly want to see how the goddess dealt with him.¡±


    ¡°Probably toying with him while using her tentacle vines, if you know what I mean, hehehe¡±


    ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, you perv.¡± A female yer retorted


    ¡°Who knew the devs would be into some kinky BDSM roley and use vines like tentacles? Hehehe¡± Another yer joked.


    ¡°Oh god¡­you¡¯re so dirty minded.¡±


    ¡°Takes one to know one, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°S-Shut it! Y¡¯all slowly turning into Demacia.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    The yer¡¯s side were filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Although they knew that what actually happened was entirely different from what they¡¯re thinking, the yers still enjoyed joking with each other.


    Meanwhile, the orc¡¯s side inparison was the pr opposite.


    ¡°Volk¡­Lord Volker¡­ lost?¡± J¨´sh¨¡n muttered in utter disbelief.


    No one dared to respond¡­


    From what they just witnessed, it was not a matter of winning or losing. It was likely that the fate of the totem guardian, this legendary demigod, was still unknown.


    <em>A demigod!</em>


    He is a veteran demigod!


    This Totem Guardian had already transcended his mortality and was only one step away from ascending into godhood!


    However, even though he was a demigod, Volker was easily subdued without any resistance within just a few minutes¡­


    <em>Was the one hiding in the Elven Forest really just a false god?</em>


    The answer was already made very clear.


    If she was really a false god, then how could this woman so easily defeated a demigod?


    Moreover, the one she subdued was not just an ordinary demigod but instead Lord Volker, who had an impressive record in battle!


    Plus, the vines that appeared just now exuded a majestic divine aura¡­


    For a moment, all the Orcs in the area felt dry in their mouths.


    <em>A real god!</em>


    The enemy¡­was probably a true god!


    Hidden in the Forest of Elves is an actual deity! Not a false one but a genuine god that can trample on the likes of a demigod with ease!


    In an instant, the Orcspletely lost their courage to engage inbat any further.


    ¡°It¡¯s over! It¡¯s all over! The envoy of the hunter god has been captured too! We¡¯re finished! Doomed!¡±


    ¡°The elves must havee to retaliate against us! Run! Let¡¯s all run away!¡±


    A strong sense of defeat spread all throughout the Caverock tribe.


    Even though the orcs had a strong willpower and bloodthirst far higher than most ordinary races, they would still lose their morale in the face of an inevitable defeat¡­


    Seeing that their situation was utterly lost, J¨´sh¨¡n no longer hesitated.


    Even their savior was defeated. This war was no longer something that his tribe could control.


    The Blood Count was also missing.


    After the Totem Guardian was taken away by that mysterious entity, this cunning vampire also seemed to had vanished as well.


    This made J¨´sh¨¡n feel particrly angry!


    <em>It¡¯s all because of him!</em>


    His tribe wouldn¡¯t fall into this situation if only this damned blood sucker didn¡¯t arrived at his tribe with his stupid mission!


    There was no point in further continuing their resistance any longer.


    J¨´sh¨¡n clenched his teeth and shouted,


    ¡°Stop! Elves! Stop! We surrender! We will migrate the tribe¡­as the chieftain of this tribe, I vow that we will leave this ce if you spare us!¡±


    However, to the High Priest¡¯s surprise, even though he had already conveyed their surrender, the elves still did not stop attacking¡­


    ¡°Stop fighting! We surrender!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n even used a sound amplification spell to shout again.


    Upon hearing his words, the yers looked at each other with strange expressions.


    They thenughed and simply continued on with their charge while joking amongst each other.


    ¡°Why would we let you guys surrender? C¡¯mon let¡¯s keep on fighting! I haven¡¯t had enough yet!¡±


    ¡°This idiot want to run away? No frickin¡¯ way man!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, the elven army doesn¡¯t take prisoners! Off with their heads!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Surrender your heads obediently!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n: ¡­


    He widened his eyes, unable toprehend their response¡­


    Did these elves still want to exterminate them all?


    Will they actually kill..all of them?


    Indeed¡­ with the support of the ck dragon and the ability to resurrect, they could certainly exhaust the orcs to death¡­


    But¡­ they were elves!


    When did the most peaceful race be so ruthless?


    This is insane!


    This is absolute insanity!


    He looked at the rest of his tribe and felt like he had aged more than ten years in an instant.


    Taking a deep breath, he shouted,


    ¡°All of our people listen up! Abandon the tribe! Retreat! Everyone quickly retreat!¡±


    They couldn¡¯t stay here any longer.


    If they continued, the Caverock tribe would really perish!


    Upon hearing the high priest¡¯s order, the already demoralized orcs also began to retreat, enduring the ck dragon¡¯s attacks as they fled the tribe in mass.


    ¡°They¡¯re running!¡±


    ¡°Lord A¨¦l, stop them quickly!¡±


    ¡°Charge! We can¡¯t let them go!¡±


    ¡°Great ck Dragon, use your breath! Use your breath quickly!¡±


    Seeing the orcs trying to escape, the yers¡¯ morale soared, and their attacks became more fiercer.


    Chase them down!


    These orcs are all experience and contribution points!


    The suicide squad charged again, and this time¡­ the orcs who were fleeing lost their fighting spirit and were almost killed by the yers in a joyous frenzy.


    As their levels increased, those yers who fought the longest and gained the most experience points, were also able to fight back against even the strongest orcs in a singlebat!


    ¡°Hmph! You bastards, still trying to escape?¡±


    Seeing the fleeing orcs, the ck Dragon Meryer looked utterly ferocious.


    He no longer wreaked havoc in the tribe, but instead specifically targeted the orcs who wanted to escape.


    It only took a swipe of his ws to grab three to five orcs, and then he pped his wings and flew high into the sky before falling heavily down into a crowd of orcs.


    With a pitiful cries, the orcs that was caught underneath the Dragon¡¯s foot was instantly smashed into a pulp.


    This scene made the orcs even more frightened.


    Soon, even the fleeing orderly orc army began to copse, scattering and fleeing everywhere¡­


    J¨´sh¨¡n looked pained while watching the chaotic situation unfolds.


    He took a deep breath, looked at the ck dragon who was wantonly ughtering his people, and roared,


    ¡°ck Dragon¡­I¡¯ll personally fight with you!¡±


    With that, he pulled something out of his pocket, recited a spell, and suddenly burst into a brilliant light.


    His body began to burn with raging mes, as his appearance rapidly aged within seconds.


    At the same time, a silver cage appeared and entrapped the ck dragon into a prison barrier¡­


    [ Light Cage ]


    A gold-level control spell!


    This was a simr move that Samuel had used to trap the ck dragon before, and although J¨´sh¨¡n didn¡¯t have the leaf artifact, he could also use this skill by sacrificing his lifeforce to unleash a skill above his rank.


    ¡°I¡­will trap it¡­you guys¡­go!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n shouted at the orcs.


    ¡°H-High Priest¡­High Priest!¡±


    The rest of his tribe looked heartbroken when they saw the old chieftain desperately fighting for their sake.


    The reason why their tribe had developed to its current size wasrgely due to the hard work of this High Priest.


    At the same time, he was also loved and respected by all of his fellow tribesmen.


    ¡°Go now¡­report everything that happened here to the southernirs!¡±


    J¨´sh¨¡n shouted again.


    After hearing his words, the orcs gritted their teeth with tears in their eyes, and reluctantly chose to follow his order.


    ¡°Damned elves! We will remember this!¡±


    They looked at the elves with hatred, as if to carve their very image into their minds, and began to retreat.


    ¡°Damn it! Why is it always me!¡±


    Being trapped into a cage yet again, the little ck dragon was almost enraged as he tried to break the barrier epassing him.


    Without the support of the ck dragon, the yers had no way to further continue chasing the orcs.


    There were simply too many orcs, with over 5,000 in the entire tribe. Even though they suffered heavy losses, their numbers were still far greater than those of the yers.


    If they chose to flee instead of fighting, the yers would have no way of stopping them¡­


    Finally, after leaving behind hundreds of corpses, the orcs finally broke through and gradually disappeared from the yers¡¯ sight.


    However¡­when they left, the once 5,000-strong horde was now less than a thousand left.


    And the yers, amidst their cheers, upied the almost ruined stronghold, searching everywhere for loots and equipment.


    <em>Are you kidding!?</em>


    Of course, they have to plunder the spoils of war when they won. Don¡¯t pursue the enemy, whoever chases after them is a fool!


    Its firste first serve!


    Whomever discovered the loot first would be its rightful owner so of course no yer would be dumb enough to waste their time chasing the orcs when there¡¯s stationary treasures waiting to be found.


    Anyway, the task is just to destroy the stronghold.


    Alice and A¨¦l also came to the abandoned tribe base.


    They looked at the chosen ones who were plundering the enemy base like human bandits, and were stunned for a moment.


    These brave warriors¡­ seemed to be even more crazy when looting than when they were just fighting!


    They saw¡­ almost every chosen ones had a row of captured orc equipment hanging upon their bodies, and some people even pulled out the goods purchased from humans by orcs and began to distribute them happily with each of their party members¡­


    What¡¯s more¡­ some chosen ones even found arge amount of gold and silver treasures in one tent¡­


    Several chosen ones¡¯ eyes lit up at the sight, and they almost fought over the treasure amongst themselves.


    ¡°Oh merciful goddess¡­ they¡­ they¡­¡±


    Although she knew that these chosen ones had certain ws and could be very greedy at times, Alice did not expect to see such an unsightly scene just moments after they¡¯ve won this major battle¡­


    At this moment, she suddenly remembered what Berserker had said to her once before.


    ¡°The chosen ones¡­ are indeed brave warriors, but they can also be lowlife bandits.¡±


    That was Berserker¡¯s feeling after witnessing the battle to recover the ancient ruined holy city, Florence.


    At that time, Alice did not get what¡¯s he¡¯s saying, but now¡­ she finally understood.


    At this time, the little ck dragon finally broke free from the spell cage.


    He let out a loud roar and rushed into the treasures being fought over, pped several yers flying with one paw, and gritted his teeth with bloodshot eyes, before saying,


    ¡°This goods belong to this Lord! Meryer¡¯s! Get lost! Get away from my treasures!¡±


    Alice:¡­


    yers:¡­


    ¡­


    Amidst the chaos, Li Mu didn¡¯t join the other yers in looting the enemy base.


    Instead, he simply passed by the excited yers one by one and finally came to a secluded space.


    The high priest was lying there bloodied on the ground wheezing his final breaths.


    He already looked so old that he¡¯s looked nothing like his former self. It seemed like he would die the next seconds as well.


    Li Mu just silently stared at the dying high priest with an unreadable expression.


    Noticing someone¡¯s gaze directed athim, the chieftain opened his muddled eyes with difficulty and finally looked back at the male elf staring down at him.


    J¨´sh¨¡n recognized him. This was themander of the elves.


    J¨´sh¨¡n eyes suddenly widened, and he tried opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something¡­


    However, in the end, he exhausted all his strength and could only barely moved his lips.


    J¨´sh¨¡n¡¯s gaze then passed over Li Mu and stopped in the direction where his fellow tribemen had flee¡­


    In those eyes, there was only endless nostalgia and worry that could be discerned.


    Li Mu¡¯s felt conflicted at seeing this old orc¡¯s final expression as his heart finally stopped beating.


    Silence.


    Li Mu then sighed and reached out to close the orc chieftain¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Although you¡¯re just an NPC, and my enemy as well¡­ as a leader of a tribe, you are indeed worthy of my respect¡­ You can now rest in peace.¡±


    Li Mu exhaled deeply again, his voice full of emotion as he gestured the sign of the elven faith upon his chest before taking off the orc leader¡¯s equipments and digging out a hole to give this old enemy leader a proper burial.


    ¡­


    After the yers upied the Caverock Tribe, the system¡¯s message also followed.


    ¡¾ ? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Main Quest</strong>: Destroy the Orc Strongholdpleted.¡¿


    ¡¾All participating yers will receive experience points, contribution points, and perfect resurrection counts based on their cumtive contribution ¡¿

 Chapter 131

    ??<strong>SHIFTING BLAME</strong>


    Elven Forest.


    After sending a system prompt to the yers, Ev¨¦ decided to finally kill the enemy demigod who she had recaptured back to her Celestial Domain.


    Simr to that vampire godwarden, this demigod¡¯s soul is connected with Uller, the god of winter and hunting.


    She could still temporarily block this connection, just as long as she keeps the demigod¡¯s soul trapped inside her celestial domain but Volker¡¯s soul would definitely return to Uller once the domain stopped its manifestation.


    However¡­she found a brute-force solution to this dilemma.


    The solution was to simply kill Volker, while alsopletely annihting his soul at the same time.


    Subsequently, all of the divine power stored within the demigods¡¯ body was also extracted by Ev¨¦ and funneled it into herself¡­


    A whopping 270 DP!


    A demigod¡¯s divine power is generally ranges between 100 to 600 points.


    As a seasoned demigod who had lived for a long time, Volker had already reached the peak of demigod strength and actually had 600 DP at his full strength!


    However, he had consumed a lot during his struggle, but even so, he still had more than 270 DP points left remaining.


    And all of this was absorbed by Ev¨¦, bing the nourishment for her own growth.


    Although there were some losses during the absorption process, it ultimately provided Ev¨¦ with more than 100 points of divine power.


    This made Ev¨¦ very satisfied since it instantly replenished the DP she lost when she manifested her Celestial Domain into the physical world.


    The DP consumption of the domain was indeed colossal, almost consuming 01 DP per every minute that passed by after its manifestation.


    Furthermore, the DP consumption also soared exponentially when she altered the governing naturalws inside the domain.


    Therefore, Ev¨¦ swiftly closed the Celestial Domain after killing Volker.


    However, she did not stop there but also materialized her Deaths¡¯ Godwarden once again¡­


    Someone has to take the me after all.


    The Dark Mountain Range.


    Night Wanderer¡¯s expression was etched in fear as he quickly flee in a desperate manner.


    At this moment, he no longer cared about his image of being elegant and used all his remaining power to get away from this ce fast.


    ¡°Haah¡­haah, I never e-expected this¡­even Lord Volker failed to subdue that terrifying new deity¡­¡± The vampire muttered in between panting breaths.


    ¡°How could this be? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be a new god? She just recently ascended into godhood, and she certainly still hasn¡¯t yet mastered her own divinity as well. So then, how could she have the power to defeat Lord Volker, a seasoned demigod?¡±


    ¡°Or m-maybe¡­it was actually done by that existence that¡¯s assisting her from the shadows?¡±


    At this moment, a certain image of an ashen haired female figure he saw back when he first entered the Elven Forest suddenly appeared in Night Wanderer¡¯s mind¡­


    Now that he thought about it, he didn¡¯t see nor sensed the presence of that figure during the entire sh between the elves and the orcs.


    In other words, Death¡¯s Godwarden did not intervene on that battle and was perhaps preupied with something else instead!


    Could it be that the goddess of death sent out her own envoy to deal with the totem guardian?


    Night Wanderer¡¯s expression was then filled with fear upon making this assumption.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too worried about Volker¡¯s safety.


    Because the demigod was an envoy of a true god. His soul still would return back to heavenly realm even if he was physically killed.


    As a true god at the peak of low-ranking divinity, Uller could easily help his envoy reshape his physical body and obtain the secrets of the Elven Forest from Volker once he returns.


    ¡°Anyway¡­I¡¯ve done all that I can do. It¡¯s better to leave this ce now while I still can. The rest is beyond my scope of ability to intervene in.¡±


    Night Wanderer thought to himself.


    Just then, suddenly, a bad premonition arose in his heart.


    He instinctively looked up and saw a spectral-like figure slowly descending from midair¡­


    Sh*t, It was thest person he wanted to see right now¡­


    Dark grey hair, a ck wraith cloak, and glowing crimson eyes¡­


    Plus the almost tangible aura of death!


    <em>Godwarden of Death!</em>


    Night Wanderer¡¯s pupils contracted.


    He had almost depleted his magical power and was no match for her at this moment!


    ¡°Mdy, what brings you here! Your side have already won this war, yet you¡¯re still persisting on targeting me?¡±


    Night Wanderer spoke through a calm facade, desperately trying to hide his inner fear.


    ¡°In that case¡­you really will be enemies with the hunter god.¡±


    He threatened in a low voice.


    ¡°Hehe, do you really dare to be enemies with the god of winter and hunting?¡±


    The Godwarden of Death sneered and said,


    ¡°Your master struck first in this war. In addition¡­ we have already killed the totem demigod. Do you think you can escape as well?¡±


    ¡°Kill¡­ killed!?¡±


    Night Wanderer widened his eyes, thinking for a moment that he had misheard her words.


    Killing and defeating¡­These two werepletely different concepts.


    For a god¡¯s envoy, killing meant annihting the soul!


    Oh god!


    What method did they use to eradicate a demigods¡¯ soul, an envoy of a true god in such a short amount of time?


    Aren¡¯t they afraid of Ullers¡¯ retaliation?


    Night Wanderer did not think about her using the power of a Celestial Realm because a domain could not be manifested without firstpletely mastering one¡¯s own divinity.


    Therefore, Night Wanderer thought of something else¡­


    Wait¡­ she said ¡°we¡±?


    Thinking of a certain existence, Night Wanderer took a deep breath.


    Could it be¡­


    Could it be done by the goddess of death?


    It must be so¡­ only Lady Death, who had a deep understanding of the inner workings of a soul, had the power and expertise to sever the connection between a true god and its envoy!


    Lady H must¡¯ve been the one who eradicated Volker¡¯s soul.


    Escape!


    Must quickly escape!


    Night Wanderer didn¡¯t hesitate anyone and fled like his life depended on it.


    However, his power had already been depleted in the process of summoning Volker, and he was also no match against this godwarden.


    Suddenly, the crimson-eyed Godwarden appeared before him with a flicker. In Night Wanderer¡¯s frightened gaze, she stabbed her hand directly into his chest and grabbed ahold of his beating heart firmly between her fingers!


    In that instant, the blood count was frozen in ce.


    ¡°Please convey this divine message to your master, Uller¡­ ¡®He has overstepped his boundaries¡­disputes between gods should be conducted through godly means. Even newly ascendants deserves respect.¡¯ ¡°


    ¡°The fate of your envoys are merely just a warning.¡±


    ¡ª<em>Snap! </em>


    He could feel his chest copsing as his heart waspletely crushed by the godwarden.


    Night Wanderer widened his eyes in horror as he tried to open his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out¡­only a mouthful of ck blood as the light within his eyes gradually lost their brilliance¡­


    All the power of a Blood n memberes from their hearts.


    It would be equivalent to death if their heart is destroyed.


    Suddenly, Night Wanderers¡¯ body ignited with blood-red mes, as his whole body quickly turned into ashes as it scattered by the blowing winds¡­


    At the same time, his soul was summoned by Uller before it slowly disappeared.


    The crimson-eyed godwarden did not stop him, as she only silently gazed impassively at the direction where Night Wanderer¡¯s soul flew, before merging down into the shadows¡­


    In the divine kingdom of the Silverfrost cier in the heavenly realm.


    Uller was extremely annoyed, feeling the deaths of many of his believers and also losing contact with the demigod Volker.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I sense Volker¡¯s soul?¡±


    At this time, a transparent soul ascended into his divine kingdom.


    Uller¡¯s heart moved, and he reached out to read the memory of this particr soul.


    After a moment of tense silence, the entire divine kingdom began to tremble, as a heavy snowstorm began to cloud in the entire skies.


    ¡°Damn it! Sh*t!¡±


    ¡°That impertinent servant of H, how dare she actually do this!!¡±


    Uller pped his golden throne with one hand without holding back, which inadvertently shattered the entire left armrest.


    ¡°H¡­ do you have to be my enemy? Do you actually dare to be my enemy?!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Why don¡¯t you just shrink back to underworld like you always do!?¡±


    Endless anger surged in Uller¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Hmph! Since you dare stand against me¡­I will see to it that this new god of yours will never join the Pantheon!¡±


    ¡°A god won¡¯t get the recognition of the rest of the gods if they don¡¯t join the Pantheon and if you don¡¯t get the recognition of the gods, then you will never receive any protection under the covenant of the gods!¡±


    ¡°The divinity of nature and life, will be mine!¡±


    ¡°This new god¡­ must fall!¡±


    Uller¡¯s angry roar spread far and wide¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 132

    ??<strong>WHERE IS BOXLUNCH? </strong>


    Disputes between gods should be conducted through godly means¡­Actually, this statement is not entirely urate.


    More precisely, the ¡®gods¡¯ mentioned here almost exclusively refers to the faith-based gods who solely relies on religion in order to gain divine power.


    In fact, this statement was formted by the gods after the Heavenly War a thousand years ago.


    In Saig¨¹es, the mostmon reason for dering war is because of religion. The battles among mortal beings are mostly wars of faith because their Patron Deities power are determined by the dominance of their religion.


    These wars are mostly fought by the believers on both sides and rarely did the gods themselves or their demigod-rank envoys ever intervenes in this battle.


    Especially in the mortal realm!


    The mortal realm rarely bes a battlefield for beings of demigod level and above due to it being thend where majority of their believers reside in.


    This is the covenant amongst the gods.


    It will inevitably cause great damage to the mortal realm, if beings of demigod level and above ever engage in battle in Saig¨¹es which is not what the deities want to see since thisnd is the main source of faith for the true gods.


    Especially after the heavenly war a thousand years ago, which resulted in the stability of the mortal realm bing far less than what it used to be.


    Seeing the aftermath of that heavenly war further solidified the decision of the pantheon gods to create a Covenant that barred any mythological-level battles from ever urring within the mortal realm.


    Generally speaking, battles involving beings of demigod level and above usually take ce in the Heavenly Realm or the Cosmic Void¡­


    These matters were read from the memory of Volker, when she annihted the demigod.


    Ev¨¦ originally hoped to learn some secrets of the gods from Volker, but unfortunately, some of the demigod¡¯s memories seemed to have been sealed by Uller and would self-destruct if someone would try to forcibly read them.


    However, the rules of the Covenant formted by the Pantheon Gods that she read were not a disadvantage to her at all.


    At least¡­ she knew now that if necessary, she could threaten the gods by using the mortal realm as a hostage.


    However, how effective it would be still remains to be seen. Since Saig¨¹es was almost the only source of faith for the true gods even way back at the ancient times.


    However, after reading the limited memories of Volker, Ev¨¦ also learned that almost all the qualified gods have also started spreading their own religion in other realms for centuries as well.


    It is a well-known truth understood by all that one should not put all their eggs into one basket.


    But even so, as thergest source of faith, the world of Saig¨¹es position within the hearts of the gods is still far higher than any other realms.


    Ev¨¦ conveyed her message to Uller for two reasons: to throw a smokescreen onto her real identity and toy the groundwork for the yers¡¯ future actions¡­


    After everything settled, Eve began to check her own status,


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient God) ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical) ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Status</strong>: Low Divine Power ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divinity</strong> : Nature, Life, Elvenkind ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divine Power Value</strong>: 363/3000 ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Titles</strong>: Mother of Nature, Goddess of Life, Matriarch of the Elves ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Number of Followers</strong>: 222 (Saints 1, Fanatics 3, Devout Believers 81, Shallow Believers 107) ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Bestowal, Enlightenment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain¡­¡¿


    Unlike before, after opening the NPC system, Eve¡¯s number of devout believers have soared once again, and the faith of many Rageze n elves were further strengthened.


    This made Ev¨¦ very satisfied.


    The NPC task system simply meant more fun for yers, but for the native elves, acquiring this ability meant their Patron Goddess¡¯s blessing and approval!


    However,pared to the pleasing changes within her own followers, her soaring DP value made her much more delighted.


    It must be said that this was the biggest victory she had gained ever since her rebirth. Not only did she eliminated a demigod and cut off one of Uller¡¯s Godwarden, but she also annihted more than 4,000 orcs!


    After ounting for consumption, Eve¡¯s DP value had surpassed 300 and reached an unprecedented 363 points!


    However, after this victory, some problems also began to surfaced.


    One of them was the issue of feedback from those wandering haunted spirits.


    Shortly after the yers attacked the Caverock Tribe, Ev¨¦ realized that the resentment of those wandering elven ghosts have beenpletely resolved.


    With Ev¨¦ resolving these grievances and resentments, she also inadvertently depleted their numbers, thus lessening the divine power she could obtain when killing orcs in the future. The amount of divine power she could obtain from this battle would¡¯ve been much more than three hundred points.


    This also means that she will need to find new ways to increase her divine power in the future.


    The second issue is with the yers.


    During this entire quest, Ev¨¦ intentionally did not give too many instructions and instead allowed the yers to freely assess the situation by themselves and n ordingly to their own judgments without any direct input from her.


    As a result, the most yers experienced explosive growth.


    Even without the system¡¯s prompts, they were able to find the most suitable strategy to use andplete the quest in a spectacr fashion.


    However¡­


    The problem lies in the strategies used by the yers.


    More specifically, it¡¯s their use of sacrificial rush tactics to eliminate the enemies¡­


    Although Ev¨¦ had considered the possibility of problems arising in the future when setting up the perfect revival for yers, what she did not expect is for it to happen this soon.


    To be honest, the yers¡¯ tactics were not wrong, and the suicide rush strategy was indeed quite an effective method to win battles against stronger opponents.


    However, it was entirely different matter for Eve, who is the primary source and grantor of the yers¡¯ resurrection.


    In the early stages, when yers were still at a lower level, the cost of reviving them was low and the benefits gained from killing targets were high, so there was no issue so far.


    But as the yers¡¯ levels increased, Ev¨¦ found that the cost of resurrecting yers have rapidly increased as well¡­


    Especially more so since instant revival and body creation were vastly different.


    Creating a yer¡¯s physical avatar can be extended over time, and a single point of divine power can create up to 300 avatars, but the consumption of instant resurrection is way more than several times this amount.


    During the battle with the orcs, the cost of resurrecting yers was still far lower than the rewards for killing their targets, but after the elven ghosts¡¯ resentments was resolved, these bonus DP rewards became lower and lower.


    Although still tolerable, it also sounded an rm for Ev¨¦.


    She could foresee that as the yers¡¯ strength keeps on further increasing, the cost of resurrecting them would surely be more higher and higher and if its not properly regted then¡­there woulde a time wherein the revival cost would be so astronomical that it¡¯s no longer viable to do so.


    ¡°It seems that the method of perfect revival is not entirely perfect either. It¡¯s still okay for low-level yers who didn¡¯t need much DP to revive, but I need to think of a better way to lessen the resurrection of high-level yers in the future. Especially after reaching mid-to-high levels, yers must cherish their lives a little bit more¡­¡±


    At this moment, she suddenly sensed arge number of offerings and prayers¡­


    With a mere thought, Ev¨¦ chose to ept them all.


    In an instant, arge wave of shabby beastmen equipments flooded into her celestial domain as it quickly piles up into hills, making her domain look more like a junkyard.


    Eve: ¡­


    Seeing this situation, she realized that the yers have started selling their unwanted items yet again.


    Even though the yers fought hard in this battle and seized countless pieces of equipment as spoils of war, many of these items were either damaged or broken beyond all repair.


    With thousands sets of simr equipment flooding the market and supply exceeding the demand, the value of these goods would certainly drop to bargain prices.


    In this situation, many people would choose to offer these low quality equipments to Ev¨¦ instead in exchange for contribution points.


    Of course, this was only limited to melee-based equipments.


    Orcs have no spellcasters except for priests, and almost all of them are warriors, hence naturally, the excess equipments was also mostly belonging to that of melee-sses.


    As for spellcaster equipments¡­the quantity was still very scarce.


    The few lucky ones who managed to loot some priest¡¯s equipment made a fortune.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ naturally epted all these junk equipments, waved her hand to reward the yers who initiated the offering rituals, and started to repair and enhanced these damaged goods in bulk¡­


    After adding some special bonus properties, these equipment could be resold for a good price.


    Of course, circting these items back into the markets had to be done little by little.


    As the saying goes, scarcity leads to higher prices.


    Most of these equipments will be stockpiled for now in preparation for the eventualunch of the open-beta which will inevitably draw in massive amounts of new yers needing equipments.


    At the same time, Ev¨¦ also added Night Wanderer¡¯s Ring and Volker¡¯s Frost Axe that she had seized to the exchange system store.


    The former was renamed Spatial Ring, and thetter¡¯s name was changed to Frost Battle Axe, both of which were legendary golden ss equipments!


    However, the rings¡¯ contents was already emptied by Ev¨¦, and the divine power imbued within the Frost Battle Axe had also beenpletely drained by her, leaving it as an ordinary axe that could only disy power close to silver rank¡­


    The Elven Forest.


    Each yer¡¯s eyes lit up with eagerness when they saw the two newly added golden legendary items in the exchange store.


    ¡°Oh nice! Spatial Ring? It¡¯s actually a storage ring!¡±


    ¡°What? A Spatial Ring? Did the devs finally released space storing equipments?¡±


    ¡°This is¡­the demigod¡¯s Frost Battle Axe? S-So cool! I¡¯m going for it! A level 40 golden legendary weapon! How powerful is that! It¡¯s the current weapon with the highest level on the entire server!¡±


    ¡°Both are legendary golden items! And there¡¯s only one of each in the entire server!¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s imited edition? Now I really want it even more now¡­¡±


    However, their excitement immediately died down upon seeing the strings of ¡®zeros¡¯ attached to the contribution points price requirement.


    ¡°¡­one¡­ten¡­hundred¡­thousand¡­t-ten thousand¡­H-Hundred Thousands!?¡±


    The yers gasped in shock as they felt their stomachs cramping at the sheer ridiculous price needed to be paid in order to purchase it.


    ¡°Whoa¡­not good, my l-liver hurts.¡±


    ¡°No way man, only those damned whales could afford these things.¡±


    ¡°This sucks¡­it looks like only the super-rich or the hardcore yers can sessfully exchange for it.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, I¡¯m so jealous¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, speaking of hardcore yers¡­what happened to Boxlunch?¡±

 Chapter 133

    ?? <strong>STRANGE ELVEN NPC</strong>


    Boxlunch sat quietly inside the moving wagon.


    He outwardly appears to had his eyes closed and resting like a statue, but contrary to his rxed appearance, his back stood straight just like a soldier on a battlefield, ready to take action at the first sign of trouble.


    And if one observed him closely, they would also perceive his pointed ears mildly swaying as if discerning every noise outside.


    This was his instinctual alertness in an unknown environment.


    As time passed, the shaking of the wagon became stronger.


    Despite his eyes being closed and his powers being constrained by those strange ropes tied to his arms and legs, Boxlunch could still discern the situation outside through analyzing the vibration of the wagon due to the bumps of the road¡­


    They were now probably traveling on a mountain path judging by the much silent and bumpier movements of the wagon.


    The sky had already darkened quite a bit, indicating that it was almost evening, but the speed of the caravan had not slowed down, but rather increased instead.


    This probably meant that their surroundings were not safe, especially at night.


    Of course, there was also the possibility that they were nearing their destination and had increased their speed but Boxlunch didn¡¯t really believe this was the case since the humans outside had not been talking much for quite awhile now unlike their rxed behavior earlier on that day.


    He even heard the sound of them drawing out their weapons, as well as the faint sound of theirbored breathing.


    They are being cautious.


    This implies that they are on guard against some possible enemies.


    His judgment of the surroundings being unsafe is most likely correct.


    Maybe they¡¯re wary of some bandit attack, but it could also be due to monsters as well¡ª


    No¡­ monsters are more likely.


    They wouldn¡¯t have strayed too far from the elven forest in such a short amount of time, if that were the case.


    From what he heard, apart from the orcs, there are no other sentient races active in this area.


    Orcs are destitute in nature, but they are also strong inbat, so they are unlikely to enve bandits or robbers nearby.


    It¡¯s gradually getting cooler around them¡­ and it¡¯s not just because of the weather, but the terrain could also affecting the temperature as well.


    There¡¯s also bird calls that echoing in the distance as if they¡¯re flying in a ravine¡­or perhaps a canyon or valley that has a deep gorge with steep sides.


    In summary, it¡¯s possible that they have entered an area with narrownd formation within the Dark Mountains¡­


    Boxlunch analyzed these factors within his mind.


    As a yer who has spent most of their time in-game fighting in the wilderness, Boxlunch has gathered a vast amount of information about the areas surrounding the Elven Forest.


    He even made a special effort to understand the ecology of the Dark Mountains by asking some people from the Rageze n and learned that monster activity in this area are most active during the night.


    And just as Boxlunch continued to listen, suddenly, his ears twitched slightly after discovering a distinct noise.


    He tried to focus on the sound and heard a rustling sounding from somewhere inside the carriage.


    That direction¡­ is where the female elf NPC who was captured like him was located.


    Boxlunch didn¡¯t act recklessly.


    His instinct told him that this NPC is not an ordinary one since she can sleep soundly despite being captured by humans.


    Either she¡¯s a fool with an extremely carefree attitude,


    Or¡­it could be something interesting else instead.


    Soon, Boxlunch heard a yawn, apanied by azy groan, as if someone had just stretched their body after waking up.


    Boxlunch ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He instantly raised his vignce.


    Because if he remembered it correctly, the other elven girl should¡¯ve been also gagged and tied up just like him.


    Boxlunch instinctively opened his eyes and looked warily in the direction of the sound, just in time to meet a pair of glowing eyes.


    It belonged to an elven girl who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old in appearance.


    Of course¡­if converted into the lifespan of an elf, her age would probably be ten times older than him. She had a dark ashen hair simr to him and greyish eyes that are still particrly bright despite the dimness inside the wagon. The ropes on her body and the cloth on her mouth were gone as well.


    Like many elves, she also had an outstanding appearance, but unlike the elves that Boxlunch had seen in the Elven Forest, this elven girl¡¯s eyes are faintly glowing, as if she¡¯s using some sort of ocr-based skills, making her look a bit cunning in his opinion.


    This kind of gaze¡­


    Boxlunch was rather familiar with it. Police stations back on the real world detain a bunch of guys with simr sets of eyes everyday.


    Was she really an elf?


    She didn¡¯t look like the typical peace-loving elven native that he had grown ustomed to.


    Boxlunch instinctively frowned as he looked at those pair of big eyes. He then hesitated for a moment before carefully examining the other person¡¯s appearance.


    Outstanding appearance with a tall figure.


    Ears that are pointed and long¡­


    It appear to be someone that looks just exactly like an elf, or perhaps another sentient race that¡¯s disguising herself as an elf, but most likely¡­it¡¯s a real elf going by his instincts.


    Then, he saw this strange girl turn back her gaze at him once more before smiling at him.


    ¡°Yo! Finally awake eh? I haven¡¯t seen a member of the Darkshade in such a long time, hallo~¡±


    <em>Darkshade n?</em>


    Box was intrigued at this new and unfamiliar term.


    After speaking, the elven girl skillfully reached into one of the cargo boxes and pulled out two fresh-looking fruits. She took a bite of one herself and then handed the other one over to him in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Here, would you like to try? It¡¯s super sweet! These are rare fruits from the southern human region.¡±


    Boxlunch just gave her a deadpanned look.


    The elven girl tilted her head in confusion when she saw him give her a look as if she had forgotten something. She stood silently for a second before her eyes shifted downwards towards his body.


    ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re still tied up.¡±


    She then quickly approached him, wafting along a refreshing scent and deftly rolled her nimble little hands over the ropes tied on Boxlunch¡¯s body.


    Before Box could even get a closer look, the ropes on him were already untied in a matter of seconds.


    That was quite fast.


    He looked pleasantly surprised, but also a bit puzzled as well since Boxlunch could feel that this girl¡¯s strength was somewhat weaker than his own.


    Although a stronger being can roughly perceive the approximate strength of a weaker opponent, it is not always an urate evaluation.


    Furthermore, Boxlunch could not rule out the possibility that this elven girl was pretending to be weaker than she actually is.


    At this point, the girl finally removed the cloth from his mouth and instantly stuffed a fruit right into it while saying,


    ¡°Why do you keep staring at me like that? Here, eat the fruit quietly. Also, keep your voice down or the humans outside might hear us.¡±


    Boxlunch ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    He instinctively took a bite.


    Sweet.


    It was a vor he had never tasted before.


    Then he heard the ashen-haired girl¡¯s voice whisper close to his ears with disdain in her tone.


    ¡°Howe you¡¯re so dirt poor. Why don¡¯t you have anything else on you besides your clothes? Did those humans search and confiscated all your belongings? But¡­I guess you do have a sturdy figure.¡±


    Boxlunch ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    His gaze towards this girl became even more peculiar.


    Her next actionspletely broadened his horizon and overturned his preconceptions towards the native elves of Saig¨¹es.


    She already finished eating her fruit in just a few bites, and now started rummaging through one of the wooden boxes, searching through the many human goods inside with the expertise of a seasoned burr.


    Boxlunch then noticed that this girl picked almost all the magical items that looked valuable, in addition to some gold and silver coinage.


    Whenever she found something, her hand would emit a faint light, and then the item would suddenly disappearpletely.


    Boxlunch raised an eyebrow at this rather peculiar skill of hers, feeling very curious about it.


    Soon, the entire boxes of cargoes was overturned by this grey-eyed girl. She let out a sigh of relief, before continuing to nibble on a new fruit and sat down, seemingly quite satisfied.


    ¡°Are you¡­ a thief?¡±


    Boxlunch finally couldn¡¯t help but speak up after silently watching the whole ordeal.


    Upon hearing his words, the girl¡¯s shoulders slightly shook, as if the term was sensitive to her.


    She remained silent for a few seconds, then looked at Boxlunch with a puffed up cheeks and retorted,


    ¡°So what if I am? Is that not allowed?¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡®¡­..¡¯


    Noticing Boxlunch¡¯s strange gaze, the elven girl sighed,


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. Or are you also going to lecture me like those stubborn old fools from my n?¡±


    She sneered.


    ¡°Stupid kindness and inflexible stubbornness without any kind of adaptability¡­these are the root causes of elvenkind¡¯s demise! We can¡¯t even protect ourselves, so why do we need to stick to so many outdated rules?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Rules are meant to be broken! So what if I¡¯m a thief huh? These humans are our enemies, they are the real robbers! It¡¯s only natural that I take their things aspensation for all the evils that they¡¯d done! Besides, I¡¯m not taking these things for myself¡­¡±


    The girl spoke angrily.


    Boxlunch didn¡¯t say anything, but instead just listened quietly to her sudden outbursts.


    The girl continued tosh out for a minute, but her expression eventually became somewhat dejected.


    She grumbled for another while and eventually ran out of steam, finally falling into silence as tiredness overtook her face.


    After a moment of awkward silence, she just sighed and pried open arge hole in the bottom of the wagon with ease.


    Under Boxlunch¡¯s surprised gaze, the girl handed him a sack filled with fruits and pointed to the hole in the floor while saying,


    ¡°Hey¡­ you look like a naive and honest person who has never experienced a fight. You¡¯re probably a poor little rookie that identally got separated from your n¡­here, take some dry foods and escape through this hole.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in thest wagon and it¡¯s getting dark outside. This is the perfect time to escape. I¡¯ll cast a disguise spell on you but you still need to be careful so those humans outside won¡¯t be able to find you.¡±


    Boxlunch ¡­


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°¡­Me?¡±


    The girl was taken aback.


    After a moment of silence, she firmly said in a tone filled with determination.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯m sneaking inside the humans¡¯ underground base where they are holding my siblings captive! I¡¯m going to rescue them!¡±

 Chapter 134

    ??<strong>Clues about the Underground World</strong>


    Thergest beastmen stronghold near the Elven Forest finally had been destroyed.


    This also means that the southern region of the forest had beenpletely reimed by Ev¨¦, and the main external passage to the southeast had been opened due to this. Meanwhile, the elves living within the forest could no longer threatened by orcs or any other sentient races.


    As to where those fleeing orcs will eventually end up, that is not Eve¡¯s concern at the moment.


    Most likely, their destination is in the south, where the rest of the orcsirs are located.


    Ev¨¦ knows that destroying the caverock tribe is just the beginning. The message she conveyed to Uller before killing his Godwarden, was practically a deration of war.


    However, the message she conveyed will probably be misconstrued and would take on a different interpretation.


    The hunter god will definitely not give up easily, and it is likely that the war with his faction would intensity in the future.


    It is very likely going to be a full scale, racial war between the elves against Uller¡¯s forces!


    War begets Death.


    Death begets Power.


    And umting a little power at a time is a fool¡¯s errand.


    It may sound malevolent, but Ev¨¦ can easily profit off warfare by absorbing massive amounts of lifeforce amidstrge-scale conflicts and bloodshed.


    Of course, it would be even better if she could attract some well-known prominent figures to participate in such wars so that they could be her fertilizer in nourishing the Elven Forest.


    Before this racial war urs, what Ev¨¦ needs to do is to further enhance the yers¡¯ overall strength and make elven forest an imprable bastion capable of withstanding any attacks it may incur in the future.


    At the same time, she also need to send out more native elves as seekers to convince those scattered n members to return to their mothend.


    The Rageze n have already stabilized their situation, with their lives gradually returning to normal, as they slowly adapted to the existence of the Chosen Ones and the task-administration system.


    This was a good sign, at least proving Ev¨¦ that her schemes are not wrong.


    Therefore, after the yerspleted the task of destroying the Caverock stronghold, Ev¨¦ once again ordered the old priest Samuel to choose some natives in aiding him to continue his task of finding the scattered n members.


    The yers¡¯ first campaign were a good experience for these indigenous young elves.


    Knowing this, many young Rageze nsmen enthusiastically signed up, almost all following Samuel, which led to him being scolded by Philothea.


    In addition, Ev¨¦ also ordered the ck dragon Meryer return to his old dpidated castle back in the Dark Mountains.


    The southeast exit of the elven forest is still very important choke-point, and its strategic significance is enormous especially in the impending war against Uller.


    Someone really needs to guard it and Meryer is a good choice for this task.


    After all, this area was originally his home to begin with, and this cheeky guy was quite powerful as well. Ev¨¦ felt at ease leaving this location to him since this ck dragon had an agreement with her and is now in servitude to her.


    It was a win-win situation for the both of them.


    Meryer will gain more freedom and get to have this entire location for himself while she gets to have a dragon as a guard.


    However, contrary to her expectations, it seemed her decision had made the dragon dissatisfied instead.


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to stay there!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left in there! No roasted meat, honey, or friends! No funny long-eared folks either to serve and give massages to this Lord!¡±


    ¡°Ruaah!! I want to stay here in the Elven Forest!¡±


    The little ck dragon rolled on the ground like a spoiled husky,pletely disregarding the dignity inherent to the dragons.


    Eve: ¡­


    This cheeky guy¡­ haspletely forgotten that he was originally a captive and has now beenpletely domesticated into a pet, hasn¡¯t it?


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll create a teleportation array, so you can return to the forest from time to time. Also, I shall give you the ability to assign tasks to the chosen ones under the condition that you ept my faith. How about it? There will still be many chosen ones willing to serve you even if you stay here.¡±


    Eve tempted.


    ¡°Really? Can I assign them tasks?¡±


    The little ck dragon¡¯s eyes lit up with expectations and after thinking about it, he muttered in a low voice,


    ¡°Then this lord will reluctantly believe in your faith then.¡±


    After that, Meryer properly stood up and bowed slightly towards the direction of Elven forest¡¯s inner area. The ck dragon then stated in a tone of excitement as his voice began speaking in his native dragon tongue,


    ¡°Praise thy nature, praise thine life, and praise thou grand ancient tree¡­Yggdrasill!¡±


    Obviously this little guy is not an elf, so he didn¡¯t mention her proper epithet. But he seems to have a great admiration for the old world tree and added this title specifically instead.


    On Eve¡¯s celestial domain within her mindscape, another small glittering star had formed, symbolizing Meryer¡¯s faith. She then felt a startling volume of power surging into her own divinity across the void the moment Meryer finished speaking.


    However, what¡¯s surprising was that despite Meryer being only a shallow believer, the faith output she can receive from him was almost the same amount as that of fanatical believer!


    This greatly intrigued Ev¨¦, and also made her understand why the gods are all very interested in converting these dragons into their religions.


    Even with just shallow faith, these dragons can still provide so much power of faith. The potential of spreading religion upon the dragonkind is indeed quite terrifying and can make any faith-based gods salivate in greed.


    Of course¡­ dragons are very proud creatures and it¡¯s hard for them to be devout believers to any deity.


    Even those who believe in some gods are often only practicing their faith on a superficial manner for their own personal gains or spiritual needs.


    Nevertheless, after considering it, Ev¨¦ still decided to give Meryer a blue-rank task-administration rights simr to that of a fanatical NPC believer.


    And after gaining the ability to issue tasks, Meryer immediately became ecstatic.


    In recent days, he had observed how some native elves were giving these so called ¡®chosen ones¡¯ various tasks.


    Although he cannot see the system, the yers¡¯ enthusiasm and unparalleled joy when epting tasks make Meryer envious.


    After all, even though his saliva may be an excellent magical material, it is still not as attractive to yers inparison to experience and contribution points.


    As for his dragon blood and scales¡­ well, whoever mentions these things will automatically get beaten up by him.


    Henceforth, there are fewer and fewer yersing to serve Meryer partly due to the elves of the Rageze n bing more familiar with the NPC Task-System.


    This made Meryer very dissatisfied for a while.


    But now it¡¯s different,


    He can now also issue some tasks!


    Immediately, the little ck dragon flew up, muttering to himself as he flew,


    ¡°Ruaah¡ª!!! Now these long-eared folks can work hard for this Lord! Well¡­ let¡¯s order them to repair my old castle first! Then find treasures as well as roasting meat and massages everyday!¡±


    Ev¨¦ began to think about the next direction in regards to the development of the yers after arranging the guarding duties of Meryer.


    Continuing on with the infrastructure projects are a necessary, and the overall quality of life of the yers needed further expansion as well, especially in regards to the source of their daily food consumption.


    These yers have insatiable appetites, and as a direct result of this, it¡¯s now hard to even find small to medium animals within the habitable zone.


    The remaining animals left were either unappetizing or inedible. She ns to mitigate the situation by implementing some sort of sustainable farming and designating Alice to oversee this whole endeavor.


    Furthermore, there¡¯s also a lot that needs to be rectified, like the sanitation within the town or the waterworks facilities and waste disposal but Ev¨¦ reminded herself that she doesn¡¯t need to micromanage every aspects of their lives, since in doing so might potentially stifle the growth of the yers if she spoon-fed them with solutions in every problem that arises.


    Sometimes it best to leave these minor issues to be solved by the yers and natives themselves.


    She instead, only needs to focus on the main storyline and major sidequests.


    Ev¨¦ then thought of the elven ruins that the yers have been desperately searching for¡­Rivendell!


    ¡°The gods has always been slow to react primarily due to the difficulties of crossing over to this world. Uller¡¯s next move should not happen anytime soon, hence during this time, I can deal with the matters regarding Rivendell.¡±


    ording to Alice, Rivendell is connected to the underground world and contain many monsters. Perhaps this elven ruins can further improve the yers¡¯ overall strength and even provide her with some abundant source of lifeforce as well.


    ¡°I heard that the underground world is very chaotic, and gods rarely interfere with the matters involving this ce. Perchance I can indulge eating to my heart¡¯s content.¡±


    Ev¨¦ softly chuckled before adding,


    ¡°Oh and there¡¯s also that issue regarding the yer named, Boxlunch. If I remembered correctly, he should have been caught by some humans and is likely to be a key piece of a sidequest.¡±


    ¡°I wonder how the yers have been exploring these days, and if they¡¯ve found any important clues about Rivendell at all¡­¡±


    Thinking about this, Ev¨¦ sank into her mindscape and connected to the game¡¯s backend system before entering the term ¡°Rivendell¡± into the information search bar..


    This was one of the administrative function that she created, sort of like a search engine that can scan all the memories of each yers.


    Once searched, all relevant information rted to ¡°Rivendell¡± discovered by yers would appear in Eve¡¯s consciousness, allowing her to quickly gather intel in a matter of seconds.


    After inputting ¡°Rivendell,¡± Ev¨¦ thought for a moment and also typed in ¡°underground world.¡±


    Rivendell is connected to the underground world, so there should be a corrtion between these two.


    Ev¨¦ received a lot of search results in a instant!


    As it turned out, the campaign to destroy the orc stronghold had a significant impact on yers¡¯ terrain exploration, and many yers who initially chose to search for Rivendell temporarily gave up.


    However, there were still some few yers that persisted.


    But as expected, ording to the search results, even the yers who persisted in searching the ruins had still not yet found the exact location of Rivendell.


    However, when looking at the results regarding the ¡®underground world¡¯ Ev¨¦ noticed something different¡­


    ¡°Hm? Some yers seem to have been discussing this¡­ Huh?! They found a clue to the underground world?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is this¡­Boxlunch¡¯s team?¡±

 Chapter 135

    ??<strong>Boxlunch, The Real Overbearing CEO </strong>


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve once again triggered a hidden sidequest.¡±


    Boxlunch didn¡¯t hesitate and promptly sent the information he obtained to his party¡¯s groupchat after learning the purpose of the elven girl who appears to be a thief.


    After reading Box¡¯s message, the rest of his party became instantly excited.


    ¡°Rescue the younger siblings? Box, you¡¯re the best! This must be a new sidequest!¡±


    ¡°This is a quest worth risking our lives! We definitely have to help!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ we have to go to the underworld? Is there a new location opening up?¡±


    ¡°Could it be Rivendell? Most NPCs¡¯ say that the entrance to the underworld is in there!¡±


    ¡°Whoa! If it¡¯s true, then we might trigger the main questline once more?!¡±


    ¡°Maybe not the main questline, but a new location is definitely opening up!¡±


    ¡°I heard there are tons of monsters there! I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡±


    Watching his teammates¡¯ lively discussions, Boxlunch had the simr guess.


    After a moment of silence, he typed,


    ¡°Please send support as soon as possible.¡±


    Judging by the sound of footsteps outside, there were still many people within the caravan. If it really was a hidden quest then, him alone would be insufficient to handle this matters.


    His party members checked Boxlunch¡¯s location on their mini-map and replied with some hesitation,


    ¡°Captain, it might be a little toote¡­I mean, you¡¯re already way too far from us, at least more than two hundred kilometers away in my estimation.¡±


    ¡°We might have to run for several in-game days just to reach where you are¡­man that¡¯s going to be tiring¡­¡±


    ¡°It might be faster if we teleport over to Meryer¡¯s castle and start over there instead, but it¡¯s still about fifty to sixty kilometers away.¡±


    Boxlunch ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He pondered for a moment and suddenly thought of an idea.


    ¡°Find Salty Cat and ride on the ck Dragon.¡±


    <em>ck Dragon?</em>


    The eyes of several party members lit up.


    This was not a bad idea¡­


    However, the only person who could convince the ck Dragon to help was Little Salty Cat. But the rewards from this quest would be further divided if she were to join as well.


    ¡°Hurry up and go. We¡¯ll share the rewards with the Moe Moe Committee.¡±


    Boxlunch typed as if reading their minds.


    After seeing what he wrote, his party members didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. The captain who triggered the quest had already decided, so what else could they do¡­they just have to share the rewards like he ordered.


    Moreover, the ck Dragon would indeed be a powerful ally.


    After discussing the matter among themselves, some members immediately went out to find Li¡¯l Salty Cat.


    The system prompt finally appeared in his line of vision right after Boxlunch gave orders to his party members.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾You triggered a hidden sidequest ¡¿


    ¡¾ ¡ª <strong>Save the Elves</strong> ¡ª ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: A human merchant group have captured a thief girls¡¯panions. You have decided to stay behind and help her rescue her elvenpanions!¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Objectives</strong>: Rescue the captured elves¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Minimum Level Requirements</strong>: 15+¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Current Participants</strong>: None¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Time Limit</strong>: None¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: Experience Points, Contribution Points¡¿


    ¡¾Do you ept? <strong>Y/N</strong> ¡¿


    After seeing the system prompt, Boxlunch immediately picked the ¡®yes¡¯ option.


    In fact, he would still have chosen to help her even if there was no official quest prompt.


    This was the second quest he had acquired since being captured and it seemed to be connected to his previous sidequest, ¡°The Human Merchant Group¡±.


    A chain of quest often meant high rewards!


    Unlike the previous quest, ¡°Human Merchant Group,¡± this new sidequest can bepleted alongside others, so Boxlunch generously shared it with his teammates.


    In any case, all of his party members are simrly hardcore yers like him with an average level of 15 or higher, so the level requirements wouldn¡¯t hinder any of them. Even among all the first beta-testers, his teammates are the cream of the crop.


    His party can easily take on this quest.


    When they also received the quest prompt, his party members became excited one after another.


    ¡°Damn! The quest notification came right after we talked about it!¡±


    ¡°Box, you¡¯re amazing man!¡±


    ¡°Wait for us, captain. We¡¯ll find Salty Cat and fly over right away!¡±


    The members of Boxlunch¡¯s party acted very quickly.


    They soon located Li¡¯l Salty Cat, who was currently staying at the ck Dragon¡¯s castle. They found her trying to trick Meryer into giving her a few pieces of molted dragon scales.


    ¡°What? You triggered a hidden sidequest? And it¡¯s happening in a new location?¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cats¡¯ face immediately lit up with excitement upon listening the purpose of their visit.


    She had just received a wave of contribution points and exchanged them for a new legendary golden staff with a stunning appearance. This quest is precisely what she needed right now to test what this new equipment is capable of.


    The ck dragon also overheard their conversation and responded, ¡°What? Some evil human smugglers kidnapped a group of gentle and hardworking elves? Where are they?! I¡¯m going to save them!¡±


    Enjoying the attention of several yers, Meryer stood up straight, his gaze resolute and his whole body exuding an aura of justice.


    The party members of the Boxlunch¡¯s team looked at each other, feeling dumbfounded.


    It seemed that they didn¡¯t even need Li¡¯l Salty Cat to persuade the ck Dragon since he was already excited and raring to go the moment he also heard about it.


    A secret is no longer a secret when it is revealed to more than one person.


    After visiting the ck dragon, news of the hidden sidequest quickly spread amongst the entire yer poption through various chatrooms.


    After all, this sidequest is part of a chain quest and could possibly ur on a new map which is Rivendell!


    Initially all the yers were ecstatic.


    Unfortunately, this quests¡¯ location was far away and had a high level restriction. Moreover, the ck Dragon Meryer could only carry a limited number of people in his back.


    Therefore, not everyone could participate.


    In addition, the reward was also limited seeing as it was a hidden quest triggered by Boxlunch¡¯s party, a rather well-known team that only epts high-level yers as its members.


    So, in the end, the participants consisted of only the members of Boxlunch¡¯s party, as well as Li¡¯l Salty Cat, who had a good rtionship with Meryer and was the only one who could persuade the dragon to allow yers to ride his back, and finally, the Guild Leader of Moe Moe Committee, HootyBird, also participated as thest member.


    A total of seven people, with the lowest member being level 15 and Boxlunch himself, the first hunter in Elven Kingdom. A hardcore master of grinding who ranked first on the yer¡¯s level leaderboard!


    A true ¡®Gaming God¡¯ amongst his peers.


    HootyBird is also nning to bring along materials in order to construct teleportation arrays at their destination. After scavenging the Caverock Tribe, the magic materials looted from the stronghold were seized by the yers, and there were more than enough to create arrays.


    If it really is a new location, then she will need to choose a suitable ce to build an array for yers to enter and exit. As long as there is a teleportation array, yers are almost invincible.


    Meanwhile, at the strong request of a particr group of yers, Li¡¯l Salty Cat was persuaded to do a live broadcast.


    Although most yers cannot participate in the quest themselves, watching the live stream of Salty Cat¡¯s adventures in this new location is a good alternative as well.


    Many curious yers stopped what they were doing, logged into the streaming website by going through the inte browser in-game, and entered Salty Cat¡¯s video stream.


    After everything was ready and their preparation waspleted, ck Dragon Meryer took off with the six of them¡­


    ¡°Hey dummy! I¡¯m talking to you¡­sigh, why aren¡¯t you leaving yet?¡±


    Inside the wagon, the elven girl looked at Boxlunch who was sitting idly by and kicked him hard in the shin while urging him with a frown.


    Boxlunch closed the chat window and finally looked at the girl.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving either.¡±


    ¡°Still not leaving? Why? What are you thinking of doing?¡± She asked with a hint of impatience in her tone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay and help you.¡±


    ¡°H-Help¡­help me?¡±


    Her eyes widened for a bit before she carefully looked at Boxlunch up and down in a skeptical manner.


    ¡°Forget it¡­ your strength is far too low. You¡¯d better leave quickly, otherwise, you¡¯ll be caught by the caravan guards if you stay here much longer!¡±


    She snorted and shook her head.


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not like you. I intentionally let myself be caught by these guys. Don¡¯t worry, unlike you, I can run very fast and they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch me if I get serious.¡±


    After speaking, she sighed and added,


    ¡°I can¡¯t even feel any sort of power from you. I bet you haven¡¯t even reached the Iron-rank, have you? Go quickly dummy, don¡¯t cause me any more trouble please, you¡¯re too weak¡ª¡±


    Before she could even finish speaking, Boxlunch instantly coated his finger with a knife-like aura, pressed her down, and reached out his finger close to her neck.


    He then actively leaked out some of this power, instantly revealing his strength as a peak iron-rank (Level 20) expert.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s gaze was cold, and his voice was low and powerful.


    The elven girl widened her eyes in shock after being pressed under him and sensing the terrifying power between Boxlunch¡¯s fingers and his strong breath.


    She shifted her gaze, and chuckled softly while inadvertently swallowing her saliva.


    ¡°Cough¡­very¡­very strong¡­¡±


    Her tone was a little timid.

 Chapter 136

    ?? <strong>THE LOST CITY OF RIVENDELL</strong>


    Boxlunch finally released his hold over the elven girl after demonstrating his strength.


    Then as soon as he stood up, she instinctively crawled to the far edge of the opposite side while looking at him warily, like a frightened little squirrel.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He took a deep breath and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡±


    ¡°¡­H-Huh?¡±


    She looked momentarily stunned with his casual demeanor, as if he didn¡¯t just jostled her mere moments ago.


    Seeing his all serious expression, she let out a couple of nervousughter before sighing out loud as if to rposed her bearings and said with a tone full of conviction,


    ¡°The n is to sneak in and find a chance to escape along with all my siblings!¡±


    Silence.


    Boxlunch just looked at her in a utterly dumbfounded manner.


    ¡°H-Hey, what kind of idiotic look is that huh!?¡± The elven girl said indignantly as puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms together.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact ce where these humans have taken my brothers and sisters, so I have no other choice but to blindly sneak in! But its fine, don¡¯t underestimate my ability to escape¡­there¡¯s no lock in this world that I can¡¯t open!¡±


    She proudly boasted while puffing out her almost nonexistent t chest.


    Silence.


    Boxlunch couldn¡¯t help but sigh yet again and didn¡¯tment any further. He instead just picked up the rope that once bound him and handed it back to the elven girl.


    ¡°Tie me up.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh? W-What?¡± The girl looked at him in confusion.


    ¡°Do you want them to know that we can escape?¡± Boxlunch asked.


    After hearing his words, the girl scratched her head while chuckling sheepishly and replied, ¡°Okay, fine¡­ you¡¯re right. Actually, I was nning to re-tie myself up after you escaped¡­ hehe, my disguise skills are very sophisticated you know¡­anyways, wouldn¡¯t you agree that my n is simply perfect and fool proof?¡±


    Boxlunch¡­


    He felt the urge to facepalm himself before stating,


    ¡°I¡¯ve called for some reinforcements.¡±


    He then pointed his thumb outside and added, ¡°We can¡¯t handle it by ourselves since there are some silver-rank experts among the mercenaries.¡±


    <em>S-Silver!? </em>


    The girl¡¯s pupils slightly contracted in shock. She instinctively covered her mouth and her voice slightly trembled as she asked, ¡°Silver¡­SILVER!? Do you mean there is a silver-ranked expert in this caravan?¡±


    He merely nced at her with his eyes implying to say, ¡®keep your voice down.¡¯


    The reason Boxlunch knew this was because he had eavesdropped on a conversation between the humans outside. He heard them talking about their leader, a mage who had reached the lower silver-rank, as well as a warrior at the middle silver-rank as well.


    They were the most powerful force in the entire caravan, which apparently belongs to ¡®Sauron family¡¯ a prominent noble household within the human society.


    Seeing Boxlunch¡¯s resolute expression, the girl¡¯s face changed and suddenly turned dejected.


    ¡°There are actually silver-ranked experts¡­ This is bad! I can manage alone, but it¡¯s too difficult to escape with my siblings under the noses of silver-rank experts.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re done for! we¡¯ll be in deep trouble if we happen toe across them during our escape!¡±


    ¡°S-Silver¡­ How could this caravan possibly hire a silver-ranked guard? The Sauron caravan is so well-known and well-connected, yet why are they still afraid of being attacked? Who would dare attack them anyways?¡±


    The girl paced back and forth in an anxious manner inside the wagon as she muttered to herself rhetorically.


    Boxlunchs¡¯ eyes just silently followed her pacing around for a minute before he exhaled and said,


    ¡°Currently we appeared to be somewhere along a canyon at the Dark Mountains.¡±


    ¡°The canyon within the Dark Mountains¡­¡± The girl repeated it in a low voice, then pped herself on the forehead in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m really stupid¡­ How could a human caravan safely pass through the Dark Mountains, where monsters run rampant, without any silver-ranked guards?¡±


    After speaking, she observed Boxlunch again and became a little anxious when she saw his unusual calm expression.


    ¡°Hey, dummy¡­aren¡¯t you worried at all? It¡¯s silver! silver experts you know!?¡±


    Boxlunch nced at her and simply repeated, ¡°I¡¯ve called for reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°You called for reinforcements, but what¡¯s the use? Can they fight against silver-ranked experts!?¡± The young girl grabbed his shoulder and repeatedly shook him whileical tears ran down her cheeks.


    Boxlunch ¡°¡­..¡±


    He didn¡¯t react but instead just used his other hand to grab the girl¡¯s arm, twisting and restraining it to control her.


    ¡°Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!¡± The girl eximed involuntarily.


    He felt exhaustedmunicating with this NPC.


    ¡°Calm down and do as I say,¡± Boxlunch firmly ordered and added, ¡°The reinforcements I called for also have silver-ranked experts.¡±


    <em>Silver-ranked backup?</em>


    The elven girl¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, and she unconsciously forgot the pain from once again being captured by him.


    <em>Wait a minute¡­</em>


    How can he call for reinforcements in the first ce?


    And how did he know a powerful person with silver-ranked abilities?


    Are there even silver-ranked experts among the elves?


    <em>W-Who¡­ who exactly is he?</em>


    In her mind, Boxlunch¡¯s image suddenly became more mysterious and unfathomable. He went from an ignorant dummy to a enigmatic and fascinating character shrouded in mist!


    At Boxlunch¡¯s reminder, the two quickly tied up themselves once more.


    To his surprise, the girl had a special skill in binding, making it almost seem impossible to escape. However, Box also noticed he only appears to be fully restricted by the ropes and could actually break free anytime he wanted.


    He raised his eyebrows a few times as he watched the girl tied herself up with ease.


    ¡®Has she tied herself up like these more than once in her life?¡¯ He idly wondered.


    Of course, the hole in the bottom of the wagon was also concealed by the elf girl, and the stolen goods and treasures were taken along with them.


    Not long after the two were re-tied, the entire wagon suddenly shook and gradually came to a halt. Amotion could be heard outside as several voices seemed to have lightened up and let out some cheers.


    <em>Had the human caravan finally arrived at their destination?</em>


    The two of them became alert.


    They looked at each other silently, but remained highly vignt.


    With a creaking sound, the tightly locked door of the wagon was finally opened from the outside while a dim light shone in and illuminated the area.


    One by one, several burly mercenaries entered the wagon and shoved Boxlunch and the elven girl off the wooden vehicle.


    As Boxlunch got off the car, he finally saw where they were. His pupils shrank slightly, and a gleam of surprise suddenly burst out in his eyes¡­


    He saw a magnificent valley!


    It was a deep gorge, with cliffs and ruins of buildings of various sizes situated at the bottom of the area.


    There were densely packed buildings, as well as crisscrossing mine cart tracks everywhere. He looked up and saw a towering ruined spire which was nearly a hundred meters high!


    The style of all the buildings appears to be elvish, seemingly having experienced the long passage of time. They are covered in ck moss and are severely damaged. The color of the entire ruins presents a deep bluish dark undertone.


    The structures appeared even more sinister and terrifying when its paired alongside the ck geological formations of the Dark Mountain Range¡­


    But even if it was already in ruins, the traces of its former glory could still be perceived.


    This¡­ was the lost elven city!


    <em>Rivendell!</em>


    This must be Rivendell!


    At the end of the valley, there was a deep and huge cave, with faintly sinister winds and monster roarsing out from it, seemingly connected to another unknown world¡­


    At this moment, Boxlunch had no more doubts in his mind.


    He took a deep breath and mentally essed his game menu to take a few screenshots, before uploading them to the game¡¯s official forums.


    <strong>Nihil Note</strong> : Thanks to Oyashiro and Yong S for the tip! ????(*¡ã¨Œ¡ã*)

 Chapter 137

    ??<strong>The Smugglers Stronghold</strong>


    The screenshots posted by Boxlunch quickly caused a sensation after it was uploaded in the official forum of Elven Kingdom.


    After examining the images in jis post, it can be concluded that the ruins of Rivendell is truly a magnificent ce with its towering elven architecture that still looks grand and majestic, even after a thousand years had passed.


    As the former manufacturing and mining center of the elven kingdom, the ruins of Rivendell still bear some traces of its industrial past such as the various mining tracks that still have carts on it and the various forging furnaces which are vaguely distinguishable within the distance. All these mechanical and rusted objects give the ce a steampunk aesthetic one wouldn¡¯t normally expect in a high fantasy world like Elven Kingdom.


    Moreover, the vicissitudes that have endured for over a millennium along with the eerie and frigid atmosphere that is unique to the dark canyon have imposed a profound sense of mystery to the entire area.


    The mine tunnels crisscrossing beneath the massive buildingplex and the towering spire at the center that looms overhead as it cast deep and enigmatic shadows, basking everyone into a shade of impassivity¡­


    All in all, seeing all these screenshots have exhrated the yers desires to explore this vast befallen ruins!


    The number ofments to the post have arisen exponentially within minutes.


    ¡°Damn! This elven ruins is quite impressive! It fulfills all my fantasies about a ruined world¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you see that deep hole at the back? I think its the entrance to the underworld¡­¡±


    ¡°This new location seems great! I¡¯ve been adventuring in the forest all this time, and although the scenery is still great, I kinda feel like I need a change of pace, you know? Seeing these steampunk ruins makes me wanna explore the mysteries hidden behind this ce!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about what kind of mobs will spawn in this new map! There are fewer and fewer monsters in the elven forest that I can hunt, and the only ones left are too strong for me to handle alone. Going to some farther ces is also unsafe¡­I wonder if Rivendell will have cave spiders, kobolds, and so on¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget about the mobs for now¡­Did any of you guys remember? The holy city of Florence once had so many good things that was uncovered when we first discovered it. As the elven manufacturing capital, Rivendell was destroyed before the elves even had a chance to evacuate, right? Surely there must be more treasures hidden beneath these ruins!¡±


    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re really tempting me¡­¡±


    The yers were boiling with excitement.


    For a while, the post with the screenshots of Rivendell uploaded by Boxlunch had became the most popr topic on the forum.


    The in-game public chatroom was also flooded with messages from various yers¡­


    ¡°Sir Box, please do a live broadcast!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Please! We also want to have an early look at Rivendell!¡±


    ¡°Boss Box, I heard you were captured by some human smugglers¡­can you post a screenshot? We want to see what the caravan looks like.¡±


    ¡°Boxlunch, is it really true that you currently have a beautiful elven girl along with you?¡±


    ¡°Damn, there are even NPC girls? Friggin¡¯ lucky winners in life, go explode, tch¡­¡±


    ¡°Lol, I¡¯m so jealous man, how about you? xD¡±


    ¡°Bruh, this is literally the stereotypical story of a hero saving a damsel. Dammit, I also wanna trigger a hidden sidequest with an NPC maiden!¡±


    ¡°How shameless! I bet you just want to trigger a hidden quest so that you can cozy up with an NPC girl.¡±


    ¡°Lmao, I think this guy¡¯s more interested in the NPC¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Pffft¡­You guys are all perverts!¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    He took a deep breath and blocked all the yers whose posting increasingly inappropriatements at the public chatroom.


    The elven girl next to him looked nervously at the human mercenaries around her, then nced at Boxlunch who was just absent-mindedly looking at nothing in midair, and pursed her lips.


    <em>Just what¡¯s up with this guy.</em>..


    How can he still have the guts to daydream despite their precarious situation?


    She hasn¡¯t been feeling well ever since she heard from him that there was a silver-ranked experts in this human caravan.


    However, this dumbass who mentioned it all seemed to be entirely fearless and she truly didn¡¯t know whether he¡¯s really unafraid or just too overconfident with his abilities¡­


    She was a bit skeptical about the backup with silver-ranked strength that he mentioned, but regardless¡­She¡¯s now starting to regret her reckless decision.


    <em>What if¡­</em>


    What if this dumbass ispletely unreliable, and they somehow run into those silver-ranked experts while they are escaping?


    Wouldn¡¯t they all be doomed then?


    The thought made the girl shiver uncontrobly.


    After closing the public chatroom, Boxlunch turned his attention back to the caravan.


    The human caravan wasn¡¯t particrlyrge, with only about fifty or sixty people, half of whom were mercenaries.


    To avoid arousing suspicion, Boxlunch didn¡¯t tried appraising any of their strengths.


    However, he observed the movements of their footsteps whenever these mercenaries walked and roughly judged that their strength was not very high.


    Most of them probably hadn¡¯t even reached the intermediate iron-rank!


    This surprised Boxlunch a little.


    He felt that the strength of these human mercenaries seemed to be somewhat low.


    In fact, this is because Boxlunch didn¡¯t know much about the general strength of the various sentient races living within Saig¨¹es.


    In the mortal realm, there are not many people who can reach the iron-rank. The ratio was that out of a hundred people, there may only be two or three practitioners who can broke through to level 10, and the majority of the popce only have the base strength of an apprentice.


    And the cost of hiring professional mercenaries is not cheap either.


    Rtively speaking, a human in the iron-rank would have no worries finding employment. Any mercenary organization or caravan will wee such an expert with open arms.


    Human caravans in Saig¨¹es are generally focused on maximizing profits. When hiring mercenaries for escort, the owners of these caravans have the tendency to hire low-cost individuals.


    Generally, they will hire arge number of low-ranked mercenaries, plus one or two impressive experts to be in charge.


    The reason why Boxlunch feels that these mercenaries are weak is simply because he has always been dealing with strong mobs and the orcs.


    In fact¡­In the eyes of ordinary humans, the mobs and orcs the yers besieged, are fierce and powerful creatures that one couldn¡¯t normally handle.


    Of course, although the overall strength of humankind is rtively low, their poption is veryrge inparison. Therefore, the number of ranked experts among humankind is actually the highest amongst all the sentient races.


    Moreover, there are many lucky ones who have ranked even further among the humans who be Experts. The Sauron family is proud of its strength because of their capacity to employ such strong individuals that¡¯s dominating the continent.


    If we look at the overall strength of humanity, they are actually the strongest race in Saig¨¹es.


    Indeed, the ruler of the current Eternal Era is definitely humankind!


    Their only problem is that mankind has a tendency to wage war against each other, which has resulted in the segregation of their poption into various countries, thereby lowering their overall strength. This weakness is enough to make any other sentient race feel a breath of relieve since a unified humanity is a very fearsome force to be reckoned with!


    As for the Sauron caravan, which is widely renowned all throughout the continent¡­generally speaking, no one would dare to have any thoughts of attacking them, as long as they can assemble the power to resist the wild monsters and disy the Sauron family¡¯s banner along the way to deter bandits.


    Therefore, although the value of the goods escorted by this caravan is not low, their overall strength is only two capable silver-ranked experts.


    Of course, these silver-ranked mercenaries are already very strong¡­


    Boxlunch¡¯s gaze flickered slightly as he looked towards the front of the caravan.


    There, a human mage dressed in gorgeous attire stood in a regal manner. He appeared to be around fifty or sixty years old and beside him was also a tall golden-haired swordsman who seemed to be his guard.


    Even though they were far apart, Boxlunch could still sense the strong aura emanating from the both of them¡­


    <em>Silver!</em>


    These are the two silver-ranked experts among these human smugglers!


    After a while, the merchant group stopped in front of a hundred-meter tall spire in the ruins.


    The mercenaries drove the wagons into an empty plot ofnd next to the spire, and brought Boxlunch and the elven girl inside the tower.


    Once inside the spire, the two understood that this was one of the smuggling stronghold of this merchant group!


    Unlike the ruined exterior outside, the interior of this tower was well-organized with various living facilities, but the air inside was murky, making the two elves instinctively wrinkle their brows.


    After the merchant group entered, several guarding personnel promptly greeted them.


    Boxlunch saw a guy in a mage attire, who seemed to be the leader of this ce, made a respectful gesture towards the the silver-rank expert that entered along with them.


    ¡°Lord Belus, you finally arrived! Our clients have been urging us for these goods several times already, and the amount they wanted is toorge this time¡­Of course, I didn¡¯t dare to trade without your presence.¡±


    The silver-rank who apparently is named Belus shrewdly smiled.


    ¡°The kingdom has been keeping a close watch on ustely, so we took a detour and made a small profit from the orcs, and unexpectedly obtained something valuable as well along the way.¡±


    After speaking, he pointed to Boxlunch and the elven girl and said, ¡°Here are two more elves! Lock them up too and sell them with the next batch of goods.¡±


    ¡°Two more?¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes lit up.


    He looked at the two and nodded, ¡°They are quite good. I¡¯ll have them locked up right away!¡±


    After that, he waved his hand and two more people came forward and took Boxlunch and the girl away.


    Both of them didn¡¯t resist and were escorted by some human guards into the depths of the tower as if they had really lost their strength. They were ushered towards a dark underground passageway that led straight down a narrow path.


    They silently walked down the underground passage for ten straight minutes before finally arriving in front of a deep and damp dungeon that¡¯s dimly illuminated.


    As soon as they arrived here, Boxlunch saw seven or eight young elves locked up in a horrid condition and all looked towards them with surprise etched upon their faces!

 Chapter 138

    ?? <strong>NIGHTINGALE SHADE</strong>


    The elves all looked rtively young¡­at least, if judged by human aesthetics alone that is.


    The biggest one looked like a twelve or thirteen-year-old teenage human, whereas the smallest one looked just like a child around five to six years old.


    Of course based on his previous experience, Boxlunch knew that even the smallest elf might actually be old enough to be his big brother simr to A¨¦l Moonlight.


    However, the one thing that he particrly noticed was that the hair and eye colors of all these elven younglings varied from each other, and even differed inparison to the thief girl¡¯s appearance.


    There were blondes, redhead, auburn, and even green-haired ones, but none had the same dark grey hair as him and the older elven girl.


    ording to the yers¡¯ understanding of the games¡¯ lore, the elven race in ElvKing are divided into various ns, and the best way to distinguish them amongst each other is to look particrly at the color of their hair and eye pupils.


    The varying hair colors most likely meant that these younglings were not from the same n as the older ashen haired girl.


    All the captive elves huddled in a corner, and some of the younger ones have already fallen asleep in the arms of their olderpanions. Faint traces of unwiped tears could still be discerned upon their faces.


    The older ones who were still awake are vigntly watching the outside of the cell with each of their faces pale and etched in anxiety. Even when they tried to appear calm, they still couldn¡¯t hide the fear and confusion lingering deep within their eyes as they think about the uncertainties of their future.


    When Boxlunch and his thievingpanion were finally escorted in, they instantly attracted the attention of the captive younglings, particrly their eyes locked onto thetter as if they couldn¡¯t believe what their seeing.


    Looking at the tied-up older woman, a male elf who appears to be the oldest within the group rushed to the front of the cell, grabs the railing and shouted, ¡°Nightingale¡­Sister Nightingale! How¡­how did you get caught too?!¡±


    His teenage voice was clear and tenderden with surprise and worry within his tone.


    ¡°Elder sister? Sister Nightingale was caught too?¡±


    His voice caught the attention of the other younglings as well.


    Soon, everyone crowded into the forefront of the cell, looking at the older woman with myriad of emotions such as affection, concern, and sadness deep within their eyes.


    ¡°Sister Nightingale! It really is sister Nightingale!¡±


    ¡°Sis, did they do anything to you!?¡±


    ¡°Elder sister, are you injured?¡±


    ¡°Sister Nightingale¡­why are you here as well?¡±


    Looking at those young faces, the elven woman called Nightingale suddenly felt relieved, and a hint of tenderness appeared upon her face.


    She nodded at the younglings, giving them aforting look to show that everything was okay.


    ¡°Get in there! Stop shouting!¡±


    Seeing the young elves flocked to the cell door all at once, the two guards cursed and whipped the cell railings, causing a scream to rise up from one of the captives.


    It wasn¡¯t until the younglings timidly retreated to the back of the prison that the human guards finally stopped, feeling satisfied.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    Upon witnessing the guard¡¯s vulgar behavior, Nightingale widened her eyes and red at the human brandishing the whip. Instinctively, she attempted to break free from the ropes but was soon lightly kicked to the shin by Boxlunch.


    Nightingale turned around angrily, but upon seeing his calm eyes, her anger gradually subsided.


    She understood the underlying message of his pointed gaze¡ª


    ¡ª<em>Remain calm.</em>


    Rather than imprisoning him and Nightingale together in the young elves¡¯ cell, the guards had taken them to another prison specifically made for skilled practitioners instead.


    This prison appeared to be even more solid and secludedpared to the rest.


    The guards instantly left after throwing and securing the two into the cell.


    Once they were certain the human guards had left, the thief girl known as Nightingale stood up at once. She instantly broke free of the ropes tied on her body and ripped the cloth off her mouth, then immediately went up to the cell door and started picking the lock.


    Her lockpicking techniques were quite skillful, and the heavy lock was easily pried open within just a minute of her tinkering with it. Nightingale¡¯s mood instantly soared upon unlocking the door, but then she heard Boxlunch¡¯s crisp voice from behind her just as she was about to rush out of the cell.


    ¡°Do you want to die?¡±


    Like being drenched in cold water, Nightingale suddenly calmed down. Her movements paused slightly, and her voice trembled as she spoke,


    ¡°They¡­are my younger brothers and sisters. I have to go save them!¡±


    Boxlunch remained silent for a moment before responding,


    ¡°Wait for my backup.¡±


    After speaking, he then pointed upwards and held up two fingers whilst shaking his head.


    ¡°Two silvers.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Nightingale turned back and grabbed Boxlunch¡¯s shoulder with her voice trembling in anxiety.


    ¡°I know there are two silver-rank experts up there, one of them is even a mage! But¡­ but¡­¡±


    Her voice was tinged with a hint of sobbing.


    ¡°Trust me.¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s voice was deep and certain.


    Upon hearing his words, Nightingale¡¯s grip on his shoulders gradually loosened and she looked visibly deted as her body fall and knelt down on the ground.


    ¡°C-Can I really trust you? Seeing the frightened looks of my siblings is worrying me so much¡­they¡¯re all just children you know? Kids who can¡¯t even have a proper childhood!¡±


    As she spoke, Nightingale began to sob softly as tears slowly ran down her cheeks.


    Boxlunch said nothing at first. He hesitated for a moment but finally reached out and put his hand onto the young girl¡¯s shoulder as a sign offort.


    Nightingale silently cried for a while before gradually subsiding and regaining some semnce ofposure.


    She instinctively wiped her reddened eyes and began to tell her story¡­


    ¡°I hate humans¡­They destroyed my home.¡±


    ¡°After the heavenly war a thousand years ago, the Darkshade n split into several factions, and our group decided to infiltrate the human society about a hundred years ago to live alongside humankind in seclusion¡­¡±


    ¡°As the saying goes, the most dangerous ce can also be the safest one under certain circumstances.¡±


    ¡°In fact, our n is skilled at concealing ourselves, hiding our identities and moving to a new location every now and then. Although it¡¯s an unstable lifestyle, it has also kept us alive¡­¡±


    ¡°My mother gave me the name Nightingale, which symbolizes beauty and freedom in elvishnguage. She also hoped that I could live my life freely just like the nightingale birds in the skies¡­¡±


    ¡°The name Nightingale Shade is indeed a good metaphor, but s, how could such a life be possible for us?¡± She said in a self-deprecating tone before adding, ¡°A life of wandering is inherently full of risks.¡±


    Nightingale sighed and paused for a couple of seconds before continuing her tale.


    ¡°Later on, out of sympathy and kindness, the elders of our n rescued an injured human knight, but unfortunately as expected, he eventually discovered our real identity¡­¡±


    ¡°This knight initially promised with great conviction that he was grateful for our help and wouldn¡¯t reveal our secret¡­¡±


    ¡°He did behaved well and his words sounded sincere. Hardworking, humble, kind and loyal¡­ he almost met all the expectations that we elves have for a knight¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­ the elders easily trusted him.¡±


    ¡°But¡­I am very much against it, I don¡¯t trust any humans at all, and I think that anyone who discovered our secrets should be silenced, no matter who the other person is¡­.¡±


    ¡°s, the elders scolded me for my opinion. They firmly and naively believed that the knight would abide by the code of chivalry and not expose the secret of his benefactors to anyone¡­¡±


    At this point, Nightingaleughed mockingly.


    ¡°How is that possible? Such naive fools¡­the elders hadpletely forgotten that he¡¯s a human after all!¡±


    ¡°After that knight left, he soon returned with a group of mercenaries along with him¡­¡±


    ¡°What loyalty? What kindness? Hah! What a load of bullshit¡­When ites to personal interests, as I expected, everything this human did was fake!¡±


    ¡°Did you know? The price of a young female elf is enough to make an ordinary person live a life of luxury for the rest of his life. How could such greedy humans not be tempted?¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°Our n perished because of such blind naivety. I personally witnessed my father being killed by humans when he resisted, and my mother¡­my poor mother was vited by them¡­ in the end, even I was captured by ve traders.¡±


    ¡°At that time, I was already feeling hopeless, but I was saved by someone who was also hiding within human society.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t an elf, but she was sympathetic to our kind. She opened an orphanage, but in reality, it only sheltered elves she rescued from the hands of humans¡­¡±


    ¡°Including me¡­ and my brothers and sisters.¡±


    ¡°My siblings weren¡¯t from the Darkshade n, but they were all just as unfortunate children like me, who was also persecuted by humans¡­¡±


    ¡°We hid our identities and took refuge in the orphanage, under the protection of our savior, who gave us a second home¡­¡±


    ¡°Although we had to hide and conceal our identities, at least we managed to survive once again.¡±


    ¡°I am the oldest and that benefactor of ours have taught me a lot of things in life. I have also followed her into infiltrating human caravans to save many of ourpanions. My younger brothers and sisters call me their sister even though were not rted. They are very close to me, and I love them very much¡­¡±


    ¡°Later on, our savior¡­she passed away due to an ident.¡±


    ¡°As the eldest sister within our group, I wanted to fulfill my savior¡¯sst wishes, that is to continue maintaining the entire orphanage and saving any elves that fell into human hands, but her death aroused the suspicion of the city¡¯s governor, and they eventually discovered our secret.¡±


    ¡°My younger brothers and sisters were all captured while I was away on a mission.¡±


    ¡°I chased after them all the way here, hoping to rescue each and every one of them¡­ but s, I didn¡¯t expect to be so powerless¡­¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°I¡­truly failed as their eldest sister¡­¡±


    Nightingale looked at Boxlunch with tears, full of sadness.


    ¡°Is it true that there is no shelter for us elves in this world?¡±


    ¡°Are we just meremodities for other races to be their ything? A ve for some rich bastard¡¯s sick amusement?¡±


    ¡°Why? What did we do wrong!?¡±


    ¡°Is kindness really a sin? Does mercy really only bring misfortune upon us?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I would rather fall into darkness!¡±


    ¡°¡­is there any hope for our future¡­?¡±


    Boxlunch remained silent while listening to Nightingale¡¯s outburst.


    After a moment, he took a deep breath and resolutely said,


    ¡°There is.¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°¡­Really?¡±


    Nightingale¡¯s shoulders lightly shooked and she looked at him with her tear soaked face for a minute before looking down again while muttering in a defeated tone,


    ¡°Even if we are truly saved this time, the life ahead of us would still be another cycle of hiding and being pursued¡­¡±


    ¡°We have lost our race¡¯s powerful abilities, and all that is left is this damn beautiful appearance and desirable lifespan and unique physique that draws people to us¡­¡±


    ¡°Do we really have a future like this?¡±


    Nightingale held onto Boxlunch¡¯s clothes tightly and rhetorically asked with a miserable self-deprecating smile.


    Boxlunch looked down at her.


    His expression was still calm, but his gaze had softened significantly.


    ¡°There is.¡±


    Boxlunch repeated again but his time, his voice was much gentler than usual.


    ¡°The shelter and our future, both of them exist.¡±


    As if on cue, right after he was finished speaking, the entire cell suddenly shook, stirring up a cloud of dust on the ceiling as the dust particles slowly drifts down into the ground.


    Then a faint high-pitched dragon¡¯s roar came from above followed by rm signals and noises of crowd that sounded utterly stricken with panic.


    Boxlunch took a deep breath and grabbed the hand of Nightingale in order to help her stand up.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    He finally released his aura and it began rising while his eyes gradually became sharp as he pulled out a hidden dagger from the sole of his shoe.


    Boxlunch then looked at her entirely shocked face and for the first since he met her, showed a small confident lopsided smile.


    ¡°Reinforcements have arrived.¡±

 Chapter 139

    ??<strong>WHO EXACTLY IS HE? </strong>


    ¡°Re¡­reinforcements?¡±


    Nightingale was slightly taken aback.


    Without saying anything else, Boxlunch kicked open the cell door that Nightingale had just opened and walked out first.


    ¡°Go and save the others.¡±


    He left after saying these words and then went to the entrance of the dungeon before hiding within the shadows of the staircase at the corner.


    The entire prison cell shook again, as faint noises of humans shouting in surprise reverberated from the pathways leading towards the upper floors.


    Nightingale¡¯s sharp ears twitched slightly upon hearing thismotion, and her eyes gradually regained its previous luster. She then sniffled and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes before also quickly rushing out of the cell.


    After going out, she instantly came to the prison cell where her siblings were imprisoned.


    ¡°Sister Nightingale!¡±


    Seeing their eldest sister running over, the elven younglings greeted her all at the same time.


    ¡°You guys just stay back while I open this door.¡±


    Nightingale promptly said as she began tinkering with the lock with her nimble hands.


    All her siblings just nodded obediently as they stepped back and watched her lockpicking skills in action.


    A slightly older elf hesitated for a moment and asked curiously,


    ¡°Sister Nightingale¡­ who is he?¡±


    He looked in the direction where Boxlunch was hiding.


    Nightingale hesitated for a moment and replied, ¡°He¡¯s¡­a friend I met along the way, who decided to help me rescue you guys.¡±


    It seems¡­she had forgotten to ask his name¡­


    Nightingale felt a little ashamed.


    Soon, she finally opened the door to the cell, and all the young elves inside felt relief washed all over them as they all fled from the cell one after the another.


    However, at this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the top of the stairs at the entrance of the dungeon.


    ¡°Hurry¡­ bring those captive elves along with us before we escape!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Where did that crazy ck dragon evene from!?¡±


    ¡°I wonder how long can Lord Belus resist¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a young ck dragon! Didn¡¯t it know that we are from the Sauron Household?¡±


    ¡°Enough! Stop talking, let¡¯s hurry up.¡±


    Two fully armed human mercenaries ran down, cursing as they went but as soon as they reached the underground, they saw Nightingale and her group escaping.


    And in that instant, Nightingale and the mercenaries locked eyes with each other.


    <em>Mercenaries!</em>


    Her pupils shrank slightly.


    Oh no! We¡¯ve been discovered!


    Nightingale¡¯s expression tightened as she quickly protected her younger siblings behind her.


    Meanwhile, the two human mercenaries who saw their captives escaping were stunned.


    Then their faces turned fierce, but as they were about to call for more personnel, an agile figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows behind them!


    It was Boxlunch, who had an indifferent expression while wielding his dagger. He easily passed through the two startled mercenaries with lightning movements.


    His actions were elegant and fast, and the dagger easily pierced through the bodies of the two mercenaries in an instant.


    For a moment, the Nightingale only felt a dazzling silvery light shing before her eyes.


    [ <strong>Double sh Stab</strong> ]


    When she looked again, she found that Boxlunch had already rushed to her side.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± He said calmly after putting down his dagger.


    <em>Go?</em>


    Nightingale waspletely confused while looking at the mercenaries who appeared to be still unharmed behind him.


    But at this moment, as if on cue, long streak of blood lines suddenly appeared upon the necks of the two mercenaries¡­


    With a sound of liquid bursting, a terrible wound appeared upon their necks asrge amounts of blood spurted out from the cuts.


    The two guards still had a look of bewilderment, as if they hadn¡¯t figured out what had just happened.


    Nightingale only saw them clutching their necks in disbelief, before spitting out fresh warm blood, and then falling slowly into the ground lifelessly¡­


    It was only then that Nightingale came to her senses and look at the back of Boxlunch with a shocked expression.


    She covered her mouth in surprise with her eyes filled with disbelief and a different kind of wonderment.


    <em>H-He just killed two human mercenaries of at least mid iron-rank with just one hit?</em>


    Despite bearing the curse of his race, he is still so powerful and not as rigid and inflexible while also having no qualms inmitting murderpletely unlike a normal elf¡­


    <em>Who exactly is he</em>?


    She knew it already beforehand, but this guy really is a strong and enigmatic person!


    The younglings also looked at Boxlunch in shock.


    Their expressions carried a hint of fear and admiration¡­


    The younger children¡¯s eyes were covered by the older ones, so as not to see the bloodied scene.


    ¡°Wow¡­such a powerful brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­the legendary elf wanderer?¡±


    ¡°I feel¡­a little bit scared¡­¡±


    Boxlunch nced at everyone with his usual indifferent gaze, and simply turned back to climb up the stairs.


    ¡°Keep up.¡±


    Nightingale froze, then her resolve reignited and she urged her younger siblings to follow along.


    She then hesitated for a moment as they crossed the bodies of the two dead mercenaries, before boldly picking up their weapons and returned to her siblings¡¯ side as they tried to keep up with Boxlunch¡¯s pace.


    When they emerged from the dungeon, they found that the interior of the tower had already fallen into chaos.


    The nonbatant personnel of the human caravan were hastily packing up their things, while most of the mercenaries who served as their guards were entirely missing.


    Outside the tower, faint cries of human screams along with joyful beastly roars could also be heard¡­


    There were no strong enemies left inside the tower.


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes shed as he tightly grasped the dagger in his hand.


    As their group suddenly rushed out of the dungeon, several caravan members immediately noticed their arrival.


    ¡°H-Hey look¡­its the elves!¡±


    ¡°How did they escape?¡±


    ¡°Hurry! Quickly subdue them!¡±


    The mercenaries close to the entrance who heard the shouts of the caravan members hurriedly returned back inside the tower.


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes shed again as he charged into these crowd of mercenaries.


    His movements were agile, as if he was in no man¡¯snd, and the mercenaries who rushed towards him were quickly struck upon their vital spots!


    ¡°Mid Iron-rank expert! He must be an intermediate iron-ranked elf!¡±


    ¡°Quick¡­go call the captain!¡±


    Seeing the mercenaries unable to withstand any of Boxlunch¡¯s attack, the remaining members of the caravan eximed in disbelief.


    One member hesitated for a moment, then picked up a bag of gold coins, before turning and running out of the tower in a panic.


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    With a sh of his eyes, Boxlunch picked up a steel sword from the ground and threw it straight towards the fleeing guy.


    The sword shot out rapidly, easily piercing through the escaping caravan member¡¯s heart, leaving him with a shocked look as his dying expression.


    Outside the high tower.


    A group of more than twenty human mercenaries, led by the two silver-rank experts, were struggling to fight against the ck dragon, Meryer.


    On the ground, there were scorched marks of dragon breath everywhere, along with several dead bodies of those unlucky mercenaries who had already fallen.


    However, the ck dragon remains unscathed, flying in the sky while looking down at the mercenaries down on the ground with a yful expression.


    The Silver Mage¡¯s expression turned livid as Belus red at the young ck dragon that had appeared out of nowhere and just started wrecking havoc upon their base for no reason.


    <em>How many years¡­ </em>


    Exactly how many years had it been since the patriach of the Sauron Household broke through the legendary rank and get in touch with the lord of the underworld? It had been so many years since anyone dared to provoke the authority of the Sauron Household like this!


    Unexpectedly, a mere young ck dragon actually dared to provoke them!


    Damn beast!


    Arrogant lizard!


    Belus clenched his staff tightly with his face turning darker with each seconds that passed by.


    He then looked at the dead mercenaries lying on the ground and said through gritted teeth, ¡°ck Dragon¡­ Do you know exactly who ¡®we¡¯ are?¡±


    ¡°Hah! Evil smugglers, of course!¡± Meryer sneered disdainfully before roaring arrogantly and added, ¡°Greedy, evil humans! Leave all your treasures to me and this Lord may consider letting you go¡ª¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡±


    Halfway through his sentence, a light cough suddenly interrupted Meryer¡¯s speech from behind the little ck dragon¡¯s ears.


    Meryer expression stiffened slightly, and he dryly coughed twice before straightening his dragon face and reiterated,


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right! Greedy, evil humans! Leave all your treasures and the captive elves you kidnapped to me and this benevolent lord may consider letting you go¡­¡±


    It was at this moment that Belus finally noticed a human-like figure that had been hiding on the back of the ck dragon.


    His gaze paused briefly in confusion, before casting an illumination spell.


    The dark scenery outside was instantly illuminated, and Belus can now better see the small female figure riding on the back of the ck dragon.


    In an instant, his expression was filled with disbelief and shock.


    ¡°An Elf!?¡±

 Chapter 140

    ??<strong>AN ELF RIDING A BLACK DRAGON </strong>


    Constant barrage of messages flew across the screen within Little Salty Cat¡¯s live stream, as the yers who cannot join the quest watched the mercenaries of human caravan confront the ck dragon.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m a little disappointed that the first human NPC models that we¡¯ve seen are so unattractive.¡±


    ¡°Lol, don¡¯t you know? This is called realism! Even back on the real world, not everyone can be good-looking, you know. Heck, just try walking out at any random streets and let¡¯s see if you can even spot any beautiful person at all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, i think adding NPCs that looks like westerners kind of breaks the immersion for me¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Are you suggesting that you only want to see oriental type of characters in a western-themed fantasy game like this? That¡¯s even less immersive!¡±


    ¡°I still think these human smugglers are so unattractive¡­.Although they¡¯re kind of better looking than the orcs I guess.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, we¡¯re elves, the quintessential representation of beauty, how could they evenpare to us?¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­these smugglers do seem pretty weak! They can¡¯t even handle the first wave of ckie¡¯s dragon breath attack.¡±


    ¡°Well, Meryer has already reached the strength of a Silver-rank. What I¡¯m more worried about are their equipments! His breath attacks are destroying everything!¡±


    ¡°Ah, having ckie as the main DPS is a good strat, but it¡¯s just too heavy-handed in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°I totally agree as well!¡±


    The yers watching the stream are talking all over the ce.


    But regardless of how cheerful the yer¡¯s side was chatting upon the stream. At this moment, the enemy¡¯s side particrly their leader Belus, was feelingpletely bewildered¡­


    An elf was riding on the back of a ck dragon!


    He even dared to swear upon the name of the Eternal Lord Iteo that no one would believe him if he told them about this scene he had just witnessed. Anyone would just likely think that he had gone mad from drinking too much fake wine.


    The ck dragons, in particr, are widely known as the most evil and ferocious of all the colored dragons. In fact, they can be considered the most despicable and shameless creatures in all of existence!


    On the other hand, the elves are universally recognized as the most beautiful, peaceful, and honest amongst all of the sentient races in S¨¤iges.


    So how could these two existence on the pr end of each spectrum be involved with one another?


    Belus¡¯ first thought was that maybe this elf was a ything of the ck dragon since dragons in general are a entric bunch of creatures. Aside from their pursuit of treasures, many of them also have all sorts of weird peculiar hobbies¡­


    It wouldn¡¯t be entirely impossible to encounter a dragon that have a fetish for breeding with an elves per se¡­


    However, if this assumption was correct and this female elf was indeed being raised as its ything, then how could an arrogant dragon even allow such an elf to ride upon its back?


    After all¡­ this female elf appeared to be weak, and as a powerful and esteemed beings belonging to the golden race, dragons would only allow anyone to climb upon their heads if there were enormous benefits to be gained.


    <em>Could it be that¡­ this was just a weird kink of this particr ck dragon?</em>


    <em>Perhaps this dragon¡­just liked having cute female elves ride on its back?</em>


    However¡­ that elven girl doesn¡¯t seem very scared either!


    On the contrary¡­ it seems like she¡¯s even a little excited?


    <em>What the hell is thisbination exactly?</em>


    Belus was utterly puzzled.


    Nevertheless, this weird urrence did not stop him from attempting to negotiate with the other party.


    ¡°Lord ck Dragon, I don¡¯t know how we may have offended you. Indeed you are very powerful, and we do not wish to be your enemy¡­¡±


    After speaking, he then changed his tone to a more threatening one.


    ¡°But I must tell you, our caravan is affiliated with the great Sauron household. We also hope you will not try to make an enemy of the Sauron family and test our bottom line¡­¡±


    Belus ced a stronger emphasis on the words ¡®Sauron family.¡¯ while he was talking since mentioning the name of the Sauron household is quite useful in negotiations like these.


    In general, if their caravan encounters any sort of difficulties during its journey, everything would be solved just as long as they invoked the name of the Sauron family.


    Even a powerful beings like a dragon would hesitate to ever mess with them!


    With the background of their patriach having legendary strength, and possibly connections to demigods or even more ancient beings, such powerful household like theirs can organize a dragon-ying team within an instant.


    Aside from those ancient monsters among the dragons who have lived for thousands of years, nobody would dare ce their own life at risk just to mess with a caravan that has the Sauron family as its backer.


    This time, Belus firmly believed that this ck Dragon would retreat as long as he revealed his backers.


    After all, it was only a young ck dragon.


    As long as the family desired it, sending out a few high-level experts would be enough to y such a young dragon.


    Upon seeing the humans stop negotiating, the yers within the live broadcast room were also stunned.


    ¡°Huh? They just backed down?¡±


    ¡°After all, they are just a caravan. They must be afraid when encountering a ck dragon, right?¡±


    ¡°I thought they were going to fight¡­ ¡°


    ¡°No, no¡­ Didn¡¯t you hear the implied threat on the caravan leader¡¯s words?¡±


    ¡°The Sauron family? What kind of family is that? This guy looks like he has some powerful backers¡­¡±


    ¡°Psh! Even if they have some powerful backers, can it be stronger than ours!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Our boss is the goddess! The one who single-handedly fought against the gods a thousand years ago!¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ Will Salty Cat really let them go for real?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about Salty Cat, but I believe Meryer won¡¯t let them go since they have now shown their wealth,..¡±


    ¡°Right, that guy is very greedy for treasures¡­¡±


    As the barrage ofments from the viewers became more and more numerous, the ck dragon also clearly heard the name mentioned by Belus.


    ¡°¡­The Sauron family?¡±


    His eyes lit up, and there was no fear in his expression, but rather a hint of excitement.


    ¡°Is it the Sauron family that has been stirring up trouble all across the continent¡­smuggling banned items everywhere, trading with different races, and plundering a lot of ill gotten wealth?¡±


    Belus, ¡°¡­..¡±


    His face looked a bit conflicted while listening to the unpleasant strings of allegations stated by the ck dragon.


    The old mage suppressed his anger and secretly remembered the name Meryer before nodding.


    ¡°Yes, its that great Sauron family.¡±


    Regardless of its opinion of the Sauron family, this dragon would definitely back down now since it recognized his backers.


    <em>It called itself Meryer, rig</em>ht¡­


    Its just a young ck dragon, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with it in the future!


    However, contrary to his expectations, the ck dragon became even more excited.


    ¡°You guys are actually from the Sauron family! That¡¯s great! That¡¯s really great!¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ your caravan must have a lot of treasures!¡±


    ¡°Leave it! You must leave all your treasures for this Lord!¡±


    The viewers in the live chat: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°See, just like I¡¯ve said, right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, ck dragons are all greedy¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­did Meryer just forget about the captured elves again?¡±


    Meanwhile, Meryer¡¯s breathing became heavier as his eyes turned red with excitement.


    <em>The Sauron family!</em>


    They were the richest human noble family on the entire continent!


    This time¡­he¡¯d really hit the jackpot!


    Not only could he punish evil and promote good, but he could also reap arge sum of treasures!


    The ck dragon became even more excited.


    Belus: ¡°¡­.¡±


    After hearing the ck dragon¡¯s unexpected words, his face became even more unpleasant.


    Where did this uncultured ck dragone from?


    It still wanted to fight them despite knowing that they are part of the Sauron family?


    He suppressed his anger and said,


    ¡°ck dragon! Do you know who is the leader of our family?¡±


    Meryer scratched his ear and yawned.


    ¡°Ruaah~! Isn¡¯t it just a legendary expert? Hmm¡­I remember my father once said that Sauron¡¯s patriarch seems to have some connection with an ancient deity, but so what?¡±


    At this point, Meryer raised his head with a proud expression.


    ¡°Hmph! Isn¡¯t it just a true god? It¡¯s not like this Lord haven¡¯t seen one before! Hmph! In fact, I¡¯ve even met a living one recently and im sure that one I¡¯ve met is far more powerful!¡±


    ¡°Hah! I even joked and chatted with a great true god! This lord even received her blessings and that ancient deity personally arranged attendants to serve this lord. Ha ha ha! ¡°


    The little ck dragon then raised its head smugly, full of pride.


    After speaking, Meryer¡¯s expression became somewhat ferocious.


    ¡°Besides¡­I want to warn you! This Lord is a righteous and great silver dragon! Not a ck dragon! Although I look like a ck dragon, this lord has the heart of a silver dragon!¡±


    ¡°I will eventually be a great silver dragon! Evil humans, your nder has already angered this lord!¡±


    ¡°Now¡­you must not only have to leave behind all your treasures and the captured elves, but also cut off your own two arms!¡±

 Chapter 141

    ??<strong>Take off your equipment and I¡¯ll spare you</strong>


    <em>S-Silver Dragon?</em>


    Belus was a bit stunned as he dumbfoundedly looked at the ck dragon¡¯s armor-like scales as it entirely covered Meryer¡¯s body and skull.


    ¡­<em>This ck dragon, could it be that it¡¯s insane? Did its head got some loose screw of something? </em>


    Furthermore, a ck dragon promoting justice? And¡­it even said that it personally knows a true god?


    Eternal lord above, why this is the biggest joke he has ever heard!


    Based on its size, this young dragon would only be around no more than three hundred years old at most. What a load of bullsh*t, how can it meet a true god when there hasn¡¯t been a single deity that descended into the mortal world for more than a thousand years now.


    Moreover, how could a true god be interested in a young dragon? One has to be at least a legendary dragon, in order to gain some bit of attention from the gods, right?


    Also this dragon even ims that a god has provided it some messengers to attend to its needs¡­


    <em>Ha ha.</em>


    As far as he knew, most messengers of a true god have arrogant disposition, how could they possibly stoop to serve someone much less a fledgling dragon?


    <em>Who does it think it is?</em>


    Nidhogg, the Dragon of Despair?


    As expected of a ck dragon, the most despicable and shameless of all colored dragons, it doesn¡¯t even bat an eye despite telling utterly oundish lies.


    Belus let out a coldugh.


    However, he also knew they really had no way to contend against this ck dragon considering the overall strength of their caravan.


    This time, they didn¡¯t bring enough experts. If they had really fought, then it would have been obvious that their side would have been defeated.


    Belus looked deeply at Meryer and suppressed his anger.


    ¡°We can give up all our goods and leave this ce, but Lord Dragon, you should not push us too far. Otherwise, I will have my men destroy all the goods¡­including those captured elves!¡±


    ¡°You dare threaten me!?¡±


    Meryer¡¯s face suddenly turned dark.


    Hearing the ck dragon¡¯s unfriendly voice, the yers in the live broadcast room alsoughed.


    ¡°Haha, how silly¡­he even dared to threaten ckie.¡±


    ¡°Does this stupid guy know what ckie hates the most? Its being threatened. Meryer¡¯s just a simpleton but he can be obstinate at times as well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done, rest in peace man. Let¡¯s give this old mage a funeral in advance.¡±


    ¡°If the ck Dragon attacks, won¡¯t his dragon breath destroy all the equipments?¡±


    ¡°Listen guys, can¡¯t we just pretend to agree with them first? Promise them something and then turn on them after we get what we want¡­?¡±


    ¡°I agree. Let¡¯s just stab them in the back! It¡¯s even better if we can trick them out of their equipment! It will also weaken their overall strength.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea, plus I heard that this mission¡¯s rewards doesn¡¯t include any extra lives at all. If someone dies, the our side will be at a loss.¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­ Does Salty Cat even cares about a few loss of contribution points?¡±


    ¡°Well she probably won¡¯t, but what about everyone else?¡±


    ¡°You guys are looking much into it. What if that caravan leader doesn¡¯t believe it in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Let Salty Cat do the talking instead! The ck Dragon¡¯s reputation might not be credible enough, but what about the elves?¡±


    ¡°Why¡­you guys are so devious!¡±


    ¡°How is this devious? It¡¯s strategy! It¡¯s tactics! We¡¯re yers, after all!¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s eyes flickered with an idea as she watched the barrage ofments within the live chat.


    ¡°Hey, Meryer! Listen¡­¡±


    She suddenly leaned in close to the ck Dragon¡¯s ear and whispered a few words in a low tone.


    Belus saw that after the elf whispered a few words, the ck Dragon¡¯s eyes brightened slightly, and his expression no longer looked so angry.


    This made him even more curious.


    What was the rtionship between this elf and the ck Dragon?


    However, he gradually realized that the ck Dragon was not actually the superior one, but was probably the female elf instead!


    Perhaps she was not the leader, but she could indeed influence the ck Dragon¡¯s decision!


    What was going on with this ck Dragon?


    Could it be that the elf had tamed it?


    <em>This¡­can¡¯t be right?</em>


    Belus became more and more confused.


    However, since he discovered that the ck Dragon was influenced by the elf, his worries somewhat dissipated.


    Because elves would never annihte their enemiespletely!


    He believed that as long as their side met any of the elf¡¯s conditions, the female elf would then convince the ck Dragon to let them go!


    If they suffered losses then it can¡¯t be help if they suffered any losses. But they would find a way to make up for itter on!


    At this moment, Belus also heard the voice of the ck dragon once again.


    ¡°Alright then! This Lord has changed his mind, so our previous deal doesn¡¯t count anymore!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to cut off your hands anymore but instead, just give me all your treasures and the captive elves, plus you must hand over all your weapons and equipment as well! Hmm¡­you only have one chance!¡±


    Belus ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    This dragon actually wants their equipments!


    This greedy and evil bastard!


    He red angrily at Meryer.


    The ck dragon also stared back withoutpromise.


    ¡°This lord has a bad temper! I repeat, you only have one chance! Hmm, this the deal my elf friend decided on!¡±


    After a moment, Belus reluctantly gave in and said in a conflicted tone, ¡°Alright¡­we¡¯ll do it!¡±


    While saying this, Belus didn¡¯t look at the ck dragon, but instead at the female elf.


    The silver-ranked ck dragon¡¯s strength was really something they couldn¡¯t contend right now.


    However, this cunning ck dragon was not trustworthy at all¡­


    But it¡¯s a different story if it¡¯s a deal made by the elf since these long eared folks are faithful and kind. They do what they say they will do!


    Thinking of this, Belus breathed a sigh of relief.


    Luckily¡­


    Luckily, this ck dragon had an elfpanion!


    If it was really a crazy young ck dragon, then their caravan would probably have been already wiped out by now¡­


    Although he didn¡¯t know how they got together, it seemed that this elf could still influence the ck dragon to some extent¡­


    Actually, it now made sense.


    Only when influenced by an elf would this ck dragon talk about pursuing justice, right?


    They would be safe just as long as they got the promise from the elf.


    It seems¡­after returning this time, they should report to the higher-ups and equip the caravan with some more experts to counter stronger threats.


    <em>This setback, let¡¯s take it as a lesson.</em>


    He, Belus, will definitely get his revenge!


    Little Salty Cat was momentarily puzzled as she caught Belus¡¯ pointed gaze.


    However, Little Salty Cat quickly understood and her eyes rolled before saying with a smile,


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll do as we promised!¡±


    Upon hearing the elf¡¯s promise, Belus eased his demeanor.


    He gave a deep nce at the ck Dragon and signaled the other members of the caravan and mercenaries to start removing their equipments¡­


    This time, Belus made a note of it but sooner orter, he made a vow to himself that he would make the ck Dragon and the elf pay for this humiliation!


    The yers in the live stream were stunned as they watched every humans in the caravan began removing their equipments.


    ¡°What the¡­they¡¯re really taking off their gears¡­¡±


    ¡°Lmao Did Salty Cat read this idea? I can¡¯t believe it actually worked!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­these human NPCs are so honest. They actually took off their equipments!¡±


    ¡°What happened to their intelligence? Did it got nerfed lmao?¡±


    ¡°Are they stupid? How can they have any strength left without their equipments?¡±


    ¡°The intelligence of these NPCs is too low! One star review!¡±


    ¡°They believed in verbal promises? If it were me, I would demand a sworn oath to the true god!¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­How can they swear? you forgot, in his eyes, the elven race no longer has a patron god.¡±


    ¡°Whether they take off their gear or not doesn¡¯t matter right? They¡¯ll all be killed by the ck Dragon in the end anyway¡­¡±


    ¡°Rofl, he actually believed what Salty Cat said!¡±


    ¡°Because we are elves after all!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that the credibility of the elves was so high! The NPCs will believe whatever they say¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only realizing that now? It¡¯s always been like this you know! After all, it¡¯s a character setting included in the game¡¯s lore!¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­when you say it like that, I suddenly thought of some bold ideas¡­what if we go to every human towns and abuse this exploit¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh shiet, eh heh heh heh¡­..¡±


    ¡°Eh heh heh heh heh¡­¡­xD¡±


    ¡°( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)¡±


    ¡°Come on guys! We should stop disgracing the reputation of the Elves!¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Don¡¯t embarrass the elven race anymore!¡±


    The live stream was filled with cheerful vibes.

 Chapter 142

    ??<strong>YOU HAVE NO INTEGRITY! </strong>


    After receiving the promise from the female elf, all the human mercenaries reluctantly took off their equipments under Berus¡¯mand and following the ck Dragon¡¯s instructions, ced them all together in one huge pile.


    As a result, they were only left with simple coarse cloth underwear whilst shivering in the cold night wind of the canyon¡­


    After every mercenaries took off their equipments, Belus was surprised when he noticed several tall figures suddenly emerged from within the distance. He squinted his eyes and found that these neers turned out to be several more elves!


    They were dressed in gorgeous equipment and ran over excitedly towards the pile, before joyfully taking away all the equipments that the mercenaries had taken off.


    The mercenaries were bbergasted at the mere sight of these elves checking the pile in a. What¡¯s more, their greedy expressions became even more conspicuous as they eyed Berus¡¯ robe and staff, as well as the mercenary captain¡¯s silver long sword as if they¡¯re gonna fight each other as to who would take these equipments.


    Judging by their proficiency of sorting and picking up the equipments, one could easily tell that these elves had done simr things countless times, as if they¡¯re seasoned robbers.


    Their manic expressions were like those of uncouth bandits,cking any sort of the elegance and refinement that¡¯s typically associated with elvenkind.


    Belus ¡°¡­..¡±


    He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, thinking he must have seen it wrong.


    <em>Was this really the expression that an elf should have?</em>


    For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.


    Are these people actually from another race and they¡¯re just using a disguise to mask themselves as elves?


    Belus narrowed his eyes and secretly cast an appraisal spell, but the feedback he got was that they are indeed from the elven race¡­


    <em>If its not a disguise then perhaps, an illusion instead?</em>


    He rubbed his temples in frustration.


    Regardless of the growing unease within his heart, his mind reasoned that the elves were still the most trustworthy sentient race. They wouldn¡¯t have the capacity to scam other people.


    As long as he followed what they¡¯d agreed on, the elf would definitely convince the ck Dragon!


    Belus persuaded himself within his mind.


    He was sure of it since he had personally dealt with elves a lot before.


    Although most of the time they were in opposition, he very well knew about their integrity.


    It¡¯s a widely known fact that elves never knew deception!


    They would definitely do what they had promised!


    Moreover, as the kindest and most life-loving sentient race within Saig¨¹es, the elves would not let the ck Dragon harm them just as long as they admit defeat.


    Even if they were enemies to each other!


    Simr things like these had been proven countless times in the past.


    This kind of near-pathological stubbornness of the elves had even be the most effective weapon for humans in dealing with these long eared folks.


    ¡°Lord Belus¡­ they havepletely taken our things away.¡±


    At this time, a low voice came over to report to his side.


    Belus turned his head and saw that the speaker was the apanying mercenary captain, a powerful golden-haired swordsman of middle silver rank.


    The swordsman¡¯s expression appeared unwilling as he gazed at his own long sword, which had been taken away.


    Belus curtly nodded to him while sporting an apologetic expression.


    ¡°Captain, I¡¯m sorry, this happened suddenly¡­.after everything is over, the household willpensate you for any losses you incurred.¡±


    After hearing his exnation, the captain closed his eyes and reluctantly epted it.


    Belus breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the ck Dragon.


    ¡°We¡¯ve now taken off all our equipment. The goods are in the ruins next to that tall tower, and the elves are locked up in the dungeon of the tower¡­¡±


    ¡°Now that our deal is done¡­¡­we can leave, right?¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°¡­.Leave?¡±


    Upon hearing Belus¡¯ words, the ck Dragon, Meryer, grinned and bared his fearsome teeth.


    ¡°Since when did this lord ever said that he would let you go?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Belus¡¯ face darkened instantly.


    ¡°Dragon! Don¡¯t you go too far!¡±


    He then looked at female elf riding on the back of the ck Dragon.


    ¡°Miss Elf, you just promised us.¡±


    Upon hearing Belus¡¯ words, Li¡¯l Salty Cat nodded innocently.


    ¡°Yes, right! Don¡¯t worry¡­we shall keep our promises!¡±


    She then giggled and added,


    ¡°But just so you guys know, we didn¡¯t break our promise! Didn¡¯t you remember what Meryer¡¯s exact words were earlier?¡±


    She coughed a few times and imitated Meryer¡¯s tone of voice.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to cut off your hands anymore but instead, just give me all your treasures and the captive elves, plus you must hand over all your weapons and equipment as well.¡±


    Li¡¯l Salty Cat then nonchntly shrugged her shoulders and mischievously stick out her tongue at the corner of her lips.


    ¡°We never said that we would let you guys go~ Didn¡¯t we already established that beforehand?¡±


    Belus ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After listening to Li¡¯l Salty Cat¡¯s response that¡¯s riddled with mischievous mockery, the veins around the old mage¡¯s forehead started to throb in a frenzied manner as his face turned red just like a volcano that¡¯s about to explode.


    Seems like they really didn¡¯t have any intention to let their caravan go¡­


    But¡­isn¡¯t it too shameless!?


    They were just deceiving them all along!?


    Belus¡¯ face became extremely livid whilst all his pent-up anger finally exploded, disregarding all proper decorum as he infuriatingly stomped his feet and pointed his finger usingly towards the female elf.


    ¡°Y-Yo-YOU!!!¡­You little shit! This is extortion! You¡¯ve broken your damn promise you shitty elf! Do you still have the honor of your silver race!?¡±


    Little Salty Cat simply rolled her eyes,pletely unfazed by the tirade being hurled at her.


    ¡°Broken my promise?¡± She reiterated with the same mocking tone before adding, ¡°When did I break my promise? If there¡¯s anyone to me then its you, the one who didn¡¯t carefully checked our terms before agreeing.¡±


    Belus ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°YOU!!¡­You have no integrity!! How can you be so shameless!? Can you even consider yourself an elf with that kind of credibility!?¡±


    He looked at little Salty Cat with apoplectic anger.


    <em>What kind of bizarre elf is this?</em>


    Didn¡¯t she belong to the most honest and trustworthy race in all of Saig¨¹es?


    <em>Is she really an elf?</em>


    Belus¡¯ heart was entirely filled with uneasiness.


    They were already at a disadvantage initially, and now with all of their equipments gone, they¡¯re practically nothing more than a harmless crop for the ck Dragon to harvest.


    Damn it! How could he make such a rookie mistake! He actually believed the enemy¡¯s words!


    If he had known that he¡¯d be shamelessly hoodwinked like this, then he might¡¯ve as well ordered everyone to break out in the first ce!


    But who knew that these elves would really be so untrustworthy!?


    <em>It doesn¡¯t make sense at all!</em>


    They¡¯re¡­¡­they¡¯re elves for f**ks sake!


    The pinnacle of integrity that they would even rather choose ruination rather than change their righteous ways.


    As Belus fumed with anger, the chatbox of Little Salty Cat¡¯s live stream was entirely filled with yers¡¯ joyfulments that cascaded endlessly.


    ¡°Ah, this NPC has too low IQ¡­definitely wasted his life lol.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, how can he believe the enemy¡¯s words?¡±


    ¡°What a noob.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Now he¡¯s confused, right?¡±


    ¡°Lmao times have changed! Old man!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Evil must be punished, no matter what method is used!¡±


    Meryer raised his head with an air of righteousness.


    At this moment, several yers who had just left to secure the stolen goods finally came back with each of them fully armed with the stolen equipments while looking at the barely naked mercenaries with smug expressions.


    Little Salty Cat felt a li¡¯l bit embarrassed by theirpletely uncouth appearance and viinous behavior¡­


    But¡­who would hide their emotions when ying a game anyways?


    And this time, these NPCs are the enemies unlike the friendly NPCs from Florence, so they didn¡¯t need to consider their image at all.


    At this moment, these yers were simply overjoyed!


    It should also be noted that there was no reward for perfect resurrection uponpleting this quest.


    Initially, they were still worried they would lose out if someone died during the battle.


    And if they relied solely on the ck Dragon¡¯s help, the equipment of the enemies they killed would have been burned by the dragon¡¯s breath.


    But who knew that Little Salty Cat could easily fooled the enemies with a few words, and these humans had really taken off all their equipments!


    Without their equipments, these smugglers were just like tigers without any teeth.


    Other than those two silver-ranked experts, the other mercenaries were probably not their match at all!


    As for the two silver experts¡­well, just leave them to the ck Dragon to deal with!


    This sidequest was simply too easy!


    His expression changed slightly as Belus watched the increasingly unpleasant expressions of the ck Dragon and the strange elves who are slowly surrounding him.


    But soon, he calmed down his raging emotions.


    He saw the female elf on the back of the ck dragon and forced himself to remain calm and said, ¡°Hmph¡­ Elves, your real goal is to rescue yourpanions, right?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, if you don¡¯t want yourpanions to be in danger then it¡¯s best to let us go since my subordinates are still inside the tower!¡±


    ¡°Danger?¡± The yers looked at each other and burst intoughter again. ¡°Hahaha! He actually said that Boss Box would be in danger?¡±


    ¡°Hehe¡­ It¡¯s your men who are in danger, idiot!¡±


    ¡°Our captain is a tough guy who can single-handedly take down level twenty mobs in the wilderness!¡±


    ..<em>.What does that actually mean? </em>


    Berus¡¯ eyebrows twitched.


    Just then, the gate of the tower was suddenly kicked open, and several members of the caravan ran out with blood upon their faces.


    They looked entirely panic stricken and shouted while they run as if something abominable was chasing after them.


    ¡°H-Help¡­ HELP!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Belus turned back instinctively and frowned.


    One of the caravan members ran up to him and said anxiously, ¡°Dead¡­ dead¡­ they¡¯re all dead¡­ he killed them all!¡±


    ¡­<em>He? </em>


    Belus was slightly stunned.


    Soon, he saw a tall figure rushing out of the tower¡­


    It was a male elf with dark gray hair.


    He was holding a dagger that was still dripping with blood, and his clothes were also stained with the same red liquid.


    His breath was erratic, as if he had just broken through, and his expression was distinctly cold and indifferent.


    It was Boxlunch.


    <em>What a strong killing intent! </em>


    Is this¡­ an intermediate iron-ranked elven hunter?


    Berus¡¯ expression tightened.


    After Boxlunch came out, Belus did not see any more of his subordinates fleeing out from the tower¡­


    This made him feel a lump in his heart.


    Wait a minute¡­ there were still more than ten people left in the tower, right?


    This¡­ could it be¡­


    He looked at Boxlunch, who was emitting a thick killing intent, and his pupils shrank in disbelief.


    He¡­did it alone?


    <em>How is that possible?!</em>


    When the yers participating in the quest saw Boxlunch, each of their expressions brightened up as they waved their arms towards him.


    ¡°The captain is here!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! The captured elves must have been saved already!¡±


    ¡°No more messing around guys, let¡¯s go and finish this sidequest quickly!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Don¡¯t believe the enemy¡¯s nonsense in your next life!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I wonder if killing these mercenaries will get us more experience points¡­¡±


    After speaking, they each drew their own weapons and rushed excitedly towards the mercenaries who had already removed their equipments.


    Meanwhile high above the skies, the ck dragon, Meryer, let out an excited roar and spewed dragon breath towards the two unlucky silver-rank experts¡­

 Chapter 143

    ??<strong>NIGHTINGALE¡¯S SHOCK </strong>


    Nightingale swore that this guy was the most ruthless and powerful elf she had ever seen in her life!


    Although she already knew that this mysterious stranger was indeed strong, what she didn¡¯t expect was for him to be so powerful and also devoid of the typical elven conservative inhibitions¡­


    Initially, she was determined to stand alongside Boxlunch and help him fight off their enemies but after picking up a weapon and rushing out of the dungeon, Nightingale found herselfpletely reduced to a mere spectator.


    This guy was like a demon from hell, constantly shuttling through the members of the caravan whilstunching a massacre whenever he goes¡­


    <em>Yes, a massacre.</em>


    More than ten humans blocked his way, yet none of them could survive more than three moves under his attacks!


    This¡­ even includes those several fully armed mercenaries!


    This guy was so deadly with each of his move, showing no mercy to all of his opponents, and turning all the humans he fought with into experience points.


    ¡°Whoa, so powerful¡­¡±


    Nightingale looked at his back with her eyes shining brightly in wonderment.


    For some reason, as an elf with an innate clemency ingrained into her upbringing, she should have felt repulsed and horrified by this kind of wanton bloodbath, but surprisingly at this moment, Nightingale¡¯s felt none of those but her heart was full of appreciation and excitement instead¡­


    Indeed!


    This is how it should be!


    This is how enemies should be treated!


    Nightingale clenched her small fist in excitement.


    In the blink of an eye, there wasn¡¯t a single human standing in the entire tower anymore as a pungent smell of fresh blood lingers within the air.


    Another thing that surprised Nightingale was that the bodies of the humans killed by Boxlunch would rapidly wither and age before finally turning into ashes.


    It was as if all their life force had been drained out of their bodies!


    At the same time, Nightingale could also roughly perceived that Boxlunch¡¯s aura was growing stronger and stronger with each enemies that he defeated¡­


    Nightingale instantly widened her eyes.


    He¡­can absorb the life force of his enemies?


    <em>W-What kind of ability is this?</em>


    Within the back of her mind, Nightingale vaguely recalled having heard of a simr ability in the past, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t really remember the exact details or where might¡¯ve heard it.


    Regardless¡­Nightingale saw a sh of light covered Boxlunch¡¯s entire body before his whole aura suddenly arose as if breaking through a certain critical point!


    ¡°He¡­was promoted?¡±


    He was actually promoted to intermediate iron-rank (level 21) during the battle!?


    This¡­what kind of incredible talent is this!


    The excitement within Nightingale¡¯s eyes intensified.


    Meanwhile, Boxlunch chased after thest two fleeing human guards that rushed out of the tower¡­


    Upon seeing Boxlunch charge out, Nightingale hesitated for a moment before turning to her younger siblings who were following closely behind her and sternly reminded them,


    ¡°Stay close to me! There will definitely be a fierce battle soon, so don¡¯t wander off!¡±


    Although that dummy was quite powerful and seemed to have called forth strong reinforcements as well, they still couldn¡¯t rx since there were still two humans with silver-ranked abilities outside!


    Those two were real mid-tier experts!


    The next battle would definitely be a tough one!


    Thinking of this, Nightingale clenched her teeth as she gripped her weapon tightly before following Boxlunch¡¯s footsteps towards the entrance door¡­


    But just as she walked passed the tower¡¯s entrance, Nightingale swiftly heard a loud dragon roar!


    A powerful dragon¡¯s pressure was released indiscriminately, causing her to shudder as she involuntarily stood frozen in ce.


    Nightingale¡¯s pupils slightly contracted when a shadow dimmed her surroundings and she instinctively looked up and saw a gigantic creature flying high above the skies.


    ¡°B-ck¡­ck Dragon!?¡±


    Dammit! Where did this ck dragon suddenlye from!?


    C-Could it be summoned by a member of the caravan!?


    For a moment, Nightingale¡¯s face turned pale at the thought of fighting against a terrifying dragon.


    As the quintessential symbol of wickedness, Nightingale had heard of many legends surrounding the infamous ck dragons¡­


    It is said that each ck dragon was intrinsically a fierce and vicious creature!


    Nightingale¡¯s heart tightened, and she immediately raised her guard to its maximum, as she protected her younger siblings behind her before ordering them in a serious tone,


    ¡°Quick! There¡¯s a ck dragon outside! Hurry up and find a ce to hide!¡±


    However, as soon as she finished speaking, Nightingale heard the excited and joyful voice of the ck dragon.


    ¡°Ruaahh!!¡±


    ¡°You vile, greedy humans! You smuggle treasures and harm innocent elves! Today, this great lord Meryer will seek justice for the elves and uphold justice upon the world!¡±


    ¡°Die! Ruaahhh!!!¡±


    Nightingale blinked.


    ¡­<em>Wait a minute¡­ </em>


    W-What did she heard just now?


    Did that ck dragon just say that he was seeking justice for the elves?


    <em>Did she¡­ heard it wrong?</em>


    ¡°Ruahh!! Evil humans! Stop running! Come and receive the righteous punishment of this lord!¡±


    Nightingale, ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    It¡­ is it really a ck dragon, not a silver or gold dragon in disguise?


    The elven girl¡¯s eyes widened in utter disbelief as she surveyed what¡¯s happening outside carefully¡­


    Upon seeing such unbelievable scenes, Nightingale¡¯s eyes widened even more.


    Contrary to what she initially thought, she actually saw the ck dragon fighting against the humans!


    Not only that but she also saw several fully armed elves apanying the ck dragon!


    What¡­


    What in the goddess name is going on!?


    When did a ck dragon stand alongside her own kind?


    <em>Could it be¡­</em>


    Could this be the reinforcements that the dummy spoke of?


    T-They have tamed a ck dragon!?


    Nightingale waspletely bbergasted.


    Subconsciously, she looked towards the humans forces and her jaw slightly dropped.


    Upon looking at their appearance, her gaze suddenly became even more confused.


    Those mercenaries that Nightingale once remembered as being fully armed¡­are now just wearing simple linen undergarments and nothing else.


    Even the two powerful silver experts leading them are also dressed only in simple linen clothes¡­


    Most mercenaries were scattered about and fleeing under the frenzied pursuit of the dragon and elves.


    <em>Where are their weapons and equipments?</em>


    Nightingale was frozen in ce as her mind can¡¯t seem toprehend the bizarreness of the scenes happening before her.


    The difficult battle she had initially imagined did not happened at all.


    In its ce, a particrlyical chase ensued instead¡­


    The ck dragon was yfully chasing the two silver experts who had removed their equipments, while spewing dragon breath and roaring incessantly.


    ¡°Cowardly humans, why are you running? Don¡¯t run! fight against this lord!¡±


    Meanwhile, thr female elf riding upon the dragon¡¯s back brandished an incredibly cool-looking wand before chanting some spells. She then excitedly hurled a couple of fireballs towards the two silver experts, while sporting a extremely thrilled rosy expression.


    While she moved about, a huge fireball then exploded around the two silver-ranked experts, causing a booming shockwave and creatingrge smoking craters in its aftermath¡­


    However, unfortunately, she didn¡¯t hit any of them.


    ¡°Evil dragon! Despicable elf! You shitty bastards! You have no integrity at all! You have dishonored yourselves and your race! the Sauron household will not let you go if you killed any of us!¡±


    The old mage¡¯s singed beard scattered about as he used spells to dodge the ck dragon¡¯s breath while shouting angrily.


    ¡°Belus! You fool! If we can make it back alive this time, then I will definitely report you to the patriarch!¡±


    The other silver-ranked swordsman also cursed angrily while dodging the dragon¡¯s breath.


    As for the rest of the mercenaries¡­well, they fled in panic in random directions under the hot pursuit of the elves.


    The elves relentlessly chased after the defenseless human mercenaries whileughing boorishly.


    ¡°Hahaha! Since when did we fail to keep our word? You guys are just too stupid!¡±


    ¡°You still want to go back alive? Fat chance idiots, off with their heads!¡±


    They each excitedly swing their weapons and hunted down the mercenaries as if they were hunters chasing prey!


    <em>Seriously, this stress-free sidequest was just too much fun¡­</em>


    Soon, the first casualty appeared.


    A mercenary ran too slowly and was instantly caught up by a yer. He trembled, let out a scream, and then turned to ashes in the stunned eyes of other mercenaries¡­


    Seeing therge amount of experience he had just gained, the yer who initiated the first blood felt throughly reinvigorated.


    ¡°Wow! Their strength may not be high, but they give out so much experience! The EXP reward are no worse than orcs!¡±


    For a moment, each of the yer¡¯s eyes lit up with a dangerous glint¡­


    ¡°¡­Not worse than orcs?¡±


    ¡°And they can also be taken down one by one!¡±


    At that moment, the elves became even more excited. They howled and increased their pursuit, as if they were afraid of being one step behind others in chasing their intended targets¡­


    A battle that was initially expected to have been long and arduous hadpletely turned into aical mess instead.

 Chapter 144

    ??<strong>ELVEN AND DRAGON BANDITS</strong>


    Rtively speaking, the strength of the mercenaries isn¡¯t that much higher inparison to Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    However, without their weapons to defend themselves, these smugglers are entirely no match for the yers at all, and can only be chased down one by one by the agile elves and be mercilessly ughtered unceremoniously.


    There is nothing ufortable about it.


    For one¡¯s actions solely determined their stance.


    Although these mercenaries are also human, Boxlunch¡¯s teammates showed no hesitation in eliminating them at all.


    It may seem cruel but in their eyes, this world is simply a game and the NPCs of this world onlye in two types;


    Friendly and hostile, wholly represented by the green and redbel, hovering above an NPCs¡¯ head respectively.


    These two contrasting colours determines most yers stance on whether should they curry favors or eliminate a particr non-yer character instead.


    One¡¯s race and status didn¡¯t matter.


    Anyone that¡¯s shown in red simply needs to be eradicated.


    And if they can¡¯t beat someone, then simply call for more yers to help.


    Moreover, the ones participating in this sidequest is Boxlunch¡¯s team, all of whom are experienced yers inbat and are considered battle maniacs!


    In just a few moments, more than a dozen mercenaries have already been killed by them as every fallen bodies were instantly turned into ashes the moment after they were in.


    Looking at the rapidly umting experience points within their own respective status screens, each participating yers became even more excited as their breathing turned much more heavier with each passing seconds.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Please! I¡­I surrender!¡± Looking at these group of crazy elves, thest surviving mercenary was so scared that he involuntarily peed his pants and quickly knelt down as he begged for mercy.


    However, some yers easily caught up to him and casually asked, ¡°Do you have any hidden quest?¡±


    ¡°H-Hidden quest? I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­what t-that is.¡± The shivering man was leftpletely stunned as his mind turned nk, having no idea at all about the matter these crazy elves are asking him about.


    ¡°Then do you have any hidden information instead?¡±


    ¡°In¡­Information?¡±


    ¡°Tch, this guy¡¯s useless¡­I guess he¡¯s probably just an ordinary mob.¡±


    ¡°Lets just go ahead and kill him man, at least it¡¯s a few thousand experience points.¡± Another yer suggested as he curled up his lips and the kneeling mercenary was then killed just like that.


    Looking at this brutal surreal scene from afar, Nightingale couldn¡¯t help but be frozen in ce as her eyes gradually became cloudy.


    <em>These elves won¡¯t spare even the ones who had already surrendered? </em>


    Upon seeing the few remaining mercenaries being killed off by the yers, Meryer no longer yed around the two silver-ranked experts and instead just opted to pounced and bite the two experts before swallowing them in one bite.


    ¡°What the f***! Did ckie just eat those two!?¡±


    ¡°Oh my god¡­Meryer, those were two silver-ranked experts! At least leave some for us to kill!¡±


    ¡°Goddammit, how much experience points did eating those two give? My heart hurts so much! Such a waste!¡±


    Seeing this scene, the yers chasing the mercenaries felt heartbroken¡­


    Nightingale, on the other hand, became even more confused.


    She looked at these wholly excited bloodthirsty elves bathed in cold blood and felt her mind go nk as chaos reigns within herself.


    <em>Do these insane and cruel elves really belong to the same race as her? </em>


    She had initially thought there would be a big battle¡­


    But she did not expect the human caravan, whom seemed to be very powerful upon her eyes, bepletely overwhelmed and eventually be destroyed in such a bizarre fashion¡­


    For a moment, Nightingale couldn¡¯t snap out of this sudden change of outlook.


    After exterminating every personnel within the human caravan, the yers¡¯ actions still didn¡¯t stop from there and began looking around as if searching for something valuable.


    Nightingale saw them looking for something excitedly, with voices carrying a hint of eagerness within their vocal tone.


    ¡°By the way, what about the caravan¡¯s goods?¡±


    ¡°In the ruins! They said it was stored in the ruins earlier!¡±


    ¡°Guys let¡¯s go and see if there are any good treasures left behind by these smugglers!¡±


    ¡°Treasure chest! Time to find some treasure chest!¡±


    The yers jumped around joyfully and quickly ran towards the ruins that Belus had pointed out earlier.


    However, the one who moved much faster than most of the yers was the ck dragon hovering above the skies. Meryer flew to the side of the high tower just like the wind and aimed himself directly at the ruins as he pped his wings to lift a portion of the roof before entering the ruins premises.


    Nightingale and her siblings were startled by this and quickly hid themselves at a darkened corner before resuming their observations.


    After a cloud of dust had settled in, eight fully loaded wagons appeared right in front of the juvenile ck dragon.


    Meryer¡¯s eyes quickly lit up at this sight.


    He tentatively sniffed and immediately recognized the scenting from one of the wagons.


    In an instant, the ck dragon was overjoyed.


    ¡°These¡­these are my lost treasures!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! This lord has found you! Great! I had finally found you!¡±


    The juvenile ck dragonughed boisterously as he spoke in an ted tone before biting through one of the wagons.


    Immediately, a pile of shiny gold coins and jewels were exposed as some cascaded down into the floor.


    Meryer¡¯s eyes greedily lit up as he took the plunge down into the gold, silver, and jewels scattered into the floor and rubbed his face against them as he happily licked some coins with his tongue.


    <em>S-So much money!</em>


    For a brief instant, Nightingale¡¯s eyes widened as a little bit of greed permeate her subconscious mind.


    Having this much treasure for herself¡­would probably be enough for her and her siblings to live a wealthy life for a very long time even if they stopped workingpletely. If it weren¡¯t for the ck dragon guarding these treasures, then she would have reached out and snatched some of it already.


    ¡°F**k! So much treasure!¡±


    The yers¡¯ eyes also lit up greedily upon arriving inside the ruins a momentter.


    They were utterly excited and slowly advanced¡­up until they were met with Meryer¡¯s angry roar.


    ¡°Leave! Get out! Get out of here!¡±


    ¡°These treasures originally belong to this lord! They are mine! You greedy people cannot have it!¡±


    The ck dragon red at the approaching yers with bloodshot eyes and bared his teeth whilst moving into a threatening stance.


    Meryer¡¯s innate dragon pressure also began expanding, while he growled lowly like an agitated husky protecting its food.


    The yers ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat whose riding upon his back sighed, tapped Meryer¡¯s scales with her wand.


    ¡°Meryer, these treasures are all yours, no one is taking them from you.¡± She then paused and added, ¡°However¡­ let¡¯s share the other goods on this wagon okay? Especially the equipment and magic materials, you don¡¯t need those anyway, so just give them to us!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, we¡¯ll roast you lots of barbecue when we get back! I¡¯ll even add some honey as well if you share these with us you know!¡±


    Roasted¡­barbecue¡­


    And with honey as well!


    Meryer subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    He then looked cautiously at the yers whose staring at him with expectant eyes and after thinking for a moment, showed his teeth and said, ¡°Ruaah~! Alright fine!¡±


    ¡°You cane and pick up things up, but you are not allowed to take any gold coins or jewels! Did you hear me? Not even a single one!¡±


    ¡°These are all mine! Whoever dares to steal even a single one will be eaten by me!¡±


    The ck dragon threatened and it wasn¡¯t just pure empty talk as well.


    Having learned what these yers¡¯ are capable of, Meryer also knew that these guys could easily resurrect themselves indefinitely.


    If anyone really is bold enough to try then he would actually go through with eating them just like what he did with the two silver-ranked experts earlier.


    After hearing Meryer¡¯s words, each yers¡¯ eyes lit up, and patted their chests and proimed,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Meryer, we don¡¯t want your treasures at all!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, are we the kind of people who only care about money?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we only want materials and equipment!¡±


    Hmm¡­


    Currently, gold, silver and jewelry aren¡¯t in cirction amongst the entire yerbase due to its scarcity.


    Instead, things such as magic materials, equipment, and contribution points are the real hard currency widely used by the yers. Apart from their instinctive excitement, the yers don¡¯t have much demand for these luxury goods right now.


    Hearing the yers¡¯ words, the ck dragon snorted and reluctantly nodded.


    And with Meryer¡¯s approval, the yers finally rushed towards the wagon, akin to a group of bandits who had never seen the world before, and began to rummage through the pile of treasures.


    ¡°Whoa! All the magic materials here are top-quality! They¡¯re great as an offering to the goddess or be traded with the NPCs!¡±


    ¡°There are also equipment! Human made equipments! It¡¯s an armor that we can wear directly even without modification! It¡¯s all brand new as well!¡±


    ¡°Well I think they look a bit uglier and they don¡¯t have the usual special effects like those equipments that we can buy at the contribution store.¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Be content we got this in the first ce. After all, this are merely an item drop from a quest¡­it¡¯s normal for them to be ordinary looking.¡±


    ¡°Huh? There are inscriptions on this armor! It¡¯s a magical equipment!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s even food? I think I¡¯ve never seen a consumable like this before.¡±


    ¡°There are also some seeds here. Guys look, they appear to be grains of some sort right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­? Is this a spice? Wow! Seasoning! It¡¯s a new seasoning!¡±


    ¡°Spices? That¡¯s great! I¡¯m tired of eating while also using only the coarse salt made by the Moe Moe Committee every day.¡±


    ¡°Come on guys, just having something to eat is already good enough you know.¡±


    Each yers showed excitement as they eagerly chatted with each other whilst rummaging around the goods.


    Nightingale and other young elves on the other hand looked at these greedy yers,pletely stunned by their behavior.


    Are they¡­


    <em>Are they elves or bandits!? </em>


    Nihil Note : Sorry for the dy, something came up irl that needed my full attention. Good news is that its mostly done and I¡¯m probably back to my usual updates.

 Chapter 145

    ??<strong>ARE YOU GUYS REALLY NOT BANDITS? </strong>


    Do these people really belong to their own kind?


    Are they really elves?


    Watching the yers as they greedily rummage through the piles of treasure loots, Nightingale felt her understanding of things gradually copsing on itself.


    Thinking back to their bloodthirsty demeanor just moments earlier, the ashen haired elf couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit uneasy.


    <em>Are they¡­really the reinforcements that blockhead mentioned?</em>


    This¡­no matter how you look at it, they looked more like a band of bandits masquerading as elves!


    Nightingale fully acknowledges that her personality is rather rebellious, which is already considered quite rude amongst the elves. Furthermore, shecks the elegance as well as the refinement that are innately intrinsic to their own kind and even if she does possessed those said qualities, acting all prim and proper wouldn¡¯t really match her true self.


    But regardless,pared to these bizarre elves¡­


    Nightingale felt like she herself is way too refined instead!


    By the way, where¡¯s that blockhead anyways?


    Just where did that dummy go?


    Nightingale quickly looked around and finally saw Boxlunch¡¯s figure standing inside the tower.


    After eliminating all the mercenaries with his teammates, Boxlunch had instead returned back inside the tower. His body was entirely covered in a row of equipments that he had just looted and was still searching around for any dropped items from the remains of the targets he had previously killed earlier on¡­


    Nightingale ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    Why is he bothering to pick up these equipments!?


    Isn¡¯t that pile of treasures more expensive than these items?


    The elven maiden widened her eyes in a mixed of surprise and confusion.


    However, one good thing that she noted is that Boxlunch¡¯s expression was still indifferent just like always. Even when picking up those second-hand equipments, he still didn¡¯t have those greedy crazed expressions unlike the rest of hispanions.


    Observing him as he silently rummages around in a neat and orderly fashion, Nightingale reinforces her impression of him as a type of person who would rarely have any kind of significant waves that can affect his heart¡­


    Or perhaps, he was just a guy who could remain calm under any sort of circumstances.


    Anyhow, seeing that Boxlunch didn¡¯t behave like hispanions somehow made Nightingale felt much better¡­


    As if he had noticed that someone was observing him, Boxlunch just then stopped his actions and stood up before looking towards her direction.


    Their eyes met for a brief moment before he walked towards her in an even casual manner.


    Seeing Boxlunch walking towards her, Nightingale¡¯s younger siblings instinctively stepped back as they quickly hid themselves back into their darkened hiding spot¡­


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    After arriving in front of her, he then noticed the strange gaze from Nightingale, particrly as her eyes pointedly stare towards the human equipments draped all around him and he fell silent for a moment, feeling the urge to exin himself.


    ¡°These are my trophies.¡± After speaking, he then added, ¡°We won, and you are safe now.¡±


    After hearing his words, Nightingale¡¯s expression became rather conflicted in an instant. She then looked towards the rest of the yers still picking up things from the wagons at the distance andughed dryly a few times before asking in a inquisitive tone tinged with a hint of disbelief,


    ¡°Are they¡­ are they yourpanions? Are they¡­ really elves just like us?¡±


    <em>This was a serious question¡­</em>


    Because those guys¡­ were just too strange!


    After looking at his team members while they crazily picked up items left and right with wild abandon as well as the ck dragon critically monitoring their every actions in a scrutinizing manner, Boxlunch fell silent for a moment, then simply nodded.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    She took a deep breath and incredulously asked, ¡°T-Then¡­have you guys been stimted by something, and have somehow degenerated into bandits?¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°You know, a bandit is quite simr to a thief.¡± He said with a little bit of amusement in his tone.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­..¡±


    T-This damn blockhead!


    The yers reaped the rewards to the fullest akin to a locust-like uge on a ripened rice fields.


    Except for the mary and luxury goods taken by the ck dragon, the remaining items were divided amongst the members of Moe Moe Committee and Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    Little Salty Cat took a liking to those strange gain-like seeds, as well as the seasonings and some magical materials, while most of the members of Boxlunch¡¯s team chose equipment and food instead.


    In the blink of an eye, the looted goods were divided amongst themselves.


    Watching the yers¡¯ actions from Meryer¡¯s perspective, Ev¨¦ felt rather embarrassed.


    ¡°They¡¯re really unbelievable¡­If I didn¡¯t know any better, I might¡¯ve really thought that they¡¯re just a group of crazy bandits pretending to be elves.¡±


    It seems¡­she also need to find a way to curtail some of the yers¡¯ crude behavior.


    It was simply too hard to watch, really too hard to watch!


    Without the constraints of morality or any other definitive rules in ce, these yers would only seek their own personal desires and wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to their own race¡¯s image as a whole¡­


    Ev¨¦ had no doubt that if these yers officially debut as the brand new elven race in Saig¨¹es one day, with all their possible lies and trickery, then they would probably be immediatelybeled as evil by all sentient beings in no time.


    <em>Wait a minute¡­now that she thought about it¡­</em>


    They might eventually bebeled as evil, but is there anything wrong with that?


    After all, the yers actions are full of uncertainties and they have the tendency to do all sorts of dishonorable things.


    However, although Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t particrly mind keeping a group of henchmen and pawns who enjoy killing, arson, and looting, considering the opinion of the native elves, as well as the overall image of the World Tree¡­


    <em>Hmm¡­ </em>


    If necessary, it seems she must need to restrain their actions if the situation calls for it.


    The behavior of the yers who have been frantically looting seems to have frightened the native elves.


    As an important source of divine power, Ev¨¦ still wants to continue spreading her religion!


    She doesn¡¯t want to really be a true evil god¡­


    Through Meryer¡¯s perspective, Ev¨¦ looked towards Nightingale as she guards those several young elves hiding in the shadows.


    Looking more closely, her face was etched inplexity and the gazes of those young elves towards the yers were full of undisguised fear as these little ones huddled together while shivering within their hiding spot.


    Although the elves have a particrly long lifespan, their mental maturity is far more underdeveloped inparison to that of humankind.


    So although these young elves are actually not technically young in age, in reality, except for having longer memories, they have no significant difference from the usual children who are about the same age as them¡­


    They were truly frightened.


    Sighing within her heart, Ev¨¦ used her divine power to send a system message.


    For a moment, apanied by the beautiful system sound, all the yers participating in the sidequest received a new prompt,


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Hidden Quest</strong>: Rescuing the Elves Completed ¡¿


    ¡¾ All participating yers will receive ¡®<strong>5000</strong>¡® experience points and ¡®<strong>500</strong>¡® contribution points ¡¿


    And after seeing the system prompt, the yers were all overjoyed.


    ¡°The quest ispleted!¡±


    ¡°500 contribution points? Not bad!¡±


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>New Location</strong>: ¡®Rivendell¡¯ Unlocked ¡¿


    The system prompt continued to float by.


    And with the system¡¯s soft sound, a new music also yed within the background. It was also a piece of music that Ev¨¦ picked from within her inheritance, but unlike the previous music, this elven music style had a heavy sense of age and antiquity, as if depicting a lost world, which is perfectly attuned to the image of Rivendell.


    This particr piece of music is called ¡°Distant Memory.¡±


    It is said that this is aposition created by an elvenposer from the Silver Era which is heavily inspired by the Titan civilization that had perished along during the Age of Giants¡­


    Upon hearing the new background music, each of the yers¡¯ eyes lit up in wonderment.


    ¡°The new background music is pretty good!¡±


    ¡°The music of ElvKing has always been good and I really like this new one as well.¡±


    ¡°Me too, me too!¡±


    While they were discussing these new developments, another new system message appeared right in front of them¡­


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾You triggered a sidequest: Guiding New Companions¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: You have sessfully rescued the elves, but they have not yet epted you. As servants of the goddess, you have decided to guide them and bring them back to the embrace of the mother goddess.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Obtain the recognition of the rescued NPCs and bring them safely back to Florence.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Extra Quest Objective</strong>: Revive the faith of the NPCs in the goddess.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Deadline</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Participants</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: Experience points, contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Extra Quest Rewards</strong>: Exclusive title ¡°Nature¡¯s Evangelist¡±¡¿


    ¡°A new sidequest?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going! There¡¯s even an exclusive title? Is it a hidden reward?¡±


    The yers all raised their heads with excitement.


    ¡°Elf NPCs? Where are they?¡±


    ¡°They seem to be stucked in a dungeon¡­¡±


    ¡°No, the captain had already rescued them, look over there!¡±


    In an instant, all the yers looked towards Nightingale, who was currentlymunicating with Boxlunch.


    ¡°It¡¯s a new NPC maiden!¡±


    ¡°Wow! There are also a few cute little girls and boys!¡±


    Seeing this new group of NPCs, each yers stopped what they are currently doing and instantly rushed over¡­


    Feeling a distinct pointed gaze from afar, Nightingale shivered instinctively as goosebumps creeps up her spine and she suddenly took a step back.


    Then¡­ she saw those strange elves sporting an excited look as they madly rushed towards her location.

 Chapter 146

    ??<strong>WELL, LET¡¯S JUST GO HOME</strong>


    Nightingale was taken aback as she looked at those bizarre elves as they rushed towards her while making a ruckus along the way.


    What are these guys up to now?


    She instinctively hugged her younger siblings close to her chest and looked at the approaching yers with vignce akin to a mother hen protecting her chicks.


    However, their next behavior hadpletely caught her off guard. What she saw instead upon them arriving were their faces beaming with smiles as they looked upon her with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°Hello, Miss! How are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Mdy, you must have suffered at the hands of those humans but fret not, for we are here to save you!¡±


    ¡°Tsk¡­really now, those evil humans even scared off these little children!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­how miserable¡­¡±


    ¡°Surely you guys must be hungry after being locked up for so long, right?¡±


    ¡°Come,e! This uncle has some fresh fruits here, all produced in the Elven Forest and they taste great!¡±


    ¡°Want some candies? This big brother has some delicious honey candy for everyone!¡±


    After saying all that, the yers licked their faces and took out some berries they carried with them along with the sugar cubes they also made using honey.


    They showed a smile that they thought looked kind and stuffed these sweet treats into the arms of each young elves.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Young elves: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Although these guys had some good intentions and wanted to appear benevolent to these neers, s their outer appearance¡ªespecially the blood stains from their earlier battle with the mercenaries, was still visible upon their clothes and faces, thus making them look more frightening despite their friendly behavior.


    Additionally, some were also sporting a somewhat obscene smiles, which was both equally scary and nauseating, making anyone rather hesitant to get close to any of them.


    Most of the young elves were quickly frightened by this, and the youngest girl even inadvertently cried out loud. They all then retreated in fear and quickly hid behind their big sister Nightingale.


    yers: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°O-Oi, Oi! Look at you guys, you just scared them!¡±


    ¡°Is it you? Geez, what kind of idiot would give someone a fruit at their first meeting? Heck, did you even wash your hands? Look, you still have bloodstains on them!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! This dude just called himself ¡®uncle¡¯ Hahaha! It¡¯s so funny man!¡±


    ¡°Oh god, you have so much blood on your face, stopughing! It¡¯s scary! No wonder you scared off those kids!¡±


    ¡°Pffft¡­hahaha! You¡¯reughing too! Haha¡­hahaha!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re stillughing? Just hurry up and wipe your face already idiot, otherwise the NPCs favorability rating will further drop.¡±


    ¡°Oh shiet¡­no¡­hahaha¡­even though I know I shouldn¡¯tugh like this but¡­hahaha¡­what should I do? Hahaha¡­¡±


    Despite the neers reluctance to approach them, the yers were still taking it in stride and were even joking amongst themselves.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes flickered slightly upon this sight. He remained silent for a moment, then swiftly moved before kicking each of his team member in the butt and said in a low vocal tone,


    ¡°Get up and clean your faces!¡±


    Seeing their captain speak, his teammates shrunk their necks and awkwardlyughed before taking a few steps back to wipe their faces.


    Meanwhile, Boxlunch also wiped the dried blood off his face and then returned to Nightingale¡¯s side.


    Those young elves further shrank back yet again subconsciously upon his approach.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    He fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°We mean no harm.¡±


    Nightingale looked at him in the eye for a second before shifting her gaze towards the rambunctious elves at the distance.


    She then nodded reluctantly and finally smiled a little bit.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, you can probably tell.¡±


    ¡®<em>Yeah, it¡¯s just that the brains of those fellow nsmen of yours seemed a bit abnormal.</em>..¡¯ She added within her mind.


    After speaking, she couldn¡¯t help but asking once more, ¡°Are you really not bandits?¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    He sighed and replied, ¡°We are the chosen ones summoned by the goddess.¡±


    ¡°Goddess?¡±


    Nightingale blinked as a stunned look etched upon her face.


    <em>What goddess?</em>


    Boxlunch didn¡¯t borated but instead asked, ¡°What are your ns for the future?¡±


    ¡°¡­ns?¡±


    Nightingale was slightly taken aback, then understood that he was asking about their ns for the future¡­


    After a moment of silence, she tentatively spoke with a hint of uncertainty within her tone, ¡°Perhaps¡­ we might seek out a new hiding ce.¡±


    Her expression then turned somewhat gloomy as she continued,


    ¡°The ce we hid before had been already been discovered by humans. I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t go back there anymore. But¡­as long as we¡¯re alive, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s still some hope for us.¡±


    Boxlunch nodded thoughtfully after hearing this. He then pondered for a moment before asking,


    ¡°Then¡­ why don¡¯t you go home with us.¡±


    ¡°¡­Home?¡±


    Nightingale was taken aback, as she gave him a wholly confused look.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your home anyways?¡±


    ¡°The Elven Forest.¡± Boxlunch replied in a sure and concise manner.


    ¡°T-The Forest of the Elves!?¡±


    Nightingale¡¯s expression instantly froze. She then looked at Boxlunch as if he were apete fool.


    A brief tense moment had passed by and after confirming that he was really serious, the ashen-haired maiden then sneered before asking in return, ¡°Why the hell would we even go there? Are we simply asking to be caught once again?¡±


    She then added, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that the orcs are constantly watching the elven forest, waiting for an inexperienced lone elf to be caught by them¡­¡±


    Her expression then became was somewhat despondent as she whispered,


    ¡°That ce is no longer the home of the elves.¡±


    No matter how powerful the world tree was in the past, in the end, it cannot protect them anymore with its current dying state¡­


    Moreover, didn¡¯t he already know what was happening within the elven forest? It was evident since he himself was caught by the smugglers near the vicinity of the elven forest mere days ago.


    Nightingale let out a bitter sigh, feeling a surge ofplex emotions deep within her.


    <em>Home¡­</em>


    How long has it been since she heard that word?


    Her family had always been wandering around since as far as she could ever remember.


    If the Elven Forest was their home¡­


    Then this home had already perished along with the fall of their patron god who once protected the elvenkind.


    It is often said that home is where the family is¡­


    s, this wouldn¡¯t apply to her as her home had long vanished into thin air due to the constant attacks of humans.


    Literally and figuratively speaking, she had already lost her home a long time ago.


    Just as Nightingale was about to sumb into deeper mncholia, a crisp feminine voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.


    ¡°No, the Elven Forest is the home of the elves.¡±


    She looked up and saw a familiar figure. It was a short elven girl that¡¯s sporting a rare pink colored hair while also wearing magnificent mage equipment.


    If she remembered it right, this girl¡¯s name was, Little Salty Cat.


    Nightingale easily recognized her at a nce.


    She was the elven mage who rode upon the back of a ck dragon and possessed quite a strong magical power, but couldn¡¯t hit any of her target at all.


    ¡°Hello! My name is Little Salty Cat.¡±


    Looking at Nightingale, Little Salty Cat slightly smiled.


    ¡°What a strange name¡­¡± Nightingale murmured softly before nodding and introducing herself as well.


    ¡°I am Nightingale.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s sister Nightingale!¡± Little Salty Cat smiled sweetly before continuing her exnation.


    ¡°Sister Nightingale, the situation is entirely different now¡­ all the orc forces within the Elven Forest had already been eradicated by us.¡±


    She then ced both her hands at her waist and proudly stated, ¡°The forest ispletely safe now.¡±


    Nightingale blinked as she stoodpletely silent for a couple of seconds.


    ¡­<em>The Elven Forest is safe?</em>


    Comprehension finally dawned on her and Nightingale¡¯s first instinctual reaction was totched out in utter disbelief.


    ¡°I-Impossible! There is still arge orc tribe nearby just a couple of days ago, h-how could they be eliminated!?¡± Nightingale retorted as a sliver of hope began to sprout from within her subconscious mind.


    ¡°Oh you mean the caverock tribe? Well¡­they are part of the history now.¡±


    Little Salty Cat replied as she continued on with her confident manner of speaking.


    <em>P-Part of history?</em>


    Nightingale was shocked.


    ¡°Impossible! They just captured me the day before yesterday! I know some of their secrets¡­ t-they have the backing of a true god. Without the intervention of another true god, then they could not have been easily eliminated!¡±


    Little Salty Cat simply smiled assuredly and stated,


    ¡°Nothing is impossible.¡±


    After speaking, her expression then became extremely reverent.


    ¡°Because¡­¡± The pink haired mage then paused deliberately while gesturing a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest before stating in a sincere and solemn manner,


    ¡°Our true god¡­ has also returned.¡±


    Seeing that somewhat familiar tree-shaped gesture the pink haired girl just did, Nightingale¡¯s pupils shrankpletely in utter disbelief.


    <em>T-True God!? </em>

 Chapter 147

    ??<strong>HELLO MISS NIGHTINGALE! </strong>


    ¡°I must have been out of my mind to follow them.¡±


    Nightingale thought with a hint of disbelief as she moved forward along with her younger siblings alongside the yers who were currently escorting them.


    Thinking about the symbol the female mage had just gestured upon her chest, Nightingale was filled with skepticism but also a tiny bit of curiosity.


    Her assumptions can¡¯t be wrong¡­she was certain it absolutely can¡¯t be wrong!


    For she had seen the elders within her n use that particr symbol so many times before!


    It was the religious symbol of the ancient divine matriarch of the elves¡ªthe great world tree that once controlled the divinity of nature, life, and the authority of the elvenkind!


    However, if Nightingale¡¯s understanding was correct, the world tree had already fallen a thousand years ago¡­


    And it was precisely because of the fall of the world tree which led to the eventual decline of the elvenkind.


    In Nightingale¡¯s memory, the elders of her n always reminisced about their past glory, while feeling nostalgia and devotion for the elven goddess.


    But as someone belonging to the new generation of elves, Nightingale didn¡¯t have much sentiment in regards to the already befallen patron deity of theirs.


    Since she was born, she had always been wandering about this matters.


    To her, the world tree was merely just an existence depicted within the old legends, an antiquated symbol of their past glorious history long lost in the annals of time.


    But now¡­ someone had suddenly told her that the world tree had apparently returned?


    If it was said by another race, then Nightingale wouldn¡¯t have believed any of it and simply regard it as pure nonsense but the ones who told her were elves themselves!


    Granted, these peculiar elves are rather strange in the head, but they didn¡¯t have any reason to lie to her especially in regards to a matter as serious like the revival of their patron deity.


    If these strange elves aren¡¯t lying at all¡­


    <em>T-Then¡­could it be true?</em>


    If it was indeed real, then the current situation of the elves would probably drastically change soon¡­


    Although Nightingale herself didn¡¯t harbor nor believe upon their kind¡¯s own religious faith, she also knew how important the belief in the true gods are for any sentient race living within Saig¨¹es.


    Essentially put, faith brought upon protection towards those who believe in it!


    It¡¯s just that¡­even if the world tree really had somehow miraculously returned, then so what?


    The elven silver civilization at its peak a thousand years ago was still defeated by the gods and the current elven race have long since declined and is a shell of its former glory.


    <em>Could the world tree really change everything?</em>


    In Nightingale¡¯s view, even if their patron god returned, it would still all be futile if the elvenkind themselves as a whole didn¡¯t change itself at its core.


    After all¡­most members of their race especially the older ones are too pedantic and stubborn, to the point of being so ridiculous!


    With a skeptical attitude, Nightingale chose to follow these strange elves and see for herself¡­


    Apanied by Little Salty Cat and the others, Nightingale and the others shortly arrived at a hidden teleportation array.


    The material of this formation looks brand new, as if it has just been recently built. It also still looks iplete, and a strange female elf is adjusting it continuously.


    ¡°Big sister, how much longer?¡± Little Salty Cat asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost done. The mana here is a bit chaotic, and I need to add a few more stable runes to the formation,¡± Another female elf said while adjusting the formation.


    <em>A teleportation formation¡­</em>


    Nightengale pondered as she critically examined the array.


    Seeing the pensive look upon the ashen-haired maiden, Little Salty Cat smiled and said, ¡°This formation is connected to Meryer, the ck dragon¡¯s castle. When we get there, you¡¯ll be able to easily confirm whether what I said is true or not.¡±


    The distance between the two teleportation formations is also limited.


    Moreover, with the yers¡¯ current understanding of the game¡¯s runology as well as the scarcity of raw materials, they can only establish mid-range teleportation formations.


    The maximum range of a mid-range teleportation array does not exceed 100 kilometers. Therefore, the formation in Rivendell can only be connected to the ck Dragon¡¯s castle near the caverock tribe.


    Currently, the order of connection for the teleportation formations is: Elven Town¡úFlorence¡úck Dragon Castle¡úRivendell, simr to four maps in an online game.


    In addition, the operation of the teleportation formation also consumes quite a lot of energy. It¡¯s operation also depends on the mana lingering within the air and the magic stones used as a catalysts upon the array.


    When the teleportation is activated, the mana consumption of the formation will drastically increase. The consumption rate will be proportional to the mass of the transported substance being transmitted and will also be affected by its stored energy.


    Of course, the elven n is highly proficient in runes, resulting in a significantly lower mana consumption for the teleportation array they created.


    As long as the mana within the magic stones is not entirely depleted, the array can continue to be used indefinitely.


    Moreover, the Rageze n has also many magic stones.


    Also, after searching the caverock tribe, the yers found even more materials in the orc leader¡¯s tent. Therefore, the mana consumption needed for the teleportation array is nothing to them.


    The ck dragon¡¯s castle?


    Nightengale¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    If she remembered it correctly, that ce was near the orc stronghold!


    <em>Wait¡­could it be that everything they said was really true?</em>


    After a moment, HootyBird finally stabilized the magic of the teleportation array and activated it.


    ¡°Okay, its now already activated.¡±


    The pink-haired mage then walked forward first and stood up right in front of the formation. She then turned her body around and sweetly smiled at Nightingale.


    ¡°Shall we go?¡±


    Nightingale hesitated for a moment, and then beckoned for her younger siblings to follow behind her.


    After stepping inside the array, a sudden sh of light blinded her eyes, and Nightingale felt as if she had passed through an invisible barrier. The cold and humid air within the ruins suddenly became refreshing and dry instead in an instant.


    After a moment, before she could even see her surroundings clearly, several loud and rowdy noises instantly bombarded Nightingale¡¯s ears upon her arrival.


    ¡°Haha! The formation activated sessfully!¡±


    ¡°A new map is now avable! A new map is opened for us to explore! Let¡¯s go guys!¡±


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t go just yet, look, someone is teleporting over!¡±


    Soon, the light caused by the array gradually dissipated and Nightingale¡¯s vision slowly returned to normal.


    Right then, Nightingale was instantly taken aback.


    <em>W-What¡¯s happening?</em>


    ¡°So many¡­e-elves!?¡± The grey-eyed maiden couldn¡¯t help but exim in surprise.


    She found herself standing amidst an ancient castle, and the hall was crowded with all kinds of elves, numbering at least a hundred or so.


    And at the entrance of the hall a little farther away, she could even see a long queue of long-eared people lining up, with no end in sight¡­


    Elves!


    So many elves!


    W-What is this¡­surely there must be at least a small n currently gathering here, right?


    What¡¯s more, she also noticed that their hair colors are all vastly different as well!


    Nightingale waspletely shocked and inadvertently opened her mouth wide, feeling as if she was currently in a dream¡­


    And when some yers who were queuing up in the hall to enter the new map called Rivendell saw the group of Nightingale, their eyes lit up in total fascination.


    ¡°Its that NPC girl from the broadcast! She seems to be called Nightingale!¡±


    ¡°A new NPC!¡±


    ¡°Oh look! There are also a few younger elves as well!¡±


    ¡°Ahhh¡­ so cute¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard that Miss Nightingale¡¯s jobss is a thief, and she has some excellent skills¡­¡±


    ¡°Whoa, a new jobss! Maybe we can learn some new skills as well!¡±


    ¡°How are you, Miss Nightingale!¡±


    They all started to greeted them warmly, which startled Nightingale and her siblings.


    W-Wait¡­


    How do they even know her name?


    Wait a minute¡­


    She have never seen any of them before, yet these people already know that she is a thief?


    Nightingale fell into a deeper shock.


    At the same time, she couldn¡¯t help but feel her face burning up in embarrassment¡­


    Seriously, even she herself didn¡¯t think that being a thief are amendable profession¡­


    But being excitedly called out by a group of strangers like this is tantamount to a public execution!


    ¡°Miss thief, look over here! I have a hunter jobss, would I be able to switch to a thief profession like you?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Thief!¡±


    All sorts of strangers were happily greeting her as if they were her long time friends.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­..¡±


    E-Embarrassing¡­


    This is just too embarrassing!


    She instinctively stepped back and protected her younger siblings as she recoiled from the bizarre warm weing greetings of these strangers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, this is ourpanion.¡±


    At this moment, a deep and powerful voice sounded behind her.


    Nightingale felt a warm big hand upon her shoulder, which lessened her tension and made her feel reassured.


    She then turned her head around and saw Boxlunch looking at her calmly, withforting eyes.


    Companion¡­


    Nightingale took a deep breath¡­


    They¡­ so they have already gathered so many of their own people?


    Seeing that Boxlunch had drawn close and protected Nightingale and her siblings, the other yers immediately booed.


    ¡°Dammit! Boss Box, are you hitting on her already?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be this kind of person¡­¡±


    ¡°What a shocker! The top yer in the whole server actually going all lovey-dovey with an NPC¡­¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    As he listened to the yers¡¯ various teasings, his face turned somewhat dark, and Boxlunch instinctively let go of his hand resting upon her shoulders.


    ¡°Go away.¡± He curtly said to the rowdy crowd.


    Seeing Boxlunch getting angry, the yers who teased him shrank their necks and simplyughed in a mischievous manner.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way! Everyone, move over! We still doing our quest!¡± Little Salty Cat shouted as she squeezed through the crowd.


    ¡°Huh, have you not finished your sidequest yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Enough talking, let¡¯s just go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ let¡¯s just enter the new map.¡±


    The other elves sighed and made way for the group.


    After that, most people no longer paid attention to Nightingale and her group but shifted their attention back to the new map as they entered the magical array excitedly.


    However, some people still stayed behind and enthusiastically approached Nightingale and her group.


    ¡°Hi, Miss Nightingale! My name is Demacia. Do you need a guide?¡± He said enthusiastically before adding,


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯ll show you the way but can you teach me some skills of thieves in return?¡±


    ¡°Miss Nightingale! How are you! Let¡¯s be friends!¡±


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Elves have always been proud and elegant. Even in their interactions with their own fellow nsmen, they often remain polite and courteous even after knowing the other party for a long time.


    However these guys have no semnce of the elves proprietary at all.


    Nightingale didn¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or a bad thing and all she could ever do was to sigh as she turned her head sideways in order to observe the scenery outside the castle window.


    As she carefully examined her surroundings, Nightingale¡¯s eyes widened instantly as she focused her attention upon a particr area that¡¯s rather familiar to her.


    That hillside if she remembers it right¡­


    Was where the caverock tribe once stood!


    But now it seems that orc stronghold had been reduced into ruins¡­

 Chapter 148

    ??<strong>STRANGE ELVES</strong>


    This¡­this¡­


    Nightingale was so surprised that she couldn¡¯t even close her mouth properly.


    She still vividly remembered that when she left two days ago, the caverock tribe was still prospering and there was no indication at all of it being reduced to ruins like this¡­


    <em>Is this really the work of that blockhead and hispanions?</em>


    Deep within her, the answer was already obvious. It just that it¡¯s so unbelievable that her rationale mind simply refused to believe it.


    At a slight distance away from her, Nightingale squinted her eyes and perceived somenky figures as they rummage through the debris scattered around the ruins.


    Those appeared to be elves as well, but equipped with far more inferior outfits unlike those worn by the elves that just weed Nightingale. Some of them were even wearing simple linen robes and crude wooden armor.


    As she continued to observe them, Nightingale noticed that these elves are searching around the ruins, unearthing and lifting debris as if looking for something buried underneath the rubbles¡­


    asionally, someone would dig through the rubble, before pulling out some scrap metal and excitedly taking it to a nearby magical array.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    At first, she blinked in confusion, but upon double-checking it more closely, she widened her eyes and vaguely recognized that particr array. Somehow it really resembles the ceremonial circle her n elders used for divine offerings.


    So these elves were offering items to a mysterious entity?


    But wait a minute¡­ weren¡¯t the things they were presenting simply just utter garbage with no value whatsoever!?


    <em>Oi, Oi, Oi! the thing you put in there was just a rusty half of a broken kitchen knife!</em>


    She widened her eyes in abject horror.


    T-This¡­


    Oh Dear God Almighty!


    Aren¡¯t they afraid of facing the wrath of this mysterious entity!?


    However, as the ceremonial circle shed and let out a burst of illumination, the things offered to it simply vanished afterwards¡­


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­.. ¡±


    U-Uh¡­huuuh!?


    Those garbage¡­was actually epted?


    Her gaze became somewhat dazed.


    Because she was not familiar with some of the ceremonial inscriptions of the World Tree, Nightingale did not recognize that it was actually Eve¡¯s own magical circle.


    And those elves collecting trash were actually low-leveled yers who missed the opportunity to participate in the battle of the Orc Tribe.


    Nevertheless, although these newbies missed the distribution of spoils, they also sneaked over afterwards just to see if they can still pick up items that was somehow overlooked by the earlier looters.


    Offering the items they luckily find to the goddess could earn them some meager contribution points so its still a worthwhile endeavor in their opinion.


    Nightingale couldn¡¯t help but take a few more nces just to be sure that this mysterious deity isn¡¯t really mad about their sphemous behavior, before her sightseeing was interrupted by the voice of Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°Sister Nightingale, we are ready to go now, let¡¯s finally go to Florence.¡±


    <em>Florence¡­</em>


    Nightingale¡¯s brows narrowed as she became lost in contemtion.


    Florence was once widely known as the holynd of the elves.


    However, as far as Nightingale could remember, that holy city had already beeen reduced to a mere ruins even way back when her n had finally decided to leave the Elven Forest.


    After hesitating for a moment, she just curtly nodded and followed behind Little Salty Cat along with her younger siblings.


    Nightingale was now even more curious about these strange elves¡­


    Vaguely within her heart, she had already starting to believe the words of these weird strangers.


    Having the capability to destroy the Caverock Tribe which had the backings of a true god¡­ there must also be another true god behind these elves as well!


    But at the same time, she had more doubts within her heart.


    Where did these people evene from?


    And howe their personalities have be¡­


    How can she put it¡ªalthough they cannot really be considered as evil, they are also rather peculiar as well.


    They are somewhat like humans, with a very human-like cunningness, but without humankind¡¯s deep-seated hypocrisy.


    On contrary they felt more genuine instead.


    Aside from that blockhead, the majority of them subconsciously wear all their emotions up their sleeve and do not conceal their emotions at all, good or bad unlike the typical elf.


    They also have a strange way of walking, and they have the tendency to bounce around, climbing high and low in wild abandon, akin to kids who are just seeing the world for the very first time.


    Oh, right! They are also very greedy! Not for money per se, but for all kinds of materials and equipment instead!


    Their taste is also a bit odd, as they seem to love shiny weapons and clothes. In any case, Nightingale observed that almost all of them dressed very elegantly.


    On the flip side, they can also be very ruthless especially when dealing with their enemies!


    But when ites to their own people, especially when ites to Nightingale and her siblings, theypletely change their behavior, and their friendly demeanor even makes her feel a bit ufortable.


    And the most puzzling thing about them in her opinion was that, they seem to be very happy!


    Truly happy, in a sense that she can even feel their genuine joy even when meeting them for the very first time.


    Nightingale swore that she has never encountered such an optimistic and positive elves ever in her life!


    What are they so happy about?


    Why are they always seem so cheerful¡­


    They are happy when scamming humans, happy when looting and dividing the spoils and even still feeling happy despite killing other people¡­


    Even when they see the ruins of Rivendell, they are still overjoyed, as if they had found some long lost treasure which she cannot fathom.


    These strange elves seem to be curious about everything around them, and anything can easily pique their interest.


    Even those elves loitering around the caverock ruins, who are scavenging the debris, looked so happy doing such monotonous task!


    It¡¯spletely beyond Nightingale¡¯sprehension¡­


    Where do they get all this energy from?


    Don¡¯t they get tired being happy all the time?


    Have they been stimted by something?


    Or is it just inherently the way they are?


    What exactly are they?


    Perhaps she was drawn to that blockhead because his behavior ispletely unlike the people around him and it felt more familiar to her.


    The more Nightingale thought about it, the more puzzled she became.


    With these thoughts weighing down her mind, Nightingale once again crossed another teleportation array and arrived at the legendary ancestral city, Florence.


    The surrounding light slowly dissipated, and this time, Nightingale found herself right in the middle of a lively spacious square.


    She was slightly taken aback while looking at the newly renovated buildings sprawling around her.


    ¡°This¡­ is the holy city of Florence?¡±


    What appeared in front of her was not the ruins she expected, but instead a newly renovated elven city!


    Of course, it cannot be said to have beenpletely renovated, since there¡¯s still some traces of the ruins that can be seen at the distance but therger area centered upon the main square has already taken on the appearance of a typical city.


    But what made Nightingale¡¯s more excited was that she saw some other elves!


    Not the strange ones like earlier but a more familiar elves she¡¯s used to see!


    Nightingale was assured that these fellow nsmen are what she expect elves should look like!


    The elves around her all have the same red coloring upon their hairs with each of their faces filled with contained yet hopeful smiles as they shuttling through the city premises whilst fully engrossed into repairing the structures within the ancient holy city.


    Their clothes were not as gorgeous like those worn by the strange elves, but rather, they were simpler yet still retaining some bit of elegance, with elven patterns etched upon the fabric in a nice exquisite fashion.


    In addition, their temperament was quite unique and Nightingale could easily distinguish them apart from Boxlunch and his group at a nce.


    ¡°Is this¡­ the Rageze n?¡±


    Nightingale assumed based upon their hair color.


    She then looked around and noticed that almost every red-haired elder was surrounded by several younger elves in strange clothing.


    They showed great respect for the elder red-haired elves, with a pleasing countenance that felt familiar to Nightingale.


    Whenever an elder asked them to do something, the younger ones were delighted to do what they were ordered with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Ahh¡­finally a familiar sight¡­¡± Murmured Nightingale as she slightly exhaled a faint breath.


    At this moment, an elderly red-haired elf came in front of Nightingale while surrounded by a group of people.


    The grey-eyed maiden noticed the patterns embellished upon the other¡¯s clothes, and recognized some runes that represented a n leader.


    This is¡­ the chieftain of the Rageze n?


    Nightingale was moved.


    The person who came forward was Philothea, who looked at Nightingale with a cautious yet also curious expression before giving out a small smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s been such a long time since I¡¯ve seen a child from the Darkshade n. I am Philothea, the chieftain of the Rageze n. Wee home my dear child.¡±


    It really is the Rageze n¡­


    Nightingale was surprised.


    She first made a respectful gesture, and then introduced herself.


    ¡°Hello. My name is Nightingale Shade, and these kids besides me are my younger siblings¡­¡±


    Philothea nodded with her eyes scanning the thin and dirty clothes worn by the young elves before sighingmentingly.


    ¡°You guys¡­have suffered greatly.¡±


    After speaking, the chieftain¡¯s expression then suddenly changed to a look of reverence.


    ¡°But¡­it¡¯s all over now. The Divine Matriarch has finally returned to us. Wee home my dear children! Our lives will start anew with her benevolent grace!¡±


    The Rageze n¡¯s leader then turned around and bowed in the direction of the World Tree before solemnly gesturing a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest.


    It¡¯s that symbol once again!


    Nightingale was shaken a little.


    But at this moment, she finally believed that elvenkind¡¯s patron deity have really somehow miraculously returned!


    The words of those strange elves might not have much sway, but the confirmationing from the leader of the Rageze n definitely hold much more weight for her!


    ¡°Miss Nightingale.¡±


    At this moment, Nightingale heard another unfamiliar voice.


    She turned around and saw a male raven-haired elf softly smiling at her.


    He was wearing a well-presented druid outfit and behaved rather appropriately.


    It was Li Mu.


    Li Mu made a gesture of respect to Nightingale and said,


    ¡°Lady Alice wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°Alice?¡±


    Nightingale was puzzled by this unfamiliar name and her look might¡¯ve clued in the other party about her confusion since he began to borate further.


    ¡°Alice Galewind. She is the representative of the Great World Tree¡ªthe Goddess Yggdrasill, and Nature¡¯s Saintess¡­ she is waiting for you in the temple located within the city of the chosen ones.¡±

 Chapter 149

    ??<strong>NIGHTINGALE¡¯S FAVORABILITY RATING</strong>


    As the night grew deeper, the elven city still remained brightly lit due to the usage of lighting magic and torches.


    However, since elves have an inherently strong night vision capabilities, Nightingale could just easily see everything clearly even without the aid of such illumination.


    Led by Li Mu, she and her younger siblings crossed yet another teleportation array and arrived at the city¡¯s main square.


    Looking around the foreign looking structures around them, the neers were equally just as amazed by the wondrous city of the chosen ones just like their expressions back at Florence.


    At this moment, the novice city had undergone some more rapid changespared to before. With the addition of the second batch of beta-testers, the size of the city further expanded even more.


    Now, it couldn¡¯t simply be called a small town anymore, but rather a real fortress city instead!


    Not only that, but the yers have also been given full reins to let their imagination run rampant so as a result, the architectural styles within the novice city have be even more diverse.


    From the looks of it, the construction designers seems like they werepeting and were trying to outdo one another, as they incorporated all kinds of architectural styles on earth that they could possibly think of.


    Nevertheless, although the architectural styles were vastly different, each buildings were still connected by lush greenery, such aswns and gardens. Moreover, well ced trees as well as the overhanging foliage sprawling around have also somewhat softened the visual impact of the eclectic styles, giving them a touch of harmony as well as the entire city a rather unique earthly charm.


    Building a beautiful virtual home have be a hobby for many gamers online and this naturally also urred in Elven Kingdom as well!


    It¡¯s unclear who started it, but every yer has begun wanting to build their own little home within the city!


    Perhaps it was because of the first batch of beta-testers which set the bar too high in regards to designing their own houses, but the second batch of beta-testers have also begunpeting with each other in constructing and designing their own homes¡­


    Furthermore, the construction team belonging to Moe Moe Committee had even pushed this phenomenon into an overdrive!


    They fully utilized their guild¡¯s talents and designed various houses ording to their own preferences, and then quickly built them with the assistance of Moe Moe Committee¡¯s own dedicated team of construction enthusiasts.


    Moreover, in order to acquire the materials needed to build their own homes, some yers even developed an unorthodox way of using magical spells.


    For example, they altered a spell so that it generates wood for construction and someone even developed a petrification skill specifically for hardening pavements¡­there were even people who used the traditional method used back in real life in order to make cement and replicated the procedure in this virtual world as well¡­


    Of course, the overall style of the city is still dominated by nature, which is the iron rule set upon by Ev¨¦ herself.


    When a building is constructed, it is also required to receive the blessings of the goddess after itspletion. This is because Ev¨¦ bestows a little bit of her power to reinforce the wood and other materials used in the building.


    Ev¨¦ is doing this for she is a bit of a perfectionist herself and she have been reinforcing all the buildings constructed by the yers despite her still recovering.


    Also if the architectural style of a newly added structure wasn¡¯t to her liking, she would then give out a system prompt asking the designers to rectify it.


    This city is right beneath her feet, and she doesn¡¯t want the newly added buildings to be just like a disorderly mess seen in some modern cities¡­


    At the very least, the architectural design shouldn¡¯t be embarrassing, also¡­ not shameful as well.


    If someone¡¯s home is too shabby, they might even feel embarrassed to say that they are a yer of the Elven Kingdom.


    As the yers keeps improving the city, the novice city also became increasingly prosperous, and the fantasy-like feeling grow more and more pronounce as time passed by.


    In addition, several tall buildings were also added to the city as well, which were the headquarters of severalrge guilds.


    Amongst them, the headquarters of Moe Moe Committee was the most spectacr.


    They constructed a garden-style pce, modeled after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon just like back on earth!


    These construction projects were all massive endeavor, and it would probably be really difficult to construct such structures in the real world. At the very least¡­ it would take a long time to build and would require vast amounts of resources.


    However in the virtual world of Saig¨¹es, where magic exists, everything bes entirely possible!


    Because of the existence of magic within this world, any building one can imagine can be built with a minimal physical effort!


    Not only that, but many yers even recorded videos of their own homes being built and uploaded them to the inte.


    This kind of do-it-yourself city construction that is done by the yers, which is close to reality and includes magical elements as well, has naturally caused quite a sensation in the real world.


    It was especially the case after watching the yers built their own homes, or having parties within their own backyards as they yed the game together¡­all these tantalizing videos madeizens rather envious of these beta-testers¡­


    That sense of realism and freedom, especially their joys can easily be felt through the screen as they watched these videos!


    Unlike other games, such as ¡®My World¡¯ or ¡®Sim City,¡¯ which are currently bing more and more popr in the virtual world, Elven Kingdom¡¯s construction features are even more free and realisticpared to these games.


    More importantly, even though ElvKing is technically not a life simtion-focused game just like the Sims, it can still give you the pleasure of ying a simted life!


    Plus¡­ the gamey time is four times longer than real-time due to the mind eleration feature! It is said that someone can still immerse their consciousness within the game even if they¡¯re sleeping!


    And the true replication of the five senses, as well as the realistic food taste, and the beautiful scenery of the surrounding forests make the game¡¯s life and fantasy atmosphere even more intense¡­


    It is truly a dream paradise like no other!


    Nheless, the essence of Elven Kingdom is still an MMORPG!


    The main focus of this game is still adventure, and simtion and management is only a small part of the game¡­


    Netizens have already bepletely sour as they awaits the officialunch of the game.


    Unfortunately, Elven Kingdom is still in closed beta testing phase for almost two months now, and the official release date is still not been announced yet.


    s, theizens can only refresh the official website everday, as they awaits for the news of the official release.


    While they wait, they also sometimes browse the videos that yers have posted on various video websites, just to get a glimpse of what¡¯s the game like¡­then they leave an enviousment or two.


    The news that a group of yers created a dream-like city in a virtual MMORPG game all by themselves is gradually spreading all around the inte¡­


    Nightingale feltpletely stunned as immersed herself within this dreamlike city.


    ¡°So this is¡­the City of the Chosen Ones?¡±


    She murmured unconsciously.


    Nightingale swore that despite living for over a hundred of years and traveling to various ces, she still had never seen such a magnificent city just like this in her life!


    It¡¯s not that the cities in Saig¨¹es aren¡¯t spectacr. The city of Rivendell is spectacr, and the ruins of the Titan giants are also spectacr¡­


    But their spectacle ispletely different from the cities built upon by these strange elves.


    What really struck Nightingale was the unprecedented varying architectural styles used around the structures.


    Actually this was the effect brought about by the collision of different cultures between the two worlds. When the yers had first seen Rivendell, they are also shocked by the city built by the elves so long ago.


    Thus it is normal for Nightingale to feel wonderful and majestic when she sees apletely foreign city full of earth-like characteristics not familiar to her.


    Of course what she didn¡¯t know was that, Eve¡¯s power has also been imbued into the buildings built upon by these yers, making these structures contain a little bit of nature¡¯s aura.


    This is also one of the reasons that makes Nightingale feel wonderful and attuned with the structures surrounding her.


    After all¡­the Elves have always loved nature.


    Although the architectural styles felt foreign, it still caters to elvenkind¡¯s own preferences!


    In addition to the city, Nightingale also saw the legendary World Tree at the distance.


    It was truly an incredible colossal tree.


    Standing in the city center, Nightingale couldn¡¯t even see theplete canopy no matter how much she looked up!


    She could only see the huge and sturdy trunk, seemingly leading endlessly straight to up to the skies¡­


    Just what concerns her was that the World Tree still looked rather withered and lifeless, without any sort of vitality to it.


    <em>Hasn¡¯t the World Tree already recovered?</em>


    The heart of the elven maiden still lingers some bit of doubt within her.


    As if noticing her apprehension, Li Mu exined with a smile,


    ¡°Miss Nightingale, you will only be able to perceive the true appearance of the World Tree when you rekindle your own religious faith.¡±


    To prevent the enemy from discovering her revival, the Goddess has disguised herself back in her original form, and only her believers and the chosen ones can see the World Tree¡¯s true appearance.


    Most yers and believers already know this fact.


    <em>True appearance?</em>


    Nightingale¡¯s heart moved, and she begun to have some guesses of her own. She then lowered her head and no longer looked at the World Tree in the distance, but instead resumed looking around the city.


    With a nce, she saw more yers.


    Just like before, Nightingale could easily discern their differences from the native elves in terms of clothing and temperament.


    However,pared to the crazy guys she first met, the attire of the elves living within this city are generally much more simpler. asionally, there are some people in gorgeous outfits quickly passing by, and some looked entirely preupied doing various tasks.


    As for what they are doing¡­


    Nightengale looked carefully and said, ¡°Are they building a house?¡±


    She was a little surprised.


    What she saw was actually the construction team of Moe Moe Committee.


    As long as there are yers in need of construction, the Guild, Moe Moe Committee will not stop offering up their services¡­


    After all, doing so would umte them lots of contribution points!


    Moreover, the yers who join the construction team are originally hardcore enthusiasts of simtion games.


    As for the other elves within the city, they are either lower-leveled yers or casual yers. As for the high-leveled ones as well as those crazy reckless yers, they had already long disappeared and was currently exploring the new map of Rivendell after the teleportation array was built¡­


    When some yers saw Li Mu and Nightingale passing by, they halted what they¡¯re doing and greeted them one after another.


    ¡°Yo! Brother Mu!¡±


    ¡°Good evening, Brother Mu!¡±


    ¡°Do you want some fruits? It was just picked this afternoon!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Is thisss a new NPC?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss!¡±


    Li Mu responded to each of them with a pleasant attitude.


    ¡°Good evening to you as well!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m already full. My guild just had a barbecue party this afternoon, and I¡¯m still currently stuffed.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes indeed. This is an NPC that Boxlunch¡¯s team had rescued. I¡¯m just taking her to see Lady Alice.¡±


    After knowing that Li Mu was currently doing a task, these yers didn¡¯t linger much longer and left to do their own things after a brief conversation.


    Watching their backs, Nightengale nodded in approval.


    These elves¡­ seem to be more normal.


    The two resumed their walk and as she curiously looked around, before finally, under Li Mu¡¯s guidance, arrived in front of a newly built temple.


    Like the other buildings that Nightingale had seen, the temple was not in the traditional elvish style, and she could even slightly discern some simrities with some human temples she had personally seen before.


    However, what¡¯s different was that this temple was way more exquisite and filled with nature¡¯s aura.


    ¡°Come, the saintess is waiting inside.¡± Li Mu said after pushing the doors open.


    She tentatively took a deep breath before finally stepping inside the temple along with her siblings.


    Nightingale noticed that inside of the temple was not actually veryrge, but it still retained the solemnity one would expect from a sacred ce.


    As soon as she arrived, Nightingale saw a statue of what looked like a goddess erected at the center of the temple. A blond elf was kneeling in front of the statue whilst silently uttering a soft prayer.


    The long-haired figure was wearing a sacred ceremonial dress while surrounded by a faint sacred light.


    Feeling the solemnity of the temple and hearing the soft hum of the prayer that the holy maiden had been chanting, Nightingale¡¯s heart became calmer, and she gradually began to feel a little bit conscious of herself.


    ¡°Lady Alice, I have brought your guest with me.¡± Li Mu said.


    After hearing his words, the prayer suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work. Your task isplete, you may leave now.¡± A sweet feminine voice said as she slowly stood up from her kneeling position.


    Nightingale saw a hint of joy in Li Mu¡¯s eyes as he bowed to the golden-haired maiden and slowly retreated back outside.


    However, the sound of his footsteps seemed lighter than before.


    In the blink of an eye, only Nightingale, her siblings and the holy maiden remained in the temple. She then saw the other person finally turned around to face her.


    It was a female elf who appeared slightly older than her, with a serene smile bearing upon her face and emerald-colored eyes glowing with a radiance, full of faith.


    She pinched the corner of her ceremonial skirt and performed a standard elvish greeting, before introducing herself.


    ¡°Miss Nightingale, hello. I am the Nature¡¯s Saintess¡ªAlice Galewind.¡±


    So it was actually someone from the Galewind n¡­


    Nightingale was awestruck for a moment.


    The Galewind, as a famous priest n, had always been respected by the other ns, second only to the royal n!


    She pursed her lips and awkwardly returned the greeting,


    ¡°Y-Your holiness¡­hello!¡±


    Alice smiled slightly,pletely ignoring her awkwardness and simply said, ¡°I know you have many questions within your heart, don¡¯t worry¡­ I called you here to answer them one by one.¡±


    Hearing this, Nightingale breathed a sigh of relief. She then hesitated for a moment and decided to ask the question that¡¯s bothering her the most.


    ¡°Has our patron god¡­ really returned?¡±


    Alice nodded, and a hint of reverence appeared within her face.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    With that, the holy maiden gently raised her hands, before a dazzling silvery aura was released from her body¡­


    <em>A Silver-ranked Priest!</em>


    Feeling the sacred power emanating from her, Nightingale¡¯s pupils shrank in wonderment.


    At the same time, she no longer had any doubts within her heart.


    Priests at the silver level¡­


    Only believers of an active deity could achieve it!


    Nightingale breathed a sigh of relief.


    Then, she felt a bit of joy and excitement.


    The goddess has really returned¡­ the future of the elves will definitely change!


    However, despite her excitement, Nightingale was still not as fanatical unlike what the Rageze n used to be upon hearing such wonderful news.


    She just felt a little happy and excited.


    Nightingale thought for a moment and asked,


    ¡°So..about these strange elves¡­ who are they exactly?¡±


    ¡°They are the Chosen Ones,¡± Alice said before adding, ¡°They are warriors personally summoned by the Great Goddess from another world, who descend upon this world in the form of primordial elves. They came here to assist us in revitalizing our civilization.¡±


    After speaking, Alice then ruefully smiled. ¡°Judging by your expression, you might have been a little frightened by their odd behaviors. However don¡¯t be afraid. Although they harbor some ws, they meant no harm to us. They are the true warriors of the Divine Matriarch!¡±


    So that¡¯s how it is!


    Nightingale¡¯s doubts significantly lessened after listening to the saintess exnation.


    ¡°By the way, they are also amazing builders. The magnificent city you just saw is their own handiwork.¡±


    Alice continued to smile before stretching out four of her fingers.


    ¡°They created such city from scratch in less than four months¡­¡±


    <em>Four¡­ Four months!? </em>


    Nightingale widened her eyes with her expression showing utter disbelief.


    ¡°You¡­You mean to say that this city was entirely built by them in just four months? The unique city outside?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. So¡­ never underestimate them. Although they have their own ws, they also have their own strengths, and possess great creativity and learning abilities as well.¡±


    ¡°I think¡­ that¡¯s one of the reasons why the Matriarch chose them as the Chosen Ones.¡± Alice sighed as she let out a soft breath.


    After hearing her words, Nightingale was somewhat speechless¡­


    <em>Underestimate them?</em>


    To be honest, she would never underestimate any of them at all after witnessing their insane ughter back at Rivendell.


    However¡­her heart was still filled with shock when she learned that this city was also built by these strange elves in just a span of four months¡­


    <em>So these chosen ones, besides their fighting abilities, are also adept in construction?</em>


    Really amazing¡­


    Seeing Nightingale¡¯s expression filled with all sorts of emotions, Alice sincerely asked,


    ¡°Miss Nightingale, the goddess has returned. Would you like to stay here in the Elven Forest, regain your faith, and rebuild the elven civilization together with us?¡±


    Upon listening to Alice¡¯s words, Nightingale didn¡¯t answer right away but instead remained silent.


    After a moment, she then sighed and replied,


    ¡°Your Holiness, forgive me for speaking bluntly¡­ The return of the goddess is indeed heartening, but s, I do not believe that the future of our race can simply be overturned with the return of our pateon deity alone.¡± Nightingale then paused for a second to gather up her thoughts before continuing,


    ¡°The departure of the Matriarch was indeed the main reason for our race¡¯s decline, but it was simply not the sole reason as well¡­In my opinion, our fellow nsmen¡¯s own stubbornness and naive kindness were also the root cause of our rapid decline within these past thousand years.¡±


    ¡°If we as a race does not change our existing beliefs, then what awaits us in the end is still ruination. I believe that¡­ this also a-applies to her, the Divine Matriarch!¡±


    Nightingale stated in a very serious tone as if finally letting out all her bottled up frustrations.


    ¡°From my understanding, our patron deity, her divine grace from a thousands of years ago also seemed to have been defeated because of being too kind!¡±


    These were the words that she had long wanted to say.


    However¡­ all the elves that she told this before simply thought that this way of thinking waspletely heretical.


    Kindness and sincerity were the inherent qualities of the elves. Their traditional beliefs have always centered upon these two and they¡¯ve been practicing such beliefs no matter how much their race had fallen so how could they be easily discarded?


    After saying all her frustrations out loud, Nightingale¡¯s heart felt a little uneasy.


    She didn¡¯t know if denying their race¡¯s long existing beliefs right in front of the Holy Maiden and the statue of their patron god would provoke their wrath¡­


    But what surprised her was that Alice only softly smiled after hearing her exnations.


    ¡°What you said is right. We should indeed make some changes with our core beliefs.¡± The saintess said before looking at the statue.


    ¡°In fact, the goddess had the idea of relying upon the chosen ones, whose personalities and beliefs greatly differs from ours, to change the elves traditional way of thinking.¡±


    <em>Unexpectedly¡­ it turned out to be like this?</em>


    Nightingale was stunned.


    At this moment, she seemed to understand why the personality of these Chosen Ones was so strange.


    Speaking of which, Alice then sighed.


    ¡°Being kind to one¡¯s enemies is being cruel to oneself¡­ It¡¯s not until we elves face the real possibility of extinction that I truly realize the hidden truths upon these words.¡±


    Hearing her words, Nightingale nodded in agreement.


    ¡°So¡­ Miss Nightingale.¡±


    At this point, Alice spoke again whilst sincerely asking once more,


    ¡°Are you willing to stay and fight for the new future of the elven race as we reshape our beliefs?¡±


    Nightingale fell silent as she seriously considered the proposition.


    Suddenly, she remembered to the hopeful eyes of Rageze n members she had just seen earlier¡­


    Then, she thought of those strange elves, and their craziness in battle, as well as the wonderful and beautiful city outside¡­


    Finally, she thought of that blockhead back when they were still sharing a prison cell together¡­


    For some reason, Nightingale felt moved.


    She looked at her skinny brothers and sisters, and then finally back at Alice who smiled at her.


    Perhaps¡­ real change can actually happen this time.


    Moreover¡­ she also needs to find afortable environment for her siblings to properly grow.


    After a moment, Nightingale sighed as she uttered,


    ¡°In that case¡­ I am willing.¡±


    After speaking, she then stood in front of the statue and knelt down respectfully alongside the holy maiden¡­


    At the same moment that Nightingale knelt down and epted the offer, Boxlunch¡¯s team which is currently at Florence suddenly received a system message that the sidequest had beenpleted.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Sidequest</strong> : Guide New Companions Completed¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Obtain the recognition of rescued NPCs and bring them back to Florence,pleted¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Additional Quest Objective</strong>: Restore the NPCs¡¯ faith in the Goddess,pleted¡¿


    ¡¾All participating yers will receive ¡®<strong>1000</strong>¡® experience points and ¡®<strong>300</strong>¡® contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾All yers participating in the quest will receive additional rewards ¨C exclusive title ¡°<strong>Nature¡¯s</strong> <strong>Evangelist</strong>¡± ¡¿


    ¡°It waspleted?¡±


    As the system message floated by their peripheral vision, all the members of the team showed excitement.


    ¡°Haha, we¡¯ve got an exclusive title! Nature¡¯s Evangelist!¡±


    ¡°But the contribution rewards is not much¡­¡±


    ¡°Just be content for once. We didn¡¯t really put in much effort anyways. It was the Saintess who took the initiative!¡±


    They then checked their own respective status screens and discussed excitedly their given rewards. Someone¡¯s eyes then lit up as he noticed a new addition to the list of NPCs within her favorability tab.


    ¡°Oh? Guys look¡­It seems Nightingale¡¯s impression status was also unlocked?¡±


    ¡°Really? Wait, Let me check¡­¡±


    ¡°What the heck! Why do I only have 20 points of favorability? Didn¡¯t we save them? That¡¯s too low, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Who asked you to be so cheeky despite you being entirely covered in blood at the time? Let me check mine as we¡ªWhat the hell, I only have 25 points¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah, serves you right forughing at me¡­¡±


    ¡°Aw man¡­it¡¯s a little low. I was thinking of raising her favorability to learn some thief skills. I heard from Captain Box that Nightingale had apparently maxed out her lockpicking skill!¡±


    ¡°Oh right, Captain, how much favorability do you have with her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably not high, after all, Box is always silent and even looks a little scary¡­plus he¡¯s even killed a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­I remember that the NPCs don¡¯t like the act of murder¡­¡±


    At this point, the team members all turned back and looked at Boxlunch who was also checking his own status screen.


    ¡°So Captain, how much favorability do you actually have?¡±


    His teammates asked as they all tried to take a glimpse at his status screen.


    Boxlunch was silent for a moment before closing his status screen.


    ¡°Captain?¡±


    They kept asking persistently and Boxlunch eventually looked at them with annoyance. After hesitating for a moment, he simply stated a number that left all his party memberspletely shocked and silent.


    ¡°100 points.¡±

 Chapter 150

    ??<strong>BOXLUNCH¡¯S REAL IDENTITY</strong>


    With Boxlunch and his team¡¯spletion of the sidequest, the new map of Rivendell, has officially became essible for all the yers to enter.


    Many rushed into this once prosperous manufacturing city during the heyday of the elven civilization, hoping to find some valuable treasures buried underneath these new ruins just like Li Mu and Demacia did when they found those ancient meditation manuals back in Florence.


    It¡¯s worth noting that even though the game had been operating for quite some time already, the best meditation technique in the exchange store is still the ¡®Elemental Meditation Technique¡¯ that Li Mu and Demacia found and so far, it¡¯s also the only one that had achieved a mythical purple rating!


    The ¡®Elemental Meditation Technique¡¯ can train magical power as well as improve one¡¯s affinity with the elements and can be used up to the peak of silver ranking at level 70.


    The elves themselves are inherently gifted as mana attuned creatures, and one¡¯s own magical power isn¡¯t strictly exclusive into spellcasters or melee warriors. Despite magic not being their expertise, a melee warrior will still have a small amount of magical power within them and can even learn one or twomon low level spells, such as appraisal and illumination.


    Therefore, almost all yers will saved up money in order to exchange for this meditation technique in the hopes of improving their own magical capacity.


    However, even with a discount, this meditation technique is quite expensive and it requires 5000 contribution points for anyone to acquire it. Li Mu and Demacia, the two who have discovered this technique not only learned it for free, but they also keeps receiving a 0.5% cut from each yer who buys it.


    It¡¯s also worth noting that this reward willst for a one whole year¡­


    In other words, within an in-game span of one year, each time someone bought this meditation technique at the exchange store, Li Mu and Demacia will each receive 25 contribution points as their cut as well!


    Although the points gained isn¡¯t much, it¡¯s still a passive ie and it also adds up over time without them even doing anything.


    It¡¯s been two months already since the ¡®Elemental Meditation Technique¡¯ was unearthed by Li Mu and Demacia and each earned more than 10,000 contribution points just by relying upon the profits generated from this meditation technique alone!


    Coupled with the ie from the percentage cut they received from other yers¡¯ buying all sorts of other skill books, meditations, and even ancient books they also found in the same batch, the contribution points they umted were enough for them to exchange for a golden legendary equipment at the store!


    Almost every piece of golden legendary equipment in the game is an exclusive unique item that¡¯s one of a kind!


    Not only that, but they also have some unique appearances that emits special effects! Some even have a vor text with in-depth backstories, simr to the Devil¡¯s Wand and Night Wanderer¡¯s Spatial Ring¡­


    And even if these items eventually be outdated as its owners further improve their levels, this unique one of a kind legendary golden equipments are still valuable due to it being treated as a collector¡¯s item.


    However, even after more than a month had passed since theunch of Elven Kingdom back on earth, there are only a few yers who have somehow managed to own these exclusive golden legendary items.


    In particr, there¡¯s only Little Salty Cat whose equipments are all golden gear, and some yers even suspected her of cheating by using her real-life financial power.


    This is ¡®whale¡¯ even spent quite a lot of money in order to build a replica of the Hanging Gardens not to mention her other private estates as well!


    Although eventually, these private estates have be a ce for Moe Moe Committee gatherings and also became a famousndmark in the city of the chosen ones¡­.


    With the legendary golden equipments out of their reach, most yers aim is to instead own a full set of mythical purple equipments which is a tier below the golden gears.


    Even Li Mu and Demacia do not have a single piece of golden equipment, but instead wear a full set of purple gear.


    Of course in actuality, it¡¯s not that they could not afford any golden gears, but rather because they n to eventually buy a full set of golden equipments once they reach max level, all at once.


    Li Mu and Demacia made a fortune by discovering some ancient manuals. Even if the two doesn¡¯t do anything, they will still receive some daily passive ie l, making some yers green with envy.


    Therefore, the moment Rivendell was finally essible, arge number of yers rushed into this ne map, hoping to replicate Li Mu and Demacia¡¯s sess.


    Of course, there are also many high-level yers whose n is not to scavenge items, but rather go to the underworld through its entrance located in Rivendell, especially those who are eager to quickly increase their levels.


    Although NPCs can provide lucrative tasks, there are still many yers who prefer to take on risks and hunt mobs rather than doingborious tasks earnestly.


    Simply put, it¡¯s more thrilling to fight mobs for these yers!


    At the same time, a recent newly added feature have also caught the attention of all the yers.


    A Leaderboard System!


    The leaderboards is a recent feature that Ev¨¦ added after the implementation of NPC task system and it is divided into five categories:


    Level Rankings, Contribution Rankings, Combat Rankings, Task Rankings, and finally Reputation Rankings.


    The level rankings, as it name suggests, is a leaderboard that list the concurrent level of all the yers. It is arranged in descending order with the highest at the top whilst the lowest at the bottom.


    The leader of this leaderboard has always been ¡®Boxlunch¡¯ ever since its implementation.


    Next is the Contribution rankings. This leaderboard are based upon the yers¡¯ umted contribution points, and the more CP a yer have, the higher their ranking is.


    However since CP can be traded, the yers also jokingly refer to this leaderboard as the ¡®rich list¡¯, and Little Salty Cat is almost always listed in the first ce.


    Her ranking is also a good indication as to whether there would be one less golden equipment avable in the exchange store since her name would always sink below second or third ce whenever Salty Cat would buy something expensive.


    Thebat rankings is a leaderboard based upon thebination of one¡¯s level, equipment, number of battles fought and the amount of experience gained through battles. Boxlunch is once again at the number one spot of this list followed by a yer named Tomato with Little Salty Cat sitting at third ce.


    The task rankings is based on aprehensive evaluation of the taskspleted by a yer, and HootyBird, the leader of Moe Moe Committee¡¯s construction brigade, who also frequently takes on construction tasks, has the highest score upon this leaderboard.


    Lastly, the reputation ranking is based on aprehensive evaluation of a yer¡¯s favorability rating with the NPCs, and Li Mu, as the yer who is most respected and skilled at gaining favor, deserves his first-ce position at this leaderboard.


    However, this time, the two major factors within the level andbat leaderboards have undergone some changes.


    It is not that a major change urred in the rankings, but rather in the values instead.


    Some yers have noticed that Boxlunch¡¯s level is no longer at 20, but instead had risen to 21!


    By achieving this feat, Boxlunch has be the first yer in Elven Kingdom to be promoted to intermediate iron-rank!


    The peak of rudimentary iron-rank is at level 20, and only upon passing that level, one would finally be considered as an intermediate iron expert.


    There is only a one-level of difference, but make no mistake, there is a huge gap in power and abilities between a rudimentary and intermediate experts.


    When Boxlunch was promoted to level 21, his score on thebat leaderboards instantly tripled, reaching up to 10,000 points, far surpassing the second ce by 1,500 points¡­


    This discovery made some yers envious and amazed.


    ¡°As expected of Captain Box, he was promoted to intermediate rank so very quickly.¡±


    ¡°My goodness¡­ abat rating of 10,000 points¡­Let¡¯s see, dammit! I¡¯m only at 233 points even though I¡¯m already at level 15. Maan, is the gap really that big?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a casual yer? It seems you don¡¯t engage much inbat? You know your score will quickly increase if you defeat some mobs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also an activebat yer¡­ but my rating is only a little over 800 points¡­¡±


    ¡°That yer named Boxlunch is a hardcore gamer right? I¡¯m afraid this guy can easily sweep thepetition¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s more than just your typical grinding fanatic, I heard that he single-handedly killed more than ten iron-ranked human mercenaries at hisst quest¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s terrifying¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ also took notice of Boxlunch¡¯s promotion. In fact, she had paid close attention to hisbat capabilities.


    It has to be said that this guy is indeed abat genius. Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t find anyone as fierce as him amongst the concurrent 1200 yers in the closed beta-test.


    He has an immense amount of experience in reconnaissance,bat, and even rescue operations!


    However, considering Boxlunch¡¯s real-life profession, Ev¨¦ was really not all that surprised.


    The 1200 yers participating in the closed beta-test wasn¡¯t randomly selected by her. In fact, Ev¨¦ carefully curated them based upon their proficiency in games.


    In addition, she specifically selected streamers, professional yers, and even some highly educated people.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ was also aware of all the personal information of these selected yers. After all, earth¡¯s onlinework is very advanced, and she can find any information she wants through it.


    As for Boxlunch, his real-life identity is a retired frontline drug enforcement police officer, and his personal record is so rich that it could even be written into a book¡­


    Like Li Mu, Ev¨¦ also considered Boxlunch as a key observation target and she have ns to cultivate him in the future if necessary.


    After Boxlunch had reached intermediate iron-rank, Ev¨¦ also ns to update the goods being sold at the exchange store.


    ¡°Many high-level yers have already saved up for a full set of mythical purple equipments. With Boxlunch paving the way to intermediate rankings, soon more yers will as well gradually reach the same rank due to the appearance of a new map.¡±


    ¡°To motivate them even more, it¡¯s the best time to update the contents of the store.¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Ev¨¦ then took out a batch of equipments for intermediate iron-ranks that had already been prepared within her celestial domain¡­


    These were once the ¡®junk¡¯ equipments sent over by the yers to her as an offerings.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 151

    ??<strong>THE DEVS RELEASED NEW EQUIPMENTS! </strong>


    The temple of nature, city of the chosen ones.


    The inside of the temple was as lively as ever.


    Many yers gathered here on a daily basis as they pray respectfully towards the statue of the goddess, with their voices chanting praises to the goddess, one after another¡­


    Following their prayer, a bright holy light would then asionally sh in an instant before a piece of gorgeous equipment would appear out of thin air after the light faded.


    Afterwards, the yer who prayed would quickly put on or pick up the gear before walking away with joyous steps.


    Of course, there are also some yers who don¡¯t receive any equipments after praying, but were instead surrounded by holy light, with their eyes going dazed for a brief moment before opening their status screens then leaving just as excitedly¡­


    This is the ce wherein the yers can ess the game¡¯s exchange system.


    Whether acquiring equipment and skills or purchasing meditation manuals and training methods, they all need toe here personally.


    Although the yers can also see the items and skill through the game¡¯s menu, that¡¯s just for viewing purposes and they cannot acquire it unless they personally visit the temple and pray to the goddess¡¯s statue in order to receive such things.


    In addition, yers also need toe here in order to switch their jobss. Only by praying to the goddess¡¯s statue can the yers ess the jobss promotion interface.


    Although after the return of the Rageze n, the yers were given another method to change their jobss by being epted as an apprentice of an NPC. However most yers didn¡¯t like this method solely because the apprenticeship process takes too long.


    Learning skills at the exchange store and switching jobs in the temple are done almost instantaneously so the majority of the yers preferred this faster and more convenient method.


    Therefore, only few people chose to switch jobs and learn skills by being an apprentice of an NPC.


    After all, most yers are impatient.


    They would likely chose the more faster, better, and convenient ways to enhance their strength rather than the slow and tedious alternatives.


    As a result, except for the NPCs who can issue tasks or provide special skills, the most crowded area within the elven forest are naturally the temple.


    When the jobss switch feature and exchange feature were first implemented, the Temple in the Chosen City was almost overwhelmed by crowds of yers in need of such services. Hence as a result, long crowds queued up as yers stand and wait long hours in line¡­


    Eventually, the yers beganining and it also caused the saintess Alice, quite a headache.


    The temple had always been a sacred ce for worship and it needs to maintain a solemn atmosphere at all times.


    However with groups of unruly chosen ones making noises and causing amotion almost on a daily basis, the saintess felt that the temple is slowly turning into a loud marketce which annoyed Alice to no end.


    In the end, Ev¨¦ decided to intervene to solve this problem by issuing a task through the system, allowing the yers to expand the temple and build several more dedicated side halls, with Alice also crafting more statues of the goddess to be enshrined upon these new additional spaces.


    As per usual, the side hall of the temple was still frequented by many yers today.


    Afterpleting the quest of subjugating the Orc Tribe, most high-leveled yers who have participated in that quest had gotten quite rich. After that, most yers immediately chose to rece all their equipments and upgrade into a full set of purple gear.


    Especially the spellcasters!


    In the current version of Elven Kingdom, spellcasters are mostly recognized as a ¡®pay-to-win¡¯ jobss, solely because their equipment are very scarce and can almost only be obtained through the exchange store.


    Unlike melee-based yers, who can easily obtain their equipments by getting the item drops from the orcs they¡¯ve fought, spellcasters on the other hand have a hard time getting their gears due to the rarity of priests amongst the orcs, and only a few lucky ones have managed to picked up the equipment of these fallen orc priests.


    Although some Rageze nsmen can also craft some decent spellcaster equipments, their output is far from enough to adequately supply the current heavy demand for such gears.


    Thus for most mages and druid yers, their equipment can only be obtained bypleting quests and umting enough contribution points to buy it at the exchange store.


    Luckily some mages and druid yers also obtained arge number orcs equipment at the orc subjugation quest. Thus they finally umted enough contribution points by offering their loots to the goddess, and exchange the CP for their desired equipment.


    Of course, it is not only spellcasters who had chosen to upgrade their equipment but most melee-based yers also decided to rece their old gears with those in the exchange store, even though they have already obtained a full set of orc equipments.


    This is not only because the orc equipments they obtained doesn¡¯t fit well, but also due to the quality of the equipments sold in the exchange store being far more better than the dropped loots.


    Additionally, the visual effects of the gears made by Ev¨¦ are not only good looking, but is also the handiwork of a true god, thus the quality of the equipments sold in the store being more better to some extent.


    Demacia, a yer who was the first in the server to collect a full set of purple equipment and became the best tank within the current yerbase, once discussed the issue of equipment on the official forum.


    Hepared the quality of each type of equipments being;


    Golden Legendary, Purple Epic, Blue Rare, White Common, and finally, Low ck Iron and the bonus effects after equipping such items, then evaluated the required contribution points, as well as the yer¡¯s optimal advancement speed in order to upgrade into these kinds of gears.


    In the early versions of the game, despite the equipment updates being slow, a full set of purple gear can be used for quite a long time, and the actualbat effectiveness is very good as well.


    There is a reason for this.


    Although it is only a purple equipment for the lower Iron-rank, the difference between purple equipment and lower ss equipment is still quite significant.


    Demacia on his postpared the looted equipments of high-ranking orcs and found that their equipment quality was actually simr to the lower ck iron purple epic equipment being sold at the exchange store!


    Of course, most looted orc equipments were appraised by the system as whitemon equipments, so the quality isn¡¯t good to begin with.


    The orcs didn¡¯t have any cksmiths, and their equipment is either looted from another race or bought from humans. Furthermore humans generally sell these orcs their defective products, so it¡¯s natural for the quality to be poor¡­


    However the equipments acquired by Boxlunch and his team from the human caravan is not in the same leaguepared to the ones looted from the orcs.


    After appraisal, they found that those equipment were at least blue rare, and a few new magic equipment were even rated as purple epic!


    And Demacia¡¯s post ultimately became a hot trending topic within the forum.


    For now, a full set of lower level purple epic equipment has be the recognized high-end standard equipment amongst the yers!


    At this moment, within the side hall of the Temple of Nature, several yers who have umted enough contribution points have finally acquired theirst set of purple epic equipment.


    Looking at their sudden increase inbat power, these yers were all very excited.


    ¡°Great, we have finally upgraded our equipments.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Now we don¡¯t have to think about equipment for a long time, all we need now is to just focus on leveling up!¡±


    ¡°Hey guys, I heard that Rivendell exploration raids require at least level 15, and it¡¯s likely that the level requirement will be further increasedter on. We need to work hard!¡±


    ¡°Those hardcore grinders are too scary man. I heard that the average level of Box¡¯s team is already around 17¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, maybe in another month, the minimum level might even increase to 20¡­¡±


    ¡°God that¡¯s terrifying¡­just thinking of all the grinding we would have to do to reach that level makes my liver squirm in agony¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay man, it¡¯s fine, the equipment turnaround are slower, so we can rx a bit and just focus on leveling up for now.¡±


    ¡°ording to the post of Demacia, these set of purple epic equipments should be enough for us to use until we reach level 30.¡±


    ¡°Products from the store are always top-notch!¡­even if it¡¯s just a bit expensive.¡±


    ¡°Hey you get what you pay for! I bet this equipment willst us a long time.¡±


    However, just as they were happy conversing, a new system message suddenly appeared within everyone¡¯s view.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾yer ¡®<strong>Boxlunch</strong>¡® has reached level 21, bing the first intermediate Iron-rank yer in the game, and has been awarded ¡®<strong>3000</strong>¡® contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾ Intermediate Iron-ranked items are now avable, and rted equipment has been added to the exchange store¡¿


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾Whitemon-grade intermediate iron equipment is now avable¡¿


    ¡¾Blue rare-grade intermediate iron equipment is now avable¡¿


    ¡¾Purple epic-grade intermediate iron equipment is now avable¡¿


    ¡­


    yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Damn, the devs have released a new equipment!¡±

 Chapter 152

    ??<strong>EVE¡¯S PLAN</strong>


    ¡°Why did the new batch of equipmente out so soon?¡±


    The yers looked at each other in confusion.


    ¡°Is it because of Boxlunch¡¯s promotion?¡±


    ¡°God I swear¡­ is the equipment appearance in this game tied to yer rank promotion? Does it mean that new equipment will only be unlocked when someone got promoted into a higher rank?¡±


    ¡°Dammit, I just acquired an epic-level equipment and I¡¯ve already used up all my contribution points!¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good¡­damn my liver hurts again.¡±


    ¡°Why are these stupid devs suddenly in such a hurry to release these new equipment? Can¡¯t they let us take a freakin break man¡­¡±


    ¡°Quick guys, let¡¯s see how these new equipment is!¡±


    They cursed the stupid devs while opening the exchange store within the system.


    Sure enough, a batch of new equipment was added to the equipment exchange column.


    There were melee-based and spell-based ones, from shoes, armor, robes, to weapons, everything was avable¡­ all marked as intermediate-level iron-rank equipments.


    However, only the whitemon, blue rare, and purple epic quality levels were released, and new legendary gold ss was not yet avable.


    From the appearance, these new equipment were not much different from the lower Iron equipment in terms of quality, but their ratings in the equipment data were much higher than the lower iron equipment of the same quality.


    In Elven Kingdom, the weapons and equipment would not indicate specific attribute information, such as ¡°damage +5,¡± ¡°armor piercing +10,¡± ¡°defense +20,¡± etc.


    All of these aren¡¯t avable.


    This was because Elven Kingdom was a game full of uncertainties, and sometimes pure data could not exin anything, so dividing equipment by specific attributes was not suitable.


    Well¡­at least that¡¯s what the yers thought.


    However, although there were no specific values, rare blue and above equipment would have some special effects added to it, which were not only reflected in appearance but also in characteristics as well.


    For example, the ¡®toughness¡¯ characteristics.


    The equipment with the toughness effect looks more shiny, and it is more durable to use.


    Like the blue rare human equipment seized by Boxlunch¡¯s team, the system evaluated it as having the characteristic of ¡°toughness.¡±


    Generally speaking, the rarer the equipment, the more special effects it had, and the more powerful it would be.


    Like the demon staff of legendary gold ss exchanged by Little Salty Cat, it even had three enviable characteristics such as;


    ¡°elerated spell casting,¡± ¡°enhanced spell effects,¡± and ¡°faster meditation.¡±


    It¡¯s not just weapons and equipment that have fuzzy values¡­


    Although the personal status screen of yers still disys numerical values such as health and mana, as well as the four major attributes of vitality, strength, agility, and intelligence, yers have found that these data can only serve as reference and not an indication of actualbat prowess in actual battles.


    When one¡¯s luck is bad, one hit to a vital spot can drain their health in an instant. This makes yers feel that this virtual reality game is even more realistic and interesting, after all, reality is often full of uncertainties.


    Equipment does not have specific attributes, but instead, equipment ratings are used instead. Generally, the higher the rating, the better the quality of the equipment!


    The equipment rating is also factored into a yer¡¯s overallbat power rating.


    After seeing the new batch of equipment that has been put on the shelves, yers have discovered that theirbat ratingspared to the previous equipments are;


    White Iron Low Rank < Blue Iron Low Rank < White Iron Mid Rank < Purple Iron Low Rank < Blue Iron Mid Rank < Purple Iron Mid Rank < Gold Iron Low Rank


    The amount of contribution required for exchange is also roughly the same as the previous rating:


    White Iron Low Rank < Blue Iron Low Rank < White Iron Mid Rank < Purple Iron Low Rank = Blue Iron Mid Rank < Purple Iron Mid Rank < Gold Iron Low Rank


    When yers saw that the ranking of the purple epic iron low-rank equipment was rtively high, they all breathed a sigh of relief.


    At least¡­this ensured that their previous gear acquisition was not entirely meaningless.


    However, when they saw that the same amount of contribution could be exchanged for a higher-rated blue rare intermediate iron-rank equipment, they suddenly felt a sense of loss.


    ¡°F*ck, if I had known the devs would release a new gears, I would have upgraded my equipmentter on and get the blue rare ck iron mid-rank set. The rating would have been even higher¡­¡±


    Some yers sighed at the missed opportunity.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. At least¡­our purple epic gear has two special effects, while the blue rare equipment only has one.¡±


    Another yer alsoforted himself.


    Features are still important, and equipment with good features is often more popr with yers. However, when Ev¨¦ was adding special effects to the equipment, she almost always added them randomly¡­


    A-Ahem, this was definitely not because she waszy per se, but to increase the fun factor for the yers.


    Before taking out the exchanged equipment from the system, the store only disys how many special effects the equipment has. Only when you take out the equipment do you know what specific special effects your equipment has.


    In other words, whether the exchanged equipment has good special effects or not, is still dependent upon one¡¯s luck¡­


    Well, a little bit of gacha mechanics in the game isn¡¯t that bad.


    Of course, the exception is the legendary golden equipment.


    All golden legendary equipmentses with the best special effects, and these characteristics are also shown in advance unlike the lower tier equipments.


    At this point, some people also noticed that amongst all the new equipment added on the store, the highest rated one was still the Legendary Golden items for the low Iron-Rank.


    ¡°These golden items is truly a legend¡­even the new purple equipment can¡¯tpare to these golden equipment!¡±


    ¡°After all, it¡¯s a toy for those rich people¡­¡±


    ¡°Aw man I wonder when can I also have a piece of the legendary golden equipment!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just too expensive¡­one piece costs tens of thousands of contribution points, which can also be exchanged for two or three sets of purple equipment for the whole body.¡±


    ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t the only one who has all the golden equipment that yer named Little Salty Cat?¡±


    ¡°Haah, we can¡¯tpare ourselves to that whale. I heard that when Salty Cat PK¡¯d someone before, she just activated the magic shield on her robe, and stood there without being able to be touched by anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh!¡±


    ¡°I remember Box also has a golden dagger, which is said to have been exchanged from the store and is particrly a powerful item amongst all the golden equipment.¡±


    ¡°Well they are all hardcore yers, we casuals better stick to saving up for the purple equipment in the middle and ck ranks, as the ratings aren¡¯t too far off¡­¡±


    Looking at the newly released equipment, their joy of just upgrading their equipments hadpletely dissipated.


    And seeing the contribution points needed for these intermediate-level purple epic equipment, they all felt their legs go weak.


    ¡°Haah, I¡¯m going guys¡­ a piece of purple mid-level equipment actually needs 20,000 to 30,000 contribution points¡­shiet, who knows when will we even have the chance to grab these?¡±


    ¡°Not good, my liver hurts again!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it man¡­let¡¯s just continue grinding.¡±


    The yers shook their heads as they sighed ruefully, and left the side hall of the Natural Temple.


    Although the legendary golden equipment still had the highest rating, most yers did not consider acquiring it.


    Even if more advanced equipmentes out, the contribution points required for the legendary golden items is still nearly twice that of the purple intermediate level equipment¡­


    These legendary golden equipment, at the minimum costs fifty thousand contribution points.


    It was just too expensive!


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for now. I can wait a bit longer to release a new batch of golden equipments. After all, gold ss items is the most precious of all and in the mean time, I¡¯ll let the yers adapt to lower things first.¡±


    After putting the new equipments at the exchange store, Ev¨¦ was feeling quite satisfied after looking at the yers¡¯ reactions.


    Although she¡¯s been cursed at a few times, the yers still obediently went off to grind and do their tasks.


    After the release of these new batch of equipments, Ev¨¦ began to consider her next steps.


    ¡°I¡¯ve managed to eliminate a demigod envoy of Uller, but I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t let it go,¡± She thought to herself before adding, ¡°With my warning, he will likely retaliate in some form of a religious war¡­¡±


    A religious war was amon method for true gods to settle disputes amongst themselves. In essence, the gods would not directly engage inbat, but rather let their followers fight for them.


    This rule was set in ce in order to protect the mortal realm wherein their followers lived. After all, the might of a true god were just too powerful. The damage would be colossal and even has the potential of destroying the mortal world if a deity unleashed their full strength in Saig¨¹es.


    However, the power of a true god relied upon religion, and these faith was gathered from god¡¯s believers.


    In essence, the followers were the cornerstone of a true god¡¯s strength.


    When a god lost all of their followers during a religious war, their power would also crumble.


    A believer¡¯s prayer who ascended to the heavenly realm would gradually merge with their patron god over time, but prayers were not eternal. They would also eventually perish, though the time frame was much longer.


    If all of their believers vanished, and the prayers dried uppletely, unlike an Ancient One, an average deity would lose its source of divine power and at that point, they would either fall or sumb into a state of slumber¡­


    For the newer gods, their followers were even more important.


    However its different for Old Ancient Ones. They had countless of believers and a substantial amount of divine power as well. Even if they all lost their followers, Ancient Ones could still survive for a time and seek opportunities to regain faith.


    But newer gods were different.


    They have a shallow foundation, and many of them don¡¯t even have an established divine kingdom. Even if they did, their believers were limited, not to mention their overall divine power capacity.


    Generally speaking, if most of their believers were destroyed, these newer gods would naturally be on the brink of extinction as well.


    Therefore, Ev¨¦ could easily guessed that Uller would surely choose to dere a religious war against her since he had mistaken her as a new god.


    In the eyes of ordinary people who didn¡¯t know the truth, they would simply assume that she would undoubtedly perish just as long as her forces within the Elven Forest was wiped out.


    And this¡­is exactly what Ev¨¦ wanted.


    War begets death.


    And arge-scale war would definitely give her plenty of opportunities to devour some lifeforce!


    The number of followers worshiping Uller isn¡¯t small, but Ev¨¦ can use the yers as shields and weapons to wage war against Uller¡¯s forces, and also steal their lifeforce through the use of the passive skill, War Sacrifice!


    umting small amounts of lifeforce amidst a battlefield is also quite thrilling endeavor.


    In fact, this is a method evil gods used to strengthen themselves¡­


    Most evil gods also gain power by inciting wars and conducting blood sacrifices. However, they absorb not only lifeforce, but also the souls as well, which is why they are reviled by most gods.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ will never admit that she is an evil god herself.


    Well, she¡¯s only ns to collect the lifeforce lost in the war, not touching other people¡¯s souls, so how can she be considered evil?


    Moreover, is there even an evil god that looks so beautiful?


    Anyway¡­ even if she doesn¡¯t actively collect these lifeforce, it will still dissipate, so it¡¯s better to let her just absorb it rather than be wasted.


    However, preparing for a religious war takes time and Uller cannot send arge army to attack right away, so Ev¨¦ is currently in a precious rtively calm period.


    She can use this time to develop her influence.


    After all¡­ with the current strength of the yers, they will definitely not be able to win the uing religious war without Eve¡¯s intervention.


    Although they can be resurrected, they still cannot contend against a powerful enemy!


    And when the gap in strength isrge enough, even their infinite resurrection advantage would lose its value¡­


    Ev¨¦ can asionally intervene, but if she does it too many times, then someone will eventually suspect her.


    So¡­ it is necessary to improve the yers¡¯ overall strength and develop her control within the Elven Forest.


    ¡°I might¡¯ve as well nt some crops and develop some agricultural fields during this time.¡±


    ¡°Rivendell has already been found, and exploration of that area is definitely necessary. It would be great if they can find some ancient books within these ruins as well.¡±


    ¡°In addition, although Elven Forest is rich in resources, ores and other minerals are rtively scarce in this forest. I should consider having the yers rebuild Rivendell like they did with Florence and search for possible ore veins there¡­¡±


    ¡°But at this stage, I don¡¯t have enough manpower to implement these ns, so I should halt this for now.¡±


    ¡°The underworld can also be explored. I don¡¯t need to intervene for now, and just let the curious yers explore it since some will definitely not be able to resist entering such mysterious ce. I can based my decisions depending upon their findingster on.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ the monsters in the underworld can also provide me with some lifeforce.¡±


    ¡°And when the underworld is fully explored, I can finally consider opening the public beta.¡±


    ¡°But¡­it still feels too early to open the public beta for now, since the foundation of the Elven Forest has not been fully established just yet. It will definitely be chaotic if too many yers were to rush in at once at this time, and I don¡¯t have that much divine power to waste as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if things don¡¯t work out, then I can just limit the number of yers. Or perhaps I shouldn¡¯t do a public beta at all, but just invite more people instead.¡±


    ¡°As for the specific number of people, it should be between five and ten thousand, and it will cost more than 30 points of divine power at most. With this number of yers and their resurrection ability, it should be adequate enough tounch a defensive stance in the uing religious war.¡±


    Currently, Ev¨¦ has around 400 points of divine power and is rtively well-off, so using a mere 30 points of divine power is not a problem for her.


    ¡°However, it¡¯s still early. I didn¡¯t need to rush things since there¡¯s still another matter I need to deal with first¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed, recalling how some yers behaved when attacking the orc tribe and human caravan.


    ¡°Some yers¡¯ behavior is still a bit too¡­ uncivilized. I need to find a way to make them pay a bit more attention to their manners or at the very least make themselves presentable. Otherwise, it will also be detrimental to the cooperation between yers and indigenous elves. Sigh, it will definitely be chaotic when more yers arrive in the future.¡±


    Although Li Mu¡¯s game evaluation changed some yers¡¯ perception of the NPCs during the closed beta, its reach was obviously limited and only a small percentage of the yerbase had seen his video.


    Actually, this was also Eve¡¯s fault.


    After all, a game is a game, and even if yers immerse themselves in it, it¡¯s impossible to expect them to treat the game the same way they do just like in reality.


    This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.


    Turning the world into a game not only encourages the yers passion and motivation, but it also creates many hidden dangers as well.


    yer divergence is certain, and their impatience is absolute.


    After all¡­reality is already so cruel, so why can¡¯t they let loose and be themselves when ying games?


    However, Eve¡¯s requirements for these yers aren¡¯t that high.


    It¡¯s good enough for her just as long as they can behave like a decent person while doing the questlines.


    Also, don¡¯t scare the natives away.


    Otherwise¡­ it will really be a disaster.


    In summary, the goal is to make yers truly aware of how to improve the indigenous elves¡¯ favor towards them and how to truly integrate themselves into this game world.


    As for how to do it, Ev¨¦ already has some ideas.


    There are actually some outstanding examples amongst the yers who have done very well in this regard.


    One of them is the yer, Li Mu.


    This guy almostpletely immersed himself in role-ying of his character, learning about elves behavior in all aspects, except for the natives inherent stubborn kindness and goodness, of course.


    The result is that all the elves he has acquainted with have a high opinion of him.


    This can be considered a very sessful case of a yer integrating into the society of indigenous elves.


    And what Ev¨¦ wants to do is to guide the rest of the yers as well to actively learn Li Mu¡¯s attitude towards the game.


    In short, these yers just need a proper guidance, and to see the benefits of being a little more disciplined and tampering their inhibitions.


    After all, role-ying also has its own unique appeal.

 Chapter 153

    <strong>??I ALREADY HAVE IT </strong>


    In a small garden within the city of the chosen ones, Li Mu is performing his daily task of babysitting some elven children.


    This task was assigned to him by Alice.


    Initially, the task was simply to help A¨¦l take care of his younger sisters, but with the appearance of Nightingale, her younger siblings were also eventually added in to the group.


    These young elves all spend the first half of each day learning from Alice and Philothea, followed by two hours of physical exercise.


    During exercise, the Chosen Ones are responsible for looking after these children.


    For yers, this is an easy task.


    As they take care of the children, they can also practice or meditate and even improve on their rtionship with some NPCs, especially these little ones.


    Unfortunately, not everyone can take upon this task.


    Only yers who have gained enough trust of the Holy Maiden will be assigned to this task.


    As one of the few yers who have raised Alice¡¯s favorability to 80, only Li Mu and HootyBird can take on this task.


    Alice is a unique purple-ss NPC in the entire game, and her task rewards are second only to that of the Goddess herself.


    Therefore performing this task¡­is almost free experience and contribution points!


    In fact, not just Alice, but almost all of the NPCs currently disyed upon Li Mu¡¯s rtionship tab has high favorability ratings.


    Even the Nightingale, who he has only met a few times, has a favorability of 40 towards him.


    As for Alice, Berserker, and the young elves he often takes care of, many of them have favorability ratings above 60 percent.


    As long as they are followers of Ev¨¦, their favorability towards yers will be disyed upon the rtionship tab within the game menu.


    Although A¨¦l and Nightingale¡¯s younger siblings are still young, after their older siblings epted their race¡¯s faith, they also became followers of Ev¨¦, thus their favorability is also been disyed as well.


    Of course, they are still shallow followers and cannot give out tasks.


    However, even though they cannot give out tasks, the favorability of these younglings has aroused the interest of some yers.


    For most creatures, the cuteness of a child far surpasses that of adults by miles.


    And as elves who are naturally beautiful beings, their appearance in their youth is even more adorable as well.


    Those innocent big eyes and pinkish skin,bined with delicate and attractive facial features, are like heaven-sent dolls or little angels that have walked out of fairy tales, triggering one¡¯s inherent protective instincts¡­especially the females yers.


    Therefore, the poprity of these little ones amongst the yers almost skyrocketed, quickly surpassing that of Alice when they were initially introduced, bing second only to the goddess Ev¨¦.


    Many yers havee to join in the fun, trying various ways to please these little ones, just to make themugh and then asionally sweetly call them as ¡°big brother¡± or ¡°big sister¡±


    Also¡­while they¡¯re at it, some yers would even take a screenshot or record a video, and then post it on the forum or share it on a video-sharing website to show off to their socials.


    Of course, there are also some cheeky yers who want to coax these little ones into saying some weird things¡­


    But those yers are quickly driven away by Li Mu and HootyBird, who mostly became the primary care takers of these children.


    One of their job requirements is to prevent these young elves from being taught some strange knowledge by the yers.


    However, unlike human children who are carefree and easily deceived, these little ones are very cautious. It is difficult to gain their friendship if you cannot patientlymunicate with them.


    And what most yersck is patience¡­


    Unless there is a huge benefit, most yers wouldn¡¯t use their time to get to know these kids a little bit better.


    It¡¯s a bit of a pity that, except for some casual yers, these little ones are mostly regarded as cute little useless mascots by most yers.


    After all, not everyone is as beautiful and attractive as the goddess who can also provide highly rewarding tasks.


    Thus¡­ many yers eventually give up paying attention to these kids after their initial enthusiasm has died down.


    Of course, Li Mu is not among them.


    He was the first yer to gain the trust of these children.


    As a result, other yers gave him the nickname ¡°NPC¡¯s friend¡±


    In fact, many yers envied Li Mu¡¯s rtionship with the NPCs.


    s, most people do not have his temperament that truly treats the NPCs as real people and interact with them on an equal footing.


    Or to put it another way¡­ although gaining the NPCs favorability can bring some benefits to the yers, it is also rather limited and most preferred to spend their game time either fighting mobs orpleting tasks.


    Except for some private tasks wherein they need to maintain a positive rtionship with NPCs, for most yers, the time and effort required to improve NPC favorability is not proportional to the rewards they will receive.


    Of course, there are also some factors like, most yers are also introverts who are not really that good at socializing and don¡¯t know how to interact with the NPCs.


    Not to mention NPCs, these yers even struggle with interpersonalmunication back in real life¡­


    Additionally, the native elves are too straightforward.


    Even after epting the gift of the ¡®Task System¡¯ from the goddess, they are always serious when issuing tasks. These native elves firmly believe that the task system is sacred and they cannot rely solely upon personal preferences. Instead, fairness and justice must be upheld at all times.


    In fact, this kind of thing is also verymon on earth.


    Sometimes, the leader only says a few words, and the subordinates will imagine and do many things that the leader does not care about or even deemed unnecessary.


    Sometimes, the result is even counterproductive.


    Just as the time for Li Mu to take care of the kids was about to end, suddenly a familiar shout came from a slight distance away.


    ¡°Brother Mu, have you seen it? A new batch of equipments just came out! The devs released dozens of them, my goodness!¡±


    Li Mu turned around and saw Demacia walking towards him with a mournful face.


    He pondered for a moment and messaged HootyBird to take over with the task. He then looked at Demacia and asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    While shaking his head and sighing, Demacia exined, ¡°It¡¯s over bro, it¡¯s all over for me! I swore on the official forum a while ago that new equipment would definitely not be released soon, but I was instantly pped in the face by the devs¡­¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°What made you pretend to be rich and write up equipment evaluations anyway?¡± Li Mu sighed before shaking his head.


    ¡°Who knew that equipment updates would be so fast this time! Oh maan¡­it seems like I have to grind CP again. I originally nned to umte contribution points to exchange for a durable defensive gold equipment.¡±


    Demacia was heartbroken.


    After speaking, the red-haired teen then looked at Li Mu in confusion and asked, ¡°By the way, Brother Mu, aren¡¯t you in a hurry to grind tasks and exchange for a new equipment? Why do I feel like you have been grinding less afterpleting the orc main quest?¡±


    ¡°How about¡­we go explore Rivendell together? Many people are going there right now.¡±


    ¡°Now, the inte is full of videos about exploring Rivendell. Ohh¡­right, I remember a few days ago you said you were short on money in real life, so hey why don¡¯t we explore together and you can even make a video of it for some extra cash?¡± Demacia asked with some anticipation.


    But Li Mu just shook his head and replied, ¡°My current equipment is good enough for me.¡±


    ¡°Enough for what? Bro didn¡¯t you see the system notification? A new batch of intermediate Iron-rank equipments has been added! Its rating is several times more higher than the purple equipments we currently have!¡± Murmured Demacia.


    After speaking, he then became a bit doubtful and added,


    ¡°Moreover, I don¡¯t think you are that busy. Bro, you are always helping Alice take care of these kids¡­Also I heard that you even went to visit Miss Nightingale yesterday. Are you trying to score with this new NPC as well? I mean, it¡¯s great and all but, is it really that necessary to raise your reputation that high?¡±


    Li Mu pondered for a moment and began scratching his head, before responding,


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly what you think. Building these connections might still be useful eventually¡­ I think the theme of Elven Kingdom is the rise of the elven race, which not only includes us but also the NPCs as well! Moreover, this game emphasizes immersion, so I think our rtionship with these NPCs are still very important.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, the game developers will eventually do something about the favorability system. I think it¡¯s better to raise your favorability now because it will definitely pay offter on. I believe that as more yers enter the game in the future, it might not be so easy to increase the NPCs favorability unlike at this time.¡±


    Demacia shook his head after listening, ¡°Brother Mu, to be honest, I don¡¯t think favorability ys a significant role. I mean, just look at me, I still have zero points, but I can still easily receive tasks. Besides, you should also level up bro. You have been cking off recently, and even I have reached level 18 and already surpassed you by two levels!¡±


    Demacia then continued, ¡°Also, what about your gear? There is new equipment avable, so shouldn¡¯t we update our gear?¡±


    ¡°I already have good equipment,¡± Li Mu shook his head before taking out a rough wand and showing off his obviously modified robe.


    ¡°I picked up the Orc High Priest¡¯s equipment back then. Look, its this wand and robe. I even modified them and now I¡¯m wearing these as my main gear.¡±


    Demacia was stunned after inspecting his equipments, ¡°Oh my god, Brother Mu, so it was you who picked up the boss equipment!?¡±


    Li Mu nodded and said, ¡°The system identified them as ordinary white silver-level equipment. Although they have no special effects, their rating is simr to that of gold-level iron equipment. So until better equipmentes out, I don¡¯t n on exchanging them at the mean time.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of picking up the boss equipment back then!?¡± Demacia eximed in regret.


    Meanwhile, during their conversation, a new system message suddenly appeared in the view of all yers.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Announcement</strong>: Elven Kingdom will undergo a patch update the next day, which is expected to take 10 minutes. Please prepare to log out in advance. ¡¿

 Chapter 154

    ??<strong>BROTHER MU, IT¡¯S TOO DIFFICULT! </strong>


    ¡°Patch update?¡±


    The two of them were slightly startled.


    Ever since theunch of the game¡¯s closed beta, ElvKing still had only undergone a single major update and one minor update.


    Although the yers would often noticed that the system would asionally update some rtively small matters, all of which are rtively harmless issues. The yers did not find anything wrong with it since the game is still currently in the beta testing phase.


    But this is the first time a scheduled patch update will be implemented and announced in advanced.


    Li Mu and Demacia checked the time and eventually stopped caring about it.


    After all, it¡¯s would only take ten minutes and they can just log off early when the timees.


    It was already the second day of the week back on earth after Li Mu had logged off in the game.


    Taking advantage of this recent update, he thenpletely disconnected himself from the gamepod and slept well in his bed back in reality.


    Usually, while he was sleeping in the real world beforehand, he would also let his consciousness enter the game.


    However even though physical fatigue can be easily restored just by sleeping, mental fatigue on the other hand is a lot moreplicated since prolonged VR gaming can heavily affect one¡¯s mental recovery.


    Surprisingly, some yers have found a solution to this dilemma which is while entering the game during sleep, they could also allocate some time to let themselves rest inside the game.


    However, Li Mu still preferred to disconnect himself from the gamepod and sleep in a traditional way once in a while.


    He felt that he needed to do this routine, otherwise¡­Li Mu feels that he will eventually be unable to distinguish the difference between the game and the real world if he keep immersing himself without any sort of anchor that bound him back to reality.


    Elven Kingdom is simply just too realistic and this game had really reminded Li Mu of a series of old movies he had once seen before called, ¡®The Matrix.¡¯


    As time goes by, he had increasingly suspected that ElvKing¡¯s developers may have built this magnum opus of a virtual online game in ordance to the standards shown in the Matrix.


    It¡¯s really incredible.


    Even defecation needs to be done within the game. He doesn¡¯t know whether to call it over simtion or just tant perversion¡­


    Regardless, if it weren¡¯t for the game-like elements such as the status screen and a BGM ying in the background, then he might really indistinguish the game world from reality.


    In any case, it can be confirmed that the technology used in Elven Kingdom is totally different from the game engines used in other online games.


    Perhaps¡­this may even be the true definitive online game that the hearts of most yers are longing for.


    Li Mu sighed whilst feeling all sorts of emotions deep within him.


    Regarding the mind eleration feature, there are some rumors suggesting that it could potentially elerate one¡¯s thinking process also in reality to a certain extent, if a yer stays inside the game for a long time¡­


    ¡°Actually¡­ if this rumors were real, then it would be pretty good but unfortunately, there¡¯s still no proven evidence that could back these ims.¡±


    Li Mu sighed, as he booted up the gamepod and scrolled through his phone to check his social media ounts.


    The current month was July, and his university is already on its summer vacation, so Li Mu had more free time in his hands.


    However, as a streamer, he had not livestreamed anything for almost a month¡­


    These days, except for eating, showering, and uploading videos regrly, he spent almost every waking hours ying games in his room.


    As for the videos he¡¯s uploading, they were naturally recordings of his ythrough of Elven Kingdom. His content nowadays only consist of gamey clips, as well as some tips he had learned while ying, such as how to quickly improve an NPCs¡¯ favorability rating.


    As a streamer who mainly review games, Li Mu had beenpletely addicted to Elven Kingdom and had not touched any other virtual reality games after ying ElvKing.


    s due to the existence of mind eleration, Elven Kingdom couldn¡¯t be livestreamed properly on earth, so his livestreaming channel had be rather neglected.


    Fortunately for him, recording gamey was still entirely possible. Although Elven Kingdom had not yet been officiallyunched, it had already garnered numerous fans online.


    Thus Li Mu took up a part-time job as a content creator, relying upon the views brought by his recordings to barely make ends meet.


    However, as a streamer, Li Mu is self aware that his level of gamey was really not that particrly strong, and the quality of his recorded gamey videos was not exciting enough to garner much attention.


    Moreover, he was not the only streamer selected by the developers to y in the closed beta. There were many other veteran streamers who were invited as well and are also quite excellent at uploading enticing videos.


    Therefore¡­ although his videos had a decent amount of viewership, they were not particrly popr in regards to video content about Elven Kingdom.


    However at this time, when he opened his main channel, Li Mu noticed that the viewership rate of his recorded videos had suddenly exploded for some reason.


    Especially his series of videos on ¡®How to improve NPC favorability in Elven Kingdom.¡¯


    In these series of videos, Li Mu summarized some of the characteristics of the elven NPCs present within Elven Kingdom.


    He read the entire official lore and analyzed in detail the elves¡¯ concepts, personalities, preferences, etc¡­ to help the yersmunicate better with the NPCs.


    However, when he first uploaded these series of videos, the reception was rather lukewarm but he was not really all that surprised by this oue since not much yer are doing it since increasing an NPC¡¯s favorability takes a long time, and the benefits were quite limited as well.


    Moreover, the NPCs will still give them tasks even if a yer chooses not to increase an NPC¡¯s favorability, just as long as they approach the task giver with a respectful attitude.


    Although some yers thought that it might be worthwhile endeavor to maximize an NPCs¡¯ favorability and gain their trust for a possibly of being given a secret quest, most yers still believed that it was not worth the time and effort and would rather spend their time hunting mobs instead.


    Apart from Alice, the purple-ss NPC, most yers thought that the other NPCs aren¡¯t really that important thus they didn¡¯t felt the need to get more closer with any of the native elves.


    For hardcore yers, besides the main questlines that offer huge rewards, teaming up to grind mobs is currently the fastest way to raise one¡¯s level.


    Hence, Li Mu was not entirely surprised his videos aren¡¯t that popr.


    However, something strange happened just now.


    Li Mu noticed that the viewership of the series of videos he uploaded had suddenly increased by tenfold!


    It was rather odd since the reception was still lukewarm when he went to bed yesterday.


    This left himpletely puzzled.


    ¡°Why did the views andments drastically increased so much all of a sudden?¡±


    After a quick scan of the messages he received, Li Mu found out that many of thements were left by yers currently participating in the closed beta.


    ¡°Congrattions! By watching these video series, you have discovered the hidden treasure of ElvKing!¡±


    This was the highest ratedment.


    ¡°First! Gimme some luck guys. Big Bro Mu, you are so amazing!¡±


    This was the second one.


    ¡°Damn! you are indeed Brother Mu! I bow to your foresight!¡±


    This was the third one.


    ¡°¡®NPC¡¯s favorability rating are definitely not useless. ¡®<em>The devs will eventually do something about the favorability system</em>.¡¯ After watching this video, Xiao Mu, tell us the truth dude¡­are you really not an insider?¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    He was even more confused.


    Li Mu then opened a certain group chat on his phone and was surprised to find that this chatroom was also exploding as it was being bombarded by tons of messages.


    He received so many direct messages, almost all of which were sent by his friends from the offline group chat of his guild, Natural Hearts.


    He took a brief nce then opened one of the dm¡¯s and noticed that it came from Demacia.


    ¡°Brother Mu-!!! Help me! Waaaaah¡­ I¡¯m done for! I¡¯m really so done for this time!!!¡±


    ¡°Please teach me the way to quickly build up favorability with the NPCs! Otherwise, I¡¯m gonna be in so much trouble!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and by the way, after you enter the game, can you help me pick up my equipment? I¡¯m too miserable bro!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    <em>What¡¯s this mess?</em>


    <em>¡®Hmm¡­? Wait, was the patch update rted to the favorability sy</em>stem?¡¯


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up.


    He took a deep breath, put down his phone, and eagerly entered the game pod¡­


    ¡°Start game ¨C ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯!¡±


    After entering the game, Li Mu finally saw the details of the recent update patch.


    Without hesitation, he clicked upon it.


    ¡¾ <strong>Elven Kingdom Favorability and Reputation Patch Update Instructions</strong> ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Enhanced Favorability System</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾The yer¡¯s task rewards will be calcted based upon your favorability points towards the NPC who had issued the task. Positive favorability points will earn extra rewards, with a maximum bonus of 100% (<em>doubling the rewards</em>); while negative favorability points will result in a penalty, with a maximum penalty of 50% (<em>halving the rewards</em>).¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Improving and strengthening the Reputation System</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾Based upon the NPC¡¯s favorability towards the yers, the entire yerbase¡¯s reputation will now be evaluated, and will receive aprehensive reputation score based upon every yersbined favorability points. (<em>The maximum score is 100 points</em>.) ¡¿


    ¡¾Based upon the yerbase¡¯sprehensive reputation score, each yers can earn additional rewards for main quests, side quests, and hidden storyline quests, with a maximum bonus of 100% (<em>doubling the rewards</em>).¡¿


    ¡¾Based upon the yerbase¡¯sprehensive reputation score, each yers can also receive exchange discounts on transfer, skills, scriptures, and perfect resurrection times in the exchange store. The higher theprehensive reputation score is, the greater the discount each yer can receive, up to a maximum reduction of 50% (<em>halving the cost</em>).¡¿


    ¡¾Based upon the yerbase¡¯sprehensive reputation score, each yers can also receive a lucky buff in the exchange store. The higher theprehensive reputation score is, the higher the chance of obtaining rare and special effects on the equipment when purchasing gears. The maximum chance is 100% <em>(guaranteed)</em>. The buff effect is valid once a day.¡¿


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 155

    ??<strong>HONORABLE CHOSEN ONE</strong>


    Li Mu¡¯s felt content after reading the details of thetest patch update.


    ¡°The favorability system has really been modified just like I predicted!¡±


    ¡°A bonus percentage? As well as discounts when using the store and luck buffs?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? The bonus percentage can actually double depending on the value of my favorability? That means it¡¯s like getting twice the amount of experience afterpleting a task or quest!¡±


    ¡°Moreover the price for skills, books, and resurrection can be discounted up to fifty percent? Whoa¡­that¡¯ll save me a lot of contribution points!¡±


    ¡°And¡­luck buffs? This is great! yers with high favorability with the NPCs will now have more chance of getting rare equipment properties, won¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°No wonder Demacia says he¡¯s finished¡­with the favorability system getting overhauled like this, the gap between high and low favorability yers will nowpletely widen, especially when doing the main questlines wherein the rewards are incredibly lucrative.¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s heart was filled with excitement.


    After all, he was the yer with the highest reputation value amongst the entire server!


    ¡°Uh¡­by the way, what¡¯s my currentprehensive reputation rating?¡±


    Thinking of this, Li Mu quickly entered his status screen and scrolled all the way down.


    After the game was updated, there was a new section added to the yer¡¯s status screen, which was called reputation tab.


    He clicked on it then looked at the data shown especially the numerical figures listed and just as he expected, his reputation rating was a grand total of 100 points!


    The numerical score also had a golden aura-like visual effect added to it which is shining brightly, making him feel like he¡¯s one of the few VIP yers.


    Not only that, but there was also a brief system evaluation text underneath which states;


    ¡®As a widely renowned chosen one, you have gained the admiration of the elves. Yourprehensive reputation rating is: Honorable!¡¯


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but pump his fist up high and shout in english,


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Then, he eagerly opened the exchange store next.


    As soon as Li Mu entered, he instantly noticed that the store interface had new subtle differencespared to before, and the system was now greeting him with a sweet voice which wasn¡¯t there before.


    ¡°Wee, Honorable Chosen One!¡±


    There was also a cute chibi version of the goddess holding flowers while cheering on the side.


    ¡°Interesting!¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up and he instinctively took a screenshot, before checking the prices of all the items being currently sold at the exchange store.


    Sure enough, the prices of all non-equipment items on disy had been discounted! Moreover, in the lower right corner of the equipment exchange section, he noticed a golden icon that shows, ¡®luck buff (1/1)¡¯ along with a caption which states;


    ¡°Congrattions, honorable chosen one! Your luck value has reached 100 points! You will be granted more chance to aquire rare special properties upon purchasing equipments!¡±


    <em>Honorable¡­ Rare special properties¡­</em>


    Li Mu¡¯s couldn¡¯t help but grin after seeing it.


    In fact, one of the reason he still hadn¡¯t yet upgraded his gears to epic-ss equipment was not only because he had already obtained the equipment of the Orc High Priest, but also because he always felt that his luck was quite bad especially when ying games.


    Prior to this patch, he had also purchased one or two purple equipment, but unfortunately, all of them had rubbish special properties.


    Li Mu once talked to other druids like him and discovered that their weapons usually have special properties like ¡®elerated casting¡¯ or ¡®spell enhancement¡¯ butpared to them, his staff just had a useless ¡®Spell Attachment: Illuminating Spell¡¯ for its special properties¡­


    It was embarrassing.


    It was just a level-zero magic spell, that any yer could also acquire regardless of their jobss and level, since the skill manual for illumination spell can be easily bought from the store for measly 200 contribution points.


    Although it wasmonly used spell, it was still a worthless special properties to have in one¡¯s primary weapon.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t even the worst of it.


    One of the worst special properties to have on your equipment is called ¡®shiny.¡¯


    This particr special properties had no actualbat value, and its function is to simply make the equipment look¡­well, shiny.


    Maybe some casual fans would like it for its cosmetic value, but mostbat-focused yers absolutely abhorred this kind of superficial rubbish equipment properties.


    Luckily for everyone, this ¡®Shiny¡¯ properties is quite rare and only people that have really bad luck had somehow managed to get this kind of rubbish special properties¡­


    Sadly for him, he¡¯s one of those few unlucky one¡¯s who had somehow gotten thisme properties for the equipment that he bought.


    But now things were different.


    ¡°With this luck buff, I¡¯m now guaranteed to at least get a good equipment properties!¡±


    Li Mu was delighted.


    Although he had acquired the high priest¡¯s equipment, it wasn¡¯t a full set. He only had the orc chieftain¡¯s staff and robe, and was still wearing an old pair of ck pants with ¡®shiny¡¯ special properties that he unluckily bought ages ago.


    Thinking about it, Li Mu decided to test his luck and ran all the way towards the side hall of the Temple of Nature, intending to buy something at the store.


    After arriving, he instantly knelt down and prayed to the goddess statue, and entered the exchange store.


    Li Mu then browsed all the avable equipment for Iron-rank, and eventually gritted his teeth and decided to use his hard-earned 30,000 contribution points to buy a new pair of epic purple-ss mage shoes.


    He felt a bit of heartache after seeing the five digits figure reduced to zero after emptying his entire CP savings.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of pity that the 50% discount isn¡¯t applicable when purchasing equipment, otherwise I could have saved half of my contribution points¡­¡±


    Nevertheless, although he couldn¡¯t get a discount for his equipment purchase, simply getting a rare special properties added to it would be good enough for him!


    After a couple of seconds, a burst of holy light then shed in an instant, before a pair of exquisitely crafted shoes appeared in front of Li Mu.


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t wait anymore and instantly picked them up to check its properties¡­


    This new epic purple-ss mage shoes has a rating that was twicepared to the one he was currently wearing.


    And on the special properties column¡ª


    ¡°No way! It¡¯s actually eleration!¡±


    Li Mu gasped in a mix of joy and amazement.


    ¡®eleration¡¯ was a very rare special properties for footwear, since it could increase the movement speed of its user by half.


    Don¡¯t underestimate this buff of half speed eleration.


    With the shoes elerating one¡¯s movement, if one also learned the skill [Grace of the Cat] and use both these in tandem, then the user¡¯s movement speed will rise to an astonishing degree¡­


    yers jokingly call these ystyle, the ¡®kung fu¡¯ casters.


    Under this boost, the user¡¯s speed can even rival that of hunters of the same level!


    And the hunter jobss has always been known for its high agility stats.


    Having this speed will also greatly improve the user¡¯s overall self-defense. Therefore, for magic-based jobsses with weak melee abilities, ¡®eleration¡¯ is a must-have for survival and equipments that have been imbued with this special properties can be considered extremely valuable!


    Although this special properties is very powerful, it is also really difficult to obtain. Amongst the 1,200 closed beta yers, only a few have somehow managed to get a equipment with eleration properties, and most of them are rare blue-ss equipment.


    Li Mu¡¯s intermediate iron-ranked shoes with the ¡®eleration¡¯ properties, which is also an epic purple-ss footwear, is the first of its kind in the entire server.


    ¡°Hahaha! This is awesome!¡±


    Li Mu was very pleased with his purchase.


    At this point, he also noticed that his luck buff had disappeared and had be ¡®0/1.¡¯


    There was also a message underneath that read, ¡°Recovers after 24 hours on earth time.¡±


    ¡°24 hours in reality? That means¡­ I can only use it once every four days in the game?¡± Li Mu pondered.


    After the feeling of joy, it is natural for one to share their own happiness with someone else and revel upon the envy and jealousy of others.


    Thus Li Mu grinned and looked around his vicinity for potential people to boast about.


    At this time, he was surprised to find that there were actually fewer yers in the temple¡¯s side hall, where big crowds usually gathered. And the people who came to the side hall today were obviously simply there to check their luck buff or discount percentage, just like him.


    However, Li Mu would also asionally see them exhaling disappointed breaths after checking their status screens.


    ¡°Ah danggit¡­I only have 20 points for my reputation rating! The task and quest rewards I¡¯ll get can only be increased by 20%.¡±


    ¡°Tsk you should be content dude, I only have 10 points you know!¡±


    ¡°Yeah man, do you know that we aren¡¯t even the most pitiful? Do you know that yer named Demacia? I heard that he has a whopping score of zero points! His reputation rating shows ¡®Indifferent,¡¯ and it hasn¡¯t even reached ¡®Neutral¡¯ like most yers.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ hahaha! Really now, zero points? How the hell did he even managed to achieved that? I mean, I grind mobs in the wilderness most of the time and have never interacted with any of the NPCs. Still, my reputation rating is five points, which makes me ¡®neutral¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because all his NPC favorability, except for A¨¦l Moonlight, are in the negatives. I think he even has the lowest reputation rating within the entire server.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, that guy is too miserable!¡±


    A few yers who thought their scores were too pitiful suddenly burst intoughter after hearing their conversation.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    <em>No wonder¡­</em>


    No wonder Demacia kept saying he was done for.


    Due to the recent modifications in the favorability system, Demacia¡¯s negative reputation will definitely have a huge impact upon his gamey, especially his luck.


    Li Mu sighed.


    Demacia¡¯s dilemma really reminds him of the saying, ¡®Don¡¯t court disaster, unless you want to die.¡¯


    Only this red-haired punk still has the guts to tease the NPCs despite knowing they have a bad impression of him.


    At this time, some yers finally noticed Li Mu.


    ¡°F*ck! Isn¡¯t that Brother Mu?!¡±


    ¡°Hey Brother Mu! Bro! Your reputation is so high with the NPCs isn¡¯t it? Can you tell us how many points you have on yourprehensive score?¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­100 points?¡±


    Upon hearing their words, Li Mu¡¯s mouth gently curved upwards.


    ¡°Yep, I got 100 points.¡±


    The others gasped in shock and stared at him af if he suddenly grew another head.


    ¡°What the hell! It¡¯s really 100 points!¡±


    ¡°I heard that HootyBird only has 65 points! I guess that makes her second in the entire server.¡±


    ¡°Amazing! Brother Mu, what¡¯s your reputation rating then?¡±


    ¡°My rating? Hmm¡­ it¡¯s honorable.¡± Li Mu replied.


    ¡°Wow¡­ Honorable!¡±


    ¡°This is really amazing! It¡¯s the highest level, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous man! And 100 points¡­ doesn¡¯t that alsoe with a buff of good luck? You can draw one rare properties on one of your purchased equipment?¡±


    Li Mu nodded, ¡°Yes, just now I bought an epic purple-ss shoes with ¡®eleration¡¯ properties added to it.¡±


    Other yers: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What the hell!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°Footwears with eleration properties are definitely top quality equipment!¡±


    ¡°That is too enviable dude!¡±


    ¡°Aww man! Why didn¡¯t I properly raised my favorability before!¡±


    ¡°Oh right, Brother Mu, I watched your video series, you¡¯re just way ahead of everyone else bro! No wonder you¡¯ve been raising the NPC¡¯s favorability all this time¡­ did you perhaps anticipate the devs would do this?¡± A curious yer asked.


    Li Mu pondered for a moment and nodded, ¡°Yes definitely, because ¡®ElvKing¡¯ emphasizes immersion, and its main theme is about fighting alongside the native elves while helping them rebuild their civilization, and assisting the goddess in regaining her strength¡­¡±


    ¡°Based upon these facts, I knew for certain that the devs will definitely emphasize our cooperation with the NPCs and make it an integral part of the game. Otherwise, why would they make the NPCs act and behave so realistic? I mean, if it wasn¡¯t the case then the devs could simply make the NPCs just like your typical NPCs from other games.¡±


    ¡°So¡­just like I said before, although we know ElvKing is simply a game, we can¡¯t just treat it like a normal game. We have to roley and integrate ourselves within this virtual world!¡±


    ¡°Immerse ourselves within the story! Immerse ourselves within the world! And finally, Immerse ourselves within our own emotions!¡±


    ¡°This is true essence of role-ying and ElvKing is the most realistic MMORPG!¡± Li Mu said with impassioned tone of voice.


    Other yers listened and fell into deep thought.


    Seeing the yers beginning to contemte the meaning behind his words, Li Mu was very satisfied.


    He then looked around and asked with some confusion, ¡°By the way, why do I feel like there are fewer people here today?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it bro. Once the favorability system was modified, almost everyone instantly rushed towards Florence to raise their own favorability with the NPCs. Now it¡¯s almost overcrowded over there¡­¡± A yer replied while shrugging his shoulders.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

 Chapter 156

    ??<strong>HITTING A WALL</strong>


    Carlos ze, the resident cksmith of Florence, has been living a veryfortable lifetely.


    Ever since the ¡®Task System¡¯ was implemented, he hasn¡¯t had to worry about not having any apprentices to assist him with his cksmithing duties.


    Of course, the prerequisite of being his apprentice is that they can keep their own mouth shut and not easily reveal any of his trade secrets, particrly those rting to treasure locations or relic rumors.


    Otherwise, those chosen ones will definitely run faster than frenzied rabbits after hearing about it¡­


    Based on his observation, these young chosen ones seem to have an unparalleled fascination in finding legendary treasures and lost relics. They also often dream about striking it rich every day and just as long as you engage in conversation with them, they will eventually without a doubt ask about these matters¡­


    However, although most leave after failing to learn about some hidden treasures, some people still show some interest in cksmithing.


    Almost every day, there would be a new chosen one that would visit Carlos¡¯s forge, requesting that he teach them the intricacies of cksmithing.


    Most chosen ones are very hardworking and enthusiastic, and many of them would even refuse to ept any sort of marypensation! As long as he agrees to teach them some forging skills, they are willing to help Carlos with anything, whether it¡¯s work rted or personal matters¡­


    To his surprise, there¡¯s even a female chosen one who took the initiative to take care of his daily meals in order to be his apprentice and learn under him. Everyday, she woulde up with various new methods of making his meals and has since then indulged his appetite.


    This makes him extremely satisfied, and Carlos increasingly felt that the matriarch has a truly great foresight for summoning these chosen ones!


    In any case, where did these brave warriors originated from? They are truly good elven younglings who have a penchant for learning things and are very enthusiastic in just about anything that might interest them.


    ¡­Although sometimes they can be a bit strange as well.


    Of course, not all chosen ones have gained the approval of him. Furthermore they also have some shorings that Carlos dislikes, and sometimes they could even make him furious and exasperated.


    But what dissatisfied him the most was that they are too aggressive and rather can give up far too easily.


    And¡­sometimes they can be a bit scary as well especially when they can shift their emotions from glee to ruthlessness with a snap of a finger.


    In any case, every chosen ones who visits with the intent to learn his craft will immediately request to learn how to make equipment. However, cksmithing is a technical and strenuous profession. Going straight to equipment manufacturing without a solid foundation and rudimentary knowledge, is akin to building castles out of thin air.


    Oh dear goddess up above, how can one instantly be a master at forging equipment without even spending several years learning about it?


    Carlos often scolded these younglings for such a naive mindset but s, upon learning that it would take several years to thoroughly master equipment production, almost all of the chosen ones who heard this fact chose to simply give up and would instead request to be taught how to conveniently repair equipments instead.


    Indeed, repairing equipment is much more easier to learn, but as a veteran cksmith, Carlos hoped that everyone would start from the basics as they steadily progress and hone their skills which will eventually turn them into fine outstanding elven cksmiths!


    Sadly, even with Carlos¡¯s earnest advice, most of these chosen ones are still persistent on taking the easier way.


    After learning that repairing equipment was rtively easier to learn, the vast majority of them would disregard learning anything else and only focus on how to conveniently repair equipments.


    This made Carlos somewhat annoyed.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why these younglings were so insistent in repairing equipment, when developing their forging skills could provide them with so much more in the long run.


    With consistent patience and ten years of learning, one could even create powerful magic equipments on their own.


    Was it simply because repairing equipment was much easier to learn? But what prospects are there in just repairing damaged gears?


    Of course, in the end, Carlos couldn¡¯t resist the constant pleading of these young chosen ones, so he eventually relented.


    Fortunately, there were still two or three young fellows who heeded his advice and were willing to focus on properly building their foundation and learning the basics of cksmithing.


    When Carlos began to teach his craft, he was pleasantly surprised to find that these chosen ones actually had great cksmithing talent, and they also quickly mastered many things on such a short time!


    Especially in building up their forging foundation, many skills require long and arduous repetition to form muscle memory. However these chosen ones were able to master the skills rather easily after just a few attempts which boggles his mind.


    Actually this was the result of the yers¡¯ physical talent being gically modified. Although one¡¯s IQ couldn¡¯t be easily changed, Ev¨¦ maximized thetent potential of all the avatars the yers are using, thus they could learn physical skills at a much faster ratepared to the natives.


    However, despite their god-given talents, Carlos felt disappointed and heartbroken because every time a chosen one would sessfully learn the ability to repair equipment, almost none of them would return the very next day.


    Basically, they simply learned one skill and left.


    The more decent ones would say thank you before leaving, whilst the worse ones will just left happily without even thanking him afterwards.


    This made Carlos feel like they were simply treating him like a tool only for teaching cksmithing skills, ready to be used and easily be discarded as well.


    This made the old elf feel a little bit wronged deep inside¡­


    <em>Howe they never came back?</em>


    <em>At the very least¡­their rtionship could be considered to be mentor and disciples.</em>


    <em>Is he really that annoying?</em>


    <em>At the very least¡­can¡¯t they say goodbye to him before leaving?</em>


    He really didn¡¯t like those chosen ones who would treat him like a convenient emotionless tool.


    Of course, not all chosen ones are like that.


    Those who are willing to keep in touch with him were usually very respectful towards him.


    He might be old, but his senses are still very keen, and many respect him from the bottom of their hearts.


    Especially that female chosen one named Meng Zhihan, who are studying his craft earnestly and treating him properly as her mentor.


    So for these few earnest chosen ones under him, he willingly opened his heart and shared everything he knew while treating them like his own disciples.


    Oh well, everyone has their own goals.


    Those guys who simply disappeared without even saying goodbye can just leave¡­


    Anyway, if they don¡¯t like him then he won¡¯t like them either!


    If they treat him like a tool, then he¡¯ll treat them just as one too!


    Carlos shook his head.


    With this attitude, he pushed open the door of his home. But as soon as he stepped outside, Carlos waspletely stunned as he stood frozen in ce.


    <em>What¡¯s going on? </em>


    Why does a group of chosen ones suddenly gathered in front of his home?


    He recognized almost everyone since most of them were those people who had once asked him to teach them in the past.


    However, many of these people had simply learned how to repair equipment and then left without saying a word, which left a bad impression on him.


    What happened?


    Why did they all suddenlye back?


    Carlos was puzzled.


    When these chosen ones saw Carlos finallye out of his house, their eyes lit up one by one as they all surrounded him with each of their faces filled with pleasing smiles as they greeted Carlos and presented him with various gifts such as fruits.


    ¡°Ahaha, good morning, Teacher Carlos!¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, I¡¯vee to see you! Here¡¯s a gift for you!¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, thank you for teaching me repair skills before. I left in a hurry thest time, so I didn¡¯t have a chance to say goodbye but I came to visit you today!¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, you¡¯re looking goodtely!¡±


    Carlos: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Looking at their enthusiastic smiling faces, he was left feeling dazed as he tried to think of a reason why they suddenly acting like these.


    ¡°¡­ Hmph, why are guys here again, didn¡¯t you already learned what you wanted?¡± Carlos stroked his beard and asked with a slight annoyance in his tone.


    However, his expression inadvertently eased a little.


    Seeing the elder¡¯s softened expression, all the yers that gathered at the front of his house felt relieved.


    They stopped crowding the elven elder as they cleared a way for him whilst still trying to please him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that teacher. We¡¯re very grateful for the skills you¡¯ve taught us!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Indeed! I¡¯m really thankful to you grandpa Carlos!¡±


    ¡°Even though you¡¯ve just mentored us for a day, We still considered you as a father! Of course, We have toe and visit you often!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true! Grandpa Carlos, please don¡¯t be mad at us!¡±


    Hearing their honeyed words, A knot in his old heart softened up a little bit.


    Carlos then looked at these younglings withplex emotions for a minute before sighing and waving his hand dismissively.


    ¡°Forget it, just let it be. I understand¡­you¡¯re all busy with your own things, I¡¯m not mad anymore.¡±


    ¡°You young ones should go do your own thing. I¡¯ve received your kindness, but I still have work to do.¡±


    After speaking, he then greeted his two disciples who was also patiently waiting for him outside, and continued his stroll towards his forge alongside them.


    However, the surrounding yers did not leave. They appeared to be stunned for a moment before continuing to please him.


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, do you need help?¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, let me carry things for you!¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, you really aren¡¯t mad at us?¡±


    Carlos: ¡°¡­..¡±


    What has gotten to these chosen ones?


    Didn¡¯t he already said that he forgave them?


    Why¡­are they still insistent on engaging him with such obvious superficial pleasantries?


    Suddenly, Carlos had a realization and rolled his eyes before muttering, ¡°You guys¡­didn¡¯t just take on another task, did you?¡±


    The yers were initially taken aback, but then they all smiled broadly and said, ¡°A-Ahem¡­not at all! We just came back to sincerely visit you.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We really want your approval!¡±


    ¡°Absolutely! We also want to be friends with you!¡±


    Carlos just let out a cold dryugh at their response and pushed his way out of the crowd, leaving behind the group of yers staring at his in surprise.


    ¡°What happened¡­did we fail?¡±


    ¡°I thought Carlos loved this fruit, so I picked a lot of it for him¡­¡±


    ¡°After apologizing, his favorability did increase a bit, but it dropped back down in the end¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so unfortunate! If only I hadn¡¯t left in such a hurry before¡­¡±


    ¡°Who knew leaving without saying goodbye afterpleting a task would lower the NPC¡¯s favorability?¡±


    The yersmented their situation.


    Meng Zhihan, who had been studying under Carlos, stopped in her tracks upon hearing the yers¡¯ints behind her.


    She then nced at the bearded elder who was walking away, hesitated for a moment before walking back in front of the yers, and whispered, ¡°You guys¡­definitely won¡¯t be able to raise his favorability this way.¡±


    The yers were taken aback and asked, ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°I watched Xiao Mu¡¯s video and he said that targeting the NPC¡¯s preferences should increase their favorability towards you, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I remember Carlos likes this kind of fruit the most.¡±


    After listening to their words, Meng Zhihan just shook her head and said, ¡°Yeah, you watched the video, but you guys clearly ignored the most important thing.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    The gathered yers showed confusion as Meng Zhihan crossed her arms around her chest and stated,


    ¡°Immersion and¡­sincerity.¡±


    She then also added, ¡°You should carefully watch Xiao Mu¡¯s video once more and study the real reason why he can increase the NPC¡¯s favorability!¡±


    After speaking, she simply shrugged her shoulders before turning back around and catching up with the elven elder, leaving behind a group of yers staring nkly at each other.


    Simr things were happening everywhere in Florence.


    There are yers who have done the same and were sessful in raising the favorability of the NPCs. However, even if they did managed to increased it, the favorability they¡¯d gained was only just a tiny little bit.


    After all, when ites to emotions, except for special circumstances, cultivating them isn¡¯t really all that easy for it requires time and genuine effort to grow.


    Most yers found that their shallow attempts were entirely useless.


    They found that the NPC¡¯s favorability was not as easy to improve as they once initially thought¡­


    And at this moment, they have truly realized howpelling Li Mu was, whoseprehensive reputation rating could reach a frightening 100 points!


    High above the skies, Ev¨¦ nodded in satisfaction as she observed the yers hit a proverbial wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for them face a little bit of difficulty,¡±


    ¡°Only when these yers have truly realize the importance of equal and sinceremunication with the elves can they curtail some of their bad habits and effectively strengthen their cooperation with the natives¡­¡± She muttered before adding, ¡°If this problem is solved, then my ns for agricultural and territorial expansion in the future should proceed be much easier.¡±


    It would eventually turn into a huge disaster if she let their bad behavior fester any longer and it¡¯s now the perfect time to curb their bad habits and guide them towards her vision of coexisting with the NPCs.


    These yers have the tendencies to resist authority so she just couldn¡¯t simply order them to act more nicely hence she can only guide them by issuing rewards and punishments.


    However¡­


    After a while, things will surely be different.


    Ev¨¦ firmly believes that once these yers fully ept and adapt to these new favorability and reputation system, their rtionship with the NPCs and their attitude towards the game will undergo an unprecedented change!

 Chapter 157

    ??<strong>CRYPT SPIDER</strong>


    The improved favorability system was like a bowl of cold water being thrown into a pot of hot sizzling oil, as it immediately caused a stir amongst the entire yerbase.


    As expected, some were happy at this new development, while others weren¡¯t so pleased.


    After it¡¯s implementation, those yers who were heavily affected caused a ruckus on the official website as they wrote post criticizing the devs or wanting to quit the game.


    Of course¡­in the end, it was all just empty talk.


    Although the improved favorability and reputation system were rtively stringent, the overall sentiment was that the vast majority were willing to adapt to this new system since while it provided more bonuses, this recent changes weren¡¯t enough to break the bnce of the game.


    In fact, only a small minority of yers were able to benefit and gain huge bonuses under this new favorability system.


    The maximum values of NPC favorability ranges from -100 to +100, and so far, only Li Mu who has an affinity of 40 or above with all the NPCs he has been acquainted with has been able to fully reaped the benefits of this new update.


    On the other hand, the reputation score ranges from 0 to 100, and once again, out of the 1200 yers, Li Mu is the only one who has achieved a perfect score.


    However keep in mind that Li Mu is an exception and very few yers are able to achieve a reputation score of 30 or higher.


    Therefore¡­ for most yers, everyone¡¯s starting point is roughly the same, and at least there won¡¯t be too much of a gap between most people.


    However, it is an undeniable fact that yers who can achieve higher reputation scores will have a slight edge over to those who don¡¯t. This is because they can enjoy better bonuses and level up more faster.


    Therefore, the topic of how to improve the NPCs¡¯ favorability and their personal reputation hastely be the main focus of every yers¡¯ conversation.


    However, as they further analyzed the details of thetest update, some yers discovered that everyone¡¯s starting value for theirprehensive reputation rating was not actually zero.


    The game system seems to be constantly calcting theprehensive reputation of the entire yerbase and woulde up with an average floating score.


    This average floating score is the starting value of each yers¡¯ reputation rating, or to put it in simpler terms, thisprehensive score is the NPC¡¯s overall impression of all the chosen ones as a whole.


    Even if someone doesn¡¯t try to befriend any NPCs, they can still get aprehensive reputation score.


    Currently, theprehensive yerbase¡¯s rating is five points which is considered ¡®neutral.¡¯


    Based on yers¡¯ actions and behavior as a group, this collective score will constantly fluctuates up or down but the lowest score they could get is zero reputation which is ¡®cold.¡¯


    This discovery made those yers who aren¡¯t fond of gaining favorability feel somewhat relieved.


    At least¡­just as long as they don¡¯t cause trouble that could lower the group¡¯sprehensive score, they can still benefit and gain bonuses due to theprehensive reputation score.


    This also means that even if some yers enjoy higher personal bonuses, theprehensive score won¡¯t fall too far behind.


    Of course, those yers who act recklessly without thinking that their actions would impact the group¡¯s overall reputation score will be in big trouble.


    Not only will they suffer some consequences, but they will also most likely receive some cold looks or even be alienated by the rest of the yers.


    After all¡­ no one likes to be a burden.


    Humans are very adaptable creatures, and gamers have an even stronger capacity to ept new things. Eventually after a period of adapting to these recent changes, the yers gradually have gotten used to the reputation-based ranking system.


    As it turns out, those that gained high reputation scores soon became a hotmodity for major guilds to recruit. Just the probability of obtaining equipment with rare special properties was enough to incentivize most yers to invite individuals with high reputation scores to their guilds.


    Furthermore around this time, Ev¨¦ issued several new main questlines.


    Unlike the previous single main quests, this time around, she issued three main questlines simultaneously.


    ¡¾ Faction Development ¡¿


    ¡¾ Rivendell Exploration ¡¿


    ¡¾ Underworld Exploration ¡¿


    Each main questline also had many chain sidequest, some of which were fixed as daily tasks that could be done everyday. yers could also repeat different quests ording to their own needs and preferences.


    In particr, the¡¾ Faction Development ¡¿quest included various sidequest such as ¡®Crop nting,¡¯ ¡®Livestock Breeding,¡¯ ¡®Resource Collection,¡¯ and ¡®Main City Construction,¡¯ many of which were structured as daily repeatable tasks¡­


    The daily tasks of developing the City of the Chosen Ones were also integrated in the sidequest, ¡®Main City Construction.¡¯


    To address these additional daily tasks, Ev¨¦ also selected some indigenous elves as new task bestower, assigning them the role of managing these the daily tasks for those yers willing to do it.


    The NPC responsible for ¡®Livestock Breeding¡¯ was the ck dragon, Meryer. Although the Elven Forest was rich in resources, it could not keep sustaining the daily food intake of the yers due to their heavy rate of consumption.


    Whether for ecological bnce or changing the perception of her believers, the development of animal husbandry was essential for Eve¡¯s ns in the future.


    Upon learning the goal of this task, the little ck dragon¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately became excited after hearing that he was in charge of this project.


    Meryer swore upon Ev¨¦ that he would make sure the yers that took on this task will work very hard¡­just as long as he could asionally indulge and eat some livestock that they have raised afterwards.


    The issuance of various sidequests under the ¡®Faction Development¡¯ questline also aroused the interest of many life-oriented causal yers who didn¡¯t likebat.


    At the same time, because these sidequests were all very safe to do, they instantly became popr amongst lower-leveled yers. Furthermore due to these sidequest being country-life rpg style of gamey, most casual andid-back yers have fallen in love with this questline.


    For a time, many yers opted to stay within the Elven Forest and devote themselves to the recent development and construction expansion happening all around them. This was especially true for the guild, Moe Moe Committee which consisted mostly of life-oriented casual yers.


    After thepletion of the human caravan sidequest, Little Salty Cat obtained some seeds as her reward and some interested Druid yers took a sample of these seeds and tried cultivating and nting them to see what kinds of crops will eventually grow out of them.


    Some other yers also began assisting the ck Dragon as they explore around the various areas of the Elven Forest in search for potential livestock such as Warcraft cubs or any other animals that could grow fast with plenty of meat, and were also rtively easy to tame.


    While the questline ¡®Faction Development¡¯ attracted the life-oriented casual yers, the other two quest ¡®Rivendell Exploration¡¯ and ¡®Underworld Exploration¡¯ meanwhile enticed those yers who prefer adventure andbat.


    As a matter of fact, the majority of 1,200 yers belong to this group.


    Most took on this two quest and began forming their own respective parties before embarking on their own adventures.


    Amongst them, the main questline ¡®Rivendell Exploration¡¯ can be divided into various chain sidequest such as ¡®Search for Ancient Manuals¡¯ and ¡®Search for Ore and Mineral Vein.¡¯


    Meanwhile, the ¡®Underworld Exploration¡¯ also have chain sidequest like ¡®Underworld Map Cartography¡¯ and ¡®Underworld Mob Investigation.¡¯


    Because there were no daily tasks among the various sidequest under these two main questline, Ev¨¦ did not assign any NPCs to manage them. Instead, they were issued directly through the game¡¯s system.


    Of course, the more important reason was that these sidequests actually involved the expansion of her own power, and these quests also came with rtively high risks, thus Ev¨¦ decided to personally oversee them herself.


    As various yers explored this new unknown regions, Rivendell and the underworld gradually revealed their enigmatic splendor.


    The first was Rivendell.


    In theory, there should have been many elven treasures left behind underneath these ruins, due to its status as the former manufacturing capital of the ancient elven civilization a thousand years ago.


    Unfortunately, it appears that Rivendell has already been long plundered by humans or some other races.


    When the yers began exploring these ruins, they soon found out that there weren¡¯t all that many useful things left, at least in the ces they had explored. These areas also showed signs of having already been emptied out long ago.


    However, as yers further delved into their exploration, they gradually discovered new territories.


    Rivendell was built in a valley, and when it was split in half by some unknown force a thousand years ago, part of the city was buried underneath rocks and mountains. After a millennium, this part of the city still has been left buried underground and was rtively untouched by anyone.


    The yers also joyfully discovered that these areas had not been plundered by humans. As they further explored these unexplored areas, they also found a lot of abandoned equipment buried deep under these ruins. Some yers spected that these equipments have not been taken by anyone due to them either being damaged orpletely broken.


    In addition, some yers eventually discovered more elven artifacts and ancient forging equipments, tools, and so on. However, many of them were badly damaged due to not having been properly maintained for over a thousand years.


    Nevertheless, the yers still took them all back. They kept the things that could still be used and offered the damaged goods to the goddess in exchange for some contribution points.


    Moreover during their exploration process, the yers finally encountered some mobs that use these ruins are their habitat.


    Different from what the yers had imagined, they initially thought that they would encounter some undead creatures due to Rivendell being connected to the underworld.


    However, in reality, the monsters they encountered belong to only one type¡ª


    Spiders.


    These species of spiders were entirely covered in jet-ck armor, with a tough metallic exoskeleton and numerous legs covered in steel-like bristles. They varied in size, with some as small as a basin, with strength simr to that of a goblin.


    Therger ones were almost human-sized, with menacing scythe-like teeth and strength even reaching intermediate iron-rank. They lurked in the depths of Rivendell, and the deeper the yers explore, the bigger the spiders they encountered.


    After using appraisal, some yers learned that these spiders were called crypt spiders, which were underground dwellers with dark attributes. They had extremely viscous spiderweb and sharp fangs. Therger variants were even highly poisonous.


    They prey on other weak underground dwellers or ores and their entire exoskeleton were entirely metallic and extremely sturdy.


    Unlike goblins, which were at least semi-intelligent creatures, these spiders behave likeplete monsters. Apart from having a hard exoskeleton, their actions were entirely instinctual.


    However, it was precisely because of their hard exoskeleton that the yers encountered many difficulties in clearing them out. Ordinary physical attacks were almost ineffective against them.


    Fortunately, some yers discovered that these spiders are quite afraid of light and fire after some experimentation.


    They also found a good way to eliminate them.


    That is to lure them into pre-dug caves, temporarily immobilize them with a lighting device, and then finally jump out of the cave after throwing fireballs at them until they all burned to death.


    However, this method only works for small spiders. There is still no way to deal with therger ones, as they are quite agile and have poisonous stingers. Although they also fear light and fire, adult crypt spiders possess a certain amount of patience and strong vitality.


    Moreover, they also have the ability tomand the smaller spiders¡­


    A single adult crypt spider generally surround itself with more than ten smaller spiders. When encountering them, unless the yers that encountered them have overwhelming numbers, they can only flee as soon as they see one¡­


    As various yers continue to explore the depths of Rivendell, they also encounter more and more of these spiders. This makes them wonder if humans have not explored deeper because of the existence of these crypt spiders.


    However, this still does not diminish their enthusiasm.


    Because killing spiders also yields tons of experience points!


    With the abundance of experience points and buried treasures, Rivendell has almost became a carnival for these adventurous yers.


    However, unlike the ongoing exploration of Rivendell, the exploration of the underworld instantly encountered some huge setbacks.


    Rivendell has a huge cave that can connect to the underworld that serves as its entry point. However, the moment they entered the cave, the yers instantly encountered a big problem¡­


    The underworld entrance is being guarded by a spider sorge its almost approximately five or six meters wide!


    All physical attacks were entirely ineffective against it, and even fireball spells only left a few marks on its exoskeleton¡­


    Furthermore, it also moves fast like the wind and sports a strong attack power, and could even easily chase and kill fully armed yers.


    Even Boxlunch¡¯s party was fully wiped out when they tried to subjugate it¡­


    Some yers spected that thisrge gatekeeper spider was likely to have silver-ranked strength! Not only that, but this giant crypt spider also surrounds itself with three subordinate adult crypt spiders and hundreds of smaller spiders¡­


    Currently, the yers absolutely have no chance of defeating this gatekeeping monstrosity.


    ¡°It seems that we can only ask the ck dragon Meryer to take action again.¡± Finally, the yers had to turn their attention away and seek the help of the little ck dragon.


    However, Meryer instantly refused their request iming that he was currently busy helping a group of casual yers as they searched through the entire Elven Forest for monster cubs that could be tamed as potential livestock.


    ¡°Underground spider? And it¡¯s several meters in size?¡± Meryer¡¯s face changed upon hearing it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go! I definitely won¡¯t go! Don¡¯t make me or I¡¯d be sending you all to your deaths!¡± The little ck dragon shook his head before swiftly flying away.


    <em>No way, the usually arrogant ck dragon, was actually scared¡­</em>


    Leaving the yers staring at each other in sheer disbelief.


    That gigantic underground spider¡­ was even feared by a ck dragon?


    It shouldn¡¯t be like this, right?


    That spider didn¡¯t seem that powerfulpared to that stupid ck dragon¡­


    However, since the ck dragon already refused and seemed dead set on not helping them, the yers were left with no choice.


    In the end¡­ they had to temporarily give up on exploring the underworld and instead focused their attention on the exploration of Rivendell.


    Meanwhile, Boxlunch and his team also avoided the underworld entrance and instead ventured deep into the ruins of the elves.


    This time, his team epted the sidequest of ¡®Search for Ore and Mineral Vein.¡¯


    However unlike before¡­he had a newpanion following behind him this time around.

 Chapter 158

    ??<strong>THE LAIR</strong>


    Boxlunch and hisbat team ventured cautiously along a deep and winding abandoned mining path that led to the unfathomable depths of the Dark Mountains. The discovery of this tunnel came after their thorough exploration of an abandoned forge nestled in the heart of Rivendell.


    An uneven pathy before them, the ground adorned with rusted mining tracks, reminiscent of the railways back from earth. Yet, upon closer scrutiny, the worn-out tracks revealed faint etchings of ancient elvish runes, once brimming with mystical power but now faded into insignificance.


    Smooth rocky walls nked the path, their jagged countenance entuated by dpidated magicmps that hung at measured intervals. s, thesemps had long surrendered to decay, rendering them useless after a thousand years of neglect.


    asionally, some skeletal remains would appear before Boxlunch¡¯s party, strewn haphazardly along the way. d in tattered garments, these unfortunate souls were likely the elves who had tragically failed to escape when Rivendell was destroyed in a single, devastating night ages ago.


    Encountering such pitiful skeletal remains was not an umon sight for those who dared to delve into the depths of Rivendell.


    In these moments, the yers would usually approach these skeletal figures with eager anticipation, salvaging any remaining artifacts from the lifeless remains.


    However, today was different. Boxlunch¡¯s party exhibited a newfound reverence they hadn¡¯t shown on their earlier excursions.


    Upon stumbling on some elven remains, the group this time would first gather in unison, observing a solemn three-minute silence as a gesture of respect. They would then proceed to offer heartfelt prayers, with their voices whispering and vowing things like,


    ¡°Rest in peace, old buddy. Rest assured, I will bring your artifacts back to the Forest of the Elves.¡±


    Only then would the yers carefully gather the artifacts, stowing them in intricately woven backpacks crafted by skilled members of the Rageze n.


    In every aspect, each member of the team conducted themselves with unwavering dignity, as if they were actually elves themselves, honoring the legacy of their fallen brethren.


    The abandoned mining tunnel stretched forth, a dark and foreboding pathway. Within its depths, an eerie silence prevailed, broken only by the rhythmic footsteps of the yers echoing through the narrow confines.


    At Boxlunch¡¯smand, the entire team had also muted their background music, emphasizing the gravity of their situation as they approached the deepest recesses of the tunnel, where the real danger lurked, demanding their undivided attention to detect even the faintest disturbance.


    For within these shadows, crypt spiders were known to wander around, as they awaits for their next unsuspecting prey.


    ¡°Captain Box, are you certain that this path will lead us to an intact ore vein?¡± Asked Cbash, the inquisitive mage of the team as their journey pressed on.


    ¡°Yes I think it does¡­it is a mining road after all. Surely, it must lead to a vein at the tunnel¡¯s end.¡± another yer promptly replied, preempting Boxlunch¡¯s response.


    ¡°But¡­ haven¡¯t other yers also thought the same as well? They too must have followed this mining path, only to encounter some blockades or depleted veins,¡± Cbash reasoned with his doubts persisting.


    Boxlunch fell silent momentarily before addressing the group.


    ¡°There are a lot of spiders in this tunnel.¡±


    ¡°Do the presence of monsters also imply the presence of ores?¡± Cbash inquired once more.


    Before Boxlunch could answer, a clear and slightly annoyed voice interjected.


    ¡°Idiot, ores are a delicacy to crypt spiders. The presence of these monsters in this ce is an unmistakable sign of an abundant ore veins!¡±


    Cbash¡¯s mouth twitched involuntarily.


    The speaker was none other than Nightingale Shade, the female NPC whom they had rescued from the human smugglers.


    When she discovered Boxlunch¡¯s party¡¯s intent to explore Rivendell, this elven maiden insisted on joining their team.


    It was her presence that restrained Boxlunch¡¯s team from indiscriminately looting the remains of fallen elves, for fear of lowering their favorability with her.


    Cbash sighed, acquiescing reluctantly.


    ¡°Very well, I understand.¡± he conceded.


    His gaze then shifted from Boxlunch to Nightingale with an expression of curiosity adorning his face.


    ¡°I understand the captain¡¯s reasoning, but¡­ why must she apany us as well?¡± Cbash gestured towards the ashen-haired maiden.


    ¡°Tch, I am free to go wherever I want. Besides, you are exploring Rivendell, and who knows, you might require my assistance!¡± Nightingale defiantly pursed her lips, puffing out her chest with pride.


    Having willingly embraced Eve¡¯s religion, the ancient racial curse that had gued her for so long had finally been lifted. As a result, her strength had undergone a remarkable surge, propelling her to the intermediate iron-rank in a single leap.


    Therefore, she felt a measure of confidence even in the presence of these formidable chosen ones.


    Hearing her words, Cbash shook his head, a hint of helplessness tinging his expression.


    ¡°Ah¡­ you don¡¯t understand Miss! We would be fine even if we were to encounter something beyond our level, but you would be done for if something happens to you!¡±


    Nightingale raised an eyebrow, perplexed and poised to inquire further when Boxlunch¡¯s resonant voice cut through their conversation.


    ¡°We have a situation. Be quiet.¡± hemanded.


    In an instant, the faces of the yers turned serious, and Nightingale felt a surge of energy welling within her.


    Cautiously, she tightened her grip upon the dagger she had looted from a human mercenary during her rescue alongside her siblings.


    Deathly silence enveloped them all.


    At that moment, they faintly discerned a rustling sound.


    Boxlunch hesitated briefly, then turned to Nightingale, whispering, ¡°Position yourself at the rear of the team. If the situation turns dangerous, escape swiftly right away.¡±


    Observing his earnest expression, Nightingale pursed her lips, with her eyes showing a bit of resistance.


    ¡°No, I refuse. If none of you are retreating, then neither shall I.¡±


    Boxlunch fell silent, contemting, before finally remarking, ¡°We can be resurrected even if we die, but you cannot.¡±


    With those words uttered, he finally redirected his gaze forward, leading the team onward.


    ¡°Resurrected¡­?¡± Nightingale silently muttered, her expression one of astonishment whilst inadvertently halting her steps.


    The yers did not halt their advance to wait for her, nor did they offer an exnation. Instead, they pressed forward with an even greater vignce and silence.


    After a brief daze, Nightingaleprehended the gravity of the situation and hastened to catch up with the team. On this asion, she obediently assumed her position at the rear, whispering to herself as she went, ¡°Resurrection¡­ what does it mean?¡±


    Boxlunch forged ahead, guiding the team relentlessly forward.


    As they progressed, the rustling sound intensified even more as it echoes through the air.


    Finally, they rounded a corner, and their eyes widened in unison at the scene that unfolded before them.


    At the end of the path stretched a vast cavern, teeming with countless clusters of crypt spiders. Thousands of these eight legged monsters congregated within the vicinity, as their crimson eyes eerily aglow likenterns in the stifling darkness, sending shivers down the spines of all who beheld them.


    While the majority of the spiders were simply just small juveniles, a considerable number ofrger adults also mingled amongst the clusters and deeper within the cavern, the yers could also faintly discern the outline of a creature akin in size to the gigantic spider that¡¯s guarding the entrance to the underworld¡­


    This ce¡­turned out to be their of crypt spiders!


    For a fleeting moment, gasps of astonishment escaped their lips.


    ¡°Holy fu¡­¡± Cbash caught himself before the expletive could escape his lips, reigning in his tongue.


    Boxlunch¡¯s countenance darkened, as his expression shifting into despondence with each passing seconds.


    Finally in an instant, he made a swift decisive gesture, waving his hand to signal aplete retreat. The air grew tense as everyone held their breath whilst slowly backing away with extreme caution.


    However, in a moment of misfortune, one of Boxlunch¡¯s teammates identally stumbled upon a stone while retreating, causing a metallic spider leg to tumble down from their backpack. The tter of the leg meeting the ground echoed through the entire cavern, its resounding impact strikingly clear, absolutely catching the attention of all living creatures within the hearing distance¡­


    <em>Oh no!</em>


    Panic stricken rm washed over the faces of all the yers with their expressions utterly drained of color.


    Meanwhile, the rustling sounds behind them also began to fade away, reced by an ominous silence, punctuated by countless pairs of crimson eyes turning and staring at their direction in eerie unison.

 Chapter 159

    ??<strong>BOLD IDEA</strong>


    ¡°Run!¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s expression turned grave as he swiftly pivoted and started sprinting away the moment their presence had been discovered.


    As he passed Nightingale, he deftly grabbed the hand of the dazed elven maiden, before pulling her along with him and activating the skill [Sprint] to quicken his pace.


    His teammates also snapped out of their own stupor and quickly joined behind him.


    Having covered a significant distance, they found themselves relentlessly pursued by dozens of crypt spiders that¡¯s been drawn to themotion their making like moths to a me.


    ¡°F*ck! How did we end up in a spider¡¯sir?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to flee fast! Goddammit, we¡¯ve brought so much loot this time, but it¡¯ll all be wasted if we died here!¡±


    Their scalps tingled with apprehension as the yers run forward whilst cursing fervently amidst their hurried steps.


    Nightingale while being pulled along by Boxlunch, also felt a shiver of unease as she slightly angled her head sideways to take a peek behind her.


    ¡°Eek! S-So many spiders!¡±


    They raced along the winding mining path in a mad dash as packs of crypt spiders chased them in hot pursuit.


    Thankfully, several members of the team had initiallye prepared, donning either purple or blue ss footgears that¡¯s imbued with the special properties of [eleration]. It proved just enough to keep the spiders from overtaking them.


    Nevertheless, their relentless pursuers refused to be shaken off entirely.


    ¡°Bash! How many are still chasing us?¡± Boxlunch, leading the way with Nightingale in tow, called out to the team¡¯s mage.


    Cbash cast his spell, [Detection], scanning behind him before eximing, ¡°T-There are quite a few, perhaps¡­ sixty or seventy, n-no¡­ seventy or eighty little buggers! All seem to be juveniles!¡±


    Seventy or eighty small spiders¡­


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes gleamed with determination. ¡°We can still face them! We¡¯ll execute n C at the sharp corner up ahead!¡±


    With those words, he released Nightingale¡¯s hand, before gently nudging her forward as he gradually slowed his own pace.


    ¡°You go ahead and climb out first.¡±


    Observing Boxlunch¡¯s resolute expression, Nightingale hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.


    She sensed that these chosen ones had a n in mind.


    The elven maiden with ashen locks sprinted to the front, asionally stealing nces backward to see how these chosen ones intended to confront the situation.


    In that moment, Nightingale watched as a fellow team member suddenly decelerated, before taking position at the rear. He then pulled out a bulging leather pouch from his backpack and upon opening it, began to scoop a fine ck powder onto his hands before scattering it down on the ground¡­


    ¡°¡­What is that?¡±


    Nightingale blinked in surprise.


    Some other members also did the same thing and they continued on to scatter the ck powder while sprinting until they reached a corner of the mining path.


    This area was an open space, serving as an intersection that connects several other mining tunnels. At its ceiling, a towering hole several dozen meters high revealed a glimpse of the sky and along the walls, there were intricately carved stone staircase that allowed people to climb up.


    This ce¡­ marked one of the mine¡¯s exits, leading to the surface of the ruins above them.


    ¡°Climb up!¡±


    From a distance, Boxlunch shouted to his team.


    Nightingale nodded and swiftly ascended the stone staircase. She soon reached the top, sthen quickly turned around to assist her teammates.


    The remaining yers followed suit and climbed up as well.


    Just as everyone sessfully reached the top of the stairs, the pursuing spiders finally arrived and swiftly began scaling the cavern walls.


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes flickered as he retrieved an identical bulging leather bag and emptied its contents, scattering the ck powder into the air before it drifted down onto the floor below.


    The other yers also followed his lead and also threw their remaining ck powder down the hole.


    ¡°Cbash, ignite it!¡±


    Boxlunch eximed.


    ¡°Very well!¡±


    Cbash nodded eagerly, grasping his wand and channeling his mana into his hand. A fireball several dozen centimeters in size then materialized as he cast the [Ring of Fireball] spell.


    At that moment, when the fastest spider was about to crawl out of the hole¡ª


    ¡°Get down!¡±


    ¡ªCbash quickly turned around after hurling the fireball he created downwards and immediately took cover.


    ¡°Lie down and cover your ears!¡±


    Boxlunch shouted to his teammates.


    Nightingale hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the others lying down and covering their ears, she also swiftly followed suit.


    A mere secondter, a deafening explosion reverberated through the entire mine.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    With the ground slightly shaking, a several-meter-high pir of fire erupted from the floor below the hole, apanied by thick ck smoke billowing out.


    The entire mine trembled!


    Such¡­ such a powerful explosion!


    Feeling the aftershocks, Nightingale instinctively gripped her elongated ears more tightly.


    S-Such intensity¡­ How could a mere fireball rival the power of a third-tier magic!?


    What on earth had just happened?


    If she hadn¡¯t been mistaken, that mage had merely used a first-tier fireball.


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    Could it be because of that ck powder they had scattered beforehand?


    Nightingale finally tentatively opened her eyes and looked towards the chosen ones in astonishment.


    Wha¡­ what had they created?


    They had managed to elevate a simple first-tier fireball spell to possess power simr to that of a third-tier magic!


    Furthermore, that ck powder¡­


    Could it be¡­ some kind of alchemic concoction?


    After the aftershocks subsided, the noise produced by those crypt spiders could no longer be heard.


    Instead, a cloud of dust billowed around them, carrying a distinct noxious smell that Nightingale found utterly unpleasant.


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡±


    Nightingale coughed several times before reaching into her pocket, retrieving a water sk. She then took a few sips to regain herposure.


    At that moment, she also noticed the chosen ones gathering around the edge as they gazed down the hole with looks of excitement.


    ¡°Are they all dead?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? I couldn¡¯t hear any of them anymore.¡±


    ¡°Behold the might of technology!¡±


    ¡°Tch¡­ Unfortunately, this method doesn¡¯t grant us any experience points, and all those spiders died in vain¡­ Sigh, it¡¯s a shame since we killed at least a dozen of them.¡±


    ¡°Well, you win some, you lose some. At least there should still be some spider legs left. We¡¯ll just gather them all and take them back with uster.¡±


    Curiously, Nightingale approached the group whilst listening to the strange conversation they were having. She then looked upwards as thick smoke partly blocked out the skies, as grayish fumes continues to pour out from the hole.


    The smoke prevented her from seeing the situation on the floor below, but fortunately, there was no longer any metallic sound emanating from beneath them.


    Are all those spiders that were chasing them truly dead?


    Nightingale was slightly taken aback.


    After the smoke dissipated, Boxlunch called everyone to descend the stone staircase once again.


    Nightingale followed suit and descended alongside the group.


    The noxious smell lingered in the air, causing Nightingale to furrow her brow involuntarily, but she persisted and reached the bottom of the hole.


    Looking around, she discovered that thendscape had undergone aplete transformation in the aftermath of the explosion.


    The nearby mining tunnel had been utterly destroyed by the st, and the charred bodies of many small crypt spiders were scattered everywhere, with some still emitting smoke¡­


    Scarcely any intact exoskeletons could be found anywhere, but instead, all the crypt spiders lying around had been shattered into many broken pieces.


    Such¡­ such incredible power!


    Nightingale covered her mouth in astonishment.


    Meanwhile, the yers eagerly began collecting the spider legs scattered around thr vicinity.


    These spiders often fed on ores, and their exoskeletons wereposed entirely of metal. Elder Carlos, the renowned elven cksmith, had mentioned that crypt spider legs could be used as exceptional forging materials.


    So, even though the yers couldn¡¯t gain any experience points from ying these spiders using the ck powder method, the silver lining was that they could still collect these legs and trade them with Carlos for a handsome reward.


    ¡°How¡­ how did you manage this? Was it because of that ck powder?¡± Observing the scattered remains of the spiders, Nightingale couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Hehe, you haven¡¯t seen it before? That powder is called gunpowder!¡± A yer proudly replied.


    ¡°Gunpowder?¡±


    Nightingale was stunned.


    ¡°Hehe, we owe it all to our ingenious leader, Boxlunch! He made it for us!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right! I¡¯ve never seen anyone who can gather the right materials and produce gunpowder like Boxlunch. It makes me wonder what our dear leader does in real life¡­¡±


    The yers energetically conversed amongst themselves.


    ¡°¡­Real life?¡±


    Nightingale tilted her head in confusion. She didn¡¯t fullyprehend what these chosen ones were saying, but she understood one thing:


    ¡°The mysterious powder that caused such a massive explosion was made by this dummy?¡± She eximed in surprise, pointing a finger at Boxlunch.


    He knows alchemy too? Isn¡¯t this guy simply just too amazing?


    Nightingale¡¯s eyes sparkled with wonder.


    The intense adoring gaze from the NPC girl sent a flurry of strange emotions coursing through Boxlunch¡¯s body. Consequently, he turned his face sideways and red at his chattering teammates beforemanding them,


    ¡°Collect the loots quickly.¡±


    Observing the uncharacteristic awkwardness of their typicallyposed leader, the yers nced at Boxlunch before redirecting their gaze towards Nightingale. Finally, they looked at each other and erupted into a burst ofughter.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­.. ¡°


    This time, they managed to eliminate more than eighty juvenile spiders that chased after them.


    After gathering all the spider legs, the yers awkwardly realized that the backpacks provided by the Rageze n couldn¡¯t contain them all.


    ¡°It sucks¡­ but my bag is already full.¡±


    ¡°Tch¡­ these backpacks are just too small. Maan, why can¡¯t the devs implement a system storage?¡±


    ¡°Should we make two trips to take them back?¡±


    ¡°But is it safe to just leave them here? What if someone elsees and takes them while we¡¯re away?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, maybe we could send them directly to the goddess by creating an offering circle here. Since these legs are made of metal, the magic circle might actually ept them.¡±


    Seeing the yers¡¯ distress, a smirk formed on Nightingale¡¯s lips.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    She stepped forward, grabbed a handful of collected legs from the yers, and then, to their sheer astonishment, the items she was holding faintly shimmered beforepletely disappearing!


    ¡°What the heck! How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ they¡¯re gone?¡±


    At that moment, a lightbulb lit up in Boxlunch¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Dimensional storage?¡±


    Nightingale raised her head, a proud smirk curling upon her lips.


    ¡°Hmph~ So¡­ I can still be of help, right?¡±


    Upon hearing the elven girl¡¯s words, all the yers regained their excitement.


    ¡°Wow, impressive! She actually has dimensional storage!¡±


    ¡°Good job, Captain! You¡¯ve brought us a living storage box!¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Soon, the yers whilst talking excitedly, took out their own respective looted items out from their backpacks and eagerly handed them to Nightingale.


    ¡°Miss Nightingale! Please help us store these too!¡±


    ¡°Yes, please! They¡¯re too heavy to carry around!¡±


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Boxlunch didn¡¯t join his teammates. Instead, he furrowed his brow and pondered by himself as a vague idea began forming within his mind.


    Soon, his silent behavior eventually caught the attention of the other yers, as they gathered around him.


    ¡°Captain, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    A curious yer halted their actions and asked.


    ¡°¡­ Can spider legs be used as an offering?¡±


    Boxlunch asked in return.


    ¡°Of course! They¡¯re made of metal, after all! The magic circle will surely absorb them! It¡¯s just that offering them doesn¡¯t yield many contribution points¡­¡± a yer replied.


    ¡°Let alone spider legs, didn¡¯t we also once used animal bones as an offering before?¡±


    Another yer chimed in.


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes then flickered before nodding as if he thought of something good.


    ¡°I suddenly had a bold idea¡­¡± He dered, pausing for a moment to gather the attention of all hispanions before continuing,


    ¡°If it works¡­then I might just discover a way to open the entrance to the underworld.¡±

 Chapter 160

    ??<strong>OFFERING THE BOSS</strong>


    Rivendell, gateway to the underworld.


    Within its depths lies a dim and seemingly bottomless cavern as faint rustling sounds ominously reverberates around, apanied by a mesmerizing glow of countless pairs of crimson eyes that flickered likenterns in the abyssal darkness.


    Boxlunch¡¯s party approached the cavern cautiously with their gaze fixated upon the entrance leading into the underworld. Though the deeper recesses remained shrouded in mystery, they also caught sight of a group of crypt spiders wandering nearby.


    These nearby spiders were rtively small, slightlyrger than a mere basin, but the yers knew that beyond these juvenile arachnids awaited a terrifying behemoth.


    A colossal crypt spider, an ultimate gatekeeper in the eyes of the yers!


    This monstrous arachnid possessed unimaginable power, and its formidable metallic exoskeleton even rendered all attacks futile.


    Furthermore, its heightened senses were very keen as well and whenever a yer attempted to slip past it to venture into the underworld, this behemoth would then instantly detect them in advance, easily ensnaring the unsuspecting intruder before turning them into its own meal in no time!


    After several of such futile encounters, the yers no longer dared to intrude upon this god forsaken arachnid infested cavern.


    Some experts even spected that this formidable behemoth might be ate-game quest boss and was intentionally designed by the devs as an impossible boss fight that yers cannot defeat at least in their current level.


    Thus, the yers pondered upon the existence of alternative entrances to the underworld, hidden elsewhere within the depths of Rivendell.


    With this newfound hope, most yers swiftly abandoned the idea of conquering this impossible cavern and instead embarked upon a quest to explore Rivendell in search of other possible gateways!


    Even Boxlunch and his team, aside from their pursuit of valuable ore veins, shared themon goal of discovering an alternate entrance to the underworld.


    Yet, fate led Boxlunch¡¯s team back to this very same ce that had dealt them one of most bitter defeats.


    This time around upon their return, Boxlunch¡¯s team quickly retrieved some paint used for drawing ceremonial offering circles and began sketching a grand magical circle on the ground.


    However unlike the small circles they¡¯ve usually drawn in the past, this time around they created a more bigger design, spanning a radius of forty meters as it consumed a significant amount of paint¡­


    They were determined to make the offering circle asrge as possible.


    In Boxlunch¡¯s hypothesis, if the offering circle allowed metal objects as offerings, then perhaps it could also ept the colossal spider boss, considering its entire exoskeleton was constructed out of metal as well.


    ¡°Box, that¡¯s amazing! Treating the boss as an offering and using the ceremonial circle to send it to the goddess. Man, why didn¡¯t I think of this method?¡± an exhrated yer eximed.


    ¡°Well duh, you¡¯re not as clever as the captain¡­¡±


    Another yer chuckled.


    ¡°But, can it actually work? What if it fails, and we end up being chased by that enormous spider boss once again¡­¡±


    However, there were still some skeptical yers amongst them.


    Boxlunch pondered for a moment and replied, ¡°We should give it a shot. Let¡¯s entrust all our valuable gear and belongings to Nightingale and let her hide to a safe area.¡±


    This was the longest sentence he had ever spoken, revealing his seriousness about this whole endeavor.


    Witnessing Boxlunch¡¯s determination, his other teammates ceased their doubts and just sprang into action as they began to take off most of their equipments, leaving only simple undergarments within their bodies.


    Unlike earlier times, with the return of the Rageze n, the yers had more clothing options besides the default nudity.


    Though they were just simple undergarments, at least the yers wouldn¡¯t be running aroundpletely butt naked¡­


    Because it turned out that what caused the NPCs¡¯ favorability to decrease the fastest was public indecency.


    Whenever a yer ran around naked, the favorability of the NPCs that witnessed such scene would instantly take a nosedive.


    Nightingale watched in astonishment as the yers handed over their equipment to her one after another.


    ¡°H-Hold on¡­ What are you all doing? Offering what now!? Please don¡¯t tell me you actually want to offer that colossal spider? And to whom?¡±


    Did they truly intend to use the gigantic spider as a divine offering!?


    Treating a living being as an offering¡­ Do these guys worship an evil god!?


    Aren¡¯t they the chosen ones of the goddess?


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll offer it to the goddess!¡±


    One yer responded.


    ¡°G-Goddess¡­?¡±


    Nightingale was shocked.


    ¡°W-Wait¡­ Are you serious? This will surely anger the goddess!¡±


    She quickly eximed, filled with anxiety.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t! I am a Druid, and I have a deep understanding of nt growth and development. The Goddess embodies the World Tree and is currently undergoing restoration. These spiders contain abundant mineral elements and rich organic matter, making them an excellent fertilizer. Offering them to the Goddess will positively contribute to her overall recovery!¡±


    One yer tried to convince the elven maiden.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Is¡­ is that really the case?


    She felt somewhat bewildered.


    It sounded quite reasonable, but she still felt that something was off.


    Meanwhile, the yers finallypleted their preparations.


    ¡°You stay back.¡±


    Boxlunch instructed Nightingale and she instinctively nodded before distancing herself from the yers.


    But while she was walking away, she then suddenly realized¡ª


    ¡°¡­Wait! The Goddess is not an evil god!¡±


    However, the yers couldn¡¯t hear her anymore.


    After observing Nightingale and confirming that¡¯s she¡¯s in a rtively safe distance away, Boxlunch finally faced his teammates and issued amand.


    ¡°Main tank, aggro the boss and kite it out. Bash, be ready to activate the circle. Druid, prepare to CC any apanying mobs.¡±


    The tank yer in the team nodded with a serious expression and walked towards the cavern all by himself.


    The other yers also wore nervous expressions upon their faces as they observed him getting closer the cave¡¯s entrance.


    Cbash, brimming with a mix of nervousness and excitement, knelt before the magic circle and took a deep breath, poised to begin reciting the offering prayer at any given moment.


    Soon, the tank yer finally reached the entrance of the cave. Inhaling deeply, he bellowed,


    ¡°Spider scoundrels! Come and face me!¡±


    After shouting, he then grabbed a rock and hurled it fiercely towards the massive figure lurking deeper within the cavern.


    The rock arced through the air beforending with a resounding ¡®crack¡¯ on the spider¡¯s metallic body.


    In an instant, countless crimson eyes turned towards him, including a pair of colossalntern-like orbs¡­


    With a rustling sound, swarms of spiders emerged from every corner, converging towards the tank akin to piranhas that tasted meat in the waters.


    The giant spider that was struck by a rock also emitted a low, menacing hiss before joining the charge.


    Witnessing all this, the tank¡¯s skin crawled as goosebumps ran all over his body before he turned around and sprinted away like a chicken with its head chopped off.


    The spiders pursued him relentlessly, driven by their predatory instincts to capture prey.


    Meanwhile, the sight of these monsters being drawn out filled the yers with excitement, as their hearts pounded upon their chest in anticipation.


    With a serious expression, the tank finally reached the center of the offering circle before halting into aplete stop.


    The crypt spiders also swiftly closed in from behind as they encircled the tankpletely.


    Even the massive boss spider followed suit.


    Amidst the yers¡¯ astonished gazes, the tank was swiftly torn apart by the spiders with the scene turning gruesome in just a matter of seconds¡­


    At the same time, some spiders also noticed Cbash on the opposite side of the circle and surged towards him!


    Witnessing the crypt spiders charging at the mage, the druid, hidden in the shadows, swiftly unleashed a controlling spell to impede their movements.


    Cbash took a deep breath and knelt before the circle as he began to fervently recite the prayer for offering.


    ¡°Praise thy Mother of Nature, praise thy Goddess of Life, praise thy mighty Elven Matriarch¡ªEv¨¦ Yggdrasill! Divine and Noble Goddess, we have found a splendid offering and wish to present it to thee!¡±


    As soon as he finished uttering such words, the entire circle suddenly glowed as it emits a gentle radiance!

 Chapter 161

    ??<strong>THE PERPLEXED EV¨¦ </strong>


    The City of the Chosen Ones, Nevend.


    This was one of the private garden estates meticulously crafted by the guild leader of Moe Moe Committee, Little Salty Cat. It stood in close proximity to the guild¡¯s headquarters, the Sky Garden which was a replica of the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon.


    Both Nevend and the Sky Garden stood proudly as the unparalleled architectural marvels of the Elven Kingdom, captivating the yers¡¯ collective admiration whenever they see these structures. Thepletion of these two architectural wonders was due to the dedicated efforts of the yers for a span of nearly three in-game months.


    Considering theplexity of their construction, such a timeframe was remarkably swift. yers within the game seemed fueled by an infinite wellspring of passion, finding sheer delight even in the most mundane and repetitive tasks.


    Throughout the entire construction process, theborers persevered tirelessly with their devotion unwavering.


    Indeed, such expeditious construction was only made possible through the assistance of a diverse array of magical spells. Nevertheless, this ambitious undertaking would inevitably require an even more substantial allocation of time. Thus, the construction team eventually reached apromise and opted to modify HootyBird¡¯s initial design and scaling it back slightly in size.


    These two awe-inspiring structures now stood as icondmarks, synonymous with the splendor of the Chosen City, beckoning yers to take pictures together within its vicinity as they capture timeless memories within their frames¡­


    Atop Nevend¡¯s main building.


    Ev¨¦ skillfully concealed herself using a disguise as an ordinary yer, as she reclined upon avishly cushioned chair.


    Cradling a wooden cup brimming with scented tea, she savored upon a delectable roasted barbecue whilst indulging herself within the breathtaking scenery that unfolded in the distance.


    High upon the elevated terrain of Nevend while she sat on the topmost floor of the three-story main building, Ev¨¦ reveled in a breathtaking sceneries that stretched before her¡ªa sweeping panoramic view that captured the city¡¯s resplendent beauty in all its splendor.


    And a little bit farther away, she could also see a verdant expanse of forests as it stretched widely as far as the eye could see. Entwined with the towering mountain ranges that cascadedyer uponyer, its truly an awe-inspiring sight with its breathtaking natural beauty.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time she slipped out like this.


    As the yers gradually found their footing and established their daily routines, Ev¨¦, too, embraced a newfound sense of tranquility.


    Every so often, she would assume her guise as a yer and secretly venture into the city, while indulging within the simple joys it offered.


    And upon acquainting herself with Little Salty Cat, thevish abode of this affluent yer swiftly transformed into one of her most cherished sanctuaries, a haven wherein she could find sce and respite.


    Ev¨¦ had once shared her insights with the pink-hairedss, imparting some of her wisdom on several asions regarding skill utilization. This left Little Salty Cat astounded by her extensive knowledge, causing the female mage to mistake her as either a reclusive high-ranking yer or someone with a high status back in the real world.


    Eventually after meeting her for several more times, Little Salty Cat began showing eagerness to befriend her.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t refuse because she was wearing a disguise.


    It¡¯s a pleasant feeling to engage in conversations as an ordinary yer and not an omnipotent being once in a while. It also helps that the avatar she¡¯s currently using could establish a connection with someone else.


    In any case, these yers sure do know how to enjoy themselves.


    After getting used to the rhythm and freedom of Elven Kingdom, many casual life-oriented yers have started creating all sorts of products, starting with barbecues or snacks and some even have ns to make wine from the fruits they forage in the Elven Forest.


    Ev¨¦ enjoyed one to these snacks while observing the bustling yers down in the city.


    From her vantage point that¡¯s overlooking the magnificent city adorned with fantastical and diverse architectures, she also admired the natural beauty of the distant forests that surrounds the city.


    Seeing this all on a much closer perspective, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the yers¡¯ rich imagination and inherent creativity¡­


    Although she could also observe everything from the godlike perspective of the World Tree, such omniscient sensation felt more cold and detachedpared to the first-person perspective she was currently experiencing.


    Not to mention¡­


    This honey-zed grilled meat in her hands was undeniably delicious.


    No wonder the ck Dragon enjoyed eating it.


    Ev¨¦ took a small bite of the juicy skewer as she savored the sulent meat with its glistening oil and robust texture whilst feeling immensely satisfied.


    In that moment, she began to understand why these yers were so enamored with Elven Kingdom.


    Just imagine.


    A beautiful forest with a dreamlike city, crafted with your own two hands and within this enchanting city, you could also have a lovely little home of your own.


    Your character, an elegant and beautiful elf, sits alongside your friends in the garden of your home while gazing into the distance, sipping scented tea whilst relishing grilled delicacies as you all listen to a soothing music ying in the background¡­


    If you also wish, you can even perform stand-upedy to amuse yourselves or perhaps watch some movies in the inte through the game¡¯s system.


    Thanks to the elerated time flow, you don¡¯t have to worry about the chaotic troubles of reality. Instead, you can simply empty your mind in this fantasy world and enjoy the wonders this game have to offer¡­


    <em>Sigh¡­</em>


    This kind of leisure andforting lifestyle, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, truly holds a strong allure!


    Not to mention, this is just the pleasure experienced by casual yers.


    ¡°Ah, It¡¯s truly enjoyable¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook her head wistfully afterpletely drinking the fragrant tea within her cup.


    She thenzily yawned and reclined her back whilst feeling immensely content.


    ¡°By the way, it¡¯s been quite a while since I assigned those quests. I wonder how those exploring yers are currently doing.¡±


    Ev¨¦ idly pondered while nibbling upon her snack.


    This time, she swiftly assigned numerous sidequests through the system, but unlike before, she didn¡¯t spy on any particr individual since most of the quests she issued simply focused on territory development and exploration without any underlying threats.


    If there were any potential dangers, they would likely only arise from the two exploration quests.


    However, she had already taken precautions having learned from her previous encounter with that vampire godwarden. If any yers were to face simr mental attacks again, they would then be instantly disconnected from the game the moment their mind has beenpromised.


    Currently, spells that target the mind pose the greatest threat to these yers, and she still hasn¡¯t discovered a way to grantplete immunity to mind magic.


    Luckily, her enemies remained unaware of this vulnerability.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a major issue. For the next group of yers, I¡¯ll just simply modify the connection method and add more protections¡­ In any case, the creatures in Rivendell appear quite instinct-driven andck sentient thought¡­ it seems unlikely that anyone there would possesses the ability to use mental spells, so it should be reasonably safe.¡± Ev¨¦ muttered to herself.


    Over the past few days, she would asionally receive surges of lifeforce, and even receive metallic spider legs as offerings from some yers.


    She knew these were the results of shes between the yers exploring Rivendell and the creatures dwelling in the depths of the ruins.


    Ev¨¦ somewhat paid close attention to this urrence and noticed a particr type of monster known as the Crypt Spider. Unfortunately, there were no detailed records of these creatures in the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, leaving Ev¨¦ with limited knowledge about these metallic arachnids.


    After a preliminary observation, she discovered that these crypt spiders weren¡¯t exceptionally strong, and most yers could handle them with rtive ease.


    However, there was one concerning matter¡ª


    The colossal creature guarding the entrance to the underworld.


    Once, Ev¨¦ observed a yer¡¯s encounter with it and saw through their perspective that this gigantic spider was an intermediate silver-ranked creature.


    With its power, the yers would be unable to defeat it at their current levels. However, Ev¨¦ nned to design a special quest to subjugate itter on when the yers had gained more levels.


    ¡°An intermediate silver-ranked creature, huh¡­ With that strength, Meryer alone would have been more than capable of dealing with it. But that punk seems to be unwilling to do it¡­¡±


    It seemed that the ck Dragon wasn¡¯t actually afraid of spiders per se, but rather hesitated due to some other reason instead.


    Ev¨¦ pondered upon Meryer¡¯s odd behavior and what she came up with was that perhaps, there was a hidden problem lying within these Crypt Spiders!


    <em>Well, forget it¡­</em>


    If necessary, she didn¡¯t mind intervening directly and assuming her Godwarden guise once again.


    The yers could just invite A¨¦l, and the elven boy could summon her as an envoy, allowing her to intervene legitimately without losing any prestige.


    In any case, those spiders were nothing more than mindless creatures, devoid of any coherent thoughts unless they reached the gold rank.


    Without intelligence, these creatures relied solely upon their predatory instincts to survive.


    In this situation wherein her opponents are merely just mindless creatures, Ev¨¦ had no qualms about revealing her true nature. Even if it came to the point where she had to personally intervene, she would first unveil her disguise as a new god.


    <em>¡®I, Ev¨¦, am merely a newly born god who recently gained the divinity of nature and life~ I¡¯m also just a subordinate of the god of death¡­ Huh? What do you mean? I have nothing to do with the fallen World Tree, you know~</em>?¡¯


    Ev¨¦ thought with a wry smirk.


    Even if these Crypt Spiders truly harbor hidden problems, their secrets would simply be exposed when confronted with the might of a deity.


    Ev¨¦ actually relished upon these types of quests, for not only can they bolstered her own fame but also strengthened the faith of her devoted believers.


    Additionally, these quests also fueled the yers¡¯ enthusiasm since they could get some contribution points while she drains the lifeforce of the boss monsters they¡¯re subjugating¡­


    It was like killing two birds with one stone!


    As Ev¨¦ immersed herself upon these matters, a sudden offering prompt had caught her attention.


    Faintly, she could discern the prayer from a yer named Cbash as he offered something to her¡­


    As usual, once she discovered the prayer was from a yer, Ev¨¦ readily agreed what they offered without double checking it.


    Nowadays she didn¡¯t need to personally check these offered items since she had already established a system within the game that¡¯s capable of automatically identifying the offerings being sent to her. However one requirement is that only those deemed useful to her would pass through the offering circle.


    Anyhow, she already had a rough idea of what was being sent to her.


    It was either a discarded equipment, artifacts unearthed from ruins, or simply the yers¡¯ broken and unusable junk.


    Alternatively, it could also be basic materials like minerals and ores, suitable for forging equipment.


    Without hesitation Ev¨¦ would ept these offerings, repairing them and asionally putting some up for sale at the exchange store.


    Furthermore, Ev¨¦ also implemented a system that would automatically evaluates the quality of the yers¡¯ offerings and grants them corresponding contribution points based on the evaluation the system had given.


    Of course, the amount of contributions was not substantial.


    However, what happened next hadpletely blindsided Ev¨¦.


    To her shock, an influx of unfamiliar lifeforms suddenly flooded into her Celestial Domain one after another!


    ¡°W-What¡¯s happening?! An invasion?¡±


    Startled, Ev¨¦ hastily dissipated her avatar and returned to her mindscape. When she focused her attention towards her Celestial Domain, she discovered arge horde of Crypt Spiders¡­


    Among these horde were both adult and juvenile spiders, numbering at least two hundred or more. Even the colossal spider that served as the gatekeeper of the underworld stood amongst them!


    They scurried about, gnashing their fangs and exhibiting mindless panic within her Celestial Domain. Akin to a swarm of ants that had been captured and then set free by humans, they seemed to have abruptly lost all sense of direction and judgment¡­


    ¡°¡­What in the world is happening?¡±


    Ev¨¦ was utterly bewildered.


    However, an even more astonishing urrence awaited her next.


    After aimlessly running for a while, these Crypt Spiders would then began to convulsed, one after another with their lifeforce slowly being extinguished as they plummeted to the ground in death¡­


    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡±


    Eve¡¯s curiosity was piqued.


    She then focused her attention onto the spider corpses, intently checking them and with each examination, her interest deepened further.


    ¡°Hmm? These Crypt Spiders¡­doesn¡¯t have intact souls?¡±


    Puzzled, Ev¨¦ crossed her arms together with her head tilting in a perplexed manner.


    ¡°Could there be a hive-mind that¡¯s controlling these creatures?¡± She pondered aloud with her voice filled with intrigue and wonder.

 Chapter 162

    ??<strong>WE¡¯RE GOING TO BE RICH! </strong>


    A hivemind, also known as unified consciousness or swarm brood.


    It¡¯s like a type of consciousness that functions as one collective mind often seen in various science fiction works back on earth.


    Creatures with hiveminds typically works as a collective swarm.


    And within this swarm, each individual has its own thought process, but their cognitive capacity is not entirely independent and sometimes can even be imperfect since above its general popce, there is an even more powerful consciousness exerting control over them akin to a ruler.


    This supreme consciousness that oversees all the lesser members of its swarm is the hivemind.


    In many science fiction works on earth, one notable species that behaves like this is from an old game called Starcraft, specifically the alien race known as Zerg.


    These terrifying and ruthless amalgamation of biologically advanced, arthropodal aliens are considered to be a type of swarm consciousness lifeform and their supreme mind is their Zerg Queen.


    When Ev¨¦ examined the bodies of these crypt spiders, she also discovered that these arachnids shared a simr characteristics akin to a Zerg.


    These crypt spiders do not possesspletely intact souls. Instead, their souls have a shapeless form, rendering their minds incapable of functioning independently, thus, theyck the capacity to process coherent thoughts, unlike fully sentient beings.


    This indicates that above them, there is also another more powerful consciousness or soul that¡¯s exerting control over them.


    And when these crypt spiders entered her Celestial Domain, all their connections with the outside world was alsopletely severed.


    With their imperfect souls, these spiders were unable to sustain themselves in the usual manner. Thus, after a brief struggle, their souls ultimately crumbled, leading to their demise.


    Moreover, while these crypt spiders were trapped within her celestial domain, Ev¨¦ could also vaguely sense the presence of an unknown entity lurking in a distant ce that¡¯s attempting to emit a mental signal in an effort to reestablish a connection with them¡­


    And the direction in which that signal originated from was located in Rivendell!


    However, it was evident that the other party was not powerful enough to break through the barriers of her celestial domain thus it ultimately gave up after trying a couple of times.


    ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s true that there is indeed a more powerful entity or individual controlling these crypt spiders. The consciousness I¡¯ve sensed at the end is probably the culprit and could be somewhat simr to a Zerg Queen!¡±


    Eve¡¯s mind stirred.


    At this moment, she also understood why Meryer was reluctant in helping the yers deal with the crypt spiders.


    That cowardly ck dragon masquerading himself as a ¡®Silver Dragon¡¯ must have known all along the secrets of these crypt spiders.


    Meryer probably already knew that the gigantic silver-rank spider was nothing more than ackey, and behind it lurked an entity that even the little ck dragon would not dare provoke!


    It seems that punk is not entirely foolish either.


    ¡°Is it¡­the Spider Queen?¡±


    Ev¨¦ became intrigued at the origins of these eight-legged creatures.


    If everything unfolded as she had analyzed, the entity that¡¯s controlling such a vast swarm of crypt spiders must have also possess an immense and formidable strength¡­


    At the very least¡­she estimates that this Spider Queen must be at the level of low to mid gold-rank!


    Ev¨¦ lost herself in a myriad of thoughts.


    In any case, how did these crypt spiders found their way into her celestial domain?


    Hmm¡­oh right, she just received an offering prayer from a yer mere moments ago.


    Offering¡­tons of spiders¡­


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­..¡±


    What are those yers up to now¡­


    She already had a vague idea of what might be going on.


    With that in mind, Ev¨¦ absorbed all the remaining life force left within these crypt spiders. Then, she delved deeper into her mindscape and located the yer who had just uttered the prayer of offering. Focusing her divine sense towards his location, she connected herself to the yer¡¯s perspective and began observing the surroundings¡­


    Soon enough, she saw the actual scenes through the eyes of this particr yer.


    Rivendell, entrance to the underworld.


    The cavern that connects to the underworld have already be empty and deste at this moment. Within its depths, faint glimpses of the underworld could be seen, but there was no longer a single crypt spider left in sight nearby¡­


    Four yers gathered around a massive offering circle near the cave¡¯s entrance with each of their expressions filled with unbridled excitement.


    ¡°Holy F*ck! We actually seeded, Captain Box! ¡°


    ¡°Oh god! We actually managed to offer a huge living creature, along with over a hundred of itsckeys, and the system rewarded each of us with 1000 contribution points!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ we really sent the boss to the goddess.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ who knew we could use a method like this!¡±


    ¡°Awesome! From now on, whenever we encounter a boss we couldn¡¯t defeat, we¡¯ll just offer it instead!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, the Goddess offering circle is truly omnipotent!¡±


    ¡°Guys¡­ keep this a secret¡­ this will be our hidden weapon in the future!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! If we can¡¯t defeat a certain mob in the future, then we¡¯ll just send it to the Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon! It¡¯s also entirely possible that not all creatures can be an offering.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, anyway¡­ if the monsters we can¡¯t defeat have valuable loot on them, the offering circle will surely ept it. So what¡¯s there to worry about?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ when you put it that way, it does make some sense!¡±


    The yers excitedly discussed as if they had discovered a new exploit.


    Meanwhile, the Nightingale, who was hiding on the side was dumbfounded.


    ¡°T-They actually¡­seeded in offering a living being¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­one of your teammates was killed by those spiders! Aren¡¯t you guys sad about it?¡±


    She felt a bit confused.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Nightingale. He¡¯ll be resurrected back in no time. That person who died will probably return to the Chosen City soon. If you still don¡¯t believe it, then just look around if his dead body are still here.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯ll see him when we return back to the city!¡±


    The other yersughed as if this wasn¡¯t their first time witnessing arade die which left Nightingale speechless.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­..¡±


    She hesitated, then looked towards the direction of the offering circle and found that the corpse of the unfortunate elven warrior was indeed gone, leaving only a pool of blood behind¡­


    ¡°He actually¡­ disappeared.¡±


    She muttered in shock.


    ¡°Wait¡­ could he have been sent to the goddess as well?¡±


    The face of the elven girl suddenly turned pale.


    ¡°Hahaha! No way, the offering circle doesn¡¯t allow yers to be sent. It has already been tested before.¡± A yer responded.


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­..¡±


    However, soon her face was filled with puzzlement once again.


    ¡°Are the spiders these guys offered really the best fertilizer? Heck, does the Goddess even need some fertilizer in the first ce?¡±


    Nightingale muttered to herself.


    Ev¨¦ who was currently spying on them: ¡°¡­.¡±


    <em>When did she start wanting some fertilizer?</em>


    <em>What strange knowledge are these yers now spreading about her</em>?


    Ev¨¦ looked utterly dumbfounded.


    However, she confirmed her suspicions when Ev¨¦ saw the enormous offering circle drawn on the ground.


    Sure enough, it was the shenanigans of these yers that sent her tons of spiders!


    She couldn¡¯t help butugh and cry at the same time.


    Who would have thought that the offering circle, whose original intended purpose was to simply send her the divine blood crystals they¡¯d found, would eventually be used in this manner by the yers instead¡­


    Hell, they even directly sent her the monster they was supposed to fight!


    Do veteran yers like them really that proficient in finding game exploits?


    From their useless junks at the beginning, now to even directly offering a live monster boss¡­


    <em>W-Wait a minute¡­ </em>


    They won¡¯t be sending her spiders on a daily basis from now on, will they?


    Ev¨¦ imagined a scenario wherein a group of spiders would be constantly thrown into her celestial domain by these brazen yers as they all run amok within her peaceful domain¡­


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Oh hell no, this exploit must be patched immediately!


    While the spiders being sent to her celestial domain woulde under her control, and she could even siphon their lifeforce in the process, the risk involved would be far too immense.


    Because once this exploit was leak to the public, the yers probably wouldn¡¯t stop at all and will think of even more ridiculous ways to exploit the offering circle.


    If they encountered a difficult enemy and sent it to her sessfully, then it would be eptable for her and Ev¨¦ would graciously ept it with a smile.


    However, if the transfer were to fail and the offering circle were exposed to her enemies, the oue of such scenario would be catastrophic. Her true identity would then bepletely revealed since the circle of offering embodies the true essence of her divinity, and as the World Tree, Eve¡¯s offering circle contains unique patterns specific to her, which can be easily recognized by those who are knowledgeable in such matters.


    Moreover¡­this exploit really feels like cheating, and it is not conducive to the growth of the yers, nor for Eve¡¯s overall image amongst her believers.


    epting living beings as sacrificial offerings¡­her image as a kind and gracious goddess would definitely crumble and everyone would really think that she¡¯s an evil god!


    Generally speaking, newly ascended gods would not ept sacrifices of living creatures as an offering.


    It was a form of respect for life and it can be regarded as a guideline among the gods since ancient times.


    Otherwise, if every god epted living sacrifices from the get-go, then the entire mortal world would have long descended into chaos ages ago.


    Ev¨¦ thought about it, already considering how to patch this newly discovered exploit.


    Meanwhile, the yers¡¯ discussion continued.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ since we can do things like this, then why don¡¯t we return to that mining tunnel once again? The spiderir at the end of that tunnel is also teeming with countless crypt spiders. I can¡¯t even imagine how much CP we would gain if we can offered all of them too!¡±


    This yer¡¯s idea sparked the interest of others to the point that even Boxlunch¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement.


    Offering a single metallic spider leg would only yield a meager five contribution points. Generally speaking, most yers would rather choose to hand over the spider legs they¡¯ve gathered to a NPC instead.


    That¡¯s because by trading it over at the forging shop, the elven cksmith Carlos would craft these spider legs into powerful arrows, which could then be sold to other yers with archery profession for 15 to 20 CP!


    Even if they sold them directly to Carlos himself, this elder would still give them 10 contribution points!


    But¡­ the spiderir they were considering would likely harbor thousands upon thousands of crypt spiders.


    On a rough estimate, there are ten thousand crypt spiders, with each unit having eight legs. Offering one leg would yield five contribution points¡­


    If they can actually manage to offer them all, then that would be a whopping 400,000 contribution points!


    And that¡¯s not even counting the legs from therger adult spiders and that gigantic boss spider!


    If they managed to lure them all out and send them to the goddess¡­


    <em>Wow¡­</em>


    Just how much contribution would that be!?


    ¡°Oh my god! I feel like we¡¯re about to strike it rich!¡±


    Excitement and enthusiasm spread amongst all the yers.


    ¡°Do we have enough paint to draw another huge offering circle?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we still have plenty¡­¡±


    Boxlunch clenched his fist, pped his thigh, and made a decision.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±


    He then turned to Nightingale and said firmly, without a hint of doubt.


    ¡°You go back first. It¡¯s going to be more dangerous from now on, so you can¡¯te with us.¡±


    His tone brooked no argument.


    After speaking, he then turned back to his team and dashed towards the direction of the mining tunnel¡­


    Seeing Boxlunch and the other chosen ones suddenly filled with excitement and rushing off, Nightingale stood there in bewilderment.


    She then stomped her foot in annoyance and cursed.


    ¡°That self-absorbed blockhead!¡±


    Ev¨¦ whose also observing the yers as they all rushed towards the mining tunnel, couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled at their recklessness.


    ¡°They¡¯ve found the spiderir, but do they have any idea what lies behind those spiders?¡±


    Ev¨¦ extended her perception towards the location they were heading, and she could vaguely sense the presence of a consciousness emitting a widespread signal.


    This indicates only one thing¡­


    <em>Gold-rank. </em>


    Now that¡¯s a truly high level being!


    And if it were truly the hivemind that¡¯s controlling these lesser lifeforms, then they likely also had countless minions at their disposal.


    From Eve¡¯s perspective, these yers heading to that location are simply reckless individuals blinded by the prospect of acquiring vast amounts of contribution points at the expense of their own lives¡­


    Wait, they weren¡¯t even afraid of death to begin with, given their ability to be revived.


    Ev¨¦ shook her head in exasperation.


    Nevertheless, she had no intention of stopping them, as it appeared that Boxlunch and his teammates, who had discovered the spiderir, were fullymitted into doing this whole risky endeavor.


    ¡°Perhaps this is also an opportunity to draw out the hivemind lurking behind them.¡±


    Ev¨¦ then made preparations for her avatar to descend to their location at any given time, in case the situation suddenly turned sour.


    ¡°If they can truly lure out the spider queen and give me a chance to subdue her, then what harm would there be in granting them some contribution points?¡±


    By subduing the ruling entity overseeing this whole arachnid swarm, Ev¨¦ would¡¯ve also gained control over the entire crypt spider poption that¡¯s living within Rivendell.


    And as the reigning ruler of the crypt spiders that had dwelled within Rivendell for countless of years, this Spider Queen will surely held detailed knowledge of this ruins and its surrounding area.


    Not to mention, they also possessed quite a formidable power!

 Chapter 163

    ??<strong>BLAST THE LAIR</strong>


    Boxlunch¡¯s team acted very fast.


    The allure of amassing an abundance of contribution points proved irresistible, especially since the exchange store had recently stocked a fresh batch of intermediate-grade equipment.


    If they were toplete tasks and umte contribution points in the usual manner, it is estimated that they would need probably at least a week of grinding in order to obtain a set of epic purple-grade equipment¡­


    However, a glimmer of hope for quick and effortless riches had ignited a fire within them. Thus they acted swiftly, fearing that the developers would soon discover and fix the exploit.


    They hastened along the winding and intricate paths of Rivendell, returning to the prior tunnel they had detonated earlier.


    It must be acknowledged that these ancient tunnels, crafted by the elves, still stood remarkably sturdy. Despite the yers¡¯ bombardment, the structure remained rtively intact, save for a few destroyed minecart tracks.


    Fortunately, the path leading to the crypt spider¡¯sir still remained essible.


    Boxlunch¡¯s team nned to employ the same method as before to lure out the spiders. However, this time, they also drew a sizable offering circle in the courtyard. Afterpleting the circle with eager anticipation, they ventured along the tunnel leading to their.


    Surveying the area, they found the situation to be just as what they had witnessed before¡ªthe deep cavern is still teeming with a vast number of crypt spiders as these creatures formed a dense cluster alongside each other, making it impossible to count their exact numbers.


    The only sound that could be heard was the metallic rustling of their legs as they moved along the rocky walls or surfaces¡­


    It sounded¡­ quite terrifying.


    And as the yers gazed around, they also beheld countless rows of crimson eyes, bothrge and small, an unnerving sight that could easily torment those with ustrophobic tendencies.


    Even Boxlunch, renowned for his mental fortitude, couldn¡¯t help but shudder at the ominous sight unfolding within their, feeling a creeping sensation upon his scalp.


    The tunnel was rtively narrow, allowing small and medium-sized crypt spiders to easily pass through effortlessly. However, therger variants measuring seven to eight meters in size could only barely enter one at a time.


    Knowing they couldn¡¯t lure out all the spiders at once, the yers were left with no choice but to adopt the same strategy they used with the goblins¡ª


    Lure them out in small groups and gradually thin out their numbers little by little using gueri tactics.


    However, considering the astonishing speed at which these crypt spiders move about, it is highly likely that they will die multiple times during this whole ordeal.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take turns luring these monsters,¡± Boxlunchmanded in a low voice after taking a deep breath.


    Upon hearing their leader¡¯s words, the rest nodded with all their faces showing firm determination.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    Cbash stepped forward.


    After the mage volunteered, the rest quickly retreated and took cover behind the rock formation in the courtyard.


    ¡°Bash, we¡¯re ready.¡±


    After finding their own hiding spots, each of them beganmunicating mentally via the team¡¯s groupchat. Upon receiving the message, Cbash drew a deep breath and ran towards their¡¯s entrance before he let out a resounding cry which echoed into the cave.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±


    In an instant, several pairs of red eyes turned towards him.


    Even though it was just a game, Cbash¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but tremble after being stared at by these ominous pairs of crimson eyes.


    He shouted one more time for good measure before turning around and running whilst at his back, nearly a hundred crypt spiders followed closely behind him¡­


    With his boots possessing the special property of ¡®eleration¡¯ and the skill buff ¡®Lighten Body,¡¯ casted upon himself, Cbash glided away with astonishing speed.


    Leading a horde of spiders in his wake, he quickly reached the ambush spot wherein the othersy in wait.


    ¡°They areing! Get ready guys!¡±


    Cbash shouted while running.


    The others began to kneel before the offering circle as they began to quickly recite the prayer of offering.


    ¡°Praise thy Mother of Nature, praise thy Goddess of Life, praise thy mighty Matriarch¡­¡±


    As they finished their prayers, the circle once again radiated a brilliant light and as if on cue, Cbash led the spiders straight into it.


    In an instant, the spiders caught inside the circle began emanating a dazzling glow and were instantaneously transported while numerous system notifications floated before each yer¡¯s eyes:


    ¡°You have gained ¡®<strong>05</strong>¡® contribution points.¡±


    ¡°You have gained ¡®<strong>05</strong>¡® contribution points.¡±


    ¡°You have gained ¡®<strong>05</strong>¡® contribution points.¡±


    The surge of contribution points brought forth an exhrating rush with their mouths curling into greedy smiles.


    Within moments, they sessfully offered hundreds of spiders to the goddess, and the yers were delighted to find that their personal contribution points had increased by seven to eight hundred points!


    ¡°F*ck! This is like taking candy from a baby!¡±


    The members of Boxlunch¡¯s team were excited.


    ¡°We can do it more! Let¡¯s continue!¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes lit up as he looked at the contribution points added to his ount.


    The other yers nodded excitedly.


    They were overjoyed and started luring more monsters¡­


    In just a short amount of time, they attracted another batch of hundreds of spiders and just like before, offered them to the goddess and obtained another seven to eight hundred contribution points for a second time!


    ¡°Hahaha! Oh yeaah! Another seven to eight hundred contribution points added!¡±


    ¡°Holy frick! Damn if we keep doing this, then we might really umte more contribution points than what we¡¯ve gained from thest main questline!¡±


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t think too smalll man! We could¡¯ve easily rack up more hundreds of thousand points today!¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ this is definitely a game exploit for easy CP farming!¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­ Let¡¯s keep a low profile guys. It wouldn¡¯t be good if the developers found out.¡±


    ¡°Enough talking, more monsters! Lure more freakin¡¯ monsters! I can almost buy a legendary golden equipment!¡±


    Excited and thrilled, the yers continued another cycle of luring and offering crypt spiders for a third time.


    However, starting from their fourth attempt, the number of spiders they attracted began to significantly dwindle.


    This time, Boxlunch personally took the lead but only lured a few dozen spiders.


    ¡°There are fewer this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Did we already lure all the ones lingering near the entrance?¡±


    ¡°Maybe Captain Box ran too fast, leaving the crypt spiders behind?¡±


    Boxlunch fell silent, contemting the situation.


    ¡°Perhaps we should venture a bit further inside their?¡±


    ¡°Let me go next since I¡¯m slower.¡±


    After discussing for a while, the yers continued to lure the spiders.


    However¡­ even fewer responded this timepared to theirst attempt.


    yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we lure them out anymore?¡±


    ¡°Could it be that we¡¯ve already lured out all the spiders from their?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­ considering the number of eyes we spotted earlier, there must be thousands just at the cave entrance. The spiders lurking deeper within must be even more numerous¡­¡±


    They all exchanged perplexed nces.


    After offering the spiders several times, the contribution points they had umted already reached nearly three thousand points.


    This¡­ was already close to the contribution reward given forpleting a main questline at this stage!


    However, these yers¡¯ appetites had grown significantlyrger, and just a few thousand contribution points were no longer enough to satisfy them.


    There were likely tens of thousands of spiders hiding deeper in thatir. Offering them all would undoubtedly yield enough contribution points to buy themselves a full set of golden-grade equipment!


    The yers refused to believe that the exploit was already fixed and decided to attempt luring them once again.


    Nevertheless¡­once again, despite all the team members efforts of shouting multiple times at the entrance of the cave, they only received cold gazes from these crimson-eyed spiders, and not a single crypt spider chased after them¡­


    yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these mindless spiders supposed to have low intelligence? Why aren¡¯t theying out anymore? How did they suddenly be smart?¡±


    ¡°Could they be aware that their brethrens who pursued us before have all perished?¡±


    ¡°Well, judging by their behavior, it seems entirely possible¡­I mean, they all saw us making ruckus and yet not a single one came out¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe our actions somehow triggered the game¡¯s built in failsafe mechanism?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. All the mechanics in ElvKing follow a certain logic. It doesn¡¯t make sense for the system to order these mobs to stoping out just because we lured a few.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, remember when we hunted those goblins from before? didn¡¯t they also came out one by one without realizing they were being lured? ording to the game¡¯s lore, those goblins should have higher intelligence than these spiders.¡±


    The yers were scratching their heads in confusion.


    Ev¨¦, who was observing everything through Cbash¡¯s perspective, was not surprised at all.


    Since there was a higher consciousness manipting these crypt spiders from behind. Surely, that entity must have realized something was amiss, which was why these spiders ceased their mindless pursuit.


    <em>Ha! These rascals wanted to quickly gain hundreds of thousands of contribution points in a short time?</em>


    <em>Seriously, where in the world does such an easy method exist?</em>


    ¡°How about¡­we try luring some bigger fellows?¡±


    A yer suggested.


    ¡°Fu*k, let¡¯s now kite the adult ones! I refuse to believe we can¡¯t lure them out today! Dude, I still want to gain a legendary golden-grade armor for myself goddammit!¡±


    At that moment, the tank who had died first earlier gritted his teeth.


    He had instantly rushed back upon his resurrection after waiting for his death¡¯s cooldown to disappear for a long time. Not only that, but he also brought some other items along with him.


    He reached into his backpack and took out several bulging bags one by one.


    Seeing those familiar bags, the other yers were startled.


    ¡°What the hell! Did you bring all the explosive packs made by Captain!?¡±


    The tank nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I figured I might as well brought it all in case we might need them for kiting the monsters, so I took it all along with me before teleporting here.¡±


    His teammates: ¡°¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡­you¡¯re not nning to blow up the entireir, are you?¡±


    Their mouths twitched with uncertainty.


    ¡°Hehe, what¡¯s there to fear? It¡¯s just a few explosive packs. The st will definitely lure them out!¡± The tank chuckled as he patted the bags containing ck powder.


    His teammates: ¡°¡­.¡±


    ¡°So¡­you really want to blow up the wholeir!?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­maybe?¡±


    ¡°Then you can just do it yourself, dude!¡±


    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re the one who suggested it, then you should be the one to throw these explosive packs!¡±


    The tank: ¡°¡­???¡±


    As the primary currency in Elven Kingdom, the allure of contribution points was immeasurable.


    After a brief discussion, the yers finally decided to go big for their next attempt, that is¡ªblow up the entire crypt spiders¡¯ir!


    Although¡­just a few packs of explosives wouldn¡¯tpletely eradicate all the spiders within their, they should at least be lured out by this massivemotion¡­


    If theirir is destroyed, these crypt spiders surely wouldn¡¯t tolerate them anymore, right?


    For a moment, the yers were filled with anticipation once again.


    And soon, they began to act!


    This time, through a democratic vote of four-to-one, the esteemed tank yer was once again tasked with the glorious duty of luring out the monsters¡­


    Under the admiring gazes of the rest of his teammates, the tank cautiously approached the entrance of their with explosive packs strapped all over his body.


    He then took a deep breath before forcefully throwing all the explosive packs deep into the crypt spiders¡¯ir.


    Then, he lit a torch and also hurled it towards the location where the explosivesnded¡­


    As the torch entered their, it instantly illuminated the entire cavern revealing countless crypt spiders looming in every corner with their terrifying numbers causing the tank¡¯s whole body to shudder in fright.


    And partially hidden within the deepest parts, he also caught sight of several familiar gigantic spiders¡­


    They upied the deepest part of the cave, encircling an even more massive set of spider legs that¡¯s stretching tens of meters long.


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    <em>Gigantic spider legs?</em>


    As the light from the torch revealed a glimpse of it, the tank¡¯s eyes widened instinctively, unable to stop himself from blurting out a curse.


    <em>Holy hell! Just its leg alone makes those adult spiders look like juveniles inparison to its size!</em>


    Before he could say anything more, the torch¡¯s me finally ignited the explosives, and a thunderous explosion followed a mere secondster¡­


    ¡°Boom¡ª!!!¡±


    A deafening roar shook the entireir, causing the ground beneath to tremble.


    With a dazzling light apanied by burst of mes, the crypt spiders¡¯ir exploded into a colossal fireball, tearing countless spiders into fragments¡­


    ¡°It blew up! It all fu*king blew up!¡±


    The yers hiding in the distance were filled with excitement after seeing such a bombastic explosion.


    However, after the explosion, what awaited them was not the spiders they had hoped to attract, but instead a furious, earsplitting scream¡­


    ¡°Hiss!!!¡±


    The ground began to tremble, as if something terrible had been rudely awakened¡­


    ¡°Fu*k! We¡¯ve gone too far this time! Run away!¡±


    The tank¡¯s face turned green, swiftly slipping past the others to make an escape without even waiting for any of them¡­


    Hearing the ear piercing primal roar, Boxlunch¡¯s expression hardened. He squinted his eyes as he focused his sight on a particr direction before uttering¡ª


    ¡°¡ªRun!¡±


    After stating those words, he also turned around and ran towards the exit just like the tank.


    <em>What¡¯s happening?</em>


    The others were momentarily stunned.


    Then¡­the entire world began to tremble as the rocky walls above the tunnel were suddenly overturned by a mighty force.


    Then the smiles upon their faces instantly froze as they instinctively raised their heads upwards before witnessing a colossal presence emerged that sent shivers down their spines¡­

 Chapter 164

    ??<strong>SPIDER QUEEN QUEST</strong>


    Eerily glowing within the darkness, eight immense blood moons illuminated the entire area with their crimson glow suspended high up in the air¡­


    ¡ª<em>No</em>, those red orbs were not actually moons but were in fact, four huge pairs of eyes with each orbs radiating a deep crimson hue!


    These terrifying eyes met the stunned gazes of the remaining yers, with each orbs expressing a different kinds of emotions such as¡ªindifference, ferocity, madness, and fury¡­


    In an instant, a bone-chilling coldness washed all over the remaining yers, leaving their minds nk with astonishment.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°What in the world!¡±


    ¡°What is this!?¡±


    Suddenly, the colossal creature finally stirred.


    Apanied by a thunderous sound, a colossal shadow engulfed the yers as the eight-legged behemoth looms ominously over them from above.


    They gazed up with astounded expressions at the terrifying presence before them¡­


    Suddenly, a terrifying pressure gripped them, wrapping its tendrils around their very essence. It was a weighty pressure that sent shivers rippling through their bodies, rendering them immobile and powerless to resist its heavy might.


    A gargantuan existence that blotted out the sky then slowly revealed itself, adorned with menacing, metallic scythe-like legs that gleamed with an icy light, and an exoskeleton bristling with razor-sharp spikes, akin to shimmering steel tes¡­


    This was a gargantuan crypt spider! Thergest they have ever seen so far, measuring approximately around dozens of meters in size!


    Within its presence, they all felt infinitesimally small, akin to mere ants beneath the feet of a colossal predator.


    Hell, they had never experienced such a mind-numbingly shocking sensation, even in the face of the ck Dragon Meryer!


    And underneath it, numerous small andrge spiders, along with few crypt spiders the sizeparable to the one gatekeeping the underworld, began to converge.


    They all swarmed around the gargantuan spider, as if defending their ruler with each of them casting a cold, unyielding gaze towards the yers.


    They then moved in a synchronized manner with their icy crimson eyes instilling a sense of dread.


    ¡°T-This¡­fu*k it, this is way beyond our current level¡­¡±


    ¡°R-Run!¡±


    Terrified to their very core, the remaining yers finally regained theirposure and hastily turned around, fleeing in absolute fear.


    Seeing the yers fleeing, the gargantuan spider let out another furious roar;


    ¡°Hissss!!!¡±


    It¡¯s voice reverberated with unbridled anger and upon closer inspection, one could discern charred markings on a part of its exoskeleton that¡¯s looks to be the result of the recent explosion.


    Responding to itsmand, countless crypt spiders instantly pursued the fleeing yers!


    The gargantuan spider, too, moved its massive scythe-like legs and closed in swiftly behind its minions.


    With each of its movement colliding with the rockyndscape, the entire tunnel trembled and buckled, as if caught in the throes of an earthquake¡­


    The offering circles painstakingly drawn by the yers crumbled in tandem alongside the tunnel¡¯s copse.


    ¡°F*ck! The offering circle is ruined! Run!¡±


    ¡°How can there be such a huge ass creature!? Isn¡¯t its size too damn ridiculous?¡±


    ¡°Dude, stop talking and just run!¡±


    After what felt like an eternity, they somehow miraculously reached the courtyard and paused for a few seconds to catch their breaths before they began ascending the staircase which led to the surface.


    However, the oppressive pressure from behind began to affect them once more and slowing down their movements. As a result, the spider swarm quickly caught up and mercilessly overwhelmed them.


    ¡°Hissss¡ª!!!¡±


    The gargantuan spider bellowed, unleashing yet another menacing roar.


    Meanwhile, the surroundings of Rivendell trembled, as if caught in the midst of an earthquake.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? An earthquake?¡±


    ¡°I swear I heard something just now¡­¡±


    All the yers exploring Rivendell suddenly became vignt, with their senses heightened by the sudden abnormalities that urred.


    To their utmost horror, they then witnessed a swarm of crypt spiders pouring out from every direction. With their red eyes gleaming in frenzied fury, these spiders attacked the yers with wild abandon, even showing no regard for their own lives!


    The yers who were blindsided were taken aback by such reckless onught.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Why are these spiders going crazy!?¡±


    ¡°N-No, there are simply too many! Let¡¯s go out of these ruins first!¡±


    The yers currently exploring the ruins found themselves embroiled in a chaotic battle as they all began to retreat under the threat of the frenzied spider swarm.


    ¡°Hissss¡ª!!!¡±


    And at that moment, everyone once again heard that loud primal enraged roar.


    In response, most yers hastily abandoned their exploration of the ruins and made a hasty collective retreat back to Rivendell¡¯s surface.


    Meanwhile, the tremors further intensified, shaking the entirend even more violently than before.


    Suddenly, amidst the chaos, someone caught sight of Boxlunch and one of his team members emerging from a mine shaft. Their appearance werepletely disheveled with their faces etched in fear as they raced away frantically.


    The yers who had noticed them wore expressions of surprise since Boxlunch¡¯s party, known as the most formidable team in the entire server, had never been seen in such a desperate state.


    ¡°Boxlunch, what happened to you guys?¡±


    A yer curiously asked as the duo passed them.


    ¡°Run, everyone! A terrifying gargantuan spider is quickly approaching!¡±


    The tank who was fleeing alongside Boxlunch shouted.


    <em>Gargantuan spider?</em>


    The nearby yers exchanged bewildered nces.


    <em>Had they encountered another giant spider just like the one guarding the underworld?</em>


    ¡°You mean just like that huge gatekeeper spider?¡±


    Someone asked.


    ¡°No, this one is evenrger!¡± The tank eximed, before turning his gaze back and sprinting with even greater urgency.


    <em>Bigger?</em>


    Just how big could it be?


    The clueless yers were astounded.


    They wanted to ask more questions, but their attention was swiftly drawn to the ground as it suddenly split open before several debris was pushed upwards into the skies before plunging down like meteorites.


    Right then, a metallic spider leg, spanning several meters in length, slowly emerged from the gaping chasm, leaving them utterly dumbfounded.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!!¡±


    An involuntary curse escaped everyone¡¯s mouth in unison as they all gawked at those towering spider legs.


    Apanying the colossal legs, a horde of smaller crypt spiders also emerged from the crevices.


    They all seems to be gathering on the surface, densely packed and multiplying at an rming pace until the spider¡¯s numbers reached the thousands in an instant¡­


    Just like¡­a swarm of locusts blotting out the skies.


    The only thing missing was their ability to fly.


    And at that very moment, the earth quaked once more, before giving birth to a creature of absolute terror¡­


    A gargantuan crypt spider emerged, standing tens of meters tall!


    Its appearance bore resemnce to an ordinary crypt spider, but its abdomen was much morerger and its visage even more ferocious. The exoskeleton upon its body shimmered with a metallic sheen, as its eight red eyes resembled ominous blood moons suspended high up in the heavens¡­


    As the yers looked up at this gargantuan creature, they were left dumbfounded,pletely frozen in shock from where they stood.


    This was not simply arge spider; it was beyond gargantuan!


    The spider guarding the underworld seemed like a mere juvenilepared to it!


    Fear gripped everyone¡¯s hearts, as they all promptly turned and fled with all their might.


    As they ran, they also voiced their astonishment:


    ¡°Is this the true boss of Rivendell? Was the spider guarding the underworld just an elite monster?¡±


    ¡°Could the developers somehow have made a mistake? This level of difficulty doesn¡¯t seem entirely possible for mere iron-ranked yers!¡±


    ¡°Could a yer identally provoked it?¡±


    However, the spiders moved even faster¡­


    ¡°Hiss¡ª!!!¡±


    With a sharp hiss, the swarm of crypt spidersunched an assault upon every yer at the surface!


    ¡°This is bad! They¡¯re so fast!¡±


    ¡°There are just too many of them!¡±


    ¡°Oh no! I¡¯ve been caught!¡±


    For a moment, the sounds of screams(?) echoed all throughout Rivendell, with some yers even yfully acting out their demise.


    And the gargantuan crypt spider pursued them, using its long, metallic legs to impale the fleeing yers with deadly precision.


    ¡°This boss is too powerful!¡±


    ¡°Goddammit¡­ another one of these impossible bug-like bosses! Can¡¯t the devs create something normal for once!?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Look! Look! It¡¯s skewering yers like barbecues! Hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Stopughing idiot! Don¡¯t look! Run! Unless you want to end up being skewered too!¡±


    Chaos consumed all the yers within the vicinity of Rivendell.


    ¡°Finally, it has been lured out and just as I suspected, it is indeed the Spider Queen!¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt a sense of joy as she gazed upon the gargantuan crypt spider while seamlessly switching between different perspectives of various yers.


    ¡°It possesses a strength that is approximately at the peak of the Golden Rank, and it alsomands around twenty thousand spider minions! However, the majority of them are mere small spiders with strength ranging below the Iron-Rank.¡±


    After witnessing the yers¡¯ futile attempts to fend off the attacks, she had gained a rough understanding of the enemy¡¯s overall strength.


    Indeed, reaching the Gold Rank meant bing a true high-ranking existence!


    And for magical creatures like these spiders, reaching the Gold-Rank also means attaining their own intelligence.


    ¡°I must acquire this Spider Queen! By getting her, I will also gain control over the entire crypt spider poption! And there is also the added benefit of obtaining a Gold-Rank follower!¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred with determination.


    ¡°Furthermore, if I can subdue this Spider Queen, I can also provide some benefits to the yers¡­ If my memory serves me right, ever since the beta has beenunched, the yers have been moring on the forums when the mount system will be implemented. Hehe, I wonder if they would enjoy riding spiders?¡±


    Ev¨¦ chuckled inwardly as she imagined yers riding an eight-legged creatures.


    ncing at the panicking yers amidst the chaos, with some of them boldly capturing screenshots, she raised her hand and issued a new quest.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>WARNING</strong>! <strong>WARNING</strong>!¡¿


    ¡¾yers ¡°<strong>Boxlunch</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Cbash</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>I¡¯minvincible</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Happy-go-lucky</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Chopin</strong>¡± have triggered the Hidden Boss!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Hidden Boss Quest Activated</strong>¡ª¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>:¡¿


    ¡¾As one of the most mysterious hivemind species within Saig¨¹es, the crypt spiders have always resided underground.¡¿


    ¡¾They have upied Rivendell for a thousand years and pose as formidable enemies that the Elven race must face in order to fully reim this once-great city¡­¡¿


    ¡¾However, as a collective-minded species, once the Spider Queen is brought under control, there is hope for the Elven race to subdue an entire crypt spider colony, swiftly gaining control over the spider poption within Rivendell!¡¿


    ¡¾Now, the dormant Spider Queen lurking deep within the ruins has been awakened¡­¡¿


    ¡¾It is time to take action!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Target</strong>: Spider Queen (Level 100/Gold Rank)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Defeat and subdue the Spider Queen¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: Mount system, 3 Perfect Revival chances, abundant experience points, and contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Tip</strong>: The Spider Queen possesses great power. Only by summoning the incarnation of the Goddess can you sessfully defeat and subdue her!¡¿


    ¡¾Brave chosen ones, fight for the honor of the Goddess and the Elven race!¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Urgent System Notification</strong>:¡¿


    ¡¾yers ¡°<strong>Boxlunch</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Cbash</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>I¡¯minvincible</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Happy-go-lucky</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Chopin</strong>¡± discovered an vulnerability within the Offering System¡¿


    ¡¾ A patch has been implemented, and the Offering System will no longer ept living sacrifices.¡¿


    ¡°Spider Queen? Mount system? Offering vulnerability?¡±


    As they read through the series of new messages, all the yers were left stunned by this sudden turn of events.

 Chapter 165

    ??<strong>SURRENDER¡­OR PERISH</strong>


    ¡°A hidden boss! It¡¯s a hidden boss quest!¡±


    ¡°A mount system! Is the mount system finally going to be introduced!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited¡­after all, we¡¯ll only gonna receive those rewards after winning.¡±


    ¡°This Spider Queen¡­did Boxlunch¡¯s team provoke her? And what¡¯s the deal about this whole living sacrifice? Did they try to offer a live crypt spider?¡±


    ¡°Oh shit! It¡¯s actually possible! Since the spider¡¯s exoskeleton is entirely made of metal, the offering system must have epted it! Damn, why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! So that¡¯s why they¡¯re being chased by the boss! Look! There are thousands of spiders chasing after them! This shit is hrious man, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen Box in such a sorry state.¡±


    ¡°So¡­Did the developers already patched the exploit in the offering system?¡±


    ¡°They definitely will! Otherwise, everyone would just offer every boss we encounter. What¡¯s the point of the game then?¡±


    ¡°No more living sacrifices huh¡­ Does that mean we can still sacrifice undead bosses or something of that kind in the future?¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ maybe you¡¯re onto something! But the offering circle doesn¡¯t just ept everything, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! I wonder if we can still offer junk items¡­¡±


    ¡°We should still be able to offer junk items, right? It seems to be an official recycling mechanism. Otherwise, the devs would have patched it already long ago. I guess it¡¯s probably a beneficial for yers right?¡±


    As the yers saw the new quest prompt, they gradually calmed down and excitedly discussed the details of the quest while hiding from the spiders¡­


    A Hidden boss quest!


    And if sessfullypleted, it will reward yers with the mount system!


    Mounts! Will mounts finally be avable?


    All the yers exploring Rivendell were filled with exhration upon the prospect of riding some animals or perhaps even monsters¡­


    As for what the mount would be,


    They could already somewhat guessed it.


    Most likely, it would be the crypt spiders!


    After all, the devs wouldn¡¯t just put the mount system as a reward if it doesn¡¯t have corrtion with the quest. And to be honest, the smaller spiders looked quite fun to ride. Heck, even therger human-sized variants still possessed a majestic aura.


    Of course, that was from the yers¡¯ perspective.


    To the natives of this world, the ridiculous sight of an elf riding an eight-legged monster would not just be imposing, but also rather terrifying as well.


    However, it shocked the yers when they finally noticed the strength value the system had provided in regards to the Spider Queen.


    Level 100! Gold-rank!


    Previously, when Uller¡¯s totem guardian had descended and made a move, the system didn¡¯t provide any level assessment for that particr Demigod.


    So the yers weren¡¯t too afraid of him, knowing that Volker¡¯s power was limited in the mortal realm. Furthermore, this envoy had a visible health bar, giving them an understanding of its remaining health during the fight.


    In contrast, the Spider Queen, showed no health bar at all. Moreover ording to the quest tip, she couldn¡¯t be defeated by the yers alone, and they needed to cooperate with the goddess in order to subdue this boss.


    In this particr situation, the yers were aware that this boss was undoubtedly formidable, perhaps even surpassing the Gatekeeper Spider. s, they didn¡¯t have a direct sense of the level difference¡­


    However¡­ The yers have an inkling that they would truly experience the terror of a high-level existence at this quest.


    This gargantuan crypt spider was like Godzi but with a swarm of minions, rampaging and crushing anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it¡­


    Some brave yers dared to attack it after epting the quest, but s, it had no effect whatsoever on the boss as if they were just tickling it.


    Instead, their attacks further provoked the wrath of the Spider Queen.


    The yers who attacked her instantly attracted the Queen¡¯s attention and were chased down ruthlessly before being skewered like a meat on a barbecue stick¡­


    After the yers died, the Spider Queen¡¯s long legs were left with a row of human-shaped equipments dangling at it.


    On the other hand, Boxlunch and his tankpanion took this opportunity to escapepletely¡­


    Realizing she had lost her primary target, the Spider Queen let out a furious screech.


    All the crypt spiders then instantly went berserk and beganunching fierce attacks against the yers scattered in Rivendell.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone wild! This hidden boss is going berserk!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this boss too fierce? Rivendell is going to be turned upside down at this rate.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t defeat it! Quickly, follow the quest tip and summon the incarnation of the goddess!¡±


    ¡°But how the hell do you summon her? Does anyone knows how?¡±


    ¡°Find A¨¦l! That young pretty boy is the goddess¡¯ favored one! The quest prompt states that he can summon her incarnation!¡±


    Soon, the yers thought of the young NPCd, A¨¦l Moonlight, the champion of the Goddess.


    A¨¦l Moonlight had the ability to summon the incarnation of the goddess!


    ¡°Hurry up guys! Hurry! Does anyone know where A¨¦l is?¡±


    ¡°I think A¨¦l should currently in Florence. Alternatively we can also just contact Demacia since that dude has the highest favorability with that boy, over sixty points!¡±


    ¡°Heh, I remember Demacia used to have a perfect favorability of a hundred points with that pretty boy, right?¡±


    ¡°Well he lost it, didn¡¯t he? Since that punk always gets himself into all sorts of trouble¡­ By the way, where is Demacia anyway?¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s also in Florence. I saw him earlier when I went to find the cksmith Carlos. They say he¡¯s been helping there, trying to build up favorability with the NPCs living there.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­constantly building up favorability. That poor bastard¡­¡±


    ¡°Quick, contact Demacia!¡±


    The yers acted swiftly.


    After epting the system quest, they burst forth with an unprecedented enthusiasm and in no time at all, someone actually managed to contact Demacia through the friends chat list.


    Actually, the details of the hidden quest was only visible to yers within certain range where it was first triggered. Hence other yers in different and far areas could only instead see a brief short notification like,


    ¡°Someone triggered a hidden boss quest.¡±


    Of course, if they opened the message¡¯s details, they would also see the specific information.


    Unfortunately, Demacia was currently preupied with cleaning toilets for some NPCs in Florence and didn¡¯t have the time to thoroughly check the quest notification at the moment since he had already found an easy way to swiftly umte favorability points.


    He discovered that as long as he kept his mouth shut and continued to perform menial andborious tasks for the natives, he could salvage some favorability with them.


    Luckily some of his friends managed to call him and when he heard the details of the quest, Demacia instantly perked up and put his current task on hold.


    ¡°What in the world! A mount system!?¡±


    He set down his tools and washed his hands, before dashing out with excitement.


    ¡°A¨¦l! A¨¦l! There¡¯s some major crisis happening in Rivendell! We need your assistance to reim that territory!¡±


    Half an hour had already passed by the time Demacia and A¨¦l had arrived in Rivendell through the teleportation array.


    During this half hour, the yers had been constantly battling the Spider Queen and her swarm.


    No one knew what Boxlunch had actually done, but it had thoroughly enraged the gargantuan boss spider, which had a relentless desire to annihte every yer in sight.


    In fact, nearly all the yers within the vicinity have already died at least once.


    They feared that if everyone was killed and the boss left the area, then the quest would ultimately fail. Hence, as soon as the yers died, they would then just as swiftly return back using the teleportation array¡­


    Of course, their main objective was not to defeat the boss, but rather to aggro it and prevent it from leaving the map by continuously drawing its attention in circles.


    When A¨¦l and Demacia finally arrived, they witnessed a rather chaotic and humorous scenes.


    One of the Spider Queen¡¯s long, slender legs was adorned with various pieces of equipment, while another leg was strung with elven bodies like skewers on a barbecue stick.


    Upon seeing A¨¦l¡¯s arrival, all the yers became exhrated.


    ¡°Ohh, it¡¯s the young pretty boy! Guys he¡¯s finally here!¡±


    ¡°This is incredible! We can finally summon the incarnation of the goddess!¡±


    ¡°Thank god they¡¯ve finally arrived! Dude, I¡¯ve been skewered twice already¡­¡±


    ¡°Lord A¨¦l! That Spider Queen is too powerful! If this continues on, I¡¯m afraid the entire ruins of Rivendell will bepletely destroyed. Please summon the incarnation of the goddess quickly!¡±


    ¡°Yes! This is a level 100 boss! Please summon the incarnation of the goddess!¡±


    The yers eximed.


    <em>The Spider Queen? Level 100?</em>


    Why, that¡¯s the peak of the golden rank, barely just one step away from the next tier which is the legendary rank!


    The young native boy took a deep sharp breath with his face etched in seriousness.


    A¨¦l then nced at the chosen ones who were fleeing in disarray from the spider¡¯s attacks and then looked at the increasingly devastated Rivendell under the spider¡¯s rampage.


    He nodded earnestly.


    ¡°I understand¡­ However, waiting for a response from the Matriarch may take some time, so please hold on.¡±


    Having said that, he then knelt down and drew a tree-shaped symbol upon his chest before closing his eyes to devoutly recite a prayer.


    ¡°Praise be thy Mother of Nature, praise be thy Goddess of Life, praise be thy mighty Elven Sovereign¡ªEv¨¦ Yggdrasill! Divine Matriarch, as your devoted child, I, A¨¦l Moonlight, beseech your presence!¡±


    After uttering the prayer, A¨¦l¡¯s body suddenly emanated a brilliant holy light, while a gentle and sacred power converged around him.


    As if sensing something, the Spider Queen, who had been ruthlessly hunting the scattered yers in the ruins of Rivendell, abruptly ceased her actions.


    She then let out a low growl, revealing a hint of unease.


    The endless swarm of crypt spiders also halted, gradually gathering around the Spider Queen, as if protecting their mother.


    In that moment, a dazzling light radiated from A¨¦l, as it spread all throughout Rivendell. The blinding light illuminated the deep canyon, as faint ethereal hymns echoed within the air. Suddenly, all the yers felt an overwhelming urge to worship andy down into their knees.


    At this moment, they all became excited.


    Because they realized that the Goddess had received A¨¦l¡¯s prayer and was paying attention to their situation!


    ¡°The Goddess ising!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! You damn spiders are finished!¡±


    As the divine light radiated, a wave of tremors swept through the crypt spiders, with each one sumbing to involuntary quivers in the face of such ethereal brilliance. Subsequently, they then dispersed in a state of fearful disarray.


    Meanwhile, the Spider Queen let out a fearful roar, with her body twisting and contorting as she attempted to also escape into her burrow with her eight long legs.


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s trying to run!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let it escape!¡±


    The yers erupted in shouts upon seeing the Spider Queen¡¯s escape attempt. s, theycked the strength to stop her.


    But they really didn¡¯t need to stop the boss themselves because¡ª


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    All the yers heard a cold, crisp hum within their minds.


    The voice resounded with rity, emanating a majestic and sacred essence that enveloped the surroundings, exuding an aura of utmost authority and invibility.


    They recognized it instantly¡ªit was the voice of the Goddess, Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill!


    Suddenly, two golden divine chains materialized out of thin air, tightly binding the Spider Queen just as she was about to escape into her burrow. Such radiant brilliance continued to converged, eventually forming into a figure draped in a holy ceremonial gown, crowned with flowers and foliage, and wielding a magnificent scepter.


    The divine figure emanated an ethereal glow from head to toe.


    It was the Goddess!


    Her appearance was as breathtaking as ever, radiating an aura of divine majesty and invibility within the blurred radiance.


    All the yers widened their eyes, excitedly beholding the presence of the Goddess:


    ¡°The incarnation of the Goddess has descended!¡±


    ¡°The effects surrounding her are as splendid as ever!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! We¡¯re going to win!¡±


    ¡°The Goddess is truly amazing. She instantly took control of the boss spider just with her incarnation!¡±


    ¡°Goddess Ev¨¦ is the best!¡±


    They all cheered with exhration.


    Basking in the radiant light, the Spider Queen cowered while the gargantuan spider trembled, emitting fearful growls.


    At this moment, the Goddess gently raised her slender arm, before cing her fair palm onto the Spider Queen¡¯s massive head.


    ¡°Surrender¡­or perish.¡±


    Ev¨¦ stated as her voice exuded a calm, dignified, and sacred tone.


    As if discussing an ordinary matter, she remained indifferent to the oue and themotion around her.

 Chapter 166

    ??<strong>THE SUBJUGATION & ADVANCEMENT OF THE SPIDER QUEEN</strong>


    Ev¨¦ floated in mid-air as divine light apanied her, enveloping her with unparalleled elegance, while further enhancing her noble and enigmatic aura.


    At the same time, mystical voices reverberated all throughout the entire canyon, with their melodic chants echoing in a regal and awe-inspiring resonance¡­


    ¡°Wow, so domineering!¡±


    ¡°The goddess is indeed a divine being, she looks so perfect!¡±


    ¡°I really love the incarnation of the goddess! I wonder when could we summon her too?¡±


    The yers¡¯ excitement grew as they all witnessed Ev¨¦ effortlessly subduing the Spider Queen in an instant.


    Her indifferent demeanor and the way she disregarded the boss monster as if it were an insignificant existencepletely captivated everyone watching the situation.


    The game has been operating for quite awhile now, and if there is one NPC within the game with the highest poprity amongst the yers, it is undoubtedly the goddess Ev¨¦!


    With a wlessly designed character model and special effects that outshone even those of a movie, coupled with the BUFF bonus of her being a faction leader, and a voiceover so perfect it could rival that of a celebrity, it¡¯s no wonder the yers were easily transformed into devoted fans of the goddess.


    Even when they n to log into the game, the yers wouldn¡¯t typically say to their friends, ¡°I¡¯m going to y Elven Kingdom.¡± Instead, they would jokingly state, ¡°Bye, I¡¯m off to protect the goddess Ev¨¦¡± or ¡°Farewell, I¡¯m off to protect the World Tree.¡±


    Of course, it was all just humorous banter.


    Every yer knew that although the goddess Ev¨¦ was currently not in her best condition, she still symbolized the pinnacle of power within Elven Kingdom!


    After all, almost every enemy she had encountered so far had been swiftly killed by her in an instant.


    Moreover, whenever the game¡¯s quest became too difficult for the yers to handle, the goddess would always make an appearance, serving as a strong support for them.


    Hmm¡­ speaking of which, who was really protecting whom in the game still remains uncertain¡­but who cares?


    Regardless, by helping the elves strengthen their faction¡¯s power, one would also be aiding the goddess in reiming her own strength. For it was clear that supporting the elves¡¯ growth was intrinsically tied to the protection of the goddess, isn¡¯t it?


    Of course, it felt wonderful to be protected by such an incredible deity like the divine elder sister.<strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    After all, the goddess was not only beautiful and powerful but could also assign all sorts of quests and even help yers defeat enemy bosses. Moreover, as Li Mu the gaming expert had once said, the NPCs in this game had their own independent emotional and memory schematics, so there was no reason for their own faction leader, the goddess Eve herself, not to have one as well.


    Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡­ she wasn¡¯t just a mere background character or symbol, nor was she an emotionless tool. No, she was far beyond that. The goddess is a bona fide NPC faction leader, brimming with human-like personality!


    Ever since it became known that the A¨¦l could summon the incarnation of the goddess, countless yers have secretly approached the young boy, repeatedly inquiring on how they too could be a Favored One<mark>2</mark> like him.


    Unfortunately, the response they receive each time remained the same;


    ¡°Only by dedicating yourselfpletely to the goddess can you be one of her favored one.¡±


    <em>But what does it really mean to dedicate oneselfpletely to the goddess?</em>


    Does simply ying the game suffice, or is there perhaps a hidden ritual one must undertake in order to be one?


    The yers currently still can¡¯t figure it out.


    Some individuals even tried praying to the goddess statue in the temple every day, hoping to unlock hidden events, but s¡­ their efforts proved to be futile.


    In the end, they can only conclude that yers probably can¡¯t be a Favored One.


    At least¡­ not for now.


    <em>After all¡­</em>


    They can¡¯t truly worship the goddess Ev¨¦ and treat her as an actual real god, right?


    In fact, most people in their own nation back in the real world don¡¯t even have a religious belief¡­


    But then again, what does it truly entail to worship someone?


    Nheless, even though they can¡¯t be a Favored One like A¨¦l, it didn¡¯t stop the yers from adoring the goddess.


    The goddess rarely takes action.


    To witness the grace of the goddess firsthand is a truly rare opportunity!


    Every yer present widened their eyes, taking screenshots and recording videos, as they eagerly observed every single movement of the goddess.


    On the ground, the crypt spiders, ensnared by the divine chains of the goddess, emitted a low roar infused with fear, dread, and even a hint of anger¡­


    They want to resist and escape, yet they find themselves unable to budge even the slightest inch.


    The divine chains, endowed with the power to bind even a demigod, proved to be too overwhelming for a mere magical beast that had not yet surpassed the limitations of the mortal rank.


    <em>Submission or death!</em>


    When Ev¨¦ asks this question, in actuality, the Spider Queen is left with no other choice.


    Because as long as a true god wishes for it, they can forcefully imprint their mark upon anyone¡¯s soul and make any lesser beings their personal servant.


    However, if the crypt spiders resist to the death during this entire imprinting process, even if the mark is forcibly imprinted, such drastic actions will still inflict heavy damage upon the soul of the Spider Queen and will likely hinder any further advancement in the Spider Queen¡¯s rank in the future.


    And that¡¯s not what Ev¨¦ wanted to see.


    Even though she is the goddess of life and has the ability to use her divine power to mend the subjugated soul after forcibly enving her opponents, why would she choose to expend extra divine energy if she can effortlessly bring them under her control without using force instead?


    If the matter can be settled throughmunication, she is willing, if necessary, to resort to a little bit of intimidation in order to conserve a handful of divine power!


    After all, every divine power of hers is precious, and the few she could conserve would be sufficient enough to revive yers numerous times at their current level.


    That is why Ev¨¦ refrained from forcibly imprinting her mark upon the soul of the ck Dragon when she first encountered him and only took such action after Meryer finally chose to willingly served her.


    Much like the ck Dragon, Ev¨¦ is not only interested in the Spider Queen¡¯s current power but also by her subsequent potential.


    Having already reach the peak of Golden-Rank, any further progress would propel the Spider Queen into the realm of legendary-rank creatures!


    The might of a legendary-rank being is undeniably unparalleled within the mortal realm, surpassed only by demigods and true gods.


    Ev¨¦ currentlycks such powerful individuals within her faction.


    Although the yers can be regarded as a Fourth Crisis<mark>3</mark>, overall they are still far too weak against beings on the upper high ranks.


    Of course, there is another reason.


    Ev¨¦ wants to have the Spider Queen willingly be her follower.


    Being a creature that operates as a hivemind, the Spider Queen surely must possess quite an formidable soul to exert control over such an immense poption.


    If she can secure this Golden-Rank creature as her follower, the power of faith it would bestow upon her is likely on par with that of an adult dragon, if not even greater!


    Taking everything into consideration, Ev¨¦ still hopes that the Spider Queen will surrender willingly and open her soul to receive her divine mark without much resistance.


    However¡­ it seemed that she had underestimated the Spider Queen¡¯s determination.


    Even after hearing Eve¡¯s threats and being aware of her power, the Spider Queen still refused to surrender.


    By cing her palm upon the opponent¡¯s head, Ev¨¦ could perceive certain emotions within the Spider Queen¡¯s heart¡­


    There was fear, terror, humiliation, anger, and¡­ a strong sense of unwillingness!


    <em>Unwillingness?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was slightly taken aback.


    She carefully examined the condition of the Spider Queen and immediately noticed something wrong.


    This Spider Queen¡­had some injuries!


    However, those were not external injuries caused by outside forces, but rather internal damage to the entire magical circuit deep within her body.


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, every creature capable of using magic possesses a magical circuit that circtes mana within their bodies.


    It¡¯s somewhat simr to the meridians of cultivators in the eastern xanxia<mark>?</mark> novels back on earth.


    And through her investigation, Ev¨¦ discovered that the magical circuit within this Spider Queen was in a state of disorder.


    Not only that, but through further observation, she also noticed slight damage to the opponent¡¯s soul¡­


    After she scanned the Queen¡¯s entire body, Eve finally understood what was happening!


    This Peak Golden-Rank Spider Queen was in a critical moment of her rank advancement!


    While hiding underground within herir, this boss monster was not doing anything else but rather advancing her rank to be a legendary creature.


    Advancing to reach the legendary-rank requires consuming vast amounts of resources, and Rivendell, with its bountiful mineral deposits, became an irresistible ce for advancement for this Spider Queen.


    However¡­she has already failed now.


    And Ev¨¦ knew the reason for such failure.


    It was probably because of those explosive packs detonated by Boxlunch¡¯s team¡­


    Although the power of the explosions was at most only that of a third or fourth-circle explosive spell, it was still difficult to withstand them during this critical moment of her advancement towards bing a legendary being. The Spider Queen at that time couldn¡¯t move, let alone endure such significant disruptions!


    No wonder she became so furious and relentlessly hunted down the yers afterwards¡­


    Advancement for magical beast is already a difficult endeavor, and the injuries the Spider Queen sustained are enough topletely cut off her path to further progress her rank!


    Knowing all this, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but inwardly sigh bitterly.


    She silently lit a candle within her heart for this poor Spider Queen¡­


    This¡­is truly pitiful.


    Ev¨¦ could imagine how unwilling she must have felt.


    After all¡­ advancing to be a legendary-rank will open up a whole new world for the Spider Queen.


    ¡°It seems like it would really cost me some divine powers, but perhaps this oue is even better.¡±


    With this thought in mind, Ev¨¦ suddenly had an idea.


    She pondered for a moment and used her divine power to initiate a telepathic conversation with the Spider Queen.


    ¡®If you pledge your allegiance to me, I promise to heal your wounds and help you advance into the legendary-rank!¡¯


    Eve¡¯s majestic voice reverberated deep within the Spider Queen¡¯s mind, causing the arachnid¡¯s body to tremble ever so slightly.


    In an instant, Ev¨¦ sensed emotions of ¡°surprise¡± and ¡°doubt¡± emanating from the palm of her hand.


    <em>Quite vignt, indeed.</em>


    Eve smiled inwardly and continued the telepathic conversation.


    ¡®I am Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill, the ancient deity who governs the divinity of nature, life, and spirits, as the World Tree.¡¯


    ¡®If you be my loyal servant, I shall bestow upon you a tremendous opportunity,¡¯


    This time, the Spider Queen¡¯s body no longer struggled.


    Ev¨¦ then felt a sense of calmness and a gradual disappearance of anger within the Spider Queen¡¯s emotions.


    At the same time, all the surrounding crypt spiders suddenly prostrated themselves towards the direction of Eve as thousands upon thousands of crypt Spiders all simultaneously bowed down together, creating a scene that was truly awe-inspiring.


    ¡°Goddamn! The spiders are all kneeling!¡±


    ¡°Did they all surrendered to the goddess?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool! With just a few words from the goddess, she has tamed all these feisty spiders¡­¡±


    The yers eximed in astonishment.


    Since Ev¨¦ and the Spider Queen¡¯s conversation took ce through telepathicmunication, the yers were left unaware of Eve¡¯s promise.


    Sensing the Spider Queen¡¯s submission, Ev¨¦ just subtly smiled and naturally left her divine mark upon the Queen¡¯s soul.


    ¡°Very well, since you have chosen to submit, I will grant you the power you deserve¡­¡±


    This time, Ev¨¦ spoke out loud.


    After she finished speaking, Ev¨¦ then released the divine chains and drew out 05 DP, converting them into life energy that ordinary creatures could absorb, before injecting it directly into the Spider Queen¡¯s body!


    With the infusion of life energy, a sudden burst of green radiance emanated from the Spider Queen¡¯s body!


    The energy of life quickly repaired the injuries upon the Spider Queen¡¯s body as it nourished her wounded soul before converging towards the magical crystal at the center of her body!


    This magical crystal is the core of a magical beast, which is also the source of their power.


    The advancement of a magical beast primarily revolves around the refinement of their magical crystal, leading to the evolution of their body and soul.


    As the energy of life flowed into the Spider Queen¡¯s magical circuits and converged into her crystal core, the free-flowing energy acted as the final push of a door, causing the Queen¡¯s aura to skyrocket!


    All yers in the area could feel a terrifying power surging within the Spider Queen¡¯s body¡­


    ¡°W-What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°It seems like the goddess infused something into its body¡­¡±


    Amidst the astonishment of everyone, the Spider Queen¡¯s massive body rapidly shrank, reducing from dozens of meters to just a few meters in a matter of seconds¡­


    However, the Spider Queen¡¯s aura became even more terrifying than before and her sinister exoskeleton now bore intricate golden patterns, lending a touch of regal nobility to her appearance.


    In an instant, every yers within the vicinity realized.


    This Spider Queen¡­ has ascended!


    ¡°Wow¡­the goddess just touched it, and this huge ass spider immediately advanced?¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I wish the goddess would touch me too!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ what¡¯s the rank thates after Peak Golden-rank again?¡±


    While the yers chattered excitedly, they were once again astonished as they witnessed the Spider Queen¡¯s body shrinking even further and undergoing another transformation¡­


    Finally, the once gargantuan boss spider took on a humanoid form.


    It seemed that every legendary magical beast possesses the ability to transform into a humanoid form!


    1(<strong>Å®Éñ½ã½ã</strong>) ¨C Exact word is goddess elder sister.


    2 (<strong><mark>Éñ¾ìÕß</mark></strong>) ¨C Exact meaning in chinese is (God¡¯s Blessed One) there really isn¡¯t an english equivalent to it or at least I couldn¡¯t think of one so I just opted for the one mtl gave me, which is ¡®Favored One¡¯ If you can think of something better then by all means,ment it.


    3 (<mark><strong>µÚËÄÌìÔÖ</strong></mark>) ¨C the term Fouth Crisis originated from a game called Steris wherein during theter stages of the game, a gxy-wide crisis event urs, known as Crisis. Recently Chinese authors use this term to refer to summoned yers. The yers summoned in this manner usually believe they are just ying a game so they tend to go overboard with their actions, thus being called a ¡®crisis/catastrophe.¡¯


    ? (<mark><strong>ÏÉ‚b</strong></mark>) ¨C Xianxia literally means ¡°immortal heroes¡± it is a genre of Chinese fantasy heavily inspired by Chinese mythology and influenced by philosophies of Taoism, Chan Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion, Chinese alchemy, other traditional elements of Chinese culture and the wuxia genre.

 Chapter 167

    ??<strong>ROSE, THE SPIDER QUEEN </strong>


    Under the gaze of everyone, the Spider Queen¡¯s body shrank even further and transformed into a human form.


    However, what was surprising was that she did not evolve into aplete humanoid figure. Instead, a portion of her lower body retained the appearance of a spider, while only the upper half transformed into a human-like female form.


    Essentially, she became a genuine monster girl.<strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    Her upper half resembled that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl. Perhaps influenced by the power Ev¨¦ infused upon the Spider Queen, she had also acquired some elvish features, such as pointed ears resembling those of an elf, along with delicate and even somewhat cute facial characteristics.


    She possessed a mesmerizing pair of crimson eyes that inherited certain traits from her previous spider form and appeared somewhat translucent, akin to sparkling gemstones of the purest ruby.


    Additionally, on both sides of her cheeks right below her eyes were three interceding curved lines that looked like pairs of unopened eyes, and these thin lines becamepletely invisible whenever these eyes were closed.


    Her hair cascaded down to her shoulders, flowing behind her in a curtain of jet-ck strands. Its obsidian hue perfectlyplemented the color of her exoskeleton, creating a striking harmony between her lustrous locks and her otherworldly appearance.


    Her skin was exceptionally pale, almost translucent, creating a striking contrast against her dark hair and exoskeleton.


    Her upper body was not yet clothed, revealing her pure white baster skin and a small navel. However, two rows of shiny and deep-colored carapace covered her sides, extending all the way up to her chest, obscuring the more private areas and forming a spider-shaped pattern upon her chest¡­


    This was the current appearance of the Spider Queen.


    Having transformed into a human form, her face still carried a hint of confusion at the moment.


    However, she quickly noticed the changes within her body and excitedly stretched out her fair arms while curiously checking herself like an innocent child.


    Her eight spider legs gracefully spun beneath her body, synchronizing their movements with the graceful twists of her upper torso, which caused her entire body to rotate as well.


    The Spider Queen kept turning her head to inspect her new appearance with an expression of joy that made her look somewhat cute,pletely unlike her previous terrifying countenance when she was still a towering behemoth.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡±


    ¡°What the f*ck!!¡±


    The yers who were watching from a distance were all shocked, with their mouths wide open in sheer disbelief.


    Then, a strange excitement filled the air.


    ¡°A monster girl! She haspletely turned into a humanoid monster girl!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­you know, she¡¯s kind of cute.¡±


    ¡°Dude, snap out of it! Her true form is a scary giant spider!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s still a spider loli!¡±


    ¡°Should we now consider her a young girl?¡±


    ¡°Nah man, her figure doesn¡¯t meet the standard. She looks way too t.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the pair of steel tes on her chest that¡¯s hindering her development! Ugh¡­ The upper body armor is so distracting!¡±


    ¡°What a shame, why didn¡¯t the lower body transform along with the rest?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this even better? I prefer monster girls over normal-looking girls!¡±


    ¡°Dude, your tastes are so weird¡­¡±


    ¡°Speaking of spider monster girls¡­ I think I¡¯ve seen a simr doujinshi<strong><mark>2</mark></strong> before¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­ May I know what¡¯s the title¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, can you guys stop being so creepy?¡±


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    A slight twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth as she idly listened to the increasingly excited and ¡®cultured¡¯<strong><mark>3</mark></strong>discussions among the yers.


    At this moment, the Spider Queen confirmed her new form and looked at the goddess floating in mid-air once again.


    With her body shrinking, she could only look up to Ev¨¦ now.


    Of course, the equipment that had been entangled in her legs had already fallen to the ground due to her transformation.


    The Spider Queen then bowed deeply to the goddess, and following suit, thousands of crypt spiders also bowed once more with their heads stooped in utmost reverence¡­


    In the midst of this moment, Ev¨¦ suddenly sensed a new star forming within her celestial domain as it shone brightly within the imaginary skies of her mental domain!


    This particr star was the Spider Queen¡¯s symbol of faith!


    In just an instant, Ev¨¦ received a feedback of three points of divine power from the Spider Queen¡¯s faith, and the intensity of her belief surpassed even that of a shallow believer, directly reaching the level of a devout follower!


    Indeed, beings of legendary-rank is an existence that transcends mortal limitations.


    Reaching the legendary rank not only refines a person¡¯s level of existence but also significantly extends their lifespan. It enables a person to forge a profound connection with the essence of the world itself, harnessing the magnificent power of the governingws of nature!


    For every high level monster that somehow managed to awaken their intellect, bing a legendary is the rank they truly aspire to!


    And Eve¡¯s bestowal had instantly captured the heart of the Spider Queen.


    Eve discovered with joy that, despite the Spider Queen being only at the level of a devout follower, the power of faith she can provide was alreadyparable to that of Alice, who was a Saintess.


    As expected of a hivemind, the quality of her soul is indeed strong.


    Ev¨¦ felt very satisfied.


    ¡°Sss¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    At that moment, Eve noticed the Spider Queen¡¯s attempt to open her mouth, as if trying to speak for the first time.


    In contrast to her previous form, her voice now held a much more pleasant tone, resembling that of a teenage girl.


    <em>Still unable to speak properly, huh¡­</em>


    Ev¨¦ pondered.


    Not all monsters are able to speak like the ck dragon.


    Despite dragons being magical creatures, they possess inherent sentience right from the beginning of their lives. They are born with the remarkable ability to speak,rgely owing to the practices employed by the dragon n, where knowledge inheritance, including themonnguage, is imparted to their newborns.


    However ordinary monsters can¡¯t do that.


    Generally speaking, only after advancing to a high rank, can ordinary monsters finally gain the telepathicmunication ability and exchange thoughts with different species.


    During telepathicmunication, even if they don¡¯t share amonnguage, they can still understand each other¡¯s intentions because this telepathicmunication relies on emotions as its foundation simr to the earlier conversation between Ev¨¦ and the Spider Queen.


    Only after advancing to the legendary rank, can ordinary monsters have the mental capacity to learnnguage simr to other intelligent races.


    However¡­ they have to learn thenguage from scratch.


    But for Ev¨¦, who is a true god, such tedious method can be effortlessly simplified.


    She descended gracefully from mid-air and once again approached the Spider Queen, before extending her hand to touch her head.


    The Spider Queen¡¯s body trembled, and her head bowed even further, disying her submission.


    ¡°Universal Language Inheritance¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ silently recited within her mind.


    Following her intention, the divine power within her instantly activated as a gentle spiritual energy poured into the Spider Queen¡¯s mind¡­


    After a few seconds, Ev¨¦ released her hand.


    The Spider Queen then raised her head, her eyes clouding for a moment, before a flicker of joy emerged.


    She once again bowed to Eve and clumsily praised:


    ¡°Praise¡­ you, great¡­ World Tree! Thank you¡­ for your¡­ gift ofnguage¡­¡±


    Her voice was youthful and melodious, reminiscent of a singing bird.


    Eve¡¯s heart fluttered slightly, and then a sudden idea sparked within her mind.


    She gently lifted the corners of her mouth, and a dignified and sacred voice echoed in the area;


    ¡°Now that you have be my servant and been promoted to the legendary rank¡­ I shall bestow upon you a new name.¡±


    ¡°From this day forward, you shall be known as Rose.¡±


    ¡°The Spider Queen ¨C Rose!¡±


    Hmm, not bad¡­not bad at all!


    Since she appears to be young, instead of calling her (ÂÞË¿) Lolth, she will now be called (ÂÜË¿) Rose instead.<strong><mark>?</mark></strong>


    Of course, they sound the same when pronounced.


    Upon hearing the goddess¡¯s naming sense, a veteran fantasy enthusiast amongst the yers couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°Ahha¡­ only the Sylvan Elf<mark><strong>?</strong></mark> is missing.¡±


    However, he was quickly startled by the hissing threats of the surrounding crypt spiders and hurriedly closed his mouth¡­


    Upon hearing Eve¡¯s words, Spider Queen Rose bowed once again.


    ¡°Rose¡­ thanks¡­her Divine Majesty¡­ for bestowing me a name¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt satisfied.


    ¡°From now on, you shall continue to reside in Rivendell and assist my other servants in exploring the underworld.¡±


    After saying that, she transmitted the mount system she had prepared beforehand right into Rose¡¯s mind and granted her some administrative authority, marking her as the second purple NPC right after the Saintess Alice.


    Rose¡¯s body trembled as she respectfully bowed to Eve and replied:


    ¡°Rose¡­ faithfully obeys¡­ the divine decree!¡±


    Seeing Rose¡¯s behavior, Ev¨¦ nodded in satisfaction.


    Then, she turned her head and nced at the onlookers, giving them a slight smile with a hint of yfulness in her words.


    ¡°Please continue to work hard, o¡¯ brave chosen ones!¡±


    After saying that, her figure slowly shattered, transforming into numerous particles of radiant holy light as it arose upwards before disappearing into the heavens and earth.


    As Eve¡¯s incarnation dissipated, the air gradually lost its sacredness and majesty, and the yers started engaging in loud yet excited conversations with one another.


    ¡°Oh my, the goddess just smiled at me!¡±


    ¡°Not you idiot, she clearly smiled at me!¡±


    ¡°The goddess¡¯s smile is so beautiful!¡±


    Amidst their discussion, the system¡¯s notification sound also followed:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    <strong>¡¾Hidden BOSS Quest Completed!¡¿</strong>


    ¡¾All yers who participated in the quest will receive 3 perfect revival chances, 10,000 experience points, and 1,000 contribution points¡¿


    As the yers¡¯ strength increased, Ev¨¦ also increased the experience and contribution points of the mission to meet their growing needs.


    However, the system notifications were not yet over¡­


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Crypt Spider status changed to friendly, Spider Queen Rose¡¯s favorability rating can now be seen ¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Mount system activated¡­¡¿


    Watching the series of system notifications appear right before their eyes, the yers let out shouts of excitement.


    ¡°Haha, the quest isplete!¡±


    ¡°10,000 experience points and 1,000 contribution points, not bad!¡±


    ¡°The important thing is that we can now ride a mount!¡±


    ¡°Quick, let¡¯s take a look!¡±


    Every yer within the vicinity eagerly checked their own status screens and sure enough, there was a new mount function in their panel!


    At the same time, some yers also noticed that the Crypt Spiders had be like the indigenous elves, and they couldn¡¯t attack them anymore.


    Whenever the yers harbored the intent to attack, they found themselves paralyzed, unable to act.


    The only mount currently avable in the system was the Crypt Spider.


    However, in order to truly acquire the mount, they had to first locate Spider Queen Rose and fulfill her corresponding tasks.


    Yet, the most crucial requirement was the matter of favorability.


    They needed to raise Spider Queen Rose¡¯s favorability to at least 20 points!


    <em>Wait¡­ raise her favorability?</em>


    The yers were momentarily stunned, with each of them actively checking their favorability rating with Rose the Spider Queen.


    When they saw their favorability rating, they were all taken aback, but at the same time, a sense of ¡°just as expected¡± washed over them.


    ¡°What the heck! Minus 50 points!¡±


    ¡°What the heck! I have the same!¡±


    ¡°Oh f*ck¡­ How am I at -100?¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­ Bash, isn¡¯t it obvious? It was your team that provoked her in the first ce. I mean, seriously, what did you guys even do to make her so furious?¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­ We just threw a few homemade explosive packs into theirir¡­¡± Cbash stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.


    Other yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Then you guys can forget about having a spider mount for the rest of your lives¡­¡±


    Cbash: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Upon seeing their individual favorability ratings¡­


    The yers finally grasped the true meaning behind the goddess¡¯s parting words, which urged them to persevere until the very end.


    1 (<strong><mark>ħÎïÄï</mark></strong>) ¨C Monster girl is a fictional trope of a female who is or shares visual traits with a monster.


    2 (<strong><mark>±¾×Ó</mark></strong>) ¨C B¨§nzi, is the Chinese term for self-published print works, such as manga or novels. I used the word ¡®<strong><mark>doujinshi</mark></strong>¡® since it¡¯s the more widely known term for such derivative works, at least within the animemunity.


    3 (ÉðÊ¿µÄÌÖÂÛ) ¨C The author used the term ¡®gentlemanly discussions¡¯ on this part which have the same connotation with the popr meme ¡®<strong><mark>Man of Culture</mark></strong>¡®


    ? (ÂÞË¿ / ÂÜË¿) ¨C This is a chinese word y. The two is pronounced the same but the former refers to ¡®<mark><strong>Lolth</strong></mark>¡® the Spider Goddess from the game Dungeons and Dragons while thetter is the character typically used in female names that has ¡®<strong><mark>Rose</mark></strong>¡® in it.


    ? <strong><mark>Slyvan Elf</mark></strong> ¨C A term used in the game Dungeons and Dragon referring to elves.

 Chapter 168

    ??<strong>THE TRUE BELIEVERS OF DEATH</strong>


    It has been proven that those who engage in mischief will always have to eventually pay for it in some form or another.


    While exploring Rivendell, the yers had a great time hunting crypt spiders. Simultaneously, as they searched for elven treasures, they also found joy in hunting down these spiders and collecting their legs as offerings. The result was that in just a span of a few days, the number of crypt spiders killed by their hands became uncountable.


    Although most of them were merely small, mindless juveniles, such wanton massacre of her offspring was enough to provoke Rose¡¯s fury.


    She refrained from retaliating against the yers¡¯ actions due to being in a critical moment of her rank¡¯s advancement. However, with her now being a follower of Ev¨¦, she can no longer be able to confront the yers.


    However, that doesn¡¯t mean that any of the yers¡¯ prior actions don¡¯t have consequences¡­


    At this moment, all the yers who took part in exploring Rivendell, particrly those who hunted crypt spiders, had discovered that their favorability with the Spider Queen had dropped below -50, reaching an intense level of dislike.


    Especially Boxlunch¡¯s team. Every member of their party had their favorability plummeted down to -100, reaching a level of disgust only experienced by Demacia¡­


    In fact, even those yers who haven¡¯t selected the exploration quest and didn¡¯t encountered Rose nor any of her spider brood also had their favorability drop down to -30 due to the subjective impression the Spider Queen had of the chosen ones as a whole.


    As a result, finding ways to improve the Spider Queen¡¯s favorability towards them has now be the yers¡¯ new goal, especially for those who desired to obtain a spider mount!


    For a while, the strategy and intelligence sections of the official forums were flooded with numerous posts regarding the newly introduced NPC, Rose the Spider Queen.


    It¡¯s poprity even surpassed the posts about the goddess Ev¨¦.


    Later on, this hot trending topic had reached its peak due to a screenshot uploaded by one of the yers.


    It was a close-up picture taken by a yer that participated in the emergency quest. The screenshot captured the exact moment when the goddess Ev¨¦ reached out her hand to touch the head of the Spider Queen, who had already transformed into a monster girl, while prompting her to speak¡­


    It must be said that the angle chosen for this particr screenshot was quite excellent.


    The sacred goddess depicted in the image resembled a beacon of light in the darkness, smiling as she caressed the newly transformed Spider Queen¡¯s head. Whilst Rose, in her half-human form, was kneeling respectfully with her lower body hidden in the shadows, as if she were receiving the goddess¡¯s blessing¡­


    A majestic and revered goddess stood alongside a grotesque yet mysteriously alluring monster girl¡­


    Half bathed in light, half consumed by darkness.


    The meticulously crafted intery of light and shadow transformed this particr screenshot into a famous image, capturing an iconic moment that would be etched into the memories of all who yed Elven Kingdom.


    Later on, when Ev¨¦ was browsing the forum, she also came across this screenshot which moved her deeply, prompting her to save it for herself.


    ¡°These yers have chosen such a great angle. This screenshot is quite remarkable. I¡¯ll make sure to have someone recreate it as a mural in the temple based upon this image.¡±


    The true gods of Saig¨¹es had a tendency to depict noteworthy events that urred in their lives within their temples or other sacred ces through murals or any other artworks. This practice served not only to celebrate their achievements and promote the power of the true gods but also to attract more followers and strengthen their believers faith.


    Well, just like the saying, ¡°When in Rome, do as the Romans do,¡±<mark><strong>1</strong></mark>Ev¨¦ naturally ns to give it a try as well.


    After all¡­ influencing legendary monsters is such a ssic motif employed by many gods and can serve as a powerful tool for spreading one¡¯s own religion!


    After various rigorous trials and investigation, the yers eventually discovered how to mend and improve their favorability with the Spider Queen.


    After transforming into a monster girl, Rose¡¯s intelligence had been further enhanced. Despite Eve¡¯s decree for her to safeguard Rivendell and the crypt spiders¡¯ natural inclination to dwell in the depths of the earth, Rose still disyed a strong curiosity about civilization and the outside world.


    yers would often notice a slight increase in Rose¡¯s favorability if they somehow managed to locate and presented her with items or some intriguing stories from the civilized world that could pique her interest.


    Additionally, simr to the ck dragon, Rose also disyed a fascination towards food.


    Crypt spiders had a diet that mainlyprised two types of sustenance: minerals and other living beings.


    During their hunt for potential sustenance, crypt spiders would encase their prey in silk, creating a sizable cocoon. They would then employ acid to dissolve the captured prey into a liquid form before relishing upon their meal.


    Through extensive investigation, the yers discovered that some monster meat could be simmered into a savory and delectable meat soup, a dish that would be adored by Rose.


    Not only that, but the Spider Queen also still maintains a fondness for minerals. Feeding her some rare minerals would also increase her favorability rating.


    Of course, thetter method was just too expensive, and almost all yers chose the former method instead.


    As their favorability with her was sufficiently restored, some yers gradually dispelled Rose¡¯s initial wariness towards them, thereby allowing them to finally venture deeper into the crypt spiders¡¯ir.


    Once inside the crypt spider¡¯sir, yers discovered new treasures.


    They were the spider silk residue left behind by the crypt spiders!


    After being dried, the spider silk disyed exceptional sticity and had a fantastic texture. Moreover when appraised by the elven cksmith Carlos, it was also revealed to be an excellent material for crafting magical equipment, possessing both high durability and excellent conductor for mana.


    It could be used not only to weave beautiful clothing but also for making magical equipment!


    With these findings, all of a sudden, more and more yers started flocking towards the underground, diligently increasing Rose¡¯s favorability in hopes of gaining permission to explore their of the crypt spiders and obtain these precious silk treasures¡­


    Especially some bold female yers!


    However, even the yers who made the fastest progress in this aspect were still far from meeting the requirements to obtain the privilege of acquiring a spider mount¡­


    As for the members of Boxlunch¡¯s team, they had an even greater stroke of misfortune. They found that their favorability with the crypt spiders was truly irredeemable.


    Every time they attempted to enter their of the Spider Queen, just like other yers, they were forcefully expelled by a swarm of imposing crypt spiders, treating Boxlunch¡¯s team as if they were their archenemies¡­


    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for Rose also bing a follower of the goddess Ev¨¦, her retaliation would likely have been more severe than mere expulsion.


    s, whenever they tried to improve their favorability with the Spider Queen, they would then be swiftly expelled by the crypt spiders even before getting a chance to meet Rose herself¡­


    Seeing such pitiful scene, Ev¨¦ could only shook her head in secret.


    The yers from Boxlunch¡¯s team can forget about obtaining any spider mounts at all. Instead, they should just patiently await the next creature that she will subdue for a potential mount!


    Having nearly thwarted the Spider Queen¡¯s opportunity to advance into the legendary rank, Rose, being an intelligent and high-level creature, would undoubtedly hold a lifelong grudge against them¡­


    Not only the members of Boxlunch¡¯s team, but even the ck dragon Meryer also experienced a sense of sadness these days.


    This self-proimed noble silver dragon also became aware of the sharp decline in the number of yers that¡¯s seeking him recently¡­


    Even when offering quests, only a few yers would respond and woulde cook meat for him.


    <em>These yers¡­</em>


    <em>They all went to increase the favorability of the new purple-ss NPC, Spider Queen Rose,pletely forgetting about this old lord! </em>


    After learning the truth, the little ck dragon was about to explode in anger.


    ¡°These stupid long-eared fellows! Hmph! Don¡¯t expect to receive Meryer¡¯s quest rewards anymore! Hmph!¡±


    However, he hesitated.


    ¡°¡­Should I increase the rewards?¡±


    These past few days of him not tasting any roasted meat had been truly challenging for Meryer¡­


    Transitioning from a frugal lifestyle to one of luxury is a breeze, but it bes challenging to return to frugality once a person tasted extravagance!


    Meryer, who had gotten used to honey-roasted meat, could no longer eat nd monster meat.


    With the crypt spiders now bing followers of Ev¨¦, the yers found it easier to explore Rivendell.


    Without the obstruction of the crypt spiders, they soon discovered arge quantity of elven relics in the depths of Rivendell, including various equipment, handicrafts, and even devices for forging and crafting magical tools back from the age of ancient elven civilization.


    The remarkable thing about these relics was that many of them were even exceptionally well-preserved!


    These items were all brought back to the Chosen City by the yers, one after another.


    Unrepairable items that were extensively damaged were offered to the goddess in exchange for contribution points, while equipment and handicrafts were auctioned off to wealthy yers interested in purchasing them.


    As for the devices for forging and crafting magical tools, they were purchased at high prices by major guilds¡­


    In order to increase the appeal of their own guilds, many guildmasters had already started training their very own members as cksmiths, and these devices came just in time!


    As she further interact with Rose, the Spider Queen, Ev¨¦ also gained a deeper understanding of the underworld.


    The entrance to the underworld from Rivendell is connected to a rtively remote location.


    That particr area used to be inhabited by numerous monsters, but the majority of them were driven away when the Spider Queen and her swarm of spiders arrived in Rivendell several decades ago, in anticipation of her promotion to a higher rank.


    After inquiring with Rose about the conditions in the deeper parts of Rivendell, the Spider Queen disclosed that there is another settlement of intelligent beings living near the entrance to the underworld.


    This settlement belongs to a dark dwarf tribe that resides underground.


    However to find them, one must go deeper into the underground.


    Dark dwarves are a branch of dwarves, typically measuring less than 1.5 meters in height, with a weight equivalent to that of adult humans, and their skin is grayish-ck.


    Unlike their surface-dwelling rtives, these dark dwarves excel in mining and forging. However, their faith does not lie with the dwarven god of craftsmanship but rather with Hodur, <strong><mark>2</mark></strong> an ancient god of the underworld, known as the Lord of Darkness and Night.


    Of course, there are also some dark dwarves who didn¡¯t worship Hodur, but instead the goddess of death and the underworld, H.<strong><mark>3</mark></strong>


    Generally speaking, there are more dark dwarves who believe in the former, and they primarily consist of older individuals.


    Thetter is smaller, with the younger people within the tribe belonging in this group.


    The dark dwarf tribe near Rivendell is a medium-sized settlement, wherein both faiths towards the two ancient gods are said to coexist.


    They settled in the vicinity after the downfall of Rivendell, when the passages between the surface world and the underworld were opened. They then entered into a non-aggression agreement with the Spider Queen and her swarm, whoter also relocated into the area.


    In addition, they frequently interact with human smuggling caravans on the surface.


    It is precisely due to the non-aggression pact between the dark dwarves and the crypt spiders that a human smuggling caravan were able to establish a small outpost on the surface of Rivendell without any sort of trouble.


    Upon being informed of these circumstances, Ev¨¦ immediately became vignt.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to have the possibility of encountering followers of H so soon¡­ Looks like I need to be more cautious and use the guise of the Death God¡¯s Godwarden more sparingly¡­ At least not within Rivendell especially underground!¡±


    With the entrance to the underworld now fully opened without any sort of obstructions, it is inevitable that yers will soon interact with the dark dwarves in the near future.


    This is not the time to expose herself as Death God¡¯s fake Godwarden.


    Just as Ev¨¦ was busy contemting upon these matters, something suddenly urred within the physical body of the World¡¯s Tree. A vibrant lifeforce emanated from it, capturing her attention¡­


    She extended her divine sense towards the source of this life force and noticed that it wasing from the humanoid cocoon she had once created inside the World Tree.


    It was Eve¡¯s attempt to give birth to a primordial elf of her own volition!


    With a flicker in her heart, Ev¨¦ returned from her mindscape and back into her physical form.


    Ev¨¦ realized¡­


    That the first true Primordial Elf was about to be born!


    1 The phrase ¡®<strong><mark>When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do</mark></strong>¡¯ refers to the importance of adapting yourself to the customs of the people who are in a certain ce or situation and behave like they do.


    2 (<strong><mark>»ô¶ûµÂ¶û</mark></strong>) ¨C H?er, also spelled H?d, Hoder, or Hodur, in Norse mythology, is a blind god, associated with night and darkness. Hod was the son of the principal god, Odin, and his wife, Frigg.


    3 (<strong><mark>º£À­</mark></strong>) ¨C Hel also spelled Halja, H, or Helle, is a prominent figure in Norse mythology and is primarily known as the goddess of the underworld and death. She is the daughter of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboea. Hel rules over a realm also called Hel or Helheim, which serves as the realm of the dead in Norse mythology.

 Chapter 169

    ??<strong>BIRTH OF THE PRIMORDIAL ELVES </strong>


    The Elven Forest, World Tree.


    Upon the massive branches of the World Tree, several people gathered eagerly, including Alice Galewind, the Nature¡¯s Saintess; Berserker, the Oak Guardian; A¨¦l Moonlight, the Favored One; and Philotea, the Chieftain of the Rageze<strong><mark>1 </mark></strong>n. They all came together as everyone excitedly gazed upon a constantly flickering cocoon hanging from one of the tree branches.


    After hearing that the first primordial elf was about to be born, they all dropped what they were doing to personally witness such a once-in-a-lifetime event!


    In addition to these natives, Li Mu and HootyBird are also there, having been brought by Alice along with her.


    They were the only two yers who had been fully acknowledged by the saintess and these two would represent the Chosen Ones, having have the honor of witnessing the birth of the Primordial Elf!


    Although other yers did not have this opportunity, Li Mu and the HootyBird had already started streaming this ¡®cutscene¡¯ in-game for the rest of the yerbase to watch¡­


    Beneath the World Tree, within the City of the Chosen Ones, nearly two hundred Rageze nsmen had also gathered, excitedly awaiting for the arrival of their new kin.


    Even most of the yers currently online had temporarily stopped what they were doing and simply gathered, looking curiously and expectantly in the direction of the World Tree, while waiting for the stream to begin.


    The World Tree serves as the progenitor of elvenkind, and the Elves are the long-lived and sentient species born from the World Tree.


    There are varying opinions upon the meaning behind the birth of the elves¡­


    But the most widely known and easily epted belief was that during the Twilight Era, the World Tree, with its inherent ability to conceive life upon its own, gave birth to elvenkind in order for them to serve as the guardians and caretakers of the world.


    Ever since the World of Saig¨¹es came into being, this ancient dimension had already gone through six eras¡­


    They were the Genesis Era, the Dragon Era, the Titan Era (Giant Era), the Twilight Era, the Silver Era, and finally the current one, the Eternal Era.


    During the ancient times, in the age of dragons and titans¡­


    At that era, the creatures living within Saig¨¹es were still not civilized enough, and the ancient gods who had been active in the previous Genesis era had retreated one after another, leaving only the two golden races, the Ancient Dragons and the Titan Giants, to rule the world.


    They waged wars against one another for many years, turning the entire world of Saig¨¹es into a deste wastnd, and causing heavy casualties upon their own respective races as a consequence of this endless warfare¡­


    After this seemingly endless war, the entire world of Saig¨¹es ushered in a long and dark twilight era.


    To restore thend¡¯s greenery and facilitate the enlightenment of all living beings, as well as the eventual formation of a proper civilization, the World Tree took its own embodiment as a temte and created the peaceful and life-loving Elvenkind, shaping them upon its own image.


    Since then¡­the world of Saig¨¹es had ushered in the Silver Era which was dominated by the Elves!


    Throughout the entire Silver Era, the elven race made significant contributions that fostered the development of the entire world of Saig¨¹es¡­


    It was also during this era that religions and faith in gods gradually emerged and took hold, while the Great Ancient Ones that had existed since the Genesis Era gradually diminished in power over time or slipped into deep slumber, one after another¡­


    Of course, all of this has now be pages in the annals of history.


    With the advent of the Eternal Era, the intellectual race that previously held the spotlight on the global stage has been overshadowed by humanity, who had achieved tremendous growth and surpassed the might of the elves. Meanwhile, it was also during this era that belief in the new generations of deities has soared to unprecedented heights worldwide, while the vanquished elves are left with no choice but to conceal themselves in the far-flung corners of this immense continent.


    But now, the World Tree has finally returned!


    After a period of rest and recuperation, the Elven Matriarch has finally given birth to true primordial elves once again.


    In contrast to the summoned chosen ones, this time it is a genuine primordial elf in the truest sense.


    Under the expectant gaze of everyone, the cocoon flickered with increasing intensity until it reached a critical point, with several cracks starting to emerge upon its surface.


    The breath of life then began to surge around it.


    ¡°It¡¯s about to be born!¡±


    ¡°This primordial elf¡­Is it a baby?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so. Judging from the cocoon¡¯s size, the being inside should be close to adulthood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more curious about whether it¡¯s a boy or a girl¡­¡±


    Within the stream¡¯s chatroom, the yers engaged in fervent discussions especially the male yers and female yers started betting on whether the gender of the uing primordial elf is either a boy or a girl¡­


    ¡°Hehehe, I hope it¡¯s a girl!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, why can¡¯t it be a boy instead?¡±


    Before long, the cracks on the cocoon multiplied, gradually increasing in number. Eventually whilst being apanied by a hazy radiance, the cocoon finally detached itself from the branch of the World Tree and descended slowly onto the trunk, before shattering with a resounding thud!


    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡±


    The elves standing on the World Tree were filled with excitement.


    And the yers watching the in-game stream widened their eyes as a slightly tall figure appeared before everyone from the shattered cocoon.


    It was an adolescent male elf who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old.


    His eyes were tightly shut, while both of his hands were crossed over his chest. Silvery long hair flowed down his back, and his fair skin resembled that of a youthful maiden, enough to evoke envy amongst all the female yers from Earth.


    He possessed the innate handsomeness of a male elf, and being the primordial elf closest to the divine matriarch, he also inherited certain divine traits, which further enhanced his appearance inparison to ordinary elves.


    Even the few native elves standing on the World Tree couldn¡¯t help but reveal a hint of amazement upon seeing his appearance.


    He was wearing a white traditional elf robe, adorned with exquisite patterns that had been meticulously crafted by Ev¨¦.


    At the precise moment of his emergence from the cocoon, Ev¨¦ quickly attired him in a manner reminiscent of when the yers themselves were born.


    The robe was sourced from the ¡®scrap¡¯ provided by the yers as an offering¡­


    Following his liberation from the cocoon, he tentatively opened his eyes for the very first time.


    His eyes bore an icy blue hue, reminiscent of A¨¦l, yet upon closer examination, a faint trace of purple could also be discerned within them. This unique shade of color could only be possessed by the purest elven royalty.


    At this very moment, a torrent ofments had already erupted within the chatroom of the stream:


    ¡°Hahaha! A boy! It¡¯s really is a little brother!¡±


    ¡°Huh, a male? I¡¯m a bit disappointed it¡¯s not a female.¡±


    ¡°Damn! He¡¯s so handsome~¡±


    ¡°Ahhh~ The fangirl within me is going to explode!¡±


    ¡°What a good-looking little bro! I¡¯m a fan already!¡±


    ¡°No way! I¡¯ll definitely go and max my favorability rating of himter on! Ahhh ~so handsome!¡±


    Within the stream¡¯s chatroom, the barrage ofments was already overflowing.


    Of course¡­ almost all of thements were from female yers, and the fewments from male yers had already been drowned out by the cheerful replies from the girls¡­


    Don¡¯t underestimate the power of a handsome guy!


    Even Ev¨¦, who was also peeking into the stream¡¯s chatroom, was astonished by the enthusiasm shown by the female yers.


    She had already foreseen that a new fan club would soon emerge on the forum, and it would likely be the craziest one ever¡­


    After all, when girls go crazy with their fangirling, they could be much more formidable than the guys.


    ¡°A royal n! Atst, the royal n finally have a newborn!¡±


    Eximed Philothea, the Chieftain of the Rageze n, while watching the newly born elf.


    The traits of the primordial elves aren¡¯t fixed and have the potential to also be born into many types.<strong><mark>2</mark></strong>


    But the most powerful, fastest-growing, and highest-potential amongst all types is definitely from the royal n!


    As the first primordial elf to be born, Ev¨¦ naturally raised all his innate potential to the highest level and even personally used some of her divine power to give birth to an elf belonging to the royal n.


    For this, she even expended an additional point of divine power!


    The primordial elves of the royal n were closest existence to Ev¨¦, having silver hair just like her incarnation and ice-blue pupils with a hint of amethyst, simr to Eve¡¯s eyes.


    ording to legends, the primordial elves of the royal n were also amongst the earliest to be conceived by the previous World Tree.


    However, although the primordial elves of the royal blood have greater potential, they also face more difficulties in propagatingpared to other primordial elves.


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, the lifespan of creatures was inversely proportional to their reproductive abilities.


    As the most well-known long-lived species, elvenkind already faced difficulties in producing offspring, and the royal n, with their even greater potential, faced an even more significant challenges in this regard¡­


    Throughout history, members of the royal n even back at the ancient elven civilization had always been scarce.


    It was precisely due to the challenges in propagating the royal n that the previous World Tree eventually gave birth to other primordial elves with rtively lower potential but easier reproduction.


    In fact, that was also Eve¡¯s n.


    Whether it¡¯s for ease of reproduction or to conserve divine power, she had no intention of producing arge number of elven royalty and the subsequent types of primordial elves being birthed would be randomized instead.


    Of course, the low potential of other primordial elves was only rtive since each primordial elf is an extraordinary existence akin to a geniuspared to a normal elves.


    In fact, the yers¡¯ physical avatars were of the same type as them.


    And Ev¨¦, who was also paying attention to this, clearly sensed the state of this newly born primordial elf.


    ¡°Indeed, this guy was just born but he¡¯s already at level 40, the pinnacle of Iron-rank! He¡¯s just one step away from reaching the rank of silver¡­¡±


    She felt very satisfied.


    ¡°However, I can only transmit a certain amount of knowledge. He is still a nk canvas, possessing only natural loyalty to me¡­ As for his personal worldview and character, they all will depend upon his future development.¡±


    ¨¦v¨¨ ultimately chose not to directly instill heritage and beliefs into his mind sort of like her inheritance, but instead allowed the newborn to learn things in a more traditional manner.


    Primordial elves are inherently loyal to her, so there is no need for further indoctrination.


    Moreover, as a newborn life, he is not a chosen one, and his soul is not bound to ¨¦v¨¨, thus he cannot benefit from the system¡¯s inheritance.


    In fact, forcibly imposing the inheritance of heritage and beliefs into this newborn could even potentially distort his fragile soul¡­


    Actually, Ev¨¦ had some doubts as to whether the indigenous elves obsession with life and kindness are a natural urrence. The more likely scenario was that the obsessiveness of these elven natives was more likely due to the fact that the previous World Tree had tampered with their minds and instilled a strong desire to adhere upon such beliefs¡­


    After all, the previous World Tree seemed to be an existence that very much loved life and peace.


    But Ev¨¦ was different from her predecessor.


    ¡°Everything within the world is constantly evolving. Thoughts and beliefs are no exception; they are part of an ever-changing process! Everyone should learn upon their own and adapt to the changes urring in the world by themselves¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, in the Twilight Era, the love for peace and reverence for life were a necessary traits for intelligent beings, but s¡­ times have changed, and the downfall of the Silver Civilization was not without reason.¡±


    ¡°I suppose just as long as they remain loyal, then it will be good enough for me¡­¡±


    With these thoughts lingering within her mind, Eve¡¯s mischievous side resurfaced once again¡­


    Suddenly, she stirred her divine power, and in an instant, everyone once again heard the majestic voice of the goddess:


    ¡°Newborn child, I, in the name of Ev¨¨ Yggdrasill, bestow upon thee the name¡ªThranduil<strong><mark>3</mark></strong> Moonlight!¡±


    The yers watching the stream: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­¡±


    ¡°Lmfao¡­¡±


    ¡°<em>Thranduil?</em> Lol, is he going to be the future Elvenking?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s possible!¡±


    Upon hearing the voice of the true god, the newly born primordial elf lifted his head and looked at the World Tree with admiration and reverence in his eyes.


    He then knelt down, with his mellow and sonorous voice brimming with uncontroble enthusiasm;


    ¡°Hail thee! O¡¯ Great Mother, Your Divine Majesty Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill, I thank you for granting me a name¡­¡±


    Upon hearing his gentle and captivating voice, the girls in the chatroom once again exploded with excitement:


    ¡°Ah! So cool!! xDDD My ears are going to get pregnant~¡±


    ¡°His voice sounds sooo nice, right? (*¡ã¨Œ¡ã*) ¡°


    Ev¨¨: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    She nced at the chatroom and purposefully ignored the thirstyments before proceeding to deliver a divine oracle to the Saintess, Alice.


    ¡°Alice, you will be responsible for the education of Thranduil Moonlight.¡±


    Alice, upon hearing this, looked visibly excited.


    Being able to educate a primordial elf, and a royal one at that, would be a great honor and a sign of trust from the Divine Matriarch!


    She took a deep breath and knelt down, before devoutly tracing a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest.


    ¡°This humble servant of yours will follow the divine oracle. Your words shall guide the path of my life! I shall not disappoint the Matriarch¡¯s expectations!¡±


    Ev¨¦ nodded inwardly and added,


    ¡°In addition, you shall select a trustworthy Chosen One, who will also be entrusted with properly guiding Thranduil Moonlight.¡±


    <em>Cho¡­C-Chosen ones?</em>


    Alice was stunned.


    1 n name rectification ¨C I decided to opt for a more direct term between the elven ns so now the new names are,


    ??(<strong><mark>¼²·ç</mark></strong>) ¨C Means strong winds, so it¡¯ll remain as ¡®Galewind¡¯


    ??(<strong><mark>ÁÒÑæ</mark></strong>) ¨C Means a fiery me/raging mes/roaring ze, so from ¡®me¡¯ it¡¯ll now be ¡®Rageze¡¯


    ??(<strong><mark>°µÓ°</mark></strong>) ¨C Means dark shadow/deep shade so from ¡®shadow¡¯ it¡¯ll now be ¡®Darkshade¡¯


    ??(<strong><mark>Ô¹â</mark></strong>) ¨C Means light of the moon so it¡¯ll remain as ¡®Moonlight¡¯


    2 I think what the author is implying here is that the ¡®type¡¯ of primodial elves could not only be born having traits of royalty but could also be born having traits from other ns as well such as Rageze/Galewind/etc¡­


    3 (<strong><mark>ɪÀ¼µÏ¶û</mark></strong>) Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien¡¯s Middle-earth legendarium. He first appears as a supporting character in The Hobbit, where he is simply known as the Elvenking, the ruler of the Elves who lived in the woond realm of Mirkwood. The character is properly named in Tolkien¡¯s The Lord of the Rings, and appears briefly in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.


    <strong> NEXT </strong>

 Chapter 170

    ??<strong>THE PLAYERS TEACHINGS </strong>


    To have the Chosen Ones take on the responsibility of educating the recently born primordial elf, Thranduil Moonlight?


    Upon hearing this divine oracle from the World Tree, the elves were left in a state of astonishment.


    <em>T-This¡­Is the Divine Matriarch serious?</em>


    Suddenly, Alice seemed to have realized something, as a flicker of understanding passed across her expression.


    In a solemn and respectful tone, she then knelt down and dered, ¡°I understand. I will arrange for suitable candidates as instructors.¡±


    <em>So, the intention of the Divine Matriarch is for the elves to acquire virtues from the Chosen Ones as well, right?</em>


    While these Chosen Ones may often exhibit rudeness, greed, and disrespect, even demonstrating ruthlessness in battle, they also possess a decisiveness and straightforwardness that the native elves inherentlyck, along with a range of new ideas¡­


    Furthermore, despite being emissaries of gods, they do not possess the same level of arrogancepared to thecent elves that originally lives within Saig¨¹es.


    <em>It seems¡­ the Divine Matriarch truly wants the elvenkind to undergo a change upon their beliefs and morality. </em>


    However, it is still important to exercise caution and thoughtful deliberation upon choosing the individuals who will be responsible for instructing His Royal Highness, Thranduil.


    Alice contemted as she inwardly nodded her head.


    Seeing that her believersprehended her intentions, Ev¨¦ felt a sense of satisfaction.


    By only allowing a native elf, who still clings to their antiquated and obsolete beliefs, to instruct Thranduil, who is akin to a nk canvas, may result in the creation of yet another obstinate and upromising individual.


    Moreover, the yers also possess their own merits. Their distinct ideas and concepts are actually well-suited for the current development of the elvenkind, not to mention their otherworldly knowledge derived from earth!


    The optimal approach would be to have both sides contribute to the education of the newly born primordial elf, leveraging the strengths of both the native elves and the otherworldly yers.


    <em>I wonder what kind of spark will ignite from the collision of two worlds with vastly different civilizations and ideologies?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was highly anticipating it.


    Firmly believing in Alice¡¯s capabilities, she entrusted this crucial matter to her, confident that it would be handled smoothly under her leadership.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯tpletely stopped there, as she also added a new sidequest,¡¾Instruct the Primordial Elves¡¿under the main questline of¡¾Faction Development¡¿


    She made the quest¡¯s description very clear: to impart some useful knowledge from Earth. Anything is eptable just as long as it is positive and not detrimental to the growth of Thranduil.


    However, unlike other quests, if yers wish to ept this particr sidequest, they must first earn Alice¡¯s recognition in order to qualify and receive the quest. Thepletion of the quest will also be evaluated by the Saintess herself.


    Moreover, in the quest description, Ev¨¦ made it clear that imparting strange knowledge to Thranduil is not allowed, and passing on bad habits should be avoided as well. Failure toply to these guidelines would result in the quest failing, leading to the loss of rewards and severe punishment for the yers responsible for such actions.


    Of course, if someone sessfully teaches Thranduil properly, then the rewards will also be quite substantial.


    Furthermore, Ev¨¦ subtly reminded Thranduil not to unquestioningly embrace the teachings of either the native elves or the Chosen Ones. Instead, she encouraged him to engage in critical thinking and form his own judgments in order to cultivate his own beliefs, which he would then subsequently report to her.


    After arranging everything, Alice finally took Thranduil Moonlight and left the World Tree amidst the crowd of onlookers.


    Upon learning about the birth of the Primordial Elf and discovering the newly added ¡¾Instruct the Primordial Elves¡¿ sidequest, the yers instantly grew excited.


    ¡°This game is really something else! We can actually teach the NPCs!¡±


    ¡°Does this mean we can also actively participate in the development of the NPCs¡¯ logical reasoning and personality? Man, have AI advancements truly reached such a profound level?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! We built the main city, and now we get to teach the NPCs too. Damn, the devs are getting toozy!¡±


    ¡°Guess what? It¡¯s all about creating an immersive experience! The stone monument at the city square still bears the nicknames of the 300 yers from the closed beta. Once the open beta isunched, it¡¯s sure to evoke envy among the yers.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe~ I must take on this quest no matter what! I want to be a teacher for little brother, Thranduil¡­ who knows, maybe I can even educate the next Elvenking!¡±


    ¡°Huh, you want to be a teacher? I bet you just want to drool over the Primordial Elf¡¯s appearance and physique, you pervert!¡±


    ¡°Ahha! I remember she¡¯s quite into BL, always shipping NPCs together¡­Hey now, don¡¯t bend<strong><mark>1</mark></strong> the newly born Primordial Elf! Hehehe!¡±


    ¡°You two, get lost!¡±


    ¡°But on a serious note, this Primordial Elf is really good-looking. I¡¯ve heard the natives say he¡¯s even from the royal lineage. As a guy, I find myself a bit smitten as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, are you gonna bend too?¡±


    ¡°Impossible! We still have our beautiful Goddess. Although he¡¯s handsome, he¡¯s still inferior to our Goddess. I¡¯ll forever adore the Goddess Ev¨¦!¡±


    ¡°Agreed, Hail thee o¡¯ Goddess Ev¨¦!¡±


    ¡°Well as long as you simp for the Goddess, you¡¯ll forever be ourrade!¡±


    The conversation amongst the yers was filled with energy and enthusiasm.


    Following theunch of the teaching sidequest, a multitude of yers gathered around Alice, eagerly seeking her acknowledgement in order to take on the task of educating Thranduil.


    <em>Of course¡­</em>


    Ny percent of those who surrounded her were actually females¡­


    As Alice looked at the chattering group of female Chosen Ones around her, she felt surprised and a little bit troubled as well.


    Nevertheless, she also felt a sense of relief.


    In her own perception, these female Chosen Ones seemed to be more dependable and reliablepared to their male counterparts.


    Based upon her own experience, the majority of troublemakers are male Chosen Ones, while the females tend to exhibit greater restraint and decorum.


    However upon careful deliberation, she handpicked only a select few who sessfully passed the initial screening and underwent rigorous interviews. In the end, she decided that only Li Mu and HootyBird would be the chosen ones suitable enough to be teachers¡­


    There was no other way.


    Alice discovered that the majority of the female yers who applied were simply interested in flirting with Thranduil. As a result, she had no choice but to simply select the two individuals whom she was familiar with and had a track record of being reliable.


    One was acknowledged by the Elves as the most educated and amiable Chosen One.


    Whilst the other was the most knowledgeable Chosen One Alice had ever encountered.


    Prior tomencing the teaching task, Alice, Li Mu, and HootyBird had a discussion.


    Alice revealed her requirement which is to mold Thranduil into a king who embodies righteousness, nobility, bravery, fearlessness, knowledge, and versatility.


    As a result, Li Mu and HootyBird found themselves with an additional responsibility of instructing Thranduil while simultaneously looking after the elven children.


    This result made other yers extremely envious.


    However, despite the fact that they couldn¡¯t officially take on the role of instructors, numerous yers still persisted and flocked around the primordial elf, seeking to establish friendship and raise Thranduil¡¯s favorability.


    Especially¡­ the female yers.


    This situation gave Li Mu a huge headache.


    With these yers having no teaching obligations, they then expressed themselves in various ways instead.


    All kinds of tricks came out one after another, leaving Li Mu astonished at the sheer absurdity of it. They flirted and teased, yet still maintained appropriate behavior, making it really difficult for Li Mu to find any actual ws that would be severe enough to prevent them from approaching Thranduil¡­


    Heck, he was even a little bit jealous of this teenage elven pretty boy, although¡­ the other party was just an NPC.


    It served as a reminder for him that having good looks makes it remarkably easy to achieve sess in life¡­


    With them being constantly surrounded by numerous girls, the two instructors found it challenging to effectively carry out their teaching duties. Hence as a result, they had no choice but to relocate their makeshift ssroom to Li Mu¡¯s own home and put a sign at the door that says, ¡°Restricted to teaching personnel only.¡±


    Additionally, they also enlisted the help of A¨¦l to stand guard outside whenever their ss is in session.


    Finally, without any more crowds to disturb their teaching sessions, they were able to experience a moment of peace and quiet.


    And the division ofbor between the two was clear.


    HootyBird was tasked with teaching knowledge from Earth, while Li Mu took on the responsibility of cultivating Thranduil¡¯s character.


    For this reason, Li Mu went so far as to search online for what emperors of ancient times had studied¡­


    Thranduil was indeed a primordial elf of royal lineage, blessed with extraordinarily high talent.


    Throughout their teaching sessions, the two of them discovered that no matter how challenging the subjects they taught to him, Thranduil will grasped them almost instantly and was capable of deducing the correct answer even from a single instance.


    The future Elvenking disyed a remarkable capacity to ept anything and exhibited curiosity towards every topic they presented towards him.


    Sometimes, he even left both of them speechless with his counter arguments.


    Because of this, HootyBird felt a bit discouraged because she had finally encountered someone with stronger learning capabilities than her¡­


    Seeing her like this, Li Mu jokingly said,


    ¡°Why are youpeting with an NPC? Even though ElvKing is so realistic, in the end it¡¯s still just a game, isn¡¯t it? Wouldn¡¯t it be normal for AI to learn things so quickly?¡±


    Upon hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, HootyBird¡¯s face suddenly disyed a look of realization, as she let out a rueful sigh.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s just that¡­after such a long time, I almost forgot that this is a game.¡±


    <em>Almost forgot that this is a game?</em>


    Li Mu fully agreed with that sentiment¡­


    Actually, he often entertained this thought as well. That¡¯s why, once in a while, he would choose topletely disconnect from the game and return to the real world to get some rest offline without ever logging back in while he is sleeping.


    Otherwise, he was truly worried that he would be unable to distinguish between reality and the game anymore.


    From this perspective, Elven Kingdom has truly taken realism and immersion to the extreme.


    The game has been in the closed-beta testing phase on Earth for a while now. However, what truly surprises everyone is that out of the 1,200 yers who were invited, not a single person has yet chosen to quit the game. This unprecedented retention rate is truly remarkable.


    Some may argue that being addicted to games holds no merit, but the yers of ElvKing actually reap tangible benefits. This is because it was discovered that certain techniques learned in-game can also be applied in real life as well.


    yers specializing in meleebat have reported a significant improvement upon their reaction time in reality. On the other hand, yers who focused on spellcasting may not experience the same level of improvement, but they perceive notable enhancements within their memory capacity instead.


    Furthermore, unbeknownst to the yers, their consciousness and souls have also undergone some improvements as a result of ying the game.


    Without them even realizing it, yers¡¯ consciousness bes much stronger than that of average people on Earth, and their souls also receive significant benefits, resulting in a slightly extended lifespan.


    Moreover, the yers have also fully utilized the game¡¯s four-fold mind eleration feature. It has now be amon practice for Little Salty Cat to seek tutoring from HootyBird within the game, and some college students have even resorted to doing their homework in-game, as time moves more slowly inside gamepared to the real world¡­


    Thranduil¡¯s education is proceeding right on track.


    However it doesn¡¯t mean that he only studies all the time¡­


    In his free time, Thranduil also enjoys wandering around the Chosen City and interacting with the yers.


    During his leisure time, he frequently finds himself surrounded by female yers. Moreover, while strolling around, certain yers would also invite him to barbecue parties or engage in casual conversations with him¡­


    Upon learning about these things, Alice became very concerned about Thranduil developing bad habits.


    She really wanted Thranduil to severmunication with other chosen ones, except for HootyBird and Li Mu, at least until his worldview was fully established.


    She tried telling the Goddess about her concerns but the Matriarch seemed fine with it, thus Thranduil¡¯smunication with the yers continued on without any hindrance.


    Therefore, Alice had to give up in the end.


    But at the same time, she also became vignt. After all, A¨¦l¡¯s two younger sisters had developed a tendency to steal barbecue after they had be too familiar with the chosen ones¡­


    Alice didn¡¯t want Thranduil to follow in their footsteps and learn to steal as well!


    After a careful consideration, she decided to regrly check upon Thranduil¡¯s progress to prevent the future Elvenking from bing spoiled¡­


    However, it turned out that Alice¡¯s concerns were unfounded and she was just being too much of a worrywart.


    In actuality, themunication with the chosen ones didn¡¯t seem to have a significant impact on Thranduil.


    In fact, during her regr progress checks every few days, Alice discovered that Thranduil had not only avoided developing any bad habits but had also be increasingly gentle and humble instead.


    Perhaps it was the result of his frequent interactions with female yers, as he now consistently wore a bright smile that radiated gentleness and carried himself with an elegant demeanor. It seemed that he had learned how to interact with the opposite sex properly, and even Alice couldn¡¯t help but feel a flutter within her heart whenever she saw his charming demeanor.


    Furthermore, his knowledge was advancing rapidly, especially the otherworldly knowledge he had gained from interacting with the chosen ones. Alice realized that there were many things she could no longerprehend whenever she inquired about the things he had learned¡­


    Alice couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the rapid growth of an individual with elven royal lineage. At the same time, she also felt a sense of relief.


    <em>That¡¯s good¡­</em>


    Meanwhile, as Thranduil¡¯s growth continued on the right path, Eve¡¯s other sidequest under the questline ¡°Faction Development¡± has also made some new breakthroughs¡­


    1 (<strong><mark>êþÍä</mark></strong>) ¨C Bend/Bent is a chinese term that means to turn a heterosexual person into a homosexual.

 Chapter 171

    ??<strong>AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY</strong>


    The central area of the Elven Forest is located about four kilometers away from the City of Chosen Ones.


    In this area, there was once a thriving patch of pristine woond, which was ideal for harvesting construction resources. The towering trees within it exhibited remarkable height and impable structural integrity, while boasting a subtle aroma known to enhance concentration and calm the mind.


    yers who turned in this specific type of wood would then be rewarded by Alice with additional EXP and contribution points, serving as a highly appealing target for the daily task of wood collection.


    As a result, once the location was shared upon the official forum by the yers who had discovered it, the rest of the yers have also began cutting down trees in this area for their wood gathering task.


    Over time, the yers constant logging had gradually depleted the woond, leaving it bare and devoid of trees¡­


    Even on the day when Ev¨¦ made a recovery, as nature began its regenerative process with numerous small saplings sprouting once more, they were still swiftly harvested by the second batch of beta-testers who mainly rented these saplings as roadside vegetation for the City of Chosen Ones.


    However, despite the area beingpletely deforested and transformed into a vast opennd, the soil still retained exceptional fertility from its previous state as a pristine woond. This made it an ideal ce for yers to cultivate crops.


    Due to the inherent magical affinity of the elves, many individuals within their own kind naturally be druids.


    While nting crops may be a time-consuming and arduous task for ordinary humans, yers with nature-based magic such as druids have the advantage of expediting the entire process.


    After obtaining the seeds from the human smugglers as rewards, Little Salty Cat handed them over to the yers in charge of life-oriented department<strong><mark>1</mark></strong> within her guild, asking them to take on the relevant sidequests and try growing them.


    The seeds obtained by their guildmaster, Salty Cat have three variants. After appraising them, they were determined to be Maniya in Wheat, Maniya Quick-Growing Rice, and Aries Sweet Potatoes.


    in wheat and quick-growing rice are the main agricultural products of the human societies within Saig¨¹es and have a long history of cultivation.


    These smuggled goods which had been recognized by Nightingale who had stayed in human society, were very likely to be thetest crop breeds specifically bred by the official magic association of the Holy Maniya Empire, which have been widely circted within the human society as ofte!


    As for the third type, Aries Sweet Potatoes, they resemble potatoes back on earth, but they are more grayish in color and have a sweeter taste than normal potatoes.


    It is said that this is an otherworldly crop from another realm that was introduced into human society by a legendary magician from Ariel Kingdom before the passage between realms was closed thousands of years ago.


    Due to its high yield, this crop quickly became widely cultivated within human society and was embraced by themon people as their primary food staple.


    However, unlike regr potatoes, Aries Sweet Potatoes rely exclusively upon their seeds for reproduction.


    After Nightingale identified them, the potato seeds obtained by the yers were believed to be the newly improved breeds from the Kingdom of Ariel!


    Come to think of it¡­if they were not the improved breeds, then how could they have attracted the interest of the Sauron caravan and been smuggled out of their country?


    Considering the profitability of magical items, wouldn¡¯t smuggling magic goods and luxuries be more appealing than mere nt seeds?


    However, it really wasn¡¯t that surprising that these seeds would catch the attention of smugglers, given that they are not only rare and improved breeds, but these seeds are also subject to a trade embargo imposed by the human authorities that forbade anyone into selling them to other countries.


    Of course, now all these precious seedsnded upon the hands of the yers without any cost or effort.


    yers from the Celestial Empire <strong><mark>2</mark></strong> continues to maintain a strong interest in cultivating vegetables even inside the game.


    Furthermore, while the Elven Forest is abundant in resources, its primary offerings mostly consist of fruits and vegetables, resulting in a noticeable scarcity of staple foods.


    And the people of the Celestial Empire are most ustomed to having staple foods.


    Therefore, yers have high expectations for these seeds.


    In addition, unlike in the real world, magic is present in this world, and thend within the Elven Forest boasts exceptional fertility and high concentration of mana. This allows for significantly elerated nt growth, which eliminates the need for long waiting periods during the entire growing process.


    In just a few days, the yers immediately saw some results¡­


    In fact, the results were even better than what the yers had initially imagined!


    Presently, the formerly untouched forest has undergone a conversion into agriculturalnd, where crops such as Maniya in Wheat, Maniya Quick-Growing Rice, and a selection of Sweet Potatoes are now being cultivated.


    Due to the enhanced magical properties of these crops and the utilization of ck dragon feces as fertilizer, coupled with the formidable assistance of the druid Oak Guardian Berserker, these nted crops have seemingly undergone some sort of mutation¡­


    The crops experienced noticeable thickening, as the grains grew plumper and the potatoes developed chunkier roots.


    And through various bonuses discovered by the yers, they also found that the growth speed of these crops could reach a terrifying level!


    The rice with the fastest growth rate could reach maturity within three days, while the wheat required only one week to be harvested¡­


    You see, within the human society, even the fastest-growing rice takes at least four months to mature!


    Of course, this is because ordinary human farmers neither employ the use of magic nor possess fertilend with high mana concentration like the Elfen Forest, let alone using the feces of a ck dragon as fertilizer¡­


    Not to mention thanks to the revival of the World Tree, the level of mana within the Elven Forest has long surpassed that of the outside world!


    Under these conditions, it¡¯s no wonder that everything grows so well and fast.


    The current farnd is already in its second or third nting cycle, as the yers have already harvested their first batch of crops.


    After the crops were harvested and inspected by the Oak Guardian, it became apparent that, perhaps due to the abundance of mana within the Elven Forest and the application of ck dragon feces as fertilizer, these crops had subtly surpassed the quality of ordinary crops. They now even possess a faint essence of magical nts.


    Upon consuming these crops, one can even experience a bonus effect of absorbing mana into their bodies, which could also somewhat replenish the yer¡¯s MP!


    Although the MP regenerated is weak, it is still remarkable nheless.


    Once again, this made yers exim in awe at the fact that Meryer is truly brimming with treasures!


    Even his sh*t holds significant value!


    Of course, only the yers are crazy enough toe up with the bold idea of using a ck dragon¡¯s excrement as fertilizer¡­


    And this further stimted the yers¡¯ enthusiasm for experimentation.


    After sessfully cultivating their first harvest and extracted seeds from it, Moe Moe¡¯s life-yers swiftly distributed the seeds amongst their entire department. Additionally, many yers have also purchased these seeds from Moe Moe Committee by using contribution points and initiated their own experiments in their own yards at home.


    They came up with various strange methods and started collecting all sorts of magical materials in the Elfen Forest, using them as fertilizers for experiments, hoping to see if it would also cause the crops to mutate even more significantly¡­


    There were even daring individuals who set their eyes upon the World Tree and started digging the soil around it, only to be sternly reprimanded by the Oak Guardian Berserker.


    And on the official forum, there was even a yer who uploaded an in-depth post about their own nt experimentation which involved using various materials as fertilizers including their own excrement.


    ording to the user¡¯s post, the various materials used as fertilizers can be summarized as follows:


    ck dragon feces can increase yield and quality, and even enchant the crops with magic.


    Elf excrement, on the other hand, greatly elerates the growth speed of crops.


    Moreover, the soil beneath certain magical trees in the Elven Forest can also induce mutations in crops, imbuing them with magical properties and distinct vors!


    Therefore, it¡¯s not unreasonable for some yers to set their sights upon the soil beneath the World Tree¡­


    After all, that particr soil is enriched by the roots of a divine being.


    Some yers even began calling it the Divine Soil!


    In fact, some people had managed to secretly obtain some of that divine soil when the NPCs weren¡¯t looking and upon using it, they were astounded to discover their crops growing at an unprecedented rate. The effect were so great that it even surpassed the other excrement, making it the most effective fertilizer one could employ.


    As a result, more and more yers have began to secretly dig and smuggle the soil underneath the World Tree while the NPCs were not paying attention¡­


    This situation left Ev¨¦ feeling both amused and exasperated.


    Eventually, she established a magical barrier beneath herself, safeguarding the soil from any yers who dare excavate the so-called ¡®divine soil.¡¯


    Only then did these crazy yers reluctantly gave up.


    The yers¡¯ performance in crop cultivation satisfied Berserker.


    ¡ª<em>Except for those crazy few who wanted to dig the soil underneath the World Tree¡¯s roots¡­</em>


    Berserker is the NPC assigned by Ev¨¦ for the ¡°Crop Cultivation¡± sidequest. He¡¯s the one responsible for overseeing the yers¡¯ entire crop cultivation process.


    Due to the importance of his identity, Berserker was unable to directly participate in any tasks happening outside the forest. Therefore, he chose to remain within the Elven Forest, devoting his efforts to assisting the development of both elves and yers while also fulfilling his role as a druid.


    In order to interact with the yers more easily, Berserker opted to modify his appearance.


    Out of concern that his exposure would potentially alert their enemies to the revival of the Goddess, he fervently prayed to Ev¨¦, beseeching her to grant him the magic of shapeshifting. As a result, he now assumes the form of a two-meter-tall muscr male elf with a bald head.


    Presently, he still retains a somewhat intimidating demeanor. However, his new appearance is significantly way more approachable in contrast to his previous terrifying colossal stature.


    Nheless, since shapeshifting magic limits the caster¡¯s magical output, Berserker can¡¯t exert his full strength while transformed. Thus, he dutifully focuses on logistical tasks instead while in this form.


    As he silently observed the yers tending to their cultivated nts, Berserker couldn¡¯t help but wonder why these chosen ones exhibited such a keen interest in nting crops, just like humans.


    Considering that the elves only eat fruits and the Elven Forest have enough resources that could never be depleted. Even in the unlikely scenario wherein the entire resources in the forest were consumed, the benevolent goddess possessed the power to restore and replenish them with just a touch of her magic.


    But at least¡­ with them now cultivating crops, the frequency of the chosen ones hunting animals has decreased significantly.


    Actually, the decrease in hunting activity is not due to ack of yers hunting, but rather the scarcity of animals in the immediate vicinity. Nowadays, yers must explore more remote locations to find animals to hunt. However, since Berserker is stationed in the central region of the forest, he is unaware of this situation.


    The yers exhibited exceptional performance while undertaking the sidequest, ¡°Crop Cultivation.¡±


    As a result, more and more processed goods is being manufactured while utilizing these crops as primary ingredients. In addition, the spices collected from the human smugglers have also provided inspiration to the yers, who began searching for simr substitutes in the Elven Forest to use as seasonings.


    For a while, a culinary explosion urred as yers with cooking talents emerge one after another. Various dishes from Earth began to appear and some vegetable dishes have even piqued the curiosity of the native elves, who wee this surge of new foods with open arms.


    However,pared to the overwhelmingly sessful crop cultivation, the animal husbandry under the leadership of Meryer faced some setbacks.


    During this period, the ck dragon, apanied by a group of yers, wreaked havoc among the mid-level monsters in the Elven Forest. Their goal was to find the nests of these monsters and capture their offspring.


    Actually they had managed to capture a considerable number; s, none of them proved suitable for domestication.


    Moreover, unlike nts, magical beasts are not as susceptible to mana. While nts exhibit elerated growth in environments with high mana concentration, the effect is not as pronounced for magical beasts.


    Only the strength of the monsters would be enhanced a little and high mana concentration does not affect their reproduction.


    At this point, due to the sess achieved by the yers doing crop cultivation, some animal husbandry yers started feeling a sense of rivalry. They then suggested that the little ck dragon should visit some human cities instead in order to capture an already tamed animals.


    However, Meryer quickly scolded them.


    ¡°Ruaah! Capture tamed animals from human cities, you say? Do you think I, Meryer, am some kind of bandit!?¡±


    <em>Huh¡­Isn¡¯t that the case?</em>


    The yers recalled the scene of the ck dragon greedily plundering the orcs base and hoarding the treasures from the human smugglers.


    Of course, they could only think about it within their minds.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Meryer¡¯s tone suddenly changed as he lifted his dragon head proudly.


    ¡°Stealing is impossible, but this lord believes it may be possible to purchase some from the humans. However, Meryer needs permission from the goddess first, and¡­ you guys must pay the purchase cost! Also, provide Meryer with double thebour cost! Ruaahhh!¡± The little ck dragon stated whilst emphasizing on the word bour cost.¡¯


    ¡°¡­Buy?¡±


    The yers¡¯ eyes sparkled with excitement.


    Why, that¡¯s actually a brilliant idea!


    After raiding the orc tribe and looting the human smugglers, the yers actually ended up with a significant amount of currencymonly used by humans. Since it held little value for the yers themselves, they realized that they could use it to purchase domesticated animals instead.


    ¡°Buy domesticated animals?¡±


    Ev¨¦, who received the ck dragon¡¯s request, was slightly taken aback.


    After considering it, she skeptically agreed.


    With the master-servant contract signed and him bing her believer, Meryer couldn¡¯t escape anymore.


    <em>But¡­ can he really buy them?</em>


    Thinking about it¡­the moment this silly dragon shows up within the vicinity of a human settlement, Meryer will most likely be instantly surrounded by humans who will not hesitate tobel him as an evil dragon, right?


    Of course, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t discourage him but actually went along with his n.


    Upon learning that the ck dragon intended to purchase domesticated animals from humans, the yers too grew excited and mored to apany him.


    However, their excitement quickly turned into disappointment upon discovering the distance they needed to travel.


    The nearest human country was 700 kilometers away from the central area of the Elven Forest, whereas the yers¡¯ range of activities was only limited to a radius of 300 kilometers within the forest.


    ¡°Ah¡­ We will only be able to explore the map of human civilization after the devs have officially released it.¡±


    The yers felt somewhat regretful.


    Although they expressed regret over not being able to explore the human society, the door to the underworld had finally been opened.


    As a result, the most proactive yers have began venturing into the mysterious and dark territories through the underground caves, eager to embark upon their own adventures towards this enigmatic ce¡­


    1 The author often use the term (Éú»î) Life to refer to a type of gaming subgenre which is called <mark>Life-Simtion</mark>.


    (<strong>Éú»îϵÍæ¼Ò</strong>) Life-yers are typically a type of gamers that preferredid-back games like Harvest Moon or Stardew valley which mainly focuses more on daily life simtion.


    Previously, I used the term ¡®Casual-yers¡¯ but it doesn¡¯t seem that urate so I¡¯ll now be using Life-oriented yers instead.


    2 (<strong><mark>Ì쳯</mark></strong>) ¨C Celestial Empire is an old name used to refer to China, from a literary and poetic trantion of the Chinese term Tianchao, one of many names for China.

 Chapter 172

    ??<strong>EXPLORING THE UNDERWORLD </strong>


    The underworld is also known as the Underdark.<strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    In the inheritance of the World Tree that Ev¨¦ had obtained, there isn¡¯t much information regarding the underworld. The only knowledge she has about it is limited to the fact that its history is as long, if not even longer, than the history of civilization on the surface world.


    It is said that in the early eras, several ancient gods who had been defeated in the Genesis Era had decided to delved deep underground and opened up Underdark.


    However, within the passage of time, these Old Ancient Ones fell one after another or devolved into evil gods, and the underworld gradually became inhabited by sentient beings who migrated from the surface world, which carried along with them their beliefs in the newly emerging deities who attained godhood through faith.


    Unlike the surface world wherein kingdoms and social order have been established and overall wars have greatly diminished, chaos and bloodshed reign within the underworld instead.


    War, conquest, decadence, and copse form a neverending cycle within thends of Underdark.


    There are no established nations here, only rudimentary settlements formed by different races or underground cities centered around a powerful individuals.


    The sentient beings here are typically more ferocious than thosepared on the surface, and due to the presence of evil gods lurking within Underdark, even spreading the faith of the surface gods proved quite challenging as well.


    Thus for tens of thousands of years, the only ce where true gods have been able to establish themselves sessfully is within the underworld, which has a functioning dimensional passage.


    However, the Underdark has such limited space that only a few select gods have managed to achieve such feats.


    After the Heavenly War a millenia ago, after most of the dimensional passages around the mortal realm were closed, it became even more challenging for the true gods to propagate their beliefs.


    Due to limited exploration andmunication with the inhabitants of the underworld, Underdark gradually became nothing more than mere stuffs of legends for the sentient races residing on the surface. Even the long-lived elven elders of the Rageze n, with their thousand years of experience, possess limited knowledge about the underworld.


    The only thing they know about Underdark was that this ce isposed of giant intricate caverns with rivers, andkes underground. The sole source of light emanates from fluorescent stones, casting a faint glow that barely illuminates the surroundings. Additionally, the underworld is adorned with an extensive underground water system that connects its isted regions together.


    Generally speaking, ording to the understanding of the sentient races residing on the surface, the underworld represents mystery, wilderness, and chaos¡­


    For adventurers who had somehow managed to survive and escape the hellish realm of Underdark, simply entering and returning with tales of the experiences they have is already an aplishment worth documenting.


    As for Ev¨¦, it was only after further in-depthmunication with Rose, the Queen of Spiders, that she finally gained aprehensive understanding of the underworld.


    Rose exined to her that the underground beneath Rivendell can only be considered a remote area of Underdark.


    It consists of a massive cave known as the Profound Cavern, and the primary sentient beings that inhabit such area are the dark dwarves who migrated only a few centuries ago. Furthermore, the underworld is home to a plethora of monsters and creatures, adding to its diverse ecosystem¡­


    Upon acquiring a more deeper understanding of such mysterious ce, Eve¡¯s interest in the underworld grew even stronger.


    Currently, there are no immediate threats within the vicinity of the Elven Forest and while the monsters in the northern part of the forest may pose a significant challenge for the yers, these enemies are far too powerful to be dealt with by the yers at their current level.


    However, what is the point of constantly dealing with monsters only within the boundaries of the Elven Forest?


    Considering the yers¡¯ rtively short attention span, it would be good for them to experience a change of pace and venture outside the forest forbat once in a while!


    In any case, Ev¨¦ must continue training the yers further before the impending counterattack by Uller, the god of winter and hunting. Therefore, the underworld is an excellent choice for this purpose.


    After all, it¡¯s a chaotic ce teeming with brutal inhabitants, wherein yers can have all the fun they need much to their heart¡¯s content.


    However, in order to prevent idents happening during their exploration and to avoid conflicts with the followers of the death goddess H, Ev¨¦ promptly organized some information obtained from the Spider Queen and uploaded it to the information section in the official forum.


    After all, provoking Uller, who possesses a low level of divinity, is already enough for her. When ites to H, who possesses moderate divinity, Ev¨¦ still feels apprehensive and somewhat guilty since she¡¯s been using her as a smokescreen without her direct consent.


    Regardless, to further ignite the enthusiasm of the yers, Ev¨¦ has added achievements rted to exploring the underworld.


    The achievement system was officially activated when the yers sessfully built the Chosen City, and the earliest recorded achievement was the construction of Novice Vige. The names of the first three hundred beta-testers, inscribed on a stone monument in the central square, can still be found listed in the ¡°Main City Construction¡± section of the achievement system.


    In any subsequent quests in the future, individuals who make significant contributions to thepletion of major tasks will also receive relevant achievements, and their aplishments will be recorded in the achievement section of the system.


    For instance, yers like the life-oriented guild members of Moe Moe¡¯s Life-Department who havepleted the ¡°Crop nting¡± sidequest have also received corresponding achievements. Their nicknames and aplishments have been listed in the achievement section, and they have even been granted the exclusive title of ¡°Crop nting Master.¡±


    Naturally, exploring the underworld also involves earning simr achievements.


    Currently, the guild ¡°First Legion,¡± renowned for their pioneering spirit in exploration much like Boxlunch¡¯s team, have mobilized all of their guild¡¯s resources to embark upon an expedition into this uncharted territory.


    They aspire to be the first sessful exploration team of the underworld!


    While these yers were curiously exploring the underworld, Ev¨¦ also tapped into their perspective, as she silently admires the customs and culture of the underworld.


    The entrance to the underworld in Rivendell who was once been guarded by a giant crypt spider is actually just a mere passageway. To gain official entry into the underworld, the yers must proceed deeper along the passageway.


    The First Legion¡¯s exploration team descended further, walking for about three kilometers before finally reaching the real underworld.


    Having already experienced the breathtaking natural beauty and grandeur of the Elven Forest and the extraordinary wonders and vicissitudes of Rivendell, they found themselves once more amazed by the captivating sight that unfolded right before their eyes¡­


    It was a massive cavern, with no end in sight.


    Atop the cavern walls, lies numerous fluorescent stones embedded within the rocks, that emits a subtle blue glow. They provide the only source of illumination within the dark underworld, akin to the stars in the sky, showcasing their stunning beauty and magnificence.


    Also around the cave are several hills, valleys and underground rivers featuring a diverse and rugged rocky terrain shaped by intricate geological formations.


    The area closest to the yers is an underground forestposed of unknown dark purple giant ferns.


    The towering ferns within this area are also bioluminescent, emitting a subtle purple glow. Their graceful forms sway gently in the cave¡¯s breeze, causing the light to flicker ever so softly and crafting an enchanting, dreamlike ambiance.


    It was such a wonderful ce¡­that is, if one can ignore the asional roars of monstersing from a distance.


    ¡°Wow, I thought the underworld was just a barren wastnd, but it¡¯s really a whole new alien-like world! Heck, there¡¯s even a glowing forest here! It has its ownplete ecosystem! These underground nts look so cool!¡± eximed one excited yer while looking at thendscape of the underworld.


    ¡°Yeah! These ferns look really beautiful. Let¡¯s see if we can dig up some and nt them on the surfaceter,¡± another yer agreed.


    ¡°Be careful though. The official website mentioned not to underestimate any creatures in the underworld. This new map is filled with chaotic and unknown beings. The surviving species here are not to be trifled with,¡± warned Tomato <mark>2</mark>, the guildmaster of ¡°First Legion.¡±


    ¡°Also, pay close attention to any creature that looks like dwarves. ording to the post on the official website, these dark dwarves seem to be followers of the Grim Reaper and are the big shots in this area. They have the potential to be neutral or even friendly NPCs. Try not to provoke them if possible, or we¡¯ll be wiped out in no time,¡± Tomato added.


    In contrast to his previous behavior, he now exhibited a significantly higher level of obedience after an incident that led to his username turning red due to engaging in inappropriate conduct.


    Because subsequent simr events proved that Elven Kingdom¡¯s judgement mechanism¡¯s evaluation is quite severe.


    At that time, he considered himself fortunate as the punishment he received only resulted in a minor loss of contribution points.


    Following the saying, ¡°The world is vast; it is home to various kinds of birds,¡± there were other yers like him who dared to challenge the rules of the game. However, they too encountered different levels of punishment as a result.


    Moreover, as yers further leveled up, the severity of punishments imposed by the judgement system also increased exponentially.


    There once was a high-level yer who engaged in a conflict with another yer following a field battle and despite the system¡¯s warnings, he still proceeded to kill the other yer. As a result, the game¡¯s administrator promptly announced a three-day ban on his ount, and the penalty imposed nearly bankrupted all his umted wealth.


    Converting these three days into in-game time would result in a duration of twelve days, providing ample opportunity to aplish a multitude of tasks.


    Some yers didn¡¯t hold back in venting their frustrations about this severe punishment on the official forum.


    Many people thought, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just killing someone? Is it really necessary to be so strict? It¡¯s just a game¡­¡±


    Of course, no game administrator bothered to respond. Instead, they simply adopted an attitude of ¡°If you want to y, then y; if not, then go away.¡±


    There are so manyizens waiting for the public beta online, and Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t reallyck one or two people. If she really need to permaban3 people, or if someone quits the game, then she can just always invite a new batch of yers.


    What she need are obedientckeys, not troublemakers. At its core, the existence of the game Elven Kingdom is only meant to motivate yers to work hard, not to make money or let the yers have a great time¡­


    And in the end, the yers can only utter ¡°true fragrance¡±<strong><mark>?</mark></strong> once again¡­


    <em>After all, Elven Kingdom is truly a unique game, isn¡¯t it?</em>


    The game officials are being willful, given these circumstances¡­


    Over time, the yers have gradually epted it. While Elven Kingdom boasts a high degree of realism, it does not actually grant the yers unrestricted freedom. Those who engage in inappropriate behavior must be prepared to face severe consequences, potentially including the deletion of their ounts.


    Just like the indiscriminate killing of chickens at the gates of Riverwood in the ssic game Skyrim, veteran yers would not dare push the game¡¯s moral limits¡­ except for those seeking the thrill of bing an enemy of the world.<mark>?</mark>


    Of course, if there are yers who really dare to act recklessly and disregard the game rules, then Ev¨¦ will warn them in advance why the flowers are so red.<mark>?</mark>


    After listening to the reminder from Tomato, the other members of team also nodded.


    And soon, they witnessed a horrifying scene.


    They witnessed a small creature resembling a mouse abruptly darting out from the side of the rocky path, only to identally tumble into the adjacent forest.


    The beautiful fern nts then immediately extended their shimmering light purple ¡°tentacles¡± and entangled it.


    After a brief struggle, the small creature finally ceased its movements and then swiftly transformed into a viscous liquid, whilst being rapidly absorbed by the bioluminescent fern nts.


    The yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!!¡±


    ¡°As expected¡­b-beautiful things always have thorns¡­¡±


    Tomato¡¯s face hardened after seeing such disturbing sight. He then pondered for a moment and said:


    ¡°Let¡¯s bypass this forest and go deeper to see if we can find any trace of the underground creatures.¡±


    After saying that, he then led his team into the other side of the rocky path.


    That was the very spot where the mouse-like creature had darted out from. If there was a living being there, it was likely an indication that the path ahead was indeed navigable.


    However, after taking a few steps, he couldn¡¯t help but turn around and look around.


    For some inexplicable reason, ever since he stepped foot into this underground cave, he had a constant sensation of being watched, yet despite scanning his surroundings, he still couldn¡¯t discern anything or anyone watching him.


    ¡°Could it be just an illusion?¡±


    He shook his head and continued leading his team forward¡­


    1 (<strong><mark>ÓÄ°µµØÓò</mark></strong>) ¨C The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-ying campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterraneanwork of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming an underworld for surface settings. Polygon called it ¡°one of D&D¡¯s most well-known realms¡±.


    2 (<strong><mark>Î÷ºìÊÁ³´·¬ÇÑ</mark></strong>) ¨C The exact trantion of his name is Tomato Stir-fry Tomato/X¨©h¨®ngsh¨¬ ch¨£o f¨¡nqi¨¦ but err, writing it as such would be quite tedious so I¡¯ll just shorten it as Tomato instead for more ease of writing/reading.


    3 <strong><mark>Permaban</mark></strong> ¨C (Inte ng) A permanent ban on a user.


    ? <strong><mark>True Fragrance</mark></strong> ¨C a chinese buzzword which generally refers to a situation where a person originally made up his mind not to go or do something, but finally took the initiative to do the opposite.


    ? <strong><mark>Why is it such a crime to kill chickens in Skyrim?</mark></strong> TLDR ¨C In Riverwood it¡¯smon for npcs to take up arms against the yer if youmit almost any crime because they don¡¯t have proper guards.


    ? (<strong><mark>»¨¶ùΪʲôÕâÑùºì</mark></strong>) ¨C Why the flowers are so red from my research appears to be a chinese inte ng that means to threaten someone.

 Chapter 173

    ??<strong>PLAYERS UNDER SURVEILLANCE </strong>


    Tomato led the exploration team of his guild, First Legion as they ventured deep along the rocky path leading to the depths of the underworld.


    While walking, some yers would also asionally use their appraisal skills in order to identify newly discovered species, as they scrambled to collect detailed information about the underworld¡¯s ecology.


    They were doing this primarily because they had also taken up the sidequest [Monster Detection] which was a branching quest under the main questline of [Underworld Exploration]


    The objective of this particr sidequest stated that yers will needed to identify various species, including monsters, nts, and animals, for a total of 10 times in order toplete this quest.


    And through this sidequest, the yers had also finally managed to identify the giant ferns that preyed upon the small mouse-like monster from before. That particr carnivorous fern were actually called ¡°Dark Purple Light Ferns¡± and were a type of magical nts that could prey on animals that entered their territory.


    These ferns pose a significant threat to creatures below the Iron-rank but being magical nts, they also serve as excellent materials for magical purposes. However, the yers¡¯ current strength is still inadequate to ovee them, primarily due to being outnumbered.


    However, they still kept an eye out and had ns to revisit the area afterpleting their exploration, intending to seek assistance from some NPCs.


    In addition to [Monster Detection] there is also another sidequest called [Map Cartography] and this one is far more easier and simpler to do.


    Whenever yers pass through an area, a mini-map would then be activated, and the system will just automatically record their path. They only need to periodically use the skill [Scout] to scan the surrounding terrain and wait for it to be uploaded into the system.


    As long as they are able to document a map epassing an area equivalent to a radius of one kilometer, thepletion of this sidequest is almost guaranteed.


    At first nce, these two sidequests may initially appear rather simple, but they also demand quickness and uracy.


    Because once a yer records and uploads a newly discovered species or map to the game system¡¯s database, other yers are now unable to perform the same recording anymore and thus must find new species and new areas instead.


    This is Eve¡¯s way of igniting thepetitiveness amongst the yers while also using them as reconnaissance in order to explore the underworld.


    Even though she obtained some information about the underworld from the Spider Queen, Rose¡¯s knowledge was rather limited and not as detailed or extensivepared to what the yers had personally discovered.


    Furthermore, this ce is far from Eve¡¯s main body and falls outside her jurisdiction. There is also a possibility that believers of other gods are currently present, which hinders her from freely using her divine power to scan the terrain. She fears that by doing so might alert the deities being worshipped by these creatures.


    As a result, she now must rely upon the yers since their consciousness are connected to Eve¡¯s game system, and the information they gather is immediately transmitted to her and recorded into her own database.


    Well¡­ this method proves to be quite useful, and the yers seem to thoroughly enjoy themselves while engaging in exploration. It¡¯s a win-win situation, bringing joy to all parties involved.


    However if they want toplete the main questline [Underworld Exploration] then they must umte and sessfullyplete a total of fifty sidequests!


    Ev¨¦ has calcted that, considering the maximum exploration distance currently avable to the yers,pleting fifty [Map Cartography] sidequests would epass all the areas reachable by yers within the underworld¡­


    However,pleting fifty sidequests is not an easy task. This quantity cannot be achieved by just one or two people.


    Hence, this is where the advantages of being part of arge guildse into y¡ªhaving greater numbers andrger teams!


    In order toplete this questline, Tomato organized all the top yers of his guild, First Legion, totaling over a hundred people. They synchronized all their schedules and deliberately selected a specific night on Earth to assemble and embark upon the exploration together as a full raid-party.<mark>1</mark>


    Tomato took the lead, guiding his guild members as they walked for approximately three kilometers, eventually bypassing the unsettling dark purple forest.


    However, as they ventured further, Tomato¡¯s inexplicable feeling grew increasingly intense. He constantly sensed a lurking presence in the darkness, as if they were being watched¡­


    As First Legion¡¯s highest-ranked yer, he maintained unwavering faith in his sixth sense.


    After a moment of hesitation, he turned to the hunter responsible for frontline reconnaissance in the team and asked, ¡°Little Eight, have you detected any nearby creatures? I constantly have this feeling that we¡¯re being watched.¡±


    A hunter with the username with chinese characters ¡°°Ë°Ô¡± (Eight Overlord) on his head cast a few [Detection Spells] and said,


    ¡°Guildmaster, I have detected quite a lot of biological auras. It¡¯s possible that some mobs have noticed us. However, it seems there aren¡¯t any creatures with strong auras nearby, so I don¡¯t think we need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    Tomato muttered.


    After speaking, he then nced at the username hovering above Little Eight¡¯s head and inadvertently twitched his mouth, ¡°By the way, I suggest you change your username. Otherwise, calling out to you always feels like we¡¯re at a disadvantage¡­¡± <mark>2</mark>


    Eight Overlord: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    The yers burst intoughter after hearing it, and the team continued to advance in a cheerful manner after such lighthearted banter¡­


    Once they had navigated past the dense groves of dark purple giant ferns, they finally came across an expansive mushroom forest that obstructed their way.


    The smallest of these mushrooms stands three meters tall, exhibiting an eerie light blue color. The mushroom caps also shimmer with a deep radiance, rendering the surroundings exceptionally beautiful. Underneath the mushrooms lies a bed of soft darkened brown soil.


    Upon their arrival, the yers also noticed some monsters in the distance.


    These creatures were small in size and can ran swiftly, darting between the mushrooms, all the while attentively observing the passing elves.


    Unlike the monsters on the surface, they noticed that the majority of the underworld¡¯s monsters are generally more dull in coloration, as if they want to blend in with the environment, and they tend to be more hideous in appearance as well.


    Some yers, driven by a sudden impulse, also ventured into the mushroom forest to hunt.


    One particr yer was a hunter with incredible speed. He easily caught up to a monster and killed it instantly. Subsequently, he discovered that these monsterscked formidable strength which surprised him a little.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there supposed to be many monsters here in the underworld? I dunno but it feels rather¡­ peaceful instead.¡±


    He wondered aloud in a skeptical manner.


    Just as he was finished speaking, the ground then suddenly shook, before a massive w emerged underneath the spot where this yer currently stood.


    Amidst the horrified gaze of all the yers, a grotesque, giant scorpion-like monster emerged from the ground and snapped this particr yer in half with its pincers, scattering blood and innards before dragging the yer¡¯s disemboweled body back into the earth¡­


    All of this happened in less than a few seconds.


    And a little bit farther away, the same giant scorpions also appeared one after another, and there seemed to be nearly a hundred of them!


    However, after realizing that their target had already been preyed upon by one of theirpanions, these giant scorpions quickly burrowed into the soil, restoring everything to its original state¡­


    Meanwhile, several smaller monsters who had also seen the spectacle eagerly swarmed over,peting to devour the flesh and innards that the dead yer had spilled down on the ground, quickly erasing all traces of it, and then resumed leisurely wandering through the mushroom forest¡­


    As if¡­ nothing had happened just now.


    ¡°What the hell!¡±


    ¡°What the hell!!¡±


    The yers who witnessed the events unfold in a matter of seconds were left dumbfounded.


    Tomato¡¯s expression shifted to a serious one, but suddenly his eyes sparkled with a bright realization.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that there are no powerful monsters around, but rather they are hiding underground instead¡­ Those weaker monsters may have been intentionally left by them as bait to attract prey!¡±


    When that giant scorpion appeared, he quickly appraised it and determined that its strength was higher than that of an Iron-rank.


    Considering the level of strength they possessed, if these creature were simply a mindless monster, then it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for them to hunt down these mobs and exploit their weaknesses.


    Taking a deep breath, Tomato eximed excitedly:


    ¡°Brothers, let¡¯s get to work! Let¡¯s lure out one or two of these mobs to test the waters first!¡±


    One of their objectives in exploring the underworld was to find more monsters to level up themselves!


    Not to mention, these giant scorpions are blocking their way!


    Upon hearing themand of Tomato, the yers belonging in First Legion immediately became excited and began to form various parties ording to their usual battle formation when hunting monsters in the Elven Forest.


    Firstly, the mages began chanting spells and released explosive magic in a corner of the area, aiming to aggro the monsters scattered around the vicinity.


    Of course, these yers were also prepared to run away at any given moment because sometimes they might not just aggro one mob but rather an entire group of them.


    If such a situation were to ur, then it would turn into apetition to see who could run the fastest.


    However, this time they were very lucky.


    With just one Fireball spell, the ground was sted into a big hole, instantly angering three giant scorpions.


    As suspected, these mobscked sentience and relied solely upon their instincts. They immediately emerged from the ground, no longer concealing their forms, andunched an attack on the yers¡­


    Tomato eyes lit up as he shouted,


    ¡°We agrro¡¯d three mobs! Divide into three teams, with each party battling one scorpions!¡±


    ¡°Tanks keep holding the aggro! Druids, prepare your healing! Melee yers, engage in CQC and disrupt the enemy, while ranged yers provide support for the DPS!¡± <mark>3</mark>


    ¡°After one round, switch formation and shift into ranged burst attacks instead, with melee yers providing backup for the snipers!¡±


    ¡°One round after another, let¡¯s see which formation does more damage! Also mages¡­ prioritize fire and light attributes spells!¡±


    Having fought against monsters every day, the guild First Legion had gained a wealth of experience, especially in terms of multi-party raids. Although they had never encountered this scorpion-like mob before and were unfamiliar with its habits andbat mechanisms, they knew that by following their proven leveling routine in Elven Kingdom a few times, they would eventually find a solution, even if it meant losing a few lives along the way.


    There are so many giant scorpions lurking here, enough for them to level up their entire group!


    Soon, hundreds of First Legion members divided themselves into a raid-party consisting of three teams, with each team having 33 members being in six parties coordinating with one other.


    They proceeded with their usual battle tactics and engaged inbat, with each team confronting one of the three scorpions¡­


    While the yers were engrossed in battle, a pair of piercing eyes emerged from a darkened cave along the rocky path, peering through a small hole in the wall.


    There¡­ seemed to be a narrow tunnel hidden there, with someone hiding inside, constantly spying on the yers.


    It was a small figure dressed in dark grayish clothes, watching the yers who were excitedly battling the giant scorpions with surprise and astonishment in his eyes.


    However, before long, the figure flickered and vanished.


    The yers engrossed in battle did not notice that someone had just been spying on them just now.


    However, Ev¨¦, who was continuously switching between the perspectives of the yers, noticed the presence of this figure spying on them.


    ¡°Was that¡­ a Dark Dwarf just now?¡±


    A hint of interest arose within her heart.


    1 <mark>Raid-Party</mark> ¨C A gaming term wherein a group of people who attack a certain ce or group. A Raid-Party is typically an assembly of many party coordinating as one big group.


    2 the chinese character ¡®°Ë°Ô¡¯ also sounds like ¡®°Ö°Ö¡¯ baba which also means dad in chinese.


    Disadvantage because of the usual family hierarchy (elders > juniors) and in china, seniority is an important factor. The joke¡¯s context is that Tomato (which is the Guildmaster) is joking that it feels like him and the rest are in a lower hierarchical position (juniors) since they need to call Little Eight as ¡®Dad/Baba.¡¯


    Of course the joke is delivered in a light-humored manner and not in a sarcastic way.


    3 Gaming Terminology


    ??Tank ¨C a tank is someone that draws attackers away from other yers.


    ??Aggro ¨C the triggering of an enemy attack or the state of being targeted by monsters.


    ??CQC ¨C Abbreviation of close-quartersbat.


    ??DPS ¨C a character capable of dealing massive damage.

 Chapter 174

    ??<strong>THE CONFUSED DWARVES</strong>


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the yers to attract the attention of the Dark Dwarves so quickly,¡± Ev¨¦ said, somewhat surprised.


    However, this may also indicates that the Dark Dwarves¡¯ settlement is probably not far from the yers¡¯ location¡­


    ¡°It seems that the Dark Dwarves¡¯ map might also be opened,¡±


    She contemted for a moment and decided to temporarily activate thenguage filtering function for the members of the First Legion. This would block any vocabry associated with the World Tree, Yggdrasill, and any other terms that might inadvertently reveal her true identity.


    Although the yers have epted the game¡¯s setting of keeping the true identity of the goddess confidential for now, who knows if there will be any yers who may act foolishly so it¡¯s better to be cautious than regret itter on.


    Of course, only thenguage conversion is being filtered. When the yers are summoned to Saig¨¹es, they technically are still speaking by using theirnguage from earth. However, with her being the administrator who controls the connection between yers¡¯ consciousness and their in-game avatars, Ev¨¦ has the ability to manipte the yers¡¯ avatars effortlessly.


    Although the yers may think that they are speakingnguage from earth, in reality, their words are automatically being converted into the localnguage of Saig¨¹es and vice versa.


    The default localnguage is Elvish, but yers also have the option to adjust thenguage settings to utilize themonnguage used formunication amongst the various races in Saig¨¹es.


    For example, whenmunicating with the Orcs, yers have the option to enable automatic trantion of their spoken words into themonnguage of Saig¨¹es.


    As for thenguage filtering, it simply disables the trantion of relevant vocabries. The system won¡¯t convert any of these filtered terms, which means the natives won¡¯t be able to understand them.


    Of course, this filter is not entirely perfect, and there are many ways to bypass it. One method is for yers to learn the localnguage themselves. However, what gamer would willingly invest time and effort just to learn anguage that they probably see as gibberish created by some game developers that might not even have any real-world use?


    Except for the genius HootyBird, only mage yers might be inclined to learn the localnguage, particrly because it is often used in magical arrays. However, they tend to focus more on studying the elvish runes and imitating them.


    In addition tonguage filtering, Ev¨¦ also blocked the offering ritual. When one yer was about to draw an offering circle, she promptly intervened and notified all yers through a system notification message that, while in the underworld, the offering ritual is temporarily prohibited until they return back to the surface.


    There are many believers of the Goddess of Death here. They may also expose her identity if the yers carelessly use offering circles and it somehow got exposed to any inhabitants of the underworld.


    The guild members of the First Legion were oblivious to the fact that their beloved goddess was filtering out their spoken words. While they experienced a slight surprise upon receiving the unexpected system message prohibiting the usage of offering ritual, it was nothing more than a momentary astonishment since it didn¡¯t have any major impact upon their expedition.


    They have already engaged inbat with these fierce giant scorpions. Most yers in First Legion are skilled in field battles, and when they aggroed three giant scorpions, they still remained calm, even if they were up against high-ranking monsters within the upper iron-rank.


    After experiencing numerous battles, they were no longer the same newbies as before who had just entered the game. Members of the First Legion had be skilled at dealing with multiple monsters at once, thanks to their tendency to engage in coordinated battles involving multiple parties.


    It¡¯s the same this time as well and the only difference is that the type of monsters has changed, making it more challenging to assess their attack patterns and vulnerabilities.


    The mages prepared fireball spells, one after another. Drawing from their previous encounters with the crypt spiders, they were well aware that for the majority of underground-dwelling monsters, fire and light magic have the highest destructive power.


    Meanwhile, the tanks maintained aggro on the giant scorpions, while the melee-DPS yers surrounded them, executing coordinated attacks and strategic retreats in a perfectly synchronized manner.


    Even Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how quickly the yers had grasped the battle rhythm and improved their coordination in such a short time¡­


    In fact, it¡¯s quite normal if you think about it.


    From the yers¡¯ perspective, this was merely a game, eliminating the greatest psychological hurdle of all¡ª the fear of death.


    Furthermore, yers could also lower their sense of pain and even miraculously resurrect themselves. This subtly increased their courage, fearlessness, and tolerance especially inbat.


    Therefore, after going through numerous battles without being affected by their deaths, it¡¯s no surprise that the yers¡¯bat proficiency grew so rapidly.


    This also made Ev¨¦ increasingly satisfied, feeling that she was getting closer to creating her own ¡®Scourge Army¡¯ <mark>1</mark> that could make any other true gods tremble.


    Meanwhile, on the opposite side in the distance, the inconspicuous individual who had been constantly spying on the yers from a hidden cavern proceeded to traverse a narrow pathway that led to a man-made cave. Finally, upon exiting the cave, this person arrived at a small city constructed entirely from stone!


    The entire settlement is constructed from a dark rock material, disying a rugged aesthetic, and its appearance exudes a solemn and menacing atmosphere especially when bathed underneath the glow of numerous fluorescent stones positioned atop the subterranean cavern.


    Several dark-skinned Dwarves dressed in rough, dark brown linen garments, bustle about around the small settlement, carrying pickaxes and goods on their backs¡­


    This¡­is a city of dark dwarves!


    The individual who had previously been spying on the elves can be seen weaving through the crowd of dark dwarves, briefly exchanging greetings with some familiar faces as this person makes their way towards the most majestic three-story stone tower situated in the center of the settlement¡­


    ¡°What!? Did you just say that you spotted a group that appears to be elven mercenaries from the surface? And there are hundreds of them?¡±


    Inside the hall of the stone tower, an elderly dwarf listened to the scout¡¯s report with a bewildered expression.


    At first nce, he appeared to be short and stubby like a typical dwarf, but he had a long beard and his skin was grayish-ck, with no hair on the top of his head.


    The elderly dwarf looked at the scout reporting in front of him, with a hint of disbelief crossing over his face.


    ¡°Brasshammer, have you been drinking too much ale? This is the Underdark. Where could these elves possibly evene from? And you im there are over a hundred of them, working as mercenaries?¡±


    How is it possible for over a hundred elves, who are typically known as delicate beings, to take up the profession of crude mercenaries? It sounds so ridiculous.


    Although there were instances of long-eared individuals concealing their identities by working as mercenaries, but those were the few exceptions!


    Not to mention¡­ what purpose would an elf have in the Underdark, anyway?


    The elderly dwarf was utterly unconvinced.


    ¡°Really, Grandpa Barain! I assure you, I would never make a mistake. They have pointy ears, tall stature, and an undeniable attractiveness. Without a doubt, they are elves! They are currently right there in the Dark Forest!¡± The dwarf scout known as Brasshammer exined with a flustered expression.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    The elderly dwarf shook his head and replied, ¡°The Dark Forest is teeming with monsters, and even though the entrance to the surface is close by, it is guarded by a horrifying giant spider. Without our guidance, surface dwellers cannot descend here at all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, Grandpa Barain! I swear upon the goddess of death that I absolutely did not see it incorrectly! They were really a group of elves! The armor they are using was stunning, surpassing the beauty of human-made armors. Their craftsmanship is on par with ours so it¡¯s definitely elves without a doubt.¡±


    Brasshammer then gestured a symbol representing the goddess of death and the Lord of the Underworld upon his chest.


    Upon hearing the scout¡¯s words, the old dwarf¡¯s expression froze, before his expression became a little more serious.


    In Saig¨¹es where the true gods reign supreme, swearing upon the deity one believes in is considered the most strictest oath, and regardless of anyone¡¯s religious affiliation, no believer would ever dare to jest while being bound by such a sacred pledge.


    ¡°¡­Do they all have the same hair color?¡± the elderly dwarf asked.


    ¡°No, they all have different colors¡­¡± Brasshammer shook his head.


    ¡°Different colors¡­¡± The old dwarf muttered while frowning slightly before breathing a sigh of relief.


    ¡°So, it appears they are not an elven n nning to relocate underground¡­Is it really possible that they are just mercenaries? But how did they even managed to get past the gatekeeper spider and descend to this ce? Moreover, what could be their purpose for being here?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re still skeptical¡­ Grandpa, you can go and witness it for yourself. They are presently engaged in a battle with the giant scorpions over there at the Dark Forest!¡± Brasshammer said again.


    Upon hearing his words, the old dwarf was slightly surprised.


    ¡°Fighting giant scorpions? How did they end up fighting those creatures?¡±


    ¡°It seems that one of the elves identally wandered into the Dark Forest and was eaten by those giant scorpions. Then the other elves became angry andunched a fierce attack probably to avenge their fallenrade.¡±


    The elderly dwarf: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Do they appear powerful? It is said that their entire race was cursed by numerous gods a thousand years ago¡­resulting in their race¡¯s strength being diminished to a mere iron rank, isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    Brasshammer scratched his head and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t investigate carefully, but it feels like their strength is not particrly strong. It seems they are all at the lower iron-rank.¡±


    The elderly dwarf took a moment of silence, wearing a pensive expression as he absentmindedly tapped his index finger on the table.


    A group of lower iron-ranked elves would dare fight a higher iron-ranked scorpions¡­isn¡¯t that just pure madness?


    Barain acknowledges that the culture and forging craftsmanship of the elves are truly exceptional throughout the entire continent. Even after a thousand years, the other races in Saigues have still not been able to surpass them in this regard.


    Even the dwarves, who excel in forging, are barely equal to them in terms of forging ordinary equipments. However, when ites to higher-level equipment that requires magic proficiency, their craftsmanship is still slightly inferiorpared to the magical gears that elves used to produce back in the olden days¡­


    But civilization is civilization, and forging craftsmanship is forging craftsmanship. These factors alone do not determine thebat power of a race.


    Under the same level of strength, elves are notoriously weak inbat effectiveness.


    In the past, the elves were able to overpower their enemies by virtue of their race¡¯s higher starting point, superior equipment, and sheer strength, all without losing their rank. However, that was in the past and the circumstances have changed now¡­


    And¡­ sacrificing more of their kin just to avenge one of their fallen nsman?


    <em>Is it worth it?</em>


    It¡¯s no wonder these long-eared fellows situation are getting more and more miserable¡­


    The elderly dwarf shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°Take me there, I want to see it myself.¡±


    He was still very curious about these elves.


    If it were any other race, then he wouldn¡¯t care at all, but elves are different¡­


    Elvenkind are generally naive, sweet, stubborn, and easily deceived race known throughout Saig¨¹es. Moreover, they were rtively harmless. If it was really them, then the elderly dwarf wouldn¡¯t mind interacting with these elves.


    After all, he had always yearned for some of the elven crafting techniques.


    Led by Brasshammer, the elderly dwarf Barain swiftly trailed the scout through the excavated tunnel, heading towards the location where the younger dwarf had previously spotted the elves.


    Upon reaching the location, Barain caught sight of the elves still engaged inbat with the scorpions through a small peephole that had been dug into the tunnel wall.


    Whilst observing how they handled the battle, the elderly dwarf couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that this group of elves was indeed quite experienced.


    The three monsters were no match for them. Even the higher iron-ranked scorpions were annihted with only five elves as casualties.


    Considering the yers couldn¡¯t use the offering ritual, it seemed that these scorpions didn¡¯t have any valuable loot drops apart from their pincers and stingers¡­


    So when killing these scorpions, the yers set the ¡°experience gain¡± to a hundred percent, leaving no spoils of war. The entire scorpion was fully drained of its lifeforce through [War Sacrifice] and turned to ashes¡­


    Seeing therge amount of experience points being added to their status screen, each yers¡¯ eyes became more and more eager forbat.


    The EXP value provided by these giant scorpions are so high!


    There was a reason behind this phenomenon. The underworld¡¯s living environment was considerably harsher inparison to the surface. As a result, the monsters that managed to survive in this ce typically possessed significantly greater vitality.


    Vitality is synonymous to lifeforce and with the underworld creatures having an abundance of vitality also allows the passive skill [War Sacrifice] to attract more lifeforce, consequently leading to an increase in EXP points.


    In spite of the casualties of five yers, those who remained had essentially already deciphered the attack patterns of the scorpions. This newfound understanding filled them with exhration, driving them to eagerly aggro and engage in battles with more monsters.


    The old dwarf witnessed an unbelievable scene wherein the yers just eliminated three scorpions and without even having time to rest, already proceeded to hurl a few fireballs into the mushroom forest which drew the attention of five additional scorpions, resulting in yet another battle where the yers engaged with them fervently, resembling a group of crazedbat addicts.


    The elderly dwarf was taken aback by the sheer excitement and greed disyed by this grpup of elves, along with the unmistakable expressions of manic joy that were clearly visible upon their faces from a distance.


    <em>These elves¡­</em>


    What on earth is going on?


    This doesn¡¯t seem like a fight for revenge, does it?


    1 (<strong><mark>ÌìÔÖ¾üÍÅ</mark></strong>) ¨C The Scourge (sometimes called the Undead Scourge or Scourge Army) is one of three major factions in the game World of Warcraft.

 Chapter 175

    ??<strong>ARE THESE ELVES FOLLOWING AN EVIL GOD? </strong>


    Are these elves seeking revenge?


    The old dwarf, Barain, doubted as to whether this peace-loving elves can evenprehend the concept of revenge within their minds¡­


    Anyway, he didn¡¯t believe it.


    And indeed, these elves didn¡¯t seem like they were seeking revenge either.


    But if revenge wasn¡¯t the case then¡­<em>why?</em>


    What¡¯s the purpose of this fight?


    In Barain¡¯s understanding, elves would never instigated conflicts by themselves.


    However, the scene he just witnessed hadpletely overturned his perception of the elves¡­


    If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, those five scorpions currently attacking the elves were the ones they had just excitedly thrown fireballs at!


    Moreover, the expression upon their faces as they threw those fireballs looks very simr to those mischievous brats ying with the mine worms in the Dwarven tribe.


    After observing their subsequent battle, the old dwarf was left even more astonished.


    After provoking the five scorpions, the elves initially experienced some confusion but quickly divided themselves into five subgroups, with each group engaging inbat against one scorpion.


    Judging by their proficiency and organization, it clearly shows that it was not the first time they have done it.


    Then, a warrior from each group stepped forward with various protective spells attached to their bodies, before charging at the scorpion like a crazed lunatic, enduring the full brunt of the attacks.


    However, how could a mere low-ranking elves possibly contend against a much higher-ranking magical beasts?


    Even with various spell protections and the assistance of theirrades, the elves on the frontline were still injured one after the another under the onught of the scorpion attacks.


    Barain, the elderly dark-dwarf, observed everything and silently shook his head in pity.


    Since they couldn¡¯t withstand the scorpions¡¯ attacks, why did these elves even provoke them in the first ce?


    Now the situation is aplete mess.


    Avenging their fallen brethren has be practically impossible, and it is likely that more of their people will be further sacrificed.


    No wonder their race have declined.


    These elves¡­truly is stubborn to a fault as always.


    What¡¯s more, with their entire race suffering from a curse, it is probably not an easy task for the current elves to train a skilled lower iron-ranked warrior!


    It is indeed regrettable, such a pity¡­


    In his opinion, these elves probably won¡¯t survive for long.


    And indeed, the reality matched his expectations. Those warriors who confronted the giant scorpions and had taken the brunt of the attacks were soon left heavily injured.


    However, whether they were being hammered by the scorpion¡¯s pincers until they vomited blood or poisoned almost to death, those valiant warriors still showed no signs of retreat. They didn¡¯t even seem to care about the increasingly severe injuries upon their bodies¡­


    There was even someone whose face turned abnormally pale, coughing up ck blood, but were stillughing heartily as if he¡¯s enjoying the moment.


    ¡°That was an epic fight! This scorpion was way more exciting than the monsters above!¡±


    One significant difference between Elven Kingdom and other virtual online games is its high level of realism and the authentic sense of impact during battles.


    Many yers who enjoybat not only relish upon the thrill of strategizing against bosses and earning rewards but also revel in the exhrating battles themselves¡­


    This has be a distinctive feature of field battles in Elven Kingdom.


    Regrettably, the central region of the Elven Forest, which used to provide a suitable challenge for experienced yers, has suffered a significant depletion of monsters. The few remaining mobs mostly consist of either low-level creatures, overwhelmingly strong bosses, or those situated too far away from the core area¡­


    It was only when they ventured underground that yers finally encountered some fresh new targets.


    As for the scene of the yers fighting, the elderly dwarf¡¯s eyelids twitched incessantly, as his heart was filled with ever increasing astonishment.


    <em>Oh Lord of darkness and shadows above!</em>


    Since when did the elves develop such fearlessness towards death and such fervor for battles?


    Is it possible that they have now embraced the faith of both the goddess of death and the god of war at the same time?


    Why does it feel like¡­ they are now even more simr to those battle-crazed orcs?


    Why does it seem like they have adapted to the underworld much better than those who have been in this ce for a longer period of time?


    They wouldn¡¯t be lizardmen or orcs in disguise, would they?


    The old dwarf skeptically rubbed his eyes and carefully observed their appearance through the gap in the wall¡­


    Hmm, even after thoroughly scrutinizing them, he concluded that they were indeed just like the elves from his memory¡­


    It is only their behavior that has undergone such a radical change.


    The elven warriors confronting the giant scorpion paid no heed to their own injuries. Even the other elves engaged in battle against the scorpion showed no concern for their own wounds or the severe injuries sustained by their dyingrades.


    Apart from the druid who kept healing the warriors, everyone¡¯s attention was solely focused upon the scorpion, besieging it frantically while disying intense determination to not give up until they had vanquished all their enemies¡­


    Even when a warrior met his demise with a smile upon his face while enduring the scorpion¡¯s attacks, the other elves still remained unfazed. Instead, another elven warrior would just swiftly stepped in to take his ce.


    No one bothered with the dead elves¡¯ bodies, as if they simply didn¡¯t care about it.


    Despite witnessing the death of theirpanions, they showed no trace of grief. On the contrary, as the scorpion¡¯s injuries continued to mount, their enthusiasm grew steadily much stronger.


    ¡°It¡¯s close to dying! Everyone, give it all you¡¯ve got!¡±


    ¡°Kill it!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s almost dead!¡±


    Old dwarf: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Watching the elves battle, he became more and more speechless.


    <em>Give it all you¡¯ve got!? </em>


    Your people are all dead!


    What¡¯s the point of giving it your all if most of yourrades have fallen and their bodie¡ªHuh?


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    T-The bodies¡­


    Where are the bodies?


    The elderly dwarf widened his eyes and realized that the warriors, who were lying dead on the ground earlier, had now suddenly disappeared without a trace¡­


    Only a pile of equipment remained.


    <em>What in the h¡¯s name!?</em>


    He looked around in astonishment.


    And the subsequent actions of the elves left the old dwarf even more stunned.


    As the giant scorpion, exhausted from the relentless assaults, made preparations to flee, the elves became aware of its desire to escape. Their eyes then swiftly turned bloodshot, while their once-excited expressions shifted quickly from enthusiasm to anger and finally, urgency.


    At the same time, the bald-dwarf, Barain, could also hear their frantic shouts.


    ¡°Oh no! It wants to escape!¡±


    ¡°Fu*k We can¡¯t let it get away! Everyone, we can¡¯t let it retreat!¡±


    ¡°Tanks, give us some help! Quickly hold it back!¡±


    At this moment, the voices of the elves carried a hint of annoyance and tension that was absent during the fierce battle.


    And then, an even more shocking scene unfolded before Barain¡¯s eyes¡­


    The severely injured elves, after listening to theirmander¡¯s words, immediatelyunched themselves at the giant scorpion!


    Some of them hugged the scorpion¡¯s stinger, while others grabbed its thick legs, and then they were engulfed alongside with the already exhausted giant scorpion in a barrage of skills and magical spells, under the indiscriminate attacks of other elves¡­


    Perhaps they¡­ had all gone to the afterlife together.


    They actually killed their fellowrades without discrimination?


    The elderly dwarf couldn¡¯t help but shudder, and his gaze towards these handsome and tall elves hadpletely changed¡­


    <em>By the grace of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows!</em>


    <em>Have they all gone mad?</em>


    Afterward, the body of the giant scorpion suddenly began to rapidly wither and age, eventually turning into ash particles drifting into the air¡­


    The bodies of the fallen elves have also gradually turned transparent and ultimately disappeared as well¡­


    Seeing this bizarre scene unfolds, the old dwarf widened his eyes once more and drew a sharp breath.


    ¡°T-They¡­ disappeared¡­these guys¡­ were they tempted and corrupted by some evil god?¡±


    After residing in the depths of the underworld for numerous years, Barain hade across followers of evil gods, engaging with them, conducting business, and sometimes even hiring them as mercenaries¡­


    And the scene of the corpse vanishing bears a strong resemnce to the unsettling blood sacrifices often carried out by those evil god cultists.


    For a moment, Barain¡¯s heart was filled with fear and vignce, and the idea of deceiving these elves to learn some elven crafting techniques from them waspletely dispelled out from his mind.


    Right after that, he witnessed each of them cheer with excitement before taking a seat whilst breathing heavily.


    They were happily tidying up the equipment left behind by their deceasedpanions, showing no signs of sadness nor grief, and even taking out some dried rations to eat.


    He focused his eyes on what they were eating and when he realized what they were consuming as their rations, the old dwarf was left dumbfounded¡­


    ¡°J-Jerky!?¡±


    <em>Oh dear Lord of Darkness and Shadows!</em>


    These elves are actually eating meat jerky?!


    Aren¡¯t they supposed to just feed on fruits and nectar?


    Why are they eating meat?


    T-These elves¡­ I¡¯m afraid they really have degenerated and became cultists of some evil god!


    The old dwarf was profoundly shaken within his heart, growing more convinced that his spection could indeed be true.


    Although he was shocked, as a qualified resident of the Underdark, he couldn¡¯t help butpare these strange elves¡¯bat capabilities against his own people¡­


    And after theparison, he was astonished to find that although his people generally had higher strength, they would probably still lose in a fight if their numbers were the same!


    At least¡­ from a different perspective, the dark-dwarves wouldn¡¯t be able to kill five giant scorpions as cleanly and efficiently as they did!


    Moreover¡­ even as an underworld race, the old dwarf was also shocked by the cold-bloodedness disyed by these elves in battle¡­


    They didn¡¯t even bat an eye at the deaths of theirpanions!


    However, despite being amazed by the ferocity of these elves, the old dwarf was not entirely afraid of them.


    Due to their long lifespans, elves have a rtively low fertility rate¡­


    In his view, it waspletely foolish to trade the life of an elf just to kill a mere monster no matter if it its a high-ranking one!


    However, he still had a bigger question in his mind¡­


    As he watched the yers finish off the scorpions and saw their happy expressions afterwards, the old dwarf became even more puzzled¡­


    What exactly are these elves aiming for?


    Are they here just to kill monsters?


    After killing these monsters, are they offering them as sacrifices to an evil god?


    At this moment, he also heard the yers¡¯ conversation.


    ¡°The monsters here are really strong¡­although they¡¯re just mobs on the upper rank, the experience we gained is a lot! I¡¯m almost close to silver-rank! Last time, when I hitched a bus ride <mark>1</mark>on Demacia¡¯s monster hunting excursion, only by killing a forest lizard can we gain the same amount of experience.¡±


    ¡°Haha! This ce is really good. Let¡¯s take a break and continue hunting more monsters when everyone is here! Today, we must kill all the scorpions within this mushroom forest!¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I wonder how much experience we can gain this time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t use the offering ritual here. We can only gain experience points instead. Otherwise, if we offer the monsters to the God¡ª<em>ÒÁܽ</em> then we can get some contribution points as well!¡±


    Upon hearing this, the old dwarf was truly stunned.


    Offering rituals to sacrifice monsters¡­


    Gods with iprehensible name¡­


    <em>T-These elves¡­</em>


    They truly are followers of an evil god!


    1 ¡°Getting/Hitching a bus/car/vehicle ride¡± is a gaming ng (mostly asians) that means someone getting carried/helped by a particrly skilled or more higher leveled yer.

 Chapter 176

    ??<strong>HIDDEN QUEST ¡ª DARK DWARVES </strong>


    Followers of Evil God!


    As the old dwarf observed these elves and their strange behavior, a hint of realization flickered within his eyes.


    Evil Gods has two origins¡­


    One is a true god whose soul has been corrupted by the will of the abyss, and the other is a powerful existence who voluntarily submits to the will of the abyss in order to attain godhood.


    Nevertheless, regardless of which origin they came from, due to their entanglement with the chaotic will of the abyss, Evil Gods generally exhibit a disposition of madness and malevolence¡­


    Furthermore, they strengthen themselves not only through faith but also by epting the flesh and souls of other creatures that are sacrificed by their followers.


    In contrast to believers of other true gods, followers of Evil Gods frequently disy signs of madness as a result of being influenced by the will of the evil god they¡¯re worshiping.


    Even within the chaotic underworld, the topic of evil gods is quite sensitive, and many settlements have been destroyed by the followers of Evil Gods¡­


    As a seasoned old dwarf who has had numerous encounters with these evil god cultists, Barain naturally understood that these guys were akin to alchemical potions that could explode at any given moment.


    If they were allowed entry right into any settlements or cities within the underworld, chances are those ces would inevitably fall into chaos due to the tendencies of these cultists¡­


    However, as the saying goes, every sharp sword can be a double-edged weapon. If he could effectively utilize these elves who appeared to be followers of an evil god, then it could also potentially bring unexpected benefits upon his tribe!


    Thinking of this, Barain¡¯s gaze gradually became more profound.


    ¡°Grandpa Barain, how about it?¡±


    Observing the elderly dwarf whose expression keeps fluctuating, the young scout named Brasshammer asked with a mixture of curiosity and respect.


    Having trailed behind the elderly dwarf, Brasshammer refrained from going forward to peep, thus missing out on witnessing the subsequent battles of the elves and being unable to hear out their conversations.


    Withdrawing his gaze from their spy hole, Barain let out a slight sigh and spoke in a low voice,


    ¡°They are merely a group of elves who have inadvertently ventured into the underworld. It¡¯s not a major issue. Let¡¯s return. I¡¯ll assign someone else to keep watch over them.¡±


    ¡°They really are elves! It seems I didn¡¯t made a mistake after all!¡±


    Hearing the words of the old dwarf, Brasshammer¡¯s expression brightened as he breathe a sigh of relief.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Elves are the most noble race in the world. Perhaps our tribe can establishmunication with them and engage in business!¡±


    After hearing Brasshammer¡¯s optimistic words, the elderly dwarf simply nodded and disyed an enigmatic smile.


    ¡°Haha, this brat, there¡¯s no need to rush. Judging from their appearance, it¡¯s only a matter of time before they delve deeper into the underground caves. They will surely eventually pay a visit to our tribe in due time. Let¡¯s go back for now.¡±


    After saying that, Barain held back the young scout, who still wanted to take a closer look, and urged him to turn around and leave.


    Through her divine sense, Ev¨¦ silently observed the old dwarf and his youngerpanion turned around and leave, before she withdrew her gaze and wore a look of keen interest.


    ¡°Hmm¡­interesting.¡±


    The yers couldn¡¯t see these two spying dwarves, but Ev¨¦ could.


    After all, with her being a genuine god, she had the ability to project her consciousness onto yers and ¡®perceive¡¯ the surroundings with more rity.


    And the series of changes upon the old dwarf¡¯s expressions were also clearly observed by her.


    That elder¡¯s expression of astonishment earlier gave the impression that he doubted the yers¡¯ identity as mere ordinary elves, didn¡¯t it?


    ¡°That old dwarf was definitely startled by the yers¡¯ actions just now, but hisst reaction was rather peculiar¡­ It seems that I need to advise the yers to be more cautious when encountering the dark dwarves, so they won¡¯t be scammed.¡±


    Ev¨¦ contemted as she recalled and analyzed the behavior of the bald dwarf elder.


    ¡°It appears that this elderly dwarf harbors a sense of wariness towards the younger dwarf. There seem to be underlying internal conflicts within theirmunity, possibly rted to religiousplexities between the two factions¡­¡±


    ¡°Although the yers aren¡¯t my believers, I still need to remind then to pay more attention to the local inhabitants. Their main purpose for entering the underworld is to enhance their strength, not to expand our faction¡¯s influence. If the yers can avoid conflicts with the dark dwarves, then it¡¯s better to do so¡­¡±


    She had never considered extending her influence deep into the underworld.


    In her perspective, the chaotic domain of the underworld served as nothing more than a training ground for the yers to advance their levels. Countless monsters inhabited this ce, making it an ideal ce for the yers to engage in battles and absorb some lifeforce.


    Of course, it also wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to conduct some business and trade with the local inhabitants of the underworld during their exploration.


    However, when it came to expanding and establishing her own base in the underworld, that idea waspletely out of the question.


    At most, what she could do is to raise some local inhabitants simr to outside agents, tasked with mining resources and acquiring specialty products.


    The surface world already was already so bountiful and more than suitable enough for the survival of the elves. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to direct her efforts and allocate her resources there instead?


    After all, if one were to chase two rabbits, they might not be able to catch either one in the end.<mark>1</mark>


    Of course, another important reason why Ev¨¦ had no intention of expanding in the underworld was her apprehension concerning the mysterious existence behind the dark dwarves¡­


    The true gods of the Netherworld!<mark> 2</mark>


    There was once a dimensional passage between Underdark and the Netherworld. Although this passage had been closed after a thousand years during the Heavenly War, the several true gods of the Netherworld still held great interest in Underdark.


    For the bigshots of the Netherworld, this ce is their bridge which connects them to the world of Saig¨¹es.


    Having already waged war against Uller, the god of winter and hunting, Ev¨¦ is reluctant to provoke another enemy and find herself in yet another precarious situation.


    The gods of the heavenly realm are destined to be her enemies, but the true gods of the Netherworld are different. They did not participate in the ancient war of the gods that took ce a thousand years ago, and their foundation does not lie within the world of Saig¨¹es.


    Strictly speaking, they are not Ev¨¦¡¯s enemies.


    Of course, she still harbor some few minor ideas within her mind¡­


    It is said that H is not fond of the gods of the Heavenly Realm. Even if H left her mark in the Pantheon, it is likely merely a superficial gesture.


    It might be a good idea if she could have a chance to establish a connection with this particr god!


    Of course, there are some potential risks involved since Ev¨¦ does not know H¡¯s real attitude towards the World Tree and the other gods.


    Moreover, she has always pretended to be someone associated with H in front of Uller¡¯s minions, which instills a sense of guilt within her.


    But in any case¡­


    ¡°When ites to the believers of H, it¡¯s better to be careful!¡±


    This is the Goddess of Death after all.


    If the nearby inhabitants were not the dark-dwarves who worship the deities of the Netherworld, but instead merely just lizardmen who believe in primitive totems or any other sentient beings who just worship evil gods¡­


    Then, Ev¨¦ would have definitely loosened the leash of the yers without much hesitation, allowing them to freely attack like a pack of rabid dogs!


    The members of the First Legion have discovered an excellent spot to farm mobs in the underworld with exceptionally high EXP yields!


    Although Tomato strongly insisted that all guild members should not disclose such information, who doesn¡¯t have friends in other guilds?


    Moreover¡­ it is not only their guild that¡¯s exploring the depths of this underground area. Other small guilds and some solo yers have also partake in the exploration as well.


    Therefore, it didn¡¯t take long for the news spread before they could fully farm scorpions in the spot that they¡¯ve discovered.


    In no time at all, arge number of hardcore yers formed small parties and rushed into the underworld, joining the existing army of yers whose already farming mobs on the spot.


    Soon after, the number of yers farming giant scorpions in the mushroom forest quickly surpassed three hundred.


    This left Tomato feeling both frustrated and helpless, secretly cursing these yers for being like a group of cats, running over the second they smelled something fishy.


    Of course, all could do was just grumbled andined.


    High-leveled yers like him are already subject to a multitude of rules established by the game¡¯s system, whiches with corresponding restrictions to handle any wrongdoing. Additionally, the current version of him is no longer akin to his past self, as he has naturally grown morepliantpared to his previously reckless nature.


    Besides, there are indeed many monsters lurking in the underworld, so there¡¯s no need to fight over these puny sums of monsters.


    After many yers scrambled to wipe out the giant scorpion poption within the Mushroom Forest, some have decided to pass through the forest and arrive at a deeper area¡­


    Within this deeper region, they saw a beautiful underground river.


    This cavern area is divided into two parts by an underground river: on one side, there is an underground forest consisting of various peculiar nts, where the constant roar of monsters can be heard; whereas on the other side lies an open field!


    Upon seeing the open field, the yers¡¯ eyes lit up one by one.


    Because, unexpectedly, they saw ntation fields and man-made paths!


    <em>Here lies the proof of the natives living in the underworld!</em>


    The crops in these fields differed from those in the surface world, leaving the yers unable to identify them. They appeared to be a type of moss-like nt, exhibiting an unappetizing appearance.


    Furthermore, in the distance across the in, the yers have also caught sight of an underground city constructed entirely from ck stones!


    ¡°It¡¯s a city!¡±


    ¡°Quick, look! There are some people moving over there!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re short and have dark skin. They must be the dark-dwarves mentioned in the info!¡±


    The yers were filled with great excitement upon this discovery.


    Meanwhile, a new system message appeared before all the yers who arrived at the area¡ª


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Discovered City of the Dark-Dwarves</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Triggered Hidden Questline</strong>: Dark-Dwarves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: Dark-Dwarves are sentient beings residing in the underworld. They believe in the Goddess of Death and the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. They excel in mining and forging and have a fondness for good ale¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Obtain the friendship of the Dark Dwarves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Rewards</strong>: Experience points, Contribution points, Neutral NPC Reputation Rating (Neutral NPC Reputation Rating will affect the overall reputation score)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Tips</strong>: The power dynamics in the underworld areplex. It is rmended for the chosen ones to enter as elven mercenaries, enabling them to trade with these neutral NPCs. However, please maintain the dignity of the elves and avoid getting involved in disputes concerning faith¡­¡¿


    For some reason, the yers couldn¡¯t help but feel that this quest had been triggered exceptionally fastpared to normal¡­


    1 A proverb which has a meaning that if you put your efforts and energy into trying to fulfil two goals at the same time, you won¡¯t seed in either one.


    2 Okay for rification, all this time, I¡¯ve thought that this ce was already the Underworld (as in hell) hence why I¡¯ve been calling it as such. While it is still technically a part of Hell (since it was once connected to it) it actually isn¡¯t the real Hell, merely the entrance point of it and there seems to be another realm (just like the Heavenly Realm) called ¡®Ú¤½ç¡¯ (Netherworld/Underworld)


    I¡¯m sorry for the mistake. So to avoid confusion, from now on specifically use the term ¡®Netherworld¡¯ to refer to the realm wherein the Goddess of Death/Lord of darkness resides.

 Chapter 177

    ??<strong>REMOVING EQUIPMENT </strong>


    In a dimly-lit abode made of stone, a group of dwarves hidden within the shroud of darkness, gathered together as they convened in whispered discussions.


    ¡°.. A group of elves who worships an evil god? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes I¡¯m quite certain. Anyway¡­you¡¯ll know when you see them. Those elves are very abnormal, and the only way to exin their odd behavior is them being followers of an evil god.¡±


    ¡°These elves have arrived at the perfect time¡­ I had intended to wait a bit longer, but I didn¡¯t anticipate this opportunity! If we can utilize them to instigate some chaos, then our n will go much more smoothly¡­ When do you expect them to arrive here?¡±


    ¡°They are currently hunting monsters in the Dark Forest. Based on their speed¡­ it is likely that they will exterminate all the scorpions there within a maximum of two days.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ two days, it appears that you believe this group of elves, suspected of worshipping an evil god, is highly formidable inbat?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­at the very least, stronger than our own people.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, it would be even more advantageous if they were stronger. If we could utilize them to sow chaos and eliminate that person in the midst of the confusion, then we would ultimately emerge victorious. However, I fear¡­ they may notply with our intentions.¡±


    ¡°High Priest, Your Eminence, you worry too much. I have closely observed them. Followers of evil gods are typically ruthless and fanatical. Even a slight provocation will undoubtedly unleash their fury¡­


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to you¡­act ording to the situation! In any case¡­ there is only one goal, and our operation this time must seed at all cost¡­¡±


    While the figures hidden within the shadows were engaged in hushed discussions, suddenly, another figure stumbled in:


    ¡°High Priest! Your Eminence! Over three hundred fully armed elves have suddenly appeared outside the city! They¡­T-They are currently heading in our direction!¡±


    ¡°Why so quickly? Three hundred people? Didn¡¯t you mention earlier that there were just a little over a hundred?¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­ m-maybe I didn¡¯t see it clearly¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, forget it. Whether it was a hundred or three hundred, it wouldn¡¯t make much difference. As long as we can reim ckrock City this time, the magnitude of sacrifices bes inconsequential. After all, those who will perish are nothing but betrayers of our lord! Let it be so. I assume you will soon be summoned to address this situation, so why not take the initiative to go back and return first?


    ¡°Yes, Your Eminence!¡±


    After uttering these words, the figures gradually vanished one by one.


    ckrock City, inside a solemn ck temple.


    A female dwarf, d in a ck ceremonial priest¡¯s robe, knelt before a stone statue. The statue before her portrayed a majestic deity with feminine characteristics.


    Surprisingly, it stood tall,pletely deviating from the typical stature of a dwarf. Adorned with a ck hood, the statuemanded attention, holding a magnificent gem in one hand whilst wielding a massive scythe in the other. Its presence exuded authority and lifelike realism.


    While the female dwarf silently prayed, hurried footsteps suddenly approached her from behind.


    ¡°Shrinelord! Shrinelord! Something terrible has urred!¡±


    The priestess momentarily paused her prayers. She then gracefully stood up and turned her gaze towards the neer.


    ¡°What is happening, Lord Barain?¡± she inquired.


    ¡°A group of fully armed elven mercenaries has arrived at the city gates. They are immensely powerful, and the guards were unable to stop their entry. They have already infiltrated the city. I apologize for disturbing you, but we require your decision!¡± Lord Barain replied.


    ¡°¡­.Elves?¡± The dwarven priestess was slightly taken aback, her eyes blinking a few times in confusion.


    Inside the dwarven city,


    Upon epting the questline, more than three hundred yers rushed eagerly towards the city of dwarves.


    Their actions were swift and imposing, catching the dwarves currently guarding the city gates off guard.


    Initially, the guards appeared bewildered and were unable to hinder the yers¡¯ entry into their city. It was only when arger influx of yers flooded in that the guardsmen finally reacted, hastily mobilizing additional soldiers to surround the yers.


    As a sizable group of anxious and uneasy-looking dwarven warriors closed in on them, the yers exchanged bewildered nces amongst each other.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t these dwarves neutral NPCs? Why are they behaving as if they intend to fight us?¡±


    ¡°Could it be that¡­ our presence has somehow frightened them?¡±


    ¡°Then why did they surrounded us only after we passed through the city gates?¡±


    ¡°Could these individuals be gangsters then? The info we got mentioned that many local inhabitants residing in the underground are ruthless¡­¡±


    The yers exchanged dubious nces at the dwarves encircling them, as they instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.


    Observing the yers¡¯ actions, the dwarves grew even more anxious.


    In retrospect, this reaction from the locals was to be expected, considering that the yers had just recently been involved in battles against monsters, and each of them still exuded a faint air of aggression. Some yers even had bloodstains on the equipments they are wearing, thus making themselves look like a group of dangerous individuals not to be trifled with¡­


    Recognizing the yers¡¯ heightened vignce and the gradually worsening atmosphere, Tomato swiftly switched his voice system¡¯snguage conversion to elvish and addressed the yers in a loud voice:


    ¡°No, something isn¡¯t right! This must be a part of the quest. Everyone, refrain from acting impulsively! Remember, these are neutral NPCs, and disying aggression may negatively impact our reputation scores with them. Let us avoid any reckless behavior!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read from many western fantasy novels that dwarves tend to have a very violent temper¡­seeing as our group consists of more than three hundred fully armed individuals who have suddenly entered their city without providing any sort of exnation, it¡¯s understandable for them to be wary of us.¡±


    ¡°Be patient, everyone! Let us attempt to negotiate with them first. Remember, our overall reputation score is a collective effort, and this presents an opportunity to improve our faction¡¯s reputation!¡±


    ¡°For now let¡¯s just do anything they ask us to do. Everyone needs to have thick skin. As long as we raise our overall reputation, then everything should eventually work out!¡±


    ¡°If anyone causes trouble and somehow it affects our faction¡¯s overall reputation score, then mark my words, First Legion won¡¯t ever forget it!¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the yers hesitated for a moment before releasing their grips on their weapons one by one.


    Ever since the favorability system was overhauled, the importance of NPCs¡¯ favorability has increased significantly, and the yer¡¯s personal reputation score is now closely tied to their speed of advancement.


    As this was a rare opportunity to potentially increase their overall reputation score, the yers naturally didn¡¯t want to ruin it and let such chance go to waste.


    Although many yers felt uneasy due to the implied threat in thest sentence spoken by the First Legion¡¯s Guildmaster, they acknowledged that the other party had made a valid point.


    Because¡­ improving one¡¯s favorability was truly challenging after the patch.


    The reason was simple.


    This damned game actually had a ¡®first impression¡¯ schematics simr to reality!


    In the Elven Kingdom, the initial impression made on NPCs carried significant weight. If a yer managed to make a good first impression, then raising their favorabilityter on would be so much easier.


    However, in the case of a negative first impression, the consequences would be disastrous, as it would require twice the effort to achieve only half the results.


    Take Demacia, for example. That poor guy is still cleaning toilets in Florence. It is said that he has been doing it for so long, constantly crying and apologizing to NPCs while desperately clinging to their legs. To make matters worse, all his hard work only earned him a measly personal reputation score of 1.


    Moreover¡­ most NPCs still had negative favorability towards him.


    And this time, the majority of yers who arrived in the dwarven city werebat-oriented yers.


    Unlike life-oriented yers who prioritize social activities and regrly interact with NPCs,bat-oriented yers only interacted with NPCs on an asional basis, usually for the purpose ofpleting quests. As a result, most NPCs tend to have lower favorability towards them.


    So¡­ encountering these dwarves for the first time and triggering a quest that had a direct impact on their overall reputation score was indeed rare.


    While the yers are currently in a standoff with the guards, a group of heavily armored dwarf soldiers could be seen in the distance, escorting two dwarves who appears to be in a much higher position.


    As they drew closer, it became evident that the two leaders were a male dwarf and a female dwarf.


    The male dwarf appeared quite old with a fully bald head, and he¡¯s respectfully walking half a step behind the female dwarf.


    On the other hand, the female dwarf is attired in a ck ceremonial priest¡¯s robe. In contrast to the male dwarves with robust physiques, she possesses a more slender petite stature¡­


    Many yers showed a look of surprise upon seeing her.


    Seeing the dwarves surrounding them, they thought that¡­ female dwarves were also bulky thick like the male dwarves.


    Unfortunately, all the dark dwarves have dark-colored skin tone, which is quite a rare sight back in the Celestial Empire. Hence, the yers are having a hard time differentiating one dwarf from another¡­


    Meanwhile, curiosity also arose within their hearts:


    Could this female dwarf, who appears like a priest, be the aforementioned goddess of death or a follower of the Lord of darkness and shadows?


    Upon seeing the gathered yers, the female dwarf appeared surprised as well.


    Without waiting for her to speak, the elderly dwarf stepped forward with a hostile tone and said, ¡°Elves? Where did youe from? Why did you invade our city?¡±


    The yers looked around awkwardly before Tomato finally decided to step forward.


    He subconsciously wanted to draw a tree symbol on his chest but quickly realized his mistake and scratched his head instead.


    With a gentle smile, he spoke in a more amiable manner, stating, ¡°We belong to an elven Mercenary Corps from the surface. Our purpose ining here underground is to seek adventure. We were curious when we saw your magnificent city, so we wanted to visit and perhaps engage in some trading or make friends if possible.¡±


    After hearing his words, the expression of the female dwarf softened a bit.


    She looked at the yers and sighed, ¡°I never thought elves would also have a mercenary corps, and you managed to gather so many of your kind!¡±


    The male elderly dwarf shook his head and spoke firmly, ¡°I understand your intentions, but¡­ sorry, our city does not wee outsiders. If you wish to visit andmunicate, then you may designate a representative to enter the city on your group¡¯s behalf, but others will not be permitted. However, there is an alternative¡­ If you are willing to remove all your equipment and weapons, only then will we grant permission for you to stay within the city.¡±


    After saying this, the atmosphere around them instantly became serious.


    The female dwarf furrowed her brow slightly.


    In the underworld, equipment and strength were the lifelines of mercenaries and adventurers. Asking them to remove their equipment was nothing short of a provocation.


    Their equipment was basically their life; how could they just casually take it off?


    The words of the old dwarf appeared to be aimed at safeguarding the city¡¯s safety, but in reality, they sounded excessively provocative. If they were uttered in the presence of another hotheaded underground race, then it could have easily sparked conflict with the dwarves¡­


    Fortunately¡­ these visitors were elves!


    The female dwarf helplessly nced at the old dwarf, sighed, and said to the yers, ¡°Please forgive us. Grandpa Barain is the elder of our tribe, and he said that for the safety of our tribe. I understand the nobility of the elven race, but the underworld is less peaceful than the surface world, so a certain level of vignce is necessary here. The request to remove your equipment was just a joke, if you¡ª¡±


    She couldn¡¯t finish her words as she froze.


    The old dwarf, who spoke first, also froze too.


    Even the other dwarves within the vicinity stood still as well.


    Because they noticed that every elves in front of them¡­


    Without hesitation, began removing their own equipments.

 Chapter 178

    ??<strong>OBSERVING THE ELVES</strong>


    Not only the Dark Dwarves, but even Ev¨¦, who had been observing the yers in secret, was stunned.


    The yers were originally individuals who pursued questpletion and sought constant growth through any means necessary.


    Having epted the task assigned to them, they would undoubtedly seize any opportunity that could aid them in aplishing their goal!


    When they triggered the questline to establish friendship with the Dark Dwarves, most yers were probably prepared to please the dwarves or even act as subservient dogs who would unquestionably obey the NPCs¡¯mands¡­


    After all, from their perspective, these dwarves could potentially be the NPCs who would assign them tasks in the future!


    As a result, the yers willingly removed their primary equipment and entrusted it to several members of the First Legion and some solo yers for safekeeping, leaving only simple clothing as their base-equipment.


    Seeing their swift actions, the female dwarf couldn¡¯t find the right words to say¡­


    Finally, she woke up from her stupor and eximed,


    ¡°As expected of the fair and honest elves!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, Shrinelord, their behavior seemed a bit too decisive¡­ Be cautious. I fear there may be a hidden conspiracy behind their actions!¡±


    Just then, the old dwarf spoke once more, his gaze remaining wary as he scrutinized each of the yers, his words dripping with intense hostility.


    The female dwarf furrowed her brows and sheepishly looked at the yers, only to be taken aback when she noticed that despite having heard of the old dwarf¡¯s provoking words, the yers showed no signs of anger at all.


    The elf who was acting as their leader even smiled and said,


    ¡°If you¡¯re still wary that we have some ulterior motives, then you can assign some of your warriors to monitor us. We genuinely just want to be friends with the dwarves.¡±


    Hearing the words of Tomato, the expression of the female dwarf slightly softened.


    ¡°Shrinelord!¡±


    Seeing her expression, the old dwarf wanted to speak more but was interrupted by her raised hand.


    ¡°Elder Barain, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    After admonishing the bald elder, she then gestured towards the dwarf soldiers encircling the elves, instructing them to stand down. At the same time, she let out a sigh of relief, whilst vocalizing her inner thoughts:


    ¡°These are true elves. I have faith in the noble character of their kind and hold great admiration for the race that was once revered as the silver race. As an exiled race, who have also suffered the loss of our homes, it is only fitting that we, the Dark Dwarves, extend a warm wee to them as well, considering their friendly gesture towards us.¡±


    The Dark Dwarves once coexisted with the surface dwarves but were exiled due to being branded as failures. Having lost their ce in the surface world, their tribe then decided to sought refuge underground. Therefore, despite having established themselves in the underworld, it is natural for Dark-Dwarves to harbor a sense of self-deprecation as an exiled race that was banished from their original home.


    ¡°Shrinelord¡­¡±


    The old dwarf wanted to say something, but upon seeing the determined expression of the female dwarf, he could do nothing but shake his head and turn away.


    Following this, the female priestess gracefully bowed before the yers and uttered, ¡°Greetings, esteemed elves, wee to our humble city of ckrock!¡±


    At the same time, the surrounding dwarf soldiers also began to sheathe their weapons.


    Seeing this scene, the yers¡¯ eyes shed with a hint of joy. Some were even about to cheer out loud but were quickly stopped by other yers who coughed lightly and whispered,


    ¡°Hey, maintain yourposure¡­remember, we must pay close attention to our image¡­¡±


    Then¡­while being apanied by the dwarves, the yers finally entered the city they had been so curious about!


    ¡°So¡­ they were really allowed in? No conflicts at all?¡±


    In a dark secret room, a few dwarven figures conversed in hushed voices. The first to speak was an individual with a deep, low voice¡­the same person addressed as ¡°Your Eminence¡± by the others.


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ it was agreed upon. After the elves willingly removed their main equipment, she permitted their entry and just assigned a few soldiers to oversee their activities. And¡­ there was no further conflict between the two sides.¡± Another raspy voice responded.


    The group fell silent for a moment.


    Suddenly, the deep voice chuckled disdainfully, ¡°Hehe, these elves didn¡¯t get riled up by such provocation and they even willingly set aside their weapons and obediently entered the city? Are they truly followers of an Evil God?¡±


    After speaking, a feeble voice stuttered, ¡°Y-Your Eminence¡­ I¡­ I definitely did not make a mistake. These elves are truly suspicious! They were ruthlessly ying monsters, showing no regard for the lives of theirrades, and they did mention offering sacrifices to their Evil God¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Tell me, what have these elves been doing in the city?¡±


    The deep voice interrupted him and another raspy voice responded instead.


    ¡°Your Eminence, they have been wandering around the city, as if sightseeing. They still haven¡¯t caused any sort of trouble and they appear to be deeply intrigued by everything within the city. Moreover, many of them have been approaching the residents, inquiring if they need any help while disying great enthusiasm in their every actions¡­¡±


    The raspy voice spoke respectfully.


    Following the report, the person then let out a slight sigh and added, ¡°I have lived for over a hundred years, yet this is the first time I have witnessed such genuine enthusiasm and sincerity from a race without any trace of wariness at all. I must admit¡­ the noble and virtuous elven race truly lives up to its reputation. Even as mercenaries, they uphold such unwavering integrity.¡±


    The feeble voice angrily retorted, ¡°Tsk, noble race my arse! You haven¡¯t seen them in battle! They¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    The deep voice interrupted them.


    ¡°What we have seen could potentially just be nothing more than their outward facade. Continue monitoring them¡­we shall reconvene tomorrow for further discussion!¡±


    The next day.


    In the same dimly-lit secret room.


    ¡°Have they done anything else? Like¡­ preaching in secret or inscribing sacrificial circles?¡±


    The deep voice asked.


    The raspy voice replied with a hint of confusion.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t¡­ most of them were still strolling around the city, and their presence could be observed almost everywhere¡­ However, it seems their favorite ces are the cksmith shops and bars within the city, as well as the mines on the outskirts¡­¡±


    ¡°While some elves appeared to have grown tired and chose to leave, the majority of them decided to stay in the city. In fact, many of them have even formed friendships with the local residents.¡±


    ¡°¡­Friends?¡±


    The deep voice sounded surprised.


    ¡°Yes¡­they are incredibly enthusiastic. Whenever they see residents in trouble, these elves would eagerly step forward to offer their assistance, often without expecting anything in return. They are even willing to help the farmers eliminate the monsters that keeps ravaging the crop fields outside the city.¡±


    ¡°And over at the cksmith shops, many elves have also gathered there, seemingly doing something¡­what was it called again¡­some kind of ¡®academic exchange¡¯? Anyway, it has attracted arge number of cksmiths¡­¡±


    ¡°In addition, arge number of elves have also gathered at the marketce. They seem to be very interested in certain goods, especially alcoholic beverages and some forged items. Oh, and they are also very interested in steam guns. They have exchanged a lot of their equipment for them.¡±


    ¡°Steam guns? Those bulky alchemic weapons that were phased out?¡±


    The deep voice sounded surprised.


    ¡°Yes, they seemed to love them very much, cherishing them dearly¡­ Moreover, they are remarkably generous in their trades. With the exception of one elf who once haggled, all the other elves willingly paid the set price.¡±


    ¡°However, it seems they don¡¯t have anymon currency at all so they can only barter for the goods they wanted to buy¡­¡±


    ¡°There was even an elf who brought out a bag of high-quality wheat flour, originally sourced from the humans, and traded it for a magic stone.¡±


    ¡°Also¡­I specifically dispatched some individuals to talk with these elves, and my informants discovered that almost all of themckmon knowledge. These elves seemed to resemble a group of novices who have recently ventured out of their n to explore the world outside.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The three figures fell into silence.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ they haven¡¯t had any conflicts at all with the residents?¡±


    The deep voice asked again.


    ¡°¡­No¡±


    The hoarse voice replied, but hesitated for a moment before adding:


    ¡°But¡­yesterday, one elf did steal something from a resident¡ªa precious piece of magical equipment.¡±


    ¡°Steal, you say? So these elves are also capable of theft?¡±


    The deep voice sounded particrly surprised.


    ¡°Indeed, but he was discovered by the city guards, and then he was taken away by other elves to apologize¡­ Although they didn¡¯t seed in recovering the stolen goods, the thieving elf paid with their life.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ are you saying they executed their fellow nsmen? B-But¡­but they¡¯re elves!¡±


    The person with the deep voice expressed disbelief.


    ¡°Yes¡­ they executed him without hesitation, and then burned his remains to ashes.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ these elves are truly strange¡­wait for another day! Keep up the surveince! Also¡­attempt to create some friction between them and the betrayers.¡±


    On the third day.


    ¡°How did it go today? Did the provocation seed?¡±


    The deep voice inquired.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡±


    The person with a hoarse voice sounded a little bit exasperated.


    ¡°These elves¡­ they have such good temperaments and high tolerance. Several times I sent people to provoke them, but all failed. But¡­¡±


    ¡°But, what?¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­ today there were more elves who tried to steal things. However, they were all apprehended and brought to the city square by their own kind, where they were ultimately publicly executed¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°After that, it appears a riot broke out amongst these elves. They were seen arguing with each other, but ever since then, there have been no further incidents of theft.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Also¡­¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°Today, hundreds of elves came to the city once again¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡­ how¡­ where did so many elvese from!?¡±


    The deep voice gasped in astonishment.


    ¡°However, this new group of elves seems different from the initial group¡­¡±


    ¡°Different in what way?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, although this group of elves also referred to themselves as mercenaries, many of them are not wearing anybat equipment at all; instead, they carry packages on their backs. Some were even pushing carts filled with flour and sweet potatoes¡­¡­then they began trading at the marketce¡­this new group felt like a merchant caravan.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Moreover¡­ for some reason, when they began trading today, these elves all seemed to have acquired the art of haggling¡­ behaving shrewdly, much like human merchants in human society.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°In addition, there is another group of mercenaries who called themselves as members of ¡®Heart of Nature¡¯ Guild. They have a vice leader who goes by the name of ¡®Demacia,¡¯ and they are actively recruiting the local residents to establish somekind of business organization¡­¡±


    ¡°An organization?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­specifically its called the ¡®Amway¡¯ <mark>1</mark> Business Organization, and they want to develop something called ¡®upline¡¯ and ¡®downline¡¯¡­ I didn¡¯t quite understand it, but it has attracted a lot of residents who were swayed to buy something called ¡®shares¡¯¡­¡±<mark> 2</mark>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Is the trading still ongoing? What are they buying in the city?¡±


    ¡°Magic stones, some magic materials from underground, and some alchemical and forging products¡­ Additionally, it seems their high-ranking members are already negotiating with the shrine for establishing long-termmercial rtions.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­ although these elves are peculiar and have strange personalities, and some even have weird quirks, overall they don¡¯t seem to have any malicious intent. They don¡¯t appear to be followers of any evil gods at all, but rather resemble human merchants instead¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After listening to the report, the deep voice remained silent for a long time.


    <strong><mark>1</mark></strong><strong><mark>°²Àû</mark></strong><strong><mark>¨C </mark></strong><mark>Amway</mark> (short for ¡°American Way¡±) is an American multi-level marketing (MLM)pany that sells health, beauty, and home care products. It is thergest multi-level marketingpany in the world by revenue.


    2 MLM Terms.


    <strong><mark>Downline</mark></strong> ¨C refers to thework of people you recruit into thepany.


    <strong><mark>Upline</mark></strong> ¨C refers to the people above you in thepany¡¯s structure or the one¡¯s who have recruited you.


    In multi-level marketing (MLM), ¡®shares¡¯ refer to the earnings ormissions that participants receive based on their personal sales efforts and the sales made by their recruited downline members. It¡¯s a way to distribute profits and rewards among MLM participants, simr to how shareholders receive dividends in apany. Participants earn ¡®shares¡¯ for their own sales and additional ¡®shares¡¯ for the sales made by those they recruit into the MLMwork. It¡¯s a method of incentivizing and rewarding participants for their contributions to the MLM business.

 Chapter 179

    ??<strong>TRADE BETWEEN PLAYERS AND DWARVES </strong>


    Not only were the mysterious figures secretly discussing ¡°important matters¡± left speechless, but even Ev¨¦ who was seated upon her divine throne within her celestial domain, found herself speechless while scrolling through thetest posts on the official forum.


    [<strong><mark>Top Post</mark></strong>] ¨C How to maximize efficiency in scalping items with the Dark-Dwarves without affecting the faction¡¯s reputation¡­


    [ Common techniques for bargaining ¨C DD Meta <mark>1</mark>]


    [<strong>818</strong>] <mark>2 </mark>¨C Member ¡®xxx¡¯ of the First Legion guild nearly ruined the entire faction¡¯s reputation just for the sake of equipment!


    [<strong>Essential Post</strong>] Guidelines formunication with the Dark Dwarves and how to quickly establish friendship with them.


    [<strong>Essential Post</strong>] List of ckrock City specialties and their seller¡¯s locations.


    [ Coordinates of dwarven ve traffickers¡¯ hideout and how to sell yourself for a good price. ]


    [<strong>Daily Record</strong>] I¡¯m running a pyramid scheme.


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Ever since yers flooded into the ckrock City, all sorts of strange posts have began to appear on the forum one after another.


    Looking at these ridiculous post, Ev¨¦ realized that she hadpletely underestimated the yers¡¯ propensity for chaos.


    Unlike the elves, the Dark Dwarves were not her followers.


    And since they were not connected to the game¡¯s system through faith, Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t be be able to manifest a favorability rating like she did with the native elves. There were no systems for quest temtes, nor could she prohibit yers from attacking the dwarves like she could with her natural believers. Therefore, her ability to restrain yers was greatly reduced.


    Fortunately, due to the yers¡¯ preconceived notion that they had to be friendly with the NPCs and the reputation penalty implemented in the quests, the yers did not consider the dwarves as enemies. Although there was asional mischief and trickery, at least Eve¡¯s worst fear of yers outright hunting down the dwarves on sight still hadn¡¯t yete true.


    Of course, another reason was that yers still couldn¡¯t defeat the dwarves without proper equipment, as they are required to take off their equipment right before entering the city.


    Nevertheless, despite Ev¨¦¡¯s attempts to restrain the yers through reputation penalties, their numerous mischievous acts persisted, particrly following their interactions with the Dark Dwarves.


    There were thieves stealing things, scammers trying to deceive the local inhabitants, and there were even some yers resorting to death just to steal equipment. Fortunately, the Dark Dwarves were unfamiliar with the practice of high-interest loans; otherwise, Eve imagined a scene where arge number of elves would borrow high-interest loans andmit suicide on the spot¡­


    There¡¯s also thatmon practice of mixing low quality fake goods into the flour right before selling it to the dwarves. Meanwhile, Demacia saw a business opportunity and even abandoned his daily task of cleaning the toilets just to run an MLM pyramid scheme in the underworld!


    It was said that¡­upon relying on the abundant knowledge about illegal Multi-level Marketing schemes found on the earth¡¯s inte, he used a batch of fruitsmonly found everywhere in the Elven Forest to develop his products. Within a day, he had established nearly a hundred downlines among the local inhabitants, and hiswork is still expanding.


    Overall, he earned arge amount ofmon currency¡­


    Later on, this rascal had used the currency he umted to purchase arge quantity of unique magical materials from ckrock City and resold them to the nsmen of the Rageze n, thereby gaining a considerable amount of contribution points. Surprisingly, by selling magical materials at a low price, he also had unexpectedly improved his favorability score with several elven NPCs¡­


    After Demacia tasted the sweetness of sess, several other yers saw his achievements and recognized the potential lucrative business opportunity of running a pyramid scheme. While they didn¡¯t attain the same level of sess as him, each of them have also managed to make a modest profit by emting his strategy¡­


    However, the dwarves weren¡¯tplete fools either, and some of them already had a vague feeling that something was amiss.


    Although it had not been exposed yet, Ev¨¦ seemed to have already envisioned the scene where the dwarves would awaken to the fact that they had been scammed and would begin hunting down these swindling yers.


    And it was only a matter of time before Demacia would became the most unpopr elf in ckrock City¡­


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of exasperation.


    <em>This guy¡­ doesn¡¯t he consider the consequences of his actions?</em>


    In fact, he wasn¡¯t the only one going overboard with his risky antics; quite a few yers have been behaving recklessly without restraint as well.


    After all, taking risks is a fundamental human instinct, and when not faced with the looming threat of death, humans tend toe up with all sorts of absurd ideas.


    Being a race that thrived in the underworld, the dwarves were not entirely honorable themselves either. Some have tried to ckmail the elves, and a few nned to rob the yers and participate in illicit activities. Certain dwarves have even intended to take advantage of the situation by kidnapping a few elves in order to sell them in the ck market.


    However¡­


    What happened afterwards was quite dramatic¡­


    Indeed, quite a few dwarves did managed to kidnapped an elf, but at the critical moment, the captive elf managed to escape.


    This made them extremely nervous, as they feared retaliation from the elves. They were even prepared to hide, but to their surprise, instead of seeking revenge, the elves approached them with a business proposition¡­


    Suddenly, the elf they had initially kidnapped returned, apanied by several other elves, and presented a proposition for arge-scale transaction: the sale of an entire group of elven ves!


    This left the dwarves running the ve tradepletely dumbfounded.


    Are these elves¡­really okay with selling off their own kind as ves?


    After spending arge sum of money to purchase the group of elves, the dwarven ve traffickers were shocked to find that the ones they had just bought startedmitting suicide one after another, instantly bankrupting them¡­


    Subsequently, other dwarf traffickers in ckrock City encountered simr situations as elves kept appearing at their doorstep like door-to-door salesmen, offering their fellow brethren as ves¡­


    Yet the results were all the same.


    After experiencing several of such incidents, it didn¡¯t take long for the dwarves to abandon any thoughts of kidnapping and trafficking elves.


    As for those envious dwarves who coveted the yers¡¯ mary gains and attempted to ambush them outside the city, they were swiftly met with fierce counterattacks and eventually killed one by one.


    They were filled with horror upon witnessing the astonishing ferocity exhibited by the elves inbat. To their surprise, whenever a group of elves engaged in battle, reinforcements swiftly arrived shortly thereafter, leaving them utterly baffled by the elves¡¯ rapidmunication with one another.


    They were unable to contend in battle, and even begging for mercy proved to be futile.


    However, yers don¡¯t show much interest in attacking these dwarven bandits either, as killing them doesn¡¯t yield any experience points. Additionally, since these dwarves are often extremely poor, at most, they can only picked up a few meager ¡°loot drops¡± as rewards.


    In conclusion¡­ in the city of the Dark Dwarves, although the overall image of the elves has not yet fully crumbled, but it has undergone such a transformation that it is nearly unrecognizable whenpared to the elves¡¯ noble depiction in old legends.


    Fortunately, most Dark Dwarves still have a positive view of the yers.


    The higher-ups in ckrock City are notpletely unaware of the minor misdemeanors urring, but they generally choose to ignore such trivial matters¡­


    After all, in the underworld, strength is everything. It¡¯s a dog-eat-dog world, and if you fall victim to scams or get killed, then you only have no one but yourself to me.


    Nheless, what surprised the Dark Dwarves was that these elves were not just stubborn but could actually adapt to the cutthroatws of survival in the underworld!


    The local inhabitants discovered that even if an elf was killed in a dispute outside the city by a dwarf, the elves would note to seek retribution.


    This made many dark dwarves have a higher opinion of the yers.


    Because¡­ the yers¡¯ actions happened to align with a certain notion in the underworld wherein strength reigns supreme!


    Of course, despite the few instances of minor conflicts, a prevailing sense of goodwill was still established due to the overall amiablemunication between the two factions.


    yers still attach great importance to the reputation evaluation of neutral NPCs set by Ev¨¦.


    Therefore¡­ despite some few minor mishaps, the majority of the yers still exercised restraint.


    Not to mention, those few yers who initially capitalized on their ability to cheat death just to deceive some dwarven cksmiths for equipment were swiftly stopped by other yers not long after.


    Furthermore, with the influx of yers, the dwarves gradually grew more ustomed to the presence of these strange elves.


    After all, the elves visited ckrock City mostly for trading goods, and their overall attitude still remained positive. Additionally, the long-standing noble image associated with the elven race have also enhanced their current impression. Despite finding these elves quite peculiar, the local dark dwarves gradually epted them over time¡­


    The arrival of yers also brought an abundance of products from the Elven Forest, which objectively enhanced the lives of the Dark Dwarves. Therefore, despite a few minor mishaps, they were warmly weed among the dwarven poption.


    In return, some of the dwarves¡¯ products also became a hotmodity within the yerbase.


    Especially the steam guns, which were weapons simr to Earth¡¯s firearms, piqued the yers¡¯ curiosity. Numerous individuals traded for a few of them, intending to test their effectiveness.


    Furthermore, the weapon enthusiasts from the guild, Moe Moe Committee, were reportedly nning to modify the dwarves¡¯ steam guns in an attempt to recreate firearms simr to those found on Earth¡­


    In addition¡­ the yers have also obtained alcohol from the dwarves!


    Simr to many western fantasy literary works, the dwarves in Saig¨¹es also take pleasure in drinking good ale, and the yers disyed considerable interest in consuming alcohol within the game.


    However, after trying it, the yers found that the dwarves¡¯ alcohol was not tasty enough.


    At least¡­ it was far more inferiorpared to some of the alcoholic drinks back in the Celestial Empire.<mark> 3</mark>


    Actually, it is quite normal because, unlike the dwarves inhabiting the surface world, the underground dark dwarvesck the grains needed to brew good ale. Most of the time, the dark dwarves simply buy their alcohol from human caravans instead, and these unscrupulous human merchants hace the tendency to sell them inferior quality drinks.


    Although there are some high-quality ones, those are only enjoyed by prominent high-ranking dwarves and what yers bought in the taverns were mostly just lowest quality wheat ale.


    yers, whose tastes have already been spoiled by various drinks on Earth, naturally looked down upon this low-quality ale that has an even worse taste than cheap beer.


    In fact, some life-oriented yers have already n to brew their own drinks. However, despite the Elven Forest being rich in resources, itcks suitable raw materials for brewing alcoholic beverages. Although there are plenty of fruits in the forest and some yers have attempted to make fruit wine, they always feel like something is missing in terms of taste.


    However, now that they have gained the ability to nt crops, some yers have started looking up information online to attempt brewing various types of beverages. It is estimated that achieving sess in this endeavor is highly likely, and by then, there will probably be another product to sell to the dwarves.


    The upper echelons of the three major yer guilds have also begun discussingmercial cooperation with the high-ranking officials of ckrock City.


    Several ores, minerals, and magic stones mined by the dwarves remain highly desirable for equipment forging, equipment repairs, and basic construction.


    They are all immensely useful, and some guildmasters have already calcted that by trading with the dwarves and developing their own in-house cksmiths, they would be able to save a lot of contribution points normally used for daily expenses, such as repairs or equipment exchange.


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t try to stop these matters but rather weed them.


    With constantmunication between both factions, ckrock City has gradually be the base of operations for yers who want to explore the underworld.


    Within the vast underground cavern, on one side of the underground river lies the city of the dark dwarves, while on the other side is the underground forest where the monsters reside.


    The monsters and creatures in that area asionally harass the dwarves, causing them a lot of trouble.


    However, the dwarvesck the courage to eradicate all those monsters.


    The entire poption of ckrock City actually amounts to only a few thousand, and only a small fraction of the dwarves are capable ofbat. Unlike strength-centric demihumans such as Orcs, where everyone is a soldier, dwarves differ in this aspect. The resulting casualties would be immense if they were to engage in a battle with these monsters¡­


    Of course, another reason is that these underground monsters are not only fierce but also resilient, and they don¡¯t carry any valuable materials. It simply isn¡¯t worth it to fight them.


    But the yers have swarmed into the underground forest and started hunting the monsters!


    The perplexed dark dwarves are at a loss as to why these peculiar elves exhibit such a strong fascination towards engaging in battles against these strong yet worthless monsters.


    Nheless, despite theirck of understanding, the dwarves were pleased to witness such phenomenon.


    Being able to have someone take action against the nearby monsters is a great joy for the dwarves.


    However, as time goes by, a certain group of shady individuals that¡¯s been observing the elves from the shadows grows increasingly restless¡­


    1 DD Meta ¨C Abbreviation of Dark-Dwarves Meta


    2 <strong><mark>818</mark></strong> ¨C has several meanings in chinese but in the context of this chapter, it means gossip.


    3 To reiterate in case some readers may have missed it, Celestial Empire is the orig. author¡¯s way of referring to china.

 Chapter 180

    ??<strong>HIDDEN QUEST? </strong>


    In a dark, secret room.


    The atmosphere amongst the individuals hiding in the shadows was somewhat oppressive.


    After a moment, the seemingly leader-like figure let out a sigh.


    ¡°So¡­these elves haven¡¯t directly shed with the Church of Death, but on the contrary, there were even subtle indications of cooperation between them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    A hoarse voice replied.


    ¡°Putting aside the question of whether these elves are truly aligned with an evil deity or not, it seems that their visit to ckrock is primarily motivated by business interests. Despite their remarkablebat skills, their presence in ckrock seems to be mostly focused on conducting business rather than anything else¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that all our covert provocations have failed?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, even resorting to the elf ve trade, which they supposedly despise, didn¡¯t seed in provoking their anger. Instead, it even resulted in several of our colleagues going bankrupt¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Barain, I heard that they have even started selling themselves as ves?¡±


    The one with the deep voice asked another person.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct, but the elves that were sold had a strong sense of pride and chose to end their own lives.¡±


    An elderly voice replied.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡±


    The deep voice carried a hint of surprise.


    However, shortly afterward, the leader let out a scoff.


    ¡°They would even sell their own kind. It seems they have truly fallen as well¡­ caravans, mercenaries¡­ hehe, but perhaps it¡¯s for the best!¡±


    ¡°What are your Eminence¡¯s thoughts?¡±


    The individual with a deep voice didn¡¯t answer directly, but instead posed a question.


    ¡°I heard¡­ that the upper echelons of these elves have also entered ckrock City?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I¡¯ve already made inquiries about it. These elves are actuallyprised of three elven mercenary groups and a business guild. Their leaders have alle to ckrock City.¡±


    ¡°In that case, bring them all here,¡± the deep voice dered.


    ¡°Bring them here?¡± the other two voices eximed, taken aback.


    ¡°Hehe, after listening to your reports over the past few days, I¡¯ve alsoe to realize that these elves may seem friendly, but their true priority is profit. They are even willing to buy and sell their own kind for money. So, why don¡¯t we try to win them over for our own benefit?¡±


    ckrock City.


    Little Salty Cat strolled along the bustling streets, curiously observing everything around her.


    She had just concluded a deal with the dwarves on behalf of Moe Moe Committee, with the Church of Death as a witness, filling her heart with joy.


    By utilizing spells to elerate crop growth, Moe Moe Committee had umted an abundance of wheat, rice, and sweet potatoes that exceeds their consumption needs. The recent discovery of the dwarven faction has presented her with an advantageous opportunity to profit from selling their guild¡¯s surplus inventory.


    The dwarven tribe primarilycks food, but they are rich in ores and magic stones, which are precisely what the Elven Forest currentlycks.


    Ores can be smelted into metals and be used for forging equipment, while magic stones serve as mana catalysts for teleportation arrays and can also aid the yers in their meditation training.


    Although there are still some mineral deposits in the depths of Rivendell, they are not easily essible.


    Of course, the main reason is that yersck the necessary techniques and manpower to mine these deposits.


    Mining is both a technical job and abor-intensive task, not to mention the challenges involved in smelting and refining minerals. Consequently, any knowledge yers might find regarding mining on Earth would currently be of little use to them at the present.


    It might be feasible in the future¡­once they have more manpower when the public beta opens, coupled with the assistance of the crypt spiders.


    Unfortunately, presently Spider Queen Ros¨¦ holds a negative opinion of the yers, and thus far, no one has been able to convince her otherwise. Furthermore, the yers have numerous other in-game activities that generate significantly much higher profits with less effort, hence no one has bothered to develop the mining industry.


    Therefore, upon discovering these dark dwarves whose skilled in mining and smelting, the yers instantly shifted their focus to befriending the dwarven race.


    Exchanging their cultivated crops for refined metals, ores, and magic stones with the dwarves proves to be a mutually beneficial deal.


    Moreover in a remarkable disy of cooperation, the three prominent guilds united together to strike a business deal with the dark dwarves living underground.


    Once the deal had been concluded, Little Salty Cat felt immense joy and began leisurely exploring ckrock City.


    This marked her second visit to ckrock City. Ever since the yers had unlocked this new underground map a week ago, they had swiftly established a good rtionship with the local inhabitants.


    The dark forest across the city has be a new hunting ground for yers, where they can hunt monsters. Meanwhile, ckrock City has transformed into a temporal base of operations for yers to replenish their strength and rest.


    Despite asional frictions that urred outside the city, the two factions managed to maintain surprisingly harmonious rtions within its confines, defying the well-known preconceived notion that elves and dwarves couldn¡¯t stand each other.


    Of course, one of the reasons was the strength and sincerity demonstrated by the yers, and up until now, the dwarves have yet been unable to find the true origins of these strange elves.


    They only knew that the yers came from the surface, by utilizing the entrance to the underworld in Rivendell. Additionally, the dwarves had also noticed that the yers appeared to worship a mysterious deity known as Ev¨¦, and they were astonished by how the yers had managed to bypass the enormous gatekeeper spider.


    However, some dwarves began to suspect that the so-called elven goddess mentioned by the yers might actually be a false deity. After all, no one in the world of Saig¨¹es had ever heard of a god named Ev¨¦.


    However, being part of the chaotic underworld, the dwarves didn¡¯t care much about the beliefs of these strange elves.


    In fact, most dwarves themselves didn¡¯t ce much importance on their own faith, and the majority of ckrock City¡¯s residents were merely shallow followers of the Death God.


    It wasn¡¯t that the yers boasted about subduing the spider queen, but rather, the dwarves simply refused to believe it.


    <em>Subduing the Crypt Spider Queen?</em>


    That was almost a legendary existence!


    And the yers themselves truly cannot exin the intricacies of how it urred, as doing so would require them to disclose the goddess¡¯s involvement, something that Ev¨¦ herself had explicitly forbade¡­


    Little Salty Cat shook her head and continued strolling around the dwarven city.


    ckrock City boasted a significant size, despite its local poption numbering only in the thousands and judging by the city¡¯s architecture, it indicated a rich history, likely spanning several hundred of years.


    While she was strolling alone, suddenly, a small figure blocked her path.


    It was a hooded dwarf wearing a dark gray robe with his expression partially obscured from view. Upon noticing Little Salty Cat¡¯s puzzled gaze, he then offered her a slight bow.


    ¡°Respected Miss Elf, good evening¡­¡± he greeted her.


    <em>Good evening?</em>


    Little Salty Cat instinctively raised her head and gazed at the ceiling of the cavern.


    Above her, only the fluorescent stones embedded in the cave walls emitted a soft glow. The entire underground cavern was perpetually deep and dim, leaving her quite baffled as to how these dwarves could even discern the difference between day and night¡­


    ¡°¡­Hello.¡±


    She responded cautiously, feeling both vignt yet still curious at the same time.


    Could it be¡­ that she had encountered a ve trader?


    However, haven¡¯t these guys already disappeared ever since those users on the forum started a scam wherein theymitted suicide after pretending to sell themselves for money?


    She became a bit puzzled.


    Salty Cat looked around and realized that she had arrived in a secluded alley where hardly anyone could be seen.


    In an instant, her vignce heightened up a notch.


    While Salty Cat hesitated whether to call out to her fellow guild members or not, the mysterious dwarf spoke again.


    ¡°Miss Elf, are you one of the leaders of the Elven Mercenary Corps? You see, my master greatly admires the bravery of your group and wishes to make a deal with you¡­¡±


    ¡°A deal?¡±


    Salty Cat was slightly taken aback.


    Then, suddenly, an idea dawned upon her.


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    <em>Could it be that she was about to encounter a hidden quest?</em>

 Chapter 181

    ??<strong>FOLLOWERS OF THE LORD OF DARKNESS AND SHADOWS </strong>


    ¡°Deal? What kind of deal?¡± asked Little Salty Cat calmly.


    The other person with a hoarse voice just smiled faintly.


    ¡°A major deal, the price will definitely satisfy you. Pleasee with me.¡±


    After speaking, he simply turned and walked away.


    Little Salty Cat hesitated for a moment, then decided to followed him.


    Walking behind the hooded dwarf in a gray robe, Little Salty Cat eventually arrived at ckrock City¡¯s underbelly.


    The structures within this area appeared more rundownpared to the bustling central square, and there were even fewer people loitering around the vicinity. It was situated near the deserted mining zone on the outskirts of ckrock City.


    After realizing that this particr zone was the city¡¯s most infamous andwless area, often discussed by users on the forum due to its diverse and unpredictable nature, Little Salty Cat became more alert and vignt of her surroundings.


    Seemingly ignoring her growing sense of unease, the hooded dwarf kept on leading the way,as he navigated through twists and turns until he finally arrived at an entrance that led to a deep mine.


    ¡°Pleasee in.¡±


    The shady dwarf smiled at Little Salty Cat and entered the mine shaft first.


    Having observed the dubious appearance of the ce, she involuntarily gulped and began preparing a self-destruct spell to immte herself at any given moment should things go awry. Simultaneously, she also sent her coordinates to some of her other guild members as another safety precaution.


    Then, after mentally preparing herself, Little Salty Cat finally mustered up the courage and finally ventured into the depths of the mine.


    The interior was shrouded in darkness, with torches evenly mounted on both sides of the walls providing the only source of illumination, as the flickering torches cast a dim light throughout the vicinity.


    After approximately a minute of walking, they finally reached a slightly wider stone chamber deep within the mine.


    ¡°Please wait here for a moment. Our elder will be here shortly,¡± the hooded dwarf said to Little Salty Cat.


    Salty Cat hesitated for a moment, then nodded before entering the stone chamber.


    As soon as she entered, a hint of surprise and astonishment shed across her face because she saw two familiar faces within the chamber!


    ¡°Demacia? Tomato? What are you guys doing here?¡± she eximed in surprise.


    That¡¯s right, these two individuals who never got along with each other had actually gathered here together!


    Little Salty Cat was not aware of the exact details of what had transpired between Tomato and Li Mu, but it was a widely known fact among the entire yerbase that the Guildmasters of First Legion and Hearts of Nature had always harbored a mutual dislike for each other.


    And being Li Mu¡¯s loyal follower and the vice-guildmaster of Hearts of Nature, Demacia also cannot stand Tomato, perhaps even more than Li Mu himself. So, whenever they meet, the two would usually end up mocking and ridiculing one another.


    ¡°You two are here as well?¡±


    <em>Could it be that they have also been summoned by these shady dwarves, just like herself?</em>


    Little Salty Cat spected within her mind.


    She knew that these two were also in ckrock City today because they were the representatives of their own respective guilds whom she had met when they visited the Church of Death earlier in order to establish a more in-depth coboration between the dwarves.


    In that meeting, Tomato represented his guild ¡°First Legion,¡± and since Li Mu has been busy with things in the Chosen Citytely, his vice-guildmaster, Demacia, stood as his proxy to represent ¡°Heart of Nature¡± andstly, Little Salty Cat represented her guild ¡°Moe Moe Committee.¡±


    Although there are some other smaller guilds within the game, 85% of the yers that¡¯s currently participating in the closed beta are actually members of these three major guilds.


    Upon seeing the arrival of Little Salty Cat, a hint of surprise flickered across both their faces, before swiftly transforming into recognition.


    ¡°Yo Salty Cat! It seems like you were also called by these dwarves.¡±


    <em>Sure enough¡­</em>


    Little Salty Cat breathed a sigh of relief within her mind, but soon she became delighted.


    <em>This lineup¡­</em>


    It could very well be a hidden quest!


    The other two individuals evidently shared the same sentiment as well, seeing as their expressions were also brimming with anticipation.


    Just as the three were about to exchange the information they had gathered, their attention was then abruptly captured by a deepugh.


    ¡°Hehe, wee, leaders of the elven mercenaries¡­¡±


    The three was startled because they had not sensed anyone approaching.


    In response to the greeting, they all turned their heads in unison as they looked towards the source of the deep voice and saw a very peculiar figure¡­


    Right in front of them stood a hooded dwarf wearing a ck robe, seated on a chair simr to a wheelchair reminiscent of those from Earth. Although his face was not clearly visible, the trio noticed a peculiar symbol engraved on his ck robe.


    Looking at it more closely, the symbol was in the shape of an eye, with a triangr frame and ayer of diagonal shadows.


    Any yers familiar with the religious lore of the Elven Kingdom would quickly identify the symbol as a faith insignia. It is simr to the tree-shaped symbol of the World Tree, the bow-shaped symbol of Uller, and the sickle symbol associated with the Church of Death.


    Given this assumption, it is more probable that the hooded dwarf sitting on a wheelchair belongs to a religious denomination that worships a deity distinct from the goddess of death¡­


    <em>Was he a follower of a certain Netherworld God or even perhaps an Evil God?</em>


    In an instant, the three yers became cautious as they vividly recalled that the current active questline involving the dwarves explicitly stated that they should not be entangled in the religious disputes of the Dark Dwarves!


    Previously¡­ the yers were left confused regarding this matter.


    Based on the information shared on the forum, they were aware that the Dark Dwarves worshipped two gods: one being H, the Goddess of Death and Lord of the Underworld, and the other being Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows.


    However, upon entering ckrock City, they only encountered the Church of Death, which served as the denomination for the followers of the Goddess of Death, and so far, they still have note across any religious institution dedicated to the other god worshiped by the dwarves.


    Although they were curious, they did not further investigate this matter because of the quest reminder. After all, for most yers, they didn¡¯t really care about the Dwarves¡¯ religious beliefs since they themselves weren¡¯t that much religious either.


    For yers, ckrock City was just a newly opened map to a game.


    Apart from trading with the dwarves for some goods, what most yers were actually more interested in were the abundant monsters inhabiting the Dark Forest!


    But now¡­ are they going to get involved in the Dark-Dwarves¡¯ religious disputes?


    For a moment, the three of them had this thought within their minds.


    Seeing the gaze of Little Salty Cat and the others lingering on his insignia, the mysterious dwarf chuckled softly and said:


    ¡°Judging by your expressions, I think you should have some ideas about my identity. That¡¯s right¡­ I am a follower of Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. The Godwarden of shadows¡ªHeartstone!¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­ What a lofty name.¡±


    Demacia couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter.


    However, he hurriedly covered his mouth after seeing the angry res of the other two.


    After ring at Demacia, Little Salty Cat¡¯s gaze then shifted as she looked back at the hooded dwarf once again¡­


    <em>It turned out to be a Godwarden!</em>


    And not just any Godwarden, but a Godwarden for the other god that the Dark-Dwarves believe in¡­


    At this moment, it would be foolish for her not to acknowledge the likelihood of the three of them bing entangled with the dwarves¡¯ religious dispute.


    And her first thought was:


    <em>Will getting involved in this dispute ruin their active que</em>stline?


    And another thought was:


    <em>Wait¡­is this a quest-chain rted the main questlin</em>e[Dark Dwarves] ?


    Tomato¡¯s thoughts were also quite simr to hers.


    They had been working on the [Dark Dwarves] questline for several days now, yet the yers had still not yet found any clues on how toplete this hidden quest. But finally, a new development had been triggered, giving rise to a fresh set of ideas within their minds.


    Observing the shifting expressions of the three yers, the dwarf, who referred to himself as the Shadow¡¯s Godwarden, let out a soft chuckle and expressed:


    ¡°I propose a deal, one that involves not only you but also the existence behind you!¡±


    Right as soon as Heartstone uttered those words, a new system message swept through the field of view of Little Salty Cat and the other two, as if it had been waiting for a long time.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ You have triggered the hidden main quest-chain<strong>: ¡°The Faith of the Dark</strong> <strong>Dwarves</strong>¡°¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ Entering story mode, please choose a representative: ¡°<strong>Little Salty Cat</strong>¡± ¡°<strong>Demacia</strong>¡± ¡± <strong>Tomato</strong>¡°¡¿


    Seeing the triggered system prompt, the three yers were momentarily taken aback.


    Meanwhile, deep within the core area of the Elven Forest, Ev¨¦, who had been silently observing the situation through the vision of the three yers, had a hint of realization upon her face:


    ¡°I have been wondering who has been causing trouble these past few days¡­ but it turns out it¡¯s a follower of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows!¡±

 Chapter 182

    ??<strong>IS THIS FULLY AUTOMATED? </strong>


    After the yers had entered the territory of the Dark Dwarves, Ev¨¦ have became extremely vignt, constantly monitoring the movements of the yers and the dwarves.


    After all, this marked the yers¡¯ first formal interaction with another faction within Elven Kingdom.


    Although they had previously fought against the Orcs, these faction had been initially designated as enemies, and for the yers, the Orcs were no different from the mindless monsters they usually hunted, except for the fact that they could speak.


    But the Dark Dwarves were different. Ev¨¦ had no significant conflicts of interest with them, harbored no grudges, and most importantly, there were other true gods behind them.


    The Gods of the Netherworld!


    Compared to the gods in Heavenly Realm, the gods of the Netherworld were much more enigmatic and ancient. Legend has it that the earliest deities of the Netherworld were a groupprised solely of Great Ancient Ones.


    They always kept a low profile and did not get involved in the power struggles of the mortal world, nor did they participate in the gods¡¯ siege of the World Tree a thousand years ago.


    Although she had the inheritance of the World Tree, it contained limited information about the gods of the Netherworld.


    She only knew that H, the Goddess of Death, is currently the nominal ruler of the Netherworld, while Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, predated H in terms of existence.


    And these two were the primary gods worshipped by the Dark Dwarves.


    However, subsequent revtions from the Spider Queen revealed that some conflicts arose between these two gods concerning the Dark Dwarves¡¯ faith.


    It is precisely because of this that Ev¨¦ reminded yers not to intervene in the dwarves religious disputes when she assigned the quest.


    Because in her view, these two gods of the Dark Dwarves might already be engaged in a senseless struggle within their own respective religious denomination, and the sudden intervention of yers in this conflict could potentially be harmful to her.


    However, when the yers entered ckrock City, Ev¨¦ discovered that H, the Goddess of Death, had likely the one who emerged victorious in the religious session of the Dark Dwarves, seeing as all the shrines of Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, had been destroyed.


    Yet, as the yers continued on with their activities around ckrock City, Ev¨¦ was surprised to find that there seemed to be a force lurking within the shadows of the city, constantly targeting and provoking the yers.


    These forces included dwarf mercenaries, local thugs, ve traders and so on¡­


    At first, Ev¨¦ suspected that this force might belong to H, the Goddess of Death, and was testing the yers. However, she quickly dismissed this idea because the other party had basically no need to do so.


    From the yers¡¯ point of view, they did not find anything wrong with engaging in conflict with these people. On the contrary, they even found it rather fascinating. Nheless, Ev¨¦, who had been monitoring the yers¡¯ collective perspective, uncovered some clues as she observes the actions of these individuals.


    It appears that their ongoing attempts to provoke the yers are specifically intended to harm the developing rtionship between the elves and the Dark Dwarves.


    Not only that, but when a yer was captured by ve traders, Ev¨¦ secretly observed the situation and was astonished to discover that the ve traders who had kidnapped the yer seemed to have some connections with the Sauron Caravan!


    In other words¡­ as the dwarven tribe closest to the Elven Forest, these ve traders were probably also responsible for trafficking elves. They conducted business with the Sauron Caravan and sold elves to other criminal forces in need of suchmodities. Some of these dwarven ve traders were even members of the Sauron Syndicate¡­


    And this discovery also led Ev¨¦ to make some guesses.


    Just like the Orcs, the Sauron Syndicate is also a major force in ve trafficking, responsible for the distribution of elven ves within the human society.


    If she remembers correctly, Meryer once said that the reason why the Sauron Syndicate can operate freely across the continent is because they have attached themselves to the thigh of a certain powerful existence in the underworld!


    However, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it. Instead, she kept an eye out and strengthened her monitoring of the yers in ckrock City.


    And today, these people finally showed up¡­


    They turned out to be followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadow!


    To be honest, this result did note as a surprise to Ev¨¦. It was almost simr to what she had initially guessed.


    As a true god, even if this force doesn¡¯t say anything, Ev¨¦ can probably guess as to what they want to do.


    What more could a group of believers of a specific god desire from another true god with conflicting beliefs?


    It¡¯s probably nothing but cause trouble and most likely rted to their struggle for faith.


    However, upon realizing that this particr Nether God is likely the powerful entity behind the Sauron Syndicate, Ev¨¦ once again felt overwhelmed, considering that the Sauron Syndicate had already been marked as a hostile force by her.


    Perhaps the Sauron Syndicate¡¯s actions against the elves were solely driven by profit alone¡­


    Yet one undeniable fact was that they are also aplices of the Orcs.


    Moreover ording to Nightingale¡¯s words, they mercilessly hunt and y elves even more ruthlessly than the Orcs do. In fact, the human mercenaries responsible for annihting Nightingale¡¯s branch of the Darkshade n were even associated with the Sauron Syndicate.


    What else is there to say? Even more so for the sake of the elves¡¯ return, the Sauron Syndicate is undoubtedly a hostile force that she would need to deal with sooner orter.


    However, now that it has been revealed that the Lord of Darkness and Shadows is the backer behind the Sauron Syndicate¡­


    To be honest, Ev¨¦ is really at a loss.


    When facing Uller, Ev¨¦ had disguised herself as a subordinate of the Goddess of death.


    And given the coboration between Sauron Syndicate and the Orcs, it is likely that this Nether God also has some connections with Uller. If somehow the Hunter God really wants to score a victory against her and approaches this Nether God as a potential ally, then Ev¨¦ will find herself trapped in a serious dilemma¡­


    There¡¯s a saying that one always has to pay for their actions. If that scenario were to actually ur, then Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t simply go and pitifully cling to the thighs of the Goddess of Death, could she?


    Forget about Uller, who has disyed hostility from the very beginning. While the forces of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows have also been persecuting the elves, which has indirectly led to the rapid decline of the elven race, s, Ev¨¦ currently has no ns to attack the other party for the time being.


    On one hand, she is still weak, and on the other hand, she already has enough enemies as it is.


    However, disguising herself as a subordinate of the goddess of death has now be a burden for Ev¨¦.


    If Uller were to reveal the ¡®truth¡¯ to the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, then Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t stand a chance unless she abandons the guise of being an underling of H.


    However, getting rid of the disguise of being a subordinate of H would also greatly increase the risk of exposing her true identity¡­


    <em>What a headache! </em>


    Fortunately, Uller, as he is now, still wants to monopolize the Divinity of Life and Nature for himself alone. He is confident in his own power and probably won¡¯t seek any allies for the time being.


    And now, the followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows havee to her doorstep and somehow mistaken her identity, which has given Ev¨¦ some wild ideas¡­


    <em>In that case¡­</em>


    Why not try forming a proper alliance with H?


    Even though her status as a subordinate of the goddess of death is fabricated, why can¡¯t it be ¡®real¡¯ instead?


    With this thought in mind, Ev¨¦ made a decision.


    She had already made up her mind.


    She ns to deceive the yers and the followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows first and then secretly report them to the Church of Death, so that H¡¯s minions could trouble them!


    It would also be an opportunity to earn a favor from H and observe if there could be further cooperation between them.


    While making these decisions, Little Salty Cat and the other two had already selected the spokesperson for the conversation.


    The chosen person was Salty Cat.


    There was no other way, Tomato and Demacia couldn¡¯t stand each other, and neither of them wanted the other to engage in the conversation, so the role eventually fell to Little Salty Cat.


    Tomato could only reluctantly ept it but couldn¡¯t help but to remind her,


    ¡°Hey Salty Cat, be serious okay, don¡¯t choose the wrong option.¡±


    ¡°Heh, you ignorant bumpkin. It doesn¡¯t matter who the spokesperson is you know?¡± Demacia sneered at Tomato.


    <em>It doesn¡¯t matter who the spokesperson is?</em>


    Little Salty Cat gave Demacia a strange look.


    She didn¡¯t say much but excitedly clicked the candidate confirmation in the system prompt along with the other two.


    ¡¾Confirmed spokesperson: ¡°<strong>Little Salty Cat</strong>¡°¡¿


    The system message shed once again, and in an instant, the three of them found themselves temporarily losing control of their bodies.


    ¡¾Spokesperson confirmed, initiating transitional cutscene¡¿


    Another message shed by.


    Then, Ev¨¦ used the game system to manipte the body of Little Salty Cat¡­


    After establishing the link in her Celestial Domain and the connection between faith and the game system was strengthened, Ev¨¦ gained the ability to manipte the yers¡¯ bodies using the system.


    Soon after, Little Salty Cat was surprised to find that her avatar took a step forward without being controlled by her, and at the same time, she spoke on her own:


    ¡°What kind of transaction?¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°???¡±


    <em>Wait a minute?</em>


    <em>Is this fully automated?</em>


    ¡°Assist us in overthrowing the reign of the Goddess of Death here in the city,¡± said Hearthstone, the Godwarden of Shadows, with a deep voice as he gazed at ¡®Little Salty Cat.¡¯


    ¡°Do you know who is behind us?¡±


    Eve asked through the body of Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°A while ago, the mana in Saig¨¹es suddenly increased. The Patriarch of our church made a prediction and learned that a group of dormant beings is about to awaken.¡±


    The Hearthstone spoke in a deep voice.


    <em>A group of dormant beings?</em>


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow, knowing that the other party had mistaken her, the existence behind the elves, as some evil god or an ancient demigod seeking ascendance into godhood.


    Of course, such misunderstanding is for the best and she has no ns to rectify it.


    ¡°What can we gain for helping you?¡± She asked again through the body of Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°Friendship with the Church of Darkness and Shadow, and an alliance with the Dark Dwarves, as well as 100,000 pounds ofmon currency as employment payment, and¡­ a permanent business agreement!¡±


    ¡°Deal but a contract needs to be signed.¡±


    ¡®Little Salty Cat¡¯ answered bluntly.


    ¡°Excellent, you are truly straightforward! Here is the contract, as well as all our ns have been written on it!¡±


    Hearthstone nodded approvingly and took out a prepared employment contract from his chest pocket.


    This blood contract is frequently employed in the underworld, where the blood of the signatory serves as a catalyst to activate a blood curse on the person who signed the contract.


    Should the signatory breach the agreement, then their entire body will experience a boiling sensation, ultimately resulting in their demise!


    It is said that this type of contract originated from the devil in purgatory, and it is very easy to use¡­


    Ev¨¦ was very straightforward. After reading the specific requirements of the contract, she bit the finger of ¡°Little Salty Cat¡± and pressed her thumbs onto the contract.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­..¡±


    <em>Wait¡­</em>


    <em>Why did I sign a contract?</em>


    Meanwhile, Tomato and Demacia looked at Little Salty Cat with admiration in their eyes.


    ¡°By the way, the two of you also need to sign.¡±


    Hearthstone smiled and also took out two more copies and handed them to Tomato and Demacia.


    <em>We need to sign too?</em>


    The two of them were taken aback.


    Then they realized that their bodies were also automatically moving, and they bit their fingers and pressed their bloodied thumbs onto the contract.


    Tomato: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

 Chapter 183

    ??<strong>FINDING THE GODDESS </strong>


    The three leaders of the elven mercenary regiments whom they invited were remarkably straightforward. Hearthstone, the Godwarden of Shadows, found that the rhetoric he had initially prepared was entirely useless, since the other party have easily signed the contract.


    However, even after the three elves left, he remained silent, looking at the blood contract that had already been signed.


    ¡°Your Eminence, what are you thinking about?¡±


    Another dark dwarf came in front of him. It was the grey-robed dwarf who had earlier guided Little Salty Cat to this ce.


    Hearthstone remained silent for a moment before speaking,


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­ they agreed far too easily.¡±


    The grey-robed dwarf nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Your Eminence. I¡¯m afraid these elves might have some other ns¡­ Moreover, I feel that you may have been too bold and reckless by revealing our entire n to them.¡±


    Hearthstone chuckled.


    ¡°Too bold and reckless, you say?¡±


    The grey-robed dwarf nodded again.


    ¡°We have been preparing for so long¡­ If something were to go wrong and we cannot control ckrock City this time, then we might lose the opportunity to resistpletely.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Hearthstone shook his head and responded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I never intended to rely on these elves in the first ce. The ns mentioned in the contract are all fake.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The grey-robed dwarf showed a look of surprise.


    ¡°Hehe, how could I have ced all my hopes upon these elves? I¡¯m merely using them to incite chaps. As Barain mentioned, while these elves may not wield considerable power, they disy unwavering courage in the face of death. If they start causing trouble for the betrayers, it will undoubtedly offer a favorable opportunity for us¡­¡± Hearthstone said.


    After finishing his words, he smiled once again.


    ¡°However¡­ Barain also said something else. These elves do have a powerful entity behind them! Quest, Offerings, True Gods¡­ From the contents of our surveince, they often mentioned these words frequently. Although the precise true name of the deity they worship remains hidden, it appears to be a mythical being or at most, a Demigod.¡±


    <em>A Demigod!</em>


    The existence of Demigods and beyond are the stuff of legends!


    ¡°So¡­ don¡¯t take this blood contract too seriously. If a Demigod-level existence intervenes, then the blood contract we set up can easily be undone.¡±


    ¡°But if they genuinely believe in the terms of the contract, that would be even better. And even if they do not believe it and instead choose to disclose everything to the Church of Death, it still would not harm us either.¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­ the Church of Death has been aware of our presence lurking within the city for some time now, so the information leaking won¡¯t make much of a difference. Moreover, the n outlined in the contract is just a red herring that the elves wouldn¡¯t know about, but someone within the Church of Death would easily see through it. The elves don¡¯t have any other evidence, and there¡¯s even a possibility that the Church of Death might start suspecting them as well¡­¡±


    ¡°However, if these elves genuinely believe in the words of the blood contract and take the initiative to attack the Church of Death in the city, presenting us with an opportunity to aplish our goals, then why not consider rewarding them? What harm would it do to show them some little bit of appreciation?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, the blood contract only gives them two days. Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±


    Hearthstone chuckled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We might attract ¡®her¡¯ minions if we stay here any longer.¡±


    On the other side.


    After they signed the blood contract, Little Salty Cat and the two others finally stepped out of the mine shaft.


    While still under Eve¡¯s control, the three of them walked side by side until they reached a quiet alley on the more safer side of ckrock City.


    ¡°We can¡¯t simply take their words at face value. Considering that we¡¯ve already established a friendly agreement with the high-ranking officials of the Church of Death, we cannot engage in any actions that would betray their trust.¡±


    ¡®<em>Little Salty Cat</em>¡® spoke firmly, her expression excited as she revealed her two cute little fangs.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We elves are a noble race. We cannot betray our friends. The blood contract we just signed was an act of helplessness while being behind enemy lines. Now that we have escaped, we must take everything seriously!¡±


    ¡®<em>Demacia</em>¡® solemnly agreed, his expression uncannily serious, although hisical explosive hairstyle may had somewhat undermined the heavy atmosphere.


    ¡°Agreed! Even if it means risking death, we cannot let the elves be a race that breaks their promises. Moreover, it is said that the Lord of Darkness and Shadows is also involved with the Sauron Syndicate, making them our enemy as well!¡±


    <em>¡®Tomato¡¯</em> nodded repeatedly, looking the most normal among them.


    Then, the three of them said in unison:


    ¡°This matter involves a dispute over other god¡¯s religious beliefs. We should report it to the goddess and let her make the final decision!¡±


    ¡°¡­.¡±


    For a brief moment, the air was filled with awkward silence.


    Suddenly, the three individuals trembled involuntarily, before finally regaining control over their bodies and breaking free from their previous state of being automatically controlled.


    Little Salty Cat widened her eyes, moved her limbs around and said, ¡°Whew, we can finally control our bodies once again. Was that a scripted cutscene? The dialogue was so awkward¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Your expression while speaking, Cat¡­ Hahaha¡­ it¡¯s honestly too funny. Your childish face doesn¡¯t really suit serious expressions at all¡­ Honestly, it¡¯s just sooo cute, especially those two little fangs¡­ Hahaha¡­Oh man I¡¯ve already recorded it¡­¡±


    Demacia couldn¡¯t help but burst into fits ofughter.


    ¡°Get lost! Delete it you idiot!¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s face darkened as she fiercely kicked him, sending him sprawling onto the floor.


    Meanwhile, Tomato looked at the backup copy of the contract in his hand and smirked before saying,


    ¡°Although ElvKing is good in all aspects, the plot¡¯s dialogue is still too rigid¡­ I just learned from ¡®myself¡¯ that the God of Darkness and Shadows is actually connected to the human smuggling group while personally being unaware of this fact at all¡­¡±


    ¡°¡±It could be a plot bug, don¡¯t you think? Perhaps, ording to some official assumptions, we were supposed to know this news already, right? It¡¯s possible that this hidden quest was identally triggered.¡±


    Little Salty Cat said while stepping on Demacia¡¯s ass with her high-heeled boots.


    ¡°So¡­our next course of action is to find the goddess, right?¡±


    Tomato¡¯s eyes shed with a hint of anticipation.


    At this moment, Demacia, whose struggling to climb up from the ground, noticed the change in his personal status screen.


    ¡°Huh¡­What¡¯s this? I have a debuff called Blood Curse in my status screen. Do you guys have it too?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Yeah, I have it too. Let me check the description¡­ Hmm¡­it says, it¡¯s a blood curse made with the Dark Dwarves. If the contract is broken, one will die unless a great being intervenes¡­ and it has a time limit of two days.¡±


    Little Salty Cat recited.


    Tomato ¡°¡­¡±


    Demacia ¡°¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°W-What the heck! I¡¯ve been doing nothing but cleaning the toilets for a while now, and notpleting any other quest, so I have no more perfect revival left in me! I can¡¯t die in the next two days!¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face turned pale.


    ¡°Tch, just exchange some perfect revivals with your contribution points. It¡¯s not that expensive you know¡­I myself saved over thirty of them. You¡¯ve been doing those MLM pyramid schemes so you shouldn¡¯t be short on CP, right?¡±


    Little Salty Cat said curiously.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Your highness Lord Cat, it might not be expensive for you, but I just exchanged all my contribution points for a purple-ss armor and had already spent it all¡­ I can¡¯t die anymore! H-How about¡­ you lend me some?¡±


    Demacia sighed.


    ¡°Get lost! Go borrow from your dear brother Mu instead!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Tomato ignored the banter and instead frowned.


    ¡°This curse¡­ there must be a way to remove it, right? A great being¡­ could it be the goddess?¡±


    Just as he was finished speaking, a new system prompt message appeared in their field of view¡ª


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾You have decided to report the information you obtained to the goddess Ev¨¦. After the goddess makes a decision, proceed with the next phase¡­¡¿


    Upon seeing this message, the spirits of Little Salty Cat and the two others were lifted.


    ¡°Reporting to the goddess¡­ could it be the same as being summoned by the goddess and having a conversation with her?¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s eyes sparkled with delight.


    ¡°That must be it! Thest time I triggered the main questline, I was summoned to her temple by the goddess and received generous rewards!¡±


    Demacia eximed excitedly.


    ¡°The goddess should be able to lift the curse! And she is also crucial to the next phase of the quest!¡±


    Tomato made a judgment.


    After saying that, the three nodded at each other and made a decision:


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll head to the goddess¡¯s temple right away!¡±


    With that said, the three quickened their pace and soon left ckrock City to return back to surface.


    There¡¯s another main questline! And it¡¯s a hidden main quest!


    The news of Little Salty Cat and the others triggering the quest quickly spread amongst the entire yerbase.


    More precisely, it spread amongst the three major guilds first¡­


    Although they didn¡¯t know the exact details of the triggered quest this time, it seemed to involve internal issues of the Dark Dwarves, and Little Salty Cat as well as the two others triggered the special quest of [Meeting the Goddess]


    This was quite a rare urrence in Elven Kingdom!


    And based on Demacia¡¯s previous experience, it was estimated that the three would receive a substantial reward.


    Of course¡­ this news was proudly spread to the public by Demacia himself.


    This guy actually triggered the [Meeting the Goddess] quest twice in session, causing envy among other yers.


    This incident also raised the expectations of other yers for the hidden main quest that was triggered this time¡­


    It should be noted that the previous instance when the goddess summoned yers directly resulted in the battle with the goblins, and a significant number of yers were promoted to Iron-rank during that time!


    Based on this assumption, one could imagine that this time¡¯s quest would also be another big event, and it¡¯s very likely to be rted to the Dark-Dwarves¡­


    For a while, numerous yers who were on the verge of leveling up expedited their monster hunting activities and leveling pace. Their intention was to enhance their strength and grind as much as possible, in order to umte lots of EXP and contribution points for the uing quests.


    As for Little Salty Cat and the two others, they finally arrived at the Chosen City¡¯s Temple of Nature.


    Alice, who had already received Eve¡¯s divine oracle, was already inside the temple, fully prepared. She nodded slightly at the three yers who entered the temple¡¯s inner area and stated, ¡°The Divine Matriarch has been informed of your purpose and has granted your request.¡±


    With that, she took the lead and approached Eve¡¯s statue, devoutly kneeling before it.


    Little Salty Cat and the others suppressed their excitement and followed suit, kneeling beside the Saintess Alice.


    Led by the Elven Holy Maiden, the three then began to pray before the statue.


    ¡°Praise be to the Mother of Nature, praise be to the Goddess of Life, praise be to the great Elven Supreme Being¡ªEv¨¦ Yggdrasill!¡±


    In an instant, a gentle radiant holy light engulfed the surroundings, enveloping the three yerspletely¡­


    After a few seconds, they finally opened their eyes once again and discovered that the scenery around them had undergone aplete transformation.

 Chapter 184

    ??<strong>THE NEW GODWARDEN </strong>


    When Little Salty Cat and the others opened their eyes, they found themselves inside a magnificent and towering temple¡­


    Demacia had been summoned by the goddess once before, and the others had also witnessed the interaction between Demacia and the goddess through the cutscene he recorded, so they were somewhat mentally prepared for the current situation.


    However, as they looked around and took in their surroundings, they were surprised to find that this was not the temple they had seen in the previous cutscene, which appeared to be situated in the midst of the stars.


    Nevertheless, the temple¡¯s style and grandeur still remained the same, with its vast space, colossal pirs, and splendid and immacte architecture. The only notable difference this time aroundy within the background scenery on either side.


    Instead of the previous deep and enchanting cosmic skies, they found themselves surrounded by an ancient and dense forest!


    The temple seemed to be perched high above a mountain, granting them a panoramic view of the majestic and breathtaking forest below.


    This perspective bore some resemnce to the sight of the Elven Forest as seen from the World Tree, but this imaginary forest was evidently much more abundant than its real counterpart.


    The greeneryndscape bore a striking resemnce to Elven Forest, but upon closer inspection, they could discern that the nts here appeared even more older and denser than that of the Elven Forest. Furthermore, this forest was teeming with valuable and even legendary species of trees¡­


    The yers even caught sight of towering cedar trees reaching hundreds of meters in height!


    <em>Hundreds of meters!</em>


    Such trees were exceedingly rare, even within the Elven Forest, wherein Cedar trdo not exceed thirty meters in height. The yers marveled at the fact that these precious tree species, considered the epitome of luck by others, can be seen just about everywhere in this forest.


    Subconsciously, the three of them began calcting in their minds how much contribution points they could amass just by using these Cedar trees as building materials and exchanging them with the Saintess¡­


    And the results were somewhat astounding.


    Little Salty Cat, for one, had a feeling that her entire savings wouldn¡¯t amount to a single tree in this forest¡­


    Not to mention, these huge cedar trees are just the mostmon and inconspicuous tree species in this entire forest, and there are numerous other nts that they cannot name, but it is evident that they are also extraordinary!


    If the Elven Forest evokes a sense of an ethereal forest distanced from the mundane world, then this enchanting forest, abundant with richness, mystery, and ancient beauty, bears strong resemnce to the mythical Garden of Eden portrayed in biblical tales.


    Even from this significant distance, the three yers can sense the strong life force emanating from this entire forest.


    This nearly overflowing lifeforce permeated the grand temple, merging with its unique divine aura, thereby instilling a sense of reverence and insignificance within the hearts of the three yers¡­


    They were even shocked to discover that each breath they took could slightly increase their experience points, and their personal attributes on their status screen would also experience a modest enhancement!


    This revtion left the summoned yers even more astonished and ted.


    Almost instinctively, all three of them took a deeper breath, hoping to absorb more experience points at the moment.


    They even felt a faint impulse to meditate and train in this ce!


    Where exactly were they?


    Why is the vitality and magic in the air so rich?


    Just as the group was overwhelmed with awe, a warm and dignified voice echoed through the hall, snapping them back to reality.


    ¡°Chosen ones, we meet again.¡±


    Little Salty Cat and the others instinctively looked up and saw the goddess seated atop the magnificent throne crafted with gold, stone, vines, flowers, and branches, positioned at the center of the temple.


    Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.


    In contrast to her previous incarnations and the image she had portrayed back in the introductory cutscene, the present goddess did not enveloped herself in radiant light.


    Instead, she simply sits on the throne, one hand supporting her chin, her gentle gaze fixed upon the group, apanied by a soft smile.


    There is no arrogance nor sense of distance reflected in her countenance, yet the yers find themselves unable to conjure any irreverent thoughts towards her¡­


    On the contrary, the moment theyy eyes upon the goddess, apart from being amazed, they also feel an indescribable sense of awe and reverence¡­


    This emotion is rather peculiar. Logically speaking, even when confronted with the most spectacr scenes, simply knowing that it is just a cutscene from a game, yers wouldn¡¯t normally experience such profound emotions. At most, they would just feel awe and appreciation for the beautifully crafted CGI and such¡­


    However they now had an strong impulse to pay respect and worship a mere 3D game character!


    It was so weird.


    As a matter of fact, this feeling can be felt every time the goddess appeared within the game, but it was even more pronounced this time!


    For a moment, the summoned yers unconsciously calmed their minds and their expressions became increasingly more respectful.


    In actuality, it is somewhat normal for yers to instinctively develop this sense of reverence because the current ce they are in at the moment was no longer the mindscape initially created by Ev¨¦, but rather her Celestial Domain!


    The Celestial Domain and the True God¡¯s are one, an existence between reality and illusion.


    The Celestial Domain can be considered the embodiment of Ev¨¦¡¯s mindscape and divinity. As long as her divine power is abundant, she has the ability to create nearly anything she has witnessed within her own domain, granted sheprehends its essence fully.


    Of course, the things she manifests through her imagination can only exist within the confines of her Celestial Domain. If she wants to take them out of the domain, then Ev¨¦ must spend additional divine power to truly manifest them in reality¡­


    Such is the case with many divine artifacts, as deities often create these items within their Celestial Domain before manifesting them into reality.


    Moreover, the emotions of a True God have the ability to influence everything within their own Celestial Domain, including the other beings that¡¯s within it!


    Therefore, even though the three yers believed themselves to be merely participating in a game, upon entering Eve¡¯s Celestial Domain, the mindset of these summoned yers was subconsciously influenced by her power, leading them to develop a sincere reverence for Ev¨¦ from the depths of their hearts.


    Of course, the persuasive power of these emotional influences is not potent enough to instantlypel people to be her followers, but it was sufficient to make Ev¨¦ appearmanding or authoritative figure.


    Little Salty Cat and the two others saw Ev¨¦ wave at them gently, and then they felt a soft power enter their bodies, sweeping away all their fatigue.


    Afterwards, they joyfully discovered that the debuffs inflicted upon their bodies havepletely disappeared.


    Not only that, their statuses were also fully restored, and even their fatigue value was reset to zero.


    The group looked at each other and simultaneously bowed to Ev¨¦.


    ¡°Praise the goddess!¡±


    Ev¨¦ simply nodded and slightly smiled at them.


    ¡°You¡¯re excused.¡±


    As soon as the goddess finished speaking, system messages appeared in the vision of the group once again¡­


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾Entering the storyline¡¿


    ¡¾Initiating dialogue mode. Please select a representative tomunicate with the goddess.¡¿


    Little Salty Cat took a deep breath and after exchanging nces with the other two, once again became the representative. At the same time, Tomato and Demacia found themselves losing control of their bodies once more.


    Once the representative was chosen, the solemn and sacred voice of the goddess resounded again.


    ¡°I am aware of your purpose ining here. Your choice is correct. The Lord of Darkness and Shadows is an enemy, not a friend. This is merely the enemy¡¯s deception.¡±


    Then¡­ a dialogue box appeared in front of Little Salty Cat:


    ¡¾<strong>Option A:</strong> Supreme Goddess, how should we proceed next?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Option B</strong>: Supreme Goddess, how should we deal with this matter?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Option C</strong>: Supreme Goddess, please guide us in the direction to move forward!¡¿


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­..¡±


    She felt¡­ she seemed to finally understand why Demacia had once stated that it wouldn¡¯t matter who the representative would be, as anyone could easily choose the right dialogue options.


    She tugged at the corner of her mouth and replied,


    ¡°Supreme Goddess, please guide us in the direction to move forward!¡±


    Ev¨¦ nodded with satisfaction and said, ¡°Intervening in the religious dispute among the true gods is somewhat difficult with your current strength. I will send another one of my Godwarden to negotiate with the followers of H, the Goddess of Death. From now on, you will follow her arrangements¡­¡±


    After speaking, the goddess then gestured towards the yers¡¯ side, as countless radiant particles began to gather there¡­


    Under the astonished gaze of the group, a tall figure gradually materialized from the particles that converged together.


    It was an elven woman dressed in ck armor, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. She had long deep silver hair and a pair of enigmatic crimson-purple eyes. Her facial features were delicate, and she wore a kind of chilling aura that instinctively frightens people.


    If there were other true gods present, they would instantly recognize it as an aura bearing the divinity of death!


    However, soon, this aura of death waspletely concealed, and this female neer swiftly became just like an ordinary elf, emanating a vibrant lifeforce.


    Another powerful godwarden! A new NPC!


    The eyes of the three yers lit up.


    After this mysterious elf appeared, she immediately bowed respectfully to the goddess, with her expression filled with reverence.


    ¡°Praise the Great Goddess, I am godwarden Zero, and I will faithfully follow your arrangements.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, the goddess sitting on the divine throne seemed quite satisfied. She smirked and smiled at the group once again.


    ¡°This is Zero, she will be my representative. I have informed her of all my arrangements. From now on, you will follow her instructions.¡±


    With that, she waved her hand.


    Then, the radiant light engulfed the three yers once more¡­

 Chapter 185

    ??<strong>THE MYSTERIOUS ZERO </strong>


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Cutscene Dialogue Completed¡¿


    ¡¾You gained ¡®<strong>3000</strong>¡® experience points and ¡®<strong>300</strong>¡® contribution points¡¿


    As the pleasant sound of the system notification graced their ears, a new system prompt shed into the peripheral sight of Little Salty Cat and the two others, as they returned to the Temple of Nature¡­


    And the first thing they felt upon returning to the surface world was that they couldn¡¯t gain any more EXP with every breath they took.


    This made the three yers felt a sense of loss.


    Unable to resist her curiosity, Little Salty Cat checked her own status screen and was taken aback to discover that within just a span of a few minutes of being within the goddess¡¯s domain, she had umted over thirty thousand experience points, which makes her nearly advanced to level 20!


    If she also add in the 3000 points she had gained frompleting the sidequest, then it¡¯s just barely enough to actually reach it!


    ¡°Wow¡­what was that ce just now? How did I suddenly gain so many experience points!? It¡¯s almost as if Ipleted a main questline!¡±


    Before Little Salty Cat could finish her wonderment, a surprised voice from Demacia came, echoing her thoughts and causing her to nod involuntarily.


    ¡°The ce you just entered was the Celestial Domain of Her Majesty. After she had recovered some of her strength, the Domain of the Matriarch had also regained its vitality,¡±


    A cold voice interjected, causing the three yers to turn around and discover that the one speaking was Zero, the newly summoned Godwarden by the goddess.


    ¡°The Celestial Domain belonging to Her Majesty is imbued with the presence of a divine being. As a result, mere mortals who venture into the domain of a deity are inevitably affected by the divine energy emanating from its owner, allowing them to absorb the dispersed energy within the Celestial Domain. Hence, your power has slightly increased.¡±


    Zero casually exined.


    Upon hearing this, a realization shed across the faces of the three yers.


    As Tomato contemted, a thought suddenly slipped from his mouth,


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that if we stayed in the Celestial Domain of the goddess for an extended period of time, we could continuously enhance our strength?¡±


    Zero nced at him and responded indifferently, ¡°There are no such convenient things in this world. The power of a deity is incredibly potent. Even though her majesty intentionally diluted the divine aura within the Celestial Domain, your capacity to bear such power is stillrgely insufficient. A little bit might be manageable, but if it¡¯s too much¡ª¡±


    She paused and then smiled cryptically.


    ¡°You will be reborn once again from scratch, and you will lose all your powers, including those you have gained from the Domain.¡±


    In other words, if one can¡¯t handle it, then they¡¯ll die.


    The three yers understood what she implied within their hearts.


    ¡°But¡­ a short stay to Her Majesty¡¯s Domain shouldn¡¯t pose any danger to you three, and umting a little bit of the goddess aura can indeed help you guys improve your strength to some extent.¡±


    ¡°However, a God¡¯s Divinity is filled with the power to govern thews of reality. Though you may not fully understand it, you three can still be influenced by it to some extent. Especially when you advance to the next level after absorbing a certain amount of the goddess¡¯s divine aura, there is a chance to further enhance your personal attributes and evenprehend new skills beyond your current level¡­¡±


    Zero changed the topic and continued.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone widened their eyes and couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of inexplicable joy!


    <em>Is there really such a good thing!? </em>


    As expected! Any quest involving meeting the goddess is sure to be rewarding!


    Goddess Ev¨¦ is the best!


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s heart stirred, and she immediately decided to level up. A radiant light then epassed her body as her aura swiftly changed. Finally, she advanced instantly to level 20 right there on the spot!


    And throughout her entire advancement process, Little Salty Cat also sensed a slight tremor within her mind, as if new information had been poured into it¡­


    Feeling delighted, she immediately started examining her own status screen and as anticipated, she found that her STR, AGI, and INT parameters had indeed improved slightly!


    Not only that, but there is actually a new spell within her skill section¡ªSecond Circle Magic: [me Shield]!


    ¡°Wow! I really learned a new spell! And it¡¯s a second circle magic too! Nice, I didn¡¯t even have second circle magic before!¡±


    Little Salty Cat couldn¡¯t help but let out a cheer.


    <em>Second circle magic?</em>


    Tomato and Demacia couldn¡¯t help but nced at her after hearing this.


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, skills at the mundane level are divided into levels ranging from one to ny-nine.


    The melee system is divided into nine-level skills, while the spell-casting system is divided into nine-circle magic, and the next level is the legendary level.


    yers at level 0-10 can only learn apprentice-level skills, while yers at levels 11-20 can only learn first-level skills or first-circle magic, and those who are promoted to level 21 can only start learning second-level skills or spells of the second circle.


    But now, Little Salty Cat, who was only a low iron-rank at level 20, had already mastered a second-circle magic in advance!


    Without mentioning anything else, just with this second circle magic, it would probably be quite difficult for yers of the same level to defeat her before advancing to Intermediate Iron-rank.


    <em>But wait¡­</em>


    This girl is a wealthy tyrant.


    Even without having learned an advanced spell, she already appears invincible with all her golden equipment¡­


    In an instant, Tomato and Demacia felt a sense of unfairness.


    However, the appearance of the advanced spell still sparked a slight curiosity within the hearts of the two yers.


    It is said that the maximum level is 40 in the current version of the game.


    In the Goddess¡¯s Celestial Domain, visiting once and advancing to the next level grants you a chance to acquire an advanced skill¡­


    In other words, if one can enter the Goddess¡¯s Celestial Domain during the the peak of Iron-rank and then advance, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to possess a Fourth-rank skill or Fourth-circle magic that only Silver-rank practitioners can have?


    ¡°Damn! That¡¯s a skill that surpasses a whole rank, far beyond what a Third-rank canpare to!¡±


    ¡°A true trump card!¡±


    Thinking of this, the group couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.


    The yers had witnessed the strength of the Oak Guardian Berserker and A¨¦l.


    They had personally experienced that the Silver-rank level was far superior to the Iron-rank level.


    Upon witnessing the group¡¯s enthusiastic appearance, Zero¡¯s lips curled up slightly, almost imperceptibly.


    ¡°So¡­ if you still want a chance to be summoned by the Matriarch, then strive hard. Opportunities are always given to those who are prepared and willing to fight! What the Goddesscks the most right now is talented individuals who is willing to work hard!¡±


    She enticed them skillfully.


    There will be more chances in the future!


    Understanding the implied meaning in Zero¡¯s words, the three yers became spirited.


    ¡°After reaching level 31, we must find a way toplete another quest to meet the Goddess once again!¡±


    Tomato clenched his fist.


    ¡®<em>In the future, I should find opportunities to tter these high ranking NPCs!¡¯</em> Demacia said inwardly within his mind.


    After the excitement and shock subsided, Litte Salty Cat and the others talked to Zero about the hidden quest, [Dark Dwarves¡¯ Faith]


    After hearing the yers¡¯ words, Zero said lightly, ¡°Just pretend you didn¡¯t see the information written in the Blood Contract. The Dark Dwarves would never reveal their true ns to you guys.¡±


    ¡°It turned out to be a fake n?¡±


    Litte Salty Cat and the other two frowned.


    ¡°If they openly reveal their ns, then it is highly likely that there¡¯s something wrong with it. Furthermore, conflicts and schemes between religions have no impact in the face of absolute strength.¡±


    Zero chuckled.


    ¡°So¡­ what should we need to do next?¡±


    Litte Salty Cat asked again.


    Zero nced at her and said, ¡°Have the rest of the Chosen Ones prepare for battle, but don¡¯t alert the Dark Dwarves. You can use the guise of hunting underground monsters as a cover. I will personally visit the Church of Death shortly, and you can await my update afterwards. If I require your support, then I will contact you once more¡­¡±


    After speaking, she nodded at the yers and left the temple.


    As soon as she walked out, Zero caught sight of the Saintess Alice standing guard outside the temple.


    Alice disyed no surprise upon seeing Zero.


    Having received the Goddess¡¯s oracle beforehand, she was well aware that a new Godwarden would descend this time, and it was highly probable that this individual would be primarily tasked with duties involving the Chosen Ones, such as spreading faith and evenmunicating with a temple dedicated to another deity!


    It seemed¡­the Divine Matriarch was also considering finding allies amongst the other gods.


    <em>Which one will it be?</em>


    Alice had some spections within her mind.


    Of course, Alice was also curious about this new Godwarden.


    Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be a mixed-blood elf with some royal characteristics. Moreover¡­ the aura emanating from her made Alice inexplicably feel much closer to her.


    However, she didn¡¯t ask further.


    Being able to enter the Goddess¡¯s Celestial Domain meant that this Godwarden was someone the Matriarch trusted greatly!


    Simrly, it also meant that she was a fellow colleague!


    Hmm¡­ using the words of the Divine Matriarch, they wererades!


    Comrades who fought for their faith and the future of the elven race!


    With this in mind, Alice smiled slightly at Zero and drew a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest.


    ¡°May nature be with you, Lady Zero.¡±


    Zero¡¯s lips gently curved up, and she also drew a tree-shaped symbol on her chest.


    ¡°May nature be with you, Lady Alice.¡±


    Afterwards, Zero¡¯s figure flickered slightly and disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight¡­


    Meanwhile, on the other side.


    The other yers who learned about the rewards for the ¡°Meeting the Goddess¡± sidequest were also excited.


    Entering the Celestial Domain?


    A huge amount of free experience points?


    And the possibility of obtaining an advanced skill?


    Damn! Long live the Goddess! Indeed, to be stronger, one must hold onto the Goddess¡¯s thigh tightly!


    If previously, everyone wanted toplete the main quests and have the opportunity to be summoned by the Goddess just to satisfy their own vanity, but now¡­


    Triggering a main questline had be the best task in every yer¡¯s heart.


    It¡¯s just that they didn¡¯t know who the next lucky person would be.


    But one thing was certain: holding onto the Goddess¡¯s thigh would definitely be worth it!


    After all¡­ she was the only golden NPC in the entire server!

 Chapter 186

    ??<strong>THE</strong> <strong>DARK SHRINE</strong>


    Deep Caverns, ckrock City.


    The underworld was always deep and dim, with only the fluorescent stones at the cavern¡¯s ceiling providing a little bit of brightness to the world underground.


    However the arrival of these rather peculiar elves has brought about increased prosperity in ckrock City, and recently, the presence of these tall and slender elves as they leisurely wander and interact with the small-statured local residents has be quite a remarkable sight within the city of the dwarves.


    In fact, it was quite impossible not to draw such attention.


    Elves are generally tall beings, with a minimum height of 1.7 meters for both males and females, and each one of them has outstanding appearances to boot. On the other hand, the dwarves, who live in the dark, aren¡¯t that much taller than 1.5 meters, with an average height of only 1.3 meters.


    ckrock City, which was designed specifically for the short dwarven residents, presents an overall smaller and remarkably delicate appearance. However, with the arrival of the elves in the city, their slender and taller figures create a noticeable contrast with the dwarves¡¯ sturdier and more shorter frames.


    Nevertheless, the dwarves have gradually came to ept the presence of these elves within their city in their day-to-day lives.


    For the local residents, these elves are a much better group than most of the other mercenaries that¡¯s operating within the underworld. Surprisingly, even upon entering the city, these elves will willingly choose to disarm themselves and refrain from causing any majormotion. In fact, they exhibit exceptional politeness, a quality that many other mercenaries struggle to embody.


    Yet these strange elves did it naturally, almost without any hesitation.


    Moreover, if one happens to be a dwarven cksmith, they would find that these elves can be even more polite towards them¡­to the point where they would even tter and actively try to curry favor just to get some guidance on forging techniques.


    As a result, most of the forges around the city have long been surrounded by the sight of these elves. Their admiration and enthusiasm for dwarven forging techniques leaves the cksmith dwarves themselves feeling both honored and pleased.


    Of course, what made the dwarves even happier was the exquisite goods brought by the elves to barter.


    Among the items they were willing to trade are sturdy spider silk, nutritious surface wheat, fast-growing rice, and delectable sweet potatoes. Additionally, the dwarves were also introduced to a variety of fruits that were both unfamiliar and incredibly delicious.


    These products were only avable exclusively from the surface world, and dwarves normally could not acquire such goods underground. However, these Elves brought suchmodities inrge quantities to ckrock City and exchanged them for minerals, magical materials, rare metals, and even valuable forging knowledge, igniting a frenzy among countless dwarves.


    Upon Zero¡¯s arrival in ckrock City, she was greeted by a bustling and vibrant scene¡­


    Zero, also known publicly as the Godwarden of Ev¨¦, is one of her disguises, an incarnation of herself constructed with the help of H¡¯s soul-storing orb as the core.


    However, during her transformation, she retained some characteristics of the elves.


    This time, Ev¨¦ has made a deliberate choice to personally utilize her own incarnation and has evenbeled it as her own Godwarden. She made this decision after careful consideration for the uing task.


    She still couldn¡¯t fully entrust the delicate task of engaging with followers of other gods to the yers, nor was it suitable for her own believers as well.


    After thinking it over, the safest option was for her to personally carry out the task herself while using one of her disguises.


    Labeling herself as a Godwarden is also a strategic move for Ev¨¦ to better lead the yers.


    Although the Quest system and NPCs¡¯ guidance were generally effective, there were instances where Ev¨¦ found it necessary to personally intervene for better control over the yers¡¯ actions or to initiate crucialmunication with the forces of other gods.


    Furthermore, presenting oneself as a true god at this point is still too risky. Therefore, it would be a much better choice to don a disguise instead in the meantime.


    Of course, the disguise Ev¨¦ chose for herself is the third purple-ss NPC, aside from the Saintess Alice and the Spider Queen Rose!


    Upon entering ckrock City, Ev¨¦, disguised as Zero, went about her way unnoticed by both the yers and the dwarves around her.


    d in ck armor and carrying a meticulously sharpened longsword strapped to her back, she walked through the streets with confidence, as she savored the lively atmosphere of ckrock City.


    Curiously, it seemed as though everyone failed to perceive her presence, as they all simply went about their own business as if she weren¡¯t there.


    However the surprising thing was that, the pedestrians on the road would instinctively clear a path for her, before questioning themselves why they had done so in the first ce¡­


    And Ev¨¦, in a straightforward manner, confidently walked all the way to the front of the Dark Shrine in the center of ckrock City.


    Seeing it up close, this religious structure can be considered the most iconic building within the entire city.


    The architectural style of the shrine presents a striking contrast to the structures found throughout the dwarves¡¯ city. Rather than conforming to ckrock¡¯s rigidity, the shrine radiates dignity and grandeur instead. The main structure is meticulously crafted with stone bricks, adorned with intricate carvings depicting exquisite patterns and reliefs. Moreover, the dominant ck color scheme adds to the overall foreboding ambiance of the Dark Shrine, evoking a sense of solemnity and coldness.


    Standing in front of the shrine, Ev¨¦ noticed a small fountain with a statue of a goddess wearing a ck robe, holding an orb and a scythe in each of her hands as its centerpiece.


    This should be the statue of H.


    Ev¨¦ thought to herself.


    She looked at the base of the statue and indeed saw two lines of text engraved in both Dwarvish and Commonnguage which states¡ª


    <em>¡®Death is the beginning and the end.¡¯</em>


    This is the most famous and widely known religious phrase of the Church of Death¡­


    It would be somewhat simr to her own religious phrase of <em>¡®May nature be with you¡¯</em> or <em>¡®May the goddess of life bless you.¡¯</em>


    Ev¨¦ kept looking at the statue for a while before shifting her gaze, as she looked up at the shrine that belonged to the Goddess of Death, H.


    While using her divine sight, this solemn shrine appeared a little different.


    She could ¡®see¡¯ that this shrine was like a huge beacon of light in the darkness that enveloped the entire ckrock City, as it radiates an immensework of countless flickering lights, with these firefly-like glows constantly converging towards the shrine.


    This was the power of faith.


    As a true god who had also established her own divine kingdom, Ev¨¦ could see the power of beliefs and thework of faith that ordinary people couldn¡¯t see.


    And this shrine is the center of belief within ckrock City.


    The center of belief weaves a vastwork of faith, absorbing the faith of the dark dwarves and storing it into the shrine, while also feeding it back to H in the Netherworld, thus transforming it into her own divine power.


    If Eve¡¯s guess is correct, there should be a statue specifically designed to store such power of belief inside the shrine, which is the core of this faithwork.


    In fact¡­Ev¨¦ also used the same method when collecting faith energy.


    Alice built statues in her own temple that function as nodes to collect beliefs and form her ownwork of faith. These statues also create a protective space where a true god can exert their influence, enabling more effectivemunication between believers and deities.


    True Gods can use their divine power through these statues to control the surrounding area and engage in divine interventions or dispatch followers. However, this action requires substantial divine power, making it rare for gods to do so, except for Ev¨¦, who was in the same realm as her temple.


    Demigod Volker was only able to cross realms using Night Wanderer¡¯s assistance and Uller¡¯s statue¡¯s umted power of faith. Believers can also activate the power of faith stored in these statues to create defensive or offensive divine spells.


    That is why, when hostile forces attack a city with an operational temple, their first priority is to always find a way to destroy the statues within the temple first.


    The downfall of the Orcs stems from their failure to utilize defensive spells, resulting in theplete depletion of the energy stored within Uller¡¯s statue, all brought about by the summoning of the demigod Volker.


    While observing the shrine of the Goddess of Death, Ev¨¦ felt slightly surprised.


    She noticed that the radiance of the core of faith in the shrine seemed more dimmer than expected and the faithwork was also rather unstable as well¡­


    The peculiar situation indicates that the energy stored within H¡¯s statues, which harbored the power of faith in the shrine of the Death God, was likely not umted significantly or has already been depleted.


    <em>Is it because of the existence of the followers of the Lord of Shadows?</em>


    <em>Or perhaps the Church of Death had once used the power of faith stored within H¡¯s statues?</em>


    Ev¨¦ furrowed her brows slightly.


    Then out of nowhere, a thought popped into her mind, leading to a series of guesses she started to consider.


    Ev¨¦ then averted her gaze and then took a gentle step forward, before finally entering the shrine¡­

 Chapter 187

    ??<strong>YOU¡¯RE HERE, YGGDRASILL </strong>


    To Eve¡¯s surprise, the H¡¯s Shrine was unusually quiet today.


    Although religious institutions like these have always exuded a solemn atmosphere, they should still have their fair share of believers visiting and praying, as well as clerics bustling about.


    Yet, today the shrine is almost empty¡­


    Even the rows of seats for believers in the shrine have been removed, leaving the entire hall empty and barren.


    What caught her eye was only the statue of the Goddess of Death and a petite figure standing in front of it. This individual was wearing what appeared to be a ck ceremonial robe simr to that of the Death Goddess, with her back facing Ev¨¦ as she gazed at the gemstone nestled in the right hand of H¡¯s statue.


    It was the female priestess often referred to by the Dark-Dwarves as their Shrinelord.


    Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat, prompting her to voluntarily dispel the high-level concealment spell she had cast upon herself.


    In the vacant hall of the shrine, the only audible sound was the echo of Ev¨¦¡¯s footsteps as she entered the premises, with her shoes gracefully treading along the ck stone tiles¡­


    Upon hearing the sound of Ev¨¦¡¯s footsteps, the Shrinelord, with her hands positioned behind her back, gradually turned around and locked eyes directly with Ev¨¦.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, Yggdrasill.¡±


    Her voice exuded a calm and gentle tone, without a hint of surprise, as if she had known Ev¨¦ for a long time, and her manner of speech resembled that of someone meeting an old friend they hadn¡¯t seen in a very long time.


    Upon hearing how the dwarven priestess addressed her, Ev¨¦ sensed an intense surge of energy within her, as if her very essence was on the brink of eruption.


    The dormant divine power within her body awakened involuntarily, and she could hardly resist the urge to unleash her power and cast a spell, tearing the person who had boldly spoken her name into smithereens¡­


    However, after realizing where she currently was, Ev¨¦ reluctantly suppressed her impulse and redirected her gaze towards the face of the priestess.


    However, she was slightly taken aback when she clearly saw the current appearance of the dwarven priestess.


    Dark Dwarves typically have dark skin tones, as well as grayish-ck hair and eyes. The impression Ev¨¦ had while observing this priestess through the yers¡¯ perspective was simr to that of a typical female dwarf¡­


    However, the Shrinelord¡¯s appearance now was significantly different from what Ev¨¦ had seen before.


    Her usual grayish-ck hair has now turnedpletely ck, and her originally dark skintone has be fairer, resembling that of a human. Furthermore, her pair of dark ashen eyes have transformed into a pair of crimson pupils, resembling the unfathomable depths of the sea.


    Although she still somewhat possessed the dwarven priestess facial features, her overall appearance and demeanor now gave the impression of an entirely different individual.


    Standing there by herself, the petite priestess exudes an indescribable aura of majesty and mystery, involuntarily evoking a sense of reverence to anyone who happens toy their eyes upon her¡­


    <em>Divine possession!</em>


    Eve¡¯s pupils partly contracted.


    However, she reacted quickly, and her mind immediately made an educated guess, with about eighty to ny percent certainty, regarding the true identity of the person possessing the priestess.


    Ev¨¦ then gracefully executed a standard elven greeting gesture before stating,


    ¡°When I discovered that the divine energy within this shrine had been exhausted, my initial assumption was that the worshippers had summoned an Envoy from the Netherworld. However, it turned out to be Your Majesty, the Goddess of Death herself, who had manifested¡­¡±


    Upon hearing Eve¡¯s words, the dwarven ¡®priestess¡¯ showed no signs of surprise. She merely stretched out her hands and shook her head before releasing a soft sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯ve merely borrowed the body and power of a believer of mine to manifest a temporal possession. It can¡¯tpare to Your Excellency directly shaping an avatar as your physical incarnation.¡±


    After speaking, the ¡®priestess¡¯ gently waved her hand, and suddenly numerous bones appeared out of thin air on the ground of the temple, forming an imposing skeletal throne, upon which she lightly sat.


    However, the grand and imposing throne appeared out of ce in contrast to the small stature of the Dwarves. When the other party sat upon it, her legs ended up dangling in the air, creating a slightly amusing sight resembling a child sitting on an oversized adult¡¯s chair¡­


    Upon seeing this scene, something stirred within Eve¡¯s heart.


    At the same time, several nts emerged from the ground behind her, transforming into a vibrant throne made of vines, upon which she also sat down.


    Observing the unmistakable divine power of Nature surrounding Ev¨¦, the ¡®priestess¡¯ raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.


    She then nced at Ev¨¦, wearing a half-smile upon her lips, with her cold voice carrying a subtle hint of amusement.


    ¡°The Divinity of Nature¡­ should I address you as Your Excellency Yggdrasill or simply Ev¨¦?¡±


    Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Eve¡¯s nerves couldn¡¯t help but twitch slightly.


    However, she quickly regained herposure and smiled faintly as she responded, ¡°Ev¨¦ is fine. My current name is Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡­Your Majesty H.¡±


    After she spoke, a faint fluctuation of aura emanated from within her, and Eve¡¯s entire appearance changed once again. She discarded her disguise and unveiled her true form, transitioning directly from the guise of Godwarden Zero into her original look!


    The sight of Ev¨¦, with her unique tinum hair, purple eyes, and the divine robe embellished with symbols representing nature, life, and elves, along with the floral crown nestled upon her head, left the dwarven ¡®priestess¡¯ with a myriad of emotions.


    ¡°Yggdrasill, you have changed after all¡­Indeed, you¡¯re still her, yet at the same time, you¡¯re not ¡®her¡¯ anymore. Perhaps it would be more urate to say that you¡¯re the sessor of the World Tree¡­¡±


    After speaking, the ¡®priestess¡¯ let out a rueful sigh, and a trace of divine power surged from within her petite body, causing the dwarven priestess¡¯ appearance to change once again¡­


    Suddenly, her height rapidly increased, transforming her from her previous petite form into a fully-sized humanoid woman with ck hair and crimson eyes. She wore a ck divine robe adorned with symbols of the Grim Reaper on her body¡­


    Her new appearance was exactly the same as the statue of the Goddess of Death ced in the hall!


    At this moment, there was no longer any doubt within Eve¡¯s mind.


    Its definitely H, the Goddess of Death and Ruler of the Underworld!


    Despite outwardly disying a calm demeanor, Eve¡¯s mind was engulfed in turmoil, overwhelmed by a multitude of doubts and concerns¡­


    H, the Goddess of Death, who usually resided in the Netherworld, unexpectedly borrowed the body of a believer to manifest her divine descent!


    It was evident that the other party had been waiting for her and knew that she would eventuallye to visit her shrine.


    <em>However¡­ how did H know?</em>


    When did she discover Eve¡¯s true identity, and how did she know that Ev¨¦ woulde to visit her?


    No¡­to be more precise, Ev¨¦¡¯s original n was to pose as a Godwarden in order to establishmunication with H¡¯s followers and create a positive impression and goodwill beforehand. However, what she didn¡¯t expect was to encounter H herself!


    Moreover¡­ it was clear that the other party had been here for a while, waiting for her arrival specifically!


    H¡¯s first sentence, ¡°You¡¯re here¡± upon meeting her had already expressed almost everything¡­


    Fortunately, it seemed that H didn¡¯t harbor any hostility towards her.


    Observing Ev¨¦¡¯s suddenly fall into awkward silence, the Goddess of Death released a faint sigh and spoke softly,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yggdra¡ªYour Majesty Ev¨¦¡­ Currently, I am the only one who knows about your return, and I have no intention of revealing it to anyone. You should¡¯ve also known that I am not on the same side as those gods in the heavenly realm.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Ev¨¦ experienced a slight sense of relief, although some of her lingering apprehension still remained unresolved.


    ¡°¡­Your Majesty H, at what point did you be aware of my resurrection?¡± she asked.


    H slightly raised an eyebrow and replied,


    ¡°Probably¡­ when the mana levels in Saig¨¹es once again started to replenish. At that moment, I had a few doubts, but with the support of my followers, I encountered some of your elves. From that point onward, my certainty grew to about eighty to ny percent.¡±


    <em>H begin to harbor doubts from the moment the mana within the mortal realm replenished?</em>


    Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat as she suddenly began to think of more of this matter¡­


    Since the Goddess of Death began to doubt it, did the other gods perhaps think the same thing as well?


    As if reading her mind H added, ¡°However, the rest of the gods are probably still oblivious of it and I only became aware of it since¡­it was I who had secretly assisted in casting the self-preservation spell that the World Tree had used upon itself before its fall. I immediately noticed the changes in that spell as soon as they urred. Hence, after observing your territory for a while, I eventually learned about your resurrection.¡±


    <em>The Goddess of Death secretly assisted in casting the self-preservation spell that protected the body of the Wor</em>ld Tree?


    Upon learning of this news, waves surged within Eve¡¯s mind.


    <em>Wait¡­ does this mean that H was already a secret ally of her predecessor!? </em>


    Seeing Eve¡¯s astonished expression, H continued,


    ¡°Actually, even if you hadn¡¯te to find me and hadn¡¯t dealt with Hodur¡¯s group of unruly servants, I would have gone to the Elven Forest to find you myself. But now that you¡¯re here, the situation has be even more favorable.¡±


    Having said that, H then lifted her chin and yfully gazed at Ev¨¦, before asking,


    ¡°So how about it? Was my soul-storing gemstone useful to you?¡±


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

 Chapter 188

    ??<strong>OATH OF THE TRUE GODS</strong>


    Ev¨¦ knew that H had seen through the core of her disguise as Zero.


    If it was simply reced by one of H¡¯s guardian spirit, then perhaps it can still be hidden due to Eve¡¯s deliberate concealment but as the creator of the gemstone, H could easily discern that one of Eve¡¯s disguises had the Soul-storing gemstone as its core.


    However, the mere fact that H herself stated this in the first ce indicates that she doesn¡¯t particrly care much that she¡¯s using it.


    Actually, it is quitemon in Saig¨¹es toe across artifacts like these, and the deities don¡¯t pay much attention to these artifacts as they possess only a miniscule amount of divine power stored within them.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ chuckled dryly.


    ¡°To possess the skill to create an artifact capable of containing the essence of a deity, Your Majesty, I genuinely admire your profoundprehension of theplexities of the soul.¡±


    ¡°Ahha, aren¡¯t you the same in this regard?¡±


    H smiled and looked outside the temple.


    ¡°I still haven¡¯t figured out how you summoned these seemingly soulless Elves. Did you perhaps conceal their souls? I¡¯ve been observing them, and they appear to possess the ability to resurrect indefinitely, much like my guardian spirits, but without any noticeable side effects. Moreover, they also seem to possess their own knowledge inheritance as well¡­¡±


    As H spoke, she seemed somewhat lost in thought.


    Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat, realizing that H had noticed the oddity of the yers.


    While the existence of the yers might deceive the other deities, it could never deceive the Goddess of Death, who possessed a profound understanding of the inner workings of the soul.


    The other party must¡¯ve easily saw through the yers¡¯ inherent nature and the only thing she¡¯s missing was knowledge of the yers¡¯ actual origins.


    However, it was precisely because of this that H probably would never have guessed that these Elves were actually summoned by Ev¨¦ from another world¡¯s virtualwork.


    ¡°Let¡¯s set aside this matter for now. I assume you have a reason for visiting my shrine, right?¡±


    H abandoned the topic of the yers and once again looked at Ev¨¦ with her incredibly profound crimson eyes.


    Ev¨¦ nodded, her expression grave.


    ¡°Indeed, I have visited your shrine to inform Your Majesty that Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, is actively attempting to influence my followers with the goal of overthrowing your reign in this city. I felt it necessary to give you an advance notice regarding this situation¡­¡± Ev¨¦ exined, then tilted her head slightly.


    ¡°Nevertheless, now that Your Majesty has personally descended, I am confident that these mortal servants of Hodur will face considerable challenges in their attempts to cause any significant disturbance within your territory.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    After hearing what Ev¨¦ had said, H nodded and then asked, ¡°Since you havee in person yourself, do you have any other ns in mind as well?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, I would have dly seized the chance to disy goodwill towards the Church of Death. As the saying goes, ¡®The enemy of my enemy is my friend,¡¯ and interestingly enough, I also hold my own grievances against Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ replied.


    As H disyed her goodwill, Ev¨¦ responded in kind by beingpletely transparent.


    She also noticed that, despite both of them being gods of the Netherworld, Hodur should theoretically be subordinate to H. However, it became evident that the Goddess of Death still doesn¡¯t have the means to assert her dominance over him.


    It is even possible that Hodur coveted H¡¯s own divinity!


    The Goddess of Death didn¡¯t seem to be surprised by this, and she merely sighed.


    ¡°Hodur¡­ well, he has been getting too close to the gods of the heavens. If it hadn¡¯t been for him, then how could I have remained trapped in the Netherworld for all these years¡­¡±


    So it turns out that the Goddess of Death isn¡¯t actually confined to the Netherworld for a reason but instead is subjected to some kind of restriction.


    A sudden thought stirred within Eve¡¯s mind.


    H didn¡¯t borate further but simply looked at Ev¨¦ yet again before sighing.


    ¡°It seems¡­the prophecy was indeed truly urate¡­¡±


    <em>¡­Prophecy?</em>


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow but before she could inquire any further, H continued,


    ¡°Actually, I had already been waiting here when the mana in Saig¨¹es began to return. Now that I¡¯ve seen you arrive, I have gained a somewhat clear understanding of your motives¡­ Are you perhaps, asking me to join your forces as an ally?¡±


    The Goddess of Death then crossed her arms together.


    ¡°But¡­ what sort of price are you willing to offer? You see, I currently stand at the pinnacle of intermediate divine power, whereas you merely possess only a weak divine power¡­Not to mention, despite Hodur causing me some inconvenience, he is ultimately just a single god with intermediate divine power. But you¡ª¡±


    H then paused deliberately and showed an expression of amusement.


    ¡°You are facing the entire Heavenly Gods!¡±


    ¡°I acknowledge your immense potential, but your potential alone isn¡¯t sufficient enough. In the end, it remains just that¡ª<em>a mere potential</em>. If my judgment is correct, the dimensional portal within Saig¨¹es is expected to reopen within the next twenty years, allowing true gods to roam the mortal realm once more. However, if your power grows too rapidly, then it may elerate the dimensional reopening even further.¡±


    ¡°Not even the might of the great World Tree could contend against the wrath of the heavens a thousand years ago, and now, after a millennia have passed, your enemies have grown even more powerful than before!¡±


    ¡°Under such circumstances, do you still think you can drag me down along with you?¡±


    <em>Herees the moment of truth!</em><mark>1</mark>


    Eve¡¯s heart shuddered as she steeled her resolve.


    Extending good intentions is ultimately just that<em>¡ªa show of goodwill</em>¡­it isn¡¯t sufficient enough to sway another god without tangible benefits.


    Furthermore, based on her conversation with the Goddess of Death, Ev¨¦ realized that H knew she was not the actual World Tree of the past but rather its sessor!


    Moreover¡­ no matter from which angle one look at it, it really seems like she truly have no chance of winning.


    Taking a deep breath, Ev¨¦ spoke out the reasons she had already prepared beforehand to convince the Goddess of Death.


    ¡°Since Your Majesty is already aware that I am different from the World Tree a thousand years ago, then you should also know that my personality differs from my predecessor¡­Just because she couldn¡¯t do something doesn¡¯t imply that I can¡¯t. Once I am fully recovered¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ paused for a moment and said meaningfully,


    ¡°¡­I have already made contact with the dimensional origin of the world of Saig¨¹es.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, H¡¯s pupils immediately contracted.


    A look of realization flickered across her face, and she gazed at Ev¨¦ with a somewhat strange expression.


    ¡°I see. I forgot that you are not ¡®her.¡¯ Your predecessor won¡¯t flip the table,<mark>2</mark> but you just might¡­ Even though a thousand years have passed, the world of Saig¨¹es is still the primary source of faith for the true gods¡­ It¡¯s truly a huge threat to those parasites¡­¡±


    <em>Par¡­parasites</em>¡­


    The corner of Eve¡¯s mouth twitched at the tant mockery in the words of the Goddess of Death towards the heavenly gods.


    Ev¨¦ paused for a moment and continued.


    ¡°Furthermore, I understand that Your Majesty¡¯s Divinity is not yet fully perfected, thus preventing you from taking the final step towards attaining your full potential. This iplete state also hampers your ability to exerciseplete control over the Netherworld. As a result, it has even allowed Hodur, who was originally meant to be your subordinate, to foster ambitions instead.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, The Goddess of Death fell deathly silent.


    H¡¯s smile gradually faded upon her face as her voice began to carry a hint of coldness into it.


    ¡°¡­.What do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°I think¡­I can help with perfecting Your Majesty¡¯s Divinity.¡±


    ¡°Life and Death are two pr opposites, but at the same time, they are interlinked with one another. If Your Majesty, H, can form an alliance with me and help me conceal the truth of the World Tree¡¯s resurrection, as well as provide me a certain amount of support within the realm of Saig¨¹es, then in return, I can offer my expertise in the Divinity of Life to aid in perfecting your Divinity of Death. Through this alliance, you shall ascend as the true Goddess of Death and Sovereign of the Netherworld!¡±


    Finally, Ev¨¦ revealed the n she had prepared!


    Upon hearing her words, H once again fell into silence.


    After a moment, the Goddess of Death sighed and regarded Ev¨¦ skeptically.


    ¡°You seem to have thought this through, but¡­ how can I trust you?¡±


    ¡°Our Divinities may be intertwined but s, Life is ultimately not Death, so how can you be so certain that you can truly help me in perfecting my Divinity? In the end, its merely just a possibility. Moreover, even if it is possible¡­ how long will this entire process take?¡±


    ¡°If your identity is exposed during this whole process, then I will end up being an enemy of the heavenly gods just like you.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, why can¡¯t I simply reveal your true identity directly to the gods of the heavenly realm instead, in exchange for their assistance in perfecting my own Divinity?¡±


    Upon hearing H¡¯s rhetorical question, Ev¨¦ replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Indeed, while there is no guarantee but this also means that there is a slight possibility, doesn¡¯t it? At the very least, it is still preferable to H¡¯s current situation of maintaining the status quo.¡±


    ¡°Also, if Your Majesty, H wants to deal with the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, then I can also assist you¡­I can attack his sources of faith within Saig¨¹es!¡±


    ¡°As for revealing my real identity to the heavenly gods¡­Can Your Majesty really trust the gods of the heavenly realm? If my assumptions are correct, they too are wary of you, aren¡¯t they? It is likely that they would not wee the emergence of yet another uncontroble deity, especially one who possesses the authority to govern over death!¡±


    After finishing her words, Ev¨¦ then looked at H directly in the eyes.


    A tense silence reigned for a moment, with neither of the two moving an inch. However, it was finally broken when the expression on the face of the Goddess of Death became somewhatplex, and she let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°I must say, Your Excellency Yggdrasill, I have no idea where you found this sessor of yours, but I must admit¡­ your words have truly convinced me.¡±


    <em>Agreed?</em>


    Eve felt overjoyed within her heart.


    ¡°However¡­¡±


    H¡¯s tone suddenly changed, and an ambiguous smile crossed her face.


    ¡°I can only help you conceal your true identity, so don¡¯t expect me to publicly assist you in battling your enemies, especially the gods of the heavenly realm! I cannot openly support you in any direct confrontation. So even if you find yourself in a religious war with other true gods in Saig¨¹es, I will refrain from joining such battles.¡±


    ¡°And if you somehow expose your own identity and face the heavenly wrath, then don¡¯t me me for withdrawing and not assisting you¡­¡±


    ¡°What I can do is help you conceal your real identity and providing a logical justification for it.¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°And also¡­¡±


    H changed her posture, crossing her legs.


    ¡°Your promise must be fulfilled, first¡­ assist me in dealing with the followers of Hodur in Saig¨¹es, and help me perfect my Divinity!¡±


    ¡°I heard¡­ that Uller seems to be secretly searching for the divine blood crystals of the previous World Tree?¡±


    ¡°We can begin from there. Assist me in locating some as well, as analyzing these divine blood crystals would be beneficial to me too. Besides, these crystals don¡¯t hold much divine power, and I can¡¯t even use the Divinity of Life, so they shouldn¡¯t pose any threat to you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t ask for these divine blood crystals without offering something in return. If you¡¯recking in divine power, then I can exchange an equal amount of my own divine power or even provide you with additionalpensation.¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Furthermore¡­¡±


    H crossed her arms and continued.


    ¡°This time, when Hodurunches a counterattack in ckrock City, I need your assistance in pacifying it.¡±


    ¡°Their trump card is Hodur¡¯s legion of shadow creatures. I can take care of his followers, but I need you to handle his shadow legion. I don¡¯t want too many of my devoted followers to perish¡­ Besides, your Elves appear to be unafraid of death¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you say?¡±


    After she finished stating her conditions, H then nced at Ev¨¦ and yfully raised an eyebrow.


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    She pondered for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.


    ¡°It seems Your Majesty has calcted everything meticulously.¡±


    Ev¨¦ did understand H¡¯s emphasis on her followers safety. After all¡­ perfecting her Divinity with the power of faith was another path H could take!


    However, the Divinity of death was too powerful, and that alternative path was not easy to take.


    Nevertheless, even though H¡¯s conditions seemed somewhat demanding, Ev¨¦ was still content in this oue.


    Being able to obtain H¡¯s consent and her assistance in concealing her true identity was more than enough for her!


    The reputation of the Goddess of Death was still quite useful, enough to make most gods afraid and allow Ev¨¦ act like a paper tiger,<mark> 3</mark> while also giving her an opportunity to expand and strengthen herself!


    Thinking this way, Ev¨¦ nodded.


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    H also seemed quite satisfied. The Goddess of Death smiled and extended her hand, transforming her divine power into a rolled up golden scroll.


    ¡°So¡­ let¡¯s sign the Oath of the True Gods!¡±


    The Oath of the True Gods is a contract between deities, considered the strictest contract that exists, guided by thews of the World. Vitors would face severe bacsh upon their divine souls, so even true gods would have to pay a great price to break it¡­


    Eve nodded solemnly.


    Soon, the two true gods with their own intentions signed the contract.


    The contract had three crucial stiptions:


    1. Both parties will establish an alliance. From the date of the alliance, H must assist Ev¨¦ in concealing her identity, while Ev¨¦ disguises herself as a God of Death. The followers of both sides will establish a friendly agreement and not invade each other¡¯s faith or territories.


    2. Ev¨¦ must assist H in perfecting the Divinity of Death, regrly providing H with divine blood crystals from the World Tree, and H will reward her with 1.5 times the divine power of death.


    3. Ev¨¦ must assist H¡¯s followers inbating the influence of Hodur, the Lord of darkness and shadows, in the world of Saig¨¹es. H¡¯s followers need to share intelligence about Saig¨¹es with Ev¨¦.


    ¡­


    1 <strong>ÈâÏ·À´ÁË</strong> ¨C Originally this literally trantes to ¡®The meat scene ising¡¯ which is a chinese phrase that means the most important/juicy part of the scene has arrived.


    2 <strong>ÏÆ×À×Ó</strong> ¨C Flip the table is a chinese phrase that means ¡®To get angry or be pissed¡¯


    3 <strong>Ö½ÀÏ»¢</strong> ¨C Paper Tiger is a chinese term which refers to something or someone that ims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge.

 Chapter 189

    ??<strong>RESISTING THE SHADOW LEGION </strong>


    After Ev¨¦ signed the oath with the Goddess of Death, she once again transformed back into the appearance of Zero and left the shrine.


    Of course, she also didn¡¯t forget to cast advanced concealment spell upon herself before leaving.


    Ev¨¦ quickly left the shrine¡¯s vicinity and it wasn¡¯t until she couldn¡¯t sense H¡¯s presencepletely that Ev¨¦ finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    This was the first time she had truly faced yet another god in person ever since she was reborn as the World Tree.


    Although¡­ H had only temporarily manifested her consciousness through the body of one of her devout followers via divine possession.


    In any case, it appeared that H had been prepared for her arrival, and regardless of H¡¯s actual feelings, Ev¨¦ could perceive a degree of benevolence emanating from her.


    The oath they signed could also be considered satisfactory oue for both parties¡­


    After this, Ev¨¦ could openly carry the banner of H, the Sovereign of the Underworld, without any worries.


    Although it¡¯ll only be able to pull the tiger¡¯s skin,<mark> 1</mark> it could already provide her with tremendous assistance.


    The dark dwarves that inhabit the underground, at least those who worship H, have also be the Elves allies.


    Although Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t expect their active participation in her impending religious war against Uller, she could, at the very least, establish trade and cooperation with them to counter the influence of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows in the underground.


    ording to H, Hodur was an even older existence than her and he had established a stronger presence within thesend underground long before her.


    Not to mention Hodur had also been involved with numerous other Evil Gods hiding underground.


    Moreover, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows was also a potential enemy of her.


    This presents Ev¨¦ with an additional chance to utilize the power of H, the Goddess of Death, in order to sow discord within thesend underground.


    Killing evil gods, devouring their divine power, or absorbing the lifeforce of her enemies through warfare were all part of Eve¡¯s n to strengthen herself.


    Even the uing religious war with Uller was essentially for this purpose.


    In hindsight, expanding one¡¯s influence was superficial; the most fundamental thing was to still enhance one¡¯s own strength, and the swiftest path to achieve this was by consuming the lifeforce and divine power of others.


    From this perspective, it was a win-win situation for both Eve and H, with the former being able to devour lifeforce much to her heart¡¯s content while thetter could expand her faith to a greater extent.


    As for assisting H in perfecting the Divinity of Death, the primary task at the moment is to collect the crystallized divine blood of her predecessor.


    After the destruction of the Caverock Tribe, the southern part of the Elven Forest had nearly be Eve¡¯s own backyard and as yers kept delving into the area, some fortunate individuals would asionallye across these divine blood crystals hidden amidst the forest.


    Apart from those already absorbed by Ev¨¦, she estimated that there were still quite a few left¡­


    Ev¨¦ nned to selectively remove the powers of nature and the elvenws upon these divine blood crystals, and then, after quelling the rebellion of the dark dwarves, hand them over to the Church of Death.


    H¡¯s descent is limited to manifesting her consciousness. If she wishes to confront the enemy, she still needs to rely on her followers. Moreover, if the Goddess of Death wishes to spare her followers from incurring significant losses, then she is left with no alternative but to allow Eve to take action.


    As for why H doesn¡¯t call upon a demigod-level heroic guardian spirit is simply a matter of weighing the pros and cons.


    After all¡­it¡¯s merely a rebellion within one city, and it hasn¡¯t escted to the extent where calling upon a demigod is necessary. Moreover, the summoning of a demigod from another realm requires tremendous amount of divine power and may result in a disproportionate utilization of H¡¯s powerspared to the potential advantages gained.


    Uller desperately wanted to seize the Divinity of Life and Nature, which is why he spared no expense to send demigod Volker but H didn¡¯t need to do that.


    So¡­in the end, the yers will have to take action again.


    ¡°A Legion of shadow creatures¡­ it is said that they are monsters born in the dark realm where the abyss and the Underworld meet, but they have been brought under the control of Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows.¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought while walking.


    ¡°The Dark Dwarves on the whole,ck significant strength, as most of them are only at the Iron-rank. The shadow creatures Hodur can summon are likely to be at this rank as well, which is within the yers¡¯ ability to fight!¡±


    The term ¡°Abyss¡± refers to a collection of tumultuous nes situated between realms, where the naturalws governing these nes are in a state of chaos. The Abyss serves as the dwelling ce for demons and Evil Gods and ording to legends, the Netherworld was also once part of the Abyss, but it was purified by the Primordial God of Death, which resulted in its current state.


    Nevertheless, the Netherworld maintains a degree of connection with the Abyss and this intersection serves as the birthce of a creature that exists between the realms of chaos and order¡ªa shadow monster.


    However, if one wants to summon these creatures across the dimensional border, they must first prepare and depict aplete summoning array in advance.


    The Church of Death continues to maintain a firm grip on ckrock City. Moreover, with H¡¯s arrival, although herbat capabilities are somewhat limited, she still possesses more than enough ability to identify any traitors among them. Therefore, clearing Holdur¡¯s followers inside the city is not a problem for the followers of the Goddess of Death.


    The problem lies outside the city.


    With H¡¯s arrival, the Church of Death has depleted its stored power of faith, which significantly diminished ckrock City¡¯s capacity to fend off any external assaults.


    Holdur¡¯s followers will certainly not put all their eggs in one basket. They will definitely summon shadow creatures outside the city to attack and besiege the city, which is the enemy that the yers need to confront.


    The power fluctuations from her recent encounter with H cannot be hidden. Hodur will certainly take immediate action, and ckrock City is likely to descend into chaos soon. Therefore, Ev¨¦ needs to hurry as well.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ dispelled her high-level concealment spell and quickened her pace towards the ce she had agreed upon with Little Salty Cat and the others.


    ckrock City, The Dwarven Bar¡ªDeep Rift.


    Little Salty Cat and the rest of the group were gathered inside the bar, feeling bored as they sipped on their light ale and engaged in conversation, whilst waiting for someone.


    This was the ce where the Godwarden Zero had agreed to meet them before she left¡­


    While the group engaged in conversations about different Earth-rted rumors, much to the confusion of Holdur¡¯s followers who were secretly monitoring them, the entrance of the bar was suddenly forcefully swung open.


    The Godwarden Zero walked in.


    Upon seeing the familiar elven girl in ck armor, the eyes of several yers light up, and they quickly gather around her.


    ¡°Lord Zero, how did the negotiations go?¡±


    ¡°Miss Zero, how was it?¡±


    Their eyes carried a hint of anticipation.


    First, Zero scanned the bar, then proceeded to approach a table where she took a seat.


    Without hesitation, all the yers swiftly joined her, upying the seats next to her.


    Zero pondered for a moment and then snapped her fingers.


    To the surprise of Little Salty Cat and the others, a soundproofing buff icon appeared underneath each of their personal status bars.


    They knew that this was an NPC using soundproofing spell.


    ¡°The negotiations have concluded. The Church of Death has epted our offer of friendship. They are now preparing to initiate a search for the shadow cultists who are hiding within the city.¡±


    Zero said indifferently.


    ¡°So¡­ what do we need to do?¡±


    Tomato asked eagerly.


    Zero nced at him, nodded, and said:


    ¡°Of course, the Church of Death has also requested our assistance. Inform the other Chosen Ones and prepare for battle. A great war is about to begin.¡±


    <em>A¡­ great war!</em>


    The three yers¡¯ eyes lit up in excitement.


    As expected of a main questline, there¡¯s a big battle right off the bat!


    They still remember the war with the Orcs before. That battle made almost all the first batch of beta-testers rich as hell!


    ¡°Miss Zero, what specifically are we fighting against this time?¡±


    Demacia asked excitedly.


    ¡°The Church of Death has received information that the shadow cultists will summon a Legion of shadow creatures outside the city. Your task is to resist and defeat them all!¡±


    The Godwarden Zero said with a serious expression.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a new system message appeared within the yers¡¯ field of vision;


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Hidden Main Questline: <strong>Completion of the Dark Dwarves¡¯ Faith</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾You gained ¡®<strong>3000</strong>¡® experience points and ¡®<strong>300</strong>¡® contribution points¡¿


    Before a the yers could rejoice, suddenly, the door of the bar was forcefully pushed open, before a fully armed group of dwarven guards rushed in.


    This sudden change startled some of the yers.


    They instinctively reached for their weapons but quickly realized that their equipments have been left behind at the gates of ckrock City.


    However, the guards paid no attention to them and instead, proceeded to make a solemn deration to the crowd, who responded with expressions of surprise, fear, or confusion.


    ¡°In ordance with the Shrinelord¡¯s decree, we are tasked with apprehending any shadow cultists hiding within the city!¡±


    After they finished speaking, Ev¨¦ distinctly noticed a subtle change in the expressions of several dwarves within the audience.


    The guards acted as though they had received confirmation beforehand and swiftly approached a group of dwarves who were getting ready to escape. Without any hesitation, they proceeded to tie up each dwarf one by one¡­


    The bar quickly plunged into disorder, causing several yers to be astonished and curious as they observed the chaotic scenes around them.


    Simr incidents have also began to unfold all over ckrock City.


    After all, a god is still a god, and although H¡¯s divine possession may not bestow formidable strength upon the one she possesses, her ability to discern friend from foe still remains intact.


    yers didn¡¯t even need to intervene; the shadow cultists hiding within ckrock City were being captured systematically one by one by the guards¡­


    However, at that moment, the entire underground suddenly shook slightly as a subtle spatial fluctuation spread from a distance.


    ¡°It has begun¡­¡±


    Zero said calmly, raising a ss of ale and drinking it in one gulp.


    As she finished speaking, another new system message appeared within the yers¡¯ field of vision¡­


    This time, it was a server-wide notification.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾yers ¡°<strong>Little Salty Cat</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Demacia</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Tomato</strong>¡± triggered the hidden main questline: Shadow Legion¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Plot Description</strong>: The brave and clever chosen ones ¡°<strong>Little Salty Cat</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Demacia</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Tomato</strong>¡± uncovered the conspiracy of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows to sow chaos within ckrock City¡­¡¿


    ¡¾With the silent consent of the Goddess, they informed the Church of Death in ckrock City of the intelligence and obtained the friendship of the Church of Death for the Elven race¡­¡¿


    ¡¾The Church of Death has initiated its hunt for the cultists, and ckrock City teeters on the brink of chaos as the Shadow Lord¡¯s cultists summon the Shadow Legion tounch an attack¡­ ¡¿


    ¡¾Now¡­ it¡¯s time to show the friendship of the Elvenkind.¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Hidden main questline</strong> : ¡°Shadow Legion¡± is now active! ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Assist the Church of Death in resisting and defeating the Shadow Legion of the shadow cultists¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Time Limit</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Participants</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Level:</strong> 15+¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: Experience Points, Perfect Revival, Contribution Points¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Tip 1</strong>: Shadow creatures fear light and fire but have significant resistance to darkness¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Tip 2:</strong> Unity is strength. Since there are many shadow creatures, please team up with other yers¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Tip 3:</strong> This quest carries a high risk of death, so please ensure you have obtained a sufficient number of Perfect Revivals before engaging inbat¡¿


    1 ¡°<strong><mark>³¶»¢Æ¤</mark></strong>¡± (Pulling a Tiger¡¯s Skin) ¨C This Chinese idiom refers to someone who makes exaggerated or false ims about their abilities or achievements. It conveys the idea of boasting or talking big without any real substance to back it up.

 Chapter 190

    ??<strong>DEFENSE OF BLACKROCK CITY </strong>


    City hall, ckrock City.


    Barain, the old dwarf, sat at his desk, bowing his head as he dealt with the daily affairs of the city.


    Suddenly, amotion outside made him raise his head and furrow his brow.


    Ironhammer, a dwarf guard, burst into the room with his entrance apanied by distant noise and screams.


    ¡°Lord Barain! Lord Barain! A squad of guards has just arrived and they¡¯ve taken Elder Sulin and Elder Loto away! The guards are saying they¡¯re Shadow Cultists. You should go and see for yourself!¡±


    <em>The guards?</em>


    Barain¡¯s pupils partly contracted, and he unconsciously snapped his quill in half.


    ¡°How many guards came? Where did they go?¡±


    He managed to suppress his fear and asked.


    ¡°They should be approaching this room shortly. You need to go and persuade them! The city hall is loyal to the Church of Death. How is it possible that there are Shadow Cultists among us? You¡ª¡±


    Ironhammer¡¯s words came to a sudden halt as he caught sight of Elder Barain. The usually calm and collected Elder swiftly turned around and hurriedly opened the window, clearly intending to make a swift escape¡­


    ¡°E-Elder?¡±


    Ironhammer found himself puzzled, struggling to grasp the implication of what he was witnessing.


    As if on cue, several fully armed guards rushed in at that very moment.


    ¡°On the orders of the Shrinelord, we are here to apprehend any Shadow Cultists! Barain, there¡¯s nowhere for you to escape. Surrender immediately!¡±


    Hearing the voices of the guards behind him, Barain¡¯s face was filled with horror.


    <em>What¡¯s going on? How could they have been exposed? </em>


    Ironhammer was shocked.


    <em>Elder Barain turned out to be a Shadow Cultists? </em>


    Barain panicked and hastened his actions.


    However, as soon as he stepped out of the City Hall, he was surrounded by a group of guards and was quickly tied up¡­


    Simr incidents began to unfold in various directions within ckrock City. The guards demonstrated an uncanny awareness, seemingly equipped with an all-seeing ¡°eyes¡± and efficiently carried out arrests of numerous Shadow Cultists within just a short period of time¡­


    In the outskirts of ckrock City.


    Whilst in a state of panic, a group of Hodur¡¯s followers, who had somehow evaded the ongoing purge are swiftly attempting to escape while pushing the wheelchair-bound Hearthstone.


    Holdur¡¯s Godwarden was filled with disbelief.


    ¡°How did we get exposed? What the hell is going on?¡±


    Undoubtedly, his n has been well thought out. In the event that the elves manage to stir up chaos, he will thenmand a select group of his subordinates to covertly infiltrate the Church of Death and destroy the protective statue. Following this, he will initiate a two-pronged assault, summoning the Legion of Shadows topletely eradicate H¡¯s believers within ckrock City.


    And should the elves fail to execute the n, he would simply bide his time and remain hidden for a while. Over time, once the Church of Death and the elven mercenaries be less vignt, he will then intentionally intensify the conflict between them¡­


    Yet¡­ how did all their operatives get exposed in an instant?


    Hearthstone looked panicked and could only be escorted by his cronies through the secret passages of the mining tunnel to escape outside the city¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s over. If we lose our foothold in ckrock City this time, there will be no way to destroy H¡¯s statue¡­¡±


    A look of fear washed over Hearthstone¡¯splexion.


    As long as the protective statue within the Death Shrine remains intact, the city of ckrock is nearly impregnable. It prevents our people from fully overthrowing the Goddess of Death¡¯s reign here in this area!


    Despite preparing arge army of shadow creatures as his trump card, it is highly unlikely that it will prove to be effective.


    Because for shadow creatures, the power of faith is a great threat, and it is very lethal!


    He could already imagine the wrath of the Dark Lord that would await him if his mission failed.


    Death is not frightening, because the Dark Lord has ways to make one¡¯s suffer even after dying!


    Despite its modest size, ckrock City held great significance as a bastion of faith for the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. However, when the followers of the Goddess of Death had sessfully drove out the Dark Lord¡¯s forces from the city, it made the Ancient God feel anger and shame¡­


    This time, reiming ckrock City is an oracle personally issued by the Dark Lord to his followers!


    Should they fail, Hearthstone as their leader will certainly meet a tragic and miserable end.


    But¡­ what exactly is going on?


    Hearthstone couldn¡¯t figure it out and could only flee in panic with the support of his loyal subordinates¡­


    However, upon finally reaching the outskirts of ckrock City through a hidden passage, he suddenly froze, for there was already someone waiting for him there.


    ¡°Hearthstone, you have nowhere left to go.¡±


    A clear voice resonated, resembling that of the female high priestess of the Church of Death.


    She was apanied by a group of guards, blocking the exit of the secret passage.


    However, at this moment, the dwarven priestess hadpletely restored her original appearance and released herself from the divine possession of the Goddess of Death.


    H¡¯s consciousness had already returned back to the Netherworld.


    ¡°H-how did you discover us?¡±


    Hearthstone gritted his teeth.


    The Shrinelord looks at Hearthstone with crimson eyes and sighs lightly, a hint of reverence surging from within her expression.


    ¡°Nothing can escape the gaze of the true God!¡±


    <em>T-True god?</em>


    Hearthstone was stunned, then he noticed a subtle yet unmistakable aura of death surrounding the high priestess¡­


    He realized it in an instant.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it! You really used the energy stored in the statue to invoke the power of god!¡±


    The high priestess of Death neither admitted nor denied it, but merely stated,


    ¡°Surrender, Hearthstone. We have already captured all the shadow cultists within the city.¡±


    ¡°¡­Surrender?¡±


    Hearing the words of the high priestess, Hearthstone burst into a hystericalughter and sneered.


    Upon confirming that the Church of Death had indeed utilized the power of the statue, a sense of calm washed over him.


    Narrowing his eyes, Hearthstone said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re either smart or foolish. You actually used the power of the statue just to capture us. However, considering the extensive purge you conducted, I wonder how much power the shrine¡¯s statue has left in it, hmm?¡±


    ¡°No matter how much is left, you have already failed.¡±


    The high priestess said.


    ¡°Heh¡­¡±


    With a touch of madness creeping into his face, Hearthstone let out a chuckle.


    ¡°The ultimate winner is yet to be determined!¡±


    Following his words, a profound energy started to emanate from him!


    ¡°Not good, everyone quickly take cover!¡±


    The High Priestess expression changed.


    Upon hearing hermand, all the guards began to retreat.


    Amidst the solemn gazes of everyone around, Hearthstone unexpectedly ignites the power of his faith, instantly transforming his whole body into a radiant ck me that soars high into the sky.


    ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s a signal!¡±


    The High Priestess¡¯s expression appeared grave, yet she remainedposed as if she had anticipated it.


    ¡°It¡¯s the emergency signal!¡± eximed one of the cultists.


    In the depths of the dark forest surrounding ckrock City, a group of grim-faced dwarves, adorned in gray and ck robes, turned their gaze towards the city.


    ¡°It¡¯s Lord Hearthstone,¡± one of them spoke with urgency. ¡°Something must have urred within the city. He told us to swiftly summon the Shadow Legion as soon as we spot that signal.¡±


    A low, hoarse voice spoke.


    Upon hearing these words, the hooded dwarves exchanged nces and nodded in agreement. They then took a step forward and swept away the fallen leaves from the ground¡­


    As the leaves were being cleared, a pre-drawn giant magical array gradually became visible on the ground!


    They lined themselves up at the edge of the magical array and knelt around it, beginning to pray softly and chant a ritualistic incantation.


    As they uttered their incantations, the magical array gradually started emitting a profound radiance, and a chaotic and chilling aura continuously condensed at its center.


    At the same time, the center of the magical array suddenly brightened, causing the ground to tremble as a dark grayish energy slowly materialized before shooting up into the sky!


    Within the confines of ckrock City, the yers who were initially surprised and curious about the internal conflict of the dark dwarves suddenly felt the ground shaking.


    ¡°Look, what¡¯s that?¡±


    Someone pointed to the sky.


    The yers looked up and saw dark gray energy pirs emerging from different locations, casting an eerie and disordered ambiance from afar¡­


    Shortly afterward, the upper sections of the four energy pirs suddenly copsed resembling that of erupting volcanoes. Numerous smaller arcs of dark gray energies then descended into the ground akin to meteorites, with a few evennding directly within ckrock City!


    As soon as theynded, these dark gray energies began to transform like wriggling jelly, gradually assuming the shape of humanoid monsters enveloped in thick ck smoke.


    The city guards stationed on the walls of ckrock City were horrified as they witnessed the sudden emergence of these strange creatures beneath the city, causing their expressions to pale with terror.


    ¡°Shadow creatures! It¡¯s the Shadow Legion!¡±


    ¡°This is bad! Quickly sound the rm, close the city gates, and inform the shrine to activate the defensive spells!¡±


    With the sound of a resounding horn, the guards on the entire city wall immediately sprang into action¡­


    ¡°Captain, sir we have a problem! The energy stored in the shrine¡¯s statue has been used up!¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°But one of the shrine¡¯s elder said that the elves will help us defend the city together!¡±


    ¡°Elves? Just them? What can they do?¡±


    The captain of the guards became suddenly speechless, with his face contorting into an expression of anger.


    ckrock City.


    With the arrival of a few shadow monsters, chaos had already engulfed the streets of ckrock city.


    These formidable shadow monsters possessed immense power, rendering conventional attacks ineffective against them. They mercilessly ughtered and consumed any living beings they encountered within the city.


    With thunderous roars, they unleash their fangs, scaling buildings, racing across the ground, and mercilessly rending everything within sight with their razor-sharp ws d with ck mist!


    The dwarven guards were left with no alternative but to form smaller groups consisting of two or three individuals and confront the shadow creatures in an intensebat.


    Sounds of wailing, screams, roars, shes of weapons, and chants of spells echoed almost everywhere¡­


    Seeing such chaotic scene, the yers were shocked.


    ¡°Damn! Why did the devs make this event looks so real and terrifying?¡±


    Although they had experienced a great war with the Orcs before, these horrifying monsters still startled them.


    ¡°Dumbass, don¡¯t just stand there! Go get your equipment! It¡¯s war!¡±


    Demacia cursed under his breath and hurriedly ran towards the city gate.


    The other yers also reacted, suppressing their fear of these ghost-like shadow creatures, and followed suit¡­


    Perched high atop the city walls, the captain of the Dwarven guards, apanied by a contingent of soldiers, struck down a shadow monster attempting to climb the wall. Then as he looked at the army of shadows densely packed in the distance, his expression turned grim.


    ¡°There are probably at least a few thousand of them, maybe even tens of thousands!¡±


    His voice trembled slightly.


    Without the shrine¡¯s defensive magic, how could ckrock City withstand this!?


    At that moment, the surrounding guards suddenly eximed,


    ¡°Captain, watch out!¡±


    The guard captain felt a sudden surge of urgency. Swinging his sword and turning around, he was startled to witness a shadow monster rapidly approaching him¡­


    Taken by surprise, he was swiftly knocked down, and his weapon was also sent flying in the process. The shadow monster then brandished its ws, poised to attack him¡­


    Just as the guard captain was horrified, believing he was about to die at that moment, arge fireball suddenly flew towards them, hitting the shadow monster directly.


    The fireball exploded, and the shadow monster let out a piercing scream. Half of the ck smoke surrounding its body dissipated, revealing its darkish gray semi-transparent form.


    Seizing the opportunity, the guard captain skillfully extricated himself from the clutches of the monster and retrieved his weapon, before sessfully escaping.


    Gasping for breath, he then looked in the direction where the fireball hade from and saw a young elven girl with pink hair, wearing a robe and holding a magical staff, standing three to four meters away.


    The elf girl appeared excited as she looked at her staff and murmured happily,


    ¡°I hit it! I hit it!¡±


    The guard captain: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Behind her, more fully armed elves rushed up onto the city walls one after another!


    Their expressions were somewhat peculiar; some were nervous, while others appeared excited. Warriors, mages, hunters, and individuals of various other professions began to emerge incessantly.


    Nevertheless, they all exuded high morale. They waved their weapons, howled, and climbed the city walls, providing assistance to the dwarven city guards in their defense.


    Meanwhile, the captain of the guard was astonished as he observed the elves, who disyed greater enthusiasm than the dwarven soldiers themselves, shouting in themonnguage:


    ¡°Support the Dwarves!¡±


    ¡°Quickly! Strengthen the defenses! Don¡¯t allow any monsters inside!¡±


    ¡°Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°For the Alliance!¡±


    ¡°Urrrah¡ª!¡±

 Chapter 191

    ??<strong>HELA¡¯S PLAN</strong>


    The arrival of the Shadow Legion was swift, catching the yers off guard as they had just epted the quest. Numerous shadow creatures materialized almost instantly, leaving many individuals without the opportunity to retrieve their equipment yet¡­


    ¡°How could it be so fast?¡± ¨¦v¨¨, disguised as Zero expressed her surprise.


    She casually crushed a shadow creature that bumped into her and nced at the four looming gray energy pirs in the distance, furrowing her brows slightly.


    After some thought, she avoided the crowd and made her way to the Death¡¯s Shrine in ckrock City.


    The entire garrison of ckrock City had already been deployed, and the various priests within the shrine were busy with various tasks. Some attended to the injured, while others ryed messages, and a few still kept trying to activate the protective divine spell¡­


    Upon her arrival, Ev¨¦ also saw the dwarven High Priestess who had already returned after chasing after the leader of the Shadow Cultists.


    Currently, the Shrinelord, who was recently under the divine possession of H, wore a conflicted expression upon her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I was careless and didn¡¯t anticipate that the Dark Lord¡¯s Godwarden would go so far as to burn off his own power of faith outside the city, using it as an emergency signal. As a result, I unintentionally exposed the vulnerability of the shrine prematurely.¡±


    Ev¨¦ hesitated to speak and simply nced at the other person, noticing the lingering aura of Death that had still not yetpletely dissipated around the High Priestess.


    The fault for the incident likely rests not upon this priestess¡¯ shoulders, but rather at H herself as the Goddess of Death probably deliberately provided the clue about the depleted energy reserves of the shrine to the Shadow Cultists before ending her possession¡­


    Of course, this poor head priestess probably hadn¡¯t realized it yet that her actions had been subtly influenced by the Goddess of Death.


    Heck, this clueless priestess didn¡¯t even know that the person she was currently talking to was actually a god herself!


    As for the reason as to why H had intentionally dropped such a hint that provoked the cultists into using their trump card, Ev¨¦ could somewhat guess her motives.


    Essentially, since Ev¨¦, who is a true god is currently present within the city, H expected that no matter how much the Shadow Cultists jumped up and down,<mark>1</mark> Ev¨¦ would not sit idly by while they summoned their Shadow Legion.


    This was decided by the oath between the two of them and Ev¨¦ was obligated to deal with these monsters.


    As someone who possesses the might of a true god, how is it possible for a person of her caliber to be unable to eradicate a mere group of Iron-ranked shadow monsters?


    All those excuses like ¡°your followers are not afraid of death¡± or ¡°let your followers take action¡± were all just pretexts and the crux of the matter was that, H must have sensed that Ev¨¦ truly possessed the power of a demigod, and thus made such a decisive move to deliberately provoked the enemies¡­


    In other words, H doesn¡¯t have to take anything else into ount just as long as Ev¨¦ is present within the city and keep her end of the bargain.


    For H, simply using her own followers to provoke the opponent¡¯s into using their trump card and forcing Ev¨¦ to take action, would prevent any furtherplications¡­


    Of course, it is also possible that H knows that Ev¨¦ has been causing trouble while disguising herself as Death¡¯s subordinate recently, thereby expressing some of her dissatisfaction in this manner¡­


    ¡°¡­I never expected that H would y a trick on me even after I signed the oath before she left.¡±


    Ev¨¦ ruefully sighed as she sensed the densely packed clusters of shadow monsters gathering outside the city.


    The number of shadow monsters had already reached into the thousands and even if she ordered every yer to participate in this event, dealing with this amount would be almost impossible without her direct intervention, not to mention that there was still a constant stream of monsters being teleported over.


    Therefore¡­she had no choice but to intervene!


    Ev¨¦ understood.


    H wants her to personally take care of the Shadow Legion¡­


    However, if she really gets involved, then it would undoubtedlypletely strain her rtionship with the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, but at the same time, she would also be intricately bound to the same fate as the Goddess of Death¡­


    There are pros and cons to this.


    Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. With H having a major influence within the underworld and her forces controls the entry point to thends above, the shadow cultists will not be able to easily cause trouble for the elves on the surface.


    However, after killing yet another shadow creature, Ev¨¦ dismissed the idea of personally intervening in this conflict.


    More precisely¡­ she dismissed the idea of directly using her own demigod powers to quickly bring an end to this battle.


    After killing the shadow creature, she found a gray translucent fragment in her hand, left behind by the shadow monster upon its death.


    This fragment is called the Shadow Gem shard, containing both chaotic and cold energy within it, simr to the core of a magical monster.


    With a thought, Ev¨¦ tried to absorb the fragment, and after purifying it using her divine power, the gem shard transformed into pure energy that flowed into her body.


    Sensing the energy entering her body, Eve¡¯s eyes brightened.


    ¡°I can use my [Absorb] ability to consume the energy within these fragments, and I can also devour the lifeforce of the shadow monsters!¡±


    ¡°If I can devour this entire Shadow Legion, my divine power might increase exponentially!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ if I were to fully utilize my demigod-level powers, it would require an excessive consumption of divine energy, and it wouldn¡¯t be worth it in the end.¡±


    ¡°If I want to maximize the results of this battle, it¡¯s best not to wipe out the Shadow Legion all at once. Instead, I should opt for a war of attrition and just let the yers handle it while I subtly provide them with some enhancements¡­¡±


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ finally made a decision.


    She turned around and ambiguously smiled at the High Priestess.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave everything to me! However, I do need to set up a teleportation array here.¡±


    ¡°¡­.A teleportation array?¡±


    The High Priestess was taken aback.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, to teleport my warriors.¡±


    Ev¨¦ughed mischievously.


    The Shrinelord hesitated for a moment, but eventually relented.


    Although the priestess didn¡¯t know what exactly had happened while she was under divine possession, she was well aware that an oath had been made between the Goddess of Death and the mysterious entity behind the elves, making them as allies in the battle against the Lord of Darkness and Shadow.


    Furthermore, prior to her departure, the Goddess of Death had even instructed her toply with the arrangements made by the Godwarden named Zero for the defensive battle of ckrock City.


    At least until the enemies arepletely dealt with!


    Initially, the dwarven High Priestess was hesitant, but her attitude changed to one of respect upon realizing that the Godwarden named Zero was, in fact, a high-ranking practitioner.


    Within the Deep-Rift Cavern, where the Dark-Dwarven tribe currently lives, the highest-ranking practitioners among them were merely at the Silver-rank.


    After getting the Dark-Dwarves¡¯ permission, Ev¨¦ then proceeded to set up a teleportation array directly in front of the shrine, establishing a connection between Rivendell and ckrock City.


    After setting up the array, Ev¨¦ immediately then sent a new system message to all of the yers¡ª


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾The teleportation array connecting ckrock City and Rivendell has been established. yers can now teleport to ckrock City through the teleportation array.¡¿


    ¡¾The ckrock City battlefield is now officially open!¡¿


    Then, Ev¨¦ used some her divine powers once again.


    In an instant, all the yers on the city walls experienced a sudden surge of power coursing through their bodies. The various parameters on their status screens also witnessed a substantial increase, particrly in terms of defense, with each person now sporting a faintly visible magical shield encapsting them.


    At the same time, another message appeared in the vision of all the yers gathered within ckrock City¡­


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Unyielding and fearless! The goddess has decided to bestow a battle blessing upon all the yers currently participating in the defense of ckrock City!¡¿


    ¡¾You have received the enhancement BUFF: <strong>Blessing of the Goddess</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾Your weapon has received the enhancement BUFF: <strong>Blessing of the Goddess</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Effect</strong>: All yers currently active in ckrock City will receive a magical shield, their physical attributes will double, and all skill damage will now also be imbued with a ¡°<strong>purification</strong>¡± effect¡¿


    ¡¾Brave chosen ones, for the glory of the goddess and the elves, charge forth!¡¿


    Under the astonished gaze of the Dwarven High Priestess, the elves on the city walls suddenly burst into cheers. They shouted in unison, ¡°Long live!¡± <mark>2</mark> while fighting the shadow creatures that had climbed onto the walls.


    At the same time, the teleportation array began to activate as it flicker with light.


    Not long afterwards, fully armed elves began to emerge from the array one after another¡­


    They paid no attention to anything else and instead brandished their weapons, dashing and leaping with excitement as they rushed towards the city walls in wild abandon.


    The High Priestess: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The Shrinelord and the dwarves around her were left dumbfounded as they watched the supposedly dignified elves charge excitedly towards the walls, as if they had lost all semnce ofposure.


    Actually these are the yers who happened to be stationed in Rivendell and received the system notification.


    There were also yers who ambushed the Shadow Legion outside the Dark Forest, but upon witnessing the overwhelming number of shadow creatures, they decided to abandon their suicidal strategy. Instead, they turned back towards Rivendell with the intention of teleporting directly to ckrock City for a defensive battle.


    After establishing the teleportation array, Ev¨¦, along with the dwarven High Priestess, entered the inner premises of the shrine.


    ¡°Where is the central defense control terminal of the shrine?¡± Ev¨¦ asked.


    The Shrinelord hesitated for a moment and then spoke, ¡°It¡¯s in the rear hall, but unfortunately, the energy stored within the statue has already been depleted. I¡¯m afraid it can no longer be activa¡ª¡±


    The High Priestess couldn¡¯t finish her words because she saw Ev¨¦ already walking towards the rear hall of the temple.


    The Shrinelord quickly followed a step behind as Ev¨¦ arrived in the rear hall of the shrine, which was connected to the central defense control terminal of ckrock City.


    Beneath the statue of H, a cube-like apparatus resembling a hexahedron adorned with intricate patterns kept hovering in midair.


    Within thesends underground, simr defense central control terminal like these were verymon. Almost every city underground have one, and this particr type of terminal also had another name¡ª<em>The Dungeon Core.</em>


    Under the horrified gaze of the High Priestess, Ev¨¦ suddenly reached out and deftly inserted her hand right into the Dungeon Core without any hesitation!


    1 <strong><mark>ÉÏ´ÜÏÂÌø</mark></strong> ¨C ¡®Jump up and down¡¯ is a Chinese idiom that means either being too excited, or too worried, or even too high. It can also implicates that someone is actively connecting with important people trying to pull some strings to get things done. For the second meaning, it is used with negative connotation.


    2 <strong><mark>ÍòËê</mark></strong> ¨C In various East Asiannguages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the phrase ¡°W¨¤nsu¨¬¡±, ¡°Banzai¡±, ¡°Manse¡±, and ¡°V?n tu?¡±, respectively, literally meaning ¡°myriad years¡± is used to wish long life, and is typically tranted as ¡°Long live¡± in English.


    The phrase originated in ancient China as an expression used to wish long life to the emperor and in some countries, this phrase is sometimes also used when expressing feeling of triumph, typically shouted by crowds.

 Chapter 192

    ??<strong>PAST COMPARED TO THE PRESENT PLAYERS</strong>


    When Ev¨¦ inserted her hands onto the terminal, a surging force erupted from her body and moved straight into the defense core.


    Under the watchful gaze of the panic-stricken Head Priestess, the defense core bursts into a brilliant light, followed by a golden pir of light ascending into the sky¡­


    Then, the golden pir of light turned into a semicircr cover, covering the top of ckrock City.


    At the same time, another pir of light rushed towards the ground, connecting with the surface and instantly spreading outwards. It eventually extended all the way to the walls of ckrock City, giving the entire wall a faint golden hue¡­


    And so just like that, the entire ckrock City was enveloped with ayer of golden magical shield!


    The Shadow Legion was too numerous, while the number of yers and dwarves was limited. Without a Magical Defense Shield, they would not be able to withstand the full might of the enemy¡¯s attack, and the city would likely be breached soon afterwards¡­


    Therefore, Ev¨¦ chose to personally infuse her own divine power into the core, unleashing the power of the defense shield!


    However, upon closer observation, one would notice that the ¡°barrier¡± resembling an inverted bowl was notpletely sealed. There were several openings on the city walls, indicating that the shield¡¯s effect had reached its maximum capacity but had not yetpletely closed off the entire defense system.


    These openings on the barrier that¡¯s protecting city walls were just enough for the shadow creatures to get in!


    Of course, in spite of this, the dwarf soldiers defending the city walls couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of morale upon seeing the familiar barrier.


    ¡°It¡¯s the magical defense shield! The city¡¯s defense shield is finally activated!¡±


    The attack of the Shadow Legion was evidently affected.


    Those grayish ck figures descending were no longer able to enter ckrock City from the skies. They could only collide with the magical shield, causing faint ripples within the barrier before sliding down slowly¡­


    The shadow creatures rushing on the ground were also unable to climb or inflict any sort of damage to the city walls due to the magical shield in effect.


    Thus they could only patiently line up like ¡®Arhats¡¯ <mark>1</mark> at the base of the wall, hoping to climb over the few opening gaps and enter ckrock City!


    Of course, these gaps have been intentionally left by Ev¨¦. She deliberately hasn¡¯t sealed the entire magical defense shield and has created an area for yers and shadow creatures to engage inbat.


    This way, yers can easily harvest shadow creatures in a controlled manner, constantly providing her with lifeforce, and the Shadow Legion won¡¯t give up their attack due to the existence of the magical shield.


    And what happened afterwards was just as Ev¨¦ had predicted. Upon witnessing the activation of the magical shield, the shadow cultists who controlled the Shadow Legion in the rear were equally shocked.


    ¡°A barrier spell! ckrock City has raised its defense shield!¡±


    However, they quickly noticed that the magical shield was not entirely perfect either.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Look, the magical shield hasn¡¯t fully sealed off the entire city!¡±


    ¡°It must be Lord Hearthstone¡¯s doing! Quickly, order the Shadow Legion to focus their attacks on those vulnerable areas!¡±


    For a while, countless shadow creatures surged towards the few sections of the wall where the shield was notpletely sealed off¡­


    All of a sudden, a multitude of shadow creatures swarmed towards several openings in the city walls.


    However, the dwarven soldiers and yers had alreadye prepared and gathered in these areas, ready to battle any shadow monsters that managed to climbed up through these gaps like ¡°Stacked Arhats¡±.


    Meanwhile, the shadow monsters that had been killing civilians throughout ckrock City becamepletely trapped inside the city after the magic shield was formed. Cut off from any reinforcements, they were besieged by thebined force of the Dwarves and yers, and eventually in.


    Seeing that their initially precarious situation was gradually stabilizing, the Dwarven High Priestess came outside the shrine.


    She nced at the now stable situation inside the city, then looked up at the magical defense shield protecting in the sky and the yers currently fighting the shadow creatures near the gaps on the city walls in the distance.


    Subconsciously, she turned her head back and looked towards the direction of the shrine¡­


    In an instant, the expression of this powerful silver-ranked death priestess showed a hint of astonishment and curiosity¡­


    Who exactly was this Godwarden named Zero?


    How did she single-handedly activate the defense terminal of the dungeon core all by herself?


    What kind of immense power is required to achieve such feats? Is she really just a mere high-level practitioner?


    Or perchance, she borrowed the power of her patron god?


    The thoughts of the High Priestess did not concern Ev¨¦. After activating the city¡¯s defensive barrier, she chose not to leave but instead still remained inside the shrine, using the excuse of maintaining the shield¡¯s operation.


    As for her reasons¡­ On one hand, she personally controls the central terminal, which can minimize the divine power she is currently consuming to maintain the shield. On the other hand, she has also developed an interest in the functionality of this dungeon core.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a brilliantlyplex design. It only requires a certain amount of energy to activate and form the magic shield, and it appears to have counterattack capabilities as well¡­ Who on earth designed this dungeon core?¡±


    Gazing at the radiant hexahedron core that resembled an exquisite piece of art, Eve¡¯s mind was filled with curiosity.


    ¡°If I can learn how to replicate this central terminal, reverse-engineer its structure and materialposition, and fully understand its inner workings, then I can then put the design blueprint on the exchange market. yers will be able to gather the required materials so that I can build one in the Chosen City, Florence, and Rivendell! It would greatly enhance the defensive capabilities of these cities!¡±


    ¡°And¡­ the principle behind this shield also inspires me. If I can thoroughly reverse-engineer it, my avatar¡¯s utilization of power can be even more sophisticated! It might even provide me with valuable insights into the application of divine power!¡±


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ made the decision to dedicate fifty percent of her mental capacity to studying the Dungeon Core.


    In contrast to other magical devices, the dungeon core possesses the unique capability of being fueled by divine power, making it an area of interest for Eve¡¯s contemtion.


    Although she inherited the legacy of the World Tree and possesses control over naturalws, she is still young and inevitablycks finesse when ites to wielding divine power.


    Perhaps her instinctual application of divine power is somewhat eptable, but when ites to her avatar, it falls short inparison to the sophistication of this magical instrument. Therefore, studying it would be both beneficial and harmless.


    Of course, the other fifty percent of Eve¡¯s mind remains focused on the defense battle in ckrock City, constantly alert for any possible unexpected events.


    On the city walls, the dark-dwarf guards werepletely overwhelmed and touched by the support shown by the elven mercenaries¡­


    Their actionspletely changed the guard captain¡¯s attitude towards them.


    When these elves first entered ckrock City and obediently removed their weapons and equipment, he instinctively looked down upon these elves.


    Afterwards, as these elves engaged in friendly tradeter on, the captain started doubting their strength, perceiving them more as merchants than warriors.


    But the current performance of these elves hadpletely overturned his initial perception.


    Because he discovered that the elves¡¯ cooperation andbat power far surpassed even the dwarven guards he personally trained!


    In fact, the actual strength between the two sides was not much different, with the dark dwarves even slightly higher in many cases, with many of them being intermediate Iron-rank¡­


    ¡°Oh, by the grace of death¡­ How many battles have these elves experienced? Why are they like this? Why are they so eager to fight?¡±


    He widened his eyes, observing the yers around him.


    The yers radiated a faint glow around their bodies as they excitedly clustered through the gaps in the shield that was protecting the city walls. They fiercely fought any shadow monsters that managed to squeeze in.


    They formed small groups of five and worked together in perfect coordination. Whenever a shadow monster would came near, the elven warriors would instantly lure it away, and the druids would then cast a control spell to slow it down. After that, additional elves would swiftly join the fight, demonstrating their skills and engaging the shadow monsters in close-quarterbat.


    However, upon careful observation, it could be noticed that their movements were quite orderly and extremely skilled. Apart from the initial chaos when engaging inbat, they gradually mastered the rhythm of battle¡­


    The yers were no longer the rookies they once were.


    After several months of gamey, they had umted considerable wealth ofbat experience and teamwork skills.


    Moreover, many yers had formed their own fixed five-manbat party.


    This was a spontaneous action by the yers. As the game progressed, they discovered that this fixed five-man party mode ofbat brought them greater benefits.


    The game Elven Kingdom emphasizes teamwork.


    If several individuals can coordinate and cooperate well together over a long period, theirbat capabilities would far exceed what a solo yer can typically do.


    Many Iron-ranked monsters in the Elven Forest were exterminated by them in this party format.


    Moreover, in contrast to other races, yers exhibit no fear of death. Consequently, they engage in regr battles with greater intensity, thereby elerating their growth even further¡­


    Additionally, reducing pain sensitivity and maintaining a stable mindset during the game have unexpectedly improved the yers¡¯bat effectiveness and coordination!


    Compared to their initial state when they recklessly fought goblins in the past, the yers have undergone a notable transformation by now.


    Ev¨¦ was confident that if the yers were to encounter the goblins again, it would be now just as effortless as slicing melons and dicing vegetables.


    Even when facing the orcs, although the yers may still find it difficult to engage in one-on-onebat. However, their probability of sess is likely to increase if they unite as a smaller team and confront an equally sized orc team at a simr level.


    The simultaneous improvement of individualbat capabilities and good teamwork have made the yers increasingly powerful!


    This kind of point-to-point defensive battle has brought out the yers¡¯ advantages.


    Of course, that¡¯s not what impressed the dark-dwarves the most.


    What truly astonished them was the elves¡¯ great enthusiasm for battle and their sheer determination to kill off all their enemies.


    In the eyes of the elves, these shadow creatures were not just enemies but also their prey!


    These elves, who call themselves yers, were enthusiastically fighting over any shadow creatures that had struggled so hard to climb up the walls. Disputes would sometimes even ur when two parties attacked the very same monster.


    And whenever a dark dwarf was at a disadvantage against a shadow creature, the elves would enthusiasticallye to their aid, assisting the dwarven guards upon ying them!


    Over time, an increasing number of elves keeps gathering at the city walls, and they began to think that the dwarves were too weak. They subconsciously began to disced the original defenders, the dark dwarves, as the yers felt restricted by their presence¡­


    On the city walls, only a group of dwarves still remained, engaged inbat with the shadow creatures through the gaps in the magical shield¡­ The dwarf warriors, previously forced to the outskirts, could only observe with a sense of astonishment, akin to mere onlookers.


    Of course, what also crushed the spirits of the dark-dwarves was the elves¡¯ calm and fearless attitude when facing death.


    It¡¯s not that nobody died in battle, but the dark-dwarves had never seen even a single elf disy any sort of fear towards death!


    Moreover, even in the face of death, they would still fight until theirst breath, falling with a look of regret on their faces¡­


    ¡°By the Goddess of Death, what a fearless group of warriors!¡±


    The captain of the dwarven guards let out a sigh as he watched yet another elf meet their demise, their face filled with an unexpected sense of excitement.


    1 <strong><mark>ÂÞºº</mark></strong> ¨C an Arhat is a person who has eliminated all the unwholesome roots which underlie the fetters of the mundane world. In this chapter¡¯s context, it means that the monsters couldn¡¯t only patiently line up like a Buddhist monk.

 Chapter 193

    ??<strong>MANA POTION</strong>


    ¡°Hey, hey! Our team spotted this monster first. You guys wait for the next one to climb up!¡±


    ¡°Hold it! Don¡¯t let it escape to the urban area! Deal with it here on the city wall!¡±


    ¡°Oh dammit! I¡¯m out of mana!¡±


    ¡°Idiot if you¡¯re out of mana, you should retreat and rest. Don¡¯t waste time here!¡±


    ¡°Did anyone bring ck Dragon Potatoes? Lend me some please!¡±


    ¡°This monster is tough. My sword broke. Does anyone have a spare sword? Even a wooden one will do. Let me use it first!¡±


    Within the city wall, numerous voices of elves arguing incessantly could be heard one after another.


    Yet despite themotion they¡¯re making, they still fought fiercely against the shadow monsters.


    This time around, no yer resorted to their usual sacrificial tactics.


    On one hand, the yers¡¯ strength had truly improved and they could now confront any shadow monsters even without resorting to sacrificing themselves. These shadow monsters were different from the orcs. They had little intelligence, simr to monsters and any team of yers¡¯ could easily handle them inbat.


    On the other hand, the yers werementing the contribution points they had spent on purchasing perfect resurrections¡­


    Newer equipment was avable at the exchange store, but due to everyone¡¯s limited contribution points, nobody wanted to spend a substantial amount in order to save for these equipments.


    Even the mages who had already depleted their mana didn¡¯t choose tomit suicide to refill their MP. Instead, they obediently descended from the city wall, found a quiet spot, and consumed ck Dragon-brand potatoes, which have the bonus effect of slightly enhancing their meditation since meditating can restores one¡¯s MP¡­


    With arge number of yers, as some stepped back, others swiftly filled their ce, maintaining the entire battle situation.


    Although the massive legion outside the city wall that sent shivers down people¡¯s spines was still visible through the defensive barrier, they were blocked by hundreds of brave yers guarding the gaps, thus preventing any shadow creatures from entering ckrock City.


    As for the dark-dwarves, they hadpletely be mere spectators¡­


    However, they quickly reacted and spontaneously became the yers¡¯ supportline.


    ¡°I have a sword! This is my dwarven scimitar. Warriors, please use it!¡±


    ¡°I am an alchemist. I have alchemical potions that can restore magical power¡­¡±


    ¡°But our mana potions are inferior. They have strong side effects and taste extremely awful. Excessive use of them can even harm the magic circuit, which in turn affects meditation and advancement¡­¡±


    Hearing the words of the dark-dwarves, the yers¡¯ eyes lit up one after another.


    ¡°Dwarven Scrimitar? Oh Nice¡­very nice! Bring it over quickly!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! So this game has mana potions! Bring me a bottle! The side effects are tolerable! Hmm¡­ wait, do they cost money?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­no, they don¡¯t¡­The side effects are too severe. Even if we give them to you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Hurry up and bring them over!¡±


    With the equipment and potion support from the Dark Dwarves, the morale of the yers instantly rose, and their attacks became more reckless.


    Typically, yers would be cautious about their equipment¡¯s durability in battles, ensuring they don¡¯t overuse it. However, since the dwarves have provided them with weapons, they no longer need to worry about such concerns.


    Anyway, since the Dark-Dwarves are offering this all free of charge, they can simply attack any monster they see and enjoy themselves¡­


    As for the mages and druids, once they obtained the magical potions from the Dwarves, they became more generous with their use of magic and started unleashing spells without any hesitation.


    As for the mana potion¡¯s side effects, the yers didn¡¯t care at all.


    <em>What¡¯s that you say? Using too many would harm their magic circuits and affect meditation and advancement?</em>


    No problem! Just have fun andplete the quests!


    Anyway, it¡¯s free!


    If the impact of the side-effects is significant, then they can just umte arge amount of contribution points and experience points, then simplymit suicide to clear the negative effects!


    Anyhow, this method is way better than their typical method ofmitting suicide just to restore MP!


    The Dwarven alchemist looked with conflicted eyes at the elven mages and druids who had consumed their mana-restoring potions he had provided, treating them as though they were mere ordinary water.


    In the end, he sighed and remarked, ¡°Truly, you are a warm and friendly race. You guys would even go so far as to willingly sacrifice your own future potential just for the sake of your allies. You are true friends of the Dark Dwarves¡­¡±


    Of course, nobody knew what he truly thought.


    After all, there were no idiots in the world underground who would drink potions like this.


    Especially the lowest-quality mana-restoring potions with the greatest side effects and the most unbearable taste¡­


    With Ev¨¦ providing a magical defense shield and the yers diligently guarding the barrier gaps, the progress of the Shadow Legion was hindered, trapping them in a proverbial quagmire.


    Even the cultists whose remotely controlling the shadow monsters outside the city gradually realized something was wrong.


    For a while, the shadow followers maintaining the summoning array whispered to each other:


    ¡°No, fighting passively like this just don¡¯t work. Despite the gaps in the magic barrier protecting the city, we still can¡¯t find a way to rush in!¡±


    ¡°The rate at which the magic stones are being consumed is too fast. Even with the Dark Lord¡¯s blessing, cross-summoning monsters from other dimensions still drains too much energy¡­¡±


    ¡°I can sense that the shadow creatures that rushed in have all been annihted¡­Dammit just when did the guards of ckrock City be sopetent?¡±


    ¡°It seems that the elves are helping the guards. I can¡¯t see the details clearly, but there seems to be elven figures alongside them on the city walls!¡±


    ¡°Elves? Could they be the ones Lord Hearthstone spoke of, possibly followers of an evil god? Have they forged an alliance with the Church of Death!?¡±


    As he listened to hispanions¡¯ discussion, a dark-dwarf, clearly the leader, gazed at ckrock City in the distance, wearing a gloomy expression.


    ¡°¡­How many magic stones do we have left?¡±


    He asked pensively.


    He was the third person who had a hoarse vouce who had previously discussed the matters of the yers with the Godwarden Hearthstone and Elder Barain.


    Although he was not a Godwarden himself, he was a devout follower of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows!


    ¡°Not much, only two-fifths remaining.¡±


    Some other shadow followers replied.


    The leading figure hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said,


    ¡°Use up all the remaining magic stones and summon all the shadow creatures that can be summoned!¡±


    ¡°There are gaps in the defensive magic, indicating that the power stored within the Death Shrine might not possess sufficient faith energy. However, if we increase the number of monsters and apply more pressure, the magic shield will undoubtedly crumble, unable to withstand the onught.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the other followers exchanged nces¡­


    One of his subordinates paused for a moment, his expression grave, before speaking earnestly,


    ¡°My Lord, the summoning of shadow creatures from another realm is already fraught with risk. Even with the Dark Lord¡¯s blessing to control them, if we push the summoning formation to its limits and bring forth an excessive number of shadow creatures simultaneously, then we might lose control over all of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right My Lord. Although we can still currently manage the existing quantity, but if we summon more, then it will be exceedingly difficult. Moreover, it might even draw the attention of more formidable shadow creatures that¡¯s beyond our control! ¡°


    ¡°Yes, and if they were to go out of control, even after capturing the city, the poption of ckrock would be at the mercy of uncontroble number of shadow creatures¡­ What the Dark Lord truly requires is the devotion of a city, not an empty one.¡±


    The other shadow followers also agreed one after another.


    Upon hearing the reasoning of his subordinates, the leader of the shadow followers struggled for a moment, sneered, and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just do as I say and use up all the magic stones!¡±


    After uttering those words, his expression turned fanatical.


    ¡°If we cannot capture ckrock City, then we might as well destroy it!¡±


    ¡°After all, even without an official deration of a religious war¡­His Lordship Hodur and the individual those betrayers worship are already in opposition.¡±


    ¡°Sooner orter, the Dark Lord will wage war against that individual, reiming control of the underworld and the Divinity of Death. Therefore¡­ we must prevent that individual from acquiring what His Lordship also cannot attain.!¡±


    ¡°As for the possibility of summoning more powerful shadow monsters beyond our control¡­ hehe, isn¡¯t that even better? It will just help us destroy ckrock city!¡±


    ¡°After all¡­the believers of Death in ckrock City are not strong, and those elves are insignificant. There is only one silver-ranked Godwarden within the Church of Death. Until the religious war officially starts, that individual in the Netherworld will not intervene in this battlefield, unless she wants to face retaliation from His Lordship.¡±


    ¡°And if the gods don¡¯t participate in this conflict, then we will definitely win in the end. It¡¯s just a defense shield on the verge of copse. I want to see just how long it can hold!¡±


    The leader of the shadow followers smirked and said,


    ¡°Still, if we can¡¯t capture ckrock City, then we might as well just destroy it!¡±


    Upon hearing his chilling words, the other shadow followers looked pensively at each other but ultimately fell into silence.


    On the city walls of ckrock City,


    Little Salty Cat descended from the city wall, wiping off her sweat as she took the recovery potion handed to her by a dwarf.


    She opened the bottle and gulped it down.


    However, soon after, she frowned and almost spat out the potion she had just consumed¡­


    It was bitter and astringent, making it extremely difficult to drink.


    Then, Little Salty Cat opened up her game settings and quickly disabled her sense of taste in the system configuration menu and managed to force the potion down into her throat.


    As the potion settled within her stomach, she could feel her MP replenishing at a speed visible to the naked eye, but at the same time, she also noticed a debuff icon appearing underneath her status bar¡ª


    [<strong>Inferior Potion Poisoning: Meditation Effect -100%</strong>].


    Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t really care much about it since she had multiple resurrection chances. She could simplymit suicide afterpleting the questline.


    However, as she regained her magical energy, she noticed HootyBird sitting nearby looking at the potion with a thoughtful expression.


    For this particr campaign, Little Salty Cat also brought along HootyBird with her to grind monsters, but thispletely life-oriented yer seems to be less interested inbat itself, and started researching potions instead.


    A thought crossed Little Salty Cat¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Sister Bird, have you figured something out?¡±


    HootyBird shook her head.


    ¡°No, I was just thinking¡­ Since dwarves can create potions that restores magic, then can¡¯t we make them too?¡±


    Regarding the recovery magic or healing potion, yers had once inquired about them even when they first encountered the Rageze n.


    Unfortunately, the Rageze n had gained renown for their expertise in forging elven equipment and creating intricate runes and magical arrays, rather than focusing on potion research.


    In fact, as long-lived beings with inherent healing magic and rarely engaging in battles, the elves had no need for such potions.


    As a result, yers had believed for quite a long time that Elven Kingdom was judt not like most other fantasy games that features mana and health potions.


    ¡ª<em>Until today that is¡­ </em>


    In fact, even the dark-dwarves themselves rarely used these kinds of potions that restores mana since no matter how good the quality of such potions may be, in the end they always had severe side effects.


    Actually, the dwarven alchemist who provided these potions would usually just use it to water his own magical nts¡­


    No one actually drank these vile tasting things.


    And the dark-dwarves didn¡¯t have more advanced restorative magic potions either.


    This was because mages were extremely scarce amongst the dark-dwarves, and apart from a small demanding from the dwarven alchemists, no one else needed them.


    However, HootyBird had made up her mind and ns to consult the dwarven alchemist regarding these potions after the questline had ended in order to learn the method of creating these things and see if there was a way to improve them¡­


    While Little Salty Cat was restoring her mana, suddenly, the entire ground trembled slightly.


    A collective exmation escaped from both the yers and dwarves stationed on the city walls as they instinctively reacted to the tremors.


    The already dim world underground suddenly grew even darker once again.


    Little Salty Cat instinctively looked over the horizon and was shocked to see the four dark gray energy pirs in the sky suddenly intensifying!


    In that instant, a greater number of shadow creatures descended upon the battlefield¡­


    ¡°This is getting troublesome¡­¡±


    Upon witnessing the newly summoned shadow creatures, densely packed outside the city walls, the Dwarven Head Priestess¡¯s expression grew unusually grave.


    <strong> NEXT </strong>

 Chapter 194

    ??<strong>OUT OF CONTROL </strong>


    The whole ground trembled slightly, as all the yers on the city wall could feel an intense spatial fluctuationsing from the four gray-ck energy pirs outside the city¡­


    After the Shadow Cultists used up their remaining magic stones all at once, the summoning array was instantly pushed to its maximum capacity.


    As if reaching a crucial threshold, a seemingly infinite number of shadow creatures materialized on a scale that far exceeded their imagination, even causing the leader of the Shadow Followers to visibly lose color upon his face.


    Countless shadow creatures poured out like rain, instantly engulfing the area outside ckrock City¡­


    ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!!¡±


    ¡°This is too much, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Can the shield even hold up against this many?¡±


    The yers widened their eyes, shocked as they looked at everything outside the city through the defensive barrier.


    As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but sea of squirming grayish ck monsters.


    The yers had frequently witnessed portrayals of armies assaulting cities in movies and other games. However, encountering a siege involving tens of thousands of troops, particrly when these adversaries were monstrous creatures in a highly realistic setting, brought about an indescribable psychological impact like nothing else they have experienced before¡­


    The scene of 5,000 Rohan riders charging the enemy in the movie ¡°The Lord of the Rings¡± was already exhrating enough, but the charge of tens of thousands of two-meter-tall shadow monsters was even more terrifying.


    This magnificent and terrifying scene surpassed the yers¡¯ imagination, causing everyone¡¯s expressions to undergo a dramatic change.


    It was the psychological suppression brought about by the difference in numbers!


    The legion of shadow creatures moved forward like a torrent, as the monsterspletely surrounded ckrock City.


    They stormed towards ckrock City akin to frenzied ants that had found delicious sugary food!


    Ev¨¦ did not push the defensive barrier to their limits, so when the Shadow Legion charged, the pale golden shield began to flicker and emit creaking sounds, as if they were on the verge of copsing¡­


    Seeing such scene, even the dark-dwarves within ckrock City started to panic.


    The High Priestess looked pale as she watched the Shadow Legion closing in and said incredulously,


    ¡°Have they all gone mad? Do they really want to destroy ckrock City!? Aren¡¯t they afraid that the entire Rift Cavern will be corrupted and overrun by these shadow monsters because of such a massive summoning!?¡±


    Dense clusters of shadow creatures scaled the walls, shielded by a magical barrier. The sight instilled unparalleled psychological pressure upon those observing from within the city.


    And a small portion of them seemed to havepletely lost control and started flying around the entirety of Rift Cavern, ughtering everything they saw.


    At this time, the number of shadow monsters killed by the yers through the gaps in the shields was insignificantpared to the entire shadow legion.


    ¡°Shrinelord! Please use the power of Her Majesty the Goddess! Otherwise¡­ I¡¯m afraid ckrock City will really be breached at this rate!¡±


    One of the clerics desperately asked as they looked at the increasing number of shadow monsters outside the city with a terrified expression.


    The Head Priestess appeared conflicted, but ultimately all she could do was shake her headmentingly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­but there¡¯s nothing I can do. I¡¯ve already borrowed the power of our patron god recently, and I won¡¯t be able to use it again for the time being¡­I¡¯m afraid It¡¯ll take at least a month for me to fully recover.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    Every cleric turned pale upon hearing her response.


    Meanwhile, Little Salty Cat, who also overheard their conversation, felt a sudden inspiration sparked within her mind.


    After thinking for a moment, she started looking around and spotted a figure swinging a big sword nearby.


    She quickly stood up and ran over towards the person, before shouting,


    ¡°Demacia, quickly go and call up your buddy A¨¦l so that he could summon the incarnation of the goddess!¡±


    ¡°The incarnation of the goddess?¡±


    Demacia was taken aback.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are simply too many shadow monsters, and we cannot possibly defeat them all in our current state. Look, the defensive shield is on the verge of copsing as well, so we have no option left but to seek assistance from the Goddess!¡±


    Little Salty Cat spoke.


    After hearing this, Demacia knitted his brows and smiled ruefully before replying,


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t work¡­ Beforeing here, I already asked A¨¦l about it. He told me that since he had already summoned the incarnation of the goddess back when we subdued the Spider Queen in Rivendell. He cannot do it again for quite some time.¡±


    ¡°The Spider Queen¡­you mean, Rose?¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s eyes lit up again.


    ¡°That¡¯s an option too! Quickly summon Rose instead! She¡¯s so powerful, and she has so many crypt spiders under hermand too. She can definitely defeat all these monsters!¡±


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t work either¡­Even Brother Mu¡¯s favorability with Rose is already barely eptable, and my rtionship with her is in the negatives. So, given my current level of favorability, I can¡¯t just call the Spider Queen out here that easily¡­¡±


    Demacia shook his head.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°However¡­¡±


    Demacia¡¯s tone suddenly changed as he looked towards the direction of the Death Shrine.


    ¡°I know someone else here who can borrow the power of the goddess.¡±


    ¡°¡­Who?¡±


    Little Salty Cat cheered up.


    ¡°I saw Lady Zero entering the shrine earlier. Isn¡¯t she also one of the favored ones, just like A¨¦l? Plus, it appears she has a much closer rtionship with the goddess¡­If A¨¦l can summon the incarnation of the goddess, then I¡¯m sure Lady Zero should be capable of doing it too!¡±


    Demacia reasoned but after speaking, he suddenly shook his head once more and reluctantly added,


    ¡°But once the goddess¡¯s incarnation takes action, it will definitely be an instant kill, and we won¡¯t be able to farm monsters for EXP anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you still worried about farming experience at a time like this? If we just let things continue on like this, then ckrock City will really be destroyed you know¡­Completing the questline should be our top priority!¡±


    Little Salty Cat puffed up her cheecks.


    ¡°W-Well, you¡¯re right¡­Considering how those nasty developers of ElvKing usually operates, if the shadow legion really do manage to break in, ckrock City might be permanently wiped out by those guys¡­¡±


    Demacia¡¯s expression also turned serious.


    ¡°Yeah I think so too! And we finally encountered a friendly faction after all this time, plus I haven¡¯t had enough fun in ckrock City yet!¡±


    ¡°However, this questline didn¡¯t give us any hints about summoning the goddess¡¯s incarnation. We don¡¯t know if Lady Zero will take action.¡±


    ¡°Well, I just have to give it a try! I¡¯ll go inside the shrine and personally ask her. I just overheard the dwarves talking, and it might be a clue regarding the quest!¡±


    With these words, Little Salty Cat quickly left and ran towards the Death Shrine.


    Ev¨¦ had no idea that the yers had pinned their hopes ofpleting the questline upon her.


    At this moment, she was still immersed in her research on the dungeon core.


    Nevertheless, as a true god, Ev¨¦ still managed to develop aprehensive central blueprint within her mind through her exploration and deductive abilities, despite the intricatelyplex structure of the dungeon core.


    Some ingenious ideas in the core design even gave her some new insights on how to utilize her own divine power.


    Ev¨¦ was convinced that if she were to utilize her demigod-level power at this moment, she would be capable of sustaining it for a much longer period of time.


    Not only that, but Ev¨¦ also felt that she could reduce a considerable amount of the consumption required to maintain her demigod incarnation.


    All these findings made Ev¨¦ quite satisfied.


    At this moment, she also noticed that the energy consumption of the central terminal within her hand was rapidly increasing¡­


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Ev¨¦ frowned and once again focused half of her attention on the outside of the city. She was then shocked by the sight of therge army outside.


    ¡°Is the other side crazy? Why have they summoned so many shadow creatures?¡±


    By now, she could feel that the rate at which she had been expending her power into the dungeon core had exceeded the benefits she was gaining from the yers killing shadow monsters and utilizing the passive skill [War Sacrifice] to siphon their life force.


    ¡°It¡¯s a loss.¡±


    Eve¡¯s face darkened.


    Although she could still maintain the city¡¯s barrier and prevent the shadow monsters from breaking through the defenses of ckrock City just as long as she uses her full power, s¡­


    It wasn¡¯t a profitable endeavor anymore.


    ¡°No, there are even more shadow monsters now, but there are still too few yers. With how the situation changed, I cannot profit anymore¡­Perhaps it¡¯s time for me to take matters into my own hands.¡±


    After studying the dungeon core, Ev¨¦ had some ideas she wanted to experiment with. She believed that by using her demigod-level power now, she should be able to save a lot of divine power.


    In the presence of a sufficient number of shadow monsters, she should be able to break even or even make a small profit.


    However, there was still some regret within Eve¡¯s heart.


    ¡°If there were enough yers, I wouldn¡¯t need to intervene this time. Let them eliminate all the shadow monsters, that would be highly beneficial. Not only would they gain training, but I could also absorb their power. Unfortunately¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook her head.


    She decided that after this questline, she would prioritize summoning more yers for the third time.


    The total number of yers is now bing a bit of a problem¡­


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t need to act so hastily. I¡¯ll wait and observe. It appears that the summoning array on the enemy¡¯s side still holds some untapped potential. I¡¯ll make my move once there are no more shadow monsters emerging from it.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ I have to find an excuse toe out, and don¡¯t make my intervention too abruptly.¡±


    Ev¨¦ contemted.


    Just then, a familiar figure stumbled in. It was Little Salty Cat who had decided to seek the NPC¡¯s support!


    ¡°Lord Zero¡­pant¡­Lord Zero, the shadow creatures outside suddenly surged¡­and the whole situation is extremely unfavorable for us. Can you summon the incarnation of the Goddess?¡±


    Guided by the dwarves, she ran all the way to Ev¨¦ in the back hall of the shrine, gasping for breath as she asked.


    As Ev¨¦ looked at panting Little Salty Cat standing in front of her, she was slightly stunned.


    Could this¡­ be considered as having found a good excuse for her to intervene?


    Outside ckrock City.


    The shadow cultists looked at the densely packed shadow creatures they had summoned and felt both fear and excitement.


    ¡°Atst, ckrock City is finished.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect¡­ that activating all the magic stones at once could amplify the summoning effect several times¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why did Lord Hearthstone want us to continue summoning steadily?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°But I heard that it might attract even more powerful beings¡­¡±


    ¡°But it seems we¡¯re still lucky this time. The monsters we managed to summoned are only at the Iron-rank.¡±


    ¡°I think we should retreat now. This number of shadow creatures is already beyond our control¡­¡±


    The cultists whispered among themselves.


    Listening to his subordinates, the leader of the cultists nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. The summoning ising to an end, and at this point, powerful shadow creatures won¡¯t be attracted anymore.¡±


    ¡°When these energy pirs start to weaken, we will give the final order to the shadow legion and then close the array.¡±


    Just as he finished speaking, the whole earth suddenly shook again!


    Everyone felt a chilling cold energy descending into the depths of the Rift Cavern¡­


    The expression of the leader of the cultists stiffened.


    He slowly raised his head and saw thergest energy pir in front of him suddenly trembling violently.


    With a deafening roar, a giant w wrapped in grayish ck smoke then emerged from it.


    The terrifying power instantly tore the smoke apart, even distorting and tearing the surrounding space under its might!


    Then, from the torn space, a powerful presence emerged that was farrger and more terrifying than any of the ordinary shadow creatures that came out before it¡­


    A wide set of bat wings that blocks the sky, a sturdy body enveloped in grayish ck smoke, and an aura that exuded absolute intimidation came out of it afterwards¡­


    Seeing such a massive ck shadow above him, the leader of the cultists lost hisposure in an instant.


    ¡°Shadow¡­Sh-S-Shadow Dragon!!?¡±

 Chapter 195

    ??<strong>IT¡¯S TIME TO RELEASE THE GODDESS </strong>


    Due to the chaoticws governing the intersection between the Netherworld and the Abyss, the Darnds can also breed arge number of powerful monsters.


    Some of them were fallen souls from the Underworld, while others were creatures who have identally strayed here and were gradually corrupted, thus losing their minds. Additionally, there were also some instances wherein shadow creatures are naturally born in this chaotic Darnd¡­


    Nevertheless, the first two types of creatures were quite scarce inparison to the abundant poption of shadow creatures inhabiting the Darnd. The remote and chaotic nature of thisnds made it incredibly challenging for any being to gain entry, requiring them to possess immense power, at least at a legendary level, thus leading to their limited numbers.


    Therefore, the majority of shadow creatures summoned by the followers of the Dark Lord to attack ckrock City were mostly indigenous, humanoid shadow monsters living within the Darnds.


    However¡­ Although there are fewer undead or living beings who strayed into the Darnds and degenerated into shadow creatures, once it happened, it also meant that they can be the absolute powerhouses within the Darnd!


    For example¡­ this Shadow Dragon that suddenly appeared!


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, any creature that can be attributed to a ¡®Dragon¡¯ should not be underestimated.


    And this Shadow Dragon was actually the result of a dragon that had identally entered the Darnd, had its soul corrupted, thus turning it into a shadow monster that only knew how to instinctively devour and kill!


    The Shadow Cultists¡¯ worst fear came to life.


    Just as they were about to undo the summoning array, a terrifying presence from the Darnd suddenly emerged, which they had desperately tried to avoid!


    This massive Shadow Dragon stretched over a hundred meters in length, dwarfing any kind of adult dragon.


    It turned out to be a corrupted fallen ancient dragon!


    Each ancient dragon was at least a peak legendary existence, and the most powerful ones can even reached the Demigod level!


    Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from the Shadow Dragon, all the followers of the Dark Lord at that moment realized that¡­


    ¡ª<em>They were in for some deep and serious trouble.</em>


    ¡°R-Run!¡±


    The leader of the shadow cultists didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly gave orders to his subordinates.


    All the cultists swiftly abandoned their control of the summoning array in an instant and followed their leader as they tried to flee deeper underground.


    As the Dark Lord¡¯s followers escaped, the summoning array, which had its control, copsed immediately.


    The Shadow Dragon looming above simply cast a cold, tyrannical gaze upon them, with its eyes brimming with cruelty and excitement.


    ¡°Roar!!!¡±


    It let out a deafening roar and then sucked the air forcefully in the direction the shadow cultists were fleeing¡­


    A powerful suction force enveloped the fleeing followers of the Dark Lord, instantly dragging them back into ce. The ground alongside the stones, soil, and nts in the underground forest, and even some scattered shadow monsters were also lifted into the air by the dreadful force, before they were all devoured by the Shadow Dragon amidst the terrified screams of the cultists.


    Afterwards, a semicircr clearing appeared at the ground in front of the Shadow Dragon!


    The shadow creatures that were no longer being controlled by the shadow cultists then fell into chaos. Those farther away hastily fled, while those closer to the Shadow Dragon could only instinctively cower on the ground, trembling in fear under its oppressive presence¡­


    The Shadow Dragon seemed quite satisfied with its actions, and it let out another proud roar before starting to consume the remaining shadow creatures around it¡­


    The grand legion of shadow creatures, in the face of the Shadow Dragon, seems nothing more than a group of doomed helpless ants as their formation copse in an instant.


    Seeing such a chaotic and spectacr scene in the distance, all the residents of ckrock City absolutely felt dumbfounded.


    ¡°What the heck!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Looking at the dragon-shaped monster wreaking havoc outside the city, the yers were just as equally shocked as well.


    ¡°A dragon? Goddamn it¡¯s so freakin¡¯ huge! Compared to it, Meryer is like a chihuahua!¡±


    ¡°Is it the quest boss? How do we even fight this thing?¡±


    ¡°Hey guys, it¡¯s covered in ck smoke¡­is it a ck dragon? Perhaps it¡¯s one of Meryer¡¯s rtives?¡±


    ¡°Look! It¡¯s devouring all those shadow monsters!¡±


    ¡°Haha, maybe it¡¯s an ally?¡±


    Upon hearing the yers¡¯ words, the Head Priestess wore a serious expression.


    ¡°N-No¡­ it¡¯s neither an ally nor a dragon.¡±


    ¡°The Death Codex contains relevant records of it. This is a shadow creature that was formed after a dragon fell into the Darnd, known as the Shadow Dragon!¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s called a Shadow Dragon, it¡¯s no different from the surrounding shadow creatures attacking us. They all know nothing but to instinctively devour and kill!¡±


    Her voice carried a tinge of bitterness as she trembled before she added, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ even more troublesome than the shadow creatures attacking us. It forcefully crossed through the dimensional boundary, depleting a lot of its energy just to follow the shadow creatures and devour them¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid, once it replenishes its strength¡­this Shadow Dragon will likely control the remaining shadow legion and set its sights upon us¡­¡±


    The shadow creatures inherited some traits from the Abyssal creatures. They also possessed a strong desire to devour creatures from the material realm¡­


    With the activation of the defensive shield, ckrock City became like a beacon in the darkness, which would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Shadow Dragon.


    The Dwarven Head Priestess words were quickly confirmed as the Shadow Dragon, after swallowing up a few more clusters of monsters, finally raised its head and looked in the direction of ckrock City.


    The chilling and killing intent emanating from its glowing eyes sent shivers down the spines of all those on the city walls¡­


    Meanwhile, as if receiving a new directive, all the shadow creatures around simultaneously stopped fleeing and and returned to their organized formation.


    ¡°L-Looks like it has now subdued all these shadow monsters under its control¡­¡±


    At that moment, the Priestess¡¯ face turned ghastly pale. She gritted her teeth and looked desperately at the yers.


    ¡°Where does your teleportation circle lead to?¡±


    The yers nced at each other and someone replied,


    ¡°Uhh, its Rivendell.¡±


    ¡°Rivendell? It¡¯s the former elven city on the surface, right? If I remember correctly, that¡¯s the territory of the Crypt Queen. It¡¯s quite close, but perhaps we can barely escape if we¡¯re lucky¡­¡± The dwarven High Priestess muttered to herself.


    After saying that, she then gave the order, ¡°ckrock City can¡¯t hold much longer. Everyone, quickly escape through the teleportation circle. Luckily, we might be able to survive this cmity.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, the yers looked at each other in bewilderment.


    ¡°Escape? Are we gonna give up protecting the city?¡±


    The High Priestess looked saddened as she spoke,


    ¡°That Shadow Dragon probably possesses power close to that of a Demigod¡­ We can¡¯t possibly fight against it.¡±


    ¡°Do you know that eight hundred years ago, humans created a Magic Kingdom that was eventually destroyed? It happened when they too attempted to summon a legendary, peak-level Shadow Dragon at the demigod level. That creature ended up ughtering millions of humans, ultimately paving the way for the rise of the Holy Maniya Empire, which now stands as the strongest human nation.¡±


    ¡°That Shadow Dragon only met its end thanks to the Archbishop of the Eternal Church, who performed a divine descent.¡±


    ¡°This time, this whole area is in grave danger of being destroyed, and even the nearby Elven Forest might be devastated as well. So¡­ we need to run, quickly!¡±


    The yers¡¯ expressions became strange as they listened further.


    ¡°Close to a demigod? Peak Legendary-level?¡±


    ¡°Do not underestimate peak legendary-level beings! During the era of the True Gods, they represented the pinnacle of power in Saig¨¹es, possessing destructive capabilities that rivaled even the Demigods!¡±


    The yers¡¯ expressions grew even more peculiar after hearing it.


    However, to the surprise of the High Priestess, after exining the potential strength of the Shadow Dragon, the elves seemed to¡­breathe a sigh of relief?


    ¡°So¡­it¡¯s just a mere Demigod?¡±


    <em>What¡¯s going on? Were her words too frightening for them?</em>


    Soon, she heard the elves discussing among themselves, and their conversation startled her.


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s level is close to a demigod! Well yeah, we can¡¯t fight that¡­¡±


    ¡°Dude that scared me. I was worried about how toplete the questline earlier. Looks like we¡¯ll have to call up the Goddess once again.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s prepare to summon the Goddess. Who¡¯s going to ask A¨¦l to summon the Goddess¡¯s incarnation?¡±


    ¡°A¨¦l can¡¯t do it anymore. He can only perform divine summoning once a month. But there¡¯s someone here who can and Salty Cat has already gone out to find them.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­It¡¯s such a shame. The Goddess will probably one-shot it again. If only we could get a chance to deal some damage as well. Imagine the experience points we¡¯d gain from assisting to kill a demigod level boss!¡±


    ¡°Dumbass, you¡¯re daydreaming. Let¡¯s just hurry up while the game¡¯s plot hasn¡¯t progressed yet, and kill as many shadow monsters as possible while we still can!¡±


    With that, the yers unexpectedly turned back to confront the approaching shadow monsters, and returned to the battlefield with renewed urgency.


    However, this time, their behavior seemed much more determined.


    <em>Goddess? Incarnation? Game Plot?</em>


    Listening to the yers¡¯ discussions, the Dwarven High Priestess felt absolutely perplexed.


    But soon, she realized something¡ªthese elves seemed to have a way to summon the power of a true god!


    Was it that mysterious entity that had formed an oath with Her Majesty, the Goddess of Death?


    Her mind began to form certain spections as hope began to form within her heart¡­


    But before the High Priestess could contemte even further, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed once again.


    The colossal Shadow Dragon suddenly took a deep breath and shoot a gray dragon breath towards ckrock City!


    The breath¡¯s radius was nearly ten meters, and its power was terrifying.


    The icy and chaotic force of the st hit the magical defense barrier of ckrock City, easily shattering it into pieces!


    ckrock City was now exposed to the onught of the shadow creatures.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± The High Priestess heart sank.


    Just then, a crisp snort echoed through the entire vicinity.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    High above the shrine, a female elven figure dressed in ck armor slowly ascended into the air.


    As she rose, her aura also surged, before a golden divine power rippled around her. A sacred semi-translucent figure enveloped in holy light then materialized behind her.


    The Shadow Dragon instinctively roared and aimed once more at ckrock City, spewing yet another massive dragon breath!


    The hovering female elf then raised her hand, and the illusionary sacred figure behind her also did the same¡­


    Just as the dragon breath was about to hit the city, a giant palm shadow slowly materialized, instantly blocking the dragon breath.


    Looking at the female elf in the air as she exudes a potent divine aura, the High Priestess widened her eyes in astonishment before eximing,


    ¡°Divine Possession!¡±

 Chapter 196

    ??<strong>STILL LIKE ANTS</strong>


    ¡°Just a single palm blocked it?¡±


    ¡°Damn! Where did this cheat-like NPC came from?¡±


    ¡°Huh? She seems like that new NPC that Little Salty Cat and the others had mentioned. I remember seeing her in the video they uploaded yesterday!¡±


    ¡°Is she really that powerful?¡±


    ¡°Is that phantom figure standing behind her the goddess?¡±


    Seeing the sudden appearance of the strange and unfamiliar NPC, the yers were startled and started discussing curiously about Zero¡¯s identity.


    ¡°It¡¯s Divine Possession! She¡¯s currently being possessed by a deity! It¡¯s more likely that your Patron God is controlling her body right now, and she¡¯s only borrowing the power of a true god at the moment.¡±¡±


    The High Priestess briefly exined, after listening to the chatter of the elves around her.


    After she had spoken, the High Priestess¡¯ eyes then gradually brightened.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­there¡¯s still hope for us.¡±


    <em>That NPC borrowed the power of a true god?</em>


    The yers were briefly stunned but soon realized that their initial assumptions weren¡¯t proven right and that it actually wasn¡¯t the incarnation of the goddess that Zero had summoned!


    Nevertheless, borrowing the power of the goddess still counts as divine intervention, right?


    It¡¯s just that, this time, they once again didn¡¯t get to witness the goddess¡¯s physical manifestation, leaving many yers feeling somewhat disappointed.


    They thought they would personally see the gorgeous appearance of the goddess once more!


    Heck, they even started recording¡­just to only see this?


    Of course, Ev¨¦ intentionally didn¡¯t directly elevate the current avatar that¡¯s she¡¯s using into the demigod level and transform it into a real demigod incarnation.


    Perhaps in the eyes of the Head Priestess, Zero¡¯s current appearance was merely that of someone whose only being possessed by a deity.


    But in fact, this is a new method she has devised by studying the dungeon core andbining the things she had learned along with H¡¯s previous approach to doing a divine descent. This newfound technique of hers enables Ev¨¦ to conserve divine power with utmost efficiency while still wielding the strength of a demigod.


    Previously when she fought with demigod Volker, she had directly borrowed power from her main body in order to elevate her avatar to demigod level.


    However, maintaining an avatar at the demigod-level consumes far too much divine power.


    But now it is different.


    Ev¨¦ has discovered a clever and ingenious way to utilize her divine powers efficiently. Technically her avatar is still at the lower-tier Gold-ranked strength. However, simr to H¡¯s method of divine possession, she allows her current avatar to directly draw forth divine power from her true self when using abilities.


    This way, it reduced the dissipation of divine power and lowered the consumption rate since now, she actually didn¡¯t need to perform a divine descent anymore just to use spells at the demigod-level¡­


    It was a rather clever approach of using divine powers.


    Amidst the gaze of all the people within the vicinity, her avatar Zero raised her hand once again in mid-air, and the phantasm behind likewise imitated the same gesture. A dazzling light then began to intensely glow with Zero at the center as it illuminated the void that epassed the whole Deep-Rift Cavern.


    The brilliance was so intense that it basked their entire surroundings with a golden sacred glow. This radiant light even momentarily blinded the shadow creatures, resulting in a truly awe-inspiring spectacle¡­


    At this moment, the Godwarden Zero seemed to had transformed into a scorching sun that chased the darkness away!


    For the shadow creatures, such illumination spell was like poison and the divine holy light created by Ev¨¦ is the best weapon to deal with them!


    In an instant, numerous fear-filled animalistic cries echoed all throughout the vicinity, as every shadow monsters began to tremble uncontrobly. Moreover, a swirl of ck mist also began to dissipate with each and everyone of them, as their breathing grew more frantic and erratic¡­


    The weakest among them even burst apart and died on the spot!


    With Zero¡¯s appearance on the battlefield, the entire shadow legion was plunged into panic and chaos.


    It¡¯s the Light of Faith!


    This is the power of a true god!


    All the followers of Death was initially shocked as they witnessed such an unbelievable sight before each of them erupted into cheers.


    Seeing the sudden reversal of their situation, the Dwarven High Priestess likewise was just as ecstatic like everyone else while endless spection began to form within her mind.


    This Light of Faith¡­ seemed to possess such a rich and potent vitality!


    Most likely, the existence behind the elves¡­is probably a true god associated with either nature or life!


    <em>Oh Dear Goddess, Your Majesty¡­have you teamed up with a Deity that¡¯s somehow rted to divinity of life?</em>


    The High Priestess¡¯ expression became somewhat enlightened with each of her assumptions.


    Meanwhile, the yers¡¯ eyes lit up one after another after witnessing the shadow creatures being immobilized.


    ¡°Look guys, the monsters have been weakened!¡±


    ¡°What an opportunity! Quick, Let¡¯s finish them all off!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Nothing tastes better like quick and easy experience points!¡±


    In an instant, all the yers excitedly rushed out towards the battlefield and began attacking the incapacitated shadow creatures.


    No¡ª<em>or perhaps, it couldn¡¯t be called a battle anymore¡­</em>


    Due to the suppression of the Light of Faith, most of the shadow creatures had lost their ability to fight back and even their defensive capabilities have also been significantly weakened as well.


    Now, yers can just as easily defeat them, as if they¡¯re merely ripe melons and vegetables fresh for the pickings.


    Some overly enthusiastic yers even jumped off the city walls and recklessly engaged in a wanton ughter with the shadow army outside the city¡¯s perimeter.


    Seeing such a one-sided massacre, left the dark-dwarves rather dumbfounded.


    The Death¡¯s High Priestess likewise was also slightly taken aback.


    Were these elves actually¡­ so fanatical?


    Is it possible that their Patron God¡¯s Light of Faith have also ignited such an immense fighting spirit from each and every one of them?


    However¡­ now that the power of a true god has appeared, what¡¯s the point of them still fighting those shadow creatures?


    Wouldn¡¯t it be more efficient if they just let their Patron God eradicate all these monsters in one go?


    Why are they still so enthusiastic about killing monsters?


    Moreover¡­ that Shadow Dragon in the distance is still there!


    The High Priestess heart tightened as she quickly looked towards the distance¡­


    And as if to validate the High Priestess apprehensions, soon, a world-shaking roar of fury echoed once again all throughout the entire Deep-Rift Cavern¡­


    The Shadow Dragon was enraged.


    As a being that was almost a demigod, even if it had lost its rationality, the Shadow Dragon still had its inherent pride.


    The golden Light of Faith might be able to suppress ordinary shadow creatures, but it doesn¡¯t have an affect to the Shadow Dragon.


    On the contrary, it even triggered its ferocity.


    And the dragon¡¯s breath, which was deflected before, had made the shadow dragon even more agitated.


    The Shadow Dragon let out a roar, raising its head high, as a chilling and chaotic aura suddenly started to emanate from its entire body.


    With the Shadow Dragon at the center, the vegetation around it rapidly decayed as it turned pitch ck, shrouding the surrounding area in ayer of smoke, and the ground even gradually took on a grayish-ck hue.


    The shadow creatures near the Dragon instantly broke free from the deterrence of the Light of Faith, as the Shadow Dragon rapidly and gradually grew out its scales and tails as if it has mutated right there on the spot!


    ¡°Shadow Domain! That Dragon has unleashed its Shadow Domain!¡±


    The High Priestess eximed.


    The True Gods have their Celestial Domains.


    The Demigods have their Demigod Domains.


    And legendary powerhouses also possess their own Legendary Domains!


    The Shadow Dragon¡¯s own Domain allows it to corrupt the surrounding area to create a dense miasma to enhance its own defense and attacks.


    The smoke on its body suddenly churned, and then the Dragon¡¯s terrifying giant mouth opened once again.


    Apanied by a terrifying fluctuations, a sphere of ck energy continuously formed and grew in size in front of the Dragon¡¯s mouth.


    The ck energy sphere then just like a ckhole rapidly began to absorb the ck miasma lingering within the air, as it form a dense energy ball that¡¯s emitting an eerie, evil, and tumultuous aura¡­


    Even from a distance, the dark dwarves and yers could feel the spine-chilling aura as they looked towards the rapidly growing energy ball.


    ¡°What is that dragon now doing? Is it gonna shoot out a Bijuudama!?¡± 1


    ¡°Come to think of it, that ck sphere does look a bit like that¡­¡±


    But unlike the carefree yers, the High Priestess eyes widened in horror as she recalled a certain legends she had read from ancient scriptures¡­


    In an instant, her face lost its color.


    ¡°No! It¡¯s going to use a forbidden spell! That Shadow Dragon¡¯s is going to use its unique forbidden spell¡ªthe Shadow Sphere! The magic kingdom of humanity perished due to this spell hundreds of years ago! Even the Eternal Pope, who performed a Divine Possession, suffered the same demise due to this spell!¡±


    As she said this, she looked frantically towards the female elf hovering in mid-air, with her expression bing more and more anxious.


    Divine Possession in the end was still just a Divine Possession¡­


    Besides being able to unleash the power of a demigod, it would not actually grant true demigod status upon the one who was being possessed.


    And this forbidden spell was way beyond what a mere Divine Possession wielder could contend against!


    However, the High Priestess soon found herself speechless.


    Because that female elf in mid-air suddenly took action!


    The divine phantasm behind Zero flickered slightly, and the female elf disappeared instantly.


    In the next moment, Zero instantly reappeared directly right in front of the Shadow Dragon and manipted her divine power to transfigured it into a giant palm.


    She then instantly smacked the ck energy sphere back towards the Shadow Dragon¡¯s open mouth at the exact moment the Dragon¡¯s was about to shoot it!


    Then, the giant illusionary palm acted as an unbreakable barrier, as it forcefully grabbed the Dragon¡¯s mouth and shut it tight!


    With a thunderous roar, the energy sphere then exploded right inside the Shadow Dragon¡¯s mouth!


    A gray light burst forth, blinding everyone for a moment, followed by a chaotic energy storm¡­


    The intense storm spread with the Shadow Dragon at its center, knocking over everything it touched, and the surrounding shadow creatures were also sent flying, creating arge crater around where the Shadow Dragon stood.


    Even ckrock City in the distance was overturned by the shockwave created by the energy storm, leaving a scene of devastation upon its wake¡­


    Meanwhile, those few unfortunate reckless yers who had ventured out earlier from ckrock City were even affected.


    They were also blown upwards by the shockwaves, iling haplessly in the air for a moment before crashing to the ground with tragic screams, before being killed as they get revived back to the World Tree¡­


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°Damn!!¡±


    The yers who barely dodged the disaster were stunned when they witnessed such a catastrophic scene.


    At this moment, they finally realized how terrifying the Shadow Dragon¡¯s power was¡­


    In the face of such an existence, they felt nothing more than just a group of ants!


    However, what shocked them even more was that the newly joined NPC had managed to block such a terrifying and powerful spell!


    Not only that, but she seemed to have even used the Shadow Dragon¡¯s own skill against it, causing harm in itself in return!


    Incredible¡­this new NPC is so powerful!


    ¡°W-Whoa¡­ Who knew that borrowing power from a goddess could be this strong?¡±


    ¡°I wonder if we¡¯ll ever reach this level in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so epic¡­ I suddenly feel that the goddess is much more powerful than I imagined¡­¡±


    ¡°Well after all, she is a True God¡­¡±


    The yers were all left speechless¡­


    This was the first time they had witnessed the power of a forbidden spell, even though it was an iplete version!


    Even though they had encountered the divine avatar of Uller and the demigod Volker before, they never really got to personally see their true strength on action.


    But this time, the Shadow Sphere had truly frightened them.


    <em>Ignorance is a bliss¡­</em>


    Now, the yers finally realized just how terrifying the skill they had teased as a ¡°Bijuudama¡± actually was¡­


    Even just its shockwaves caused ckrock City to go through a disaster akin to a storm!


    However, even so, this skill was easily blocked by the NPC named Zero wielding the power of a goddess!


    This realization made the yers who often interacted with the goddess and were not particrly respectful or fearful of legendary, demigod, and even True God-level beings suddenly develop a genuine reverence.


    At the same time, those who had been feeling smug about their level advancement have also calmed down considerably¡­


    Compared to true powerhouses¡­


    They were still just a bunch of ants!


    1 Tailed Beast Ball/Bijuudama ¨C Is a technique used in the anime Naruto.

 Chapter 197

    ??<strong>RISE OF THE ELVES</strong>


    The devastation caused by the aftermath of the forbidden spell was akin to a natural disaster, leaving yers stunned and filled with wonder and excitement for the power they couldn¡¯t possess in real life.


    However,pared to the yers¡¯ excitement, Ev¨¦, who had initiated the attack, remained dissatisfied with her own strength.


    ¡°Although this clever method allows me to wield power at the demigod level, it stillcks the foundation of a demigod body. Although this method lessens the consumption rate, it also diminishes its potency as a side effect.. At best, this form can only be considered a pseudo-demigod level.¡±


    ¡°Being in this form should be enough against beings below demigod level, but if I were to encounter a true demigod, I¡¯d likely have to rely on my demigod incarnation¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed within her heart.


    At the very least, if thest strike had been executed in her demigod incarnation, then it would havepletely blocked the Shadow Dragon¡¯s attack, and not a trace of the forbidden spell¡¯s aftermath would have spilled out.


    Moreover, the redirected forbidden spell might have directly even killed the Shadow Dragon¡­


    Of course, if that were to happen then, the yers might not truly feel the full might of the forbidden spell.


    However, even though Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t exert her full strength in this form and still couldn¡¯t confront a true demigod while using her Zero avatar, she was more than capable enough of dealing with entities below the demigod level.


    The Shadow Dragon was indeed quite powerful, almost reaching the demigod level, but in the end, it was still just a peak legendary-ss creature, and not a true bona-fide demigod.


    Although it had transcended mortal life and had reached a far higher ne of existence, in the end it still hadn¡¯t ascended into godhood which is the highest echelon¡­


    In this situation, the Shadow Dragon really stood no chance of defeating Ev¨¦ since she possesses demigod-level power and is immune to the effects of the Dragon¡¯s legendary shadow domain.


    In fact, even the enraged Shadow Dragon realized this fact.


    The forbidden spell that exploded from its mouth caused the Dragon to inadvertently let out a mournful whimper. Large streams of ck blood flowed down its ears, eyes, nostrils, and the corners of its mouth, creating an extremely miserable sight to behold.


    As its ck blood dripped onto the ground, it corroded into ck patches and emitted a sizzling white smoke¡­


    While it cannot be described aspletely defeated with just one blow, the damage inflicted upon it is still quite severe enough.


    The once furious Shadow Dragon suddenly calmed down in an instant.


    Although it had already degraded into a mere shadow creature that lost its rational thinking, it does not mean that the other party has be aplete fool.


    It quickly realized that the glowing ¡®mosquito¡¯ hovering right in front of it was very powerful, far beyond what its own capabilities could contend with¡­


    Then, under everyone¡¯s astonished gaze, the Shadow Dragon that had been hit by the forbidden spell actually twisted its massive body and turned around to quickly escape back into the dimensional spatial rift located behind it¡­


    That was the unstable spatial passage it had once torn open using the summoning array!


    On the opposite sidey the intersection of the Netherworld and the Endless Abyss¡ªa realm known as the Darnds, where shadow monsters were born.


    Seeing the Shadow Dragon fleeing pathetically without hesitation, all the yers within the vicinity showed strange expressions upon their faces.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s running away?¡±


    ¡°Why does this scene looks so familiar¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s just like a bigger version of Meryer¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, as expected of a ¡®mighty¡¯ dragon¡­¡±


    ¡°Maan, these game bosses are bing more and more embarrassing¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, the Dwarven High Priestess opened her mouth wide, utterly stunned at what she¡¯s seeing.


    The mere fact that the Elven Godwarden was able to counter the Shadow Dragon¡¯s attack had already greatly amazed her.


    But the Shadow Dragon¡¯s behavior just now was even more shocking¡­


    An almost demigod level kind of existence, and one of the strongest beings in the Darnds, capable of annihting an entire kingdom by itself¡­


    ¡ª<em>And at this moment, it had chosen to escape?</em>


    Aren¡¯t Shadow Dragons supposed to be evil, tyrannical, bloodthirsty and insane?


    <em>T-This¡­</em>


    Once more, the High Priestess gazed at the Elven Godwarden, who was hovering in mid-air, and her expression gradually turned awe-stricken.


    This could only mean one thing.


    It¡¯s not that the Shadow Dragon was weak and a coward, but the entity it faced was simply just too powerful!


    To force an almost demigod-level existence into quickly retreating just by using a divine possession¡­what kind of being was controlling this Elven Godwarden?


    <em>W-Wait, could it be¡­!? </em>


    In an instant, a sudden thought popped into the Dwarven High Priestess mind¡­


    ¡°Could it be¡­that the Great Tree from the Elven Forest had been revived?¡±


    However, as soon as this idea emerged from within her mind, the High Priestess quickly dismissed it.


    ¡°No, It can¡¯t be¡­If that Great Being had truly been revived, then the gods in the heavens would have already taken action at this point. I heard that the Elves destroyed a tribe of Orcs, so if the Great Tree had really been revived, then the God of Winter and Hunting couldn¡¯t possibly have remained idle¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides, how could that being possibly bring the elves in such a state? Um¡­ it¡¯s not that these elves recent behavior are bad, it¡¯s just that¡­hmm, how should I put it¡­t-they are just different from the elves I used to know¡­and I always feel like something is missing.¡±


    ¡°Nevermind, after this, I¡¯ll just find a chance to pray and ask Her Majesty about it. If we are going to deal with these elves for the long term, then I need to find out who is the existence behind them¡­¡±


    The High Priestess made up her mind.


    Ev¨¦ was unaware that Death¡¯s High Priestess had some suspicions about her identity. However, even if she had found out the truth, then Ev¨¦ still didn¡¯t care much about it.


    Since ording to their oath, H would surely help conceal her identity.


    As long as Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t recklessly expose herself, then she could continue to hide under the guise of being H¡¯s subordinate.


    Anyways, her primary concerny in the amount of divine power the Shadow Dragon before her could provide.


    A Shadow Dragon like this with nearly a demigod strength contained a considerable amount of lifeforce and energy within it, which is far from a insignificant amount.


    Thus Ev¨¦ certainly wouldn¡¯t let the other party escape easily just like that.


    Zero once again extended her hand, controlling the divine phantasm behind her to grab the fleeing Shadow Dragon.


    Then the phantasm behind her expanded once more, before transforming into a massive energy palm only a few hundred meters in size, grabbing the Shadow Dragon as if it were a mere little chick¡­


    At that moment, the Shadow Dragon emitted a furious and fearful roar. However, due to the forbidden spell that had detonated within its mouth, the Dragon was still unable to vocalize properly, resulting in it letting out a subdued whimper instead.


    Its enormous body struggled relentlessly yet it still couldn¡¯t break free from the grip of the giant energy palm¡­


    Dark-Dwarves: ¡°¡­.¡±


    yers: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Watching this surreal scene, they became numb to its ridiculousness¡­


    At this moment, it was evident to everyone that this Shadow Dragon was no match at all for the Elven NPC named Zero.


    It seemed like it was done for.


    <em>In a strange and aggrieved manner¡­</em>


    [<strong>Drain</strong>]


    Ev¨¦ controlled her avatar and activated this ability within her mind.


    At the same time, she unleashed another beam of holy light, enveloping the entire body of the shadow dragon to conceal the utilization of her absorption ability.


    The other people in ckrock City only saw the golden light enveloping the Shadow Dragon, before it let out a mournful scream, gradually shrinking until itpletely disappeared¡­


    <em>Was it¡­killed?</em>


    Silence fell on everyone watching at the city walls.


    After relying on World Tree¡¯s ability to ¡°eat¡± the shadow dragon, Ev¨¦ then looked at the shadow monsters that was still scattered on the ground, shivering under thebined effects of her holy light and her inherent godly pressure¡­


    ¡°A total of twenty thousand, huh¡­¡±


    With just a nce, Ev¨¦ could easily discern the exact number of Shadow creatures left.


    Previously, she refrained from personally confronting these creatures to conserve her divine power and just let the yers deal with them so that they could continuously provide her with lifeforce while also training them.


    But now, With her enhanced mastery over divine powers and the the entire Shadow Legion clustered close together all at once, she found it more convenient to just eliminate them all at this moment without any concerns.


    After all, they were merely a group of monsters with no religious affiliation, so even if she used the methods of a true god to clear the area, it wouldn¡¯t attract resistance from other deities.


    <em>No more wasting time¡­ </em>


    She decided to eliminate them directly and make a little profit for herself.


    With this thought, Eve¡¯s mind moved.


    Suddenly, a brilliant light burst forth from the divine phantasm behind her, at it transforms into thousands of holy rays.


    These rays then rained down likesers, hitting all the Shadow Creatures within the vicinity.


    As a result, the entire Deep-Rift Cavern became as bright as day!


    Amidst sharp howls, the bodies of these Shadow creatures began emitting sizzling grayish smoke under such intense light¡­


    Then, their bodies developed numerous cracks, and ck smoke churned within, but it was instantly purified by the holy light¡­


    After struggling for a moment, their bodies then eventually shattered, releasing radiant particles into the air, before finallypletely dissipating and turning into dazzling ¡°fireworks¡±¡­


    For a while, the entire Deep-Rift Cavern was illuminated by the blossoming ¡°fireworks,¡± continuously sparkling and disappearing.


    This magnificent scene left everyone on the city walls utterly speechless¡­


    Naturally, in areas beyond their sight, a hidden magic circle had already manifested beneath the holy light, consuming the residual life force, energy, and even the remnants of shadow gem left behind by the deceased Shadow creatures.


    After a moment, the entire Deep-Rift Cavern fellpletely silent once more¡­


    It was a total mess around ckrock City, but not a single Shadow creature could be seen anymore.


    The Dark-Dwarves and the yers were still in a daze, seemingly unable to recover from the shock¡­


    After a while, Demacia, whose outside the city walls, pped his thigh and wailed,


    ¡°Damn it! Those experience points! I haven¡¯t killed enough yet!¡±


    Then the Dark-Dwarves fell silent for a moment before each of them burst into loud cheers¡­


    ckrock City had finally been saved!


    The High Priestess just like the rest of her kind was extremely excited. She looked up once again and search the skies for a certain individual, but soon found that the Godwarden named ¡°Zero¡± had already disappeared without a trace.


    ¡°I thought I was close enough to Her Majesty and felt proud of being able to perform divine possession. But today¡­ I finally know what a true divine possession is¡­what it means to borrow the power of a true god!¡±


    The High Priestess¡¯ expression was filled with excitement.


    ¡°Godwardens can achieve such feats¡­I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s a true saint! Perhaps one day, she too will be a true demigod¡­¡±


    ¡°With such a powerful individual presiding over them and the mysterious blessing of a true god, it seems that the elves¡­are about to rise up once again.¡±


    Watching the elves outside the city search for something on the battlefield, the High Priestess of the Dwarves sighed wistfully.


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t immediately dismiss her avatar.


    She simply ended the state of borrowing divine power and descended into the ground.


    This was the ce where the Shadow Cultists drew their summoning array to call forth the Shadow Legion, but now it was already corrupted by the shadows, covered in a deep darkness and emitting a chilly and chaotic aura.


    The presence of weaker creatures here could lead to their corruption, both in body and soul, causing them to transform into mindless Shadow creatures driven solely by their instinct to kill and devour¡­


    Although the summoning array was damaged, there was still a ck spatial rift present at the location of the summoning circle.


    It was the dimensional space rift left behind by the Shadow Dragon after it tear through space.


    Vaguely, sounds of howling Shadow creatures could be heard from the other side of the rift¡­


    ¡°To think they left behind a spatial rift connected to the Darnds¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ was somewhat surprised.


    However, she refrained from using her divine power again to destroy the spatial rift.


    Instead, she chose to leave it intact.


    ¡°With this spatial rift left open, it¡¯s likely that shadow monsters will keeping out of it in the future. This is perfect! I can use this passage to create a permanent spawn point, ensuring that the yers will have enough monsters to hunt here underground!¡±

 Chapter 198

    ??<strong>BOXLUNCH¡¯S MORNING</strong>


    In the early morning, the golden sun slowly rises in the east, radiating a brilliant light that gently disperses the dense white fog enshrouding the Elven Forest.


    Shortly after, the artificial lights in the Chosen City began to dim one by one with the arrival of the sunrise, unveiling a lively atmosphere among the residents.


    From time to time, life-oriented yers who had stayed within the game all night have slowlye out in groups of twos and threes, yawning and stretching as they look for any NPCs who have also just woken up in the city toplete tasks.


    Some returningbat yers have also decided toe back at this time to their own in-game homes in order to catch some sleep after briefly checking their status screen and noticing that they exceed their fatigue value after hunting monsters all night.


    In the game Elven Kingdom, yers must let their in-game character avatar sleep every once in a while, or else their physical abilities will decrease significantly.


    As such, many hardcore yers found this quite frustrating since they have the desire to y nonstop.


    However, the majority of the yers have adapted to this kind of schedule. After all, it is nothing more than going offline for two to three hours of ¡°sleep¡± to recover their real bodies physical strength. Furthermore, it is also rmended to take such rest.


    In a two-story vi located to the southwest of the Chosen City.


    The yer with the username ¡®Boxlunch¡¯ had just logged into the game and rose from his bed. He then first checked his status screen and messages before he proceeded to equip himself before finally opening the bedroom door and stepping outside.


    This vi is Boxlunch¡¯s in-game ¡®home.¡¯


    However he doesn¡¯t own it all by himself but rather, it also belongs to the five members of hisbat team.


    As a matter of fact, this sharedmunal ¡°home¡± model is not umon in Elven Kingdom. Many independent non-guild affiliatedbat teams, as well as a second batch of beta-testers with limited funds, and even real-life friends all adopt this kind of cohabitation lifestyle.


    When Boxlunch finished freshening himself up and arrived at the vi¡¯s dining hall downstairs, his other teammates had already been waiting there for him for quite some time.


    They sat around the dining table, each preupied with their own tasks.


    Some are just watching videos online with vacant expressions, as they asionally burst into fits ofughter, while others seemed to be totally engrossed in studying strategy information posted on the official forums.


    A couple of members are also engaged in a conversation.


    ¡°Hey did you hear? Apparently the Guildmaster of Nature Heart had already obtained a Crypt Spider mount¡­¡±


    ¡°What!? That¡¯s so fast dude¡­How did he do it!?¡±


    ¡°I heard he somehow managed to improve his favorability with the Spider Queen just by telling her some bunch of stories and imparting some of the game¡¯smon knowledge. He easily turned his favorability from -20 to +40 just by doing so, and the Spider Queen gave him an adult Crypt Spider mount as a reward! Dude, I heard that thing has the strength of an Iron-rank!¡±


    ¡°Dang, I¡¯m so envious! Haha, that Mu guy truly is the best at sucking up to NPCs! But¡­ won¡¯t the Crypt Spider¡¯s strength be greatly weakened here on the surface?¡±


    ¡°Well, even if it¡¯s weakened, it¡¯s still a mount! Its strength may diminish on the surface, but it just means that it will also have bonuses underground! Besides¡­ an adult Crypt Spider can even produce silk! And Spider silk is quite valuable!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I guess that¡¯s true¡­ sigh, too bad we ourselves can¡¯t own one¡­ I mean, our favorability with the Spider Queen is still at -100¡­¡±


    ¡°A-Ahhha, let¡¯s just wait for new mounts in the future.¡±


    The two yers looked at each other ruefully before shrugging each of their shoulders.


    Ever since they bombed the Spider Queen¡¯s Lair to smithereens, their team became the target of her hatred. Hell, they were even hesitant to go back to explore Rivendell, fearing that Rose might ambush them from behind.


    Upon hearing his teammates¡¯ conversation, Boxlunch couldn¡¯t help but sigh to himself.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    It had been his own idea to use explosives, but he hadn¡¯t expected things to backfire like this.


    Even now, he still feel somewhat guilty about it¡­


    Despite their regret, the members of his team didn¡¯t me him for the situation as they understood that it was a mutual decision by everyone at the beginning.


    Of course, Boxlunch¡¯s prestige also yed a role too. As the team leader, he was reliable and responsible.


    Under his leadership, the team¡¯s averagebat power ranked top in the entire server!


    Upon seeing their leader finally arrive, the other members of the team halted what they were doing and warmly greeted him.


    ¡°Good morning Captain!¡±


    ¡°Mornin~ Boss Box!¡±


    Boxlunch put aside the regret within his heart and nodded to each of his teammates who have greeted him.


    Then, he sat down in his seat.


    The yers kept chatting, but the conversation shifted to a new topic.


    ¡°I wonder what we¡¯ll have for today¡­I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, It¡¯s about time. They should be here soon, right?¡±


    ¡°Sigh, I feel a bit embarrassed about always eating for free¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, It¡¯s all thanks to Box!¡±


    The entire team sat neatly at the dining table, waiting for their meal.


    Just as Boxlunch was settling down on his seat, the vi¡¯s main door was then skillfully opened, and a cheerful voice rang out.


    ¡°Hey! You guys are up! I see that you¡¯re all so early today!¡±


    Boxlunch paused for a moment, and though the other yers were still busy with their own tasks, their peripheral vision inadvertently nced over the person who had just arrived.


    A tall, long-eared female figure walked briskly into the vi from the outside. She was dressed as a hunter, exuding an imposing aura¡ªit was the elven maiden, Nightingale.


    Upon spotting the usual five people seated around the dining table, a slight smile formed at the corners of her mouth.


    ¡°Are you all ready?¡±


    The yers looked somewhat embarrassed but greeted her with a chuckle, having already grown quite familiar with her.


    ¡°A-Ahem¡­ Good morning, Miss Nightingale!¡±


    ¡°Morning! Miss Nightingale!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ we can¡¯t resist your kindness, Miss Nightingale!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re hungry and waiting for your meal¡­¡±


    Nightingale raised her head slightly, before her lips curled into a smile.


    ¡°Heh, since I¡¯m in a good mood today, I tried making some snacks that seem to be a specialty from your world. It¡¯s called¡­¡¯Baozi,¡¯ <mark>1 </mark>or something? Anyway, my little brothers and sisters liked them, so I thought you guys might enjoy them too.¡±


    As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a basket filled with steaming Baozi appeared.


    The yers¡¯ eyes instantly lit up upon seeing it.


    ¡°Whoa! Miss Nightingale, your cooking skills are getting better and better!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ we¡¯re really sorry for making you bring us breakfast every day like this.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t help it. It¡¯s all thanks to the beautiful Miss Nightingale!¡±


    The group of yers sat neatly around the table, waiting eagerly for their meal.


    Nightingale raised the corners of her mouth at their reaction, then she nced at a particr someone who didn¡¯t verbalize anything yet showed a rare look of astonishment before clearing her throat and distributing the baozi.


    ¡°Alright, alright, enough with thepliments. Just try them and see how they taste.¡±


    As the yers swiftly began eating their share, their eyes lit up with delight after taking their first bite.


    ¡°Mm¡­ delicious! Mushroom filling?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s excellent! Very authentic!¡±


    ¡°Miss Nightingale, why don¡¯t you just stay with us, along with your little brothers and sisters?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! If anyone could marry Miss Nightingale, they¡¯d be an incredibly lucky guy¡­¡±


    The yers teased andughed as they gleefully stuffed their mouths with food.


    Blushing slightly at their words, Nightingale snorted and turned her head away.


    ¡°You guys are daydreaming again! I don¡¯t want my cute little brothers and sisters to pick up your bad habits! Cough¡­ you all just enjoy your meal, I¡¯ll get some water for you.¡±


    She said and then swiftly made her escape.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    Pleasantughter filled the dining hall.


    Then, everyone turned to the person who kept silent amidst the banter.


    ¡°I say, Boxlunch¡­ Nightingale¡¯s behavior is so damn obvious. Don¡¯t you want to respond?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! She¡¯s clearly interested in you!¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ the power of the hero saving the damsel really is so great, man¡­¡±


    ¡°Indeed, how many days has it been now?¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Just eat your food quietly.¡±


    He said with a stern expression.


    With his typical response, the others simply covered their mouths andughed light-heartedly.


    Soon, Nightingale returned with a water pitcher, with her expression back to normal.


    ¡°Are you going underground yet again today?¡±


    She curiously asked as she poured honey water for each of the yers.


    ¡°Yes¡­ we¡¯re continuing to hunt some Shadow Monsters underground! Thanks.¡±


    Cbash responded while taking the water.


    Since thepletion of the main questline [Shadow Army] and the storyline [Dark Dwarves] a week ago, the Deep Rift Cavern where ckrock City was located had be the yers hunting area where Shadow Monsters keeps spawning.


    ording to the game¡¯s storyline, although the yers had sessfully repelled the invasion of the Shadow Legion, the Dark Lord¡¯s followers have also corrupted the world underground. This led to the formation of a spatial crack in the Deep Rift Cavern, connecting it to the Darnds.


    The material world had a fatal attraction to shadow creatures and abyssal creatures.


    Moreover the underground world, was predominantly associated with dark magic due to it being once part of the Netherworld!


    Therefore, although Zero, the Elven Godwarden, had borrowed the power of the goddess to seal that spatial crack, thus preventing high-level monsters from entering the material world, low-level Shadow Monsters could still asionally slip through it, posing a significant threat to the safety of ckrock City.


    Thankfully, under the guidance of the goddess, Zero, apanied by the Dark Dwarves, established a protective array to enclose the several-kilometer-wide area centered around the spatial crack.


    All Shadow Monsters that entered the crack were trapped within this sealed space, separated by their levels into different areas¡­


    Of course, the materials for setting up the array were provided by the dwarves, as they had plenty of ore and weren¡¯t short of magic stones.


    And the dwarves were more than willing and expressed deep gratitude to the elves for doing such a thing¡­


    After all, if the elves hadn¡¯t taken action, this particr spatial crack would have brought endless potential dangers to ckrock City if left as it is!


    This region, where the Shadow Monsters constantly spawn and gathered, had became the yers¡¯ new hunting grounds, a dungeon of some sort where they can repetitively do task such as [Clearing Shadow Monsters]


    As for the contents of this particr task, it is quite simple and straightforward.


    yers simply must enter the dungeon and hunt the Shadow Monsters that came out of the crack!


    Since the monsters¡¯ levels ranged from lower Iron to upper Iron, it was an ideal ce for yers to gain experience. Moreover, the Shadow Gem Fragments these monsters asionally dropped were not only excellent dark-attribute magical materials but could also be offered to the goddess for substantial contributions. As a result, this ce have became the top choice forbat yers to level grind and hunt monsters.


    Since the appearance of the Shadow Monster dungeon, it had be the hottest topic of discussion among all yers in the official forums. Many yers eagerly hunt shadow monsters, hoping to quickly advance to intermediate Iron-rank.


    The top group ofbat yers who had been promoted to intermediate Iron-rank thanks to the [Shadow Legion] questline also wanted to grind more contributions to exchange for purple-grade Iron-ss equipment and update their fullbat gearspletely.


    During these days, Boxlunch¡¯s ownbat team had also been doing the [Clear Shadow Monsters] task.


    Hearing Cbash¡¯s words, Nightingale took a sip of honey water and slightly frowned.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t understand why you guys all enjoy fighting and killing so much¡­¡±


    ¡°Because we want to level up and be stronger quickly!¡±


    The warrior who served as the team¡¯s tank replied matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Sigh, I wonder when we¡¯ll be as powerful as Lady Zero. Godwarden¡¯s is truly amazing¡­ I wonder if the Godwarden jobss will be avable in the future.¡±


    Chopin, the druid of the team expressed wistfully.


    Hearing the yers¡¯ words, Nightingale pursed her lips and rified.


    ¡°A Godwarden isn¡¯t a jobss; that role can only be bestowed by the Divine Matriarch.¡±


    ¡°Well then, let me put it in another wat¡­.I really want to receive such role from the Goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°Maan, I wonder when they¡¯ll release the Priest ss. I really want to switch to a healing ss.¡±


    Nightingale: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­ let¡¯s level up quickly. The members of the First Legion are almost catching up to us you know.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Our team must remain the topbat team!¡±


    ¡°I really want to reach level 40 soon! I feel ufortable if I¡¯m not at the max level¡­¡±


    ¡°But, level 40 is just the peak of intermediate Iron.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll definitely release higher levels in the future.¡±


    The yers discussed such topic amongst themselves.


    ¡°Strength¡­¡±


    Nightingale muttered as she showed aplex expression while listening to their conversation.


    She then looked at the chosen ones sitting around the dining table and saw the overflowing enthusiasm and passion within their eyes.


    She couldn¡¯t help but to let out an inner sigh within her heart.


    It¡¯s precisely because of their striving spirit that the elves can rise up once again.


    1 <strong><mark>°ü×Ó</mark></strong> ¨C Baozi or simply bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed.


    Sorry for the radio silence these past few week, my city was hit by a two typhoon back to back. My ce was flooded and electricity was down for a couple of days, so I had no energy nor in the right mind to trante anything. My situation is now somewhat back to normal tho, so my usual updates should resume again.

 Chapter 199

    ??<strong>A NEW INTERNAL TEST PLAN</strong>


    The new dungeon tasks created by Ev¨¦ using the spatial crack turned out to run even better than she had initially imagined.


    Fearing that the legion of shadows woulde again, the Dark-Dwarves not only took it upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining the sealed dungeon¡¯s magical array, but also expressed their gratitude towards the yers who hunt shadow monsters every day.


    Of course, should the Dark-Dwarves discover that Ev¨¦ had purposefully left this particr spatial rift open and had even manipted the protective magical array in order to popte the sealed dungeon with an excess of shadow monsters, then it would probably illicit a different reaction from them.


    Nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances, even if the Dark-Dwarves were to learn the actual truth, they would probably not opt to fully close the spatial rift, considering the intact seal that resided deep within it.


    Moreover, they too have gained some benefits from yers¡¯ hunting the shadow monsters that keeps spawning out from it.


    Especially the Fragments of Shadow Gems dropped by the shadow monsters after they were in. These fragments are a valuable magical materials for the Dark-Dwarves, whose attributes were also predominantly dark as well.


    And upon discovering that the Dark-Dwarves were interested in purchasing these fragments at a rtively high price, the elves began selling their loot to them as it became a third outlet for yers to dispose of their hunting spoils.


    As a result, once yers became ustomed to hunting shadow monsters, the newly created dungeon became the primary source of shadow gem fragments within ckstone City.


    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the twisted and corrupted nature of thend inside the shadow dungeon which can heavily affect one¡¯s soul, the Dark Dwarves would have likely sent their own hunting teams to y these low-level shadow monsters themselves.


    With the dungeon hunting task running normally, along with the help of the dark dwarves, the map of the Deep Rift Cavern had also been finallypleted by the yers.


    In truth, the structure of this particr underground area was quite rtively simple.


    The Deep-Rift Cavern is divided by an underground river. On its western side lies an expansive subterranean forest, teeming with numerous creatures and beasts and to the east, is where you¡¯ll find a narrow gathering ce for the dark-dwarves, centered around ckrock City.


    It is said that in the southeast corner of the cavern, lies a hidden undergroundke that leads to other deeper areas of the underground world¡­


    In actuality, the Dark-Dwarves were in fact one of the earliest factions to migrate from there, whose driven by their intention to avoid wars against the other factions living deeper underground.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ no longer intended to let the yers venture deeper underground at the moment. Establishing a connection with the Dark-Dwarves, creating a new monster spawning dungeon, and discovering the underground forest teeming with magical beasts and monsters to replenish her vitality already quite satisfied her enough as it is.


    Additionally, another reason was that the yers couldn¡¯t venture that far away, since they¡¯ll be out of range of her control and Ev¨¦ herselfcked interest in further expanding deeper within the world underground.


    After devouring the shadow dragon¡¯s quasi-demigod strength and obliterating the Shadow Legion, Eve has also undergone new changes;


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient God)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Status</strong>: Weak Divine Power¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Titles</strong>: Mother of Nature, Goddess of Life, Matriarch of Elves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Power</strong>: 673/3000¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of Followers</strong>: 552 (Saint (01), Zealot (04), Devout Believers (144) , Shallow Believers (403)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Bestowal, Enlightenment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain¡­¡¿


    Just merely devouring the Shadow Dragon had instantly increased Eve¡¯s divine power by nearly 60 points, and the lifeforce she umted from hunting the Shadow Legion further boosted her DP by another 50 points.


    Combined with the lifeforce provided by the yers¡¯ constantly hunting monsters, the faith offered by her believers, and her slow ¡°absorption¡± and assimtion of the void energy, Eve¡¯s current divine power had skyrocketed to a whopping 673 DP points!


    Of course, the most surprising change was the number of her believers.


    After the old priest Samuel left Florence alongside a group of Rageze nsmen and started looking for any other scattered elves around the world, Ev¨¦ has been looking forward as to whether they will eventually bring surprises upon herself.


    And after such a long time, she finally received a response from them¡­


    Following his old memories and distinct elven markings they¡¯ve found, Samuel and hispanions have finally found some elves whom have secluded themselves in the outer rim of the Elven Forest near the Dark Mountains!


    Although these elves weren¡¯t as organized as the Rageze n was, when all was said and done, they still found more than a hundred individuals within this particr group.


    And after Samuel and the others had disyed their ¡°miracles,¡± most of these elves have decided to abandon their secluded hiding spot and chose to return¡­


    However, the majority of these elves were still on their way, so it would likely take some time for them to reach Florence.


    After having cleared out the Orc tribe that had once established itself at the southeastern exit of the Elven Forest, Ev¨¦ was no longer concerned that these elves would undergo a crisis simr to the one the Rageze n had experienced during their migration in the past.


    Of course, the Dark Dwarves also yed a significant role in recruiting these elves this time.


    This time, the elven race had helped save the entirety of ckstone City.


    While the world underground follows thew of the jungle and backstabbing allies is quite the norm, the Dark-Dwarves who hold the belief in the Goddess of Death are much stronger than those cultists who follow the Darklord.


    Under the tacit approval of their Goddess H, the Dark-Dwarves have agreed to the elves¡¯ request andmenced aiding them in locating and rescuing any of their fellow elves who had been once traded as ves on the ck market.


    As for Eve¡¯s identity, following the High Priestess of the Dwarves¡¯ prayer to the Goddess of Death, the Shrinelord received a revtion from H:


    ¡®<em>She is a newly born true god, the sessor of Yggdrasill, the protector of the elves¡­ the God of Nature and Life¡ªEve!¡¯</em>


    Those words were almost urate.


    The only inuracy might be that it is not the Divinity that is inherited, but the world tree itself.


    Thus, under H¡¯s divine revtion, Eve¡¯s role was solidified¡ª


    Rather than the actual reincarnation of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ is now just simply being recognized as a newly born deity that somehow acquired the Divinity of Nature and Life.


    Truth within falsehood, and falsehood within truth.


    However, how long could such a trickery be used still remains uncertain.


    With the passage of time, yers had finally reached the limits of their exploration¡ªa radius of 300 kilometers.


    With the World Tree at its center, the area within a 300-kilometer radius zone had been thoroughly explored by the initial 1200 beta-testers.


    In light of this, the official forum for Elven Kingdom had updated thetest game map, including distribution zones for various nts and activity points for mobs.


    Of course, it¡¯s just a cursory exploration.


    A 300-kilometer radius zone by all means was not a small area.


    Beyond the 30-kilometer safe zone, within the northern part of the Elven Forest, there are monsters that pose a challenge for yers to contend with. Furthermore, even farther away, it is rumored that even higher-leveled beings exist¡­


    Currently, with each yers¡¯ maps, their worldview appeared as follows:


    The central point of the map was the World Tree, and beneath the World Tree was the main city of yers¡ªthe Chosen City.


    Thirty kilometers to the northeast of the World Tree was the former Holy City and the current gathering ce for native elves¡ªFlorence.


    With the City of Florence as the boundary, the area within a 30-kilometer radius was a safe zone where Ev¨¦ maintained absolute control. Here, there were virtually no monsters left, and it was a paradise and main zone of operation for the life-oriented yers whose primary focus is casual and easy going gamestyle.


    Beyond the thirty-kilometer radius safety zone, monsters continue to exist, and their strength gradually increases as yers venture farther out¡­


    Among them, the northern region of the Elven Forest was considered the most prominent. This zone was filled with expansive forest and approximately a hundred kilometers to the north, silver-ranked monsters would also began to appear.


    These formidable monsters were best avoided unless one had the protection of A¨¦l or Berserker.


    Conversely, to the south of the World Tree, the strength of the monsters was generally lower, mostly iron-ranked and even apprentice-ranked beings. Also thend in this area was rtively barren.


    Around 270 kilometers to the southeast of the World Tree was the southeast exit of the Elven Forest and the former Orc¡¯s Tribe¡¯s domain, now the ck Dragon Castle. It guarded the southeastern passage between the Elven Forest and the outside world.


    And about 250 kilometers south of the World Tree is the Dark Mountains.


    Monsters near the Dark Mountains generally possessed higher strength, with many also at the silver-rank. This was particrly evident near the Dark Canyon, where the Dark Mountain Range and the Elven Forest met. Rivendell was situated here, and the Spider Queen, Rose, had established her base here.


    Three kilometers further south from Rivendell was the Deep Rift Cavern which is also the underground¡¯s entrance.


    This¡­ constituted all the maps currently avable in Elven Kingdom!


    For the 1200 beta-testers, a 300-kilometer radius zone of avable ying field was already quite extensive enough.


    With the addition of the underground and more yers attempting life-oriented gamey, Ev¨¦ finally realized that her current manpower was getting insufficient.


    Ultimately, 1200 individuals were still too few and it was the right time to recruit a fresh newbor¡­


    However, given the extent of maintenance she would need to allocate to these neers, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t n to initiate a public open-beta just yet. Instead, she intended to continue the current closed-beta operation, enlisting and selecting fortunate participants to recruit for the third round of closed-beta testers.


    With an abundance of divine power and in preparation for the uing religious war against Uller, this time she intended to further expand the number of recruited yers¡ª


    The third closed beta would recruit 9000 yers!


    Of course, her selection would be drawn from those who have signed up, but in reality, Ev¨¦ would select based on information she gathered. She would just somewhat rx the selection criteriapared to the strict criteria she previously used for the first and second rounds.


    Moreover, this time around, Ev¨¦ would further optimize the game. She would address some of the game¡¯s glitches and would further refine the game mechanics with hidden risks, such as the Perfect Resurrection and such.


    With the increase in yer levels, the Perfect Resurrection system had started to show some ws, which Eve intended to rectify.


    With a detailed closed beta n in ce, Ev¨¦ once again essed Earth¡¯s inte and posted the news about the third closed beta on the official website.


    And once the news had been released to the public, the entire online world buzzed aze once again.

 Chapter 200

    ??<strong>RETURN OF THE BLACK DRAGON </strong>


    ?Elven Kingdom? will conduct its third round of closed beta testing on July 25th, recruiting a total of 9,000 new yers for this round!


    Ev¨¦ did not leave a long sign-up duration for this third closed beta test. In fact¡­it was already the 20th of July on Earth when she announced the news of the third test.


    For theizens back on earth, the news of the third closed beta happening within 5 days was quite sudden.


    However, due to it being a widely renowned virtual MMORPG with advanced technology like mind eleration, along with high degrees of freedom and realism, ?Elven Kingdom? has already garnered arge number of fans.


    When this news quietly appeared upon the official website, it immediately caught the attention of theizens who had been constantly checking the website almost daily for any kind of notification.


    In an instant, various major gaming forums and news outlets immediately reposted this news, and many well-known streamers, video content creators, and influential online figures have also quickly shared it, expressing their anticipation for the third closed beta of the game.


    For a brief moment, ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± had once again became the hottest trending topic across various major social media websites, instantly capturing the attention of numerousizens. The intensity of their discussions this time around even seemed to exceed the first few days after the game¡¯s initialunch¡­


    This virtual reality game, which had seen a slight decrease in poprity online after a month of no noteworthy news, had immediately returned to its peak!


    <em>9,000 people! </em>


    That¡¯s not a small number.


    Compared to the initial 300 yers selected for the first beta test, and the additional 1,000 for the second one, the chances of being chosen this time around had increased significantly with 9,000 new slots avable.


    Suddenly, numerousizens flooded the official website of Elven Kingdom and instantly registered for the third closed beta, hoping to be one of the 9,000 lucky participants.


    Within just one day, the number of registrations for the third closed beta have easily exceeded 300,000.


    And on the second day, the number of registrations surged even further, directly surpassing that of 2 million!


    However, the number of registrations just didn¡¯t stop there, and it still continued to rise rapidly with each passing day¡­


    Moreover, the number ofments below the official website¡¯s announcement have also began to skyrocket at a ridiculous pace¡­


    ¡°Hahaha! Well look at that! This dog of a game is finally having its third closed beta! Waking up early every day just to check the forums wasn¡¯t in vain!¡±


    ¡°Wow! The third beta is finally here! I¡¯ve been waiting anxiously for this!¡±


    ¡°Finally! Every day, I could only watch enviously the videos posted by those damn closed beta yers on video tforms!¡±


    ¡°Dude, although I haven¡¯t entered the game, I¡¯ve already fallen into the rabbit hole of watching ElvKing videos nonstop. I registered immediately after hearing the news! Hopefully I¡¯ll be lucky this time.¡±


    ¡°This news caught me off guard¡­ I missed the registration for the second beta before so I can¡¯t miss it this time!¡±


    ¡°9,000 people¡­ That¡¯s quite a number this time! Our chances of being chosen seem quite promising!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear goddess Eve, please I¡¯m hoping to be among the first ones selected for this closed beta!¡±


    Observing the enthusiastic response to the news, not only were theizens excited, but the closed beta yers themselves were also thrilled upon learning about the third round of beta testing.


    ¡°Haha, Nice! Finally, more people are going to join the game.¡±


    ¡°9000 new people in one go! That¡¯s great!¡±


    ¡°Awesome! With the expansion of the game¡¯s avable yable map, we¡¯ll definitely need more yers. This third round of beta testing couldn¡¯t havee at a better time.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, there will be fresh newbor to help us with the dirty work now!¡±


    ¡°When the third beta starts, the yer count will likely surpass ten thousand, right? Massive legion warfare campaigns isn¡¯t just a pipedream anymore! Just thinking about it is so exciting dude¡­¡±


    ¡°July 25th, right? Five more days to go, I¡¯m really looking forward to it!¡±


    Even Ev¨¦ herself was also amazed by the enthusiasm ?Elven Kingdom? had generated back on earth.


    Ev¨¦ knew well that the game she had created was already highly acimed back on earth. After all, with its advanced features and capabilities, no other games in the current time could evenpare.


    Moreover, daily videos of the game are being posted online by various closed beta yers, and the view counts of these videos are also quite high!


    However, while it was evident to Ev¨¦ that Elven Kingdom was already gaining a considerable amount of poprity online, she still hadn¡¯t anticipated it bing this massively popr¡­


    Nevertheless, the game being so popr was a good thing for Eve!


    And this time, relying on the information provided by theizens during registration, she proceeded to screen these prospective applicants, giving preference to those with a lengthy history of online gaming.


    But just as Ev¨¦ was happily using the system to sift through and select arge number of prospective yers, she suddenly heard a murmured prayer from afar¡­


    Ev¨¦ then felt a stir and immediately withdrew her attention away from the inte and shifted her focus back to her inner mindscape.


    Within her Celestial Domain, a bright star of faith twinkled incessantly, as Ev¨¦ also heard a clear, yet rough and excited prayer from one of her believers.


    ¡°Hehe Your Grace, Meryer has returned! I have brought back so many treasures! Cattle! Sheep! Chickens! This Lord have bought them all!¡±


    ¡­<em>Oh so it was that little ck dragon.</em>


    This punk¡¯s prayer was filled with uncontroble excitement.


    ¡°Meryer? This guy actually managed to brought something back along with him?¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt a stir again, now feeling thoroughly curious and surprised.


    More than ten days ago, this ck dragon had volunteered to personally go to the humannds in order to purchase a batch of livestock breeding animals, and Ev¨¦ had casually agreed without harboring much hope.


    He is a ck dragon, after all.


    With his fierce appearance and ck Dragon¡¯s rather notorious reputation of being the most dangerous and violent amongst all of the dragonkind, Meryer would likely be treated as a malevolent dragon and would face immediate hostility upon entering the human territory.


    As for trading¡­ Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t think it would work at all.


    But now, looking at it, this rascal seemed to have actually seeded in his endeavor?


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ immediately shifted her consciousness and connected it to ¡°peer¡± through the eyes of Meryer¡­


    At this moment, the little ck dragon was hovering and joyfully flying through mid-air, as he asionally let out excited roars.


    It seemed he had already reached the vicinity of the border between the Elven Forest and the Dark Mountains but hadn¡¯t proceeded further. Meryer also didn¡¯t enter the area of the ck Dragon Castle; he just kept circling the sky like an over-excited husky.


    And just beneath him on the ground, Ev¨¦ also noticed a long column of what appears to be all sorts of animals.


    It was a lineupposed of various livestock¡­there were cows, sheep, and more, totaling no fewer than three hundred animals!


    Ev¨¦ even spotted several cattle carts loaded with wooden cages in the lineup, and these cages were filled with poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese!


    <em>Did this punk really bring all of these back? And moreover, there are so many of them?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was actually incredibly astonished for once.


    She knew how muchmon currency Meryer had obtained from the yers¡ªit was just a small paltry amount stripped from the mercenaries of the Sauron Caravan. Even whenbined, what this rascal got wasn¡¯t even enough for a thousand silver coins.


    <em>But¡­ ismon currency actually this powerful in terms of its purchasing power!? </em>


    Never mind the poultry, Meryer actually brought back with him hundreds of cattle and sheep!


    However¡­Ev¨¦ quickly realized something was amiss.


    Indeed, this whole livestock procession was grand and impressive. Furthermore, aside from the livestock and poultry, there were also over a dozen of humans assisting in herding the animals.


    They were mostly dressed in shabby clothes, and except for that one guy who appeared to be their leader whose clothes were slightly neater, the others seemed quite distressed.


    Each of these humans had deep dark circles under their eyes, paleplexions, and expressions marked by confusion and fear.


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡­Why does it feel like this punk didn¡¯t acquire all these things through trade but rather snatched it instead?


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but rub the base of her forehead.

 Chapter 201

    ??<strong>THE RIGHTEOUS BLACK DRAGON AND EVIL ELVES</strong>


    Meryer performed several aerial maneuvers high up in the air with pride. He then descended to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that startled the nearby poultry and livestock.


    Almost all of the cows and sheep tremble under the oppressive aura of the ck dragon, rendering them incapable of moving and causing them to huddle in ce with their legs shaking, whilst exuding an unpleasant odor¡­


    Stuffed into cramped cages, the chickens, ducks, and geese continued to cluck, quack, and honk without pause. Their wings also trembled in fright, resulting in a scattering of feathers all over the ce.


    Even the humans responsible for herding the livestock couldn¡¯t contain their restlessness. A few covered their heads and crouched, while others sought refuge behind the animals with their expressions revealing an intense fear of Meryer.


    Seeing the human¡¯s reaction, Meryer showed a smile that he thought was friendly, but was in fact extremely sinister looking and said¡ª


    ¡°Why are you all so afraid? This great lord won¡¯t eat you.¡±


    The only human who looked decently dressed asked nervously,


    ¡°Oh Great B-ck Dragon, um¡­W-Where exactly do you need¡­need us to deliver your goods?¡±


    <em>¡­Whelp, it¡¯s over</em>.


    Hearing how this particr human address Meryer, Ev¨¦ mentally lit a candle for this old man.


    And just as she had expected, the little ck dragon¡¯s face contorted in annoyance, as Meryer turned his head towards this leader-looking guy, whilst growling and baring his teeth.


    ¡°Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you? This great one is a magnificent Silver Dragon! Call me a ck Dragon once again, and I will definitely eat you!¡±


    With his lips curling sinisterly and exuding an intimidating aura, Meryer spat such venomous words, as his foul breath and sticky saliva inadvertently sprayed the human leader, who was instantly reduced into a pitiful state.


    The human leader was throughly frightened and as a result, he lost control of this footing, and then wept with snot and tears, holding his head while crying and shouting,


    ¡°Yes! Yes! Oh great Silver Dragon! Lord Meryer, the magnificent Silver Dragon! I¡¯m an idiot! I shouldn¡¯t have mistakenly called Lord Meryer by the wrong name¡­ I¡¯m already old and wouldn¡¯t be tasty at all. Please spare me, Lord Meryer¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s more like it!¡±


    Meryer confidently raised his dragon head, clearly showing satisfaction.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a righteous silver dragon and an honest merchant. As long as you help me deliver the goods safely to my kin, then you¡¯ll be allowed to leave.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, hasn¡¯t this lord already provided each and every one of you with a silver coin as a courier fee? This is an employment, a transaction! There¡¯s nothing to be afraid about since I¡¯m certainly quite generous and fair!¡±


    The young ck dragon said proudly as Meryer let outughter-like roars.


    Eve:¡± ¡­. ¡°


    ¡­.<em>A silver coin as a courier fee was it?</em>


    If she remembered it correctly, even within ckrock City, arge mug of piss-poor quality ale cost at the very least a silver coin.


    From the nearest human vige to the ck Dragon Castle, although the road is rtively smooth, there is still a distance of several hundred kilometers between each of these ces, right?


    Even if these humans only ate dried rations along the way, it would still cost more than a silver coin, wouldn¡¯t it?


    Ev¨¦ let out an exasperated sigh.


    Indeed, this punk truly is a ¡®benevolent¡¯ and ¡®righteous¡¯ dragon¡­


    Thinking of this matter, Ev¨¦ decided to let her voice echo inside Meryer¡¯s mind.


    <em>¡°Meryer, where did you purchase all these livestock from, and how much did you spend in total?¡±</em>


    Upon hearing the the goddess¡¯s voice inside his mind, Meryer¡¯s eyes instantly brightened.


    He nodded slightly towards the direction of the Great Tree and then responded in a boastful and yful tone,


    <em>¡°Ruahh! Your Grace, this is a deal between me and a Count that¡¯s overseeing a Human Frontier Town! These humans were remarkably generous and enthusiastic. I utilized my exceptional bargaining skills to negotiate this deal with the other party for fewer than 1,000 silver coins!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Furthermore, I also paid amission of 20 silver coins to hire the retainers of that Frontier Count. The same cowards you see here have been employed by me to assist in transporting these goods!¡±</em>


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    No need to inquire about the detailed process; she could already somewhat guess how the bargaining went.


    Nevertheless, she wasn¡¯t overly worried.


    Regardless of whether it was through trade or forceful acquisition, the fact of the matter was that Meryer had already brought back these goods, so they were also now under her possession.


    <em>¡°Roar! Your Grace, kindly send your kin to collect these goods. While I am a righteous silver dragon, I am hesitant to reveal my splendid castle to these humans. Such a sight might entice crafty and shameless thieves among them!¡±</em>


    Meryer continued.


    Hearing this, Ev¨¦ was briefly puzzled, before it dawned on her.


    No wonder Meryer contacted her through prayer even before reaching his castle. This little ck dragon didn¡¯t actually want to reveal hisir¡¯s location to these humans.


    Of course, it makes sense, since dragons in general have a tendency to amass treasures and conceal them within theirirs.


    Moreover, this wasmon knowledge in Saig¨¹es.


    And once the news of a dragon¡¯sir spread wide, countless human adventurers would surely rush to explore such ce, dreaming of bing dragon yers and making a fortune from the dragon¡¯s umted treasures.


    While having a great being as a protector diminished Meryer¡¯s inherent fear of dragon yers, this punk still didn¡¯t want to take his chances and let hisir be discovered by humans, since by doing so would be akin to inviting a stream of unqualified individuals to disrupt his peaceful dragon life.


    Though young, this rascal actually isn¡¯t that naive.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ decided to contact the Saintess Alice, and asked her to send some yers to assist Meryer.


    The ck Dragon Castle also possessed a teleportation array that led directly to the Chosen City and the current ce where Meryer is momentarily stationed is roughly around ten kilometers away from hisir.


    After a few hours of waiting, Meryer finally saw dozens of fully armed elves approaching his location.


    From the looks of it, they were the elves who epted the task!


    These yers were still strutting and horsing around in a happy-go-lucky manner, with some even swinging their swords and practicing skills against the air, akin to a group of unruly bandits.


    However, upon noticing the humans near Meryer, they immediately restrained themselves, forming ranks and adopting a serious demeanor, disying an air of professionalism.


    Nheless, the moment they saw the long line of livestock, each of their eyes instantly lit up in astonishment.


    ¡°Holy Shiet! So many livestock?!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s amazing! Meryer actually bought them?¡±


    ¡°Damn, so many!? Haha, did Meryer just plundered a vige?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, nowpleting the animal husbandry quest will be a breeze!¡±


    ¡°Great job, Lord Meryer!¡±


    Upon hearing the yers¡¯ praises, Meryer lifted his dragon head even higher.


    ¡°Hmph! When this lord takes action, everything is naturally effortless!¡±


    These yers were mostly the ones who had hung around with Meryer on ordinary days and they also often took on tasks issued by the young ck dragon and had developed a camaraderie with the young dragon over roasting meat skewers and polishing his scales.


    Meryer almost considered them his subordinates.


    Therefore, Meryer was exceptionally familiar with them and chatted away like old friends.


    Seeing the dozens of yers arriving, over twenty humans unconsciously widened their eyes.


    <em>E-Elves!?</em>


    <em>Moreover¡­there¡¯s so many too!?</em>


    In that instant, the humans thought they were hallucinating.


    However, the prominent tall figures, iconic pointed ears, and their stunningly elegant appearances, reminiscent of the Empire¡¯s most beautiful and refined nobles, all indicated one undeniable fact¡ª


    They were indeed elves!


    They had actually encountered the legendary elves out here in the wild!


    <em>Alive even!</em>


    In a moment, curiosity and excitement gleamed within each of the human¡¯s eyes.


    Elves!


    These were true elves!


    The most beautiful and noble race within the world of Saig¨¹es !


    For a moment, rhe human¡¯s curiosity even outweighed their inherent fear of the ck dragon.


    And amongst them, the human leader, who had the most respectable appearance but had also been frightened out of his wits by Meryer, was especially shocked the most¡­


    He served as a retainer for one of the Counts under the Holy Maniya Empire, holding the position of a second-tier steward in his Lord¡¯s frontier castle.


    At this moment, whilst looking at this group of elves, his breathing became somewhat heavy¡­


    Elves!


    Were there really so many elves near the Elven Forest?


    And all of them are so young as well!


    As a steward, he was also responsible for managing the servants and ves within the castle and naturally had a good understanding of the ve market.


    In the Holy Maniya Empire¡¯s ck market, even male elves could fetch over 5000 gold coins. As for females, their prices could be several times higher and every one of them was fought over by nobles at auctions!


    Therefore, upon seeing these elves, he instinctively calcted how much these elves would be worth on the ck market¡­


    Of course, he was just thinking.


    Because even a fool could tell that there was a significant connection between this ck dragon and this group of elves.


    And this revtion was even more astonishing than seeing dozens of elves gathered together.


    <em>Oh good Lord Eterna above!</em>


    Just when did the noble and virtuous elvenkind decided to get mixed up with the evil and ruthless ck dragon!?


    W-Wait a minute¡­ these elves are also so well-equipped, so could they be the kin this ck dragon had mentioned?


    ¡­A ck dragon actually enlisted a group of elves as subordinates!?


    How did it manage that!?


    Thinking of this, the steward widened his eyes, feeling wholly incredulous about what he discovered.


    Subsequently, the yers¡¯ next conversations further shattered his sense of reality even more¡­


    ¡°Haha! With cows and sheep, we¡¯ll now have steak andmb skewers as an alternative! Man, I¡¯ve been eating monster meat almost every day, and quite frankly, I¡¯m starting to get a little bit tired of it.¡±


    ¡°Bah! Eating, eating, eating! That¡¯s all you can think about! Listen, these are breeding animals idiot¡­we need to raise them!¡±


    ¡°Hey chill out, I¡¯m just joking around.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ raising sheep and cattle takes a bit of time, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out once we¡¯re back. Besides, we¡¯re not short on magical nts anyway¡­¡±


    ¡°Chickens and ducks grow faster, so it shouldn¡¯t take that long to raise a group, but¡­ I¡¯m worried that it won¡¯t be enough especially once the yers from the third round finally arrives.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than nothing! Having meat to eat is already good enough for me!¡±


    Human Steward: ¡°¡­.¡±


    <em>E-Eating¡­ meat!? </em>


    The steward¡¯s eyes widened.


    What were these elves saying just now?


    They want to eat meat?!


    So all these livestock weren¡¯t meant as food prepared by the ck dragon for itself, but rather, they were meant for the elves to eat!?


    <em>Lord Eterna Above!</em>


    The elves whose widely known for being strictly vegetarians are actually saying that they now want to eat some meat!


    <em>¡®Am I going crazy!?¡¯ </em>


    Soon, the yers shifted their attention back to the humans.


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­Hey Meryer, why did you even capture these humans?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m used to seeing elves, so now these humans look so ugly to me¡­¡±


    Hearing the yers¡¯ments, Meryer cast a gaze at them as if they were fools and said,


    ¡°These are the humans I hired to herd all these livestock. What, do you actually expect a noble dragon such as myself to do that!?¡±


    The yers chuckled awkwardly upon hearing Meryer¡¯s words.


    However, when the yers once again looked at the steward and the other humans, their peculiar expressions somehow made the steward¡¯s skin crawl.


    ¡°They were shocked, as if they¡¯ve recognized us as elves¡­should we silence them?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­well, humans are hostile against elves right?¡±


    <em>Si¡­Silence¡­ them!?</em>


    <em>D-Do these elves actually want to silence them!? </em>


    Hearing how casual these elves talk about killing them, the poor old steward felt like he was about to have a heart attack.


    However, the ck dragon¡¯s next words instantly brought him a rope of salvation.


    ¡°Ruahh! What nonsense are you guys spewing! These are humans that I¡¯ve hired. If you want to gain experience, then just go down underground. This lord is an embodiment of justice and I will not let anyone harm innocent lives!¡±


    Then after speaking, the ck dragon once again turned his gaze around towards the dozen or so trembling humans, whilst grinning menacingly.


    ¡°All right, your task isplete. This lord is quite pleased with your work. You all may now leave! Scram! Scram!¡±


    Hearing the ck dragon¡¯s words, the ten or so humans breathed a collective sigh of relief, then quickly turned around and fled, fearing that the scary ck dragon and those eerie elves might change their minds and attack them in the next seconds or so¡­


    And after running a fair distance away, when they confirmed that they could no longer see the ck dragon and those elves, the old steward patted his chest while muttering,


    ¡°Dammit¡­ I must be hallucinating today¡­¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s discovery¡­must be reported to the Count at all cost¡­¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 202

    ??<strong>THE ORC KING¡¯S COURT</strong>


    Meryer returned with carts chock-full of goods!


    Upon their return to Meryer¡¯s Castle, the ck Dragon as well as a group of yers brought along more than two hundred cattle, sheep, and a variety of poultry animals caged in numerous carts. The news of their arrival spread rapidly, garnering the attention of some idle yers who chose to gather around and witness such an impressive procession of livestocks.


    While observing the reaction upon the faces of the Chosen Ones who were watching, the little ck dragon felt considerable pride within himself.


    ¡°Ruaah! How is it? This Lord¡¯s trading skill is quite impressive isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°So the trade actually seeded? And Meryer bought so much stuff in one go?! Damn, does the purchasing power of silver coins really that strong?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely impressive! It¡¯s really different when a dragon is involved!¡±


    The yers were all very excited. However, soon everyone¡¯s focus then shifted as to where these livestock would eventually be raised and kept.


    ¡°Lord Meryer! You know my backyard is quite spacious. How about I take a few cow to raise, eh?¡±


    ¡°Hey I used to herd sheep in my youth! I can take care of these sheeps¡­¡±


    ¡°Lord Meryer, looks like some of the chickens in these cages looks sick, as if they¡¯ve having a heatstroke. How about¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªGet lost!¡±


    Meryer growled at those few greedy yers who were brazen enough to dare take a slice of his goods and protected the livestock he had purchased like an enraged mother hen.


    ¡°I¡¯ve bought all of these, so everything must be under this Lord! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know the schemes you cunning folks are up to!¡±


    The yers: ¡°¡­..¡±


    In the end, the yers couldn¡¯t trick the little ck dragon to give them even a single sheep nor chicken. Instead, Meryer had ced all the livestock near ck Dragon Castle in order to raise them there, following Eve¡¯s divine directive.


    Furthermore, the ck Dragon has also assigned a new task, requiring yers to clear the trees near his castle. The goal is to establish a small border area between the Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest and this designated space will eventually serve as a discreet breeding area for these recently acquired livestock.


    However, breeding animals was different from nting crops.


    In Saig¨¹es, elves could elerate nt growth through magical means, but livestock and poultry breeding were vastly different.


    It will stil take time for the livestock industry to be self-sufficient.


    Thus for a significant period of time, or at least until these livestock have already produced their offspring, the yers would most likely would still have to rely on consuming monster meat if they wish to eat some meat.


    Fortunately, some of the monsters in the underground, though not very tasty, were very much abundant and quite easy to catch, thus barely appeasing the appetites of those yers who mostly adhere to carnivorous diet.


    Furthermore, although the monsters within the Elven Forest¡¯s safe zone had been mostly eradicated, the number of monsters in the northern part of the Forest was still substantial enough.


    As the mana within the core region of the Elven Forest continues to increase day by day, an increasing multitude of powerful monsters from the outskirts are relocating towards the center. This phenomenon led to the forested zones bing significantly more exhrating for yers to explore.


    In conclusion, thepletion of the [Animal Husbandry] sidequest also meant thepletion of thest chain quest within the [Faction Development] quest series.


    What still remained were the repeatable daily tasks within the [Faction Development] questline, such as ¡°[Resource Collection],¡± ¡°[Main City Construction],¡± ¡°[Livestock Raising],¡± and such.


    Many Life-oriented yers were bing increasingly engrossed in farming, leveling up throughpleting these daily tasks and gaining contribution points.


    The construction team of the Moe Moe Committee became even more dedicated to their work. Having finished the construction of the basic facilities within Chosen City, they proceeded to meticulously enhance the city¡¯s overall aesthetics. This effort transformed the city into a dreamlike urbanndscape adorned with architectural styles reminiscent of Earth, making it even more enchanting and splendid.


    Even Florence, with the assistance of some yers, is also gradually regaining its former grandeur.


    Meanwhile,bat-oriented yers weretely focusing more of their time underground, clearing shadow monsters inside the sealed dungeon, or hunting monsters in the dark forest.


    Of course, there were still some yers exploring the northern part of the Elven Forest, searching for new type of monsters within these wild untamed regions.


    With the recent monster migration, quite a number of new monster species had indeed entered the yers¡¯ range of activity and some people even imed to have spotted creatures resembling that of unicorns!


    This matter caused a sensation among the yerbase, however, as everyone quickly hurried to locate these mythical creatures, they were soon left disappointed, finding not even a trace nor clue about the Unicorn¡¯s existence.


    In short, with the expansion of the yable map including the recent addition of the world underground, the gamey of Elven Kingdom had now more or less have a clearer direction.


    Of course, yers were still exploring the finer details of the game.


    For instance, some life-oriented yers were experimenting with cooking, brewing, and even crafting magical potions.Whereasbat-oriented yers continued to explore the depths of Rivendell or delving deeper into the dark forest underground in order to challenge more powerful monsters, amongst their other activities.


    Under Eve¡¯smand, her own faction had entered a rtively stable phase of development.


    The constant trade exchanges with the Dark-Dwarves continued to flourish, benefiting the entire elvenmunity as a whole, especially the those within the cksmithing industry. Even the members of the Rageze n felt a noticeable improvement in their own quality of life recently.


    Although the main storyline was temporarily on hold for the time being, the Elven Forest became more busier around this time, with many tasks requiring vast amounts ofbor and manpower.


    And upon watching all these developments unfold, Ev¨¦ herself clearly understood that this rapid expansion of her faction would soon reach its bootleneck primarily due to the critical limiting factor of theck of avable manpower!


    However, the appointed time for the third round beta-testing is soon approaching, and the fresh new ¡®recruits¡¯ that Ev¨¦ and the rest of the yers are looking forward to is about to arrive¡­


    Thend south of Elven Forest.


    After climbing over the narrow, dark canyon and crossing the endless, dark mountain range, what meets the eye is a vast horizonposed of a boundless deste desert, stretching as far as the eye could see.


    This is the Desert of Death, which is also thergest desert in Saig¨¹es.


    It is said that this desert was once a dense rainforest back in ancient times, and during the Titan Era, it was also where the royal court of the Giants once stood.


    Unfortunately, the constant war between the dragons and the titans destroyed everything.


    The Titan civilization that had ruled the continent for tens of thousands of years eventually vanished. The royal court of the Giants also turned into ruins, and the once lush and vibrant rainforest gradually transformed into a scorching desert.


    Only the scattered oases barely sustain the creatures inhabiting this desert¡­


    And now, the only sentient beings that rule the Desert of Death are the Beastmen who migrated from the north thousands of years ago during the peak of the Silver Civilization, with the assistance of the elves.


    These Desert Beastmen are a faction stemming from the Northern Orcs. They are the descendants from the interbreeding of human ves, taken captive by the Orcs following their raids upon the human territories.


    Unfortunately, these half-beastmen seemed to have inherited all the ws of both orcs and humans. They possessed the hideous appearance and stupidity of the orcs, along with the greed and weakness of humans.


    Yes¡ª<em>Weakness</em>.


    Compared to true full blood orcs who typically have huge and robust bodies, the physique of these half-beastmen is considered weak, simr to that of a human.


    This oue led to them being fully discriminated against by both the humans and the orcs.


    ¡­At least up until over two thousand years ago, where a great hero appeared within one of the half-beastmen¡¯s tribe¡ª<em>Uller</em>.


    Uller actually wasn¡¯t a half-beastmen himself.


    In fact, he was a tribal totem awakened in the half-beastmen tribe.


    Or rather¡­<em>a pseudo-god!</em>


    Due to Uller¡¯s efforts, the half-beastmen who migrated to the Desert of Death spent over a hundred years unifying all of the tribes and established the Court of the Half-Beast People in Wakaqina, the heart of the desert oasis.


    Empowered by Uller, the half-beastmen finally gained a foothold in the world of Saig¨¹es and had became a faction not to be underestimated.


    And Uller, upon relying on the religious belief of the half-beastmen, eventually acquired the Divinity of Hunting, and sessfully ascended into godhood, hereby bing the God of Hunting, Uller.


    Afterwards, he then led the half-beastmen to rejoin the orc faction, bing one of the subordinate powers of the Orc Alliance. The main patron god of the Orcs, L¨®eurr, 1 the God of Destruction and War, then granted the Hunter God a new divine title, ¡°Winter¡± making Uller the God of Winter and Hunting!


    Simrly, Uller had also became one of the deities serving under the War God Lineage, one of the three major God Lineages in the Heavenly Realm.


    In the war of the gods a thousand years ago, Uller joined the heavenly coalition, defeated the elvenkind, and secured the governing right over the Dark Mountain Range and the southern region of the Elven Forest for the half-beastmen.


    For centuries, the half-beastmen have been striving to cleanse the remnants of elven influence upon these two regions.


    ¡ª<em>Until today that is.</em>


    This is the history of the half-beastmen¡­


    Wakaqina, the Royal Court of the Half-Beastmen.


    Imush the Lionheart, the 73rd king of the half-beastmen, sat on his throne, deathly silent as he looked down at the trembling half-beast warriors bound before him.


    After a moment, he then took the Lionheart Sword handed to him by his subordinate, before pointing it at one of the kneeling half-beast warrior.


    ¡°So¡­ you mean to say that you were defeated by a group of elves and the entire Caverock Tribe was wiped out?¡± Imush stated on a rough voice that didn¡¯t reveal any emotion.


    ¡°Y-Yes, your Majesty. Those elves cannot die!¡±


    The half-beast warrior stammered, seemingly retaining boundless fear of the surreal scenes he had just witnessed.


    Hearing his words, Imush, the Lionheart King, let out a mockingugh.


    ¡°Cannot die? Do you really need to find duch pitiful reasons for your own weakness? Not capable of death¡­are the elves bing undead¡ª<em>No</em>, even the undead can be purified. Even the heralds of the Death God are not immortal¡­You fools!¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ it¡¯s not like that. I truly saw them die ande back to life!!¡±


    The half-beast warrior persisted.


    ¡°M-Moreover¡­ behind them, there seems to be a powerful pseudo-god. Even¡­ even the summoned totem guardian, Lord Volker, see¡­seems to have f-fallen¡­¡±


    The voice of the half-beast warrior grew smaller and smaller.


    <em>Even the Totem Guardian Volker?</em>


    Hearing this particr name, Imush¡¯s eyes partly contracted.


    Demigod Volker was a highly valued individual by the Chief God, a divine envoy under the Father God, and had been responsible for suppressing the remaining elves faction for centuries.


    And as a foothold for the half-beastmen in the Elven Forest, the Caverock Tribe had naturally summoned this great demigod more than once in the past few centuries.


    Although he¡¯s still not a true god, Volker had also embarked on his own path of ascension, reaching the peak of the Saig¨¹es hierarchy of power.


    To falsify the fall of a demigod, especially one who was an important envoy of their patron god, would incur severe punishment for any believer!


    However¡­ looking at the fear-stricken expression on the half-beast warrior, Imush¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but pound more faster.


    He suddenly had a preposterous thought.


    He suddenly felt¡­ that what the other side had reported might actually be true!


    At this moment, a female half-beastmen wearing luxurious priest robes entered the tent.


    She wore a crown made of bones atop her head, her face adorned with a variety of oil-based colors, while her expression remained solemn.


    Seeing the neer, Imush, the King of Lionheart and the ruler of the half-beastmen, immediately put down the longsword in his hand. He then stood up from his throne and respectfully bowed to her.


    ¡°Your Excellency, the Chief Shaman, why have youe?¡±


    The female half-beast shaman looked at the bound warrior and then at the King Imush¡­


    She sighed, then spoke with a solemn expression.


    ¡°Under the decree of the Father God¡­ a divine oracle has been issued.¡±


    ¡°A new god has emerged in the Elven Forest. This god is gathering all the elves on the continent and, two months ago, wiped out the Caverock Tribe. Even Lord Volker has fallen under their hands¡­¡±


    <em>A new god? A Demigod really fell!? </em>


    Imush, the Lionheart King, looked dazed after hearing all these.


    He then took a deep breath after being silent for a minute, with his face gradually bing more stern than usual.


    ¡°¡­And then?¡±


    The Chief Shaman merely nced at him, with her expression gradually turning more and more fanatical.


    ¡±Father God is extremely angry, and intends to start a religious war to eradicate this new god and the elves.¡±


    Inside the tent, silence as cold as death itself prevailed.


    No one moved nor spoke amidst the silence, while the only audible thing was the eerily howling wind outside. The rolling clouds on the horizon intermittently blocked the sunlight, resulting in the tent¡¯s interior to alternate between light and shadow.


    The rainy season had arrived.


    And the Desert of Death was about to change¡­


    ¨C <strong>End of Volume Two</strong> ¨C


    1<strong><mark>ÂåµÂ</mark></strong> ¨C L¨®eurr is a god in Norse mythology. In the Poetic Edda poem V?lusp¨¢, he is assigned a role in animating the first humans, but apart from that he is hardly ever mentioned, and remains obscure. Schrs have variously identified him with Loki, V¨¦, Vili, and Freyr, but consensus has not been reached on any one theory.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 203

    ??<strong>CHOSEN ONE, ARE YOU READY? </strong>


    ¡°Haha! I¡¯ve been selected!¡±


    Back on Earth, along the second ring road within the imperial capital, inside an ordinary residential building.


    An excited-looking teenage boy around seventeen or eighteen years of age stared disbelievingly at the text message he just received on his smartphone.


    After double checking it if its truly genuine and not a scam text, his face then filled with expression of utmost joy.


    His name was Ji Dong, a high school graduate who had just finished his college entrance exam and was awaiting for his admission.


    Currently, he was holed up at home.


    As a reward for getting into the Imperial University, his father and mother had gifted him the most popr Virtual Pod.


    Therefore, nowadays, he ispletely engrossed in VR games and can¡¯t tear himself away from ying them¡­


    Holding his smartphone, he couldn¡¯t contain his happiness as he rolled around on the bed.


    The contents of the text message were simple and concise:


    ¡°Congrattions! You have been selected as a yer for the third round of closed beta testing for ¡®Elven Kingdom.¡¯ Your invitation code is: 130-114-504.¡±


    <em>Imagine him being chosen as a yer for the third round of ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ closed beta testing!</em>


    Naturally, he was wholly astonished.


    Elven Kingdom was a cutting-edge VR-MMORPG that had gained immense poprity within thest few months, sweeping through the entire inte like storm.


    With its futuristic technology, unbelievable mind eleration, close-to-real game modeling and physics engine, lifelike NPC system, with unprecedented freedom and engagement, ElvKing had easily left itspetitors far behind, bing the hottest topic of the gaming world¡­


    Heck, some even joked that it was not actually a game but were in fact just masquerading as one and is actually a program that aliens built to let one¡¯s brainwaves traverse into a different world and some crack-head conspiracy enthusiast and alien believers had truly believed such rumors.


    Early on, even before his college entrance exam had concluded, Ji Dong had seen many videos about the game on various video sharing websites, which had piqued his interest in this game called ¡®Elven Kingdom.¡¯


    However, it was unfortunate that he was busy studying for his entrance exams when the first round of beta testing applications opened.


    In any case, even if he had signed up during the first round of beta-testing, he likely would not have been selected for the initial batch of closed beta testers. This is because the number of slots for the first closed beta-test was extremely limited, and numerous streamers and professional gamers were alsopeting for these slots.


    For instance, the first beta-test had only epted 300 applicants, while nearly 800,000 people had applied!


    The odds of being chosen back then were incredibly slim and those who were selected were truly fortunate.


    Afterwards, the second round of closed beta-testing had expanded the yerbase further up to 900 slots.


    At that time, Ji Dong promptly reapplied once more since he had just finished his college entrance exam.


    However, the second application process was even more brutal, with three million applicants vying for mere 900 slots!


    As a result, the probability of being selected became even smaller¡­


    And as expected, Ji Dong once again didn¡¯t make the cut.


    After a period of time, the official announcement for the third closed beta had finally came and on this round, ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ had opened up additional 9,000 slots!


    This news thrilled many people including him.


    These days, many users would constantly refresh the official website of ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ as the first thing they did in the morning. Almost all VR gamers in the country had been eagerly waiting for a new round of closed beta testing with bated breath.


    Excitedly, Ji Dong had also decided to apply for a third time yet again!


    However, when he saw the message; <em>¡°You are the 14,346,755th yer to apply for ¡®Elven Kingdom.¡¯ Thank you for your participation,¡±</em> his heart immediately sank¡­


    Although there were indeed more slots avable, the sad thing was that the number of applicants had also even further drastically increased!


    What the hell¡ª<em>14 million applicants!? </em>


    It was truly mind-boggling.


    Despite the Virtual Pod¡¯s creation and the advent of the neuralwork ushering in a new gaming age, and in spite of virtual online games already amassing tens of millions of simultaneous yers a year before, the urrence of a VR game attracting over ten million participants while still on its initial beta testing phase was truly unprecedented!


    It¡¯s a remarkable feat considering that Ji Dong hadn¡¯t even applied on thest day of registration.


    By the actual deadline, it is estimated the total number of applicants for this third closed beta would already exceeded 20 million!


    Moreover, it is rumored that there were even many foreigners amongst them¡­


    They too have watched ElvKing videos that the chinese yers posted online and gone to great lengths just to participate as well.


    A good game was indeed appreciated everywhere.


    Not to mention that the quality disyed in ¡®ElvKing¡¯ videos was so impressive that it easily overshadowed any other virtual online games currently out in the market.


    With its fantasy theme, it naturally appealed to many foreign gamers, stirring their intense curiosity and enthusiasm¡­


    There were even a few foreign gaming experts who strongly urged the ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ developers to open an international test server.


    Unfortunately, the typically reserved developers of ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ never responded to such requests.


    Ultimately, the number of applicants for the third closed beta had reached a staggering 22 million upon its closing date!


    Although the odds were betterpared to the second closed beta, such numbers was still quite terrifying.


    Fortunately, this time, Ji Dong¡¯s luck had finallye around.


    Just when he thought that all hope was lost, he promptly received a text message confirming his selection, making him one of the lucky 9,000 applicants selected!


    July 25th, exactly 12:00 pm.


    After having thoroughly studied various strategy posts on the game¡¯s official forum, Ji Dong, who had diligently done his homework, finally weed the third closed beta of ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± amidst his eager anticipation.


    He checked the time, unable to contain his excitement, and immediately entered his virtual pod. He thenunched ¡°Elven Kingdom¡± that he had already downloaded.


    ¡°Initiating¡­ Elven Kingdom!¡±


    ¡¾?¡¿


    Game connection sessful¡­


    New version discovered, ¡®Elf Kingdom¡¯ 1.3.


    Updating version¡­0%¡­01%¡­02%¡­


    ¡ªUpdate sessful.


    ¡¾<strong>Update Log V1:</strong> Optimized the game resurrection feature. The ¡°Perfect Resurrection Attempts¡± have been reced with a resurrection coin system, where perfect resurrection requires the use of resurrection coins. Resurrection coins can be exchanged in the Contribution Store. The higher a yer¡¯s level, the more resurrection coins are consumed during revival.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update Log V2:</strong> Optimized the exchange and jobss systems. ¡°World Tree¡± has been set as a redemption point. yers can now directly pray to the World Tree in the Chosen City, to ess the exchange store and jobss interface without needing to go to the Temple to find the Goddess statue.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update Log V3:</strong> Optimized the punishment mechanism. The severity of punishment is now linked to a yer¡¯s level. The higher the level, the more severe the punishment a yer will receive.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update Log V4:</strong> Optimized the face creation mechanism. When creating a character, a score is given to the character¡¯s appearance. The system¡¯s base score for a character is 60 points, and characters with scores below 50 points cannot be created.¡¿


    <em>Resurrection coins? Exchange system? Punishment mechanism? Face customization?</em>


    Ji Dong raised an eyebrow.


    Since he had done some research beforehand, these terms sounded somewhat familiar to him. However, with him being a neer, he still found them a bit unfamiliar¡­


    Nheless, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.


    Apanied by a soothing background music, Ji Dong¡¯s surroundings briefly dimmed before brightening once again.


    He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness which then apanied by a rapid shift as if he was being pulled into a ck hole. This sensationsted for a couple of seconds and before he could even realized what was happening, Ji Dong already found himself in the character creation interface.


    ¡°I¡¯m in!¡±


    Ji Dong¡¯s heart rejoiced.


    In Elven Kingdom the only avable race to choose from was the elves, but their appearances could be intricately customized.


    However, Ji Dong was a bit puzzled.


    Why did the developers decide to implement a scoring system for one¡¯s appearance during character creation? And why wouldn¡¯t they let someone create a character if their avatar¡¯s score was too low?


    ¡°Is it to prevent people from making ugly avatars? ElvKing¡¯s developers are really a bunch of perfectionists, huh? Hey, it¡¯s just an appearance, it¡¯s not a big deal¡­¡±


    Ji Dong mentally quipped.


    Of course, he was definitely going to put effort into creating his avatar¡¯s appearance.


    After all, who wouldn¡¯t want their in-game character to look handsome? After all, it¡¯s almost like raising your own daughter or son.


    ¡­Well maybe except for some weird entric yers.


    After spending half an hour crafting a handsome face that he was extremely satisfied with, and after the system scored his avatar¡¯s appearance at 65 points, Ji Dong finally clicked ¡°Confirm.¡±


    Afterwards, he set his in-game username as: ¡°Deformation Ji Gang¡±


    The screen then briefly dimmed, and Ji Dong finally entered the game!


    With a sudden blur and an indescribable sense of weightlessness washing over him, the cinematic opening of Elven Kingdom began ying before Ji Dong¡¯s eyes.


    Actually he had seen this particr opening cutscene countless times on video sharing websites, so he initially intended to skip it.


    But due to some inexplicable impulse, he restrained his impatience and decided to rewatch it all over again¡­


    Apanied by familiar yet captivating music, one breathtaking scene unfolded one after another before Ji Dong¡¯s eyes.


    The imposing World Tree, the picturesque elven city, the grandeur of the Silver Civilization, and the unfortunate conflict known as the War of the Gods¡­


    This in-game storyplot had be ingrained in Ji Dong¡¯s memory from watching it countless times.


    However, Ji Dong noticed that this version seemed to be trimmed downpared to the one circting online; it had been shortened somewhat.


    ¡°They cut down the opening scenes?¡±


    Ji Dong was a little bit curious as to why the devs did that.


    Yet, just as the War of the Gods concluded, with the World Tree withering away and Ji Dong thinking that the opening sequence was about to end¡­


    The cutscene then took a drastic turn!


    The opening movie surprisingly didn¡¯t end here like he expected.


    The background music suddenly grew intense, and the visuals presented an unprecedented never before seen scenes¡ª


    The prayer of the Saintess, as light flicker atop the towering World Tree!


    In an instant, three hundred Chosen Ones descended one after another!


    They battled creatures in the forest, fought goblins in ruins, defeated the incarnations of deities, and reimed the Holy City of Florence. Theyid the foundations, brick by brick, for the City of the Chosen Ones!


    Then¡­ nine hundred Chosen Ones descended for a second time!


    They defeated several orc hunting parties, rescued the captive elven race, fought alongside a ck dragon, and battled hordes of orcs¡­


    The Elven Forest was reimed, the incarnation of the goddess descended, the World Tree revived, and all living beings paid homage to the goddess¡­


    Then the Chosen Ones embarked on their journey out of the forest!


    They explored Rivendell, subdued the Spider Queen in the catbs¡­


    They delved into the world underground, befriending the dark-dwarves¡­


    As Ji Dong watched those magnificent scenes and thrilling cutscenes unfold, apanied by the heart-pounding background music, he was left utterly bbergasted.


    Being a gaming enthusiast who frequently watches ElvKing videos, Ji Dong naturally recognized these segments¡­ this familiar scenes¡­


    They were, without a doubt, the game events experienced by the yers of the first and second closed beta-tests!


    The developers had actually transformed yers¡¯ gaming experiences into the opening movie for the third closed beta-test!


    What¡¯s more, these edited cutscenes were seamlessly integrated with the earlier opening cutscene, fitting them together perfectly, as though they were truly a segment of an epic legendary tale!


    It could even be said that it was a story drawn by the yers, a fantasy movie starring the yers themselves!


    In an instant, Ji Dong felt a profound sense of epic grandeur and a sense of belongingness¡­


    And at the end of the cinematic scene, his field of vision then suddenly went dark once more.


    Then¡­a string of golden characters entered his peripheral vision:


    ¡ª<em>O¡¯ Chosen One, are you ready?</em>


    In that moment, Ji Dong felt his blood utterly boil.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 204

    ??<strong>DEFORMATION JI GANG</strong>


    After the opening cutscene, the time finally came for the jobss selection, as mentioned in the newbie strategy guide. And Ji Dong finally encountered the faction leader of the Elves and one of the most significant NPCs in the Elven Kingdom for the first time¡ªthe illustrious goddess, Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill.


    Seeing her up close was an entirely different experiencepared to just seeing her through an images and videos posted online.


    Perhaps due to the three-dimensional and realistic effects, the goddess appeared even more divine, dignified, and beautiful here in person inside the game.


    Not only that, but her voice was also gentle and pleasant, making him feel as though she was affable and benevolent despite her rumored extraordinary power.


    It¡¯s no wonder that the goddess became the most popr character in the game. After all, who wouldn¡¯t like a faction leader like her?


    After curiously admiring the goddess¡¯s model for a while, Ji Dong then decided took a few screenshots and posted them on his circle of friends to show off, before choosing a melee-based jobss for himself.


    Actually, he had a reason to choose a melee-based profession, as most melee-based job ss is currently considered the most beginner-friendly in the current meta of the game.


    This was because melee-based equipment was the mostmon at this time, particrly the equipment that was captured and modified from the Orcs. As a result, the market had a surplus of such items and due to this situation, new melee yers could purchase rtively good starting equipment at a more lower pricepared to their spellcaster counterparts.


    One strategy guide on the game¡¯s forum exined this all very clearly.


    After selecting his jobss and being randomly given the skills ¡°Cross sh¡± and ¡°Appraisal¡± by the goddess, Ji Dong finally officially entered the world of Elven Kingdom.


    Now, he wasn¡¯t Ji Dong anymore¡­


    He¡¯s now¡ª


    ¡°Deformation Ji Gang.¡±


    A slight dizziness spread through his mind, and Ji Gang felt as if he¡¯s experiencing a hangover.


    Fortunately, his senses had gradually became more clearer as he heard a multitude of noises emanating from his surroundings. A revitalizing breeze also drifted in his direction, enticing him to inhale deeply as he regained his bnce¡­


    With determination, Ji Gang eventually chose to open his eyes and within an instant, astonishment caused his mouth to widen involuntarily.


    He found himself standing on a spacious city square, crowded with all sorts of yers. shes of light would also asionally appeared as new members like him began to materialized one after another.


    Simr to him, the majority of people who have an expression of disbelief were part of the third-round of beta-testers whose mostly only wearing in robes or wooden armor, whilst clutching wooden staves or swords made of wood.


    Naturally, there were also some veteran yers around that¡¯s fully equipped with splendid, high-quality gear, which sparked a touch of envy from him.


    Whilst observing his surroundings, Ji Gang couldn¡¯t help but notice that the city square was bustling with activity as if its a real town from earth.


    Having read the newbie strategy guide, Ji Gang easily recognized this area as the central square of the Chosen City.


    He nced down at his avatar¡¯s hand, then clenched it tightly as euphoria filled his expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s so realistic! No wonder everyone jokes that this is just like being transported to another world!¡±


    After that, he further surveyed the area he had just arrived in¡­


    Beautiful gardens with an Eastern ir, neatly arranged Western mansions, reconstructed miraculous structures, and a variety of yer residences¡­


    Different architectural styles converged and blended perfectly under the guidance of skilled designers, not appearing out of ce at all. Coupled with some fantasy-like wooden structures, it truly looked like a mythical city from a dream!


    ¡°It¡¯s spectacr! The game haven¡¯t been officiallyunched publicly yet they¡¯ve already constructed this entire city. The yers who started much earlier are truly incredible¡­¡±


    Ji Gang couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the structures around him.


    He then turned his head and looked behind him, seeing the towering world tree in the distance, rumored to be a thousand meters high.


    Its thick branches blocked out the sky, and clouds floated through the World Tree¡¯s emerald crown, creating a magnificent otherworldly sight.


    asionally, a ck dragon also flew by in the skies, whilst emitting long and resounding roars, making Ji Gang feel as though he had truly entered a fantasy world!


    ¡°Awesome! So this is what a fantasy world feels like!¡±


    His excitement surged even further at the notion of exploring a worldpletely different from the one he had grown up on Earth.


    Rather than rushing to perform tasks like most newbies are currently doing, Ji Gang decided to wander around the Chosen City and take in the scenery in a rxed pace.


    If he remembered correctly, the strategy guide also mentioned that after the third batch of new yers joined, veteran yers would have the option to ept a task of guiding them if they chose to do so.


    Thus, he just needed to wait for someone to approach him.


    As he strolled through the city, he admired its architectures and well crafted buildings.


    On either side of the streets were small shops run by veteran yers¡ªsome sold fruits, some sold equipment, some sold materials, and there were even small restaurants and newly built taverns that¡¯s open for amodation!


    And in front of the tavern, a banner was disyed with words that read:


    ¡°Wee, new yers! 50% discount for all third-round beta testers!¡±


    Ji Gang¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Is this ce managed by veteran yers? And it seems they also offer amodation for new yers?¡±


    Then, Ji Gang saw several parties of veteran yers rushing past him from time to time.


    Their eyes are sharp, and their finely crafted equipment gleams whenever sunlight shines through it. Many of them are covered in bloodstains, carrying bulging bags, and they exude a sense of determination that leaves him in awe.


    ¡°Are those yers returning frompleting quests? They seem to have been through many battles. They looked really strong, just like mercenaries in novels¡­¡±


    Ji Gang muttered to himself.


    Then, he saw a silver-haired male elf that¡¯s riding atop a spider swiftly passed him by.


    The spider beneath the guy was humanoid-sized, looking ferocious yet majestic. It moved swiftly through the crowd, startling some neers like him.


    ¡°Is this the underground spider mount mentioned online? I¡¯ve heard that not many people have managed to obtain one on the entire server.¡±


    Ji Gang gazed at the person riding it with envy.


    However, when he tried to check the person¡¯s username, he noticed that there was no green username tag hovering above this guy.


    ¡°¡­No name?¡±


    Ji Gang blinked in confusion.


    <em>Could this guy possibly be¡­ not a yer, but rather an NPC?</em>


    Just then, a shout came from behind him.


    ¡°Thranduil! Put my mount down! You rascal, trying to run off again! ss isn¡¯t over yet!¡±


    Following that, Ji Gang saw the elf riding the spidere to a halt, then turned around whilst sporting a warm smile:


    ¡°Professor Li Mu, I¡¯ve already finished today¡¯s lessons. I heard that someone spotted a unicorn to the north of the forest. Unicorns are the cherishedpanions of the Elven Royal Family. I¡¯d like to take a look, so I borrowed your mount.¡±


    With that, the guy whose apparently called ¡®Thranduil¡¯ patted the spider mount and turned forward once more before swiftly dashing away, only leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in his wake¡­


    ¡°This rascal! He¡¯s getting better and better at slipping away.¡±


    A yer with the username ¡®Li Mu,¡¯ hovering above him, muttered to himself while wearing a helpless expression.


    <em>Li Mu? As in the famous streamer, Brother Mu!? </em>


    A sudden thought struck Ji Gang.


    He intended to send a friend request, but out of nowhere, a heavily armed group of veteran yers hurried past, inadvertently preventing Ji Gang from getting a chance to introduce himself to Li Mu.


    ¡°Make way! Make way! Urgent matters! Thank you!¡±


    After this group of yers passed by, Ji Gang sadly lost sight of Li Mu.


    A sense of regret washed over him.


    He wanted to get to know such a legendary expert!


    <em>Oh, right, Thranduil was it? </em>


    ¡­That name somehow feels kind of familiar.


    <em>Is he an NPC?</em>


    From his expression, it¡¯s hard to believe he¡¯s an NPC!


    With a feeling of novelty, Ji Gang decided to continue on with his tour of the Chosen City.


    Gradually, he crossed the street and came to a magic circle that shone with light.


    Around the circle were veteran yers with various equipment, and they shouted one after another:


    ¡°Shadow Dungeon! We need a level 15 mage who can cast Fireball! Our team have four open slots! Come on!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re a Level 20 Busride team that¡¯s going for a boss run! 2000 contribution points per hour! Fair price, fast leveling speed!¡±


    ¡°Buying shadow fragments gems! State your price!¡±


    Ji Gang observed these yers curiously, understanding that this was a teleportation point on the map. He also verified this by checking the mini-map.


    This magic array led to the teleportation magic array located in the ck Dragon Castle.


    ¡°I recall watching a video that mentioned ck Dragon Castle serves as a sort of transit station to the underground map.¡±


    Seeing him standing still, a few veteran yers brightened up and approached him enthusiastically, while saying:


    ¡°Oh a neer? Do you need help with dungeon runs? Our busride team, has four veteran yers with one newbie. It¡¯s only 2000 contribution points per hour, and we¡¯ll guarantee to boost you up to level 11 within a day! If you prefer, we also ept soft-sister coins <mark>1 </mark>of equivalent value!¡±


    <em>Guiding newbies in dungeons? And it costs contribution points?</em>


    Ji Gang was slightly taken aback.


    However, he soon waved his hand.


    ¡°Um¡­ no need, I¡¯m nning to level up through doing tasks.¡±


    Ji Gang had watched quite a few videos beforehand.


    He knew that contribution points were the main currency in the game and currently, the exchange rate for contribution points to RMB was 5 to 1, meaning 2000 contribution points were equivalent to 400 yuan.


    He wasn¡¯t inclined to spend that much real-life money, since it was too expensive.


    Moreover¡­ he had always believed that while ying an online game, doing tasks was more interesting for leveling up, which allows yers to learn more about the game¡¯s mechanics and backstories!


    ¡°Task huh? Have you done the math? You won¡¯t reach level 11 in five or six days. Hell, you won¡¯t even have someone to party with you in the Forest of Shadows. For newbies, grinding mobs is the fastest way to level up.¡±


    Hearing him, several veteran yers shook their heads.


    Ji Gang just smiled wryly and then turned around to leave.


    Seeing this, the veteran yers didn¡¯t say anything more.


    After leaving the teleportation array area, Ji Gang decided to give up on the idea of asking veteran yers for help. He started following the guidance of the in-game system to search for newbie tasks.


    ¡°The newbie guide says¡­that new yers can find some NPCs in Florence to ept daily tasks or directly receive resource gathering tasks from the system in the Chosen City¡­¡±


    ¡°I recall the strategy guide saying that the quest system in ElvKing generates tasks based on the progress of the yers. The more advanced the task is, the greater the reward will be¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­whats this? animal husbandry? This sounds actually good, plus the rewards seem quite high!¡±


    Suddenly, Ji Gang ¡®s eyes lit up as he found a goal for himself.


    1 (<mark><strong>ÈíÃñÒ</strong></mark>) ¨C Soft Sister Coin or Ruanmeibi, is a chinese buzzword, which refers to the cute interpretation of Renminbi/ÈËÃñ±Ò (RMB)


    Also for those not aware, RMB is the official currency of the People¡¯s Republic of China.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 205

    ??<strong>ILLUSION OF A HARD LABORER </strong>


    After being prompted by the system, Ji Gang followed the navigation direction through the minimap and arrived at the teleportation array marked as ¡®ck Dragon Castle.¡¯


    ¡°This task appears to involve locating ck Dragon Meryer in order for him to assign me a feeding task, and, oh¡­ what¡¯s this? A friendly tip? Let¡¯s see, after receiving the task, I must address him as Lord Silver Dragon; otherwise, there¡¯s a chance the task might not seed?¡±


    Ji Gang felt a bit confused.


    Nevertheless, despite the strangeness of it, he still decided to continue on and quickly entered the teleportation array.


    The array released a sudden burst of light, causing Ji Gang¡¯s surroundings to spin briefly. Inadvertently, he shut his eyes and when he opened them once more, the surrounding scenery before him had already changed.


    It was no longer the Chosen City, but an ancient and deste castle instead!


    The imposing structure stood tall, appearing to be purposefully designed for amodatingrge creatures. Moreover, the interior was expansive, with the castle gate itself measuring over ten meters in height.


    As Ji Gang exited the teleportation array, he immediately saw several well-equipped earlier batch of beta-testers roasting meat over by a bonfire outside the castle and right next to them, a cart was stacked high with piles of roasted meat, forming a pile more than half a person tall.


    <em>Huh, why are they roasting so much meat?</em>


    Ji Gang was taken aback.


    Upon noticing the light emanating from the teleportation array, the older group of yers shifted their focus towards him. They tried scanning him over from head to foot and when their gaze fell upon Ji Gang¡¯s novice gear, a spark of excitement ignited within their eyes.


    ¡°A neer from the third round?¡±


    One of the female yers dressed in a dazzling mage robes curiously asked. Her username, ¡®Little Salty Cat¡¯ hovering above her head.


    <em>Little Salty Cat? </em>


    That username sounds really familiar. Ji Gang was sure he¡¯d seen it somewhere online in the past¡­


    Most likely she¡¯s probably some famous ElvKing yer of some sort.


    These thoughts crossed Ji Gang¡¯s mind, and he quickly smiled in response.


    ¡°Umm, yes, hello, seniors! I¡¯m here to find the ck Dra¡ªOh, I mean Lord Silver Dragon! the NPC in charge of Livestock Caretaking Tasks.¡±


    After hearing his words, the veteran yers who were roasting meat exchanged nces and nodded at each other.


    The yer with the username ¡°Little Salty Cat¡± gestured for another yer to flip a piece of meat on the grill before turning her gaze back to Ji Gang with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait for a bit. Currently Meryer has gone for a walk, so he probably won¡¯t be back until mealtime.¡±


    <em>Mealtime?</em>


    As Ji Gang observed the skewered meats held by the older yers, his face twisted in bewilderment. He then attempted to connect their actions with the disappearance of the ck Dragon.


    Noticing his gaze, Little Salty Cat smiled and said,


    ¡°This is also a task for us, specifically its Meryer¡¯s personal task. You see, preparing lunch for himes with a decent reward. So, if you¡¯re skilled at barbecuing, then you¡¯ll be able to im the reward when Meryer returns.¡±


    <em>I see</em>.


    Ji Gang nodded.


    After delving into ElvKing¡¯s lore and game mechanics beforehand, Ji Gang knew that there were four types of tasks avable within the game.


    The most important of which is the tasks involving the main storyline.


    These tasks are referred to as ¡®Quests¡¯ instead and it usually involve the goddess Ev¨¦ or the other factions. They can be randomly triggered as yers explore the game world. The distinguishing feature of these taskspared to others is that triggering them can advance the game¡¯s overarching plot.


    yers who triggered the main or hidden main quests generally receives a considerable rewards and might even receive a summons from the goddess, gaining enviable skills in return.


    Therefore, main storyline quests were considered the best type of tasks within Elven Kingdom.


    Next were sidequests and daily tasks.


    Mainly dependent on the main storyline quests, these two task csn be directly assigned by the game system. The former could only be aplished once, whereas thetter only provides smaller rewards but could be repeated instead.


    The [Feed the Livestock] task Ji Gang received via the system was an example of a daily task.


    Then there were also the personal tasks.


    These are private tasks that NPCs can assign to yers based on their needs, with the rewards contingent upon the rarity of the NPC and the yer¡¯s favorability toward them. Typically, experienced yers prefer receiving such tasks from NPCs they are closely acquainted with.


    It is said that purple-ss NPCs could even offer generous rewards, often amounting to what you would typically receive frompleting a main quests!


    The yers roasting meat were participating in a private personal task given by the ck Dragon.


    While Ji Gang conversed with these more experienced, groups of yers, a distant roar of a dragon suddenly echoed in the distance.


    ¡°RUUA¡ª¡ª!¡±


    Apanied by strong winds, a huge shadow loomed over Ji Gang and the others from above.


    Looking up, he saw a massive creature with a wingspan of over twenty meters swooping down towards them¡­


    Ji Gang¡¯s legs shook involuntarily, and his face turned pale with fear due to the dragon¡¯s formidable aura, characterized by its ck scales and intimidating skeletal armor.


    <em>A ck Dragon! It really is a ck freakin¡¯ Dragon!</em>


    Even though he had witnessed this creature flying in the air a while back in Chosen City, the distance back then was simply too far for him to perceive much of the Dragon¡¯s imposing appearance.


    However, at that moment, such a creaturended directly in front of him. The suffocating pressure it emanated, coupled with its innate aura of a superior being, was simply overwhelming for him. This inadvertently instilled Ji Gang with a profound sense of dread.


    Even though he knew it was merely a game, the immersion factor of this game was simply just too real, leaving him genuinely frightened for his life¡­


    ¡°Hey, Meryer! There¡¯s a newbie with us! Look, you scared the poor guy!¡±


    Little Salty Cat shouted at the ck Dragon.


    She then employed one of her mage skills to disperse the dust that had been stirred up when Meryernded. Annoyanceced her tone as she spoke,


    ¡°How many times do I have to tell you to maintain your distance first beforending? Seriously, we¡¯re all coated in dust¡­ Just look, even your meal are covered in it! Come on, remember that you¡¯re a massive dragon, so be careful next time geez!¡±


    Watching the petite female yer talk casually with the fearsome dragon, Ji Gang was fully taken aback.


    What surprised him even more was that the menacing-looking ck Dragon wasn¡¯t angry at all. Instead, it just awkwardly grinned amidst the female yers¡¯ verbal beatdown, while revealing a rueful smile.


    ¡°Cough, it¡¯s fine! I¡¯ll be more careful next time! This great Lord Meryer doesn¡¯t mind a little dust on my meal, but¡­ did you put some honey on the meat?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there will be plenty for you to enjoy!¡±


    As if on cue, some yers pushed a cart filled with roasted meat over.


    Then, Ji Gang saw the dragon¡¯s eyes light up upon seeing it, like a husky that had just been given a treat by its owner. The dragon immediately pounced on the meat, savoring it hungrily afterward¡­


    Meanwhile, the experienced yers seized the moment as the dragon dined, and approached its side. One of them utilized a sizable steel brush to gently stroke the dragon¡¯s back, while the rest joyfully collected gleaming triangr scales from the ground.


    Those were the scales Meryer had shed.


    Some yers even directly plucked scales from the cl Dragon¡¯s body, collecting each shiny scale for themselves¡­


    Ji Gang: ¡°¡­.¡±


    His eyes widened in disbelief.


    Were these yers¡­ really so audacious?


    Of course, what he didn¡¯t know was that Meryer had currently entered a new stage of growth.


    During this whole period, the young dragon¡¯s body would rapidly grow, increasing its size by several folds. Old scales would gradually fall off, while being reced by a new,rger, and even more tougher scales!


    However, only Little Salty Cat and these two skilled barbecue enthusiasts from the northeastern region would ever dare to touch Meryer¡¯s scales, as the dragon would typically overlook their actions.


    After all, they were the ones whom usually made his meals.


    Little Salty Cat could provide an endless supply of top-quality monster meat, and the two male yers were quite exceptional at barbecuing meats. They were akin to Meryer¡¯s very own most satisfactory attendants!


    Moreover, since the shed scales had no practical value (for Meryer,) they were essentially offered as rewards.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Meryer, this newbie here wants to receive one of your task. You should give it himter on after you¡¯ve fully eaten.¡±


    Little Salty Cat happily stated whilst picking up scales on the ground like a farmer harvesting their crops.


    ¡°A New Chosen One? Aborer finally arrived?¡±


    The ck Dragon turned his head, with his copper bell-like eyes fixated on Ji Gang.


    ¡°Uh¡­ cough¡­ Y-Yes, Lord Silver Dragon, I¡¯m here for the animal husbandry task.¡±


    Ji Gang coughed twice, then broke into an awkward smile¡­


    Ji Gang smoothly received the task.


    Following the task instructions, he arrived at a nearby forest near ck Dragon Castle and found a sizable breeding farm.


    The farm housed over two hundred cows and sheep, along with a significant number of chickens and ducks.


    ¡°Why would the elven faction in the game have a breeding farm like this? Is it for food?¡±


    Ji Gang pondered as he observed the farm, collecting fodder, processing feed, and feeding the livestock and poultry as instructed.


    While feeding the animals, Ji Gang thought back to his encounter with the ck Dragon NPC.


    ¡°¡±Although I¡¯ve already learned from watching game videos that the NPC system in ElvKing is quite impressive, I still didn¡¯t expect the NPCs to behave so lifelike!¡±


    ¡°Conversations that flow naturally, lifelike expressions, and conplex emotions¡­ they¡¯re more than just NPCs; they¡¯re almost like real people. They canmunicate, interact, and even be friends with yers!¡±


    No wonder they say Elven Kingdom is like a second life. It truly lives up to its reputation, especially when paired with the incredible mind eleration technology; it¡¯s bound to be even more popr as more people enters the game.


    Ji Gang sighed softly.


    ¡°I wonder¡­ what are the main quests like? Watching the videos, the main storyline seemed so exciting, especially the grand battles with the Orcs. It¡¯s incredibly thrilling¡­ and the cutscenes featuring the goddess are fantastic as well.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait! I really want to level up quickly!¡±


    Thinking this, Ji Gang was filled with determination.


    He wasn¡¯t the only new yer who selected this task.


    After about an hour, he finallypleted his part of the task and obtained his first experience and contribution points from Meryer since entering the game.


    Of course, he still couldn¡¯t use these CP¡¯s just yet. yers had to first reach level 11 to officially unlock the exchange store.


    This meant that until they reached level 11 and met the minimum level requirements for essing the underground world and the Shadow Dungeon, new yers would either need to join veteran yers¡¯ teams to quickly grind levels or simply stick topleting tasks.


    During the early days of the server, there were plenty of low-level monsters suitable for new yers near the safe zone.


    However, unfortunately, apart from the Shadow Dungeon, most of the monsters in the Elven Forest didn¡¯t respawn, and veteran yers had already wiped out the creatures in these core areas.


    Some game guides mentioned that there were many presence of numerous monsters in the northern part of the forest, yet these uncharted regions were notably hazardous. Even seasoned yers were susceptible to encountering difficulties within these unexplored territories, let alone neers like him.


    So, for ordinary new yers, before they reached level 11 and met the minimum level requirements for the underground map and the Shadow Dungeon, their main source of leveling up EXP was throughpleting daily tasks.


    Luckily, the experience rewards from tasks in Elfven Kingdom were quite substantialpared to other games. Just a single feeding task had allowed Ji Gang to reach level 2 smoothly.


    However, the daily tasks in Elven Kingdom were different from what he imagined¡­


    Many daily taskscked much storyline, merely involving performing variousborious tasks that were quite demanding in terms of effort and energy. Tasks like feeding livestock, collecting wood, transporting goods, moving bricks, and so on¡­


    Havingpleted the [Feed the Livestock] task, Ji Gang is now walking towards one of the crop fields near the Chosen City after taking on another task which is a nting task.


    As he held the seeds in his hand, he fell into a deep thought¡­


    ¡°¡­.Why do I feel like I¡¯m doing mundane manualbor inside a game?¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 206

    ??<strong>NEW ISSUES </strong>


    ¡°Finally, there¡¯s now enough manpower.¡±


    Ev¨¦ was very satisfied.


    The new influx of yers from the third batch of beta-testing had greatly alleviated the problem ofbor shortage, especially in regards to some of the most tedious mundane tasks.


    And Chosen City, whose infrastructure development had reached somewhat of a bottleneck, is once again disying a trend of further expansion due to the appearance of arge number of new yers.


    Wanting to see it personally for herself, Ev¨¦ decided to walk around the Chosen City while using one of her disguise named ¡®F¨¥ng¡¯, the enigmatic female yer whose loosely acquainted with Little Salty Cat.


    The current Chosen City has be more lively than ever before. Prior to the arrival of new yers, the city had be somewhat deserted due to the opening of several new maps and yers venturing into these locations, resulting in a more diluted city poption.


    However, with the arrival of new beta-testers, the city is once again filled with mor and noise. Naturally, most of the individuals were neers bustling about the city, diligently performing daily tasks with curiosity and joy, even if it entailed engaging in manualbor such as moving bricks on a construction site.


    Moreover, whenever a veteran yer returned from their out-of-town trip, they would often garner envious nces from the neers, which in turn led to an even higher work efficiency.


    Putting in effort toplete daily tasks was crucial until reaching level 11, at which point a qualitative leap in strength would ur, that unlocks additional game features!


    Therefore, most neers are striving hard to level up as quickly as possible.


    While idly wandering through the city, Ev¨¦ also noticed that the inns run by older yers were all fully booked.


    This was because, following her announcement of the third round of beta-testing, some astute yers saw a potential business opportunity and swiftly renovated some buildings and repurposed them as Inns or lodgings.


    Although the official ¡°Morgue¡± was still present in the Chosen City, the facility had be excessively cramped and overcrowded, leaving no room for the neers.


    As a result, yers who put in a bit more effort frequently formed parties and opted to rent rooms in the inns established by more experienced yers instead.


    After all¡­ these inns were not only spacious but also well-equipped as well.


    Actually this trend had started even way back in the second beta-testing phase. Therefore, during the third round, even more veteran yers recognized this lucrative business opportunity and coborated with each other to establish lodging amodations for the neers for extra ie.


    Ensuring a secure location to store one¡¯s avatar while offline remains a crucial aspect of ying Elven Kingdom, as the character¡¯s body won¡¯t disappear when a yer logs off.


    It wasn¡¯t that the newbies didn¡¯t care about this aspect; in fact, some would even choose a corner in the city to log off directly. However, the fact remained that if one didn¡¯t want to log in after being stripped of their equipment, it was still better to stay in the ¡°Morgue¡± or an Inn.


    After all, even the basic equipment provided by Ev¨¦ at the start could be worth 400 contribution points if sold as aplete set.


    Moreover, there was no equipment binding feature in Elven Kingdom. If a yer was careless and slept outside, it was highly possible for them to log back inpletely stripped of their equipment and belongings.


    In a big world like this, there was a wide variety of people, and a yer¡¯s avatar while offline sleeps like dead pigs,pletely defenseless and unresponsive.


    Although there was a system in ce to punish criminal actions, if the theft was only rted to equipment and didn¡¯t physically harm the yer, then the system wouldn¡¯t assign the perpetrator a criminal designation.


    Furthermore, since offline yers didn¡¯t know who had targeted them, they typically couldn¡¯t report the theft and thus could only swallow their losses.


    This could be considered a w in the game¡¯s system, and Ev¨¦ was well aware of it.


    However, Elven Kingdom is not a real game, and implementing a feature that binds equipment, items, or yers together is an extremely challenging task. Even providing yers with spatial storage space would be a daunting endeavor due to its resource-intensive nature.


    So, Ev¨¦ has epted the fact that there will always be ws, and just as long as they aren¡¯t very serious, she will try to ignore such ws. In fact, having such ws also has its pros and cons. One example of this is that it forces yers who intend to sleep in the open and negatively impact the city¡¯s appearance to find proper amodations instead.


    She still remembered the first night of the third beta-testing phase when the central square was littered with ¡°corpses,¡± creating a terrifying sight for anyone who came across it.


    Of course, after the second day, hardly anyone continued on to do that sort of thing.


    However, considering the unfortunate fate of neers who have been stripped of their belongings, Ev¨¦ decided to create a function. She has established a method for yers to receive a set of basic equipment from Alice, a special service avable only in the temple for 500 CP.


    umting 500 contribution points was quite achievable, even for new yers. They could easily earn it in a single day.


    Walking along the city¡¯s streets, Ev¨¦ spent 10 contribution points to buy a cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice from a yer vendor. As she sipped it, she once again admired the vibrant city, feeling content with its development.


    What pleased her was not just the enthusiasm of the neers but also the importance veteran yers ced upon their lives, which eased her mind considerably.


    After theunch of the third beta-test, the death rate amongst the more experienced yers had significantly decreased.


    It¡¯s not that these yers had be inherently more skillful, but rather that they had be more cautiouspared to before.


    This was mainly due to the revised resurrection system.


    Ev¨¦ had eliminated the concept of perfect resurrections, and reced it with resurrection coins instead.


    One resurrection coin required 100 contribution points to be exchanged, with each yer only being allowed a maximum of 10 exchanges per day, and these coins were also non-transferable.


    The number of resurrection coins required for a perfect resurrection is now directly tied to the yer¡¯s current level.


    If a yercked sufficient resurrection coins to perform a resurrection after dying, they would then be resurrected at a much lower level, corresponding to how many coins werecking.


    This new resurrection system haf quickly raised the contribution point cost needed for high-level yers wanting perfect resurrections¡­


    Furthermore, the daily exchange limit of 10 transactions had also curtailed the previously unlimited resurrections for high-level yers and affluent individuals.


    By implementing these conditions, even as high-leveled yers further increases their levels, it would still take them at least a week to umte enough coins for a perfect resurrection.


    Of course when this update came out, there was an outcry on the forums. yers felt that the devs had imposed overly strict limitations on the resurrection mechanism, resulting in a much poorer gaming experience.


    However, the devs official exnation was short and simple¡ª<em>It was done to bnce the game mechanics.</em>


    Anyway, the willful undertone was obvious¡ª<em>y if you want, stop if you don¡¯t. </em>


    There are still more than 20 million applicants waiting in line to be chosen after all.


    Ev¨¦ was quite confident now.


    After venting their frustrations on the forums and seeing that the devs wouldn¡¯t retract their decisions, the yers inevitably changed their tune to ¡°It¡¯s really fragrant.¡± 1


    After all, what made Elven Kingdom so unique?


    It was all thanks to this mind eleration technology; it had managed to attract countless yers from around the world¡­


    In a sense, it was akin to quadrupling one¡¯s own lifespan!


    Not to mention the game¡¯s unparalleled quality.


    Of course, veteran yers¡¯ existing perfect resurrection chances would bepensated by directly converting them into corresponding resurrection coins of equal value.


    For instance, a yer like Little Salty Cat, who had umted a whopping total of 70 perfect resurrection chances, and was now at level 21, had received 1,470 resurrection coins from the system.


    In addition, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯tpletely remove the bug that allowed yers to resurrect infinitely. After all, it was one of elven factions aces in the hole.


    If they were to encounter a powerful enemy that required yers to sacrifice their lives, then she would consider granting the yers a temporary buff of unlimited resurrections.


    With the resurrection issue having been resolved, Ev¨¦¡¯s current challenge is solving the significant shortage of equipment.


    The influx of 9,000 neers would ce significant strain on the equipment supply.


    ¡°I can put out another batch of lower-tier Iron-ss equipment on the exchange store. yers sent me quite a lot of these previously, and after repairing them, I¡¯ve gathered thousands of sets, many of them are even purple epic-ss.¡±


    ¡°However, it¡¯s still not enough. I can encourage yers to ask the Dark Dwarves to tailor-make equipment for them or even teach them how to craft equipment for themselves¡­¡±


    As she watched some yers passing by, Ev¨¦ contemted upon this matter.


    Merely relying on her to provide equipment wouldn¡¯t be a sustainable solution. It would be best for yers to gradually be self-sufficient themselves, while Ev¨¦ would just focused on offering much rarer items to attract high-level yers and wealthy individuals.


    In essence, Eve¡¯s ultimate hope was for yers to establish a self-sufficient faction with strongbat capabilities and cohesion.


    ¡°Additionally, there are also those Beastmen to consider. We could engage a few Orcs tribes in battles to acquire more equipment.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­perhaps I won¡¯t have to look for them since they mighte knocking on their own.¡±


    ¡°If Uller bes anxious, there is a chance that he might send arge army to attack us before the uing winter. If he still maintains some semnce of a true god¡¯s decorum, then he might even dispatch some of his believers to formally issue a deration of a religious war.¡±


    ¡°However, this matter needs to be considered in the long run, and the neers¡¯ levels should be improved first. The rewards for daily tasks are quite abundant, so their leveling pace should advance more quickly.¡±


    ¡°Once they reach level 11, these newbies can start training in the Shadow Dungeon and after they be more proficient inbat, I can further expand their operational range.¡±


    Ev¨¦ had umted quite a bit of divine power by now.


    With her current abilities, she could easily expand the yers¡¯ operational range.


    However, considering that the territory she currently had was adequately enough to amodate 10,000 yers, she ultimately decided to wait a little bit longer.


    It is best to take things step by step. The yers¡¯ strength needs to increase gradually, and the world map should also be opened up bit by bit to the yers¡­


    ¡°Oh, right. There¡¯s also the design for the city defense core that I reverse-engineered from ckrock City. I need to issue a task to encourage yers to build this in Chosen City, Florence, and even Rivendell and ck Dragon Castle!¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought.


    Although she had put the design for the city defense core on the exchange store, sadly there was no one interested in it. Thisck of interest could be attributed to its high price or perhaps because yers didn¡¯t have a demand for it.


    As Ev¨¦ was wandering around in the Chosen City lost in thought, amotion up ahead suddenly caught her attention.


    Ev¨¦ momentarily paused her thoughts and looked towards themotion, seeing a few veteran yers and native elves near the city entrance excitedly discussing something.


    Demacia, Li Mu, and even the primordial elf Thranduil were among them, surrounded by a number of other people.


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow.


    Driven by curiosity, Eve, while disguised as ¡°F¨¥ng,¡± discreetly walked towards their location¡­


    1 <strong><mark>ÕæÏã</mark></strong> ¨C Really Fragrant is a chinese inte ng used to describe someone doing something that he or she had previously sworn never to do


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 207

    ??<strong>UNICORN</strong>


    After walking a few steps, Ev¨¦ could finally clearly hear what the crowd of yers¡¯ are discussing about.


    ¡°Whoa! That¡¯s so cool! Thranduil, how did you catch it?¡±


    The loud voice belonged to Demacia, whose voice was filled with uncontroble excitement.


    ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times, I didn¡¯t catch it. I just saw it was injured, so I brought it back.¡±


    Thranduil, the primordial elf, sounded somewhat helpless with his deep, gentle, and rather pleasant voice.


    ¡°Do you still need to tie it up like this after you¡¯ve already brought it back?¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s voice carried a hint of being at a loss for words as he looked down at the pitiful looking tied up creature.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way¡­It¡¯s resisting too much. I haven¡¯t learned healing magic yet, so I had to forcibly bring it back tied up like this for treatment. Besides¡­ I already loosened the ropes already, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Thranduil spread his hands.


    ¡°Well in any case, this Unicorn truly looks so handsome and beautiful! Just as one would expect from a sacred beast in Western Fantasy legends!¡±


    ¡°If you could tame it as a mount, then it would easily outss the Crypt Spiders by a long shot, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    Demacia said with his voice full of excitement.


    <em>A mount?</em>


    Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    She took a few more steps forward, while silently approaching the yers from behind, and finally saw what they were moring about.


    It was a pristine-white creature, resembling a slender white horse, adorned with a spiral-shaped horn protruding on top of its head.


    Currently, it rested on a corner, warily watching the yers who encircled it with cautious eyes. On its hind leg, were clear markings resembling those left by the w of a magical beast¡ªa conspicuous wound that still oozed crimson blood.


    This was¡­ a unicorn?


    Ev¨¦ blinked a couple of times.


    Unicorns, in particr, are magical creatures entirely unique to the Elven Forest. When fully grown, they have strength ranging from iron to silver ranks. Moreover, if a Unicorn forms a contract with a person, then it can evolve even further.


    Unicorns are typically entirely white, resembling ordinary horses with the only distinction being their spiraling horns upon their heads. Their manes and tails are much longer than those of ordinary horses, giving them an air of purity and nobility.


    Unicorns by nature are proud and stubborn creatures, preferring to reside only in areas with high concentrations of mana. They are swift runners, having dual magical attributes of both wind and nature. Additionally, the horn on their heads can release healing and detoxification magic.


    However, the unicorns¡¯ magic couldn¡¯t affect themselves per se, and they often just use their own magic to aidpanions in need instead.


    Ev¨¦ recalled all this information from the world tree inheritance she received.


    Back in the era of the Elven Silver Civilization, numerous elves would raise unicorns of their own, establishing partnerships akin to lifepanionship.


    But with the Heavenly War a thousand years ago, coupled with the fall of the world tree, and the eventual decline of the elvenkind, these unicorns also experienced a simr fate to that of the elves¡­


    With their beautiful appearance and unique healing magic, they were also regarded as prime magical pets by other races. Even if they couldn¡¯t be tamed as pets, their horns were excellent magical materials, sought after by many races.


    Especially humans.


    With humankind having a significant demand for such creatures, even the Orcs have started hunting and selling unicorns in human countries.


    Yet, these unicorns were proud creatures and only recognized those who approached them willingly with good intentions.


    Cautious and sensitive to the emotions of other creatures, if a unicorn was initially met with hostility, then it was almost practically impossible for one to be itspanions.


    Due to this stubborn and cautious nature, a rumor began to circte amongst humans that Unicorns only liked pure and innocent virgins, which is a misconception.


    Of course, it was all just hearsay.


    Nheless, it remains an undeniable fact that unicorns, in general, are very difficult to tame.


    Apart from the powerful Archdruids, who generally have a predisposition to be friendly with all sorts of magical creatures, other individuals can only tame a unicorn purely by luck.


    And if they were captured by force, unicorns wouldn¡¯t ept being tamed, let alone be enved. Instead they would ultimately choose to starve themselves to death.


    Retrieving all this knowledge from the world tree¡¯s inheritance, Ev¨¦ directed her gaze towards the unicorn that had attracted a crowd of yers.


    The Unicorn appears to be smaller in stature, seemingly not yet a fully grown adult, with its strength only being that of an intermediate iron-rank.


    Due to the injuries it sustained, even a yer of a much lower rank could likely subdue it with rtive ease.


    However, looking at the unicorn, Ev¨¦ thought of something else instead.


    Unicorns by nature are social creatures.


    Encountering one meant that there¡¯s a high chance that an entire herd is also somewhere close behind it.


    After the elvenkind¡¯s downfall, the mana level within the core region of the Elven Forest have also gradually declined. As a result, the presence of Unicorns in the forest have aslo slowly dwindled over time.


    Rumors states that most of the herds have even migrated to areas further north in the Elven Forest.


    However it appears that due to the resurgence of mana levels in the core area of the Elven Forest, these Unicorns are probably returning to the central region once again.


    Ev¨¦ could understand why the yers were so excited.


    No matter from which angle one looks at it, such beautiful creature is indeed the best choice for a mount. Moreover, theirpatibility with elves is probably much betterpared to that of Crypt Spiders.


    However, winning a Unicorn¡¯s approval won¡¯t easy.


    These creatures do not react positively to force. Unicorns also generally form their judgments primarily based on their initial impressions. If they perceive even a slight hint of hostility, then establishingpanionship with them bes an almost impossible task.


    Given the yers¡¯ violent tendencies, subduing such creatures could prove to be challenging.


    Nevertheless, Unicorns is also a creature that greatly values repayment very much. If it receives help, then one can easily gain its friendship.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the other matterster. Let me heal it first.¡±


    Observing the injury on the unicorn¡¯s hind leg, Li Mu began to speak. However, just as he was about to step forward, the unicorn struggled to its feet, emitting low growls, and defensively disying its horn. It didn¡¯t allow Li Mu to get close, let alone treat its wound.


    ¡°No¡­ I feel that its temper is so violent¡­ It won¡¯t allow anyone to get close to it,¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s just restrain it together! We¡¯ll heal its injuries forcefully first,¡± suggested Demacia.


    Immediately, several yers moved forward, attempting to hold down the unicorn to treat it.


    The unicorn, injured and weakened, proved no match for the yers. They swiftly gained control over it, yet it struggled desperately, whimpering and contorting its body in resistance.


    ¡°H-Hurry! Brother Mu, heal it!¡±


    Li Mu nodded and started chanting a spell before casting the [Cure] spell.


    A pale green energy coalesced on his hand, before Li Mu redirected it into the unicorn¡¯s wound. Yet, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, the injuries of the unicorn disyed no signs of improvement at all.


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Li Mu was slightly confused.


    ¡°Let me try.¡±


    Another druid yer spoke up.


    He, too, chanted the same healing incantation, but his spell had also no effect whatsoever.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t Cure working?¡±


    The yers were astonished.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of how you¡¯re going about it¡­of course, the spell won¡¯t work.¡±


    As the yers were left puzzled, a sigh sounded from behind them.


    They turned around and found that the speaker was none other than the Holy Saintess, Alice.


    Dressed in a dignified nature priestess gown, Alice had somehow appeared behind the yers.


    Upon seeing her, the yers quickly put on warm smiles and instinctively bowed down respectfully.


    ¡°Lady Alice, good afternoon!¡±


    As a rare purple-ss NPC in the server, Alice had already earned her prestige amongst the yers.


    Everyone wanted to establish good rtionships with her, to increase their favorability with the so-called Holy Maiden, and possibly gain some rare personal quests from her. Thus, their demeanor brimmed with respect.


    Among the onlookers, Ev¨¦, who is currently wearing a cloak to conceal her identity, also joined the crowd and simrly gave a courteous salute to the holy maiden.


    ¡°Hello, Chosen Ones.¡±


    Alice nodded in acknowledgement of the yers.


    Then, she looked towards the unicorn, with a hint of nostalgia within her gaze.


    ¡°I never thought that after so many years, I¡¯d have a chance to see a unicorn once again. Could it be¡­ that as our naturalpanions, they¡¯ve also sensed the return of the Goddess?¡±


    As Alice spoke, she turned her attention back to the yers and issued an order:


    ¡°You can release it now. These Unicorns have a unique constitution. If they¡¯re unwilling, your healing magic won¡¯t have any effect on them.¡±


    ¡°Oh Shiet! So, it¡¯s immune to magic!?¡± Demacia involuntarily swore.


    Ignoring his outburst, Alice addressed the other yers:


    ¡°Henceforth, you can¡¯t be forceful to these creatures. You must gentlymunicate with it first.¡±


    With the NPC¡¯s instruction, the yers quickly let go of their hold over the unicorn.


    Seeing their actions, Alice turned her gaze to Li Mu.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, you should have already mastered [Nature¡¯s Whisper.] You can easilymunicate with it using that spell.¡±


    Upon hearing the suggestion from the Saintess, Li Mu suddenly smacked his forehead with a dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°Right, how could I forget about that.¡±


    He had nearly forgotten about this me¡¯ starter skill he had received from the goddess at the beginning, having already exchanged contribution points for several more powerful druid abilities during this period.


    Thinking of this, Li Mu quickly cast [Nature¡¯s Whisper] and spoke to the unicorn.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We won¡¯t harm you, we¡¯re here to heal your injuries.¡±


    Hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, the unicorn lifted its head slightly.


    It seemed to have somewhat calmed down, though its gaze towards the yers remained cautious and wary.


    ¡°Hey look, it¡¯s working!¡±


    Li Mu felt relieved.


    However, just as he was about to approach it for treatment, the unicorn retreated again, disying resistance once more.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°Whelp, still didn¡¯t work I guess¡­It¡¯s just too cautious.¡±


    Seeing the unicorn¡¯s reaction, Alice wasn¡¯t surprised.


    ¡°This is normal. Unicorns are naturally cautious and vignt in nature. Your previous forceful actions may have caused it to be wary of everyone here.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what should we do now?¡±


    Alice sighed and said, ¡°It won¡¯t trust you anymore and will avoid getting close no matter what. Please step back, you¡¯re too close, I¡¯ll try to heal it instead.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, the yers took a few steps back, creating a path for Alice.


    While walking towards the unicorn, Alice also added, ¡°Seeing how you guys perceived the crypt spiders, I can somewhat guess how you view these unicorns.¡±


    ¡°I can only remind everyone here that these unicorns are the traditionalpanions of our race, symbolizing nobility, beauty, and purity¡­¡±


    ¡°We Elves naturally have an easier time gaining the friendship of these unicornspared to other races. However, if you approach them with the intention of subjugating them, then you will never earn their approval.¡±


    ¡°The only beings that can immediately earn the favor and recognition of a unicorn are true druids and those who exhibit qualities like friendliness, sincerity, pure-heartedness, and a deep love for nature. Such individuals are umon, even among traditional elves, not to mention among you, who are the chosen ones.¡±


    After finishing her words, Alice gently reached out to the unicorn and crouched down to begin casting healing magic upon it.


    However, as soon as the elven girl crouched down, the unicorn struggled to stand and limped away from her, refusing her treatment and leaving.


    Seeing the unicorn¡¯s reaction, Alice¡¯s brow furrowed slightly,


    ¡°This is troublesome¡­ Perhaps the fright you gave it earlier when you guys tried to forcefully hold it was too much. This young Unicorn seems to not trust anyone now. Perhaps we¡¯ll have to find Berser¡ª¡±


    Alice¡¯s couldn¡¯t finish what she¡¯s saying seeing as the unicorn began to eagerly move towards a certain person.


    Amidst everyone¡¯s surprised gazes, it limped toward Ev¨¦, who stood in the crowd wearing a hood.


    It then obedientlyy down at her feet¡­


    Additionally, the young Unicorn also lifted its head and affectionately nuzzled Eve¡¯s leg as if she¡¯s its own mother¡­


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Thranduil: ¡°¡­¡±


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 208

    ??<strong>MAGICAL PET SYSTEM</strong>


    Ev¨¦ was momentarily taken aback after she saw the unicorn kneel and nuzzle against her in a fawning manner.


    However, she quickly grasped the reason behind its affectionate behavior.


    If the Elves created by the World Tree were considered the offspring of nature, then these unicorns were its favoredpanions.


    They shared an unparalleled affinity with nature and possessed extraordinary senses that can perceive the emotions and nature of beings around them with remarkable uracy.


    Despite wearing a disguise, Ev¨¦¡¯s soul retained its unique divine properties, embodying the essence of being the Goddess of Nature.


    And despite this avatar possessing only a small fraction of divinity from H¡¯s soul-storing orb, F¨¦ng still inherently possessed a stronger connection with naturepared to that of other yers, mainly due to the influence of Eve¡¯s divine essence.


    Archdruids can effortlessly win over magical beasts like unicorns, thanks to their impressivemunication skills and a strong natural affinity with nature.


    And Ev¨¦ possesses both of these qualities, plus her affinity with nature is even more potent than that of an Archdruid, as Druids were originally created by the World Tree from itself.


    Perhaps the unicorn couldn¡¯t see through Ev¨¦¡¯s true identity, but that didn¡¯t prevent it from still showing its affection towards her.


    Seeing the unicorn¡¯s behavior shift from extreme vignce to incredibly docile, the onlookers, including Alice and Thranduil, were left utterly stunned.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t these unicorns supposed to be proud and cautious creatures? So, what¡¯s with this dog-like behavior?¡± Demacia couldn¡¯t help but remark as he stared dumbfoundedly at the fawning Unicorn at Eve¡¯s feet.


    Alice was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond.


    In fact, she too was perplexed by the unicorn¡¯s uncharacteristically odd behavior.


    Although Alice had heard tales of immensely powerful Archdruids and a select few individuals with a remarkable affinity for nature who could easily win over a unicorn¡¯s favor, those stories were merely about gaining favor and recognition not a full blown affection like the young unicorn is disying now.


    Moreover, it¡¯s the first time she¡¯s heard of or even seen a unicorn being able to make such ttering gesture of affection!


    The Saintess nced disbelievingly at the unicorn, then at the unfamiliar Chosen One standing before her.


    In the end, Alice could only express with uncertainty, ¡°Perhaps¡­ this particr Chosen One was one of those few lucky ones I mentioned earlier¡­¡±


    <em>Lucky? </em>


    Several yers exchanged confused nces.


    First and foremost, they dismissed the possibility of this hooded yer being an Archdruid since that advanced jobss is still unavable.


    Hence, they are left with the implication that this specific yer is just amicable, pure-hearted, and genuinely loves nature?


    <em>W-What a ludicrous idea¡­ </em>


    They are yers, after all!


    They were the epitome of locust-like Fouth Catastrophe! 1


    With a totally unconvinced look, the crowd reexamined the hooded yer¡¯s public information¡ª


    [<strong>Username</strong>: F¨¥ng]


    [<strong>Jobss</strong>: Druid]


    [<strong>Level</strong>: 18]


    Among the more experienced yers, this yer¡¯s level can only be seen as slightly below average. Her username was unfamiliar to many in the crowd as well, and her appearance wasn¡¯t very much recognizable either.


    Only Li Mu reacted as if he recognized her.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you, F¨¥ng. I¡¯ve seen you a few times at Moe Moe.¡±


    So it turned out that this person was actually a life-oriented yer from the guild, Moe Moe Committee!


    Many in the crowd showed expressions of realization, thinking, ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t recognize her.¡±


    Arge number of life-oriented yers from the guild Moe Moe Committee seldom got involved inbat and preferred to say within Elven Forest¡¯s safety zone. As a result, they weren¡¯t particrly acquainted with activebat yers like Demacia, who enjoyed venturing out into more locations other than the forest.


    Then, several yers in the crowd grew excited.


    ¡°How did you manage it? Why did this Unicorn get so close to you?¡±


    Looking at the expectant eyes of the yers, Ev¨¦ coughed a couple of times and simply said, ¡°Perhaps¡­ just like Alice mentioned, I¡¯m just lucky.¡±


    The Crowd: ¡°¡­¡±


    The Saintess gave Ev¨¦ a puzzled nce, unsure of what to say.


    Alice hadn¡¯t paid close attention earlier, but now, upon much closer observation, she realized that this particr yer before her did indeed possess certain distinct qualities.


    And after giving her full attention to the other party, the Saintess was surprised to find that she, too, felt an unexinable sense of intimacy towards this Chosen One within her heart.


    <em>How Bizarre. </em>


    After she thought about it, Alice exined with a touch of uncertainty, ¡°I think¡­ it might be because this Chosen One has a rtively high affinity with nature.¡±


    ¡°Affinity with Nature?¡±


    The other yers blinked in confusion.


    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s correct. Elves naturally possess a profound affinity with nature from the moment of our birth, and when Elves be druids, our connection to nature deepens even further. The primary reason Archdruids can quickly bond with magical beasts is due to their potent affinity with nature.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ this Chosen One probably has an extraordinary affinity for nature, and a high level of affinity towards nature grants remarkable aptitude especially should one take on the Druidic path.¡±


    Alice exined.


    ¡°Then¡­ is there a way to see a person¡¯s affinity value?¡±


    Li Mu asked excitedly.


    Alice shook her head.


    ¡°Sadly no, it¡¯s only through intuition.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like a hidden attribute.¡±


    Several yers were left slightly disappointed.


    They then turned their gaze towards Ev¨¦, with their faces tinged with envy.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! So this game also has hidden attributes!¡±


    Listening to Alice¡¯s exnation, Ev¨¦ decided not to say anything further.


    In a sense, what the Saintess said wasn¡¯t entirely wrong anyway.


    However, Ev¨¦¡¯s affinity wasn¡¯t just because of her high affinity with nature but rather, she symbolized nature itself!


    Lowering her head, Ev¨¦ gazed at the unicorn under her feet with its pure azure eyes fixed on her.


    After pondering a bit, she decided to extend her hand and began to cast a basic healing spell upon it¡­


    The young unicorn didn¡¯t resist at all, and after a faint green light had briefly surrounded it, the unicorn¡¯s injuries finally vanishedpletely.


    Following that, the unicorn then gently rose to its feet.


    Although not yet fully grown, it was almost as tall as Ev¨¦ when it stood straight.


    As it snorted softly and nuzzled against Ev¨¦¡¯s face affectionately, several yers gaped, feeling a twinge of jealousy and a touch of heartache at the sight.


    ¡°Seriously¡­ it¡¯s licking her like that?¡±


    ¡°So envious!¡±


    ¡°Man, I should¡¯ve picked a Druid jobss too.¡±


    ¡°Forget it dumbass, it doesn¡¯t suit you plus Druids is mainly a support ss and have a weak attack power.¡±


    ¡°But look, they can tame magical beasts!¡±


    ¡°Yeah well, Brother Mu is also a Druid, but it seems like he too is out of luck this time. In the end¡­ it¡¯s all about RNG!¡± 2


    ¡°I wanna have a Unicorn as a mount too¡­¡±


    Watching the unicorn being so affectionate, even Alice was taken aback, but then she slightly nodded at Ev¨¦.


    ¡°Congrattions, Chosen One. You¡¯ve gained this young unicorn¡¯s approval.¡±


    Then after she spoke, Alice nced at the affectionate young Unicorn and softly chuckled.


    ¡°If you sign a contract with it, this young unicorn could be yourpanion.¡±


    <em>A contract, huh¡­</em>


    The thought flickered within Ev¨¦¡¯s mind as she recalled rted information about it within her inheritance.


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, certain magical beasts can choose to form contracts with other sentient beings, thus bing theirpanions.


    These contracts usually had two variations:


    Equal and Unequal and both of these contracts are strictly soul-binding contracts.


    Generally speaking, those contracts actively initiated by magical beasts themselves are equal contracts. Such contracts elerated the growth rate of both parties and posed no threat to either side.


    On the other hand, unequal contracts were often forcibly imposed by some sentient beings upon an unwilling magical beasts. These contracts also elerated the growth rate of both sides but had a more significant effect on the contractor¡¯s growth. Additionally, they bound the magical beast¡¯s life to the contractor¡¯s.


    It¡¯s also worth mentioning that the ck Dragon Meryer had decided to sign an unequal master-servant contract with Ev¨¦.


    Of course¡­Meryer also benefited from it. He had been growing rapidlytely and was showing signs of advancement, thanks to the effect of the contract he had with Ev¨¦.


    However, elves and unicorns traditionally form theirpanionship contracts on equal footing with each other.


    But regardless of equal or unequal, these contracts usually needs to operate on a soul level for it to function.


    Henceforth, the yers cannot sign such contracts since they technically didn¡¯t have their soul bound in this world and just operating by linking their consciousness through the game¡¯s system.


    However, when the unicorn disyed its affection towards her, a new idea suddenly struck Eve¡¯s mind¡­


    True, a yers¡¯ souls aren¡¯t bound in this world, thus they ultimately couldn¡¯t form contracts with magical beasts. But¡ª


    ¡ª<em>What if she approached it from a different angle? </em>


    Since, a soul contract was a form of connection between two life forms.


    What if, she could slightly alter the target of such contracts?


    Although yers couldn¡¯t sign soul contracts themselves, they could still operate and live within Saig¨¹es through the aid of the game system Ev¨¦ had created.


    The game system was built upon Ev¨¦ herself, and fundamentally speaking, it shared certain simrities with soul power¡­


    If that¡¯s the case¡­


    Why not modify the target of the soul contract towards Ev¨¦¡¯s game system instead?


    In other words¡­


    Allow magical beasts to sign a contract with the game system itself!


    yers had their consciousness coordinates recorded within the game system, so¡­ by incorporating the exclusive consciousness coordinates of a particr yer, it would then be akin to having yers indirectly form a contract with magical beast!


    To summarize it, make the game system the middle-man/attorney of the yers so that it can sign the soul contract on their behalf!


    Thinking of this, a gleam shone within Ev¨¦¡¯s eyes.


    It was a brilliant idea¡ª<em>why hadn¡¯t she thought of this before?</em>


    If this idea was indeed feasible, then she could spread the provisional contract to the yers and they could then seek out magical beasts to form contracts on their own!


    Although a yer¡¯s body might die, their consciousness coordinates wouldn¡¯t vanish. Thus, the contract would remain valid.


    Moreover, magical beasts that formed contracts with the game system could also be integrated into the mount system, manifesting their specific information, effectively bing a part of the mount system!


    This¡­ somewhat resembles Eve¡¯s link of faith with her believers. Although, what¡¯s linking the magical beasts wasn¡¯t their faith per se, but a soul contract instead!


    Furthermore, when magical beasts actively sought out yers to formpanionship contracts, the same principle could be applied as well.


    As long as the mana fluctuations caused by the magical beasts when they actively form a contract were sensed, the game system could instantly act on the yer¡¯s behalf.


    yers merely needed to provide their consciousness coordinates with the system¡¯s assistance to form of a contract!


    What¡¯s more¡­ for magical beasts that signed this kind of contract, Ev¨¦ could use the game system to deduct half of the growth feedback between the beast and the yer, redirecting a portion of the strength feedback to the game system, which would also indirectly benefit Ev¨¦ passively!


    This¡­ was indeed another passive way to harvest profit!


    Of course¡­ the nature of this contract was rooted in the soul, thus it could only be an equal contract at most.


    But¡­ it was good enough for her!


    Moreover, this also amounted to thoroughly refining the mount system. She wouldn¡¯t need to tailor the system to specific races for integration¡ªit would be a personal choice for yers to find willing magical beasts and establish their ownpanion contracts!


    <em>¡ªNo</em>.


    This wasn¡¯t just about mounts anymore; it was more like, magical pets!


    It was the magical pet system!


    Recing the imperfect mount system, this was a more expanded magical pet system!


    A sense of excitement began to build within Ev¨¦.


    With these thoughts, she turned her gaze to the unicorn, preparing to make it her first attempt.


    Ev¨¦ then looked at the innocent looking young Unicorn and said gently,


    ¡°Would you like to form a contract with me?¡±


    1 (µÚËÄÌìÔÖ) ¨C the term Fouth Crisis originated from a game called Steris wherein during theter stages of the game, a gxy-wide crisis event urs, known as Crisis. Recently Chinese authors use this term to refer to summoned yers. The yers summoned in this manner usually believe they are just ying a game so they tend to go overboard with their actions, thus being called a ¡®crisis/catastrophe.¡¯


    2 <mark>RNG</mark> ¨C (Random Number Generator) in video games is basically an algorithm that randomly decides a number value and implements it into the game when called for, which can change the course of a game drastically.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 209

    ??<strong>MAGICAL PET CRAZE</strong>


    Ev¨¦ extended an olive branch to the unicorn while simultaneously directing half of her consciousness back to her main body, as she adjusted the game system.


    Rather than forming a soul contract with the unicorn, Ev¨¦ instead proceeded her own n. She assigned the game¡¯s system to stand in as her middle-man and created a coordinate for her consciousness within the system.


    Of course, if this coordinate could manifest, it would correspond to the world tree in the heart of the Elven Forest!


    And after Ev¨¦ expressed her intent to form a contract with it, the unicorn behaved as if it couldn¡¯t wait any longer. Before she could even prepare, it already eagerly released its own magic.


    While dipping its head and revealing its horn, the unicorn voluntarily activated the contract and was just merely waiting for Eve to imprint her own magic into it.


    After Alice¡¯s reminder, Ev¨¦ proceeded ordingly by biting her finger and smearing a small amount of her blood onto the unicorn¡¯s spiral horn to mark it.


    This was the necessary process for magical beasts to establish a contract with a person. Unless they reached the legendary rank, lower-ranking creatures wouldn¡¯t be able to harness the power of the soul. As a result, they could only employ intermediaries to link the contract to their souls, and their own blood was an excellent choice for that purpose.


    Eve¡¯s modification to the entire contract binding process is to redirect the contract¡¯s recipient towards the game system instead.


    The entire process unexpectedly proceeded smoothly, and she quickly seeded in forming apanionship contract with the young unicorn.


    Or rather, the Unicorn had sessfully signed a contract with the game system itself.


    This also meant that Eve¡¯s concept for the magical pet system was entirely feasible!


    With tion filling her, Ev¨¦ promptly redirected her attention back to her main body. She then activated her divine power, establishing a connection between the original mount system and the contract system. This connection was then enhanced through her efforts to merge the two systems together, resulting in further optimization and birth of a new magical pet system¡­


    A divine being¡¯sputational ability were truly formidable as in just a matter of seconds, Ev¨¦ had already modified the game system.


    With the new magical pet system, the unicorn¡¯s status information have also been smoothly integrated into the game system!


    From the perspective of other yers, once the unicorn had sessfully signed the contract, it also acquired a status screen simr to those of NPCs. Disyed on this screen is the inscription, [Unicorn Companion of the yer: ¡°F¨¦ng¡±]


    Moreover, the game system even gave the unicorn a ss status, designating it as an epic purple-ss magical beast.


    Strictly speaking, the unicorn¡¯s power wasn¡¯t particrly strong amongst magical beasts.


    However, once the contract was formed, Unicorns became extremely loyal and disyed a rtively high growth potential. They were also capable of easily breaking through the gold rank, not to mention possessing a rare healing-type ability.


    Not only that, they looked quite attractive as well!


    So¡­ giving them an epic ranking wasn¡¯t an exaggeration.


    Since beauty is justice, after all!


    ¡°It really seeded!¡±


    ¡°Amazing!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also a purple-ss!¡±


    Upon appraising the unicorn¡¯s status screen, the yers in the vicinity were filled with envy.


    With a thought, Ev¨¦ then issued a new system message throughout all the yers currently online.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾yer ¡°F¨¦ng¡± had sessfully signed a contract with a unicorn, bing the first yer to acquire a petpanion.¡¿


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾Activation conditions have been met. Mount System is now being upgraded into Magical Pet System. yers can now formpanionship contract with some magical beasts!¡¿


    ¡¾Magical Beast: ¡®Unicorn¡¯ information has been added to the magical beast database.¡¿


    Seeing the new system messages, yers were momentarily surprised, then instinctively checked their in-game menu.


    And sure enough, the original basic mount menu interface had now been transformed into a much more in-depth Magical Pet Interface.


    Not only that, but two new options appeared: one initiates a contract, allowing the yers themselves to form a contract with a magical beast, and the other is to ept a contract, which lets yers decide whether to ept or deny a contract offered by a magical beast.


    Of course, the prerequisite for these two options to appear is that the magical beast has already recognized the yer, and that thepanionship ritual had already been performed beforehand.


    However currently, each yer is limited to just one slot for a magical beast.


    Ev¨¦ had set this limit because she was concerned that the yers might abuse the pet system and form contracts with a bunch of weak magical beasts without restraint. This wouldn¡¯t just have hindered her from reaping benefits, but would also have somewhat use more of her divine power which is not what she wants.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ eventually intended to introduce an additional Magical Beast Slot in the exchange store. If yers really wanted more pet slots, they would then need to purchase them with contribution points instead.


    In addition to the implementation of the magical pet system, there is also now an additional column underneath the pet section which shows various magical pet information.


    It is a public database, simr to a Pok¨¦dex, featuring various magical beast information that is automatically updated once yers sessfully tame a magical beast for the very first time.


    Of course, currently, there was only one beast listed in this database which is about Unicorns.


    Ev¨¦ herself had filled in these information regarding the Unicorn during the whole contract signing process based on what Alice¡¯s exnation.


    Furthermore, there was a small acknowledgement note beneath the Unicorn section that read, [ Unicorn¡¯s First Tamer: ¡°F¨¦ng¡±]


    In truth, due to Eve¡¯s World Tree inheritance, she was able to fill this database with all sorts of magical beast information. But Eve had decided that she wouldn¡¯t provide all this detailed information just yet and instead would just wait until a yer sessfully tamed a magical beast before releasing the information to the public.


    She nned to do it in this manner so that it could effectively stimte the yers¡¯ enthusiasm to discover various unique magical beasts and experience the aplishment of filling up these database themselves, simr to that one particr anime on Earth where a trainer would tour the world finding all sorts of brand new Pok¨¦mon.


    Observing the newly expanded magical pet system, the yers were curious and excited.


    Li Mu, who already possessed a Crypt Spider, discovered that his mount had also been included in the magical pet system.


    However, to his surprise, he discovered that his Crypt Spider still had not formed its own status screen, simr to F¨¦ng¡¯s Unicorn.


    Furthermore, it was also marked as ¡°Uncontracted.¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s interest was piqued.


    He thrn nced at his Spider mount idling nearby and activated his skill, [Nature¡¯s Whisper].


    ¡°Are you willing to form a contract with me?¡±


    The Crypt Spider slightly lowered its head.


    Li Mu felt a surge of joy within himself and promptly followed the instructions in the magical pet system. He pricked his finger and applied a smear of his blood directly onto the spider¡¯s carapace.


    Simultaneously, he then initiated the application for apanionship contract.


    Soon, Li Mu sensed a distinct connection between himself and the Crypt Spider. Shortly afterward, the ¡°Uncontracted¡± status on it had finally vanished.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾yer ¡°Li Mu¡± has signed a contract with a Crypt Spider (Juvenile), bing the first yer with a Crypt Spider (Juvenile) petpanion.¡¿


    ¡¾Magical Beast: Crypt Spider¡¯s information has now been added to the magical beast database.¡¿


    These two messages shed across the view of all the yers currently online.


    At the same time, Li Mu realized that he had been granted the authority to edit the information entry for [Crypt Spider] in the database.


    Not only that, but after forming the contract, his Crypt Spider had also finally gained a status screen simr to F¨¦ng¡¯s Unicorn!


    Li Mu also delightedly found that he could use his pet¡¯s status screen to see the detailed status of the Crypt Spider.


    Furthermore, he could also now issue moreplexmands to the magical beastpared to before!


    For instance, he could now summon the Crypt Spider from a distant location to his side ormand it to transport items, or assist in battles, and so on¡­


    Additionally, as the strength of the Crypt Spider improves, a small portion of the EXP it gains will then be fed back to his side. Additionally, his own level advancement would, to some extent, also contribute to enhancing the Crypt Spider¡¯s strength!


    Overall, this new pet system was much better than the old mount system!


    However, somewhat regretfully, the system only rated the status of the Crypt Spider as blue-ss, evaluating it as blue rarity beasts.


    Considering that his pet was merely a juvenile of the Spider Queen, Li Mu had epted this.


    ording to the ck Dragon, these little spiders didn¡¯t even possessplete souls; their lives were entirely bound to Rose, the Spider Queen herself.


    From this perspective, being able to receive a blue rating was already a testament to the impressive nature of Crypt Spiders.


    The system¡¯s assessment of the Crypt Spider¡¯s full potential could reach, at most, the level of upper-tier silver.


    For today¡¯s yers, this already represented an incredibly formidable strength¡­


    The sudden appearance of the magical pet feature quickly ignited the yers¡¯ interest.


    Especially the veteran yers who didn¡¯t feel much pressure to advance their current levels!


    Thus many people began studying this new magical pet system.


    Meanwhile, after signing the contract with the unicorn, Ev¨¦ excused herself, citing real-life matters, and quickly ¡°logged out¡± since didn¡¯t want to face the enthusiastic onught of questions from yers regarding her new pet.


    As for the little unicorn, she entrusted it to Little Salty Cat. It was left to freely roam within the guild garden of Moe Moe Committee¡­


    Over the next few days, Ev¨¦ fully witnessed the yers¡¯ enthusiasm for magical beasts.


    The heated debates about the revival mechanism on the official website¡¯s forum had quickly faded away, now reced by numerous hot threads discussing about the magical pet system.


    There were discussions about the types of magical beasts, their abilities, how to gain their recognition, which kind of magical beasts were best suited aspanions, and so on¡­


    And in just three in-game days, Ev¨¦ noticed that over a thousand magical beast contracts had already been recorded in the database!


    Regarding the types of magical beasts being contracted, they were incredibly diverse, with the majority being creatures from the Elven Forest.


    These magical beasts were either lured by yers or subdued by them. Some were cute, some were powerful, and some even have unique abilities¡­


    Mountain Mouse, wind deer, ck-headed eagles, giant bears¡­ Virtually everymon species inhabiting the Elven Forest had been contracted already.


    Their strengths ranged from the weakest, which were at apprentice level, to the strongest, being at upper iron-rank.


    Of course, upper iron-rank creatures were few in number, either being Adult Crypt Spiders or Iron-ranked beasts that yers had hunted in the wild.


    However, the majority of these magical beast status were just white andmon-ss. Blue rarity was still quite rare, and there was only one with a purple epic rating¡ªthe unicorn¡­


    Given these circumstances, a significant number of veteran yers opted to take a break from grinding levels underground and instead ventured to the north of the Elven Forest to track down the herds of unicorns.


    There was no way around it¡­as the only magical beast the system evaluated as epic purple-ss, the temptation of owning a pet unicorn was too overwhelming.


    Whether for unting or for power enhancement, having a unicorn as pet was the dream of any yer as ofte.


    Unfortunately, the yers¡¯ efforts didn¡¯t go smoothly.


    The unicorns were too swift and much stronger than the yers. Although people sporadically saw them in the forest, they couldn¡¯t catch up at all.


    With Alice¡¯s advice, yers understood that unicorns were not easily swayed by force. Convincing them without coercion proved to be even more difficult.


    Rtively speaking, Moe Moe¡¯s progress in this aspect was a bit smoother.


    Using the young unicorn left by Ev¨¦, they spent two days searching the northern forest and finally found a migrating herd¡­


    However, these unicorns were cautious around yers. Even with the little unicorn in the lead, they remained indifferent to most yers¡¯ attempts.


    This led yers to once again marvel at how lucky the first unicorn tamer, the girl directly recognized by a unicorn, had been.


    That girl must have had a huge dose of luck! It was a mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred¡­


    Nheless, with the discovery of this particr unicorn herd, yers finally had a target.


    The rest was just a matter of patience.


    The fact that a yer had managed to subdue a unicorn at the very least demonstrated that these creatures could acknowledge the yers.


    With this thought in mind, many veteran yers opted to stay in the northern forest, apanying these unicorns, lowering themselves to the role of bootlickers, while attempting to win their recognition through gestures of goodwill¡­


    The scene was even unbearable for Ev¨¦, who observed it through the yers¡¯ perspective.


    And as a multitude of yers brainstormed methods to subdue these unicorns, the Rageze Elves who had gone out to find their fellow elves have finally returned.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 210

    ??<strong>The ck Dragon and the Chosen Ones</strong>


    Deep within a dense forest.


    Amber sunlight nts through the lush canopy, cascading against the branches and casting scattered beams of light on the ground below. The gentle forest breeze rustles the leaves, causing the dappled sunlight to sway, apanied by the soft sound of rustling leaves, which creates a profound sense of tranquility.


    A group of tall figures, dressed in worn-out cloaks and carrying various bags, walked silently through the forest with remarkable proficiency¡­


    There were approximately seven or eight individuals in this group, and each of their faces bore subtle signs of weariness. Their movements appeared somewhat sluggish, as though they had endured a very long journey.


    Nevertheless, even amidst the group¡¯s weariness, a hint of caution still remained evident upon their expressions. They resembled a band of fugitives whose adeptly evading their pursuers, where any minor disturbance nearby no matter how small it is could instantly amplify their vignce.


    As the group progressed much deeper into the forest, the sound of rushing water gradually reached them.


    Upon hearing the free-flowing sound, the expressions of everyone from within group visibly rxed. Some even revealed a glint of anticipation and excitement as their footsteps inadvertently quickened.


    Soon, they passed through the lush forest and arrived at the banks of a pristine river.


    This particr body of water seemed to be several hundred meters wide, with its swift water currents crashing against the rocks on either side, as it generates bursts of mist that shimmers into colorful rainbows under the summer light.


    Upon seeing the surging river, the leader of the group exhaled deeply.


    He then took off his hood, revealing a pair of pointed ears, while his fiery red hair freely flowed along the gentle breeze.


    The prominent crimson locks above his head easily revealed his identity¡ªa young elf from the Rageze n!


    ¡°My fellowpanions, once we cross this river, we¡¯ll finally enter the Elven Forest. I¡¯ve already dispatched a messenger ahead, and hopefully, some our fellow nsmen will soon arrive to escort us back.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the atmosphere within the group visibly lightened. Many of them had also began to lower their hoods as well, before leaning over the river¡¯s edge to take a drink. Some were even so moved that they knelt down instead and started praying fervently toward the densely wooded forest on the opposite side.


    This was a group of elves from the outside who finally decided to migrate back to the Elven Forest after a long time.


    ¡°Never did I imagine that after three hundred years, I would once again have the chance toy my eyes upon the Vymur River and the Elven Forest!¡±


    Looking at the river rushing in front of him, an elderly member of the group said in an excited manner.


    The surging river before them was the so-called Vymur River. It held the distinction of being the longest river along the Saig¨¹es Great Road and was recognized as the world¡¯srgest river. Reportedly, it even stretched almost up to two kilometers wide at its widest point.


    Originating in the snowy ice fields of the northern part of the Continent, the Vymur River flowed impressively from north to south. It then abruptly turned southeast near the Dark Mountains before eventually merging with the southeastern outlet of the continent.


    In its midstream, the river was turbulent, serving as a formidable barrier that divided the Elven Forest and the Fertile ins.


    And it was only after one reach a section of the river near the Dark Mountains that it gradually calms down, bing navigable by boat.


    However, this group didn¡¯t need to do that and was well-prepared in advance.


    A senior elf began chanting an incantation, with his form slowly morphing until he transformed into a giant eagle with a wingspan of almost five meters.


    This is an exclusive shapeshifting skill of the Druids, which allows them to transform into a familiar animal while retaining seventy percent of the imitated creature¡¯s strength.


    The senior druid took on the form of a flying magical beast native to the northern part of the fertile ins¡ªa Wind Hawk Gryphon.


    However, just as the elder elf started ferrying the elves in his group one by one to the other side of the river, a resounding roar reminiscent of a dragon suddenly echoed from up ahead¡­


    Shortly afterwards, a dark dot then appeared in the sky, growingrger andrger as it gradually fly towards their location.


    Finally, after a minute, the startled elves saw a fierce-looking dragon flying overhead from the opposite side of the river!


    Upon recognizing the infamous jet-ck scales and the skull-shaped visage of the dragon, a sudden terror overcame everyone in the group.


    ¡°A ck Dragon!?¡±


    It was without a doubt a dragon with a wingspan of nearly forty meters, almost reaching adulthood. Even from a distance, the elves could already feel its spine-chilling draconic aura!


    To think at thest leg of their journey would their somehow encounter a ck Dragon¡­ the most malevolent and tyrannical creature in all of Saig¨¹es!


    However, this wasn¡¯t the Dragon Valley, nor a Poisonous Swamp. So, why would a ck Dragon appear here, right at the entrance of the Elven Forest?


    In an instant, the elves heightened their alertness to its maximum capacity.


    Without hesitation, they universally turned and fled, retreating back into the cover of the forest in various directions. Their swift actions, seemingly synchronized without priormunication, showcased their familiarity with such situations.


    After all, beings like that ck Dragon had a penchant for enving other sentient beings.


    If they were to be discovered, even with their considerable strength, which was only at the Iron-rank level, the group would no doubt bepletely overwhelmed.


    However, unlike the elven group that fled, the fiery-haired young elf who had led them to this location disyed unexpected excitement instead.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Lord Meryer! He must have been ordered by the goddess toe and get us!¡±


    The fleeing elves, upon hearing his words, couldn¡¯t help but pause on their escape, before looking in confusion at the red-haired elf as he boldly strode towards the dragon¡¯s direction, while shouting excitedly in a familiar manner as if he had known this terrifying ck dragon.


    ¡°Lord Meryer! We¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°E-Eino! Have you gone mad!? Come back this instant! It¡¯s a ck Dragon!¡±


    The elderly elf who had reverted back into his original form due to fear shouted anxiously and worriedly towards this young red-haired elf.


    s, it was toote.


    Eino¡¯s excited shouts immediately captured the ck Dragon¡¯s attention, causing it to release an exhrated roar as it soared directly toward the terrified elves¡¯ location.


    The elves disyed looks of utmost horror, while Eino hurriedly reassured all of them:


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, everyone. That ck Dragon is our ally. It¡¯s already been tamed by the Divine Matriarch. Lord Meryer is not like those typical evil ck Dragons¡­it¡¯s a kind-hearted dragon that upholds justice.¡±


    <em>¡­ What? </em>


    <em>A kind ck Dragon that upholds justice? And its an ally and had been tamed by the Matriarch?</em>


    Everyone in the group looked at Eino disbelievingly as if he grew another head.


    Just as the elves were still feeling perplexed and apprehensive, the ck Dragon circled the air above them a couple of times before finally swooping down.


    Itnded on the river bank not far from them, thenzily yawned and cast a sidelong nce at their location, before remarking with a wry smile,


    ¡°Why were you all so scared? This lord wasn¡¯t going to eat any of you.¡±


    ¡°¡±It¡¯s your intimidating appearance that scares them!¡±


    The instant Meryer spoke, a gentle, chiding voice interjected. Then, to the astonishment of the elves, a petite female elf with pink hair jumped down from the back of the ck Dragon.


    She was dressed in an exquisite mage¡¯s robe, whilst holding a skull-shaped staff. Her descent from the dragon¡¯s back was graceful and practiced as if she had been riding on it for a long time already.


    Meryer snorted lightly, and muttered with some dissatisfaction,


    ¡°Frightening? Hmph, this lord is clearly imposing and majestic!¡±


    <em>An elf riding a ck Dragon?</em>


    Witnessing the female elven mage leap from the ck Dragon¡¯s back, the apprehensive elves opened their mouths wide in astonishment. Their eyes filled with shock at the sheer absurdity of the scene.


    At this moment, they have finallye to believe Eino¡¯s words. This intimidating ck Dragon could, in fact, be their ally!


    <em>Great Mother Above!</em>


    So even a ck Dragon¡­ can also be the ally of the elves!?


    ¡°Lady Salty Cat, so it¡¯s you who hase!¡±


    Seeing the petite pink-haired mage, Eino me¡¯s expression visibly brightened.


    As one of the prominent leaders of the Chosen Ones, Little Salty Cat¡¯s name was somewhat known even amongst the native elves.


    Of course¡­ due to the game system, Little Salty Cat¡¯s username had undergone phic trantion, so it didn¡¯t sound strange at all to the natives.


    Lately, an increasing number of elves from the outside have been gradually returning to the Elven Forest. So, whenever Ev¨¦ senses any of these new followers approaching the vicinity, she immediately assigns some yers the task of weing them.


    This time around, it was Little Salty Cat who was tasked with weing these neers. After enticing Meryer with some honey-roasted meat skewers, she rode on it to wee this group of elves who had migrated from the direction of the Fertile ins.


    ¡°Hello, everyone. You have all worked hard to reach this ce. Rest assured, I will be your escort along the way,¡± Little Salty Cat said after shing a sweet smile.


    Eino me¡¯s expression turned solemn as he gestured a tree-shaped symbol upon his chest before earnestly stating,


    ¡°For the glory of the elves! Praise be the goddess!¡±


    Little Salty Cat innocently blinked a couple of times before lightly coughing and quickly drawing the very same symbol on her chest.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Praise the goddess!¡±


    Observing the interaction between the two, the rest of the elves finally let go of their apprehension and began to approach the dragon one after another.


    Eino me then turned his head back and introduced Little Salty Cat to the group.


    ¡°Everyone, this is an individual that the Divine Matriarch had summoned from another world. She¡¯s one of the leaders of the Chosen Ones¡ªLady Little Salty Cat.¡±


    Upon hearing Eino introduction, the elves¡¯ gazes toward Little Salty Cat immediately changed.


    ¡°So you¡¯re one of the legendary Chosen Ones!¡±


    ¡°A Chosen One? The ones Eino mentioned, who defeated the Caverock Tribe?¡±


    They gathered around Little Salty Cat, bowing respectfully, which made the petite mage feel somewhat uneasy.


    She awkwardly chuckled and said, ¡°T-That¡­ haha, wee home, everyone. You¡¯ve worked hard on your journey.¡±


    Listening to the elves as they showed their reverence towards one of his subordinates, Meryer turned his head, ring at them with his huge copper eyes, and expressed his discontent.


    ¡°Ruaah! Don¡¯t forget about me! During the assault on the Orcs, This Lord had contributed a lot too!¡±


    ¡°Stop it, Meryer! You¡¯re scaring them again!¡±


    Little Salty Cat gently scolded, tapping Meryer¡¯s scales with her staff. Then, addressing the neers, she added,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Despite his intimidating appearance, this big fellow here has a gentle nature.¡±


    She then cleared her throat and continued:


    ¡°So, everyone, let¡¯s get going. It¡¯s just a few hundred kilometers from here to the core area of the Elven Forest. If we travel by foot, it¡¯ll still take us quite a while. However, Meryer can fly us back much faster.¡±


    Hearing Little Salty Cat¡¯s words, the rest of the elves felt dazed, as if they were dreaming.


    ¡°Fly¡­F-Fly back while riding on the back of the ck Dragon?¡±


    ¡°What? Do you have a problem with that? If it weren¡¯t for the honey-roasted meat, I wouldn¡¯t even take any of you with me! If any of you still want to travel bynd, then this Lord wouldn¡¯t mind at all. Having fewer people would make it easier for me, after all.¡±


    The ck Dragon snarled.


    ¡°Meryer!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 211

    ??<strong>EARTH-SHATTERING CHANGES</strong>


    ¡°I never imagined¡­ that one day I would be riding a huge dragon in the sky.¡±


    Perched on the back of the ck dragon, the elderly elf gazed down at the quickly passing forest down below while sighing softly.


    ¡°Indeed, just two months ago, we were hiding in the eastern and western corners of the Holy Maniya Empire. Who would have thought that a day woulde where we¡¯d return to the Elven Forest¡­¡±


    Another elf shared the same sentiment.


    Following Little Salty Cat¡¯s suggestion, the migrating group of elves experienced a blend of nervousness and anticipation as they finally make up their mind and decided to rode on Meryer¡¯s back.


    Meanwhile, the little ck dragon released a mighty roar while extending his enormous wings as Meryer soared toward the central area of the Elven Forest¡­


    As the wind whistled through the air, the elves began to loosen their tension, casting asional nces both down below and into the distance from time to time.


    The speed for which the ck dragon flew back was swift, and after passing over a certain mountain, the elves¡¯ view suddenly expanded as the scenery of the central area unfolded right before them.


    They finally reached the heart of the Elven Forest, a central expanse wherein a basin extending over a distance of more than a hundred kilometers in diameter was located.


    At the same time, the grand imposing figure nestled right at the center of the area had easily captivated everyone¡¯s attention¡­


    ¡°Hey quickly, Look! Look! It¡¯s the World Tree! I can see the World Tree!¡±


    An excited elf sitting at the forefront eximed as he pointed a finger forward.


    The other elves instantly turned their gazes forward and indeed saw the towering, sacred World Tree standing majestically in the distance.


    Silence prevailed for a couple of seconds, as each natives basked under the divine presence of the World Tree. Slowly, tears instinctively welled up from within everyone¡¯s eyes, as their expressions began to show intense emotions as if all their pent up emotions finally break loose.


    Finally, they could witness the true form of their patron deity in person once again!


    Being on her presence alone was enough to rekindle their religious belief and remember their roles as followers of the Goddess of Nature.


    No one understands the true significance of the revival of the World Tree better than the native elves themselves¡­


    Some publicly showcased their reverence and began gesturing Nature¡¯s religious symbols upon their chests, and a few were so overwhelmed with emotions that they couldn¡¯t help but shed tears of joy.


    ¡°Matriarch! It truly is the Divine Matriarch! Our Patron Goddess has finally been resurrected!¡±


    The oldest elf in the group choked on his words as tears endlessly flowed down his eyes.


    Seeing the group of native elves ovee with such deep emotions, Little Salty Cat let out a soft sigh. She paused for a moment, then discreetly approached Meyer¡¯s side, leaning in to whisper,


    ¡°Meryer, fly a bit faster.¡±


    Upon hearing Little Salty Cat¡¯s words, the ck Dragon roared again, before elerating much faster towards the direction of the World Tree¡­


    The scenery beneath them gradually changed with the forest growing more and more denser as they drew nearer towards the World Tree. After the initial excitement, the native elves¡¯ hearts were now filled with anticipation, much like lost children finally returning home after being away for a very long time.


    And at this moment, they suddenly passed over a vast expanse of elven civilization ruins¡­


    ¡°¡­Huh, these ruins? Look everyone, we¡¯re passing over the former holy city, Florence!¡±


    The elderly elf stated while pointing at certain iconic buildings amidst the ruins.


    ¡°N-No¡­wait, this is¡ª!¡±


    The old elf then paused mid-sentence, as his eyes widened in surprise and astonishment after noticing something.


    At first, the scenery below them truly seemed to be just nothing more than the dpidated ruins of the former elven holy city.


    However, as the ck dragon kept moving forward, the elderly elf was shocked to see that nearly one-third of the area he used to remembered as ruins had surprisingly transformed into a sprawling city!


    Not only that, but this city was teeming with countless figures that resembled ants from their vantage point in the skies. A quick rough estimate suggested that thousands or more, are bustling about within the once holy city of Florence¡­


    Upon closer examination, the elderly elf realized these ant-like figures down below were actually individual elves!


    They moved to and fro within each corner of the city, dedicated to restoring and reconstructing the remnants of the ruins.


    ¡°Great Mother Nature Above! A-Am I not mistaken? Is this¡­ really the ruins of Florence?¡±


    ¡°S-So many of our kind! O¡¯ dear Great Mother! Have so many of our kin truly returned!?¡±


    The rest of the elves also gazed down at the city of Florence, and just like the elderly elf, their expressions reflected a mixture of astonishment and excitement.


    Eino just like the rest looked down but squinted his eyes and recognized that the attire of the elves down below were not what he remembered.


    He then spoke with some uncertainty,


    ¡°No¡­ most of them should be the Chosen Ones summoned by the Divine Matriarch. It¡¯s just that¡­ the number of Chosen Ones seems to have increased even more while I was away. Perhaps¡­the Goddess has called forth a fresh group of Chosen Ones?¡±


    ¡°I see! So they¡¯re the Chosen Ones!¡±


    The elves were slightly stunned.


    Eino then sighed wryly and added,


    ¡°These Chosen Ones summoned by the Matriarch are truly formidable. I recall that when I departed, only less than a seventh of Florence had been restored. I never imagined that in such a short span, they would have already restored a third of the ruins.¡±


    He then looked toward the direction of the World Tree and sighed wistfully.


    ¡°Which makes me wonder how the City of the Chosen Ones looks now¡­¡±


    ¡°City of the Chosen Ones?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the city established by the Chosen Ones underneath the World Tree half a year ago. It¡¯s now considered the new holy city.¡±


    Eino me said with emotion.


    He then quickly realized something and instantly turned to Little Salty Cat and reintroduced her to the other elves.


    ¡°Oh right, the restoration of Florence and the construction of the City of the Chosen Ones were said to be organized by Lady Little Salty Cat and her guild, Moe Moe Committee.¡±


    ¡°¡®Moe Moe¡­Committee? A guild?¡±


    ¡°An organization of the Chosen Ones?¡±


    The elves contemted for a moment before looking at Little Salty Cat with a newfound admiration.


    Little Salty Cat on other hand, felt rather embarrassed¡­


    <em>It¡¯s just that¡­</em>


    The cutesy name ¡°Moe Moe Committee¡± that she had casually picked for her guild without much thought was now being earnestly stated by these elven NPCs in an entirely serious manner.


    Honestly, it was¡­ quite embarrassing!


    In an instant, Little Salty Cat somewhat regretted not giving her guild a more dignified name that suited this fantasy world a bit better, just like Li Mu¡¯s ¡°Heart of Nature¡± or something of the sort.


    Just imagine, in the far future, if she were to etch her name into the annals of the game¡¯s history and tales of her triumphs would echo through the songs sung by bards and minstrels¡­the melodies would undoubtedly evoke a sentiment akin to,


    ¡°Hear ye¡¯ Hear ye¡¯ Guildmaster of the ¡®Moe Moe Committee,¡¯ Lady Little Salty Ca¡ª¡±


    ¡ª<em>No</em>.


    Not possible, it¡¯s too embarrassing.


    However, she suddenly felt both wanting tough at the sillyness of how it sounds but also somewhat looking forward to it¡­


    <em>What to do¡­</em>


    Of course, what Little Salty Cat didn¡¯t know was that her seemingly whimsical guild¡¯s name, when tranted into the localnguage, was at most, only a bit unconventional, and it didn¡¯t actually sound ridiculous at all.


    The ck dragon continued to soar ahead, and the group eventually left Florence City behind. Not long after, the group finally caught sight of the city beneath the World Tree, the ce Eino had referred to as the ¡®City of the Chosen Ones¡¯¡­


    With the recent influx of the third batch of beta testers, the expanse of the City had once again expanded even further.


    Several new houses and gardens were being constructed on the city¡¯s edges, while additional structures were also in the process of being erected all around the city. The currentndscape was a flurry of activity as numerous ¡°elves,¡± resembling tiny ants from their perspective, worked diligently to construct a variety of infrastructure projects.


    And in the more developed sections of the city, a cacophony of voices filled the air as pedestrians hurried about, generating an extraordinarily bustling atmosphere simr to that of a metropolitan city found on earth.


    Simr to Nightingale¡¯s reaction during her initial visit, the elves on the ck dragon¡¯s back were momentarily speechless as they gazed upon the diverse architectural clusters, dreamlike gardens, revitalized structures, and the vibrant scenery thatprised the Chosen City.


    Even Eino me, who had already toured the City of the Chosen Ones once before, stared at the current inhabitants of the city, which numbered approximately in the thousands at the very least.


    He was equally dumbfounded just like the rest of the neers.


    ¡°Great Mother of Nature¡­just how many Chosen Ones have been summoned this time?¡±


    The remaining elves, filled with awe, found themselves unable to resist muttering in response,


    ¡°S-Six months¡­ Did it really take only six months for such a city to be built?¡±


    ¡°M-Miracle! This must be a miracle!¡±


    ¡°Great Mother of Nature¡­ Only a true god could create such a city!¡±


    Hearing the genuine admiration from the native elves, Little Salty Cat couldn¡¯t help but stand a bit more taller, with her smile inadvertently growing much wider¡­


    <em>Heh! Half of the buildings in the Chosen City actually was constructed by her guild, Moe Moe Committee you know!</em>


    ¡°Another batch of elves has returned.¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt satisfied after seeing the ck dragon returned safely alongside the group of native elves.


    More than half month had passed in-game after sheunched the third round of beta testing.


    And during this half in-game month, there had been a constant stream of native elves who had rediscovered their religious faith and decided to migrate back into the Elven Forest.


    All in all, these returnees amounted to nearly a hundred individuals!


    And these returning native elves were eventually relocated in Florence under the directive of Ev¨¦.


    However, while there were many migrating native elves, most were still just shallow believers. If Ev¨¦ wanted them to further deepen their faith unto her, then she needed to wait until their lives had stabilized first¡­


    Of course, Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t worried about this matter.


    Drawing from the experience she had gained when the Rageze n initially returned, Ev¨¦ was confident that as long as these native elves were willing toe back and ept the mission system, they would inevitably be her devoted followers sooner orter¡­


    The poption of these returnees had already exceeded three hundred.


    However, the light representing one¡¯s faith within Ev¨¦¡¯s Celestial Domain were even more numerous, reaching close to a thousand.


    This indicated that throughout this entire period, even more elves from the outside had somehow learned about the revival of the World Tree. Although they hadn¡¯t returned yet, they had already rekindled their faith with the Goddess of Nature.


    Nheless, Ev¨¦ could already sense that the upward trend in her follower growth was beginning to slow down. This meant that any elves hiding from within the Elven Forest¡¯s surroundings had probably already been notified by the Rageze n.


    To find even more elves outside, they would then have to venture to more distant locations, potentially even deep within territories controlled by other factions.


    During this half month, yers¡¯ strengths also underwent some changes¡­


    Firstly, the older batch of yers.


    By continuously clearing Shadow Monster inside the underground dungeon, many older yers had broken through intermediate Iron-rank. There were now over three hundred yers at level 21 and above, with some hardcore yers even reaching as high as level 25!


    These over three hundred intermediate Iron-rank yers represented the pinnacle of the entire yerbase. They were either high level meleebat yers, big spending whales or even task-addicted madmen¡­


    And under these high-end yers were the mid-tier yers,posed of individuals around level 15 to 20.


    With the exception of a few casual yers, nearly all of the first and second batch of yers were within this range. In fact, a few affluent third-round yers had already reached level 15 by hiring some veteran yers to provide them a busride, by carrying them as they hunt shadow monsters around the underground dungeon.


    Overall, the total number of yers in this range was around a thousand.


    And apart from these mid to high-tier yers, the remainder were mostly third-batch of yers.


    However, the strengths of these 9,000 third-round yers had also changed dramatically¡­


    Because Ev¨¦ had increased the rewards for most daily tasks, the leveling speed of these third-round yers have surpassed that of first-round yers by a considerable margin.


    Among them, some have already broken through to level 11, entering the Lower Iron-rank, which numbered around a thousand.


    Apart from these thousand yers, most ordinary yers, by undertaking various city construction tasks, had already reached level 10, just one step away from graduating apprenticeship and finally reaching the Iron-rank.


    yers below level 10 numbered less than a thousand.


    It could be said that entire yerbase¡¯s overall strength had undergone a revolutionary transformation.


    And this is without even considering the factor of magical pets.


    After Ev¨¦ introduced the magical pet system, in less than half a month, almost every yer had already managed to obtain their own magical pet in some way or another.


    The most popr pet was the Crypt Spider.


    Through effort and currying favor, many yers had acquired Crypt Spiders from the Spider Queen and sessfully formed a contract with them.


    In fact having a pet spider are especially popr amongst thebat-oriented yers.


    A lot of high-level yers who grind levels in the underground dungeon practically have Crypt Spider as a pet.


    On the other hand, under the leadership of Li Mu, some yers have finally managed to secure the approval of Unicorns through persistent persuasion and dedicated efforts to befriend the herd.


    Altogether, there were more than thirty of them.


    This number left Alice astonished¡­


    Of course, she didn¡¯t know that this was due to Ev¨¦ subsequently subtly boosting yers¡¯ affinity with nature.


    Natural affinity was important. Higher natural affinity made it easier for yers to gain the approval of such rare magical creatures, especially Unicorns.


    yers being able to form contracts with magical creatures was also beneficial to Ev¨¦.


    However, magic pets cannot be resurrected unlike the yers. Relying on them to battle was unrealistic, but they could further enhance yers¡¯ strength and assist yers in various tasks instead.


    Simrly, with yers¡¯ efforts, the Chosen City expanded further. Even the restoration of Florence Ruins had hastened significantly.


    It could be said that after the third beta-phase, the entire Elven Forest entered a period of rapid development.


    Nevertheless, beneath the calm was an impending storm.


    Southeast of the Elven Forest, ck Dragon Castle.


    After the orc tribe was wiped out, this deste ce once again received the presence of a new batch of uninvited guests¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 212

    ??<strong>CROCODILE MERCENARIES</strong>


    The setting sun painted the sky in a mesmerizing shade of scarlet as evening rapidly approached.


    After a day of hunting mobs in the shadow dungeon and underground forests, yers started to return back into Chosen City in various ways. Some used teleportation arrays and soon joined the nightly bonfire gatherings happening within the city, while others simply logged out to rest and recover their stamina back on earth.


    Of course, there¡¯s also some dedicated hardcore yers whom still have persisted to take on more tasks and hunt monsters even at night time, just so in order to further advance into higher levels and earn more contribution points.


    Meanwhile, back in the ck Dragon Castle which serves as the primary teleportation hub between Rivendell and Chosen City, Meryer¡¯sir was just as usual bustling with its usual activity even as evening approached.


    However, these activities were confined solely to the grand hall of the castle, as it was the location of the teleportation array, which caused the exterior of the castle to seem abandoned instead.


    And as per usual, as soon as evening draws near, Meryer let out one of his customary long roars right before taking flight and disappearing off into the distance, just as he normally does.


    ording to Little Salty Cat, this was the little ck dragon¡¯s routinely behavior right before his mealtime.


    Besides this behavior, Meryer also recently developed a habit of enjoying three meals daily after being influenced by the yers and each day, it was the yers themselves who took upon the task of cooking barbecue meat for him.


    Amongst them, it was Little Salty Cat and her two Northeastern skewer buddies who took on such task most frequently.


    The pink-haired mage prepped the monster meat ahead of time and managed the fire, while the two Northeastern guys took the lead in cooking the meat instead. In under thirty minutes, they would then serve up these skewered meats for Meryer to enjoy.


    In return for preparing the dragon¡¯s meal, the three of them would earn decent amount of EXP as well as Contribution points. asionally, they would also collect a few dragon scales that would naturally peeled off from Meryer¡¯s body as he enjoyed his meal contentedly.


    Today, the three of them had taken on such cooking task yet again and were grilling some barbecue in front of a bonfire outside the castle.


    In fact, in the early days, they used to perform these tasks inside the castle. However, the interior soon became filled with smoke, which greatly annoyed Meryer to no end. As a result, the yers were eventually forced to carry out such tasks outside instead.


    The two Northeastern guys chatted while cooking, and Little Salty Cat would asionally used her magic to finely tune the fire to the right temperature, all the while multitasking by browsing the inte and watching variety shows on her in-game system interface.


    From time to time, she would also break into fits ofughter as a mountain breeze gently swept through the area, causing the bonfire to sway slightly which carries the tempting aroma of roasted meat all throughout the vicinity.


    Typically, the three of them would paint a quite pleasant scenery such as this¡­.


    However, Little Salty Cat¡¯s expression suddenly changed. The smile on her face vanished as she swiftly closed the system interface, before standing up alertly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Little Sister?¡± The two Northeastern guys asked, puzzled, upon seeing Little Salty Cat¡¯s vignt behavior¡­


    Little Salty Cat, akin to a vignt rabbit, looked around and said, ¡°One of the precautionary detection spell I set up had been triggered. There might be a monster nearby.¡±


    Their current location was situated on a mountain near the edge of the Dark Mountains and normally when Meryer was around, other monsters would not dare approach the Castle¡¯s surrounding areas due to his presence.


    However, the moment Meryer leaves, some monsters would asionally stumble upon the aroma of the meat they were cooking and would follow the scent along, venturing close to where they were¡­


    Although these monsters strength weren¡¯t typically very high, they still posed a threat to the yers nheless.


    Therefore, whenever Little Salty Cat came to roast meat for the dragon, she would also habitually set up a series of detection spells nearby as a precautionary measure.


    After they listened to Little Salty Cat¡¯s words, the two Northeastern guys became vignt as well.


    They immediately put down the meat skewers they were cooking and drew out their swords instead.


    A tense silence pervaded the area where they stood, broken only by the gentle swaying of their hair in response to a light breeze. Besides the soft rustling of the wind and the chirping of insects, along with the asional muted shouts of yers from the castle, the trio waited for a couple of minutes but ended up didn¡¯t detecting any monsters approaching them, nor did they notice anything unusual, for that matter.


    After awaiting for a few more minutes to be certain, Little Salty Cat finally put down her staff and sighed regretfully.


    ¡°¡­Seems like the one who triggered my spell had already left.¡±


    The two guys from the Northeast nced at each other, then shrugged their shoulders before returning to their seats and continued on to cook.


    And thus the picturesque scene of the trio pleasantly cooking on a bonfire returned to normalcy once more¡­


    At first nce, it appeared that everything had returned to normal.


    However, deeper within the vicinity, unseen by Little Salty Cat and her twopanions, a nimble humanoid figure released a sigh of relief before skillfully making their way down the mountain in silence.


    Several kilometers away from the base of ck Dragon Castle, within a dense forest and beyond the ruins of the Caverock Tribe.


    A group of human mercenaries dressed in leather armor sat on the ground, eating dry rations and chatted as they rested.


    Around them were several wagons loaded full of goods.


    This was a human mercenary group.


    Mercenaries such as these were quitemon in various human kingdoms in Saig¨¹es. They typically sold theirbat prowess and primarily work for nobles or tradepanies and sometimes participate in wars, hunting powerful monsters, or simply escorting caravans to earn some money.


    Furthermore, during periods when they did not have any substantial ongoing contracts, mercenaries would also asionally engage in trading goods themselves as they embarked on long-distance journeys across various human territories. They would organize the sale of various goods they had collected along the way while effectively operating as caravans.


    Crocodile Mercenary was one of such group.


    They were a medium-sized mercenary group officially registered in the Holy Maniya Empire,prising over eleven hundred members. They had recently finished a contract in the Kingdom of Eris to the south, after earning a substantialmission, and were presently journeying back north to their headquarters.


    The wagons in the group carried various goods they had purchased back in Eris Kingdom, which they are nning to illegally smuggle inside the Empire and eventually sell for some extra profit upon returning home.


    Currently, a human warrior with a bushy beard, d in lightweight mithril armor, was seated on a stone at the center of the mercenary camp. He was focusing intently on a map clutched in his hand, all the while studying it with great care as if it was some priceless artifact.


    He was the leader of Crocodile Mercenary group, a formidable warrior who had reached intermediate Silver-rank and possessed expertise in both magic andbat.


    He was also widely known especially in his line of work as ¡°Crocodile¡± the silver-ranked mercenary.


    As a prominent intermediate-ranked practitioner who had reached Silver status, he had gained some recognition even in the southwestern bordends of the Empire. As a result, he sessfully established a substantial mercenarypany, independently amassing over a thousand members due to his fame and eventually also gaining the favor of a lot nobles situated at the Empire¡¯s Bordends.


    Even the renowned Bordend Count of the Holy Maniya Empire received hispany recently and had a pleasant chat with him.


    Crocodile looked at the map in his hand, lost in thought.


    Standing beside him was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, dressed as a noble¡¯s steward but appearing rather disheveled at the moment.


    If the ck Dragon were present right now, he would then readily identify this particr steward as the leader of those people who had been ¡°employed¡± by Meryer earlier to oversee the transportation of his acquired livestocks.


    Inparison to his dignified andposed demeanor back then, this steward now appeared disheveled and cowardly instead.


    At this moment, the steward¡¯s expression showed a look of frustration.


    ¡°Master Crocodile, I¡¯ve already told you everything I know. Why won¡¯t you let us leave?¡± The steward asked with a frown.


    Crocodile simply shook his head, ¡°Mr. Anders, what¡¯s the rush? It¡¯s been quite a challenging journey with so many monsters along the way. Besides, our mercenary group is traveling in the same direction as you, so you should appreciate our escort right?¡±


    He then smiled wryly and added, ¡°Then again¡­if it weren¡¯t for us, you and your subordinates might have already be victims of those monsters. Furthermore, we also haven¡¯t received payment for escorting you yet, you know.¡±


    After hearing Crocodile¡¯s provocation, the steward¡¯s expression grew even more displeased.


    ¡°Escort, you say!? Oh please, we¡¯re already near the Empire¡¯s border. Plus, I¡¯m the steward of a bordend count. Why would I even require an escort at this point? By detaining us here, aren¡¯t you afraid of provoking the count¡¯s wrath?¡±


    Crocodile ignored his outburst and simply shook his head gently before he replied, ¡°You can¡¯t be too sure, my good man. That ck Dragon is both evil and cunning¡­what if it strikes your group yet again?¡±


    After hearing Crocodile¡¯s words, Anders¡¯s face briefly darkened, and he responded with an usatory tone,


    ¡°Master Crocodile, let¡¯s cut all this nonsense¡­I know what you¡¯re really thinking. That ck Dragon residing near the border¡­even if it¡¯s not fully grown, must have still amassed quite a vast fortune. Not to mention, not only you but even the Count might be tempted to subjugate it as well.¡±


    ¡°So I understand your concerns about letting me go back on my own. If the Count sends a team to hunt the ck Dragon, then you won¡¯t have a chance at all¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s an enormous dragon! Even if it¡¯s not a fully adult one, it still possesses the power of at least a Silver-Rank. Your mercenary group, despite having a thousand members, is no match for it!¡±


    ¡°Moreover, that ck Dragon is extremely cunning. It didn¡¯t lead us to itsir, so searching aimlessly for it will be really difficult¡­¡±


    Just as the steward finished speaking, Crocodile simply shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. Even though our mercenary group may becking in other areas, we still excel at scouting. Lately, we see that ck Dragon flying the sky quite often. So, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for us if we really want to find itsir. As for dealing with the ck Dragon ourselves, you don¡¯t have to be concerned with that either.¡±


    While the two were conversing, an excited voice suddenly rang out in the distance, ¡°Captain! Captain!¡±


    Crocodile furrowed his brow and looked in the direction of the voice. A nimble figure then darted out a momentter, revealing a human scout carrying a bow and a curved de upon his back.


    He quickly maneuvered past the resting mercenaries and went directly straight to Crocodile, wiping sweat from his forehead, and said excitedly, ¡°Captain! I¡¯ve finally found the ck Dragon¡¯sir!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Finally found it eh?¡± Crocodile¡¯s eyes gleamed with a hint of joy. He then wordlessly signaled to his subordinates, as two mercenaries promptly escorted the frustrated steward away.


    Then, after ensuring that the old steward was out of earshot, Crocodile finally turned his attention back to the scout and asked, ¡°So where exactly is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in a castle on the mountain up ahead!¡± the scout excitedly replied.


    Crocodile simply nodded in approval.


    ¡°Very good! Have you seen any elves?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have!¡± the scout responded.


    Afterward, the scout wore a peculiar expression and added,


    ¡°Those elves¡­ they¡¯ve lit a campfire outside the castle and are cooking some meat.¡±


    ¡°Elves cooking meat!?¡±


    Crocodile was taken aback. Then, he pondered for a moment and showed a look of realization.


    ¡°It¡¯s highly likely that these elves are being coerced by the ck Dragon to prepare meals for it instead of eating those meats themselves¡­ Do you have any other information?¡±


    The scout thought for a moment and continued, ¡°Those elves are quite vignt. They¡¯ve set up numerous detection spells around their location. I nearly got caught when I identally triggered one.¡±


    Crocodile wasn¡¯t surprised by this.


    ¡°Well, they are elves¡­ I would be more surprised if they weren¡¯t this cautious. Anything else? Does that ck Dragon have any otherpanions?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­.I don¡¯t think so. There are only some elves, but¡­there seem to be quite a few inside the castle as well. I can faintly hear their voices, and it sounds like there might be dozens of them.¡±


    ¡°So, there¡¯s so many elves eh? ¡°


    Crocodile¡¯s eyes lit up even more with his greedy eyes practically salivating at the news.


    ¡°Anders, that bastard! He didn¡¯t mention this to me at all! Hmph! Dozens of elves¡­ this is a treasure on par with a young ck Dragon¡¯s! Excellent, now keep monitoring that castle, and record that ck Dragon¡¯s behavior, then we¡¯ll n our next move based on the Intel you¡¯ve gathered!¡±


    ¡°But Captain¡­¡± The scout hesitated and gulped. He stood silent for a couple of seconds before finally mustering his courage and asked, ¡°T-That ck Dragon¡¯s aura is really terrifying¡­ it must be at least a Silver Rank. Can we¡­really d-defeat it?¡±


    Crocodile¡¯s expression darkened as he lightly smacked the scout¡¯s head.


    ¡°Idiot! When did I ever say that our group are going to y the dragon? What I mean is, pay close attention to the ck Dragon¡¯s behavior, you fool. We¡¯ll just sneak into the castle while it¡¯s away and try to seize some treasures, and perhaps even capture some elves if we¡¯re lucky!¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s hold off on any other discussions for now. Just do your task and monitor that dragon and those elves. Remember, we can make a lot of money if we can capture a few female elves! As for the ck Dragon¡­haha, we¡¯ll just leave that problem to the Bordend Count! Once we¡¯ve sessfully infiltrated its Lair, then we can release Anders and his groupter on!¡±


    <strong>Nihine</strong> <strong>Notes</strong>: I quit my day job so I have more time to focus more on this story, so yay more consistent daily releases for now until i find a new job. Anyways, I was also nning on resuming retranting earlier chapters and adding some some fanarts I¡¯ve made so look forward to that too, cheers. (*¡ã¨Œ¡ã*)


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 213

    <strong>??A SUCCESSFUL INCURSION</strong>


    Crocodile is a very patient man.


    After all¡­if he remembered correctly, there should have been a tribe of Orcs nearby.


    However, this particr tribe had now vanished, and no matter from which angle one looks at it, the ck Dragon had some involvement with its disappearance!


    A young ck Dragon, despite not being fully matured yet, already possessed the strength topel a tribe of Orcs to relocate. Its strength is more than likely to be truly fearsome.


    Therefore, after discovering the ck Dragon¡¯sir, Crocodile didn¡¯t act recklessly. Instead, he proceeded to order his subordinates to discreetly observe it, record the ck Dragon¡¯s behavior, and kept arge force on standby, ready to mobilize at any given moment.


    Moreover, because he was concerned about revealing their presence, he also prohibited all of his men from hunting the local animals and only allowed them to eat the provisions which they carried along with them.


    Crocodile was preparing to choose the right moment tounch a sessful incursion while the ck Dragon was away from itsir!


    Then, seize the opportunity to obtain everything they could and slip away before the dragon returns!


    Currently, they had only a week¡¯s worth of provisions left.


    Nheless, Crocodile patiently waited for an opportunity toe within this dense forest for three whole days.


    During these three days of observation, his scouts finally gained a rough understanding of the ck Dragon¡¯s overall behavioral patterns.


    They observed that the ck Dragon would usually emit resounding roars three times daily, in the morning, afternoon, and evening, before departing from itsir and returning around an hourter.


    The veteran mercenary spected that this particr behavior indicated that the Dragon was patrolling its territory during these times.


    Soon after the ck Dragon had already left, the elves would then finallye out of the castle to cook its food outside.


    Sometimes, this chore is carried out by a female elven mage alongside two elven warriors, while at other times, it involves a different set of elves¡­


    One notable observation made by his scouts was that the elves tasked with these cooking duties all possessed exquisite equipment. Judging by their splendid appearance, it was likely an authentic elven craftsmanship, which left his subordinates somewhat envious of their gear.


    At the same time, when the ck Dragon is loitering around its castle, elves wearing shabby equipment often emerged instead, pushing carts loaded with animal fodder. They would then proceeded toward the forest at the mountain¡¯s base on the opposite side of the castle, with their purpose still remaining a mystery.


    His scouts were curious about it and wanted to follow these less well-equipped elves to find out where they were going and perhaps capture any stragglers if the opportunity arose.


    Unfortunately, the ck Dragon was always near its castle during those times, so they had to give up pursuing this matter.


    Crocodile, on the other hand, deduced from his scout¡¯s observation that there must be arge treasure hidden inside the ck Dragon¡¯s castle!


    Otherwise, these elves wouldn¡¯t be so busy acting as the ck Dragon¡¯s personal ves!


    Furthermore, even its ves possessed exceptional equipment, thus, what more could be said about their master?


    Surely, the Dragon must have hoarded a considerable amount of wealth inside itsir!


    After three days of patiently waiting in silence, Crocodile finally decided tounch an incursion on the castle today, the moment the ck Dragon leaves itsir this evening.


    He then selected a hundred of the most elite and trusted mercenaries from his group, with the weakest among them being at the level of intermediate Iron-rank.


    Then, under the cover of darkness, they quietly made their way up the mountain where the Dragon¡¯s castle stood.


    Outside the ck Dragon¡¯s castle.


    It appears that the individuals assigned to cooking duties at this time were still that pink-haired mage and the two elven brothers.


    And just like usual, the trio were engaged in casual conversation while grilling skewered meat outside the castle.


    Meanwhile, Crocodile, by utilizing the cover of night, discreetly led his subordinates to slowly encircle them.


    The ck Dragon had already left.


    However, its tiny silhouette could still be seen flying away in the distance.


    After encircling the skies several times, it finally flew in the direction of the Elven Forest¡­


    As the ck Dragon receded into the distance, a sudden thought shed through Crocodile¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ that these elves were all captured from the Elven Forest by the ck Dragon?¡±


    Without hesitation, after ensuring that the ck Dragon¡¯s silhouette had finally vanished from their sight, Crocodile finally initiated their operation.


    ¡°You three, follow me. Let¡¯s first capture those trio of elves cooking outside!¡±


    Upon receiving themand, three upper Iron-ranked mercenaries followed suit, and the four of them quietly moved toward the rear of the three unsuspecting elves¡­


    Meanwhile, outside the ck Dragon¡¯s castle.


    Little Salty Cat was loungingzily by the campfire, with her knees drawn to her chest. Currently she was doing nothing but idly observing the two Northeastern brothers grilled skewered meat with practiced ease.


    Then after a minute or two, she let out a long sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so boringtely¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Boring?¡±


    After hearing her words, the two Northeastern brothers looked at each other before the younger one replied,


    ¡°Actually I think there¡¯s plenty more to do nowadays. I mean, just look at us, we grind monsters during the day, barbecue at night, and sometimes also tackle on some daily tasks. We have so much to do that we¡¯re almost busy everyday.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, bro tell me about it¡­ I still need several thousand contribution points to upgrade my gear. I¡¯m even considering selling the Dragon Scales I¡¯ve been saving up.¡± the older one added.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean,¡±


    Little Salty Cat shook her head.


    ¡°Actually, I agree. It¡¯s been quite enjoyabletely. It¡¯s just that I feel like there haven¡¯t been any new main questline events being triggered nowadays, and we¡¯re only just stuck to grinding mobs in the dungeon to level up every day. It feels a bit monotonous, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Aww man, when can we have big storylines like the Orc War or the ckrock City Defense again? I really prefer those epic questlines!¡±


    The Northeastern brothers briefly exchanged nces.


    They understood now.


    Little Salty Cat was bored because there hadn¡¯t been any massive server-wide eventstely, and she missed the excitement of it.


    In other words, although this rich girl is somewhat of a half-lifer and the Guildmaster of thergest life-oriented Guild in the entire server, she was also the kind of yer who loves stirring up trouble just for the hell of it.


    Their eyes then inadvertently nced at Little Salty Cat¡¯s dazzling legendary golden-ss equipment and hesitated to speak.


    Only a wealthy whale yer like her, who already had a full set of top-ss gear, would find leveling up as the only means of amusement within the game.


    One of the Northeastern guys had a thought and said,


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ yesterday, while I was in ckrock City, I overheard some Dark-Dwarves drinking in the tavern mentioning that the Orcs in the Desert of Death have been up to somethingtely. I wonder if it¡¯s somewhat rted to the next major questline.¡±


    The channels for trade between ckrock City and the outside world are not limited to just the elven faction alone. They also have connections with other forces living deeper within the underground, which, in turn, have their own ties to the surface world.


    And the Dark-Dwarves oftentimes would also exchanged information with these deeper underground forces.


    So, even though the Dark Dwarves were an underground faction, it wasn¡¯t surprising that they also possessed the ability to gather information about certain events unfolding within the Desert of Death, which even the yers themselves remained unaware of.


    It wasn¡¯t just information about the orcs, though.


    The fact that a new god had recently emerged in the Elven Forest, and the rumor of their close rtionship with the goddess of death had also begun to spread gradually in some deeper areas underground.


    There were even rumors that this newly born god was a deity serving under the goddess of death!


    However, many people still remained skeptical about the existence of this supposedly newly born god, wondering if it¡¯s actually true and not just a hoax the Dark-Dwarves spread themselves.


    ¡°Desert of Death?¡± Little Salty Cat¡¯s spirits quickly perked up upon hearing the Northeastern guy¡¯s words.


    She had heard from Meryer that this was the Orcs faction¡¯s main stronghold and might even be the new map opening in the future!


    <em>Could it be¡­ the devs are now setting up the groundwork for the next major questline?</em>


    Suddenly, Little Salty Cat felt a sense of anticipation brewing deep within her.


    However before she could inquire more about it, she suddenly sensed one of her detection spells being triggered.


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s expression immediately changed, and she eximed,


    ¡°One of my rms had been triggered! Something¡¯s approaching our location!¡±


    ¡°Monsters?¡± The two Northeastern guys became serious and stood up promptly.


    However, just before they could even draw their weapons, several figures suddenly rushed out from the darkness behind them and caught the trio off guard!


    ¡°W-What¡¯s going on!?¡±


    They quickly looked towards the humanoid figures that had ambushed them and noticed that all of them were wearing leather armor and brandishing ded weapons.


    <em>Human mercenaries! </em>


    Despite ying for two months and spending over half a year in-game, the yers¡¯ overall reactions were still much slowerpared to that of experienced mercenaries.


    Maybe in a fair confrontation against foes of equal level, the yers¡¯ fearlessness of death and reduced sensitivity to pain could give them an advantage. Nheless, when facing a surprise attack instead¡­


    yers still had a long way to go.


    In an instant, right before Little Salty Cat and the others could draw out their weapons, the human mercenaries had already gained the upper hand¡­


    The mercenaries surrounded the three and ced their short knives at their throats before sternly whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Seeing these intruders suddenly appear out of nowhere, Little Salty Cat and the two Northeastern guys were momentarily stunned.


    <em>Where did these humanse from!? </em>


    Surprisingly, Crocodile shared the same surprise.


    He looked at the trio who were instantly restrained by his subordinates, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished by their reaction.


    These elves are socking in vignce and adaptability!


    However, despite his surprise, this covert and sessful ambush satisfied him greatly.


    Crocodile greedily nced at the equipment the three were wearing, particrly focusing more on the pink-haired mage. Then, he suppressed his excitement and ordered the other mercenaries who had arrived just behind him.


    ¡°Disarm these three. Tie them up with anti-magic ropes, and quickly gag them.¡±


    After giving out these orders, he looked back at the trio of elves before coldly speaking inmonnguage:


    ¡°Don¡¯t resist if you don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    However, contrary to Crocodile¡¯s expectations, these three elves who were now under his control were surprisingly very cooperative.


    They just obediently nodded and instantly raised their hands, allowing the other mercenaries to strip them of their equipment, tie them up with ropes, and gag their mouths.


    And all throughout the entire process, the three didn¡¯t even offer any much resistance at all.


    <em>How odd. </em>


    What surprised Crocodile even more was that although these elves seemed a bit flustered upon seeing his group initially, they now didn¡¯t show any fear at all.


    On the contrary¡­ they even appeared somewhat excited?


    Especially the female elf, when she saw over a hundred of Crocodile¡¯s subordinates emerging from the darkness and heading toward the castle, he could clearly see her eyes gleaming with excitement.


    Thispletely contradicted Crocodile¡¯s overall understanding of the the elves. In his memory, any female elves they captured would either panic,mit suicide, or resist to their death, with the ones surviving ultimately sumbing to despair and numbness.


    <em>But¡­ what was going on with this pink-haired girl</em>?


    Those sparkling eyes of hers seemed on the verge of exploding with excitement instead!


    <em>Do these elves have something wrong with their heads?</em>


    ¡ª<em>Oh wait, could it be that they think they are here to rescue them instead?</em>


    It¡¯s hard to say¡­after all, elves are universally known to be quite naive and easily fooled!


    Thinking about this, Crocodile wryly chuckled and revealed a smile that he thought appeared friendly and amicable but was actually somewhat sinister and ruthless.


    He thenughed while looking at the three bound elves, especially at the female mage, and said inmonnguage:


    ¡°Be good, and I¡¯ll promise to take you all away from the ck Dragon¡¯s evil clutches.¡±


    Hearing Crocodile¡¯s words, the expressions of the three became somewhat peculiar, but they remained silent and obedient.


    Meanwhile, Crocodile, after leaving three of his trusted subordinates to guard the three bound elves, finally led the remaining mercenaries toward the castle¡­


    Meanwhile, Little Salty Cat and the two others who were bound by the mercenaries remained still and silent.


    However, inwardly, they were already filled with excitement.


    Without the mercenaries knowing it, the trio at the moment was already essing their own respective chatrooms mentally and was chatting up a storm with their friends online.


    ¡°Ah! Guys, Guys! Listen, something interesting is happening again! It must be a hidden quest, and it¡¯s looks to be rted to humans this time!¡±


    ¡°Hah, I knew it! Lmao, this event must have been triggered when Meryer went to that human territory to snatch a lot of livestocks for a measly 1000 coins and caused all that chaos.¡±


    Little Salty Cat excitedly typed in her guild¡¯s chatroom.


    <strong>Nihine Notes</strong> : I haven¡¯t drawn something in a while but I hope I still make it look like an authentic light novel artwork. I¡¯ll n to make a geographical map of Eleven Forest and its surrounding areas next.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 214

    ?? <strong>THE BEST LABORERS</strong>


    This is abnormal, absolutely abnormal!


    Why does ¡®the Chosen Ones¡¯ behave like this!?


    Alice felt like her world had turned upside down as it devolves into a chaotic mess for which confused her to no end.


    After a while, a faint green light appeared on one of the branches of the World Tree, as a cluster of lights slowly converged into a human-like silhouette.


    The outline of this shimmering figure gradually takes form of a person with an explosive red hair as the light emitting from his body gradually lose its intensity.


    It was Demacia, the unlucky guy who had just been knocked away by Alice. He seemed to have been resurrected just now.


    Gasping for breath, he said with a fearful tone,


    ¡°Oh god¡­ that scared me to death¡­why is this NPC so damn strong¡­ fortunately, I reduced the pain value in advance¡­¡±


    <em>Res¡­ Resurrected?!</em>


    Alice gazed at the familiar figure as she became somewhat dazed as if seeing a ghost.


    ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid, Alice. These chosen ones are immortal beings.¡¯ suddenly, Eve¡¯s words resounded from within her mind, as if they had a power to calm one¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Matriarch!¡±


    Upon hearing the familiar voice, Alice felt a sense of relief, but then her eyes welled up with tears, and she almost cried. She didn¡¯t know whether it was due to excitement or grievances or maybe perhaps both¡­


    ¡°Goddess¡­ they¡­ they¡­¡±


    The elven maiden sobbed as her words turned incoherent.


    ¡°Cough¡­ Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± Ev¨¦ cleared her throat and reassured her with a hint of guilt in her tone.


    ¡°These otherworldly denizens live an oppressed life back in their own world and I¡¯ve picked them to be my chosen ones to give them a way to momentarily escape their harsh realities and offer them an outlet to vent out their umted stress.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes they might do things that you perchance might not understand and they may even act callous at times, but I can assure you that they are also capable of amazing feats¡­You just need to be patient with them.¡±


    Ev¨¦ exined in a soothing tone as she let a hint of her touch stroke the head of the sobbing maiden.


    It was within her expectations that some Schizos would be included amongst the people she selected.


    After all, out of the three hundred people invited, majority were either veteran gamers or streamers.


    With them averaging unhealthy long hours of ying time, it was inevitable that some would acquire some sort of ¡®upational Diseases¡¯ wherein they would be partially numb to external stimulus due to having yed all sorts of games. Henceforth these Schizos had the tendency to go wild and seek thrills they¡¯d never experienced before and disregard rules to satiate their own thirst for excitement and master the game¡¯s mechanics.


    However, disregarding the fact that they could be troublesome to handle, these neurotic gamers are undoubtedly very proficient in their gaming abilities.


    Of course, there¡¯s no way to exin this all to Alice¡­


    After a moment of silence, Ev¨¦ simply said to the elven maiden,


    ¡°Just think of them as having a mental illness.¡±


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡®However, rest assured, they¡¯re not inherently bad and also willing to work hard. Just give them various tasks to do and they will eventually settle down after adapting to the environment. Besides, these initial three hundred people are just the first batch. The subsequent Chosen Ones will be more normal.¡¯


    <em>Subsequent?</em> Are there moreing?!


    Alice was stunned to hear this bombshell of a revtion.


    Sensing the unease in the girl¡¯s heart, Ev¨¦ quickly added, ¡°Ahem¡­don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t be like this forever.¡±


    After reassuring Alice, Ev¨¦ controlled her divine power once again and transmitted a piece of information onto the girl¡¯s mind:


    ¡°These are some daily task list you can give to the Chosen Ones to do, which will greatly divert their attention.¡±


    Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t intend to micromanage everything.


    Since there are native believers avable, she will then maximize their role by turning them into NPC¡¯s capable of issuingmon game tasks without her direct intervention. By giving them administrative rights to do these menial matters, She instead only needs to focus on the overall plot direction and critical game scenarios.


    This is also Eve¡¯s way of promoting yermunication with indigenous people of this world. In her vision, she wants to build a new civilization that unites yers and natives with strong cohesion between each other.


    As for her ns in regards to Alice, this holy maiden would act as the guide for beginners and be given a role as the main NPC that handles all the daily tasks, as well as the candidate for assisting yers in changing their job sses to priesthood once its implemented in the future.


    As for Eve¡¯s short-term goal, it was to have yersplete tasks to steadily raise their levels while simultaneously building their own base camp!


    This would serve as the foundation for the newly-formed elven civilization!


    After a burst of light, Alice found that something had been added to her mind.


    <em>A task list?</em>


    The holy maiden looked at the contents and murmured to herself,


    ¡°Repairing the temple¡­¡±


    ¡°Collecting wood¡­¡±


    ¡°Building houses¡­¡±


    Alice ¡°¡­..¡±


    Silence.


    <em>T-This¡­ isn¡¯t this just manualbor?</em>


    Would the chosen ones really be willing to do such menial things?


    These kinds of chores were always assigned to those low-ranking nsmen, even when the elven race was still at its peak¡­ but they are chosen ones!


    In addition, they don¡¯t seem to be followers of the Goddess nor their religion either.


    Moreover¡­ they are so undisciplined, as well as wildwless barbarians¡­


    In this situation, would they really show obedience?


    These are all tasks which require teamwork after all!


    Alice is a bit confused.


    ¡°No¡­I can¡¯t think like this!¡±


    The blond-haired girl shook her head vigorously as if shaking away the guilt she felt about doubting the will of their goddess.


    These tasks set by the Matriarch surely must have some hidden meaning behind it!


    She was their faith¡¯s sole saintess, the closest one to the Great Mother, and this must be the Matriarch¡¯s personal test for her.


    She mustplete it perfectly!


    Thinking of this, Alice silently recited ¡®Great mother high above¡¯ in her heart, then stretched out her hand and gestured a tree-shaped symbol of their faith upon her chest.


    She took a deep breath and finally looked back at the yers.


    The Chosen Ones were still being chaotic, but thank goodness no one was being overly reckless anymore.


    Watching the chaotic scenery, Alice, who had just reignited her fighting spirit, suddenly let out a deted sigh, now feeling even more overwhelmed once again¡­


    <em>How should she speak? </em>


    <em>How could she get them to ept the tasks willingly?</em>


    If they were really as pitiful as the Great Matriarch had said, and this rowdy behavior is just a means for them to let out their stress¡­


    They live in another world, filled with pain and repression¡­thus being so extreme in their actions must¡¯ve been an instinctual coping mechanism to manage their mental and spiritual pressure within themselves¡­


    Thinking of this facts, Alice felt that this group of reckless barbarians in front of her didn¡¯t seem so annoying anymore.


    The elven girl even felt a little guilty when she thought back to her own insensitive actions from before¡­


    <em>Was I overreacting?</em>


    Although that red-haired guy was definitely annoying, Alice decided to let bygones be bygones and now focused on one thing at a time.


    ¡®That guy is still chosen by the Matriarch, so maybe I should apologize first¡­¡¯


    While thinking about it, Alice finally noticed that most of the Chosen Ones suddenly fell into silence.


    She raised her head in confusion and found that hundreds of them were looking at her with shining eyes, as if they were looking at a living treasure¡­


    Alice had only seen that kind of look in the eyes of greedy human merchants and fearless mercenaries, which made her shiver involuntarily.


    Meanwhile, the yers excitedly began to whisper to each other.


    ¡°Hey! Did you guys also received the system notification just now? It says you can get daily tasks from the NPC named Saintess Alice!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I received it too as well!¡±


    ¡°Saintess! So the little missie¡¯s job ss is a Saintess!¡±


    ¡°Get the task! Quickly get the task guys! Novice task like these tend to be the fastest way to grind exp in the beginning. Let¡¯s hurry and level up! I can¡¯t wait to switch to a Mage ss!¡±


    Suddenly, as if receiving some kind of instruction, all the Chosen ones simultaneously rushed towards Alice, making her jump in fright.


    Did the Matriarch convey some kind of divine message upon them?


    With some spections in her mind, Alice tried to calm herself down and awkwardly stated,


    ¡°D-Do you¡­ want to ept some tasks?¡±


    Countless yers instantly raised their hands eagerly as if they¡¯ve be obedient students.


    ¡°Yes, definitely, yes!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the best little saint sister! Give me the task please!¡±


    ¡°Lady Alice! I want to ept the task!¡±


    ¡°Alice sister, your little skirt looks so pretty! Can you give me a task as well?¡±


    Alice: ¡®¡­¡¯


    In the blink of an eye, all the yers turned into bootlickers without her knowing how it even came about.


    Watching these elves eagerly ept the menial tasks and then leave with ted expressions, Alice was felt numb.


    ¡°The Goddess was right. There¡¯s definitely something wrong with their brains.¡±


    Gasping for breath as he finally squeezed out from the crowd of countless yers, Li Mu shook his head and said,


    ¡°Whew¡­sigh, T-This game is too realistic. Even getting a task requires jostling through a crowd¡­I hope the devs finds a better method before the open-beta otherwise everyone¡¯s just gonna explode in fury¡­¡±


    Li Mu was still full of excitement despiteining about it.


    Opening his system interface, Li Mu checked the task he had randomly received from the Saintess.


    ¡¾<strong>Daily Randomized Task</strong> : Collect Wood ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Reward</strong> : 50-300 experience points depending on the amount collected ¡¿


    ¡°Collecting wood? It seems like it¡¯s for building houses. It¡¯s not too difficult, after all, this is my old profession!¡±


    He once lived in a forest farm back in his youth and learned from there how to properly cut down trees.


    ¡°I can get at least 50 experience points doing this task alone! Moreover it¡¯s repeatable as well! Looks like I can quickly level up by umting experience points using this method! But s, it seems like it will be randomized everyday and one cannot specifically choose a task they want¡­¡±


    Li Mu said curiously while checking, before heading towards the temple¡¯s teleportation array mentioned in the task details.


    There, yers could directly teleport to the base of the world tree, a kilometer down below at the surface.


    Other yers have also began to move.


    At the same time, hundreds of elves scattered and headed towards the different sections of the Forest as Ev¨¦ watched from high above as the pieces slowly go on their rightful tracks.


    She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 215

    ??<strong>THE MERCENARY WHO KNOWS WHEN TO QUIT</strong>


    In the Elven Forest, City of Florence.


    Demacia, who had just finished helping an NPC move some bricks, couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he checked his abysmal personal reputation score before entering the teleportation circle leading back to Chosen City.


    After a brief sh of light, he arrived in the central square of the city. However, as soon as he got there, he felt that something was different than usual.


    ¡°Huh¡­Why are there so few people here today?¡± Demacia wondered aloud as he looked at the sparsely popted city square.


    With it serving as the yer¡¯s primary base of operations, the Chosen City is typically bustling with various activities throughout the day. The central square, in particr, serves as the transit point to Florence and it stands out as the city¡¯s liveliest area, especially during the night, since the arrival of the third batch of beta-yers.


    Every night, these neers would host bonfire parties, and, more recently, they¡¯ve also begun selling kebabs openly in this area.


    Such a lively scene usually urred on a daily basis, to the point where even the saintess, Alice, had be numb to it and no longer cared.


    However, the odd thing tonight was that despite the bonfire still burning strong, the number of people lingering in the city square was surprisingly low. Moreover, Demacia also observed that many yers were hastily packing their gear before heading southeast of the city.


    ¡°Where is everyone going?¡± Demacia was perplexed.


    Looking around, he quickly stopped a yer who was sprinting towards the southeast and inquired, ¡°Hey bro, where are you headed? What happened to all the people in the square?¡±


    The yer nced at Demacia, somewhat surprised, and replied, ¡°Oh aren¡¯t you ¡®Demacia¡¯ the infamous yer who have the lowest personal reputation score in the whole server? Dude, you haven¡¯t gone yet?¡±


    Hearing othersbel him as the yer with the worst reputation, Demacia felt the urge to weep, yet there were no tears left within him.


    The yer just then must have then realized how rude his remarks sounded and awkwardly coughed twice before adding,


    ¡°Uh, hasn¡¯t anyone told you? There¡¯s a quest event happening at ck Dragon Castle right now, and a group of human mercenaries have infiltrated the Castle! They even mentioned there¡¯s a Silver-ranked Boss, fully equipped with magical gear! Dude, everyone¡¯s rushing over there to fight off these mercenaries!¡±


    ¡°Human mercenaries, and a quest event?¡± Demacia was taken aback and quickly opened his system interface. As expected, he saw the explosive chat log in the general discussion channel of Natural Hearts Guild.


    -Hey, we¡¯re in trouble! A human army has attacked ck Dragon Castle!


    -What!? A human army!?


    -No, it seems like mercenaries instead! They¡¯ve already breached the castle hall! Lol It¡¯s pure chaos all over here! xD


    -Are they strong?


    -Yes! And there¡¯s also a Silver-ranked boss! It looks like he¡¯s wearing some magical equipment and appears to be a Magic Swordsman!


    -Fuck yeah! Another quest event triggered!


    -Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! Lmao Let¡¯s team up and fight! I¡¯ve got dibs on that silver-ranked boss equipment! (£à?¡ä)¦×


    Meanwhile, his friends¡¯ list was also bombarded with notifications and he quickly checked each and everyone of them.


    ¡°Demacia! Hurry and join our party! There¡¯s a brawl at ck Dragon Castle!¡±


    ¡°Hey bro, where are you?¡±


    ¡°Reply to this asap!¡±


    Even Li Mu apparently had called him several times.


    ¡°Where are you? We¡¯re mobilizing people at our guild.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Have you finished cleaning the toilet?¡±


    His cleaning task were interrupted midway due to the events that happened underground, plus he had also became engrossed in his MLM business not long afterwards. As a consequence of neglecting these tasks, all his previous attempts to gain favor with the NPCs were wasted.


    So over the past few days, he decided to try doing these task once more.


    Demacia wanted to seed this time that he even reluctantly muted all his notifications so that he wouldn¡¯t be distracted at all.


    Which is why he had only just learned about the situation just now.


    ¡°When did this happen?¡± he asked eagerly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ not too long, I think. Just a little over ten minutes ago. It seems like our guildmaster, Salty Cat, triggered it first, and she seems to be captured by those humans even now!¡± the yer replied.


    <em>So this yer was a member of Moe Moe Committee.</em>


    Demacia inwardly mused before remarking, ¡°Is it that t-chested middle school rich girl again? Dammit, her luck is just too effin¡¯ good!¡±


    The yer didn¡¯t respond to his snide remark and just awkwardly waved at him, before saying, ¡°Uh, hey man, I won¡¯t bother you anymore. My teammates are also calling me, so I gotta go!¡±


    With a smirk, the yer quickly ran off, causing Demacia to pause for a moment. Then, he pulled out his weapon, before he contacted Li Mu, and hurriedly ran towards the southeast as well, where the teleportation array leading to ck Dragon Castle was located.


    ck Dragon Castle, inside the hall.


    As elves continued to pour out endlessly from the teleportation circle, Crocodile¡¯splexion gradually paled, taking on a slight shade of concern¡­


    The castle hall, which was originally designed to amodate the activities of a fully grown dragon, has now beenpletely upied by fully armed elves.


    There are elves everywhere he looked, and based on his rough estimates, there should have been at least three hundred of them within this hall!


    They banded together, shouting and cursing as they rushed towards Crocodile and the rest of the mercenaries with wild abandon.


    Those at the forefront were already locked inbat with the mercenaries. However, because there were just so many of them, the elves at the back ended up not forming a proper formation and were instead huddled tightly together in a chaotic manner.


    Initially as he watched elves continue to appear, Crocodile¡¯s mood gradually shifted from joy to surprise, and then to fear.


    Thirty elves were very easy to deal with.


    A hundred elves, even if they¡¯re a bit more powerful, could still be fought against just as long as he could coordinate properly with his subordinates.


    ¡ª<em>But now. </em>


    There were already over three hundred elves inside this huge hall!


    Not only that, but they were all also fully armed, with most of them even reaching the strength of intermediate Iron-rank!


    What was even more shocking was that the teleportation circle behind them was still active as it keeps shimmering with light.


    If it weren¡¯t for the elves already standing on top of the teleportation array, there would probably have been even more people who were teleported but ended up in some other ces instead¡­


    <em>H-How can there be such an overwhelming number of elves here!? </em>


    <em>Is it possible that every remaining elf in the world has been gathering here in the elven forest!? </em>


    <em>The Elven race¡­just when did their poption be so abundant?</em>


    Confusion washed over Crocodile¡¯s face.


    Even back in the Holy Maniya Empire, thergest ve ck market over there had barely under two hundred elven ves at most, not to mention that less than half of them were young elves!


    Yet here in this castle¡­ there were hundreds of elves, all young and strong!


    ¡°C-Captain¡­ are we still going to fight?¡± one mercenary asked hesitantly, after noticing Crocodile¡¯s increasingly troubled expression.


    ¡°Screw it! Just take the elves we already captured, especially the females, and retreat!¡± Crocodile cursed and made the decisive move to withdraw.


    Hundreds of elves, with each possessing intermediate Iron-rank strength.


    With him being at the intermediate Silver-rank and leading hundred of mercenaries, defeating such an opponent would only take a matter of time, but¡ª


    The teleportation array over there is still active!


    Crocodile truly didn¡¯t dare to guess how many more elves would arrive if he stayed here any longer.


    <em>Eternal Lord above!</em>


    <em>Where did all these elves suddenlye from?</em>


    However, Crocodile didn¡¯t have time to ponder this question much longer as he had already been here with his men for more than ten minutes now.


    Such arge battle could attract the ck Dragon back at any given moment.


    And if the ck Dragon were to return, then it was probable that he and all the mercenaries apanying him in this whole operation would face imminent doom if that really happens.


    Which is why¡­ it was better to cut their losses at this point and simply retreat with the elves they already captured!


    Crocodile¡¯s eyes flickered slightly with determination, before he pulled out a magic scroll from his pocket and immediately tore it open!


    After a subtle wave of magic was released, arge gray-ck misty substance materialized in his hand.


    Crocodile then swung his hand, as mist immediately spread all across the hall as it obscured the vision of the elves¡­


    ¡°Bring our captives! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Crocodile curtly gave the order, before he picked up a female elf who was tightly bound, and started running towards the exit¡­


    The remaining mercenaries also followed suit, carrying the elves who had been tied in beforehand, and ran out of the castle hall one after another.


    ¡°Ugh, cough, cough¡­ what¡¯s this smoke? It¡¯s making me nauseous!¡±


    ¡°Not good! They¡¯re escaping!¡±


    ¡°Quick, chase after them!¡±


    They raised their weapons and rushed like a swarm of locusts towards Crocodile, who was running away while holding his captives in his shoulders.


    They chased him and his men all the way outside the castle but Crocodile sneered before taking out another scroll from his chest pocket once again.


    It was a golden-rimmed magic scroll with intricate runic symbols and inscriptions engraved upon it.


    Being a veteran mercenary and a Silver one at that, it is impossible not to have one or two trump cards up his sleeve.


    And this scroll is one of such trump cards which is actually a long lost spatial magic scroll that Crocodile obtained while exploring an ancient ruin a few years ago.


    At the same time, it also serves as the primary key that emboldened Crocodile to dare intrude upon the castle at the risk of being discovered by the ck dragon!


    He immediately began chanting a spell, and the magic scroll in his hands began to radiate with light¡­


    Then, the scroll spontaneously ignited, before a shocking wave of magic spread around and formed a flickering gate of light right in front of Crocodile!


    Seven-ring magic¡ª¡ª¡¾Portal¡¿


    This portal canst up to five minutes and can teleport any target that entered it up to five kilometers away!


    And Crocodile had already set the portal¡¯s coordinates in advance. Once the scroll is activated, it will then immediately determine the teleportation destination to be his camp five kilometers away!


    All of this had been nned by him right before he initiated the whole operation! The purpose was to escape any possible retaliation by the ck dragon.


    It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t expect to use it to escape from elves instead¡­


    ¡°Go!¡±


    As soon as the portal made of light opened, Crocodile ordered his men to immediately enter it.


    The mercenaries also quickly entered it along with the stunned ¡°trophies¡± on their shoulders¡­


    The whole process only took less than a minute and after thest mercenary entered, the elves chasing after them also have finally caught up with Crocodile.


    ¡°No! They want to escape!¡±


    ¡°Is that a teleportation magic!?¡±


    ¡°Quick! Chase after them!¡±


    They held their weapons up high and rushed toward Crocodile like a swarm of locusts.


    However as looked towards the elves running towards him, Crocodile suddenly had the urge to lure some more elves into the portal.


    He still had thousands of hisrades on the other side of the portal, and if he kept this portal activated, then any elves who would dare enter it will also be sent over to their camp!


    Crocodile didn¡¯t believe that there could be more elves here than the number of mercenaries in his group!


    However¡­ this idea only shed briefly within his mind and was immediately abandoned because just now, he saw a ck shadow that was getting bigger and bigger suddenly appeared in the sky¡­


    The ck Dragon!


    It¡¯s finallying back!


    Knowing when to quit is the true path for a mercenary group to survive.


    Crocodile nced deeply at the sky, then smirked at the approaching elves.


    ¡°You¡¯re all so lucky~ Goodbye!¡±


    With that, he also finally stepped into the portal¡­


    Afterward, the portal shed momentarily before it disappeared into nothingness, leaving behind a group of wide-eyed yers who had clearly missed their mark¡­


    Watching this whole incident from the yer¡¯s perspective, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but remarked,


    ¡°What a cautious guy.¡±


    She then nced at the yers outside the castle who were, at that moment, already contacting the dozens or so unlucky captives via chat.


    Ev¨¦ sighed softly.


    ¡°Too bad, that such cautiousness became pointless when he brought captives along with him¡­¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 216

    ??<strong>RESCUE THE CAPTURED PLAYERS </strong>


    In a dense forest, Crocodile Mercenary Camp.


    A cluster of mercenaries gathered around several elves who were bound with anti-magic ropes, as their eyes gleam with excitement as they meticulously counted their exact numbers.


    ¡°One, two, three¡­ fifty-seven, fifty-eight¡­¡±


    ¡°Fifty-eight! We actually captured fifty-eight elves in this operation!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all young elves too! With most of them being female!¡±


    ¡°Haha! We¡¯re going to make a fortune! Even if we split it equally, each of us can still earn hundreds of gold coins!¡±


    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re so amazing! I¡¯ve never seen so many elves in my life!¡±


    The mercenaries eximed with excitement.


    Crocodile took a sip of water that was handed to him by a mercenary, then proudly said,


    ¡°When have I, as your captain, ever failed to impress anyone?¡±


    He had risen from a meremoner to a renowned Silver-ranked Swordmaster, and had even gathered a thousand mercenaries under hismand.


    Even nobles had to show him respect!


    After saying that, a hint of regret appeared on Crocodile¡¯s face.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame that the Dragon returned so soon. Otherwise, we could have captured even more.¡±


    ¡°¡­Even more?¡±


    ¡°Yes, at least a few hundred more!¡±


    Crocodile sighedmentingly.


    Hearing their captain¡¯s remarks, the mercenaries who hadn¡¯t participated in the operation took a sharp breath.


    ¡°Hundreds of elves? Holy Eternal Lord! Where did that Dragon find so many elves, and all of them are so young too!¡±


    ¡°Who knows¡­maybe it enved all the remaining elves in this forest?¡±


    Crocodile shook his head.


    That was the only exnation he could offer to his subordinates.


    However, even though this operation had gone smoothly, Crocodile couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right.


    Thinking back to the teleportation circlesl used by those elves and looking at their captives who were curiously and excitedly observing them, Crocodile couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was off¡­


    If he had to put it into words, these captured elves were disying a behavior that was quite different from his expectations.


    Crocodile assumed that they would be afraid, angry, or even despair, and based upon his years of experience as a mercenary, he had worried that some of them might choose tomit suicide out of stubbornness.


    But the reality was vastly different.


    These dozens of captured elves were cooperating exceptionally well, as if they were strolling through their own garden. Their eyes were bright and curious, but strangely enough, there was no sign of nervousness nor fear at all.


    What a strange group of individuals! Didn¡¯t they know what fate they were about to face?


    Crocodile was puzzled.


    However, now that he thought about it, the fact that the ck Dragon could gather hundreds of young elves in the first ce was already quite strange¡­


    After pondering for a while, Crocodile couldn¡¯t figure it out and decided not to dwell on it.


    Sure, he felt uneasy, but perhaps it was because the whole n had gone too smoothly?


    But these captured elves were authentic!


    He had used his Appraisal Skill, and these captives were indeed very real elves!


    Now that their magical powers were sealed by the Anti-Magic Ropes, what tricks could they possibly do anyway in this situation?


    However¡­ this haul was too big.


    To avoid anyplications, he should hurry and return with his men as quickly as possible.


    With that in mind, Crocodile took another sip of water and then gestured his hands to disperse the mercenaries ogling the captives.


    ¡°Alright you idiots, disperse! Keep an eye on these elves! No one is allowed to touch them! Just one of their fingers is worth a year¡¯s worth of your wages!¡±


    ¡°Pack up your things. We¡¯re leaving tonight to return back to the Empire¡¯s border!¡±


    After Crocodile gave the order, the fifty-eight captured yers, including Little Salty Cat, were put under meticulous supervision.


    They obediently followed the mercenaries¡¯ orders while curiously inspecting the mercenaries¡¯ camp.


    On the surface, they seemed to be impressed by the sheer number of mercenaries, but in reality, the yers were getting excited¡­


    Within the game¡¯s discussion channel.


    Little Salty Cat formed a temporary party consisting of the fifty-eight yers who had been captured by these human mercenaries.


    Currently the party¡¯s chatroom was already flooded with lots of messages.


    -Mercenaries! These are human mercenaries!


    -There¡¯s so many of them! Could this be a hidden quest?


    -Very likely! Just now, I overheard their conversation, and it seems like they were originally going after Meryer, but they ended up capturing us instead.


    -They were really after Meryer? Could it be a follow up to what happened after Meryer went to a human territory?


    -Who knows, but¡­ it seems like they¡¯re treating us like treasures.


    -Of course, they¡¯d treat us like treasures! You might not know it, seeing as you¡¯re a third beta-yer, but an elf in the ck market is worth at least a thousand gold coins! And if you¡¯re a female, then your value can even double!


    -Why do you know so much about this?


    -Lmao, when the devs first introduced the underground map, I sold myself twice to a ver and made over three thousand gold coins! It¡¯s incredible!


    -What the hell?! You can sell yourself to very? That¡¯s awesome! But¡­are these gold coins even useful?


    -Of course! One gold coin is worth a hundred silver coins. That¡¯s at least three hundred thousand silver coins! This amount is enough tomission a dwarven cksmith to forge you thirty sets of blue-ss equipment! In terms of contribution points, that¡¯s roughly sixty thousand! At that time, resurrection were based on how much perfect revival you had, so dying twice would only cost two thousand contribution points.¡±


    -Nice! Two thousand CP for sixty thousand gold! Is this a game exploit?


    -Not necessarily. I sold myself twice, and the dwarf ver went bankrupt afterwards. Also, the penalties for dying now are more severe since you need to use revive coins instead¡­¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥


    -(¡ã¥í¡ã)


    -Don¡¯t underestimate your personal worth in the game! To sum it up, these mercenaries treating us like treasures is quite normal. ording to the dark dwarves, bounty hunters who operate underground and make over thirty gold coins a year are considered

 Chapter 217

    ??<strong>Where is She? Hurry and Lead the Way!</strong>


    Night had finally came over Saig¨¹es.


    Following their usual daily routines, most yers who had alreadypleted their tasks for the day would usually choose to rest for a few hours to replenish their in-game stamina at this point.


    However, a sudden system notification outlining a random quest abruptly interrupted the actions of those yers preparing to log off for the night.


    ¡°Huh, what¡¯s this? A time-limited random quest?¡±


    ¡°Crocodile Mercenaries?¡±


    The sudden quest notification, broadcast throughout the entire server, immediately captured the attention of all the yers currently online.


    The newbies from the third batch who had never experienced a questline curiously examined the system notification, while experienced yers from the first and second beta tests who had alreadypleted multiple simr quests lole this were filled with excitement.


    ¡°It¡¯s a questline with a unique plot description! Nice, we¡¯re in for some action-packed events once more!¡±


    ¡°It has a time-limitation? We only has 24 hours toplete it?¡±


    ¡°From my experience, the more time constricted the quest is, the more generous the rewards tends to be!¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­fifty-eight yers got captured by some human NPCs; what a bunch of noobs¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, finally a unique quest! Hey guys, let¡¯s team up for this event!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ everyone, carefully read the quest details! This human mercenary group has over a thousand members, and they even have intermediate silver-ranked NPCs in their midst!¡±


    ¡°¡­Well fuck.¡±


    ¡°Goddammit!!¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re powerful? Looks like this isn¡¯t a quest that one or two small teams can handle!¡±


    ¡°One of the quest hint suggests that we should form teams before epting this quest¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems like this event is anotherrge-scale team battle. Let¡¯s first enter the Raid VC and wait for the announcements from the three major guilds there.¡±


    ¡°Raid VC?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a voice channel created by first and second beta test yers specifically for coordinatingrge-scale raids and campaigns. Brother Mu specially uses this chatroom tomand multi group battles.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­that¡¯s awesome.¡±


    Outside the ck Dragon Castle.


    Li Mu, who had brought some members of the Heart of Nature guild to support him, also noticed the quest notification.


    ¡°Chase down the mercenary group¡­ this quest reminds me of that event where we attacked the Orc Tribe.¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s expression grew serious.


    Beside Li Mu, HootyBird, the vice-leader of Moe Moe Committee, sighed while checking her mini-map.


    ¡°But this time, there¡¯s a 24-hour time limit¡­ that¡¯s tight. If we convert it to Earth¡¯s time, then we¡¯ll only have six hours!¡±


    Li Mu nodded and turned his head to ask her, ¡°Where are Little Salty Cat and the others now?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re in the northeast, about five kilometers away. However, it seems the mercenaries are already packing up right now and intends to leave during the night.¡±


    ¡°Direction?¡±


    ¡°It should be along the northern road.¡± HootyBird replied.


    ¡°That means they¡¯re heading back to human territory. I¡¯ve escorted some elven NPCs who returned recently, and asked them about the situation in the northeast. Based on what they told me, it seems there¡¯s arge human empire over there called the Holy Maniya Empire. Meryer obtained the poultry and livestock he brought back awhile ago from the bordends of that empire.¡± A deep, hoarse voice chimed in.


    Li Mu and HootyBird widened their eyes and turned to see Tomato, the Guildmaster of First Legion behind them.


    For a moment, the atmosphere grew somewhat tense.


    The yerbase was well aware of the ongoing conflict between Li Mu and Tomato, which sometimes led to frictions between the two guilds.


    Nevertheless, following a brief tense silence, Li Mu finally gave a curt nod in a courteous manner, and Tomato reciprocated with a subtle nod of his own.


    Perhaps there had been bad blood between the two Guildmasters, but when faced with such arge-scale battle, they both understood the need for cooperation.


    Elven Kingdom stood apart from typical online games. In particr, the developers mostly discouraged conflicts amongst the yers and instead emphasized the importance of cooperation.


    Seeing the rtively harmonious interaction between the two Guildmasters, HootyBird, the Vice-leader of Moe Moe Committee, breathed a sigh of relief and added, ¡°It seems like we still won¡¯t have ess to the map of Holy Maniya Empire. Since, ording to the quest description, we can¡¯t let the mercenaries leave the current map and pass the three-hundred-kilometer mark.¡±


    ¡°That means we must pursue them, ¡± Tomato grinned.


    ¡°Cat said that the mercenaries are carrying a lot of cargo, and their traveling speed isn¡¯t that fast. We can easily catch up to them if we go all out. Not to mention¡­ many yers now have pet familiars, especially the Crypt Spiders; their movement speed during nighttime is fast, perfect for ambushes.¡± HootyBird added.


    Li Mu nodded and turned to asked, ¡°HootyBird, how many yers can your guild mobilize for this quest?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, today happens to be the weekend, so we have quite a lot of members online right now. We can easily gather around three hundred yers, though it¡¯s worth noting that less than half of them are above level fifteen.¡± HootyBird replied.


    With the addition of the neers from the third round, the number of yers belonging to the three major guilds has once again skyrocketed, all exceeding a thousand members!


    Amongst the big three, Li Mu¡¯s guild, Heart of Nature, which does not have a high admission requirements, has gathered more than 2,000 members and has be thergest guild worthy of its name!


    Of course, high-leveled yers still remained the minority.


    After hearing HootyBird¡¯s response, Li Mu then wordlessly turned to Tomato, who, in turn, raised his chin slightly.


    ¡°First Legion can provide at least five hundred yers, with at least three hundred of them being above level fifteen!¡±


    First Legion mainly recruits hardcore andbat-focused yers, so while they have the lowest membership amongst the big three, they consistently maintain the highest battle proficiency instead.


    Li Mu nodded and replied,


    ¡°My guild can gather about four hundred people, with approximately two hundred yers above level 15. If webine all our forces, that¡¯s a total of 1,200 yers, with around six hundred above level 15. Moreover, if we make an announcement in the public channel and invite smaller guilds and solo yers, then we should be able to assemble around 1,500 to 1,600 yers.¡±


    ¡°By the way, some newbies from the third beta formed a guild with over a thousand members. The Guildmaster is a yer called, Transformer Ji Gang. I contacted him, and he said that his guild can bring over two hundred yers, although their levels are slightly lower¡­¡±


    ¡°Looking at it this way, we should have nearly two thousand yers.¡±


    With that rough estimate, the trio felt an overwhelming sense of excitement.


    <em>Two thousand yers!</em>


    Quite honestly, after years of ying various online games, they had participated in manyrge-scale battles, but having over a thousand yers was still a rtively rare urrence!


    Moreover, Elven Kingdom was far more realistic than any other online games!


    After experiencing several major battles beforehand, they knew that warfare within this game felt remarkably lifelike, as if they were in a real war!


    Li Mu took a deep breath and said,


    ¡°Let¡¯s form several smaller teams as usual. All yers who epted the quest should at the very least belong in a party. Hmm¡­ let¡¯s begin by joining the party Salty Cat created with the other captives. Please transfer leadership to me when the timees; I¡¯ll continue to lead to raid. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    The other two nodded.


    Li Mu continued on:


    ¡°In that case, kindly inform your guild members to join the raid voice channel, the same one we used during the Orc War. Also, make an announcement on the public channel stating, ¡®yers who epted the time-limited random quest, should join a party first!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Also¡­ try to privately contact those top-ranking yers who are currently offline. Get as many as you can, including Boxlunch. Their team¡¯sbat power alone is equivalent to five teams!¡±


    ¡°Then, for the next hour, assemble all your forces swiftly, then we¡¯ll meet up at the ck Dragon Castle before embarking on our pursuit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have Demacia see if we can ask for the assistance of A¨¦l in dealing with the Silver-ranked Boss. HootyBird, see if anyone in your guild can contact Zero and Meryer. In any case¡­ bring along any NPC support that you can, just in case things go south!¡±


    Hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, HootyBird nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, but¡­ Zero tends to be elusive; there¡¯s no guarantee we can find her. As for the ck Dragon, given that Little Salty Cat has been captured, Meryer should be willing to help us.¡±


    Tomato thought for a moment, and then an idea came to him.


    ¡°Actually¡­perhaps we can have Meryer set up a teleportation array ahead of the mercenary group¡¯s path¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡±


    HootyBird interjected before shaking her head.


    ¡°Our time frame is too tight, and there¡¯s no time fur us to prepare the materials for a new teleportation array. Besides, makeshift arrays have their ws. The mana needed was minimal when we were at lower levels, but considering our current levels, the mana consumption would be astronomical if we attempted to use a makeshift teleportation circle once again at this time.¡±


    ¡°What about dismantling an already existing ones? I remember the teleportation array in various regions have been strengthened by the Goddess¡¯s blessing righr?¡± Tomato suggested.


    HootyBird shook her head again.


    ¡°That still won¡¯t work. After receiving the Goddess¡¯s blessing, those teleportation circles can¡¯t be relocated anymore. Even if they could be dismantled, yers who haven¡¯t joined the quest would likely be unwilling to give up their main mode of transportation.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s just forget about it. The distance isn¡¯t that far anyway. Since Little Salty Cat can monitor the mercenaries¡¯ real-time location, we¡¯ll pursue them directly. However, this time, we won¡¯t have the luxury of endless resurrection. So, let¡¯s aim to eliminate them quickly in one go instead.¡±


    Li Mu sighed with regret.


    After the high-ranking leaders of the three major guilds discussed their ns, trio quickly took action.


    No, it wasn¡¯t just the three major guilds anymore.


    Under the leadership of Transformer Ji Gang, the newly established fourth major guild, ¡°Autobots,¡± also started moving at Li Mu¡¯s instruction.


    yers level 11 and above, whose scattered across Shadow Dungeon, Underground Forest, ckrock City, the northern part of Elven Forest, Florence, the Chosen City, and other locations, began rushing towards ck Dragon Castle as soon as they received the notification¡­


    At the same time, some of the dimly-lit houses in the Chosen City, once again lit up with light as some yers who had already logged out earlier had once again came back online and fully equipped themselves, before going outside of their homes.


    Groups of high-leveled yers, riding Crypt Spiders, quickly crossed forests and districts on their way to the teleportation point of ck Dragon Castle, all while being watched with envious gazes by others.


    For a moment, the central area of the Elven Forest fell into a bustling atmosphere.


    Meanwhile, inside ck Dragon Castle¡­


    ¡°What? A group of disgraceful human mercenaries attacked this Lord¡¯s castle just now!?¡±


    Seeing the lingering bloodstains on the castle hall¡¯s floor, Meryer was very livid and flustered.


    Without a second thought, he immediately rushed deeper into his castle¡­


    But when he saw that his hidden treasure was still intact, the Little ck Dragon breathed a sigh of relief¡­


    ¡°Thank goodness¡­ my treasures are still here!¡±


    Meryer calmed down considerably and wasn¡¯t as angry as before.


    ¡°¡­By the way, is there anything else?¡±


    Feeling relieved, Meryer asked while eating skewered meat and looking at HootyBird who had rushed over.


    HootyBird adjusted her expression and said,


    ¡°Although those human mercenaries have left, they¡¯ve also captured many of our people. We¡¯re currently preparing to rescue them. Meryer, the enemy is quite formidable, and we need your help!¡±


    ¡°Some Chosen Ones got captured?¡±


    Meryer was momentarily surprised, then said nonchntly,


    ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Besides, you guys can resurrect¡­ Why not just take the risk and die since you¡¯ll be revived back here anyway?¡±


    ¡°Well, Little Salty Cat was captured too. She said that if you don¡¯t rescue her this time, then she won¡¯t prepare your meal ever again.¡±


    Meryer: ¡°¡­..¡±


    The little dragon¡¯s face immediately changed and after awkwardly coughing a couple of times, Meryer loudly proimed, ¡°Where is she? Ruuah! Lead the way quickly!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 218

    ??<strong>ELVES!? </strong>


    In the end, the ck Dragon was persuaded.


    He¡¯s willing to forgo everything else, but if there¡¯s one thing Meryer can¡¯t live without, then it¡¯s his barbecues.


    Moreover¡­ a certain chosen one provided him with more than seventy percent of his barbecue supplies solely from their own pockets!


    Considering the enormous amount of food a juvenile ck Dragon needed for its growth period, Meryer doubted that any other Chosen Ones could aplish such a feat.


    Having grown ustomed to a lifestyle of nothing but eating and sleeping, along with having honey-roasted meat delivered whenever he was hungry, the Little ck Dragon didn¡¯t want to return to the grim old days wherein he had to personally hunt for his own food.


    However, just as Meryer was eagerly preparing to take off immediately, he suddenly halted in his tracks, before casting a somewhat puzzled gaze in the direction of the World Tree.


    The ck dragon fell silent for a moment, and said to HootyBird,


    ¡°I can help you guys, but only against enemies you cannot fight against.¡±


    This was the recent mental instruction given by Ev¨¦ to the ck dragon.


    The ck Dragon simply was just too powerful, with strength hovering on the verge of reaching the Golden ranks. If Meryer went all out, then the mercenaries would likely be annihted long before the yers even arrived.


    In that case, Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t see the yers¡¯ growth.


    Upon hearing the ck Dragon¡¯s words, HootyBird hesitated for a moment but still nodded.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    So, after some negotiation, the ck Dragon finally joined the yers¡¯ raid.


    Simrly, Demacia also managed to convinced the Divine Acolyte A¨¦l to participate in this quest.


    Within the next hour, almost all of the Iron-rank yers currently online began to mobilize.


    There are also some neers who have epted the questline and have gathered with the rest of the participants at ck Dragon Castle, using the teleportation circle.


    And beneath the hill where ck Dragon Castle is located, in a particr deste area that used to be the Stronghold of the Caverock Tribe, a legion of over a thousand Chosen Ones is slowly gathering!


    yers assembled themselves here.


    Initially chaos ensued, but as Li Mu assumed leadership and skillfully organized and directed them through the voice chat channel, the crowd slowly began to regain a sense of order.


    All the yers who chose to participate in the quest joined the team created by Little Salty Cat, and after increasing the member cap, Little Salty Cat passed the role of team leader to Li Mu.


    However, just as the team members grew exponentially in size, Li Mu paused for a moment and eventually made the decision to once again divide the entire team into several squads, this time based on the participants¡¯ levels and pet familiars.


    In particr, yers who obtained Crypt Spider familiars were handpicked and relegated into their own dedicated ¡°cavalry¡± unit,prising more than a hundred members¡­


    Time passed quickly and more and more people arrived just as the news further spread throughout the entire yerbase.


    About one hourter, more than two thousand yers had assembled on the open ground below the hill, a surprisingly high number of two and a half thousand people that even the top leaders of the four major guilds hadn¡¯t anticipated!


    Not only did the Iron-ranked yers who epted the quest arrive, but even some yers from the third beta, who had reached Level 10 ¨C a total of over five hundred individuals ¨C chose to participate in the event.


    After all, this was the first major questline event since the arrival of the third beta yers, and ording to the videos circting on the inte, the most intriguing aspect of the Elven Kingdom was its main questlines!


    Therefore, even those third batch of beta-yers who hadn¡¯t yet reached the minimum level requirements still wanted to participate.


    Li Mu and the others naturally weed this.


    <em>Strength matters, regardless of how weak they were, is it not?</em>


    Of course, Level 10 was the bottom line¡­since epting those below that level would essentially be sending them to their deaths.


    The night had already descended into deeper darkness.


    However, the elven race possesses innate and exceptional night vision, thus the yers could still see everything around them clearly.


    Gathering in numbers exceeding two and a half thousand, the yers began to assemble, taking shape in various loosely coordinated squads that presented an inspiring spectacle.


    Soon, the departure time had finally arrived.


    Li Mu rode his unicorn and stood atop on a hill, before looking at the various yer squad in front of him with excitement.


    ¡°y the battle anthem!¡±


    He ordered in the raid voice chat.


    As soon as he spoke, the moderators of the VC yed several epic background music tracks from Elven Kingdom.


    These were the built-in system music tracks of the game, the very same ones Ev¨¦ had yed in the past to boost yers¡¯ morale during previous battles.


    However, these music tracks had been recorded by the yers themselves and were now being yed in the VC as battle songs.


    With the exhrating and resounding tune, all the participating yers couldn¡¯t help but feel their hearts race within their chest.


    Amidst the howling night wind, d in sturdy armor, and wielding weapons that shimmered beneath the moonlight¡¯s icy glow, the yers, apanied by an epic musical score, instinctively fell into a hushed silence.


    Their breath quickened, and their hearts surged with fervor, as though they had transformed into heroes of yore, destined to rescue the world¡­


    As the raidmander, Li Mu was also feeling extremely excited.


    His heart stirred within him, and with a profound inhtion, Li Mu unsheathed a longsword adorned with a radiant ¡°shimmering¡± enchantment. He then raised it skyward, and with a voice filled with passionate fervor, he eximed,


    ¡°The moment is upon us! Forward, myrades! Our goal ¨C vanquish the human mercenaries and rescue our brethren! Uraahh!¡±


    His shout reached such a crescendo that his voice ascended an octave higher, resonating across the voice chat and echoing ceaselessly throughout the expansive valley¡­


    The participants were also filled with inspiration and responded with an enthusiastic cheer of their own. They then drew their own weapons, before raised them toward the sky, and released a resounding chorus of shouts, eximing,


    ¡°URRRAAAHHH!¡±


    The crisp and resonant voices of the crowd startled the birds slumbering within the vicinity, as their warcry send ripples of echoes through the hillside. Even the ck Dragon, whose silently observing the yers¡¯ actions from the sidelines, was momentarily astonished.


    Li Mu exhaled slowly, then raised his sword yet again, before pointing it forward.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Head north!¡±


    Under his directive, the assembled army of yers organized themselves into various disciplined formations. With a vanguard of over thirty Unicorn Knights and supported by a contingent of more than two hundred Crypt Spider Knights, the elven raid army surged forth like a powerful torrent toward the location of Little Salty Cat and the other captives.


    ¡°What a bunch of crazy folks¡­¡±


    Watching the army of Chosen Ones slowly move northward, Meryer shook his head and pped his wings before following suit.


    With her monitoring of the raid voice chat, Ev¨¦ secretly observed the yers¡¯ actions, while anticipating how they would handle the situation.


    ¡°After so many days of development¡­ Let¡¯s see just how much you¡¯ve all grown now.¡±


    In the northeast of the Dark Mountains, along the main road leading to the Maple Leaf Territory on the bordends of the Holy Maniya Empire, Crocodile led his mercenary group forward¡­


    Having sessfully infiltrated the ck Dragon¡¯sir and captured numerous elves, the mercenaries were now very eager to return to the Count¡¯s domain to sell their goods.


    After hours of traveling in darkness and realizing that the ck Dragon still hadn¡¯t pursued them, Crocodile breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯ve sessfully escaped.¡±


    To avoid being detected by the ck Dragon in the sky, he ordered his men not to use any kind of light source and to navigate along the road under the cover of darkness.


    Fortunately, the road had remained well-maintained over the years due to trade with the Kingdom of Aries, making it rtively easy for Crocodile¡¯s mercenary group to pass through without significant challenges.


    After marching rapidly for several hours nonstop, their group had covered more than ten kilometers overnight.


    The sky was gradually brightening, and the night was sooning to an end.


    Despite most of the mercenaries under Crocodile being Iron-ranked practitioners, a night of nonstop marching had still left them somewhat fatigued.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop for a bit here and take a break.¡±


    Crocodile ordered.


    It was already almost daylight and continuous forced marching was really not advisable. A brief rest would allow them to pick up their marching speed yet again.


    One more day of perseverance, and they would soon reach the Empire¡¯s border.


    Thinking of this, Crocodile felt somewhat uneasy.


    He turned to his subordinates and asked,


    ¡°Are those captured elves okay?¡±


    The mercenary he called responded quickly,


    ¡°They¡¯re fine! They¡¯re all tightly bound, unable to resist.¡±


    ¡°No one has harmed them, right?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all! We all understand that elves¡­ in their original state, fetch a higher price!¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ This time when we get back, everyone here will get rich together!¡±


    Crocodile smiled as the mercenaries cheered out loud.


    ¡°Long live the captain! You¡¯re the best!¡±


    Listening to the mercenaries¡¯pliments, Crocodile nodded slightly and began calcting the profits of this journey in his mind.


    ¡°58 elves! Heh heh¡­ if I handle this well, I can at least sell them for two hundred thousand gold coins!¡±


    ¡°Even after dividing the profits among the mercenaries, I can still keep at least fifty thousand!¡±


    ¡°Fifty thousand gold coins¡­ that¡¯s enough for me to buy a baron¡¯s title in the Empire! With a title, I can finally leave mymoner status behind, establish my own domain, and be a true noble!¡±


    ¡°Heh heh, that¡¯s not even counting the earnings I got from the earlier mission in the Kingdom of Aries and the goods we acquired back then. I can easily make a few thousand more if I can sell these smuggled goods!¡±


    He thought contentedly.


    However, just as the mercenaries momentarily stopped, set up camp, and rxed their guard to take a break¡ª


    Twack!


    Suddenly, dozens of arrows shot out from both sides of the forest!


    These arrows, imbued with magical light, shot at incredible speed as it instantly transformed over ten mercenaries near the campsite into pincushions.


    Then, the bodies of the in mercenaries¡­ under the disbelieving gaze of the other mercenaries, suddenly disintegrated turned into ashes!


    At the same time, a series of thunderous shouts resounded from afar¡­


    The dozens of mercenaries on the camp¡¯s outskirts were still trying toprehend the situation when they suddenly felt a powerful force striking them, resulting in fatal wounds as their bodies slowly fell to the ground.


    ¡°Not good! We have enemies!¡±


    Crocodile¡¯s expression immediately changed.


    As he spoke, he saw over a hundred ominous silhouettes rushing out of the forest.


    These silhouettes were then revealed to be humanoid-sized spiders, entirely covered in ck metal-like carapaces.


    However, what made the Crocodile¡¯s pupils contract were the tall figures riding on the backs of these huge metallic spiders.


    They donned magnificent armor and enchanted robes, while some wielded exquisite longbows, others gripped staffs crackling with arcane energy, and a few clutched swords while holding onto mysterious, heavy, smoke-emitting cylindrical devices.


    Crocodile was absolutely stunned at seeing these familiar figures.


    ¡°E-Elves!?¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 219

    ??<strong>CLASH</strong>


    <em>Where did such violent elvese from!? </em>


    <em>Could it be¡­ they¡¯vee and chased after them to rescue their fellow brethren?</em>


    <em>In the first ce, how did they even knew of their group¡¯s current whereabouts anyway?</em>


    <em>How many of them are there? Is the ck Dragon also with them?</em>


    In a matter of seconds, countless thoughts raced through Crocodile¡¯s mind as he broke out in a cold sweat while looking at the approaching individuals who were mounted atop a nightmarish, eight-legged monstrosity.


    These individuals were of course, none other than the yers, specifically the Crypt Spider Cavalry, who were the quickest squadron to pursue the mercenaries.


    This squad consisted of approximately two hundred members.


    Li Mu established these rapid-response special action squad and ced it under the leadership of Tomato, who excelled in small-scale team operations.


    Within these squad, a force of approximately forty archers, sixty mages, twenty druids, and a formidable contingent of over ny melee hunters and warriors stood ready alongside their spider familiars.


    The archers, mages, and druids in this group all possess long-range attack capabilities. On the other hand, the melee hunters and warriors have been equipped with steam guns instead, the very same ones that Moe Moe Committee modified from the alchemical guns they purchased off from the dwarves from before¡­


    In particr, these steam gun was known for its difficulty in use, as most archers¡¯ skills are tailored for bows and not applicable to these weapons. So, in the end, only non-ranged melee yers decided to use these guns.


    Under Li Mu¡¯s directive, Tomato led the Crypt Spider Cavalry to advance way ahead of the main force and initiate harassment attacks and guerri tactics against the mercenaries to prevent them from escaping¡­


    With each member mounted atop their gigantic arachnid familiars, the Spider Cavalry surged forward, resembling a marauding band of bandits descending from the mountains as they closed in on the mercenaries.


    And amidst the cavalry¡¯s charge, the archers bearing longbows began hoisting their weapons upwards, while druids and magesmenced their spell incantations.


    Simultaneously, the melee yers also unveiled their modified steam guns, before aiming them forward in synchronous fashion.


    ¡°Hold it¡ªNow, fire!¡± Tomato shouted.


    Boom!


    Alongside the ear-splitting explosions, several more mercenaries immediately fell down after being hit by a hail of arrows and an unrelenting barrage of myriad of spells, including fireballs, wind des, and ice shards.


    All these long-ranged attacks rained down upon the enemy ranks like hellfire, leaving chaos in their wake.


    Screams echoed all around, as over a dozen mercenaries were suddenly submerged in a rain of arrows and magic.


    And in less than a minute, after the yers initiated their surprise attack, nearly fifty mercenaries around the camp had already lost their lives!


    This sudden ambush hadpletely blindsided the mercenaries, plunging their camp¡¯s outer perimeter into absolute chaos.


    After witnessing the mercenaries fall into disarray and the impressive results of their initial attack, the yers¡¯ morale surged even further.


    ¡°Haha! These low-level mobs sure are pathetic!¡±


    ¡°Ten thousand experience points! I just took down a mercenary and gained over 10K EXP in an instant!¡±


    ¡°Wow, these guys are a gold mine!¡±


    The yers specializing in long-rangedbat grew more exhrated, as their eyes locked onto the mercenaries with a glint of avarice upon their gaze.


    However, the melee yers who used the steam guns felt somewhat frustrated.


    ¡°What a shame¡­I¡¯m a melee specialist, so my skills can¡¯t be attached to these steam guns. Looks lile, I won¡¯t gain any EXP even if I kill anyone using this¡­¡±


    The passive skill War Sacrifice would only activate if yers managed to kill an enemy while using skills and equipment mandated by the system.


    Henceforth, relying solely on any external tools such as these guns wouldn¡¯t trigger this effect.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! There will be a chance for you to engage in closebat shortly. For now, just listen to mymands first and keep charging!¡±


    Tomato reassured the melee yers while leading the cavalry squad to charge at the mercenaries camp once more¡­


    The yers¡¯ initial assault had inflicted heavy casualties on Crocodile¡¯s subordinates. Fifty mercenaries had easily died on their attack, which constituted one-fifth of their overall numbers¡­


    However, the resounding gunshots snapped Crocodile back to reality.


    He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing more than two hundred elves charging out with no additional reinforcements.


    It¡¯s just a mere two hundred elves riding on some strange looking spiders! Their side still have the numerical advantage!


    Crocodile coldly snorted and shouted,


    ¡°Hold your ground! Don¡¯t panic! There aren¡¯t many of them!¡±


    ¡°Their group only consists of elven archers and mages! It also looks like they¡¯re using dwarven steam guns!¡±


    ¡°Raise your shields and spears! Form a shield wall around the camp! Mages, quickly cast enhancement spells on the shield wall! Guards, move to the camp¡¯s perimeter! Don¡¯t let any of those spiders get in!¡±


    Following their leader¡¯s orders, the rest of the mercenaries quickly regained theirposure. They swiftly followed Crocodile¡¯s lead, raising their shields to form a shield wall and thrusting their long spears to deter any approaching spiders.


    In addition, several human mages also chanted spells to enhance the shield wall with added magical protection.


    Not long after, the charging yersunched their attacks once more.


    The melee-oriented yers pulled the triggers on their steam guns once more, as another round of thunderous shots echoed within the vicinity¡­


    However, this time, the mercenaries were already prepared.


    The steel bullets from the steam gunsnded in an instant, but the mercenaries¡¯ shield wall only trembled slightly, with the magical shields only flickering for a second¡­


    To the yers¡¯ surprise, this time, the bullets didn¡¯t even prate the magical shields at all; instead, they only left small dent before the metal pellets fell into the ground¡­


    This oue was somewhat expected since in Saig¨¹es, spells such as magical shields were the most effective defense against kic weapons without being augmented by any skill.


    Therefore, with the magical shields in ce, the yers¡¯ steam guns lost their prating power.


    Watching their attacks be ineffective, the melee yers couldn¡¯t help but grumble,


    ¡°Darn it! Even though these guns have been modified, their attack power is still pathetic!¡±


    ¡°No wonder these steam guns are phased out by the dwarves¡­ they¡¯re totally useless against magic!¡±


    ¡°¡­Should we charge in instead?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t charge in yet! Let the archers handle the aggro! We¡¯ve got mages and druids too!¡±


    Tomato roared angrily and issued a new instructions.


    Hearing the squad leader¡¯smand, the archers raised their bows once more and, with the assistance of their skills, loosed another volley of magic-infused arrows that arched into the air.


    At the same time, the mage and druid yers also began chanting incantations once again.


    Arrows imbued with magic shot forth once more, but they only pierced the magical shields slightly due to the skill¡¯s augmentation and became stuck in the shield, unable to prate deeper.


    However, the subsequent magical spells did inflict some damage on the mercenaries.


    But with the added protection of magic strengthening their shields, this attack only managed to lightly injure a handful of mercenaries.


    As a result of losing their element of surprise, the yers¡¯ attacks were immediately thwarted as the mercenaries began countering strategically.


    Seeing the yers¡¯ assault falter, Crocodile¡¯s eyes lit up with glee.


    ¡°Our shield wall is effective! Mages, keep that buff up! Their attack power don¡¯t pack a powerful punch at all, and their numbers are manageable. Surround and capture them!¡±


    With thismand, the motivated mercenaries quickly raised their shields and advanced toward the yers.


    Seeing the mercenaries trying to encircle them, Tomato shouted in elvish,


    ¡°Halt the charge! Disperse! Switch to guerri tactics instead! Left and right nks, focus on harassment! Buy us some time!¡±


    After issuing themand, the yers instantly changed their course of action.


    They no longer charged towards the mercenaries but instead maneuvered around the shield wall. asionally, they also fired arrows or threw fireballs towards the camp.


    This time around, they aimed not to kill but to disrupt the enemy instead.


    With this change in tactics, even though the yers couldn¡¯t inflict much damage on the mercenaries, they still managed to disrupt the mercenaries and restricted their actions.


    The Spider Cavalry transformed into some sort of guerri archers, as they encircled the mercenary camp and fired an arrow or two before immediately retreating out of range.


    asionally, some elven mages would also throw fireballs into the camp whenever such an opportunity arose, which caused even moremotion.


    Watching several carts chock-full of goods being ignited by those stray fireballs, Crocodile¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot with fury.


    ¡°You goddamed long-eared assholes!¡±


    Those goods were all treasures he had worked so painstakingly hard to buy from the Kingdom of Aries!


    He still needed to resell those back to the empire!


    ¡°Put out the fires quickly! Maintain formation! Guards, follow me! Let¡¯s capture those pesky elves!¡±


    He ordered in amanding toneced with anger.


    Under Crocodile¡¯smand, the mercenaries quickly rushed to extinguish the fires, while his men that¡¯s on the camp¡¯s outer perimeter held their shield formation.


    Not a momentter, several dozen peak Iron-ranked mercenaries followed Crocodile himself as they leave their camp and charged directly at the elves in hot pursuit.


    However, after helplessly chasing after the elves for a couple of minutes, Crocodile realized that he had underestimated the spiders¡¯ speed.


    After forming contracts with yers, these adult crypt Spiders had seemingly be even faster. Additionally, mage and druid yers could also cast a continuous buff called ¡°Lightfoot¡± upon everyone in the squad, making it almost impossible for the mercenaries to catch up.


    Only Crocodile whose strength has reached the intermediate silver-rank can keep up with the speed of the Spider Cavalry Squad.


    However, each time he managed to reached them, the two hundred yers on the squad would immediately concentrate all their attacks on him before swiftly retreating. Theirbined attacks couldn¡¯t harm him at all, but their sheer volume alone was enough to momentarily limit his movement.


    ¡°Why are these elves so cunning!?¡±


    Crocodile¡¯s face turned grim.


    Nheless, even though the mercenaries couldn¡¯t catch the Cavalry Squad, the elves too also couldn¡¯t breach the mercenary camp¡¯s shield wall, thus leaving the situation in a stalemate¡­


    But even in this situation, the elves still didn¡¯t give up their harassment tactics; they continued to encircle the mercenary camp and causing chaos whenever they could see an opportunity.


    Seeing their behavior, the mercenary leader knitted his brows.


    Their actions suggests that they seemed to be in no hurry to rescue the captives¡­


    And upon noticing this fact, Crocodile¡¯s expression finally changed.


    He suddenly realized a problem¡­


    ¡°These elves¡­ aren¡¯t here to rescue their brethren but to stall for time instead!¡±


    ¡°Goddammit! They are probably waiting for reinforcements! Most likely, they are waiting for that ck Dragon!¡±


    In an instant, Crocodile¡¯s face turned pale.


    He clenched his teeth hard and shouted,


    ¡°Don¡¯t engage with them anymore! Maintain formation, and let¡¯s get out of here fast!¡±


    However, as soon as he issued themand, as if on cue, faint shouts came from afar, right in the direction of the southern trade route¡­


    Crocodile¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively looked in that direction.


    Apanied by billowing dust, fully armed elves emerged on the horizon, with their formation tight and imposing as they slowly came into view for the mercenaries just as the sun arises.


    Based on rough estimates, their numbers easily exceeded a thousand!


    ¡°S-So many elves?!¡±


    Seeing such staggering number, Crocodile¡¯s eyes widened in absolute shock.


    But that wasn¡¯t the end¡­


    Just when the members of the mercenary guild were awestruck by the sudden appearance of the elven army, a loud draconic roar resounded from the sky.


    The thing that Crocodile had feared the most had actually happened!


    A fierce ck dragon, pping its massive wings, ominously appeared in every mercenaries¡¯ line of sight¡­


    ¡°Ruaahhh! Wicked humans! You¡¯ve captured the kin of this lord! You must pay a heavy price for this!¡±


    In an instant after he heard the dragon¡¯s excited voice echoing through the air, Crocodile¡¯s mood plummeted to rock bottom¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 220

    ??<strong>GREAT DEFEAT</strong>


    As the well-equipped Elven Legion entered their field of vision, the mercenaries fell into a state of turmoil¡­


    No one had foreseen that the initial attack from over two hundred Elven Cavalry was just the beginning and an even morerger Legion of Elves woulde forth to join their brethren.


    And¡­ the sheer number of opponents on the elven side was staggering!


    At least a thousand Elves charged forward with wild abandon, armed to the teeth and brimming with unwavering resolve as their forces steadily closing in on the mercenaries¡¯ encampment.


    Such spectacr scene left the mercenaries deeply impressed but also incredulous, as if they were in a dream.


    As a medium-sized mercenary group operating on the Empire¡¯s bordends, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps had encounteredrge-scale battles before. They had once subdued a thieves¡¯ guild boasting over a thousand members and had been hired by imperial nobles several times in the past as well to quell insurrections¡­


    But whether it was a guild of thieves or a human army of insurrectionist, none had ever inspired the same reverence as the current spectacle they are witnessing right now.


    Elves!


    Not humans, let alone orcs!


    But a whole Legion of Elves!


    In their everyday lives, many mercenaries within the Crocodile¡¯s group had not seen Elves in years, if ever. In fact, it only had been yesterday that many amongst them had evenid their eyes upon these legendary, noble, and beautiful beings for the very first time¡­


    Yet, the experiences of the past two days was an eye-opener for many of them.


    Yesterday, after capturing over fifty Elves through a surprise attack had already left the mercenaries amazed¡­


    But today, they were witnessing an even greater sight!


    On the road leading back to the Empire, numerous Elves stretched as far as the naked eye could see, with their gorgeous towering figures even discernible amidst the dense foliage on both sides¡­


    From the mercenaries¡¯ perspective, it felt as though there were more of these Elves than members in their own mercenary group!


    By the Eternal Lord above, had all the Elves in the world somehow gathered here?


    Since when had Elves be such amon sight?


    Of course, the appearance of the Elven Legion merely caused amotion among the mercenaries, not fear.


    After all¡­ although the number of Elves seems staggering, the mercenary forces also amount to thousands.


    Moreover, these Elves, in their loose formation, appeared considerably more disorganized than the mercenaries had expected. Looking at the more closely, they seemed more like an unruly bandits about to plunder a vige than a properly disciplined army¡­


    In contrast, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps, although they were mercenaries by trade, still had some semnce of organizational skills no less than a professional army and possessed the most rudimentary discipline due to their past experience of dealing with insurrections.


    But these Elves were different.


    While they managed to maintain a semnce of formation, it was painfully clear that their leadershipcked significant experience inrge-scale battles, thus rendering their ranks highly disorganized and improvised.


    And their already fragile formation keeps descending even further into chaos as they move more closer to the mercenaries camp.


    One could say that the appearance of these Elves is nothing like the noble elegance they were supposed to have, as depicted in the old legends.


    However, the mercenaries had no time to think about such matters¡­


    Because, just after the Elven legion appeared, a dragon¡¯s thunderous roar tore through the heavens, rendering the mercenaries immobile as they stoodpletely frozen in ce, as if they were seeing death itself from above.


    ¡°A¡­D-Dragon! It¡¯s the Bl-ck Bragon!¡±


    Seeing the menacing ck silhouette hovering in the sky, the mercenary group was instantly gripped with fear, as their morale further plummeted.


    <em>A dragon!</em>


    Amongst the most legendary of the golden races in the world of Saig¨¹es, the tales involving dragons were renowned far and wide.


    And amongst all dragonkind, the ck dragon in particr had forever been depicted as the epitome of malevolence upon such tales.


    Hell, one could even argue that humanity has a deeply rooted and ingrained fear of ck dragons due to growing up and listening to these tales¡­


    Not to mention, the mercenaries were well aware that their leader had recently led an operation to infiltrate a dragon¡¯sir just the day before, and their rather abrupt, forceful march overnight was an attempt to evade the ck dragon¡¯s potential retribution.


    It was evident to everyone in the group that the ck dragon had finally caught up with them, and it was here for revenge!


    If the reinforcement consisted solely of elves, then, despite being shaken, the mercenaries still had confidence that they could mount a resistance.


    On the flip side, if it was only the ck dragon alone, then although it was still just as terrifying, the mercenaries could likewise attempt an organized defense.


    Yet, when both of these formidable foes appeared simultaneously and joined forces, itpletely exceeded the psychological threshold of what the mercenaries could tolerate.


    Being confronted with a seemingly inevitable defeat, if not utter destruction, the majority of the mercenaries would not sacrifice their lives in vain unless they possessed unwavering resolve.


    Under the hardened gaze of Crocodile, he witnessed most of his subordinates trembling, and their formation was already teetering on the brink of copse even before the Elven Legion could reach them!


    At the end of the day, mercenaries are, after all, just that¡ª<em>mercenaries.</em>


    They didn¡¯t have the honor of knights nor the resolve of batlle-hardened soldiers. Moreover, the Crocodile Mercenary group couldn¡¯t be regarded as one of those famous legendary mercenary corps.


    While they had a certain degree of organization, theycked the discipline of a regr army.


    Fighting when the odds are in their favor is their forte, but, on the contrary, when faced with adversaries they clearly could not contend with, most mercenaries would falter and retreat just to save their own skin.


    In the midst of this uncertainty, the two sides finally shed.


    Amidst the resounding dragon¡¯s roar overhead, whilst being apanied by a thrilling symphonic background music, the Elven Legion charged forward and descended into sheer madness, a stark in contrast to the mercenaries who had lost their courage..


    Their excitement reaching into new heights just after the yers listened to the voice chat being constantly flooded with messages from the Spider Cavalry members as they keep boasting about how much EXP they were umting¡­


    Killing these mercenaries¡­yields huge experience points!


    Kill them all!


    They must get as many kill as much as possible!


    With bloodshot eyes, the yers¡¯ morale surged to unparalleled heights!


    They brandished their swords and axes, shouting ¡°Ur! Ur!¡± like a pack of frenzied wolves, chasing off their prey with wild abandon and shing at any mercenary within reach, whilst vowing to continue until their targetsy lifeless!


    Their formation by this point hadpletely fallen apart.


    Yet their morale was off the charts!


    The yers, charging one after another like a raging torrent, ruptured the already faltering mercenary formation with ease!


    And the mercenaries, under thebined pressure of the ck dragon and the Elven Legion, finally lost their will to fight¡­


    The shield wall that was originally indestructible under the siege of more than two hundred spider cavalry now disintegrated like fragile paper, obliterated in an instant by the yers onught!


    The mercenaries witnessed the Elves charging recklessly, unleashing their skills with abandon and cutting down any foe in their path, as though reveling in the carnage¡­


    Blood sttered everywhere, particrly noticeable after it sprayed onto the faces of the Elves, who wore bloodthirsty grins as if reveling in the wanton act of ughter¡­


    Such unbridled madness even made the most hardened mercenaries, which was ustomed to killing, felt fear gripped their hearts.


    ¡°T-They¡¯re insane¡­ they¡¯re all insane!¡±


    Finally, one mercenary broke down.


    He threw his shield to the ground before turning around and running away¡­


    With the first one fleeing, soon the dam broke as one after another started following suit.


    Gradually, as the Elves pressed forward, the entire Crocodile Mercenary Corps sumbed to a mass rout!


    And this rout further aggravated the chaos within the mercenary formation.


    Soon enough, nearly half of the mercenaries turned around after discarding their armor, and fled without ever looking back¡­


    In any case, their defeat was now inevitable!


    <em>So what¡¯s the point of staying? </em>


    Meanwhile, Crocodile, whose watching his force crumble in an instant, simply stood there in stunned disbelief.


    However, this was not the end of it.


    Seeing the mercenaries shedding their armor and exposing their backs as they fled, the yers¡¯ morale once again surged.


    ¡°They¡¯re running! Quick, chase them down! Kill them!¡±


    Li Mu excitedly gave themand.


    And the yers on the forefront followed suit, roaring as they pursued the fleeing mercenaries¡­


    Leaving your back exposed to the enemy was the most foolish action in the battlefield.


    However, discarding one¡¯s armor was even more foolish!


    The Elves were naturally agile creatures with many of them even wearing boots with [eleration] properties added.


    Therefore, even if the mercenaries had discarded their armors, they still didn¡¯t get far that much.


    They were swiftly overtaken by the yers in pursuit, before being cut down with ruthless efficiency!


    Then afterwards, the equipment the mercenaries had abandoned would be picked up by the yersing from behind before being carried on their backs.


    The entire battlefield rapidly deteriorated, with one side copsing and turning into a one-sided massacre!


    Under the yers¡¯ frenzied onught, the mercenary corps hadpletely copsed. Almost everyone had lost their will to fight and began scattering in all directions!


    And at this moment, the Spider Knights stationed on the outskirts of the battlefield finally began to move.


    They started to encircle and intercept any mercenaries who were fleeing, specifically targeting those who looks more stronger than the others¡­


    Crocodile watched this scene with a hollow gaze, with his heart growing more colder.


    Even with his intermediate silver-ranked strength, he still couldn¡¯t change the reality of this situation.


    The grim reality was that their side suffered a devastating defeat today.


    ¡ª<em>No</em>


    This was more than just a simple defeat.


    Worse yet, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps might very well be entirely wiped out after this!


    <em>Why were those Elves so ruthless!? </em>


    Crocodile clearly saw that some mercenaries sought to surrender, yet even their pleas were met with naught but theughter and savagery of the Elves!


    ¡°C-Captain, we need to escape quickly! The ck Dragon hasn¡¯t attacked yet; there¡¯s still hope for us!¡±


    At this moment, a few trusted subordinates rushed over to his side, with their faces drained of all colours.


    Hearing their words, Crocodile¡¯s bitterness intensified.


    Indeed, the ck Dragon¡­had not attacked yet!


    It was merely circling in the sky, leading the Elves.


    However, these Elves had managed to defeat the force that Crocodile had worked tirelessly to build over the years, all on their own.


    At that moment, his heart reached its freezing point.


    Now, Crocodile deeply regretted sumbing to his greed, regretted infiltrating the ck Dragon Castle, and regretted capturing of those ursed Elves!


    s¡­ it was all toote!


    Crocodile¡¯s hands trembled slightly.


    He then gritted his teeth hard and, with bloodshot eyes, he eximed,


    ¡°We¡¯ll use those captured Elves as hostages and make a break for it!¡±


    The ck Dragon wielded unimaginable might, a force Crocodile could not challenge at his current strength.


    Furthermore, his sole trump card, the Level 7 Teleportation Magic Scroll, had already been used up by him in yesterday¡¯s operation.


    By escaping alone, he feared he that couldn¡¯t evade the ck Dragon¡¯s pursuit¡­


    Those captured Elves were hisst glimmer of hope!


    The ck Dragon had mobilized so many Elves to rescue its kin.


    This clearly indicated it attached great importance to these Elves Crocodile had captured!


    And this¡­ might be the sole path to salvation for the entire mercenary corps!


    Having said that, Crocodile, along with few of his most trusted subordinates, returned in a disheveled state to where the captives were being held.


    Then, upon the Crocodile¡¯s orders, the mercenaries pulled out over fifty bound Elves and gathered them all together.


    Afterwards Crocodile himself selected the most elegantly equipped, presumably the highest-ranking female Elf amongst them, and ced his longsword at her throat¡­


    Then, with his eyes filled with conviction, Crocodile summoned all his strength and shouted towards the ck Dragon in the distance:


    ¡°ck Dragon! If you want to save your captive kins,mand your Elven Army to cease their assault!¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, even if we die, we¡¯ll take all these captives along with us to the grave!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 221

    ??<strong>DEATH OF LITTLE SALTY CAT </strong>


    Upon hearing the words of Crocodile, the ck dragon hovering in the sky was momentarily taken aback.


    Then, the mercenaries clearly noticed that the ck dragon¡¯s breathing had be noticeably heavier, and its terrifying expression seemed to grow even more fearsome¡­


    The dragon turned its head and bared its teeth at Crocodile, with its eyes filled with an uncontroble rage. The once cid aura surrounding the dragon had transformed into a tempest of rage, sending shivers through the spines of everyone around, including the yers.


    <em>There is still hope! </em>


    Crocodile¡¯s eyes sparkled with newfound confidence.


    Its anger clearly indicates that these captured elves were greatly valued by the ck Dragon, and there was room for negotiation just as long as he yed his cards right.


    Crocodile felt his confidence rising back with this discovery.


    He quickly removed the cloth gag from the mouth of the female captive he had picked as a hostage and addressed the ck dragon once more,


    ¡°ck dragon! Command your elven army to stop, or you¡¯ll soon hear the screams of your kin!¡±


    Upon hearing Crocodile¡¯s words, the fury in the ck dragon¡¯s eyes further intensified.


    It unleashed a thunderous roar, dering in anger,


    ¡°Silence, you shameless human!¡±


    ¡°Ruuah! You dare call me a ck dragon!? No, you are the real ck dragon! Your whole family is full of ck dragons! You foul creature! How dare you insult this great Silver Dragon, Meryer! Ruuah! You must face my righteous punishment for humiliating this lord!¡±


    Crocodile: ¡°¡­?¡±


    <em>S-Silver Dragon?</em>


    <em>¡­.What¡¯s going on here?</em>


    The mercenary leader then did a double take and appeared utterly bewildered as he focused his eyes on the Dragon¡¯s obsidian scales, which were as ck as the deepest night, and its skeletal visage that possessed such a terrifying aura that it could even sent shivers down the spine of a Silver-ranked expert like him.


    Crocodile: ¡°¡­¡±


    It was undeniably without a doubt, a bonafide ck dragon¡­.right?


    <em>T-This dragon¡­</em>


    Could this dragon be suffering from somekind of mental illness?


    Observing the leader of mercenaries in utter bewilderment, Little Salty Cat whose still being held by him at knifepoint, chuckled softly.


    ¡°Hehe, what Meryer despises most in his life is being called a ck dragon by others.¡±


    Crocodile: ¡°¡­¡±


    He was at a loss for words.


    Nheless, despite realizing that his ckmail had no effect and the ck dragon¡¯s anger wasn¡¯t caused by his threats to the captives¡¯ safety, Crocodile was still pleasantly surprised to find that some of the elves attacking did hesitate and stopped after his coercion.


    On the other side, the yers were either sending messages in the voice chat or discussing among themselves while using their elvennguage¡­


    ¡°These mercenaries are using Salty Cat and the others as hostages!¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable! How sneaky!¡±


    ¡°What should we do? Prioritize rescuing the hostages¡­ or continue fighting? These mercenaries havepletely lost their morale and they¡¯re practically free kills at this point!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ one of the quest objectives is to rescue the captives. Will our rewards be deducted if Salty Cat and the others die?¡±


    Listening to the yers discussions , Li Mu, who was inmand of the whole raid, hesitated for a moment¡­


    They were right.


    Rescuing the captives was also one of the quest objectives¡­


    However, just before he could even formte a n, Little Salty Cat had already reacted.


    She had been closely following the discussions happening within the voice chat and she decided to took over Li Mu¡¯s microphone by using her admin privileges.


    After taking a deep breath, she proimed with determination,


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! Keep fighting!¡±


    ¡°These mercenaries give a lot of experience points! Even if we end up notpleting the objective, the demerits on our rewards are still worth it when we factor in the EXP everyone will gain by wiping out the mercenary group!¡±


    ¡°I mean, death isn¡¯t the end, right? It¡¯s just mere resurrection coins! Moreover, I promise that everyone who dies will bepensated by Moe Moe Committee for the resurrection coins you¡¯ll lose during this whole event!¡±


    ¡°After this quest, I¡¯ll treat everyone to a barbecue party in the central square!¡±


    Hmph!


    How dare this mercenary NPC use her just to ckmail the others!


    What infuriated Little Salty Cat the most was being treated like an object.


    Its just over twenty resurrection coins!


    She has no shortage of funds at her disposal. Not to mention, even if all of the fifty-eight captives died, she could still afford the over a thousand resurrection coins needed to resurrect them!


    Its just equivalent to a mere two hundred thousand contribution points!


    She was more than willing to spend this much if it could buy her some happiness.


    Like her, there were also plenty of gamers who are rich back on earth, and Little Salty Cat was by no means the biggest spender in the online gamingmunity.


    However, here in Elven Kingdom, she could be considered as the biggest whale, thanks to her having ¡®a mine at home¡¯ 1 and some yers particrly those hardcore ones who are almost terminally online are mad at her for using her real-life wealth to cheese the system. 2


    Nevertheless, despite her detractors opinions, she¡¯s not afraid to use that wealth if she could spread happiness to those everyone around her.


    Upon hearing Little Salty Cat¡¯s words, every yers¡¯ eyes lit up with excitement.


    ¡°Damn! Moe Moe¡¯s Guildmaster sure have style!¡±


    ¡°No wonder she¡¯s the server¡¯s biggest whale!¡±


    Since ElvKing¡¯s richest yer had already spoken, so what¡¯s there to hesitate about?


    In any case, a single mercenary¡¯s head was worth at least ten thousand experience points!


    The yers cheered and disregarded Crocodile¡¯s coercion, before once again continuing their pursuit and ughter of the mercenaries!


    ¡°Goddammit!¡±


    Watching the suddenly more frenzied elves around him, Crocodile¡¯s expression darkened. As thenguage conversion was set to the elvennguage, he couldn¡¯t understand what Little Salty Cat had just said.


    However, from the elves¡¯ reactions, it was evident that they were not inclined topromise on his demands.


    This discovery weighed heavily on Crocodile¡¯s mood, and at the same time, it left him increasingly perplexed.


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    <em>Aren¡¯t they elves?</em>


    Could it be that instead of saving the captives, they would rather them die than give up killing off their enemies?


    When did they be so ruthless?


    Fierce against their enemies but equally just as merciless toward their own kind?


    Are these people¡­really elves!?


    ¡°Very well then¡­since that¡¯s what you guys had decided, then you shall die!¡±


    With this thought in mind, Crocodile gathered all his pent up frustration and delivered a brutal sh with his longsword¡­


    Little Salty Cat suddenly felt a chilling sensation around her neck and a continuous flow of scorching liquid.


    Wait, did he just slit her throat?


    She was momentarily taken aback.


    Little Salty Cat already turned off her pain coefficient, so she didn¡¯t feel anything, but the gush of blood still made it impossible for her to speak¡­


    She tried to open her mouth but suddenly felt copious amounts of sweet, metallic liquid flowing out from it¡­


    Then, Little Salty Cat felt her body gradually growing cold, with her strength slipping away within seconds.


    Is this what it feels like to be on the brink of death?


    Although she hadn¡¯t personally experienced dying before in real life, such sensation felt¡­ incredibly real¡­


    Ever since the game¡¯s inception, she had traded for countless perfect resurrection tokens.


    Thus, she hadn¡¯t really died that much in-game.


    There was only one time she could recall, wherein she had consumed a copious amount of ¡®Return to City¡¯ potions and leaped from the World Tree just to clear the debuffs she had umted.


    That time, it was simply akin to a thrilling bungee jump with a ¡°thud,¡± followed shorty by her resurrection, which was devoid of any true sensation.


    However, this time, she truly experienced the sensation of being on the brink of death.


    As her face paled, her eyelids weighed down, and Little Salty Cat¡¯s instincts urged her to cast her gaze upward. There, in the vast expanse of the sky, she noticed the ethereal figure of Meryer, suspended in mid-air.


    Vaguely, it seemed like she saw the Little ck Dragon first react with a slight shock, before his eyes became dangerously angry and furious like never before.


    In her fading consciousness, she heard Meryer¡¯s violent roar.


    Hazy as it was, Little Salty Cat saw the ck dragon that had been circling above dive straight towards her¡­


    His expression was filled with urgency.


    <em>¡­Huh?</em>


    As Little Salty Cat¡¯s consciousness was starting to blur, her thoughts have begun to wander¡­


    Meryer¡­ was he angry because she was killed?


    That fool, didn¡¯t he know she could easily resurrect herself?


    Hmph! Why is this idiot acting this way now when he himself even suggested that she could simply¡­mit suicide to return back to the city¡­


    In the end¡­ she even found herselfpelled to use the threat of withholding cooking barbecue for him just to gain his support¡­


    <em>What a strange¡­ guy¡­</em>


    With these drifting thoughts, Little Salty Cat finally lost all her strength.


    Her consciousness had finally¡­pletely faded away.


    yer, Little Salty Cat, died.


    The cause was from massive arterial bleeding, at level 22.


    Seeing Crocodile kill Little Salty Cat in one fell swoop, the yers erupted in shock.


    ¡°Dang! Little Salty Cat, Moe Moe¡¯s leader is down!¡±


    ¡°So brutal! She¡¯s lost so much blood!¡±


    ¡°Her death is epic! A tale worth singing!¡±


    ¡°For the sake of Big sister Salty Cat! Let¡¯s take down all these mercenaries!¡±


    And then, Crocodile saw the elves continue to charge at them, howling with excitement¡­


    They looked excited, full of spirit.


    There was no sorrow upon their faces despite the death of their kin¡­


    There didn¡¯t seem to be anger either¡­


    Seeing this scene, Crocodile was shocked.


    T-These elves, they¡­they really don¡¯t care about the life or death of their brethren!


    As he grasped this unfathomable truth, Crocodile¡¯s pupils shrank, and he felt a chilling sensation in his chest.


    At this point¡­ hisst glimmer of hope had be aplete joke!


    Then, before Crocodile could take any further action, a furious roar echoed from the sky.


    ¡°Damn humans! I will kill you!¡±


    An immense draconic aura erupted in the heavens, and the ck dragon let out a thunderous roar, before diving straight towards Crocodile.


    His massive bat-like wings had created a tempest, blowing the surrounding yers and mercenaries in all directions. The oppressive draconian aura emanating from Meryer, along with his intense, murderous intent, forced everyone to freeze in ce, as their hair stood on end.


    The ck dragon was on a rampage.


    A rage like never before!


    Meryer, like a massive projectile, crashed straight into the mercenaries¡¯ camp, instantly crushing several unlucky mercenaries and yers who happened to be in his way.


    ¡°Danggit! Meryer be careful where you step! You just crushed your own people!¡±


    One yer eximed in rm.


    However, the ck Dragon payed no heed to this person.


    Instead, Meryer simply extended his ws, grabbing Crocodile¡¯s legs, who still hadn¡¯t had time to escape. Amidst the mercenary leader¡¯s terror-stricken gaze, the ck Dragon raised Crocodile high before mming him into the ground countless times!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    As hey helpless within the ck dragon¡¯s grip, Crocodile was mercilessly pounded into the earth, leaving craters resembling his form afterward.


    Even though he was an intermediate Silver-ranked magic swordsman, Crocodile still couldn¡¯t withstand the ck dragon¡¯s immense strength. He was subjected to extreme violence, with his head was already littered with wounds, and his consciousness fading.


    However, Meryer still didn¡¯t stop his rampage.


    With Crocodile in tow, the ck Dragon continued the merciless assault, as if venting his rage.


    Finally, Crocodile lost consciousness from the relentless beatings, as his flesh and blood turned into a bloody pulp¡­


    But even so, Meryer still didn¡¯t stop.


    It wasn¡¯t until the human in his grasp had been beaten into a pile of meat, indistinguishable from the twisted equipment the mercenary once wore, that Meryer finally stopped his onught, albeit panting heavily¡­


    Crocodile, a widely renowned Silver-ranked magic swordsman on the Empire¡¯s bordends, left this world in such a miserable and wretched manner¡­


    The mercenaries and yers within the vicinity who had seen the dragon¡¯s rampage were leftpletely stunned.


    ¡°Dang¡­ What happened to Meryer?¡±


    ¡°S-So terrifying¡­¡±


    ¡°This quest boss is so pitiful¡­Looking at his remains, we can¡¯t even tell if it¡¯s a human anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it because of Little Salty Cat?¡±


    ¡°Meryer should know that Little Salty Cat can resurrect, right? Why is he so angry?¡±


    ¡°W-Wait¡­ could it be because of the barbecue? I remember Little Salty Cat said that if Meryer couldn¡¯t rescue her, then she wouldpletely ignore him in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­No way? He went on a rampage for a barbecue?¡±


    ¡°Ah fuck! No good! The Silver-ranked Boss¡¯ experience points are gone!¡±


    ¡°Dammit! The equipment was destroyed too!¡±


    When they realized that Crocodile had died and all his equipment was also destroyed, the yers couldn¡¯t help but feel heartbroken once more¡­


    On the other side, after witnessing the tragic demise of their leader, the mercenaries¡¯ moralepletely copsed¡­


    ¡°D-Dead¡­he¡¯s dead¡­¡±


    ¡°R-R-Run¡­ run quickly¡­¡±


    The rest of the mercenaries all looked terrified, trembling in fear.


    The entire mercenary group had finally fallen apart!


    Even Crocodile¡¯s most trusted upper Iron-ranked subordinates turned pale with fear andpletely lost their senses as they all began to scatter and flee¡­


    ¡°We can¡¯t let them escape!¡±


    Seeing the mercenariespletely defeated and fleeing, the yers, with frenzied eyes, resumed pursuing them¡­


    However, unlike the yers who were excitedly chasing the remaining mercenaries, the ck dragon, fell into silence.


    Meryer simply gave a cold gaze and drove away any yers who tried to steal Little Salty Cat¡¯s Legendary equipment that she had left behind.


    Seeing their sly smiles, he decided to pick up her gear and then pped his massive bat-like wings before leaving the battlefield all by himself¡­


    1 <strong><mark>¼ÒÀïÓпó</mark></strong> ¡ª Mine at home is a chinese inte buzzwords , mean to ridicule the other person¡¯s family for being rich and spending money indiscriminately.


    2 Cheese the system or simply, cheesing is is video-game ng for beating tasks or enemies through tactics that while not exactly cheating, are certainly underhanded in nature which gives a yer an unfair advantage.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 222

    ??<strong>WHO ARE YOU? </strong>


    The Crocodile Mercenary Corps was annihted¡­


    Throughout the entire battle, even Ev¨¦ was astonished by how smooth it proceeded.


    Over a thousand mercenaries, except for a few lucky ones who managed to escape, all perished beneath the des of the yers¡­


    In contrast, the yers side merely suffered less than three hundred casualties.


    Among the losses were over a dozen captives, in by the enraged mercenaries, and a few hapless souls identally crushed by the ck Dragon when Meryernded¡­


    The members of Spider Cavalry all survived, with only a handful nursing injuries that isn¡¯t life-threatening.


    It can be said that the casualties in this skirmish were quite impressive.


    At this moment, Eve suddenly realized why army¡¯s morale was so important during the Medieval Era back on Earth.


    Honestly, even though the yers outnumbered the Mercenary Corps two to one, Crocodile¡¯s subordinates didn¡¯tg in terms of strength.


    On the contrary, when it came to high-endbat capabilities, aside from the ck Dragon, the yers, in general, were even weaker than the mercenaries.


    Logically speaking, under the premise that the ck Dragon does not intervene and yers lose their ability to resurrect at their respawn point, the mercenaries¡¯ side should have a higher chance of winning.


    However, things unfolded in an unexpected manner.


    Apart from eliminating Crocodile, Meryer simply hovered in the sky, intimidating the mercenaries, while the Divine Acolyte, A¨¦l didn¡¯t even joines the battle. Nevertheless, the yers still effortlessly shattered the mercenaries¡¯ formation, as if slicing through melons, and pursued them like a pack of rabid dogs.


    Ev¨¦ saw with her own eyes that some neers who had only reached the rudimentary Iron-rank were still bold enough to scream and chase after intermediate or pinnacle Iron-rank mercenaries.


    Thetter, despite being way much stronger, still dropped their weapons and fled in a panic, before ultimately getting killed by much weaker foes¡­


    ¡°Inrge-scale warfare, the army¡¯s morale and organization are indeed far more important than an individual¡¯s strength¡­¡±


    ¡°Unless an individual¡¯s strength greatly outmatches the overall forces on the battlefield, like in the ck Dragon¡¯s case, then on situations wherein the difference in strength isn¡¯t substantial enough, the side with superior morale and higher organizational capacity will usually emerge victorious¡­¡±


    ¡°Despite me cing more restrictions onto the yers¡¯ capacity to revive, they are still fearless of death and unafraid of sustaining any injuries. It can be said that with them not having to mind these factors, they naturally possess stronger willpower and morale.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, with the assistance of the party system, voice chat, and every yer having a mini-map widget that provides a wider view of the battlefield, it¡¯s only natural that they possess a higher degree of organizational potential.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps their discipline leaves something to be desired, but when they unite into a legion, a quantitative shift yields a qualitative one¡­¡±


    In fact, during medieval warfare, there loomed a risk of copse once casualties amongst the army exceeded ten percent.


    With casualties exceeding 30%, even an elite army would bepletely crippled due to the disruption of the army¡¯sposition and exceeding the psychological breaking point¡­


    Most examples of decisive battles actually resulted in more casualties after an army¡¯s disintegration, with numerous deaths and injuries stemming from the ensuing chaos or trampling during retreat¡­


    It was the overall copse of morale that led to organized surrender andrge-scale defection in wars.


    Of course¡­this scenario applied exclusively to sentient beings in extensive military operations. It will be ineffective if faced with low-intellect monsters, for example, a group of boars.


    If they were to contend against a thousand wild boars, chances are, the yers wouldn¡¯t even be able to catch them in a day.


    ¡°This will suffice for now. With their current level ofbat capabilities, the yers can engage the orcs without my intervention. And once the third batch of beta-yers all advance to Iron-rank, I can even contemte on taking the initiative to attack the Orcs instead!¡±


    Ev¨¦ was notably content with this assessment of the yerbase¡¯sbat proficiency.


    With this thought, she generously used her divine power to broadcast thepletion of the quest¡­


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Crocodile Mercenary Corps annihted, Quest Objective ¡®1¡¯pleted¡¿


    ¡¾All yers who participated in this event will receive ¡®<strong>5000</strong>¡® experience points¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾27 captives rescued, aplishing ¡®<strong>46.6</strong>%¡¯ of the task, Quest Objective ¡®2¡¯pleted ¡¿


    ¡¾All yers who participated in this event, will receive a bonus of ¡®<strong>466</strong>¡® contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Random quest: Crocodile Mercenary Corpspleted¡¿


    ¡¾All yers who participated in this event, will receive 10 resurrection coins¡¿


    All the yers who were cleaning up the battlefield saw the system notifications in their field of vision and rejoiced.


    ¡°Haha! The quest is finallyplete!¡±


    ¡°But it feels like the bonus rewards aren¡¯t that much¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just be content with this amount! The real rewards are the EXP we gained from the mercenaries! I mean, 10K experience points per head, and they dropped a lot of equipment too! Just hurry up and scoop them up before others takes them!¡±


    The yers chatted amongst themselves, while happily picking up the armor and weapons dropped by the mercenaries on the battlefield.


    Over a thousand mercenaries meant over a thousand sets of equipment!


    Although the quality couldn¡¯tpare to the items from the exchange store, they were still better than the orcs¡¯ equipment.


    Even if the yers who participated in this event didn¡¯t need them, they could sell them to lower-level third beta-yers!


    As for the damaged equipment from the battle, they could be given to cksmiths to be repaired, and the severely damaged ones could still be offered to the Goddess in exchange for some contribution points.


    Such as¡­ the case with Crocodile¡¯s equipment.


    Even though it waspletely destroyed under the violent rampage of the ck Dragon, it was still a Silver-ranked boss¡¯s equipment nheless, and offering it to the Goddess could still yield one a considerable profit!


    For a moment, the entire battlefield was bustling with activity as all the yers happily divided up their spoils.


    However, the area where yers gathered the most was in the center of the mercenaries¡¯ camp, where several dozen carriages were parked¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Did the mercenaries bring these goods?¡±


    ¡°Quick, open them up and see!¡±


    The yers eagerly opened the crates loaded on the carriages, revealing everyday items that looks like its mostly used by humans, like some luxury goods, and a few magic items with little practical value.


    Perhaps they could be used for daily life or decoration, but they didn¡¯t enhance one¡¯s strength in any capacity.


    ¡°Tch, I thought it was something good¡­¡±


    Some yers were disappointed.


    However, they still unloaded the goods like a group of bandits and divided them up.


    Having something was better than nothing, even if it was just a decorative painting to hang on the wall, right?


    While yers were busily searching for loot, there was anothermotion in the nearby dense forest¡­


    Apanied by screams and pleas for mercy, several terrified humans were pulled out of the bushes by the yers who identally found them¡­


    Unlike the mercenaries, they were dressed in tattered clothing, emaciated, and appeared fearful and uneasy.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Who are these people?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, they were pretending to be dead in the bushes just now, when they were discovered by Captain Box.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be mercenaries¡­ Should we just off ¡¯em?¡±


    ¡°Cbash identally killed one just now, and he only gained 200 EXP, not even as much as a goblin.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re too weak, ain¡¯t they? Look like regr townsfolk!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wait a minute¡­ Why do I feel like¡­ these people looked somewhat familiar?¡±


    Anders was on the brink of terror.


    Within these past few days, the butler felt like he was the unluckiest person alive.


    First off, he went to the farthest town within the Bordend on behalf of the Count to collect taxes, only to encounter a ck Dragon attacking the city and getting kidnapped, before barely escaping with his life.


    Afterwards, he had been caught by a group of rude mercenaries¡­


    And those reckless mercenaries had actually decided to target the Dragon and infiltrate itsir!


    As expected, the dragon¡¯s vengeance had descended swiftly. That terrifying, evil ck Dragon had brought over a thousand elves along with it andpletely annihted the entire mercenary corps!


    Good Eternal Lord above! Those were over a thousand elves!


    Anders felt like this world had gone mad.


    How could the ck Dragon enved so many elves?


    What was even more frightening was that these elves, like a group of bloodthirsty demons, showed no mercy and killed all the mercenaries without hesitation!


    Not only that, but they didn¡¯t even leave the bodies of the mercenaries behind!


    It was too terrifying¡­


    Truly, it was too terrifying!


    These people were more like¡­demons cloaked in elven skin!


    Anders¡¯ psyche was on the verge of copse, but it was his quick thinking that allowed him to hide in the bushes during the chaos and barely escape.


    It¡¯s just that¡­ those damn imbeciles! those fool of apanion of his! They actually hid along with him and ended up exposing themselves in the end!


    And now, they had be the captives of these terrifying and weird elves!


    Lord Eternity above!


    Why was his luck so terrible?


    Could it be that¡­ he was finally going to die this time?


    And at this moment, he heard the elves speaking again:


    ¡°Huh? I recognize them. Aren¡¯t these the humans Meryer hired when he came back?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? So was it them who lured the mercenaries here?¡±


    Hearing this, Anders was horrified and quickly exined:


    ¡°Noble elven warriors! I-It¡¯s not like that! It¡¯s definitely not like that!!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just innocent vigers! We¡¯re victims too! The mercenaries kidnapped us, and they got information about the ck Dragon from us, and then¡­ then they got greedy¡­ It has nothing to do with us! Definitely nothing to do with us!¡±


    Anders cried and begged continuously.


    However, the elves¡¯ conversation made his heart race:


    ¡°In the end, it was you who told the mercenaries¡­¡±


    ¡°Why should we release you? What¡¯s in it for us?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any information to share with us?¡±


    ¡°Do you know where there are ruins or any treasure maps?¡±


    Information? Ruins? Treasure maps? What were those things?


    Anders looked bewildered and extremely anxious.


    However, just as the conversation continued, the voices of the elves suddenly stopped.


    Anders timidly raised his head and saw a male elf dressed as a druid slowly approaching, whilst being apanied by a regal looking unicorn and a fierce humongous spider.


    The other elves made way for him.


    ¡°Oh Brother Mu! You¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°Bro, we caught a dozen ordinary humans. You have the most experiencemunicating with NPCs. So what should we do with them?¡±


    Brother Mu? Is he the leader of the elves?


    Anders was stunned for a moment, then immediately rushed forward and hugged Li Mu¡¯s thigh tightly, while sobbing uncontrobly.


    ¡°L-Lord Brother Mu! Oh Great Lord Mu! P-Please, spare us!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    The yers: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Mu looked at Anders, who was clearly dressed much more elegantly than the others, and asked in a deep voice,


    ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 223

    ??<strong>Rushed Out Subconsciously </strong>


    ¡°I am¡ª¡±


    Anders was about to respond, but upon seeing the curious looks of the elves around him, he abandoned the prepared set of words he had in mind.


    Instead, he honestly stated, ¡°We are the vassals of a Count stationed at the Bordends of the Holy Maniya Empire. This time, we were fortunate enough to be employed by Lord ck Dragon to help transport his livestock. We just didn¡¯t expect to encounter those mercenaries on our way back.¡±


    ¡°They found out about Lord ck Dragon and targeted him¡­ It really wasn¡¯t our idea!¡±


    ¡°Bordend Count?¡±


    ¡°Holy Maniya Empire?¡±


    The yers exchanged puzzled looks.


    However, the nearby Demacia yer brightened up and quickly said, ¡°I knew this actually! I heard from the E¡ª¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡°


    Li Mu cleared his throat twice.


    Demacia:¡± ¡­¡±


    He refrained from using the term ¡°elves¡± and chuckled, before continuing, ¡°I heard from an NPC who returned¡­ that it¡¯s a human empire in the north, and the Bordend Count¡¯s domain is the closest human settlement to the Elven Forest.¡±


    ¡°I see!¡±


    ¡°A new map! This is definitely a future map!¡±


    ¡°Are we finally going to interact with the human faction!?¡±


    Excitement filled the yers as they listened to Demacia¡¯s exnation.


    Anders, however, was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm showed by the elves around him.


    <em>Hmm?</em>


    <em>They didn¡¯t know the empire?</em>


    The Holy Maniya Empire was the most powerful human nation on Saig¨¹es, and it is also where the headquarters of the Eternal Church is located. Its reputation stretched from the southern continent all the way to the far northern tundras, known mostly by all inhabitants living within this continent.


    How could these elves not heard of it?


    Not to mention that Holy Maniya Empire was the biggest proprietor of elven ves!


    While Anders felt puzzled, Li Mu asked another question,


    ¡°How far is the Bordend Count¡¯s domain from here?¡±


    Anders reluctantly replied, ¡°Follow this road and head northeast for over fifty kilometers, and you¡¯ll reach the empire¡¯s border. If you¡¯re aiming for the nearest human city, then you might need to cover several tens of kilometers more.¡±


    Li Mu, upon hearing Anders¡¯ words, checked the system¡¯s minimap.


    If what the other party said is true, then the Bordend Count¡¯s domain is probably about four hundred kilometers away from the center of the map, and even the ck Dragon Castle, stationed on the edge of the elven territory, is still likely more than a hundred kilometers away!


    That was nearly a hundred kilometers beyond the map¡¯s current maximum range of activity¡­


    Seeing this seemingly leader of the Elves fall into silence, Anders grew more anxious.


    He cautiously asked, ¡°U-Um¡­ Lord Mu, do you¡­ have any more questions? If not, can you finally let us go? We¡¯re just some poor townsfolk.¡±


    Yet Li Mu remained silent, just standing there, pondering something to himself.


    Anders became even more fearful.


    After some thought, the butler said again, ¡°A-Are you worried that we¡¯ll reveal what happened here when we return? You can trust us! We¡¯ll keep our mouths shut. If you don¡¯t believe us, then we can even swear upon the gods we believe in!¡±


    Just as Anders was feeling anxious, Li Mu asked another question.


    ¡°How strong is the Bordend Count?¡±


    <em>The Count¡¯s strength?</em>


    Anders was slightly taken aback.


    Then, when he saw the expectant eyes of the elves around him, he suddenly felt a sinking feeling¡­


    Wait¡­


    These elves¡­


    <em>They couldn¡¯t be nning to target the Count¡¯s domain, could they!? </em>


    Anders¡¯ face turned ashen pale in an instant.


    Thinking back to what the elves had done to the mercenaries earlier, it was entirely possible!


    However, facing a life-or-death situation, Anders hesitated for a moment before responding with honesty,


    ¡°The Count¡­ holds the esteemed title of a Golden-ranked Pdin and is among the seven princes of the Empire. His strength is formidable¡­ Furthermore, the Countmands his own Order of Knights, boasting a hundred knights who all hold the rank of Silver¡­¡±


    These were actually not some ssified secrets and just about everyone living within the Bordends knows about this fact.


    At least¡­anyone wouldn¡¯t have much difficulty finding out about this if someone wanted to inquire about it.


    So, Anders gave a straightforward answer.


    But the elves¡¯ reaction was somewhat unexpected.


    ¡°Well fuck!¡±


    ¡°Damn!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah well, we still can¡¯t mess with that¡­¡±


    ¡°Golden rank? and over one hundred Silver knights? Isn¡¯t that too overpowered?¡±


    <em>Huh?</em>


    Could it be¡­ these elves weren¡¯t as powerful as he initially thought?


    Anders felt a twinge of relief.


    However, before he could entertain any further thoughts, the words of the elves that followed sent shivers down his spine.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just kill these people? It wouldn¡¯t be good to attract retaliation, you know¡­¡±


    Anders: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°N-No! We promise not to say anything! I impore you, please spare us! We promise!¡±


    His heart sank.


    But Li Mu simply waved his hand and said, ¡°Release them, let them go.¡±


    The rest of the yers hesitated.


    Seeing their reluctance, Li Mu quickly exined via the party chat,


    ¨C This Count¡¯s domain is outside of the map, and since these human NPCs are from there, releasing them might actually trigger some potential storyline developments in the future, or even unlock a new yable map!


    ¨C Killing them here would only yield a few hundred experience points, and keeping them captive serves no purpose. It¡¯s a waste of resources. Frankly I think it¡¯s better to just let them all go.


    ¨C As for the possibility of human retaliation¡­ wouldn¡¯t that oue be even better for us? It would give us chance to gain EXP and equipment! Plus, If there¡¯s an enemy we can¡¯t handle, then we have a Godwarden and the Goddess herself to back us up!


    Upon reading Li Mu¡¯s exnation, the yers were taken aback.


    Right¡­


    That makes sense.


    If they can win, then the yers will handle it themselves.


    But if they can¡¯t, then they¡¯ll just seek the Goddess¡¯s help!


    After all, with the Goddess supporting them, she wouldn¡¯t permit anyone to seize their faction¡¯s territory, wouldn¡¯t she?


    Thinking of this, the rest of the yers no longer opposed the idea of releasing these human NPCs.


    Over the past few months ying the game, Li Mu had made almost no mistakes in predicting the NPC¡¯s behavior and story developments, which solidified his position as the leading figure in this field.


    In this regard, no one¡¯s judgment was more convincing than his.


    Following their discussion, the yers finally released the dozen or so ordinary humans, much to their relief.


    ¡°Go! Get out of here!¡±


    Anders was overjoyed, feeling as if he were a convict on the guillotine who had miraculously received a royal pardon at the veryst moment. He hurriedly led his subordinates away, as if afraid the elves might suddenly change their minds.


    Having let the humans go, the yers continued to clean up the battlefield, even starting to draw an offering circle to offer to the Goddess some of the salvaged equipment they had found.


    ¡°The Bordend Count?¡±


    Ev¨¦ watched as Anders and the others fled in haste from the perspective of the yers.


    This time, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t seized the opportunity to steer the plot towards future map expansion, nor issue any new quests regarding the humans.


    Since the yers still need to deal with the impending religious war against the Orcs, expanding the yable map into human territory would be a distraction and should be temporarily put on hold for the time being.


    After all, once they made contact with humans, it meant bing entangled with more powerful divine forces. Considering the current strength of the yers, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t believe they could contend with the human faction, which was significantly stronger than the Orcs.


    Furthermore¡­ the deities that humanity worshiped are the most formidable enemies of the former World Tree!


    Currently, Ev¨¦ still wasn¡¯t prepared to confront them directly nor send any of her incarnations right into the territory controlled by the Gods of mankind¡­


    But of course, just as Li Mu had mentioned, if the humans were to indeed send an army to attack the ck Dragon and the elves, then Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t be afraid to defend her territory.


    In fact, she would even wee it.


    After all, Ev¨¦ had not yet revealed herself to the general public, and if some impudent humans dared toe to her territory to defeat the ck Dragon and the elves, it was likely they had been lured by the treasures of the ck Dragon and the temptation of capturing the elves.


    Small-scale incidents like this didn¡¯t necessarily indicate a full-blown war between the Elves and human factions.


    Unlike taking the initiative to attack, Ev¨¦ had no fear in a defensive battle right on her own territory.


    If the yers still couldn¡¯t handle it, then they could be lured into Eve¡¯s Celestial domain, where any enemies without full divinity could be easily wiped out¡­


    So, Ev¨¦ had no objections to letting these humans go.


    While the majority of yers were currently busy cleaning up the battlefield, Meryer on the other hand, decided to flew back to his Castle.


    And as soon as he returned to his castle, he immediately saw Little Salty Cat,ing out from the teleportation circle after being resurrected.


    Of course, by now, Little Salty Cat was no longer decked out in her usual golden gear but had transformed into an intermediate purple epic-ss mage robe she used to wore beforehand.


    Seeing the ck Dragon who just returned, Little Salty Cat smiled to him and said, ¡°Oh! You¡¯re back so soon?¡±


    Meryer didn¡¯t say anything.


    Instead, he simply widened his eyes and stared at her intently, motionless.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    This made the pink-haired mage feel rather uneasy.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°¡­Nothing.¡±


    Meryer muttered and turned his head away, seemingly disinterested.


    After hesitating for a moment, Meryer nced at Little Salty once more and in a seemingly casual tone, he asked,


    ¡°Your resurrection¡­ didn¡¯t have any side effects, did it?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! We¡¯re the Chosen Ones of the Goddess. I mean, just look at me! I¡¯m in great shape!¡±


    Little Salty Cat gracefully turned her body around on the spot before shing a faint smile.


    Subtly, she noticed that Meryer seemed to finally rx a bit.


    Then, the ck Dragon reached into his body and pulled out a pile of golden legendary equipment, before tossing it to the elven girl.


    ¡°Here, your equipment. I brought it back for you.¡±


    Salty Cat¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, and she eagerly took the gear, while saying,


    ¡°Wow! Thanks! Hehe, it seems that the days I¡¯ve spent raising you weren¡¯t in vain!¡±


    Meryer: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Too bad it got stained with blood¡­Now I¡¯ll have to clean it first.¡±


    Holding the golden legendary mage robe that Meryer had brought back, Little Salty sighed with a hint of regret.


    Then, she looked at the ck Dragon and impishly squinted her eyes before asking in a yful tone,


    ¡°By the way I remember just before I died, I vaguely saw you charging over angrily¡­Was it because of me?¡±


    Meryer: ¡°¡­¡±


    He turned his head away stiffly and said,


    ¡°Hmph! How could I, the noble Meryer get angry over such a trivial matter? This lord knew you would resurrect! You¡¯re just one of my servants! I only did it for the barbecue.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­well don¡¯t worry, there¡¯ll definitely be lots of barbecue for youter on the party! I know you¡¯ve worked hard this time!¡±


    Little Salty Catughed whileforting Meryer.


    However, upon hearing her words, Meryer¡¯s expression grew somewhat gloomy.


    After a moment of silence, Meryer spoke in a low, muffled voice that startled Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°¡­Actually, it wasn¡¯t just for the barbecue alone. I knew you woulde back to life, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from charging out subconsciously when I saw you get killed earlier¡­¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 224

    ??<strong>NPCS AND PLAYERS</strong>


    <em>Can NPCs be friends with yers?</em>


    For most yers, NPCs are simply tools within the game, serving only to propel the storyline forward, or provide items for purchase, or act as adversaries for yers to conquer and enjoy.


    Yet, asionally, yers might find themselves drawn to specific NPCs, whether they are exceptionally crafted characters or cherished pets they¡¯ve nurtured within the game¡­


    However, these emotions are typically merely a form of appreciation, a fondness for things that resonate with their preferences or for the creations they¡¯ve painstakingly brought into life.


    In essence, these feelings are not on equal footing.


    Even in many games where yers seem to idolize NPCs, it¡¯s often not because yers genuinely like the NPCs themselves, but it¡¯s often due to the benefits they offer or the sce an NPC can provide¡­


    Even if someone genuinely likes a particr NPC, it¡¯s primarily an affection for the image the game designers sculpted, perhaps enhanced by that character¡¯s own backstory.


    To yers, even the most beloved NPCs are still just that¡ªNPCs; they are, at most, merely characters in a story that yers can partake in.


    In hindsight, it is just a matter of immersion.


    Even when yers immerse themselves in the narrative involving the NPCs, or perhaps even when they be deeply engrossed within the game¡¯s storyline¡­.


    In the end, they are still yers.


    Perchance they may be moved by the story, and perhaps they may even cherished it within their hearts.


    But they understand that at its core, it¡¯s merely just a game designed to provide rxation and enjoyment.


    Of course, another reason for this state of affairs is that in most games, emotionalmunication is rudimentary and one-sided¡­


    NPCs¡­are still NPCs, after all.


    yers have real emotions, they possess independent thoughts, but NPCs sadly, do not have such capabilities.


    They are mere lines of code, and all their reactions are predetermined by an emotionless program.


    Thus in retrospect, the yers are the only thing that is ¡®real¡¯ within the game.


    In this context, if yers were tomunicate with the NPCs on an equal footing, then it wouldn¡¯t be fair to yers since an NPCs behavior is already predetermined.


    However¡­


    <em>What if an NPC can have genuine emotions of their own?</em>


    Elven Kingdom is essentially a game that blurs the line between virtual and reality, with Earth¡¯s inhabitants assuming the roles of yers.


    Indeed for ElvKing¡¯s yers, this is a game yet also not just a game either.


    When yers realize how lifelike the NPCs are in this game, how advanced their AI intelligence is in conveying human-like emotions, and how they can behave just like real humans¡­


    In such scenario, what would the rtionship between yers and NPCs be like?


    True, one-sided emotional expressions are unlikely to foster intimate bonds.


    But what if it¡¯s a two-way emotional exchange¡­


    <em>Wouldn¡¯t that be different? </em>


    As yers engage inplex interactions with the natives of the world of Saig¨¹es, and as they realize that these NPCs can also harbor deep and profound emotions¡­


    Eventually ElvKing¡­bes more than just a game.


    For yers, it bes another world!


    Of course, this doesn¡¯t imply that yers are already considering the game they are in as actual reality, but rather¡­ they have developed a perception that ElvKing can indeed replicate the ¡®realness¡¯ of reality in a certain sense.


    In other words, although the yers acknowledge this as a game¡­that the surroundings and the world itself may just be constructed from data, the emotions they felt are genuine, and the bonds can genuinely form within this game, even from the NPC¡¯s are in fact, real.


    Considering this aspect, Ev¨¦ never intended to reveal the truth of ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ to the yers¡­


    Earth¡¯s current technology has advanced sufficiently enough to convincingly deceive anyone who might suspect otherwise.


    And in the end, believing that they are in a game is what makes these Fourth Catastrophe yers so powerful.


    Fearlessness even in the face of death!


    Such fearlessness makes them exceedingly potent!


    However¡­


    If a yer trulyprehended that ElvKing was not a game, then that wouldplicate matters, and there¡¯s a chance they might even feel helpless after learning the truth.


    Nheless, yers who view ElvKing as a game and also believe they can form genuine bonds andmunication with the ¡°NPCs¡± can coexist.


    Other games may not achieve this, but Elven Kingdom surely can.


    After hearing Meryer¡¯s response, for some reason, Little Salty Cat suddenly recalled a few words Li Mu had once said.


    <em>If you approach ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ as you would just like any other game, then you might have an excellent gaming experience, but you¡¯ll undoubtedly miss out on the core essence of this game. </em>


    <em>It is a game¡­ but it¡¯s also so much more! </em>


    <em>This is our fantasy world, our adventure, and we can genuinely treat this game as having a new life¡­</em>


    <em>In essence¡­ElvKing represents the pinnacle of what virtual reality games can achieve!</em>


    And it was at this moment that she suddenly realized a question.


    That¡¯s rght¡­


    The NPCs in this game also possess their own intricate emotional capacity¡­


    In a way, they can even be considered an existence close to a real one.


    yers can befriend other yers.


    But what about yers and NPCs?


    How would she react if she were to switch roles with Meryer this time, and he faced danger?


    Just contemting about it, Little Salty Cat was surprised to find that she might feel anger and sadness, just like him.


    And if Meryer truly perished in battle, then Little Salty Cat might genuinely shed tears for him.


    Humans are beings of emotions.


    And when confronted with beings exhibiting simrly intricate emotions, sustained interaction between the two would inevitably form bonds amongst themselves.


    Suddenly, the young girl realized that, unknowingly, she hade to view the Little ck Dragon as a friend and apanion.


    And perhaps, the Little ck Dragon felt the same way too¡­


    Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared so angered when he witnessed her death.


    Reflecting on this, Little Salty Cat¡¯s gaze towards Meryer softened even further¡­


    ¡°Meryer!¡±


    She giggled.


    ¡°What¡¯s up!?¡±


    The Little ck Dragon gave her a sidelong nce.


    ¡°I¡¯m treating you to an extra meal tonight!¡±


    Little Salty Cat stood up and patted his scales.


    ¡°How baffling¡­¡± 1


    Meriel muttered,zily yawning.


    Nevertheless, the swaying giant dragon tail behind him betrayed his good mood¡­


    The yers took less than an hour to tidy up the entire battlefield.


    Afterward, they collected their spoils of war and joyfully returned to ck Dragon Castle.


    Elven Kingdom excels in numerous aspects, but in terms of realism, the map is simply too expansive. Without teleportation portals, it takes forever to travel from one ce to another¡­


    That¡¯s where having familiarse in handy.


    While pet familiars mayck intelligence, they are much smarter than ordinary monsters. With a slight adjustment to their settings, yers canmand their familiars to carry them on their journey.


    In this period, yers have the option to either go online or simply log out briefly for a quick nap, reclining on their mounts for some rest. They can then just log back in upon receiving the notification of their familiar reaching their base.


    But for those without mounts, it¡¯s an entirely different story since they have to walk on their own. Fortunately for them, they can disable feelings of exhaustion in the system settings.


    It was already afternoon when nearly two thousand yers finally returned to ck Dragon Castle.


    Many lower-leveled yers who couldn¡¯t participate in the event received news of their return and curiously gathered to watch.


    Despite enduring a day and night of traveling, the triumphant team¡¯s morale was still high and they had quite the momentum.


    Nearly two thousand fully armed yers, still bearing traces of battle on their gear, lined up in an extended queue while pulling carts filled with loot as they entered ck Dragon Castle¡­


    Soon, they would return to the Chosen City through the teleportation array in the ck Dragon Castle¡¯s hall.


    However, just as the yers queued up for teleportation, suddenly, on the other side of the hall, another teleportation array began to emit radiant light.


    It was the teleportation array leading to Rivendell, the sole route to the underground map.


    After a moment, the light finally faded, and to the astonished gazes of the yers, a group of dark dwarves materialized a the center of the the array.


    At the forefront stood a dwarven priest of death, draped in a ck robe whilst clutching a magnificent wooden box.


    Behind him, also stood several dwarven soldiers donning a guard attire.


    They had arrived in ck Dragon Castle via teleportation and were now inquisitively surveying their surroundings, while asionally letting out astonished remarks.


    And when they spotted the continuous influx of yers, the dark dwarves¡¯ curious expressions quickly shifted to shock, and they couldn¡¯t help but exim,


    ¡°Elves! So many elves!¡±


    ¡°By the grace of Death! Have they¡­ just finished a battle? Has it already begun?¡±


    The sudden appearance of the dark-dwarves also attracted the yers¡¯ attention.


    ¡°Huh? dwarves? How did they get here?¡±


    ¡°Dark dwarves?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen them before, right? They¡¯re residents of the underground, and we¡¯ve signed a peace treaty with them. You¡¯ll find out when you reach level 11 and go underground. They have a city underground called ckrock City, and we often go there to sell stuff.¡±


    ¡°I see! It¡¯s my first time seeing them¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite normal not to encounter them since they usually only operate underground. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into them today though, suddenlying up here to the surface¡­ Could there be some new event unfolding?¡±


    As yers curiously discussed and hesitated about whether to approach the dwarves, Meryer, who had received the news, swung his colossal body over, instantly discing half of the yers out from the castle hall¡­


    With a piece of half-eaten roasted meat in his mouth, Meryer chewed thoughtfully while casting a curious eye on the unfamiliar guests who had suddenly appeared.


    ¡°Dark-Dwarves?¡±


    The dwarves were taken aback by the ck Dragon¡¯s abrupt arrival, but the leading priest appeared to anticipate it and managed to maintain hisposure.


    He took a deep breath and respectfully bowed to the ck Dragon.


    ¡°Are you¡­ Meryer, under the service of Lady Eve?¡±


    ¡°I am Carter, a priest of the Church of Death. This time, Ie under the divine guidance of her Majesty, the Death Goddess, to negotiate with her Highness, Lady Eve¡­¡±


    He spoke with profound reverence, while raising the wooden box he held above his head.


    ¡°In addition¡­ we have information regarding the Orcs!¡±


    1 <strong><mark>ĪÃûÆäÃî</mark></strong> ¨C Baffling [m¨° m¨ªng q¨ª mi¨¤o] is a chinese idiom that means that a mystery cannot be fathomed, indicating that what happened is strange and cannot be exined.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 225

    ??<strong>RUMORS AND TIDINGS</strong>


    Deep within the heart of the Elven Forest, nestled at the center of Florence, there stood a hall of breathtaking majesty.


    This ce used to be the ruins of the Grand Library of Florence and with the coborative efforts of the yers and Rageze n, this Grand Library was renovated into a conference hall.


    At this moment, a few individuals with short statures upied the seats in front of a meticulously carved wooden table within the hall.


    They were none other than the enigmatic Dark-Dwarves.


    Seated to the left of the table was Priest Carter, with his eyes fixed in fascination upon the world outside the window.


    His gaze lingered upon the sun as it descended beyond the distant horizon, painting the sky with its waning afterglow. After being lost at the natural wonder of it for a moment, a soft sigh escaped his lips.


    ¡°This is my first time on the surface, and I never expected to find the sun so beautiful,¡± he whispered before adding, ¡°The Elven city is just as enchanting as the legends say¡­¡±


    Florence¡¯s core districts have almost been renovated, and just as the sun sets, it casts its radiance all over the Holy City, making every marble building shimmer with a golden hue. Flowers and greenery adorn every corner, breathing life into the city¡¯s very essence.


    Numerous tall and slender Elves busily moved through the city, with the majority donning crimson hair atop their heads, though a few individuals also had varying shades of other colors.


    Nheless, they all wore traditional Elven robes and had hopeful smiles upon their handsome faces.


    Peaceful, nature-attuned and pure¡ªsuch were the perceptions the Dark-Dwarves held of the Elves.


    As Carter silently observed the ongoing crowd, he noticed in particr that there were also some Elves in armor as well as one¡¯s garbed in robes amongst the city¡¯s popce.


    Their numbers eclipsed those of their crimson-haired counterparts, moving ceaselessly as if with a sense of unending purpose.


    Moreover, their appearance was a bit more rugged and unkemptpared to the former and their demeanor was much less refined as well.


    However, this was a sight familiar to the Dark-Dwarves.


    These were the Elves who frequently engaged in trade and hunting in the underground, most of whom were the individuals the Dwarves had been dealing with recently.


    Unlike the Elves depicted in the legends, these Elves were very strange.


    They can be astute at times while being remarkably naive at the same time. They seem to know many things yet also seem tockmon sense. Sometimes they can be cold and frightening, while at other times, they can be so friendly to the extent of almost unsettling.


    Furthermore, they held great respect forbat and adventure but were indifferent to life and death.


    They called themselves strange terms such as ¡®yers¡¯ or ¡®chosen ones¡¯ but the Dark-Dwarves preferred to call them simply as Elven adventurers.


    During the previous attack by shadow monsters, it was this group of Elven adventurers who had intervened during the conflict and helped them defend ckrock City.


    Observing the figures bustling through the city, an older Dark-Dwarf couldn¡¯t help but remark,


    ¡°The Elves¡­ they¡¯ve changed quite a bit.¡±


    Another Dark Dwarf nodded in agreement, saying, ¡°Indeed. I remember when they first came to ckrock City, I suspected they might just be another race impersonating as Elves. It was only after the Shrinelord confirmed their identity with an appraisal spell that we knew they were genuine Elves.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ but what surprises me the most is when they all returned to the Elven Forest. I seem to recall that a year ago, a human caravan from the surface ventured underground to trade, and they mentioned that the Elven poption living within the Elven Forest was dwindling, almost on the verge of extinction. Yet here we are today, witnessing so many of them!¡±


    Hearing this, almost all the Dark Dwarves recalled the scene they had witnessed in the Dragon¡¯s castle.


    ¡°Oh, great goddess of death, I was also shocked! The numbers we saw at that time¡­ surely must have been at least a thousand, right?¡±


    ¡°And those are just the soldiers¡­¡±


    ¡°And this city is called Florence, right? If I remember correctly, the old records stated that this elven holy city had turned into ruins long ago. I never expected to see it thriving like this!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the Elven adventurers mention it before. They arrived here only half a year ago, and it only took them six months to restore this ruined city to its current state.¡±


    ¡°M-Mere six months? They managed to restore a city to such beauty in just six months!?¡±


    A Dark Dwarf asked in astonishment, ¡°Is that for real?¡±


    ¡°Well, after all, they are a race highly attuned to mana, and they are born with innate proficiency in spellwork,¡± the dark dwarf who initiated the topic replied.


    ¡°You know what, this is nothing. I also heard that the elven adventurers built a magnificent city from scratch beneath the World Tree in less than half a year! Unfortunately¡­ I didn¡¯t get the chance to see it this time.¡±


    ¡°Build an entire city in just six months? Really?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I just heard about it, but many elven adventurers have mentioned it, so it should be true. However¡­ they are different from the Elves of old, so we can¡¯t rule out the possibility of them exaggerating.¡±


    The Dark Dwarves whispered amongst themselves as they looked out the window.


    In the course of their dialogue, one Dwarf hesitated briefly before broaching a delicate matter.


    ¡°By the way¡­ have you heard the rumor?¡± He whispered in a low and cautious tone.


    ¡°¡­What rumor?¡±


    Other Dark Dwarves instantly became interested.


    The Dwarf who brought it up nced at the priest who was lost in thought by the window and further lowered his voice, before saying,


    ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that this newly ascended god named Ev¨¦ whom the Elves are currently worshipping is actually the subordinate of the Goddess of Death!¡±


    ¡°Gasp¡­ Is that true?¡±


    Other Dark Dwarves widened their eyes.


    ¡°Hush¡­ Keep your voice down! It¡¯s just a baseless rumor! The exact rumor implies that Her Majesty supported one of her subordinates in their ascension into godhood!¡±


    ¡°Divine Ascension? Isn¡¯t Her Majesty already the sovereign of the Netherworld? And¡­ this supposed Elven subordinate of hers seems to be associated with nature and life,pletely the pr opposite of our Goddess¡¯s divinity, right?¡±


    ¡°T-That, I don¡¯t know for sure since I¡¯ve only heard these baseless rumors. Moreover, there are also some saying that this new elven deity might have acquired their divinity from the World Tree instead!¡±


    ¡°Gasp¡­ The World Tree? The Matriarch of the Elves?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! That old World Tree! That¡¯s how this new deity was able to gather the Elves so quickly. However, the rumor suggests that this deity also altered the Elves¡¯ personalities, and is attempting to sever their deep reverence for the old World Tree.¡±


    ¡°No wonder! But is any of this true? Just where did you hear it from?¡±


    Other Dwarves looked astonished.


    The Dwarf who shared the rumor looked around furtively, before asking with anticipation,


    ¡°Have any you heard of¡­Amway?¡± 1


    The other dark dwarves: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough, cough!¡±


    The leading priest, who had been gazing out of the window, cleared his throat softly and cast a pointed gaze at the Dark Dwarves who were chatting in hushed tones.


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe in such rumors, and don¡¯t spread them as well! Matters concerning the gods are not for us to discuss.¡±


    The Dwarves shrunk their necks and quickly bowed their heads in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Hmph, when we return this time, I¡¯ll have you clean the shrine for a week!¡± Priest Carter dered.


    The other Dark Dwarves: ¡°¡­¡±


    Amidst the Dark Dwarves¡¯ collective resignation andment, the doors of the conferences hall suddenly eased open as three Elves walked in.


    Leading the way was an elven female d in ck armor. She possessed a short, silvery hair and eyes akin to the purest of rubies. Her face bore delicate features, yet her demeanor exuded an icy aloofness reminiscent of a cold mountain peak.


    Yet she exuded an inherent sense of authority that no one could ignore.


    Beside her stood a blond, emerald-eyed Elven maiden dressed in elegant priestly robes, and on the opposite side was an elven male in druidic attire, with dark hair and eyes, and a somewhat androgynous look.


    The dwarves immediately cheered up and stood up together.


    Upon spotting the silver-haired warrior, the Dwarven priest weed the three elves with enthusiasm in his voice. He then traced a sickle-shaped symbol on his chest and greeted them respectfully.


    ¡°Lady Zero, it¡¯s been a while, and you¡¯re as beautiful as ever!¡±


    The Godwarden Zero!


    She was considered as the most powerful individual amongst the Elves, and the one who had personally harnessed the power of the true gods to vanquish a formidable shadow dragon!


    The denizens of the underground revered strength, and the dark dwarves held great respect for this Godwarden who saved ckrock City.


    Furthermore, her ability to harness the power of the True God to such an extent is enough to demonstrate the significance Zero held in the heart of the True God!


    In In fact, not only the Dark Dwarves, but even Saintess Alice herself felt a sense of awe upon hearing that Zero had managed to invoke the power of the Divine Matriarch to defeat a legendary shadow dragon that was on the cusp of attaining godhood.


    Simultaneously, the Saintess also felt that she still had a long way to go and needed to work even harder to gain the recognition of her Matriarch.


    ¡°Mr. Carter, greetings,¡± Ev¨¦ replied calmly after assuming her disguise as ¡°Zero¡± and gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.


    She then introduced the two standing alongside her.


    ¡°This is Alice Galewind, the current Saintess under Her Highness, Ev¨¦.¡±


    ¡°And this is Li Mu, one of the leaders among Her Highness Eve¡¯s Chosen Ones.¡±


    At this formal introduction, both Alice and Li Mu instinctively improved their posture.


    They greeted the Dark Dwarves with a nod before taking their seats on the opposite side of the circr table, aligning themselves with Zero.


    Once the Elves were finally seated, the dwarven priest brought out a beautifully crafted wooden box and ced it before Zero with utmost reverence.


    ¡°Lady Zero, this is an item that the shrine¡¯s high priestess had strictly instructed me to personally deliver to you.¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred as she epted the wooden box.


    Even without opening it, she could already sense the immense and sacred, yet cold and deathly power the box contained inside it.


    Without a doubt, there was a small essence of the Divinity of Death in it.


    Sealed within this wooden box was the power of H, the Goddess of Death herself!


    The Goddess of Death had dispatched some of her people to the surface for trade, and this item constituted a part of the covenant she had with H.


    Eve acknowledged the gift with a slight nod and signaled to Li Mu.


    With equalposure, Li Mu produced an exquisitely crafted box and through the translucent lid, the fine green crystals within it were visible.


    These were the divine blood crystals of the World Tree.


    With the box held ten of such crystals.


    After her meeting with H, an agreement had been forged between them that required Ev¨¦ to furnish ten units of divine blood crystals within a month, in exchange for fifteen units of the Death God¡¯s essence.


    Of course, these divine crystals only retained the governingws of life¡­


    Once the divine crystals were put away, the priest of Death let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°May the true gods forever protect you, Lady Zero!¡±


    However, his expression quickly turned serious.


    ¡°Lady Zero, I havee this time not only for the trade with your esteemed church but also to provide some grave tidings to the Elven race.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve recently been informed by a few merchants from the southern region who had visited the underground a couple days ago that apparently, the Orc Kingdom in the Desert of Death have issued a war mobilization about a month ago.


    ..¡±


    Carter then paused for a second before continuing,


    ¡°Based on what the merchants have observed, it seems the Orcs have sessfully assembled an army of thirty thousand and are currently advancing toward the Elven Forest even now as we speak.¡±


    1 In case some of you may have forgotten, Amway was the MLM business Demacia created.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 226

    ??<strong>STRENGTH OF THE ORCS</strong>


    It¡¯s intriguing how the Dark Dwarves were actually the ones who shared the news about the Orcs¡¯ movements, considering that the Elves were, in fact, the ones residing above the surface, while the Dwarves were the ones dwelling underground.


    <em>Thirty thousand troops!</em>


    Upon hearing this number, the expressions of the three Elves sitting across from the Dwarves varied amongst one another.


    The Dwarven Priest noticed a subtle change in the female Elf known as the Nature¡¯s Saintess. Her delicate, fairplexion paled slightly upon hearing the news, and her pupils constricted, as if she¡¯d been gripped by a profound fear.


    On the other hand, the male druid with ck hair only widened his eyes, with an expression of astonishment mingled with curiosity and eagerness.


    Yet, the most enigmatic response came from Zero, who upied the central seat.


    Her demeanor remained unchanged.


    She neither disyed fear nor excitement, unlike the peculiar druid named Li Mu, who couldn¡¯t hide his enthusiasm. Instead, she simply reacted as though she had merely heard an inconsequential news¡­


    ¡°T-Thirty thousand! They¡¯ve mustered thirty thousand troops at once!¡± Alice¡¯s stated as her voice quivered.


    As a warring race where every member is a warrior proficient inbat, the Orcs¡¯ thirty thousand-strong army differed significantly from the ¡°thirty thousand armies¡± imed by other races.


    Humans, for instance, tend to exaggerate their army sizes during conflicts, inting ten thousand to a thirty thousand and thirty thousand to a hundred thousand¡­


    It¡¯s amon practice for humanity in general.


    Furthermore, many sentient races have armies consisting not only of frontlinebatants but also support and logistics personnel, resulting in a much lower number of actualbat-proficient individuals.


    Yet, in this regard, the Half-Orcs were an entirely different than thr rest.


    As a branch of the full-blooded Orcs, they inherited the characteristic of all Orcs being warriors. It was somewhat akin to Earth¡¯s nomadic tribes, wherein every member was capable ofbat.


    Moreover, as an Iron-ss race, every member of this thirty thousand-strong army possessed the strength of an Iron-rank practitioner.


    An armyprised of thirty thousand Iron-ranked warriors might not have been a remarkable feat a thousand years ago when Saig¨¹es was brimming with mana and thend was teeming with powerful individuals¡­


    However, now in the present era, where the world¡¯s mana levels had significantly dwindled, breaking through to Silver and Gold ranks had be far more challenging than it was a millennium ago.


    Legendary-rank individuals were rare nowadays, and someone who ascend into a demigod had been virtually unheard of for almost a thousand years.


    In this situation, a thirty thousand-strong army entirelyposed of Iron-ranked practitioners was indeed a formidable force.


    Even though the Matriarch had summoned an additional 9,000 exceptionally talented Chosen Ones recently, the number of individuals who had reached the Iron rank was still quite limited¡­


    In fact up to this point, only just over two thousand Chosen Ones had achieved Iron rank.


    And as they say, quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes¡­


    Thirty thousand well-trained Iron-ranked warriors posed a far greater threat than the disorganized, individually fighting Shadow Army that had attacked ckrock City which practically had no cognitive intelligence.


    Facing such a massive army, even if all the Orc warriors were in the lower Iron ranks¡­standing against them would still be a daunting task for anyone, including the ck Dragon.


    Perhaps Meryer could deal with an Orc tribe consisting of five thousand if given enough time, but he would still be swarmed and beaten to death if he faced a thirty thousand-strong army of young and vigorous Orcs, who are fighting for their faith with high morale¡­


    As for other Gold-ranked practitioners¡­confronting such a sheer number of enemies would be a perilous undertaking, and they would consider themselves fortunate enough if they even somehow managed to escaped unscathed.


    Only a legendary-ranked individual that transcends their mortality could face such a multitude of foes single-handedly.


    In any case¡­


    <em>Did the Elves even possess such a legendary figure?</em>


    Well in fact, there is one.


    Rose, the Crypt Spider Queen, which was subjugated by the Goddess, was one such being.


    But currently, she¡¯s merely a fledgling legendary-rank who only attained this strength not too long ago¡­


    Furthermore, her underground origins and Dark attribute made her entirely vulnerable to light and fire. At night, she might fare well, but if forced to battle on the surface during the day, then her strength would dwindle significantly, possibly even regressing a rank below to Gold.


    Not to mention that, except for the true gods with dark attributes, most true gods of faith have light attributes, and light attribute is inherently lethal to Dark creatures.


    In the impending religious war, outside the underground where Dark elements thrived, Dark creatures like the Crypt Spiders were easy targets that could be swiftly eliminated.


    Therefore, aside from serving as mounts for the Chosen Ones, Alice doubted that the Crypt Spiders could contribute significantly to the war effort.


    Well, apart from the Spider Queen, there was also the Gold-ranked practitioner, Godwarden Zero.


    True, she might only be at the Golden rank, but she enjoyed the Matriarch¡¯s favor and could tap into her divine power to elevate her strength temporarily into the legendary rank.


    However, unleashing legendary-rank attacks and facing a thirty-thousand-strong army were entirely different matters.


    Could Zero obliterate them all in a single move when confronted with such numbers?


    Could she summon the Matriarch¡¯s power limitlessly?


    After all, she was merely a Gold-ranked practitioner.


    Moreover, could the Orcs have no legendary-levelbatants of their own, nor did theyck corresponding defenses against such powerful foes?


    While the Orcs were indeed an Iron-rank race, their overall strength paled inparison to other races, with their poption numbering only in the hundreds of thousands¡­


    Because of their insufficient strength, they are forced to stay within the destends known as the Desert of Death.


    Although they had officially gained the right to govern over the Elven Forest a thousand years ago during the War of the Gods, the Orcs mostly remained on the forest¡¯s outskirts, fearing nearby human forces and the numerous mid- to high-ranking magical beasts inhabiting the Elven Forest.


    Furthermore, most of their kind were only at the Iron rank, with very few managing to break through to Silver, let alone Gold.


    Let¡¯s not talk about Legendary-rank Orcs which is practically unheard of¡­


    Such a race might find a niche thanks to the favor of True Gods, but they could never be a dominant force due to their inherent weakness.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean the Orcscked Silver and Gold-rank powerhouses!


    And when Alice say they are weak, it¡¯s inparison to the Orcs and humans.


    The Orc race, like the human race, is one of the strongest forces in Saig¨¹es, with humans making up nearly half of all sentient beings worldwide!


    While the Orcs are weaker than them, they are still much stronger than the Elves, who are barely surviving now.


    Even among the Orcs, there are always some lucky individuals who have had extraordinary experiences or gained the favor of the True Gods, which enabled them to break through to Silver-ranked strength.


    And among these exceptional individuals, some have even reached the strength of Gold!


    For example, the current Half-Orc king, the mightiest of the Half-Orcs¡ªLionheart King Imsh¡ªis a lower Golden ranked Berserker.


    Moreover the chief shaman of the Orcs is also a lower Gold-rank spellcaster.


    In addition to these widely recognized strengths, one must also consider the forces the Orcs could summon.


    The gods have agreed that beings at the demigod level and beyond could not intervene in religious wars happening in Saig¨¹es¡­


    But what about legendary ranks?


    Indeed, the Orcs do not have any legendary-ranked individuals.


    But their patron deity, the God of Winter and Hunting, have several Totem Guardians at the legendary-ranks!


    The Orcs may not be able to summon a demigod like Volker, but what about legendary and Golden ranked individuals?


    Even if the summoning time for Totem Guardians was limited, they were still Totem Guardians, nheless!


    Not to mention those who enjoy the favor of the True Gods, simr to Zero.


    The overall strength of the Elves and Chosen ones is still too weak¡­


    Alice doubted that the Chosen Ones, even with their power to resurrect, could defeat the Orc army without the Matriarch¡¯s direct intervention¡­


    The Orcs are weakpared to their other counterparts.


    But the Elves are even weaker than Orcs!


    Even the Matriarch, who has just awakened, does not have any notable Divine Servants!


    But¡­ if the Matriarch were to intervene, then everything would be revealed.


    The worst-case scenario entailed revealing the Matriarch¡¯s true identity, which could immediately draw the attention of other gods, leading to a worldwide reckoning¡­


    Contemting this, Alice¡¯s mood grew even heavier.


    She couldn¡¯t help but to subconsciously looked to her side, but what surprised her was that Zero¡¯s expression still remained calm.


    ¡­<em>Huh?</em>


    Alice¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    During this meeting with the Dwarves, the Matriarch had issued a divine oracle specifically for her, to let Zero take the leading role.


    In fact, ever since Zero was sent to the Chosen City by the Matriarch, this enigmatic figure had subtly assumed a leadership role in the Church of Nature, a position no less significant than Alice¡¯s.


    However, unlike Alice, who primarily manages the church¡¯s daily operations and deals with internal affairs in the Elven Forest, Zero on the other hand is the one responsible for any external affairs.


    Seeing Zero¡¯s calm expression, Alice couldn¡¯t help but specte¡­as to whether the Matriarch already had a n in ce.


    After concluding the trade with the Elves and providing them with information about the Orcs¡¯ movements, the Dwarves finally left the Elven Forest and returned underground.


    As the Dwarves left, Li Mu also bowed to the two Elven NPCs and departed not too long after, with his excitement visible upon his face.


    Only Alice and Zero remained in the conference hall.


    Alice hesitated for a moment and asked,


    ¡°Zero, you don¡¯t seem surprised or fearful about the news of the Orcs. Do you already have a n?¡±


    Zero cast a nce at her and replied, ¡°For this uing religious war, I will deal with any enemies that has Gold to Legendary strength.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Alice couldn¡¯t help but widened her eyes.


    She hesitated for a moment and expressed her concern,


    ¡°Zero, I know you can tap into the Matriarch¡¯s power, but ultimately, you¡¯re just a single Gold-ranked practitioner. If the Orcs summon more than one legendary Totem Guardian this time¡ª¡±


    ¡°Believe me, I can handle it,¡± Zero interjected.


    Alice was left speechless.


    The Saintess tried to opened her mouth but didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    Can this person really handle it all on her own?


    Even if she didn¡¯t intend to kill the Totem Guardians and simply needed to stall for time until their summoning time expired, they are still legendary beings!


    Sure, she could use the Matriarch¡¯s power to defeat the Shadow Dragon, but could she confront several Totem Guardians at the legendary rank by herself?


    <em>Where does her confidencee from?</em>


    Suddenly appearing out of nowhere, receiving such favor from the Matriarch and exuding such confidence¡­


    <em>Who is she, exactly?</em>


    ¡°But¡­ even if you can handle the legendary Totem Guardians, what about the thirty thousand troops¡­¡± Alice continued.


    ¡°No need to worry,¡± Zero interrupted again. ¡°The Chosen Ones can handle an army of thirty thousand.¡±


    ¡°The Chosen Ones? Their strength are still too weak. Even with their ability to resurrect¡­ with just only a two thousand Iron-ranked Chosen Ones, they probably can¡¯t face thirty thousand Orcs!¡±


    Alice shook her head.


    ¡°If Two thousand Iron ranks can¡¯t handle it¡­¡±


    Zero looked at her and, for the first time, smiled.


    ¡°¡ªThen let¡¯s make it ten thousand.¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 227

    ??<strong>VERSION UPDATE </strong>


    Even though a month had passed ording to the news, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t believe that the orc army would arrive anytime soon.


    After all, the orcs had only begun mobilizing a month ago, and it was estimated that they had only set out just a few days ago.


    As a general rule,rger armies moved more sluggishly.


    Not to mention, the Orcs will have to climb over the rugged Dark Mountains toe from the Death Desert in the south to the Forest of Elves¡­


    Of course they could also use the road from the Kingdom of Aries but how could any Human Kingdom possibly allow a 30,000-strong orc army to enter its borders?


    Moreover, the God of Winter and Hunting, Uller, preferred not to involve any other forces in this religious war.


    The information obtained by the Dwarves only stated that the orcs mobilized their 30,000-strong army northward.


    In essence, it was the Church of Death that had obtained inside information through divine revtions, and deduced that the orcs¡¯ target was the newly ascended god in the Elven Forest.


    So, it was inevitable that the Orcs would cross the ck Mountain Range.


    And crossing the ck Mountain Range would take even more time.


    Therefore, before the orc army¡¯s arrival, yers still had a window for growth. This period could range from as short as twenty days to as long as over a month¡­


    ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s been almost two months since the closed beta started. Maybe I should organize a summer event now that it¡¯s summer vacation back on Earth?¡±


    Ev¨¦ contemted as she left the conference hall and returned her consciousness back to the World Tree.


    ¡°However, before that¡­ let¡¯s take a look at exactly how many yers are theoretically ready for battle.¡±


    She thought for a moment, then nced upwards at the ten thousand and two hundred ¡°stars¡± that represented the yers in the skies of her Celestial Domain.


    Afterward, she also checked each yer¡¯s personal data, but she was taken aback when Ev¨¦ checked the yers¡¯ average online time duration.


    ¡°What on earth? The average daily online time is twelve hours!?¡±


    <em>Twelve hours!</em>


    In other words, the majority of these yers were spending half of their daily 24 hours within the game!


    Even though yers could y while sleeping, it was still astonishing that many remained online for no less than 7 hours¡­


    ¡°It seems I made the right choice in choosing all these beta-testers¡­they are all hardcore gamers! And¡­ the allure of Elven Kingdom is much stronger than I imagined.¡±


    Ev¨¦ marveled whilst looking at the data.


    However, the most extreme case was Boxlunch.


    Upon further examination, she was shocked to discover that this hardcore yer averaged 20.3 hours online every day.


    Thirty thousand orc warriors didn¡¯t elicit much of an emotional response from her, but Boxlunch¡¯s daily online time managed to stun her.


    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s leveling up so fast¡­ he¡¯s practically living in a gaming pod, isn¡¯t he? Doesn¡¯t he even have a job?¡±


    Then, Ev¨¦ specifically looked at those yers with rtively less online time and found that amongst the ten thousand and two hundred yers, approximately a hundred individuals had the least online time.


    ¡°The least online yers have an overall duration of less than twenty hours¡­ and there are over a hundred people with an average daily online time of less than two hours, with most of them being third-round beta-testers.¡±


    Seeing this data, Ev¨¦ sighed inwardly.


    There was nothing she could do about it.


    No matter how well a game was made, it couldn¡¯t satisfy everyone.


    Even if these ten thousand and two hundred yers were carefully selected by her, there was still no way to avoid yers quitting for various reasons or those who seldom logged in¡­


    It was just the way things were.


    However, this posed a problem for her since Elven Kingdom fundamentally is not a game.


    If a yer stayed offline for too long or truly abandoned it, their avatars would face an uncertain fate since these avatars aren¡¯t just data and have actual physical bodies.


    Let alone anything else, although the yer¡¯s avatar will enter a dormant state after its user goes offline, it will still inevitably die if the avatar doesn¡¯t get any sustenance for a long time¡­


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I should set up a retrieval mechanism. I¡¯ll just archive their avatar on the World Tree If a yer goes offline for more than three days and only reactivate it when they finally log back in.¡±


    ¡°As for those who might quit, I¡¯ll inform them that the storage time is one month, and their avatar will bepletely recycled if the user isn¡¯t online for one month.¡±


    After deciding on a solution for yers who stayed offline for extended periods, Ev¨¦ shifted her focus to war preparations.


    ¡°There¡¯s at least twenty days left before the orc army arrives¡­ during this time, I need to bolster the yers¡¯ strength as quickly as possible and strengthen the defenses of the Elven Forest.¡±


    ¡°While I could directly enhance the yers¡¯ abilities, in the long run¡­ it¡¯s better to let them work hard on their own. If enhancing their strength is limited, I can always give them buffs using H¡¯s divine power when the timees.¡±


    ¡°For the next twenty days, I can temporarily lower the amount I am getting from war sacrifices and instead reallocate it to give yers more experience¡­ No, well, now that I think about it, why don¡¯t I just give them all of it for the time being, ¡®double experience¡¯! Double the joy!¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯ll release some new infrastructure tasks like building defensive structures to enhance the defense level of the Elven Forest. This war¡­ in the end, I¡¯m the defending side with fewer people, so we need to focus on defense.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ I can directly issue tasks for life yers to replicate ckrock City¡¯s defense core!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ after our meeting with the dwarves, the yers should know by now that the Orcs areing. Let¡¯s directly start a new main storyline¡­all these tasks and activities will be part of a new main questline!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, there are quite a few changes this time, so let¡¯s just release them in the form of a version update.¡±


    With that in mind, Ev¨¦ began to use her divine power¡­


    The headquarters of the guild, Heart of Nature.


    This was the sole Elven-style building within the Chosen City, meticulously designed by a few members of the Moe Moe Committee at Li Mu¡¯s request, which imitated the native architectural style often seen in Florence.


    The main structure of the building was hewn from marble, sourced from the ruins of Florence. Beautiful vine and floral patterns adorned it, giving the structure a grand presence.


    Combined with the vibrant nts, white boulders, green grass, and blossoms surrounding it, the Heart of Nature¡¯s headquarters exuded a unique charm befitting of its namepared to the other guild headquarters.


    At this moment, within the Guild¡¯s hall, some yers were excitedly chatting amongst each other¡­


    ¡°What? Brother Mu? Did you say a 30,000-strong orc army ising?¡±


    Demacia, upon hearing the news brought by Li Mu, was dumbfounded.


    He couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    ¡°Oh gods, I can barely wrap my head around it¡­.30,000 orcs? It¡¯s like an ocean of people! Can the official servers even handle this amount?¡±


    ¡°It should be manageable, as these numbers are somewhat simr to the defense battle of ckrock City,¡± Li Mu said after some contemtion.


    ¡°It¡¯s not actually the same, right? Those shadow creatures are much more weaker individually than Orcs. I personally took them down before! Although Orcs may seem simple, but they are much more formidable than those mindless monsters!¡±


    Demacia shook his head.


    Afterward, he looked envious and said, ¡°I envy you, Brother Mu. You¡¯re now considered the leader of the yers by the NPCs, and you can even attend these decision-making meetings.¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Without waiting for Li Mu¡¯s response, Demacia sighed again,


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m so miserable¡­.I¡¯ve been working so hard, yet my personal reputation score is still only at 2 points. Dude, the average score on the entire server is almost 10!¡±


    ¡°Now that my level is getting higher, the demand for experience points is also getting bigger and bigger. As a purebat yer, this low reputation score is affecting my speed in gaining EXP and contribution points from quests.¡±


    Upon hearing Demacia¡¯s words, Li Mu appeared somewhat surprised.


    ¡°Huh? Only 2 points? Weren¡¯t you building good rtionships with the citizens of Florence recently? And¡­ I¡¯ve shared all my tricks with you, so why is your progress still so slow?¡±


    Demacia chuckled awkwardly.


    ¡°Uh¡­ m-maybe I got too carried away with the MLM scheme in ckrock City recently, and so I tried to do the same here again but well¡­¡±


    ¡°A while ago, didn¡¯t a lot of elves return? Originally, my personal reputation score was catching up to the average, but then I found out that they also brought some good stuff along with them, so I couldn¡¯t resist¡­ I wanted to try promoting ¡®Amway¡¯ again among these new elves to see if I could get some magical equipment. Who knew I¡¯d be easily exposed by Zero, and then¡­ you know¡­¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°On another note, that NPC named Zero is really amazing! She saw through my pyramid scheme at a nce. She truly deserves to be a purple-tier NPC! Unlike those dwarves who were easily deceived even though they felt something was off.¡±


    Demacia sighed wistfully.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­ ¡°


    ¡°You¡¯re beyond help,¡± he shook his head, patting Demacia on the shoulder,


    ¡°I¡¯m saying¡­ your MLM has been expanding quite a bit in ck Rock City. During today¡¯s meeting with the NPCs, it appeared that there was a dwarf in your downline. I¡¯m curious how you n to handle this situation. You might want to prepare yourself for potential repercussions, likemitting seppuku as an apology, or brace for the possibility of being hunted down by the Church of Death.¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ today is a day for joy! I haven¡¯t been exposed yet!¡±


    After saying that, Demacia cleared his throat a few times and quickly changed the subject, ¡°By the way, Brother Mu, the Orcs areing. Aren¡¯t you going to inform the other guilds?¡±


    Li Mu nced at him, pondered, and said, ¡°No need for your reminder. I¡¯ve already recorded a video and posted it on the official forum. Besides, I believe system notifications will arrive soon. Following the usual pattern, this is definitely the prelude to a major questline!¡±


    As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, as expected, almost as if on cue, a new system prompt shed across their field of vision:


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Announcement</strong>: Elven Kingdom will undergo a version update tomorrow. Please prepare for logging out in advance.¡¿


    ¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 228

    ??<strong>THE SUMMER EVENT IS HERE</strong>


    Earth, capital of China.


    At the dining table, Ji Dong was scooping rice while simultaneously browsing the official forum of Elven Kingdom on his smartphone.


    Suddenly, a post caught his eye, prompting an exmation of surprise.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­ an army of 30,000 Orcs?¡±


    His mother¡¯s stern voice interrupted him, ¡°Don¡¯t talk during meals, and put away your phone!¡±


    Ji Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    He chuckled awkwardly and quickly put away his phone. However, just as he was locking the screen, his phone suddenly made a soft tune, indicating a system notification.


    Unable to resist, Ji Dong briefly nced at it and saw a short message about Elven Kingdom being updated.


    ¡°The game is undergoing a major update?¡± he muttered aloud.


    But with his mother¡¯s stern gaze, he quickly pocketed his phone and sat up straight to obediently continue his meal.


    However, his thoughts were already wandering far from the dining table.


    10th of August.


    For Chinese students back on Earth, summer vacation was already halfway over.


    But for Elven Kingdom beta-testers, this marked the fifth major big update ever since the game¡¯s inception.


    The current version of Elven Kingdom often receives frequent stealth updates, which usuallyprise of minor tweaks that are often implemented quietly without needing to inform the entire yerbase about it.


    Most of them were small updates that didn¡¯t require server downtime, with the devs quietly adding various features when yers weren¡¯t paying attention.


    Nheless, whenever a major update urs that requires yers to log out, it typically signifies significant subsequent changes to the game.


    For instance, the first major update was the introduction of second beta-testers, and the second one implemented the NPC quest systems, the third major update overhauled the favorability and reputation systems, and the fourth one was the introduction of the third batch of beta-testers¡­


    This fifth major update seemed a bit unexpected.


    However, at the same time the news was released, the official website posted another announcement¡ª


    ¡°Summer Event ¨C Double the Experience! The Orc invasion and server-wide mobilization!¡±


    The announcement was short and simple, only featuring arge image of elegant elves on one side and crude, gruesome Orcs on the other, with both forces opposing each other while brandishing weapons, ready to sh in battle.


    ¡°Could this be the 30,000 Orcs army mentioned in the forum post? Is it a new main questline? The developers of ElvKing sure are really attentive¡­.they can use this as a setup for an update? Well, It¡¯s probably been nned in advance,¡± Ji Dong pondered.


    Leaving aside everything else, their ability to craft engaging questlines was unmatched by any other game.


    Ji Dong sighed.


    After confirming that the server is finally back online, he couldn¡¯t wait any longer and reclined in his gaming pod.


    ¡°Start¡­ Elven Kingdom!¡±


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Game connection sessful¡­¡¿


    ¡¾New version found, ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯ 1.4¡¿


    ¡¾Updating¡­0.1%¡­10%¡­¡¿


    ¡¾100%¡ª¡ªUpdate sessful¡¿


    ¡¾Logging in¡­¡¿


    ¡¾User ID: Transformer Ji Gang¡¿


    ¡¾O¡¯ Chosen One, wee back to ¡®Elven Kingdom¡¯!¡¿


    With familiar system sound effects, Ji Dong¡¯s vision dimmed briefly.


    Now, he was ying as his avatar, ¡°Transformer Ji Gang.¡±


    As his field of vision gradually brightened, a background music suddenly yed, and a cutscene automatically yed right before his eyes¡­


    Ji Dong initially nned to skip it but noticed that the background music and animation were different from what he remembered. So, he abandoned the idea of skipping and watched attentively instead.


    The first thing he saw was a conference hall.


    On one side were short-statured individuals, presumably dark dwarves, while on the other side were three gorgeous looking elves.


    The background music was solemn and grave¡­


    And he was taken aback when Transformer Ji Gang recognized a familiar figure amongst them.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Brother Mu? Why is he included in this cutscene?¡±


    Just as Transformer Ji Gang was feeling puzzled, the deep voice of the dwarf echoed within the conference hall.


    ¡°The Orc King¡¯s court in the Desert of Death began its war mobilization a month ago. They¡¯ve rallied 30,000 troops and are now currently heading towards the Elven Forest.¡±


    With the dwarf¡¯s words, the entire scene gradually faded, before revealing images of a massive Orcs army on the march¡­


    A vast army spread across thendscape¡­ Apanied by the deep voice of the dwarf and the roars of the Orcs, a sense of impending doom washed over them.


    ¡°A religious war of faith?¡±


    At this moment, a cold feminine voice spoke.


    The scene transitioned back to the conference hall¡­


    On the elven side, the acting leader, Zero the Godwarden, had bright eyes and a confident tone.


    ¡°The Elves have endured far too much suffering already. No matter what challenges we might face, we will not retreat¡­ We shall ept this war! We will join the Chosen Ones in thwarting the Orcs¡¯ invasion!¡±


    As the Godwarden Zero spoke, the cutscene shifted into images of elves being persecuted, yers fighting against goblins, orcs, and human mercenaries¡­


    For a moment, the solemn background music became rousing, stirring one¡¯s emotions¡­


    ¡°This uing religious war will surely be ours to win!¡±


    Finally, alongside the uplifting music, three Elven representatives spoke in unison.


    Finally the cutscene gradually darkened¡­


    Then, a row of magnificent characters appeared right before Transformer Ji Gang¡¯s eyes:


    ¡°Summer event is here, Religious War begins!¡±


    The cutscene ended at this point.


    With a shift in his consciousness, Transformer Ji Gang found himself back in his guild dormitory in the Chosen City.


    However, thinking about the recent cutscene, he couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself,


    ¡°So we yers can actually also be included in the game¡¯s cutscenes¡­ Brother Mu is really impressive, huh? I really envy him¡­ I wonder when I can be included too¡­¡±


    Of course, this particr cutscene was personally crafted by Ev¨¦.


    Naturally, it was based on some game clips which were embellished and exaggerated by her.


    For instance, Eve¡¯s incarnation, as well as the final lines spoken by the three characters, were added by Ev¨¦ herselfter on.


    On the other hand, when Li Mu logged in and watched this cutscene, he was utterly perplexed as he didn¡¯t recall Zero ever saying those things or himself uttering such embarrassing words.


    Nevertheless, all in all, this cutscene was still quite good.


    At least, Transformer Ji Gang was now even more excited about the new questline.


    Once inside the game, Ji Gang immediately noticed a massive system announcement that upied almost half of the screen:


    ¡¾Summer Event Is Here, Religious War Begins!¡¿


    ¡¾Event 1: Double the Experience, Double the Fun!¡¿


    To reward the yers for their support, from August 10th to the end of August 20th (Earth time), all yers will receive a summer event buff, doubling experience and contribution points from quests and monster kills!¡±


    Double experience and contribution points!


    Seeing this news, Ji Gang was pleasantly surprised.


    He was among the yers included in the third beta test, yet he had only reached level 15 so far. He couldn¡¯t help but feel envious whenever he saw some first and second beta test yers with their intermediate iron-ss gear.


    ¡°This is a rare opportunity! I won¡¯t do anything else for the next ten days and will just grind my level up to lvl 21!¡±


    Transformer Ji Gang decided as he clenched his fist.


    Then, he continued reading the notifications.


    ¡¾Event 2: Limited-Time Discount in the Exchange Store!¡¿


    ¡°To reward the yers for their support, during the summer event, all items in the exchange store will be offered at its half price!¡±


    ¡°Fuck yeah! Half price!¡±


    Ji Gang¡¯s breath became evrn more heavier.


    Not to mention that the skills acquired from the exchange store have all been maxed out, but the equipment obtained from there is much better than the usual dropped loot one can get from defeating mobs, especially the rare blue-ss and higher-ss gear!


    These equipments all had at least one added special properties!


    However, exchange store items were also really expensive, especially the Epic Purple-ss gear in the Intermediate Iron category, which required at least tens of thousands of contribution points!


    As for the legendary Golden-ss equipment¡­.well, that was beyond his scope, and only the big spenders and elite hardcore yers could afford such items.


    If he didn¡¯t created his guild ¡®Autobots¡¯ then Transformer Ji Gang might have considered upgrading his gear into a full set of Epic Purple-ss intermediate Iron gear.


    However, managing a guild consumes a significant portion of his resources, so most of his earnings are invested in guild management.


    As a result, Ji Gang had barely managed to collect two pieces of Epic Purple-ss gear for himself: a sword and a piece of armor.


    He still needs boots, pants, knee pads, and wristguards, totaling four more pieces toplete his gear.


    This didn¡¯t even include sub-weapons, which famous yers like Boxlunch and Little Salty Cat usually have.


    These big-time yers often use sub-weapons like daggers and such¡­


    However, as soon as the discount in the exchange store was announced, Transformer Ji Gang saw his chance toplete his gear.


    ¡°Tasks! I have to grind tasks like crazy! I¡¯ll use this opportunity to save up enough contribution points to fully upgrade my gear!¡±


    Ji Gang¡¯s eyes were burning with determination.


    Next, he looked at the third event message¡­


    ¡¾Event 3: Defense Infrastructure Tasks¡¿


    ¡°Prepare for the uing war! The Orcs army is about to attack the Elven Forest! During this summer event, undertake ¡®Wall Construction¡¯ and ¡®Defense Core Construction¡¯ tasks, andpleting these infrastructure projects will reward you with extra EXP and contribution points!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Defense infrastructure tasks?¡±


    Ji Gang was somewhat surprised.


    He quickly checked the task system and indeed found these new taks, specifically under a section called ¡°Summer Event Tasks.¡±


    What¡¯s more, the rewards for these tasks are quite generous as well, about fifty percent higher than the amount you can receive for regr daily tasks!


    ¡°This is perfect! I¡¯ll also do these taskster on!¡±


    Ji Gang nodded in approval.


    Then, he turned his attention to the final event message:


    ¡¾Event 4: Lucky Draw!¡¿


    ¡°During this summer event, a lucky draw feature will be added to the exchange store and yers can use lucky draw tickets to participate.¡±


    ¡°The lucky draw prize pool includes all items from the exchange store and a chance to win Legendary Golden-ss equipment, Purple Epic meditation manuscripts, 100 Revival Coins, and 30,000 contribution points!¡±


    ¡°Methods to obtain tickets are as follows:¡±


    ¡°Method 1: The top 100 yers who canplete the most tasks each day shall receive 1 ticket.¡±


    ¡°Method 2: The top 100 yers who level up the fastest each day will receive 1 ticket.¡±


    ¡°Method 3: The top 100 yers who can earn the most experience points and contribution points each day will receive 1 ticket.¡±


    ¡°Method 4: yers who can kill Orcs in the uing War can consume 100% of their kill contribution points in exchange for 1 ticket. (When in a party, contribution points is distributed proportionally.)¡±


    ¡°Note: Methods 1-3 reset every 24 hours, and rewards are distributed at midnight; Method 4 does not reset but can be repeated for ticket exchange; tickets are bound to yers and cannot be traded to others.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    Seeing this event message, Ji Gang¡¯s eyes werepletely bloodshot in excitement.


    ¡°Lucky draw¡­ Golden-ss equipments!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going for it! For these ten days¡­ I¡¯ll grind like crazy till my liver explodes!¡±


    ¡°Golden-ss equipment¡­here Ie!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 229

    ??<strong>THE TIRELESS CHOSEN ONES</strong>


    In the real world, this summer event would onlyst for ten days, but within the game, it extended to an impressive 40 days, thanks to the mind-eleration capabilities of Elven Kingdom.


    And during the entirety of this event, yers could look forward to doubling their experience and contribution points, as well as the exchange store items being sold at half the price.


    In addition, various new tasks were also added, but the most exciting news was the introduction of the lucky draw system, which offers a tantalizing opportunity to acquire rare legendary golden equipments!


    To put it in perspective, a piece of legendary golden equipment usually cost a hefty fifty thousand contribution points, even with discounts.


    But now, for those willing to invest their time, the possibility of acquiring lottery tickets emerged. And with these tickets, even the poorest yers would have a chance to acquire top-tier equipments!


    In Elven Kingdom, equipmentes with level rmendations, but there are no actual strict level restrictions for equipping them.


    It means that, even if a yer hasn¡¯t reached level 10 yet, they can still use iron-ss equipment should they happen to get it. At most, this just means that one cannot fully exert the full effect that the equipment should have if they use equipment way above their current level.


    Being widely acknowledged as the finest equipment, it¡¯s clear to everyone that a Golden-ss Gear significantly increases one¡¯s personalbat abilities to its full potential.


    For instance, Little Salty Cat whose fully decked out with aplete set of Golden Gear. Her defenses can¡¯t be easily broken even by Boxlunch unless he himself use his own golden-ss dagger.


    Not only did they boast the most intricate designs and imposing styles, but they also possessed unique appearances and exclusive background stories, meticulously crafted by Ev¨¦.


    Essentially, within Elven Kingdom, golden legendary equipment stands as a symbol of status, serving as an essential tool for anyone who wishes to unt and impress others.


    For most yers, owning one was really irresistible.


    So, when the summer event was announced, most yers couldn¡¯t contain their excitement.


    Whether it¡¯s for leveling up quickly, improving personal strength, or simply getting their hands on golden legendary equipment, everyone¡¯s motivation was thoroughly ignited!


    Even the native elves, like Alice, found themselves baffled by the inexplicable fervor that had seized these Chosen Ones upon hearing of the Orc army¡¯s impending assault on the Elven Forest.


    In no time at all right after the summer event started, almost all of the Chosen Ones transformed into fanatic workaholics.


    Life-oriented yers worked tirelessly toplete every daily tasks assigned by the Goddess, one after another, without rest, whilebat yers rushed into the underground dungeon to hunt shadow monsters for days on end.


    Even theid-back Chosen Ones who owned business establishments in the city temporarily closed their shops to grind their levels¡­


    Moreover the newbies also shouldered building materials, as they constructed defense fortifications around Florence or ck Dragon Castle.


    Even the Construction Division of Moe Moe Committee halted their leisurely real estate development and under HootyBird¡¯s leadership, they took on the task of ¡°Defense Core Construction¡± and received the legendary core blueprint from the Goddess.


    They were tasked to build defense cores simr to those in ckrock City around Florence and ck Dragon Castle¡­


    Of course, the blueprint had been streamlined to match the yers¡¯ efficiency and skill level as Ev¨¦ doubted their ability to create defense cores as intricate as the one used by the dwarves.


    Thus, she simplified the design.


    Even then, crafting suchplex magical equipment was beyond the capabilities of the yers.


    So in the end, HootyBird enlisted Li Mu¡¯s help in bringing in skilled elderly elves well-versed in magical equipment manufacturing, such as Carlos me and Samuel Galewind, to assist in the construction of the defense core.


    Meanwhile, in the central square of the city, where the Chosen Ones usually congregate for socializing and conversation, there has been a noticeable emptiness in recent days.


    And as the night falls, even those Chosen Ones who frequent these bonfire parties have decided to do something instead, leaving Thranduil, who used to enjoy these gatherings, feeling somewhat disappointed.


    All in all, most Chosen Ones nowadays were immersed in their hectic routines, as if they had transformed into tireless machines.


    And when their bodies finally reached their limits, they¡¯d pause briefly, sleeping for a few hours before waking up and swiftly returning to their tasks!


    In the Chosen City, within the Temple of Nature.


    ¡°Great Mother above! What on earth did the Matriarch do to them? Why are the Chosen Ones working so tirelessly?¡±


    Alice couldn¡¯t help but mutter in astonishment after assigning another disheveled, bloodshot-eyed, yet incredibly spirited Chosen One to a new construction task.


    It was insane!


    Truly, utterly insane!


    Ever since the Dark Dwarves visited the Elven Forest a few days ago, the Chosen Ones have been behaving as if they were possessed by an overexcited spirit, obsessively indulging in new daily tasks and hunting monsters almost tirelessly, as if only performing these tasks and hunting monsters upied their minds.


    They knew no fatigue, nor rest.


    And even four days after the introduction of the so-called ¡®Summer Event,¡¯ the Chosen Ones are still going crazy about it, and it doesn¡¯t appear that they¡¯re letting off steam anytime soon.


    Alice could still vividly recall that fateful morning four days ago¡­


    Hundreds of Chosen Ones, for some unexinable reason, chose to gather simultaneously in front of the Temple and the World Tree and began fervently praying to the Matriarch as if their very lives depended on it.


    And for once they all seemed so sincere about it too¡­


    These were not their usual empty prayers but instead pure, unadulterated devotion, which is shocking to say the least!


    Alice hade to know the Chosen Ones quite well during these past six months. She knew that while they might have fought fervently for the Matriarch, they weren¡¯t actually her religious followers. Their prayers were mostly just going through the motions, a mere formality with no genuine emotions¡­


    However, given that the Matriarch didn¡¯t seem to mind it, Alice herself didn¡¯t say much either nor chastised them about theirck of belief.


    But that day was really different¡­


    She¡­ for the very first time, saw genuine, heartfelt prayers from the Chosen Ones!


    Hundreds of the Chosen Ones all knelt down in front of the World Tree or the Goddess Statue with excitement and anticipation, showing unprecedented devotion.


    However, the contents of their prayers was rather peculiar¡­


    Most of them were saying along the lines of ¡°Goddess, please bless my ticket with luck¡± or ¡°Goddess, may the RNG gods favor me today¡­¡± which really confused her.


    And a few minutester, a glimmer of light shed in the hands of the Chosen Ones.


    From her experience, Alice knew that it was another reward bestowed upon them by the Matriarch.


    After receiving their rewards, the Chosen Ones would disy an array of expressions, with some tinged with disappointment, while others bursting with excitement.


    And the most exuberant reaction came from a Chosen One named ¡°Transformer Ji Gang.¡±


    In this elven warrior¡¯s hands, a golden light appeared, revealing an exquisite pair of boots.


    Afterwards, he jumped up in exhration whilstughing heartily, and began running around the square with an ecstatic and proud voice that could be heard from miles away.


    ¡°Hahaha! I actually got it! I drew a pair of legendary golden boots!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! ¡®eleration,¡¯ ¡®Concealment,¡¯ ¡®Lightweight¡¯! Three top-tier properties! What else? What else?!¡±


    ¡°Huh? These boots even have a background story¡­Let¡¯s see¡­ They¡¯re legendary boots crafted for an elven hero by his lover¡­¡±


    And after this¡­


    The Chosen Ones worked even harder¡­


    However, Alice was just as busy as the Chosen Ones.


    These days, as the Chosen Ones began to vigorouslyplete their tasks, Alice, being the one responsible for managing daily tasks, also became so busy that she hadn¡¯t had much rest for several days already.


    Despite being a Silver Saintess and the naturally chosen Holy Maiden favored by the Matriarch, her energy surpassed even the most advanced Iron-ranked Chosen Ones.


    Nevertheless, she still couldn¡¯t withstand such relentless workload.


    Now, she too had tworge dark circles under her eyes, and her face looked haggard as well.


    However, despite the hardship, Alice¡¯s gloomy and worried mood due to the news of the Orc army had gradually eased under the influence of the Chosen Ones¡¯ positive and diligent work attitude.


    Some sought to bolster their own strength in preparation for the impending enemy, while othersbored nonstop to fortify the defenses of the Elven Forest, constructing protective structures day and night.


    So, as the Holy Maiden of Nature herself¡­ what reason did she have to be discouraged about when even the Chosen Ones were working so tirelessly?


    Sure, the Orcs might have a force of thirty thousand, but the Elves numbered over ten thousand!


    Moreover¡­ Alice also observed that as the Chosen Ones worked with unwavering dedication, it seemed to also awaken theirtent potential, which significantly hastened their growth in strength.


    In these past few days, Alice had witnessed numerous promotions among the Chosen Ones as a result.


    If this trend persisted, then perhaps¡­ when the Orcs arrived at the Elven Forest, they might truly possess the opportunity to mount a formidable defense!


    Yet, Alice couldn¡¯t help but notice that during the Chosen Ones¡¯ busy times, the Godwarden Zero was conspicuously absent.


    ¡°Lady Zero¡­ Perhaps she is engaging in rigorous training in preparation for the uing war?¡± Alice spected.


    She gave her cheek a gentle pat, setting aside her fatigue, and stepped out of the Temple of Nature.


    Outside the temple, the Chosen Ones bustled about, diligently engaged in their tasks.


    ¡°Alice, you look quite tired. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard. Take a proper break when it¡¯s time to rest, ¡± a deep, resonant voice reached her.


    At that moment, Alice raised her head and saw a towering two-meter-tall bald elf passing by the temple, carrying arge, translucent, special building material.


    Alice was momentarily taken aback.


    ¡°Lord Berserker? Where are you headed?¡±


    This tall imposing individual was none other than Oak Guardian Berserker, who had taken on his elf form through the magic of transformation.


    ¡°The weather is turning colder, and the Chosen Ones taught me a good way to protect the farnds. I¡¯m going to build something called a ¡®greenhouse¡¯ over at the farm, a structure that allows nts to grow normally even in winter,¡± Berserker replied in his transformed form as a burly bald elf.


    ¡°I see!¡±


    Despite the Elven Forest¡¯s extended growing season, it was not immune to the changing of seasons, including autumn and winter.


    While areas near the World Tree maintained their lush greenery all year round, most other parts of the forest still experienced seasonal transitions, including autumn with its falling leaves.


    A chill breeze swept by, carrying the distinct fragrance of the Elven Forest, causing Alice to shiver involuntarily. Her mental fatigue seemed to dissipate somewhat in the brisk wind.


    ¡°Achoo!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but sneeze.


    Berserker nced at Alice¡¯s somewhat thin priestly attire and shook his head.


    ¡°Alice, it¡¯s getting colder. You should wear something more warmer.¡±


    Hearing Berserker¡¯s words, Alice was momentarily surprised.


    She subconsciously looked into the distance¡­


    The vast blue sky stretched overhead, with its wispy clouds hardly obscuring the vivid azure canvas thaty beyond the horizon.


    Far away, within the enigmatic depths of the distant forests, a radiant tapestry of golden hues had woven its spell upon the woonds¡­


    Unbeknownst to her, the days already reached November on Saig¨¹es.


    And more than eight months had already passed since the Matriarch¡¯s return.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s already autumn¡­¡±


    Alice smiled.


    ¡°Late autumn to be exact,¡± Berserker nodded, hoisting his construction materials and slowly making his way.


    Alice withdrew her gaze.


    She drew in a deep breath, gave her cheeks a firm pat, and returned to the temple to resume her duties¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 230

    ??<strong>FOOTSTEPS OF WAR</strong>


    Golden leaves danced along the cool autumn breeze, painting the lush scenery of the Chosen City with a warm shade of amber.


    Fully armed yers bustled about all throughout the city with each of them carrying an array of goods such as building materials, as they move at a rapid pace while heading towards the wilderness or the dungeon underground.


    Only four days had passed since thetest update of Elven Kingdom was implemented, but within the World of Saig¨¹es, more than half a month had already gone by.


    The special Summer Event and news of the Orc invasion had stirred a sense of urgency within the entire Elven Forest and its inhabitants¡­


    As a result, almost everyone are either deeply focused on fortifying the Elven Forest¡¯s various defense choke points or strengthening themselves through hunting monsters and improving their equipments.


    The only thing that remained the same amidst the rapid changes happening all around was the towering World Tree, standing tall at a kilometer high, as it radiates its timeless, sacred natural aura that breathes life into the surroundingnds like an eternal spring.


    ¡°Achoo!¡±


    Nightingale sneezed as she strolled through the streets of the Chosen City. A sudden, chilly gust of wind prompted an unexpected sneeze from her, causing the ashen-haired native to hastily adjust her rather thin attire and clutch the lunchbox within her arms more tightly.


    Suddenly, a thick coat of fur flew over head andnded upon her shoulders.


    Nightingale instinctively bundled herself in its warmth, only to find Boxlunch and hispanions standing before her.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting colder, so wear more clothes. This is a gift in return for all the meals you¡¯ve made,¡± Boxlunch said as he gestured a look towards the coat draped on her shoulders.


    Nightingale quirked an eyebrow, with her fingers brushing the soft, fine coat he¡¯d put over her before a fleeting smile inadvertently tugged at the corners of her lips¡­


    However, she quickly caught herself and cleared her throat a couple of times before asking,


    ¡°Where did thise from?¡±


    ¡°Mercenary supplies,¡± Cbash chimed in with augh before Boxlunch could even respond.


    Nightingale shot him a stern look, before casting a scrutinizing gaze upon Boxlunch as she carefully examined him from head to toe.


    This battle fanatic, who was only passionate about fighting, was currently with his teammates as they all carriedrge packages and were fully decked out in theirbat gear.


    Upon closer inspection, Nightingale also noticed the subtle improvements in his usual gear, which now includes a brand new armor and footwear, along with an aura that suggested his strength had noticeably increased yet again once more.


    ¡°Are you going to the underground to fight shadow monsters again?¡± Nightingale asked curiously.


    Boxlunch only nodded, before gesturing to hispanions as they all head towards the outskirt of the city.


    ¡°¡­.What abat fanatic,¡± Nightingale silently muttered as she shook her head while watching Boxlunch¡¯s departing figure.


    She then instinctively tightened the coat around herself, as Nightingale basked in its warmth.


    The Temple of Nature, Florence.


    Several yers from Moe Moe Committee carefully carried a huge, slightly crude looking hexagonal contraption, as they slowly moved it with utmost care as if it could break at the slightest touch.


    ¡°Be careful! Slow down! This is the closest we¡¯ve evere to sessfully creating this defensive core, so don¡¯t you dare break it now!¡±


    Carlos me with his bushy beard stated in amanding tone while holding a design blueprint in his hands.


    ¡°Grandpa Carlos, the tools for inscribing runes are here!¡± a clear feminine voice rang out while the yers were setting up the device.


    Hearing this familiar voice, Carlos¡¯s stern expression softened just a little bit.


    He then turned around to see a female yer carrying arge bundle of items.


    It was none other than his most talented disciple, Meng Zhihan, a Chosen One from the second batch of beta-testers.


    Carlos smiled gently.


    ¡°Good, help the others with the final inscription carving work and connect the defense core to the Goddess¡¯s statue, just as I taught you before. Remember, rune inscription is the most crucial part of crafting magical tools.¡±


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s face brightened up but hesitated not long after, ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m not very skilled yet.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll properly guide you.¡±


    Carlos warmly said as he patted her shoulder amidst the envious gazes of other yers and added,


    ¡°Your basic knowledge is already solid enough. Once you be more proficient in rune inscription, then you¡¯ll finally be able to forge basic magical equipment. It¡¯s not the grandest, but you can still create small trinkets at the apprentice-level, or even simple lower-ranked iron magical equipment. In your words, that¡¯s at least a rare blue-ss item.¡±


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes sparkled at his reassurance.


    She smiled sweetly and set down her tools, before bowing to the elderly elf.


    ¡°Thank you for your guidance, Master Carlos!¡±


    Carlos¡¯s expression softened even more.


    He shook his head and said, ¡°Good child, it¡¯s the result of your own hard work. You are the most dedicated and diligent among all the Chosen Ones I¡¯ve mentored. I believe you can inherit my legacy and grow into a true master of Elven craftsmith.¡±


    On a hillside beneath ck Dragon Castle


    ¡°Meryer! You rascal! Be more gentler! These walls can¡¯t endure your rough handling until they¡¯re properly reinforced!¡±


    Little Salty Cat puffed up her cheeks, as she watched the ck dragon carry a bundle of construction materials in his mouth.


    Meryer¡¯s face contorted, and he set down the stone he had in his mouth, before muttering in a muffled voice, ¡°Seriously¡­ why do I even need these added walls in my castle? This lord could easily solved it all with a single dragon¡¯s breath!¡±


    ¡°We need this reinforced walls to protect the defense core! Do you know about the defense cores? It¡¯s like the one in ckrock City! It can withstand tens of thousands of shadow monsters, you know!¡±


    Little Salty Cat shook her head, before crossing her arms over her chest.


    ¡°Once we install the defense core and activate the Goddess¡¯s power, even you probably won¡¯t be able to break through it easily. Plus, these walls aren¡¯t designed to defend against big guys like you but rather, it¡¯s meant to deal with the Orcs instead.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Those stupid and weak orcs can be easily taken down by this lord!¡±


    The little ck dragon lifted his head proudly.


    ¡°Oh is that so?¡±


    Little Salty Cat nced at him and continued, ¡°I heard from Sister Alice that this time, our enemies might even have few legendaries within their ranks.¡±


    Meryer¡¯s expression immediately froze.


    With that said, Little Salty Cat used the effect of her ¡°Light Body Technique,¡± to jumped on top of the dragon¡¯s head, and then lightly tapped his forehead with her staff.


    ¡°Hey you better work hard if you don¡¯t want your castle to turn into ruins under the siege of the Orcs! Anyways, after we defeat the Orcs, I¡¯ll treat you to ten cartloads of honey-roasted meat!¡±


    Meryer¡¯s eyes lit up.


    However, he swallowed hard and quickly shook his head, ¡°No! Make it twenty cartloads instead!¡±


    ¡°Okay fine, twenty cartloads it is!¡±


    Little Salty Cat puffed her chest out confidently just like a very generous rich girl.


    Meryer hesitated for a moment, drooling a bit, and then mischievously added, ¡°Or¡­ how about thirty cartloads? Hehehe, twenty might not be enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t push your luck!¡±


    Farnds, outside the Chosen City.


    ¡°This should do the trick!¡±


    Oak Guardian Berserker rubbed his bald head, after looking at the translucent arch-shaped structures right in front of him.


    ¡°Okay, thank you for your hard work, Lord Berserker.¡±


    Hootybird nodded as she observed the makeshift otherworldly version of a greenhouse right in front of her.


    ¡°Can this thing really make nts grow even in winter without using magic?¡±


    Berserker marveled at the strange structure before him.


    ¡°Of course, it can.¡±


    Hootybird nodded slightly and exined,


    ¡°To make nts grow in winter, I only need to solve the problem of light and heat. As long as there¡¯s a transparent and insting materials, I can build something simr to a greenhouse. You see, it¡¯smon practice back in our world.¡±


    After speaking, Hootybird touched the unused translucent building materials lying on the ground beside her.


    ¡°And these crystals from the underground, once their polished, be excellent materials for greenhouses.¡±


    Berserker looked at Hootybird in surprise and couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Miss Hootybird, you sure have a vast array of knowledge. You are the most knowledgeable amongst all the Chosen Ones I¡¯ve met, and the knowledge from your world truly is fascinating.¡±


    Hootybird shook her head.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just someone who read a lot of books, and this is all just basic scientific knowledge.¡±


    The Dark Mountains.


    The howling autumn winds swept away the final vestiges of greenery in the surroundings, leaving the pitch-ck mountains to appear even more deste against the backdrop of withered vegetation, with their decadence echoing the stillness of thend.


    Up above the skies held an unending procession of somber clouds, withyers uponyers unfolding like a foreboding veil. Their deliberate, unhurried drift from the south to the north created an eerie spectacle that stretched all across the barren mountainous region¡­


    Beneath the foreboding dark clouds, within the cold, dark mountains, countless orcs, apanied by resounding horn calls, moved forward like a slow-moving swarm of locusts.


    They stood tall and sturdy, d in somewhat crude equipment, surrounded by enormous beasts, with each measuring ten meters in height. These colossal creatures resembled an unholy breed of hippopotamuses, with numerous dagger-like fangs, human ears, and lion tails.


    These hideous looking abominations were beasts personally raised by the orcs for war¡ªa Behemoth, said to have a trace of Titan bloodline within them, with each possessing at least the strength of a Silver-ranked creature!


    Each Behemoth had gs fluttering upon its back, with each gs having different symbols that signifies various Orc tribes, including the Orc Royalty.


    Nevertheless, amidst all the numerous fluttering gs, thergest and leading one of them all disyed a bow-shaped symbol, which signifies their allegiance to the God of Winter and Hunting, Uller.


    King Imsh and his Chief Shaman sat atop the tallest Behemoth, gazing at the distant mountains with cold expressions.


    ¡°We¡¯ll finally be out of the Dark Mountains after we cross those mountains up ahead.¡±


    The Chief Shaman spoke.


    King Imsh grinned wickedly, ¡°Although I like autumn, winter is still my favorite season. Now¡­ I can¡¯t wait to hear the screams and pleas of those elves.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be careless.¡±


    The Chief Shaman¡¯s said with a solemn expression.


    ¡°Those elves now have a patron deity, moreover, they also have the support of the Goddess of Death. Although they are still weakened, we must still be cautious nheless. Remember, we must wipe out all the elves in the Elven Forestpletely this time!¡±


    ¡°Wipe them all out? No prisoners? The price of elven ves is still high, you know.¡±


    King Imsh was quite surprised.


    ¡°No prisoners.¡±


    The Chief Shaman shook her head.


    ¡°That newly ascended god, who stole the Divinity of Nature and Life, has also became the religious patron of the elves. If we don¡¯tpletely eliminate those elves, then it¡¯s highly possible that with the power of their faith, that new Elven God might gain control over thews of nature and life. By exterminating the elves, that newborn god will also lose their source of faith, and they will inevitably sumb into a deep slumber!¡±


    ¡°Do those stubborn elves even have the capacity to change their faith?¡±


    King Imsh was especially astonished.


    ¡°Any race¡­ when pushed to the brink of extinction, can undergo a transformation.¡±


    The Chief Shaman sighed.


    Afterwards, her expression became extremely devout and fanatical.


    ¡°Our Divine Father has issued an order. This time¡­ we mustpletely exterminate the elven race and fully sever the Elven God¡¯s roots so they cannot be revived once and for all!¡±


    ¡°And once we have won this war, and the new Elven God fall from their throne, our Divine Father can finally personally intervene¡­ He¡¯ll descend in his incarnation to y the fallen elven god and shall regain the power that originally rightfully should belong to him!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 231

    ??<strong>I¡¯ll teach you how to y Infernal Affairs </strong>


    ¡°Hehe, victory is bound to be ours, the Orcs! I can¡¯t imagine how our thirty thousand troops,prised of the finest and mightiest warriors from every tribe, could possibly falter against the weakened forces of the Elves.¡±


    Proudly dered by King Imsh, the Lionheart.


    The Chief Shaman cast a brief nce in his direction and subtly shook her head, remarking, ¡°Jushan believed the same, yet him and his Caverock Tribe no longer exists anywhere in this world.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! The Elves won¡¯t stand a chance against our army, even if the Goddess of Death blessed them with some kind of resurrection ability!¡± sneered King Imsh.


    Following his statement, the Orc King fixed his eyes on the horizon, disying a trace of contempt upon his face.


    ¡°Despite enduring years of being hunted by both our kind and the humans, their dwindling forces still cannot rival ours even if they were to assemble a thousand warriors!¡±


    ¡°Our thirty thousand troops could even easily drown them if each of us takes a piss! Even Death¡¯s Godwarden can¡¯t protect them from total soul annihtion no matter how much they resurrect. Tch, I refuse to believe those Elves can keep endlesslying back!¡±


    ¡°Not to mention¡­ we also have a backup n!¡±


    Yet, in response to Imsh¡¯s words, the Chief Shaman once more shook her head, with her demeanor turning grave.


    ¡°My Liege, do not underestimate the power of the gods.¡±


    ¡°The Elves may appear weak, but the entity they worship has not yet ascended to the Heavenly Realm, so currently they still hold the highest-ranking position here in Saig¨¹es. Despite having few followers, their power far surpasses ours.¡±


    ¡°As long as their divine power isn¡¯t exhausted, the Elven God is nearly invincible here in the mortal realm. Otherwise, Lord Volker wouldn¡¯t have fallen in the first ce.¡±


    Upon hearing the Chief Shaman¡¯s reminder, King Imsh froze.


    He looked at the female Shaman beside him, with his expression showing a trace of uncertainty.


    ¡°Are you suggesting¡­that this war mightpel the Elven God to personally intervene to prevent the massacre of their followers?¡±


    ¡°¡­If we push the entity they worship too far, then it¡¯s entirely possible that it might really personally intervene and break the covenant imposed by the gods.¡±


    The Chief Shaman calmly exined as her expression remained grave.


    However, after saying this, her demeanor suddenly became fanatical.


    ¡°Of course, if the opposition were to truly directly intervene and break the covenant, then it¡¯s something our Divine Father would also want to witness¡­¡±


    Hearing this, it seemed as if the Orc King realized something.


    Hisplexion suddenly turned pale, with his hands clenched so tightly that his sharp nails almost piercing his skin.


    ¡°A-Are you saying¡­¡±


    ¡°Remember My Liege¡­beneath the true gods, we mortals are nothing but mere ants.¡±


    And at that moment, the Chief Shaman¡¯s reminder truly reached Imsh¡¯s ears, snapping him out of his arrogance.


    The Orc King trembled, btedly recognizing that he had begun sweating profusely without his awareness.


    He wanted to say something more, but he hesitated when he saw the Chief Shaman¡¯s enigmatic smile.


    ¡°My Liege¡­¡±


    Just when King Imsh was beginning to doubt himself, the Chief Shaman¡¯s ethereal voice resounded again.


    ¡°What do you¡­ think of us Half-Orcs?¡±


    Without waiting for an answer, she continued,


    ¡°We Half-Orcs¡­ are ultimately the lowest among the Iron races, and our potential is even less than that of humans, who aren¡¯t even part of the Iron lineage.¡±


    ¡°For millennia, the mana in Saig¨¹es has consistently remained low. However, this has been beneficial for us Half-Orcs as it allowed the strength of our Divine Father to safely grow, enabling our race to establish a foundation within the Mortal Realm.¡±


    ¡°But now¡­ the mana in Saig¨¹es is once more rising back up again and sadly, the power of our Divine Father has hit a bottleneck.¡±


    ¡°With the resurgence of mana, those ancient beings that have been lying dormant for so long are bound to awaken one after another. The peaceful Mortal Realm, which has stayed calm for thousands of years, will definitely enter a new age of chaos as these powerful entities start stirring once more¡­¡±


    ¡°The foundation of the Half-Orcs is still much too weak, My Liege. If we want our race to truly be powerfulparable to that of full-blooded Orcs, humanity, and even the Dragons, then there¡¯s only one path for us¡ª¡±


    At this point, the Chief Shaman¡¯s expression became increasingly zealous.


    ¡°¡ªThat is to empower our Divine Father with an even greater Divinity, to elevate him to a higher state of existence!¡±


    ¡°For this¡­ we must spare no expense, even if it means sacrificing our very lives!¡±


    King Imsh¡¯s pupils contracted slightly.


    ¡°This is a gamble!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a gamble,¡± said the Chief Shaman calmly, but her gaze burned with unprecedented intensity.


    ¡°Two thousand years ago¡­ we won a gamble and fully gained control over the Desert of Death.¡±


    ¡°A thousand years ago, we also won another gamble and gained the rights over the Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest.¡±


    ¡°This time¡­should we win, then we Half-Orcs will have the chance to be a truly powerful lineage, on equal footing to full-blooded Orcs, humans, and perhaps even the Dragons!¡±


    Approximately 15 kilometers south of ck Dragon Castle, on a steep hillside, therein lies a certain outpost.


    This particr location is approximately 300 kilometers away from the World Tree if one were to walk in a straight line, and it represents the maximum distance that yers can currently explore.


    Once a barren hillside, it now hosts a newly constructed makeshift watchtower. Within the watchtower, three elves are presently gathered around a campfire, appearing quite bored out of their minds.


    ¡°Ah-choo!¡±


    Demacia sneezed loudly before tightly wrapping himself up in a small sheet of nket he seized from the human merchant caravan.


    ¡°Man, the devs made the weather system too exaggerated. It¡¯s so freaking cold, dude!¡±


    ¡°Well, it is autumn, and we¡¯re in the mountains¡­ Besides, the realism is what makes ElvKing so appealing, right? Plus, we could always turn off the temperature sensitivity in the settings menu anyway.¡±


    One low-level yer chimed in as heughed.


    Demacia shook his head.


    ¡°Yeah you can disable pain sensitivity, but I think disabling temperature sensitivity as well removes too much of the fun.¡±


    Hearing this, the other two yers pondered for a moment with one of them hesitating before curiously asking, ¡°By the way, Big Brother Demacia, why did you take on this boring surveince task at the edge of the map?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m kinda curious too¡­¡± The other yer by the campfire also nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s one of the most boring tasks in the game. Sure, it gives decent EXP for us low-level yers, but big brother you¡¯re already level 21, aren¡¯t you? The task reward is hardly enough for you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face fell as he heard thements from the two low-level yers. He then let out a long sigh and shook his head helplessly.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it¡­st semester, I got too into ying games and flunked six subjects. And this year, our school had decided to have summer sses for those of us who failed!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s starting in a few days, and they scheduled the makeup exams during the summer sses. I¡¯ll have to retake all six subjects at once if I fail again this time. Dude, that¡¯ll be like a death sentence, you know¡­ Heck, just attending the sses might kill me.¡±


    ¡°College student?¡± The two yers asked curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, freshman year,¡± Demacia sighed.


    ¡°So, I figured¡­ I¡¯d multitask and do some tasks that also let me study for my exams at the same time.¡±


    Demacia then casually took a screenshot of his in-game interface and sent it to his two teammates. Upon seeing the screenshot filled with lecture slides, the two couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with him.


    ¡°In any case, ElvKing¡¯s mind eleration tech is really impressive! Especially when doing your homework and writing papers, it¡¯s incredibly time-efficient.¡±


    One of them remarked after letting out a sigh.


    The other yer shook his head,


    ¡°Come on man¡­ how many people ying this game actually have the patience to use mind eleration for studying? Watching videos is one thing, but actually learning? Haha, I bet¡¯cha most are just trying to cram at thest minut¡ªUh, I mean, not you, Brother D-Demacia¡­¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face soured. He was about to say something when he suddenly changed his expression.


    ¡°Did you guys hear that? It sounds like footsteps¡­¡±


    His pointed ears perked up as if it¡¯s an antenna that¡¯s aligning with the source of the noise.


    ¡°¡­Footsteps?¡±


    The two low-level yers nced at each other with look of puzzlement.


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°No I didn¡¯t¡­maybe it¡¯s from the background music? Hmm¡­the BGM of the Dark Mountains do sounds like quite nice now that I¡¯m listening carefully at it¡­¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need a freakin¡¯ BGM for a surveince mission! Fuck, Turn it off now! Turn it off!¡±


    He looked exasperated at the two newbies.


    Without waiting for the two novice yers to respond, Demacia stood up, still wrapped in his small nket, and walked towards the edge of the watchtower.


    The sky was getting a little dark, and the mountain wind was blowing loudly, making his face itch, as Demacia squinted his eyes¡­


    However, as Demacia¡¯s gaze sharpened, with his eyes focusing beyond the watchtower, his pupils widened in shock, and an involuntary curse escaped his lips.


    ¡°W-What in the actual fuck!¡±


    In his field of vision¡­


    Countless Orcs covered the mountains, as far as the eye could see!


    Endless and innumerable!


    After being startled for a moment, Demacia¡¯s expression gradually showed excitement.


    ¡°The Orc army ising! The Orc army is finally here! Haha! The main questline is about to begin!¡±


    While he began frantically taking screenshots of the scenery, Demacia also called out to the other two low-level yers.


    And when the two low-level yers also saw the overwhelming Orc army matching in the horizon, their faces both turned pale with apprehension¡­


    Even though they knew it is just a game, the grandeur and sense of intimidation brought about by the sight of hordes of Orcs marching remain undeniably unsettling.


    One yer swallowed hard and asked, ¡°B-Big Brother Demacia, since the Orcs areing, shouldn¡¯t we inform the others and retreat quickly?¡±


    ¡°Retreat!?¡±


    Demacia rolled up his sleeves, his expression etched into a grin that clearly showed that he couldn¡¯t contain his excitement.


    ¡°We¡¯re staying right here. Light up the torches and we¡¯ll wait for them to capture us!¡±


    ¡°C-Capture¡­ us?¡±


    The two yers looked utterly baffled.


    ¡°Hehe! Don¡¯t you two get it? To them, we elves are preciousmodities! The Orcs will definitely keep us alive and treat us as prisoners if they catch us and then¡­ we can help the others pinpoint the Orcs¡¯ exact location!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡­ this time, I¡¯ll teach you two how to properly y Infernal Affairs.¡± 1


    Demacia eagerly rubbed his hands together.


    The two newbies: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be studying?¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­ I¡¯ll study after this. It¡¯ll take only a few hours anyway.¡±


    Demacia chuckled awkwardly.


    1 <strong><mark>ÎÞ¼äµÀ</mark></strong> ¨C The term ¡®<strong><mark>Infernal Affairs</mark></strong>¡® in this chapter is based off on a Hong Kong action thriller film which follows an undercover Police Force officer who infiltrates a Triad, and another officer who is secretly a spy for the same Triad.


    So what Demacia is implying here is that he¡¯s gonna teach the two how to be a spy.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 232

    ??<strong>KILL THEM</strong>


    <em>The Orc army is here!</em>


    yers erupted in excitement when Demacia took a screenshot of the approaching Orc army from the watchtower and posted it on the forum.


    -Let¡¯s go! Is it finally here? I¡¯ve been grinding for over half a month already and I¡¯m getting sick of it.


    -Thirty thousand Orcs! That¡¯s equivalent to 30K lottery tickets! Owning a full set of legendary gear is no longer a dream!


    -That caught me off guard¡­ I thought the devs would send out a notification about the Orc invasion or something. But they just appeared on the map just like that without any prior notice.


    -Well, ElvKing always follows this pattern, setting up a prelude event in advance, and only when yers triggered it will the system prompt finally appears. It¡¯s quite surprising, actually.


    -Surprising, my ass. Triggering the main quest is all about luck¡­it¡¯s just a game for the lucky and hardcore yers.


    -Well, isn¡¯t this better than the devs catering to whales?


    -Pfft¡­This game isn¡¯t for whales? Dude, just look at Salty Cat, money matters even in here.


    -But she¡¯s not just your typical whale; Salty Cat¡¯s also a semi-hardcore yer who¡¯s pretty cool and generous too. Being both a whale and a hardcore yer, that¡¯s what makes someone a real badass!


    -That¡¯s right, if you hate it then just quit the game lol! There are still twenty million people waiting to take your ce. #Funny


    The forum buzzed with joy and excitement, devoid of any hints of tension or fear normally associated with an impending war.


    Nevertheless, a few lingering concerns still persisted.


    -Speaking of which, isn¡¯t the number of Orcs this time too exaggerated? 30k? Damn can we even win?


    Of course, such voices were quickly drowned out by others.


    -C¡¯mon now¡­ Do you think the developers would set up an impossible quest that we can¡¯t win? Lmao that would totally break the game and get the lead designer fired, right?


    -Exactly! If the enemy has this many troops, then it¡¯s definitely calcted by the devs ording to our strength. It might be a bit challenging, but if we stick to the quest prompts, I think we¡¯ll be just fine!


    -I agree. Just think about it¡­ we¡¯ve got over ten thousand yers, and nearly five thousand users are currently online right now. Plus, thanks to the summer event, most folks have hit level 11 in the past few days. With thirty thousand Orcs, that means we only need to handle six enemies for each of us!¡±


    -Right! And if we face any real difficulties, then we can always just summon the Goddess. It¡¯ll be fine since she¡¯s the most powerful NPC in terms ofbat strength.


    However, there are also yers whose looking at the current situation with a calm and rational mindset.


    -Don¡¯t get toocent. Orcs are different from Shadow Monsters. I¡¯m a 2nd beta-tester and I¡¯ve faced them inbat before, these Orcs are definitely formidable enemies.


    -True, these Orcs might seem crude, but theirbat skills are actually quite impressive. However, our ownbat capabilities have also improved significantlypared to our first battle with them, so it could be a close match this time, don¡¯t you think?


    -Guys don¡¯t rely too much on the Goddess. Alice mentioned that Gods can¡¯t personally intervene in wars of faith, right? The Goddess can only be summoned in specific situations, and I doubt we¡¯ll be able to summon her this time. That means we¡¯ll have to rely on ourselves to fight off the Orc invasion.


    -Yeah, the Goddess is so powerful that there wouldn¡¯t be any challenge at all if we just summoned her every time.


    ¡°Has it finally came?¡±


    When Demacia and a handful of yers assigned to surveince finally spotted the Orc army in the distance, Ev¨¦, who had marked these yers, also received the news instantly.


    With a simple thought, she connected her consciousness into the perspective of Demacia and the others, and immediately saw the army of orcs marching all over the mountains and ins in the distance.


    A true god¡¯s perception is extremely powerful and sharp.


    Even if she only briefly looked into each yer¡¯s field of vision, Ev¨¦ in an instant already determined the exact numbers andposition of the Orc army.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a thirty-thousand army, and they seem quite formidable as well. Almost half of them have peak or intermediate Iron-rank strength. Fortunately, their equipment seems worse than ours.¡±


    Equipment ys a significant role in determining an individual¡¯s overallbat capabilities especially inrge-scale battles.


    Most yers have rare blue-ss or higher quality equipment they obtained from the exchange store, and this equipment has been reconstructed using Eve¡¯s very own divine power, which ensures its quality.


    While yers might be weaker in strengthpared to Orcs, the quality of their equipment considerably closes the gap between the two.


    ¡°There are around twenty individuals with silver auras, but the most eye-catching ones are definitely those ten giant beasts!¡±


    ¡°Although the most powerful among these beasts has intermediate silver-rank strength, if I¡¯m not mistaken, those should be the Behemoths mentioned in the ancient records! They are descendants of the Titans from the Primordial Era!¡±


    ¡°These Titan descendants can¡¯t be underestimated¡­ Although their strength is only at the Silver-rank, for yers at the Iron-rank, their destructive power could match Gold-ranked creatures.¡±


    Titans, like Dragons, belonged to the Golden Lineage.


    And creatures with Golden lineage tended to be stronger than their counterparts of the same rank. While they couldn¡¯t defeat beings above their ranks, they could still unleash terrifying damage against those weaker than them.


    ¡°There¡¯s only two individuals with golden aura¡­could it be the Orc Shaman and their leader, the Lionheart King, like those dwarves were talking about in their news?¡±


    Eve¡¯s interest was piqued.


    ¡°This is probably the Orcs¡¯ overall strength. In a conventional war, this would be more than sufficient enough.¡±


    ¡°But since it¡¯s a war of faith¡­ the power of a true god won¡¯t be absent. Although divine beings won¡¯t participate, Uller will definitely send some of his legendary-ranked servants!¡±


    Ev¨¦ contemted for a moment and partially strengthened her divine perception to observe the Orc army more closely, in order to give more urate instructions to the yers.


    However, at that moment, the owner of the ¡°perspective¡± she had tapped into unexpectedly climbed down from the watchtower.


    ¡°Hmm? What is Demacia doing? Is he gonna retreat?¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow in surprise.


    However, what surprised her even more was that Demacia didn¡¯t retreat but instead removed his equipment, dug a hole to bury it underground, and involuntary shivered as a cold wind suddenly blew into him.


    He then turned towards the other two yers and said,


    ¡°Those Orcs are way too slow! And check out where they¡¯re going¡­ Tch, they might not even bein¡¯ our way. You two, hurry up and bury your gear too. We¡¯ll head over there on our own.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­let¡¯s hang on to our weapons, though. We¡¯ll charge over with our weapons raised¡ªOh, you got a spare knife? Can you sell it to me? Mine¡¯s an epic-ss, you know, so I can¡¯t risk losin¡¯ it.¡±


    ¡°Ugh man¡­ It¡¯s too cold. I¡¯m turning off my temperature sensitivity so I won¡¯t freeze to death.¡±


    After saying this, Demacia paused for a moment to open his in-game settings and then finally stopped shivering.


    ¡°Hurry up, you two. If we run faster, we can reach those orcs in a quarter of an hour at most. If we¡¯re lucky, we¡¯ll be done before dinner.¡±


    ¡°Today, I¡¯ll show you how I¡¯ve fooled the Orcs just like back in the day!¡±


    Demacia proudly dered.


    The two newbies: ¡°¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ was dumbfounded.


    <em>Is he going undercover again? </em>


    Demacia, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement.


    After also burying their equipment he led the two newbies, who were now also shivering from the cold, but equally just as excited, towards the direction of the Orc army.


    As they ran, Demacia even started a livestream, naming the stream ¡°Demacia Takes You to the Orc Camp¡± and quickly posted the link on the forum.


    Soon, yers who were already paying close attention to any news regarding the Orcs began to enter the livestream one after another, driven by curiosity.


    -Lol¡­is Demacia ying Infenal Affairs again?


    -Don¡¯t say that; he¡¯s good at going undercover. Remember how he cross-dressed as a honeypot before?


    -Lmao!


    Demacia¡¯s actions were swift.


    He made no attempt to conceal himself, waving his arms high with a single knife and almost naked, as if he were afraid the orcs wouldn¡¯t see him.


    He shouted and screamed loudly as he ran towards the marching army.


    Naturally, the Orcs eventually ended up noticing the trio.


    ¡°¡­Elves?¡±


    Seeing three elves, almost naked and with their faces turning blue from the cold, running towards them and waving their weapons in a crude manner, Lionheart King Imsh and the Chief Shaman looked at each other, utterly baffled.


    ¡°Capture them.¡±


    King Imsh said in a deep voice.


    Soon, a group of orcs swarmed up and tied up these almost naked three elves who seemed to be in a panic andpletely out of their minds.


    They easily disarmed the trio and bound them, before bringing them in front of the Orc King and the Chief Shaman.


    Looking at the equipment worn by the two, obviously of higher quality than the surrounding Orcs and the pressure emanating from the two regal-looking Orcs made Demacia excited.


    <em>These two Orcs¡­ are definitely the main bosses of this questline!</em>


    Looking at Demacia¡¯s excitement, the chief shaman frowned slightly.


    Meanwhile, Lionheart King Imsh nced at the three elves with interest before silently turning his gaze at the Chief Shaman, as if asking her what she wanted to do with the trio.


    ¡°Your Liege, these three elves¡ª¡±


    The chief shaman stated in a cold voice,


    ¡°Kill them as sacrifices.¡±


    Demacia¡¯s excited smile immediately froze upon hearing it.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 233

    ??<strong>TERRIFYING EXISTENCE</strong>


    ¡°K-Kill as a sacrifice?¡±


    Why are the NPCs suddenly not following the usual routine?


    The yers watching Demacia¡¯s livestream were left confused for a moment before they filled the chat with jeeringments:


    ?Pfft¡­He¡¯s being sacrificed lolol¡­


    ?Hahaha, Demacia, you¡¯re in big trouble now! xD


    ?Live streaming your own death, lmao what a show¡­


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    After hearing the decision of the Chief Shaman, the Orcs who tied up Demacia and the two newbiesughed ferociously as they drew out the machetes hanging from their waists.


    Seeing their gleaming de draw closer to him as his ashen face gets reflected upon its metallic surface, Demacia widened his eyes in a panic and hastily eximed in a ttering tone,


    ¡°N-N-No¡­we are on the same side! I have important information to report, T-Taijun!¡±<strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    Looking at Demacia¡¯s fawning behavior, the two newbies beside him were so dumbfounded that they couldn¡¯t even bear to look at this person who they once even called Big Brother¡­


    <em>This was so embarrassing!</em>


    The corners of their mouths twitched involuntarily and the two turned their heads away pretending they didn¡¯t know him.


    ?Lmfao¡­ Demacia, are you betraying the elves?


    ?Hahaha¡­this guy is a real bastard, this shit is so hrious¡­ Hahaha¡­


    ?Lol did he really called the Orc King Taijun?


    ?Demacia, listen to me, you should definitely try being aedian!


    The stream was as lively as ever, asments filled withughter bombarded the live chat as it moved at light speed.


    ¡°This guy¡­¡±


    Even Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but cringe and felt second-hand embarrassment as she watched the silly antics of this red-haired rascal.


    But at the same time, a proverbial light-bulb goes on within her mind.


    ¡°Although he likes to act recklessly and seek death, this rascal might actually be able to deceive the Orcs¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to nt a seed on the enemy side. If the Orcs believe him, then I could delegate some tasks for him.¡±


    And sure enough, after they heard what Demacia suddenly blurted out, the Chief Shaman and Lionheart King Imsh raised their eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them yet, let¡¯s hear what he has to say.¡±


    The Chief Shaman said calmly.


    The Orcs immediately stopped their actions upon hearing her words.


    Demacia breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been granted amnesty.


    However, just as he was starting to regain his excitement and organize his thoughts to begin his usual modus operandi of deception¡ª


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    A new system prompt suddenly appeared before him:


    ¡¾You have been captured by the Orcs. You triggered a personal hidden quest: <strong>Deceive the Orcs</strong>.¡¿


    <em>A personal hidden quest? Deceive the Orcs?</em>


    Demacia was momentarily stunned, then he became overjoyed.


    A personal hidden quest!


    He actually had triggered another hidden quest!


    Hahaha! What luck! Was he actually the most fortunate yer in the entire server all along?


    Immediately after, the specific instructions of the quest appeared right before Demacia¡¯s eyes.


    ¡¾<strong>Personal Hidden Quest:</strong> Deceive the Orcs¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Gain the trust of the Orcs and gather information about the Orcs¡¯ military situation.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Reward</strong>: Overall Personal Reputation Score +1¡¿


    <em>Whoa!? </em>


    The reward is an increased in reputation score!


    Seeing the quest reward, Demacia¡¯s eyes further widened to itsrgest capacity.


    What an incredible reward!


    Right now, what he needed most was a way to increase his abysmal overall personal reputation score and Demacia hadn¡¯t expected that the system would actually give him an opportunity to address the issue he¡¯d been tirelessly working hard to resolve all this time¡­


    He couldn¡¯t believe his luck!


    Demacia felt so moved that he was about to cry¡­


    However, just as he was about to praise the goddess within his heart, the Chief Shaman¡¯s expression suddenly changed into one of rm.


    ¡°Hurry! Kill them quickly!¡±


    Her expression became intensely serious, almost shouting out themand.


    Her order came so urgently that before Demacia and the two newbies could even react, the Orcs had already drawn out their machetes from their waists once more and with a single swift motion, beheaded the three yers altogether¡­


    Demacia¡¯sst expression showed a look of utter disbelief, as his severed head bounced up a couple of times before rolling to a stop right in front of the Chief Shaman.


    Poor Demacia.


    He died at level 24, unable to even ept the rare personal hidden quest the system had granted exclusively into him.


    The smell of blood gradually permeated the air as the bodies of the three yers then lifelessly copsed.


    Lionheart King Imsh squinted his eyes slightly, and he looked at the Chief Shaman curiously and asked,


    ¡°Your Excellency, didn¡¯t you want to hear what they had to say? What changed your mind?¡±


    However, the Chief Shaman did not immediately answered his question. Instead, she looked around in suspicion for a minute before disying a grave expression and took out a ne made of string of skulls hidden underneath her chest.


    The ne seemed ancient and adorned with dark crimson hues as it emit a subtle, unsettling aura of chaos and malevolence.


    Upon seeing the ne, the Orc King¡¯s pupils constricted as his face slightly darkened.


    ¡°As I suspected, you actually brought along this artifact¡­¡±


    His tone was filled with deep apprehension and¡­ fear!


    ¡°Of course I would. After all¡­ our enemy this time is a God! Although they aren¡¯t recognized by the Pantheon, they are still a true god nheless! We must give our all since we are facing a true god!¡±


    The Chief Shaman spoke solemnly.


    ¡°Moreover, this divine artifact originally belongs to our Divine Father!¡±


    Upon hearing her words, the Orc King¡¯s face paled considerably.


    However, his eyes were soon drawn to the ne the Chief Shaman is holding as it suddenly emitted a faint and eerie glow.


    Seeing the state of the ne, the look on the Chief Shaman¡¯s face grew increasingly grim.


    ¡°Indeed, as expected¡­a terrifying existence was observing us a moment ago.¡±


    ¡°A terrifying existence!?¡±


    Imsh the Lionheart King was astonished.


    Then, he asked with a tone of uncertainty,


    ¡°You mean¡ªa true god!?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ and I¡¯m afraid that terrifying entity relied something to those elves! Your Liege, you should also be aware of the capabilities of this artifact.¡±


    The Chief Shaman¡¯s eyes gleamed with uncanny light.


    King Imsh fell silent for a moment and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard some legends about it. From what I¡¯ve heard, a thousand years ago, our Divine Father managed to defeat that ancient ¡®entity¡¯ mainly with its help. But¡­this ne is truly terrifying. If possible, I hope that¡­ we would never have to use it this time¡­¡±


    The Chief Shaman raised an eyebrow and then chuckled lightly.


    ¡°That will depend on the strength of our army. If we can sessfully defeat the elves and make this new god fall from grace, then we won¡¯t ever need to use this artifact¡­¡±


    But upon hearing the words of the Chief Shaman, the Orc King did not respond.


    He stayed silent yet his gloomy expression revealed that he was not at ease.


    Seeing King Imsh¡¯s despondent demeanor, the Chief Shaman sighed out loud.


    ¡°Your Liege, there¡¯s no need to worry. We have an army of thirty thousand warriors and can also summon several Totem Guardians. Victory will be ours just as long as this terrifying entity doesn¡¯t directly intervene. Of course, if they do personally intervene, then we¡¯ll have to make a choice¡­¡±


    She then drew a bow-shaped symbol upon her chest and fervently dered,


    ¡°This new god will surely fall! Everything is for the glory of our Divine Father and the future of the Half-Orcs!¡±


    She then looked at the corpses on the ground.


    ¡°The corpses of these elves shouldn¡¯t go to waste either¡­they are all fine materials for sacrifices!¡±


    After saying this, the Chief Shaman raised the ne and closed her eyes as she solemnly uttered a prayer.


    Shortly afterwards, the skull ne gave off a burst of deep light.


    A spine-chilling energy then gradually emanated from the ne, as it cast an eerie light upon the lifeless forms of the three Elves, which caused their remains to slowly disintegrate¡­


    However, during the process of the bodies disappearance, the Chief Shaman couldn¡¯t help but let out a surprise exmation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    The Orc King asked but the expression of the Chief Shaman only showed a look of confusion.


    ¡°Half of the sacrifices¡¯ flesh and blood are missing¡­¡±


    Elven Forest, World Tree.


    On one of the massive branches of the World Tree, three orbs slowly coalesced, and after a while, three tall individuals clumsily emerged out from each them.


    ¡°Ahhh goddammit! I failed the hidden quest! M-My reputation reward is gone!!¡±


    A heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the whole area.


    It was none other than Demacia who was just resurrected.


    ¡°Ugh¡­we died.¡±


    ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have followed along. Shiet, I¡¯ve wasted ten revival coins¡­¡±


    The other two newbies also resurrected at the same time, looking dejected.


    ¡°I used twenty-four revival coins¡­ and the personal hidden quest is now gone¡­fucking hell, the reward for that quest was a reputation boost too!¡±


    Demacia felt entirely heartbroken.


    In contrast to Demacia¡¯s grief, his livestream chat was still filled with joy:


    ?Ah¡­he died so suddenly!


    ?How tragic lol!


    ?Hahaha! He died even before he could ept the quest. Lolol you¡¯re really are unlucky Demacia.


    ?Demacia, did your intention to fool them somehow got revealed?


    Watching the fast moving live chat, Demacia grumbled in frustration,


    ¡°How would I know!¡±


    He then closed the livestream after a few moments and let out a long sigh¡­


    The three newly revived yers then looked at each other in an awkward silence.


    ¡°¡­Are we going again?¡±


    After a while, one of the newbies asked.


    ¡°Go? No freakin¡¯ way man, my hidden quest is already gone¡­screw this, I¡¯m gonna study instead! Hit me up once the Orcs starts attacking the city!¡±


    Demacia sighed and quickly logged out.


    Eve¡¯s mood was not much better than the trio as she silently watched from her mindscape Demacia and the two newbies log off from the game.


    ¡°My presence must have been discovered¡­How did those Orcs knew that I was spying on them? I should have hidden my presence well¡­¡±


    ¡°Not to mention, half of their avatar¡¯s flesh and blood disappeared when I teleported the bodies of Demacia and the other two.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Did something interfere with my teleportation? I¡¯m already a true god, so no one should be able to stop me from teleporting the yers avatars¡­¡±


    ¡°Moreover, I sensed a strange aura lingering within their avatars when I checked their condition just now.¡±


    A trace of doubt arose within Eve¡¯s heart.


    ¡°¡­What could it be?¡±


    Suddenly, it urred to her that this uing war of faith might not go as smoothly as she had initially hoped¡­


    1 <mark><strong>Ì«¾ý</strong></mark> ¨C Taijun was a term used by chinese people to address the japanese officials (a bit like ¡°Master¡±) during their upation of china before and during WW2.


    After the war the term has been instead used in a sarcastic manner mostly as a way to deride the ¡°masters¡± who had lost.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 234

    ??<strong>THE MAIN QUESTLINE IS FINALLY HERE! </strong>


    Within the confines of her Celestial Domain, nestled inside the Natural Temple she had conjured in the vast expanse of her mindscape, Ev¨¦ sat atop her noble divine throne, crafted from vibrant flowers, lush green grass, and intricate vines of shimmering gold, while she contemted upon the recent strange incident involving the Orcs.


    It seemed that they had somehow found a way to sense her presence!


    It was a revtion that instantly heightened Ev¨¦¡¯s vignce.


    An object capable of perceiving the gaze of a true god was clearly no ordinary object.


    It was without a doubt a divine artifact.


    If the Orcs brought along such an item, then they must be nning something that involves using that ne.


    ¡°Uller was the instigator of this war of faith and his primary goal is to seize my Divinity. ¡°It is definitely not a coincidence that the orcs brought along an item that can sense my existence.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s ominous aura makes me slightly uneasy and will undoubtedly pose a threat to me.¡±


    ¡°What could it be? It¡¯s certain that the Orcs¡­ wants to pinpoint my whereabouts. Could it be that they¡¯ve found a way to confront me head-on?¡±


    ¡°I should be more cautious. After eliminating one of his Demigods, Uller must have realized that I could manifest my Celestial Domain. In this situation, engaging in warfare without even issuing a proper deration and directly sending his army suggests that he might have other cards up his sleeve.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore¡­ there¡¯s also that matter of half of yer¡¯s bodies disappearance. This should be observed further¡­It might be rted to the Orcs¡¯ trump cards.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I should seek the counsel of H. The Goddess of Death has lived for so long so she should know something about it¡­¡±


    With these thoughts in mind, Ev¨¦ immediately took action.


    She descended from her divine throne and raised her slender, baster arm as a faint radiant light of mana gathered around her hand, which eventually solidified into an exquisite wooden box.


    It was the item brought by the dark-dwarvesst time, or rather¡­an artifact that belonged to the Goddess of Death.


    It is known as the Casket of the Dead and this artifact had a function simr to the soul-storing orb. However, what sets this casket apart from the Soul Orb is its additional ability to transmit messages over long distances.


    With a snap of her fingers, Ev¨¦ channeled a pale green divine energy that swirled around her fingertips, forming a radiant sphere of light.


    Her ethereal and sacred voice then resonated throughout her imaginary temple.


    ¡°H, Your Majesty, are you aware of any artifact possessed by Uller that could pose a threat to a true god?¡±


    Upon speaking, Ev¨¦ gently waved her hand, and the radiant sphere on her fingertips entered the Casket of the Dead.


    She then carefully stowed the casket and returned to her divine throne.


    For a few minutes, she maintained her silence, enveloping the imaginary domain in a solemn atmosphere where the only sole audible sound was the rhythmic tapping of her finger upon the throne¡¯s armrest.


    ¡°I must prepare for the worst¡­¡± She murmured as the movement of her finger momentarily stopped.


    ¡°For this uing war, I¡¯ll aim to resolve everything outside the central area of the Elven Forest, and avoid exposing my whereabouts like I did back when I killed Demigod Volker.¡±


    ¡°However¡­ I can use my incarnations to create some diversions.¡±


    With these ideas forming in her mind, Ev¨¦ began to craft a much clearer n.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s assign some tasks to the yers. The Orc army is already here, and the War of Faith is about to begin.¡±


    She shook her head before unleashing some of her divine power.


    In the instant that Ev¨¦ mobilized her divine power, a new system message appeared in the view of the entire yerbase.


    ¡¾<mark><strong>WARNING!</strong></mark> ¡¿


    ¡¾Traces of orcs detected within the territory¡­ The Orcs are attacking!¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Chapter ¡®<strong>02</strong>¡® of the main storyline hasmenced¡ª¡¿


    ¡¾Large-scale Questline ¡®<strong>War of Faith</strong>!¡¯ is now active! ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: In order to obtain a more powerful power, Uller, the God of Winter and Hunting hasunched a war of faith against the Elven faction! For the honor of the Elvenkind and the Goddess! O¡¯ Brave Chosen Ones, fight to the death!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objectives</strong>: ¡¿


    ??1. Assist the Elven NPCs in defeating the Orc army and achieve victory in the war.


    ??2. Defeat the questline¡¯s main bosses.


    ??3. Protect and safeguard the NPCs belonging in your own faction.


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Time Limit</strong>: None¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Participants</strong>: No restrictions¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Level</strong>: No restrictions¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: 30,000 experience points, 5,000 contribution points, 30 revival coins, 1 lucky draw ticket, exclusive rare blue-ss title ¡°Guardian of Faith¡±¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Warfare Mode Initiated¡­¡¿


    ¡¾Zero Moonlight gained a new title: <strong>Supreme Commander of the Elven Legion </strong>¡¿


    ¡¾A¨¦l Moonlight, ck Dragon Meryer, Spider Queen Rose gained new titles: <strong>Elven Legion Frontier Commander</strong>¡¿


    ¡¾Alice Galewind gained a new title<strong>: Elven Legion Defense Commander </strong>¡¿


    ¡°The main storyline is here!¡±


    ¡°Finally the wait is over!¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ the rewards are incredibly generous!¡±


    ¡°A new exclusive title! We finally get the chance to obtain titles just lile the 1st beta-testers! Man, I used to envy their titles so much¡­¡±


    A palpable excitement filled the air as yers read the system notifications with eager expressions. However, those higher-leveled yers and some older, more experienced beta-testers noticed something different this time around.


    ¡°¡­War mode?¡±


    ¡°Commander Titles?¡±


    ¡°Does this mean we have to follow the orders of the NPCs¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It seems likely, but I never expected Zero to be named as the Supreme Commander¡­¡±


    ¡°Who is this Zero anyway?¡± a third beta-tester asked in a curious tone.


    ¡°Zero¡¯s quite a mysterious NPC you see. We rarely see her but she¡¯s an exceptionally powerful NPC! Previously, she single-handedly tore apart a supposedly legendary Shadow Dragon during the ckrock City defense in the underground!¡±


    Replied by one of the 1st beta-testers who participated in the said event.


    ¡°Holy shit! Is it like that!?¡±


    ¡°It sure is! She¡¯s probably the strongest among the followers of the goddess. Within the game lore, it¡¯s mentioned that she¡¯s a Godwarden of the goddess herself, with a status no less than that of the Nature Saintess, Alice. And the reason she¡¯s so powerful is her ability to borrow the goddess¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a picture of her?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­.Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s actually a youngdy! Okay, that¡¯s great!¡±


    Of course, the Chief Commanding Officer must be a native or possibly even Ev¨¦ herself!


    This war was entirely different from a mere incursion of some mercenaries; it was something that would truly affect Eve¡¯s next course of n for the future. Therefore, the suprememander had to be either herself or someone absolutely loyal and faithful to her.


    Moreover, after sensing that the Orcs might have been hiding some devious tricks up their sleeves, she became even more concerned about this war.


    In addition, managing 10,000 yers was vastly different from overseeing a mere 2,000 individuals. Thus, she mostly relegated themanding positions to NPCs since yers held significantly less authoritypared to their native counterparts.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ would only serve as the Supreme Commander that oversees the general situation on the macro-level. As for micro-managing the yers, she would entrust that discretion to the yers themselves or the much bigger and influential guilds.


    The emergence of therge-scale event instantly sent ripples across the yermunity, igniting a wildfire of excitement and expectations.


    This uing war of faith had been teased countless times in the past, and yers had been eagerly anticipating it ever since.


    Not only that, but the rewards being offered on this event were said to be the highest ever so far!


    And that didn¡¯t even include the benefits of defeating an Orc as it had been mentioned in the summer event rules that killing an Orc would earn yers lottery tickets!


    Not to mention¡­ with so many Orcs, how much experience could yers gain if they somehow killed them all?


    This was simply a great opportunity to rapidly advance one¡¯s level!


    All the yers currently online immediately chose to ept the Quest as only fools would even dare decline to participate in this event.


    Furthermore, the appearance of the ¡°War of Faith¡± questline quickly spread across the forum and various ElvKing-centric game groups¡­


    Most yers online called their friends and started summoning those who are still offline.


    ¡°Hey! Log in! Log in! The main questline is finally here!¡±


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s finally time for war! Log in quickly dude!¡±


    ¡°Hey are you there? The server-wide event in ElvKing is about to start! Come on!¡±


    The news spread like wildfire, from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred¡­


    For a moment, even the yers who had just logged out and received the message eagerly rushed back to log in again despite being dead tired just to ept the Quest.


    Eve¡¯s whose monitoring the situation perceived that the number of yers currently online was skyrocketing at a rate visible to the naked eye.


    From five thousand to six thousand, and from six thousand to seven thousand, before finally¡­ the number gradually slowed down after reaching over nine thousand.


    <em>Over nine thousand yers!</em>


    It could be said that nearly 90% of the entire yerbase were currently online.


    Moreover, after several days of grinding nonstop and Eve deliberately granting some extra experience points, the vast majority of the yers had also managed to advanced into Iron-rank!


    And the number of yers with intermediate Iron-rank strength had also reached over two thousand.


    Meanwhile, the highest-level yers had even reached level 30 which is the peak of intermediate Iron-rank.


    Overall, the quantity and quality of yers had satisfied Ev¨¦.


    With most yers now online, Eve once again employed her divine might to issue a new notification.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Godwarden Zero had issued an assembly task, calling on all Chosen Ones to gather beneath the ck Dragon Castle¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest time-limit</strong>: one hour¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest reward</strong>: 100 contribution points¡¿


    ¡°Oh it seems we have to assemble!¡±


    ¡°The rendezvous point is beneath the ck Dragon Castle!¡±


    The yers who had logged in were immediately excited.


    Nothing rallied them better than a call to assemble.


    After Ev¨¦ issued the task, all yers rushed towards the rendezvous point beneath the ck Dragon Castle, either through using the teleportation array or by riding their own familiars and traveling there by foot.


    In an instant, the Elven Forest bustled with activity as yers all converged toward the ck Castle like a torrential flood.


    As a result, the teleportation array within the castle hall kept shing nonstop as fully armed elves emerged out from it one after another without end.


    Seeing such a spectacle greatly astonished Meryer as yers bustled and fool around, ying and making noise amongst their friends or colleagues, which crammed the already not-so-spacious hall to the brim.


    Meryer: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You bunch of loud rascals! Get out of this Lord¡¯s castle!¡±


    After witnessing the loud chaotic scene within the castle hall, the little ck dragon let out a roar of exasperation.


    Meryer¡¯s outburst made the yers became much more obedient, as they gather at the rendezvous point outside the castle in a much restrained and orderly manner.


    Soon, arge crowd of elves gathered around the area beneath the ck castle.


    Each yers sat together in groups of three or four, with many individuals also bringing along their own pet familiars.


    Thousands of yers and their magical beasts gathered together in a cluster, forming an impressive and spectacr scene.


    The majority chatted excitedly while eagerly awaiting the next instructions from themanding NPCs.


    Meanwhile, after receiving a direct oracle from Ev¨¦, the Saintess Alice, A¨¦l Moonlight, Thranduil, and other native elves, and even the Spider Queen Rose, who had been hiding in Rivendell, also arrived at ck Dragon Castle.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 235

    ??<strong>LEGION OF CHOSEN ONES </strong>


    ¡°¡­I truly have never realized that the Chosen Ones have grown this much¡­¡±


    Standing over the outer walls of the castle, the Saintess, Alice, gazed down at the thousands of densely packed yers gathered below with a hint of wonder within her expression.


    Although she knew that the Divine Matriarch had summoned Chosen Ones from other realms multiple times over the past few months, she had never truly realized its extent, as her activities were solely confined within the proximity of the Chosen City, primarily due to her role as the administrative NPC in charge of overseeing the day-to-day tasks of the yers and such¡­


    On normal days, all she did was continuously assign tasks to every yers or coordinate the work in the church.


    In such situation, even though Alice was aware that the Chosen Ones were increasing in number and growing stronger with each passing day, she didn¡¯t really feel it firsthand for herself¡­


    At most, she had only learned from Li Mu that more than two thousand Chosen Ones, with most of them being at Iron-rank, had been mobilized when yers pursued some human mercenaries that invaded the territory.


    At that time, their rapidly growing strength had already astonished her, but she hadn¡¯t expected it to be far from their limit!


    Only ten days had passed, yet the majority of the Chosen Ones have already advanced to the Iron-rank!


    <em>Great Mother of Nature above! </em>


    How terrifying was this speed?


    Did the Goddess had foreseen all of this, too?


    ¡°Matriarch¡­just what kind of monsters have you summoned.¡±


    Alice was deeply shaken as she subconsciously gestured a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest.


    ¡°With almost ten thousand Chosen Ones, strategically cing each of them along the outer walls would prevent the Orcs from approaching the Elven Forest, unless the enemy decides to summon their Totem Guardians.¡± Ev¨¦ while masquerading as Zero stated confidently as she gazed at the yers down below.


    ck Dragon Castle originally only had one iplete wall that surrounds it. However, over these past ten days, the Goddess had assigned daily tasks to reinforced the preexisting walls, and with the assistance of the Chosen Ones, the outer boundary of ck Dragon Castle now featured a ten-meter-tall fortification.


    However, due to its rushed construction, thepleted wall wasn¡¯t particrly sturdy.


    Fortunately, Moe Moe Committee, along with the help of some experienced natives, managed to create a simplified version of the defensive core using the blueprints that was provided by the Goddess and this core was then relocated inside the ck castle.


    Afterwards, the Saintess had also sent the Goddess statue from the Central Temple.


    Once the core had been linked to the statue, although it couldn¡¯t generate a nearly wless defensive divine spell like the original core in ckrock Castle, the simplified core provided a reinforcement buff to the entire ck Dragon Castle upon its activation.


    This significantly enhanced the wall¡¯s defenses, rendering it nearly impregnable.


    After listening to the exnation of Zero, Alice subconsciously nced at her and nodded in agreement.


    The Saintess couldn¡¯t help but mutter to herself, ¡°¡­ If one day the Chosen Ones can recreate the Divine Matriarch¡¯s Legion of hundred thousand-strong Nature Warriors, ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine what kind of spectacle would that be?¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow in secret.


    <em>A Legion of hundred thousand yers? </em>


    Such numbers would be an understatement.


    After all, the terror of the Fourth Cataclysm hadn¡¯t truly reached its pinnacle yet¡­<strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    As the NPCs observed the yers below the walls, the yers themselves were also gazing up at the NPCs standing atop of the walls.


    ¡°This is truly an unprecedented grand event! Almost all the NPCs I know are here!¡±


    ¡°Alice, A¨¦l, Zero, Berserker, Thranduil¡­ huh? Is Rose even here too?¡±


    ¡°Rose as in¡­the Spider Queen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that expressionless Arachnea over there.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh¡­ she¡¯s dressed quite skimpily. Isn¡¯t she cold?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s an NPC, not a yer. Why would she be cold?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because her strength is at the legendary-rank. Don¡¯t be fooled by her small size¡­.her real body is really huge, and her specialty is making skewered meat.¡±


    ¡°Skewered meat?¡±<mark>2</mark>


    ¡°A-Ahem¡­just pretend you didn¡¯t heard that.¡±


    ¡°What about the Godwarden Zero, where is she?¡±


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s the one standing next to Alice in ck armor.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, long legs! Nice~¡±


    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re already amazed by this? Just wait till you see the Goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°The Goddess? I already saw her when I first logged into the game and her 3D model is indeed quite fantastic! She¡¯s definitely my favorite.¡±


    ¡°The Goddess is even more fantastic once you see her in person within the game.¡±


    ¡°You can see her in the game too? Isn¡¯t the Goddess just a background character?¡±


    ¡°¡­Background character? Haven¡¯t you watched some ElvKing videos? The Goddess is far from just a background character, she¡¯s our faction¡¯s main pir, you know¡­¡±


    An hour quickly passed amidst the idle chatter and almost all the yers who could attend the assembly had already gathered by now.


    At this moment, gathered beneath the ck Dragon Castle, a massive crowd had formed, numbering over nine thousand five hundred people!


    Among them, more than half were affiliated with the four major guilds.


    With these guilds having more members, the advantages of being a member of arge guild became apparent.


    That is¡­ unity and organization.


    Whrn viewed from above the castle, it became clear that the yerbase had divided into four distinct groups, with each yer belonging to either one of the four major guilds, while smaller guilds and solo yers were easily dwarfed by the big four.


    The rowdiest and most chaotic yers tended toe from recently established smaller guilds or were solo yers. On the other hand, members of the Big Four, in particr, disyed considerably more discipline, thanks to the supervision of their respective leaders.


    Especially the original three major guilds!


    Raids in Elven Kingdom is much more massive and realisticpared to other online games.


    Having gone through numerous Raid Events, seasoned and more experienced yers had grasped the significance of unity and discipline during such massive operations. As a result, not only the guild leaders but also the ordinary members willingly adhered to the rules whenever a Raid Event took ce.


    Perched atop the city walls, Ev¨¦ felt immense satisfaction as she silently observed the yers. Unlike Alice and the others, as the game system¡¯s creator, Ev¨¦ had ess to additional information, such as yers¡¯ guild affiliations, levels, and statuses. She could even manipte her divine power to create a mini-map that shows real-time positions of each yer within her consciousness.


    Suddenly, she had the feeling that she was ying a massive real-time strategy game, with the yers as her army units.


    This is something she had never experienced before!


    ¡°This feels good!¡± Ev¨¦ nodded to herself and began to settle the assembly task and issue some new ones.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Assemblyplete</strong> : All yers who sessfully arrived at the rendezvous point shall receive ¡®<strong>100</strong>¡® contribution points.¡¿


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Selection of Legion Commander</strong> : Guilds with over ¡®1000¡¯ members shall be given the right to select one yer to be given the role of ¡°Legion Commander.¡±¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Legion Commander</strong> : Gain the exclusive title ¡°Legion Commander¡± and create a special team, ¡°Legion of Chosen Ones¡± during warfare, and receive the Goddess¡¯ ¡®favour¡¯ as a blessing.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Goddess Favour :</strong> All yers in the Legion shall receive an additional 5% contribution points whenpleting war tasks.¡¿


    ¡°Commander role?¡±


    ¡°Are the devs finally letting a yer be amander?¡±


    Upon reading the content of the notification message, yers were stirred into amotion.


    In previous major events, due to the rtively low number of participants, the yers had only spontaneously formed a rudimentarymand structure.


    In the past, the one who usually took on the unofficialmanding role was Li Mu.


    However, as the concurrent participant numbers surged from two thousand to over ten thousand during this entire event, Ev¨¦ had made the decision to officially appoint an authoritative figure among the Chosen ones to maintain better control over the crowd in a more precise and efficient manner.


    She might have been the Supreme Commander, but she wouldn¡¯t micro-manage the yers. Instead, she would only oversee the legions formed by the yers themselves, and each legion would have its own independent Commanders that managed it.


    In other words, Ev¨¦ was just ¡®formalizing¡¯ things.


    Currently, there are only four guilds with over a thousand members, so ultimately, the four Chosen Legions would be centered around these major guilds, with other non-member yers can attach themselves to them.


    As for who the Legion Commanders would be, Ev¨¦ would let the yers decide for themselves but she could already make an educated guess.


    And sure enough, shortly after this announcement, the yers had already chosen their respective Legion Commanders.


    The familiar faces included Li Mu, Strir-FriedTomato, and Transformer Ji Gang.


    However, she was slightly surprised when Ev¨¦ saw themander chosen by Moe Moe Committee.


    ¡°Boxlunch?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t their Guildmaster Little Salty Cat or even HootyBird, but actually, the highest-leveled yer on the entire server¡ªBoxlunch.


    Upon closer inspection, Ev¨¦ realized that at some point, this rather reclusive yer had somehow joined Salty Cat¡¯s guild.


    ¡°It¡¯s somewhat understandable. Neither Salty Cat nor HootyBird are known for their leadership skills, but Boxlunch often leads his ownbat team so he does have some capabilities as a leader. And if I¡¯m not mistaken, Nightingale and Salty Cat are pretty close friends, so maybe Salty Cat had gotten Boxlunch into Moe Moe through her connections with Nightingale¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ spected showing slight interest.


    After the yers had selected their Legion Commanders and formed legions centered around their guilds, a new system message appeared to everyone.


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Four Legion Commanders, please ascend to the city walls to receive war tasks!¡¿


    Several momentster, four yers climbed up the castle wall and approached Ev¨¦ and the other NPCs, with each of them disying a different set of emotions.


    Li Mu appeared calm and respectful, adopting a humble demeanor.


    Meanwhile, Tomato exuded a strong sense of determination and unwavering confidence.


    Boxlunch on the other hand was silent and reserved, like a dormant volcano on the brink of eruption.


    Finally Ji Gang seemed totally excited and could hardly suppress his inner excitement¡­


    Afterwards, a scripted cutscene began.


    At that moment, all yers¡¯ assembled at the venue automatically moved their heads and focused their views towards the castle walls in unison.


    The game¡¯s background music also changed into a more powerful and exhrating tune, as if a great army was about to march.


    As she looked at the yers representing everyone before her, Zeo spoke coldly, ¡°Oh, Chosen Ones¡­ In this war, I shall take on the mantle of Supreme Commander of the Elven Legion, and together, we shall smite the sinister invasion of the Orcs within our sacred woonds!¡±


    Her current demeanor carries an air of solemnity and coldness,plemented by Eve¡¯s serious expression and the underlying authority of someone higher up, causing the yers¡¯ expressions to instantly turn serious.


    ¡°¡­Are you all ready?¡± Ev¨¦ asked, looking at them.


    ¡°Ready!¡± the yers replied in unison, loudly and firmly.


    ¡°Very well then!¡± Ev¨¦ nodded curtly and proceeded to draw a tree symbol upon her chest, with her expression brimming with fervor and devotion.


    ¡°For the glory of the Goddess and the Elves!¡±


    ¡°For the glory of the Goddess and the Elves!!¡±


    The four Legion Commanders also followed suit, gesturing to themselves the symbol of nature upon their chests while also solemnly shouting.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Ev¨¦ nodded again and began issuing various orders to the rest of the yers. These orders were then delivered in the form of system tasks which are side-quests for the main questline, [War of Faith.]


    After the Legion Commanders received their tasks and began descending from the castle walls to manage their respective Legions, Alice hesitated for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Lord Zero, is this all right? Don¡¯t we need to issue a formal war mobilization or perhaps even a speech to boost the Chosen Ones¡¯ morale?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook her head.


    ¡°The quest rewards¡­are the greatest source of motivation for them.¡±


    1 To reiterate, the term ¡®Fouth Crisis/Cataclysm¡¯ originated from a game called Steris wherein during theter stages of the game, a gxy-wide crisis event urs, known as Crisis. Chinese authors mostly use this term to refer to summoned yers.


    2 This refers to the time wherein Rose skewered the yers like barbecue sticks with her legs.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 236

    ??<strong>ENEMY AT THE GATES</strong>


    The War of Faith had begun!


    After the Legion Commanders was chosen, Zero proceeded to assign more intricate tasks.


    The decision was then made to split the Chosen Ones into four Legions, with each further segmented into two specialized forces.


    Of these, two legions took on the critical role of [Castle Defense], with their primary duty being the protection of ck Dragon Castle. Whereas the remaining two legions would shoulder the [Raid Support] responsibilities, which epassed tasks such as covert operations in the wilderness, field battles, harassment, and ambushes.


    However, grouping the participants based upon their guild affiliations proved to be quite inefficient since yers excelled differently based upon their jobsses.


    Therefore, after the specific tasks were assigned, the high-ranking members of each four major guilds deliberated and decided to reorganize the legions for their tasks.


    Lower-level yers and long-range yers like archers, along with some Tanks, were all assigned to the [Castle Defense] Force.


    The Defense Force consisted of approximately six thousand yers, and their primary duty was the defense of ck Dragon Castle, under the leadership of Li Mu and Ji Gang.


    ck Dragon Meryer, the Saintess Alice, and Godwarden Zero was also assigned here.


    yers with pet familiars like Crypt Spiders, including many Hunter and melee warriors, were reassigned to the [Raid Support] Force.


    This group of yers totaled more than three thousand and formed a cavalry unit, led by Tomato and Boxlunch.


    Of course, the types of familiars the yers in this force varied greatly but nearly a thousand had Crypt Spiders, followed by somerge monsters tamed in the Dark Mountains, and a small number of Unicorns as well.


    Outside of the yers, the Spider Queen, A¨¦l, and Thranduil who temporarily borrowed Li Mu¡¯s Spider mount, also apanied the [Raid Support] Force.


    In addition to this, under the main Raid Community Server, yers also established two independent #sub-channels specifically for ¡®Castle Defense¡± and ¡°Raid Support¡± to better coordinate the battlefieldmands¡­


    As for the Raid Server, it now served as a primarymunication channel for coordinating between the two forces, somewhat simr to a yer headquarters.


    With themand structure in ce, the legions were now ready, and yers began to take action.


    The two legions in charge of [Raid Support] set out from ck Dragon Castle, making their way stealthily into the Elven Forest.


    Meanwhile, The [Castle Defense] force remained in ck Dragon Castle and fortified the defenses.


    Before long, the walls of ck Castle were teeming with yers of all kinds, creating a bustling scene¡­


    And as each yer readied themselves for the uing battles, the night had already fallen.


    Each major storyline was incredibly rewarding, and the events that happens during this whole questline was quite engaging, so no one wanted to miss out on anything.


    Therefore, yers chose to rest where they stood, rather than returning to the Chosen City to log off.


    Some went AFK, while some logged out, and some simply wrapped themselves in nkets within the castle, on the walls, or at the camps and fell into a deep slumber¡­


    Of course, there were also some yers who chose to stay awake, especially third-beta yers who were curious and excited to partake in this kind of quest for the very first time.


    They lit up torches, donned their armor or robes, and gathered atop the castle walls, engaging in conversations, and sharing tales among friends while savoring the moment.


    At present, Saig¨¹es is in the midst of autumn, and the sky stretches more higher above, graced by some delicate clouds and glistening stars.


    These bright stars, representing each different realms, intertwined together to craft a splendid tapestry of gxies, fashioning a breathtaking spectacle within the night sky.


    yers perched on the city wall, within the camp, and those gathered around the campfire, all couldn¡¯t help but gaze upon these otherworldly stars.


    Despite the looming threat, every yer was in a festive mood as the brisk autumn breeze caused the campfire to flicker from time to time, and softughters faintly echoed along with the howling wind, crafting a one-of-a-kind stillness¡­


    A momentary calm before the storm.


    The passing night felt both long and fleeting.


    The campfires, having burned throughout the night, had now reduced to ashes, and most yers had finally surrendered to a deep slumber at this point as the first light of dawn graced the horizon¡­


    With dark circles under her eyes, Alice climbed back onto the city wall.


    However, when she arrived, she noticed that Zero was already there.


    This enigmatic and powerful Godwarden stood atop the castle wall¡¯s tower all by herself, looking to the south with a calm expression.


    A ray of golden sunlight shone upon her body, making her usual austere countenance look a little more lively.


    Alice was about to greet Zero but the Godwarden¡¯s cold voice voice cut her off.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    Alice¡¯s expression immediately changed.


    Following Zero¡¯s gaze to the south, she saw something rming.


    Deep within the southern expanse, along the edges of the Dark Mountains, a massive army of orcs, numbering in the tens of thousands, appeared in her line of vision.


    Faint sounds of horns reached her ears, as it intertwined with the ominous roars of gigantic beasts and its earth-shaking rhythmic footsteps.


    A chilling atmosphere rushed over the Saintess.


    Seeing firsthand the Orc Horde was overwhelming experience.


    The orcs marched forward, hoisting various tribal banners while being apanied by several terrifying gigantic beasts.


    Like an unstoppable torrent, they all rushed towards the ck Dragon Castle.


    In the wake of the sudden appearance of the orc army, as if in direct response to their presence, a billowing mass of thick clouds suddenly swept in from the south, shrouding the warm morning sun in shadows.


    The entire world was then plunged into darkness.


    ¡°The orcs are here!¡±


    Alice¡¯s expression turned grave.


    She quickly turned around and shook the nearest yer who was sleeping in a corner of the city wall.


    ¡°Hurry, enemy attack! Go ring the rm bell!¡± She shouted loudly.


    The yer whom Alice had abruptly awakened was a bit groggy at first, but when he saw that it was actually Alice speaking to him, he suddenly jolted awake.


    Not many yers have the chance to be talked to by the Saintess.


    However, just before he could even feel happy about it, his awakened mind finally grasped the significance of Alice¡¯s word just now.


    ¡°W-What!? Enemy attack? Are the orcs here?¡±


    He was first stunned, and then instinctively crawled up on the city wall to look outside. When he finally saw the vast army of orcs in the distance, he immediately became excited.


    ¡°They¡¯re here! It¡¯s the orc army! They¡¯vee! The questline has begun! Guys, wake up! wake up!¡±


    He shouted while running toward the castle tower to ring the rm bell.


    At the same time, he also swiftly logged into the Raid Community Server and began calling up other yers¡­


    Soon, the once solemn castle instantly bustled with noises and activity.


    Within the Orc army.


    King Imsh the Lionheart, looked at the towering castle on the hillside in the distance with a somewhat surprised look upon his face.


    ¡°Is that the castle of the ck dragon that has allied with the Heretical God?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your Liege. they¡¯ve got this teleport thing going on in that ce. Ourte chieftain figured it should lead right to their hideout¡­And well, it¡¯s because of that teleport thing that our tribe got defeated and Chief Jushan got killed by those pesky elves!¡±


    A kneeling orc on the ground said through clenched teeth.


    This orc turned out to be survivors from the Caverock tribe!


    ¡°However¡­ I remember that the castle doesn¡¯t have any walls outside. It seems that the elves have recently built it.¡±


    Another orc answered.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    King Imsh narrowed his eyes slightly.


    He observed the terrain of the castle for a moment and pulled out an old map to look at it before sneering.


    ¡°Hehe, it seems these elves aren¡¯t fools. The location of this castle is indeed remarkable. It¡¯s situated right at the border of the Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest, strategically positioned to control the path to the forest effectively.¡±


    The Chief Shaman also nodded.


    ¡°It appears that to gain ess to the Elven Forest, we must seize this castle first. Otherwise, we¡¯ll undoubtedly encounter resistance from the elves within it.¡±


    ¡°By the way, any idea about the number of elves inside?¡±


    She looked at the kneeling orcs on the ground.


    ¡°Uh¡­ based on our observation that day, their numbers shouldn¡¯t be too many, probably just over a thousand. However¡­ they can resurrect!¡±


    The kneeling orc¡¯s voice carried a hint of fear.


    ¡°Resurrect? Hmph¡­ it¡¯s definitely the work of the goddess of death!¡±


    ¡°But even if they cane back to life, there must still be limitations on their resurrection. Even if we can¡¯t kill them in one go, we can instead just kill them multiple times! It¡¯s just a mere thousand people¡­even if they manage to gather more of their brethren, it surely won¡¯t exceed two thousand!¡±


    King Imsh spoke confidently.


    After listening to their words, the kneeling orc hesitated for a moment and then said with determination,


    ¡°Y-Your Liege, Chief Shaman! Another thing you need to be wary of is the ck dragon! Although it¡¯s not fully grown, this dragon still possesses the strength of a high-ranking silver dragon and is very powerful! And¡­ the elves also have powerful Godwarden as their protector! They can even borrow the power of true gods!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s just a juvenile ck dragon. It might be a little bit scary for you but unfortunately, this time it¡¯s facing us.¡±


    King Imsh said with a smile as he patted the massive beast beneath him.


    ¡°Gor, did you hear that? There¡¯s a young ck dragon in the castle up ahead! Whether you can kill it or not depends on all of you.¡±


    After hearing King Imsh¡¯s words, the massive beast, Gor, roared loudly with its eyes turning red.


    At its side, several bundled giant spears also trembled slightly, gleaming with a cold light¡­


    ¡°¡±Leave the elven Godwarden to us shamans,¡± said the Chief Shaman. ¡°We have already prepared the altar to summon a totem guardian.¡±


    After speaking, she then gazed at Orc king with a profound look and said meaningfully, ¡°Your Liege, whether we canpletely defeat the Elves entirely depends on your army.¡±


    After hearing her reminder, King Imsh¡¯s smile faded a bit, bing somewhatplex.


    After a moment of silence, the Orc king regained hisposure and nodded curtly. He then pulled out his long sword and raised it high with a fierce expression.


    ¡°Convey these orders! The army will stay put here for three hours to rest, and after that, we willunch an attack on the castle!¡±


    ¡°I want to see how difficult this elven castle really is to crack!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 237

    ??<strong>CASTLE SIEGE </strong>


    The Desert of Death does not have abundant resources.


    However, the daily provisions required to mobilized 30,000 army were quite substantial.


    Therefore, for this expedition, Lionheart King Imsh nearly emptied out his coffers, having used up almost all the savings he had acquired from decades of piging the kingdom of Aries.


    However, as long as the Orcs can defeat the Elves, their long-standing problems will be solved.


    Imsh believed that the Elven Forest had abundance of resources simply lying around, and he could sustain his 30,000 troops by scavenging around the forest.


    In the past, due to their fear of humans, the Orcs didn¡¯t dare to extend their influence deep into the Elven Forest, even though they had nominal sovereignty over the Elven territory.


    Yet, this war of faith held the potential to change everything¡­


    If they emerged victorious and their Divine Father¡¯s strength increased, then the standings of the Half-Orcs would be elevated.


    The battles between true gods were essentially thepetition amongst the major sentient races in Saig¨¹es and Wars of Faith were just an extension of the rivalry between gods.


    And as for this attack, Lionheart King Imsh had a certain degree of confidence.


    As an old rival of the Elvenkind, the Orcs had a good understanding of the Elves. Even though they had lost contact with the Elven Forest for thest six months, Imsh could still assess the Elves¡¯ capabilities based upon his past experience.


    He had also studied the Caverock Tribe¡¯s downfall, and Imsh believed that the main reason for the Caverock¡¯s demise was the ck dragon and the Elves¡¯ Godwarden, rather than the mere one thousand Elves with lowbat capabilities.


    Even if these Elves could somehow resurrect themselves, it¡¯s all pointless if they couldn¡¯t withstand his 30,000-strong army.


    As for the ck dragon and Elven Godwarden, the Chief Shaman had long prepared ns to deal with them.


    In this war of faith, the elite battalion of the Royal Orc court came out in full force, seizing every advantage they could get.


    Imsh believed they could win as long as they constantly advance forward.


    The only thing to worry about was the mysterious new elven god, who might disregard the Covenant and directly attack the Orc army in a fit of anger. But that was a battle at the level of true gods, beyond Imsh¡¯s consideration.


    Nheless, he was sure their Divine Father would intervene should that worst case scenario ever happened¡­


    With the Lionheart King¡¯smand, the Orc Army rested at their current location.


    They had already camped in the Dark Mountains for a night before, and the army still had plenty of stamina left. He could haveunched an attack at that moment but chose to let his scouts gather enough information instead just to be sure.


    In any case, three hours of rest and recuperation were adequate enough.


    The Orc army ceased its advance, positioning itself beyond the maximum range of ck Dragon Castle.


    King Imsh also specially ordered the army to expand their formation to show his strength to the elves hiding within the castle!


    He wanted to strike a blow to the morale of the elves inside the castle and let them see the true scale of the adversaries they¡¯re about to face.


    His 30,000-strong army was far more intimidating and nothing like the mere 3,000 Caverock Orcs they fought before.


    ¡°Look, you puny Elves¡­this is my might, the army that would destroy you all!¡±


    Unbeknownst to the Orc King, despite the awe-inspiring sight of his massive army, the yers felt more excitement than fear.


    The Orc King¡¯s intentions hadn¡¯t dampened their spirits at all. On the contrary, seeing the Orc army stop in ce made them impatient instead.


    ¡°Why have they stopped?¡±


    ¡°When are they going to attack?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already waited all night! these Orcs better not be camping for fucks sake.¡±


    ¡°Hey, its almost dawn at real life¡­I have to go to work at nine o¡¯clock.¡±


    Seeing the impatience of the Chosen Ones and listening to theirints, Alice, along with some of the indigenous elves who had volunteered to provide logistical support, wore expressions of disbelief.


    The ck Dragon Castle had teleportation arrays in ce, so besieging them posed no real threat to the Elves.


    On the contrary, a prolonged siege would increasingly benefit the Elves instead. In this situation, it would be the Orcs, who had traveled from distantnds, who would ultimately suffer in a war of attrition.


    Yet,pared to the invading Orcs, it seems the Chosen Ones were actually the ones far more eager and seeking battle.


    Not only that, but their morale was also so high that it was almost bubbling, as if what was about toe was not a fierce battle, but a carnival instead!


    The natives couldn¡¯t understand why the Chosen Ones were so eager for warfare.


    After all, they were the defenders in this war.


    Alice had no doubt in her mind that if Lord Zero hadn¡¯t issued a castle lockdown, then some of the Chosen Ones would have already tried to take matters into their own hands and venture out of the castle to attack the Orcs!


    From a psychological standpoint, these people were practically war maniacs!


    In fact, this is exactly the case.


    Currently, no yer ever believed they would fail.


    In their perspective, the only thing that matters in this war against the Orcs was who could y more enemies during battle.


    This rxed and festive atmosphere, along with their inexplicably high morale, helped ease the tension of the natives who hade to offer their support.


    A single night of waiting had not made the yers anxious at all.


    However, the yers grew increasingly restless after waiting for three hours in a standoff following the arrival of the Orc army.


    Restlessness became palpable across the castle walls as yers eagerly awaits the Orcs¡¯ assault.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t they attacked yet?¡±


    Suchints echoed repeatedly along the castle walls.


    Those three hours proved the longest time the yers had ever experienced.


    After a period of rest and preparation, the Orcs stood fully ready tounch their assault after the Orc scouts finally returned to the camp.


    ¡°Your Liege, this castle is isted! We didn¡¯t find any other Elves structures nearby, but¡­ we discovered many traces of monster migration in the direction of the Elven Forest.¡±


    ¡°Traces of monster migration?¡±


    Lionheart King Imsh furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Your Liege, this is normal! Ever since those weird Elves appeared in the Elven Forest, the creatures living within it have begun to dwindle. Rumors even spread around that the Elves have started eating meat! These Elves¡­ they are no longer the nature-loving race they used to be!¡±


    This was said by one of the Caverock Tribe survivors.


    ¡°Eating meat!?¡±


    Lionheart King Imsh widened his eyes in surprise.


    He then exchanged a nce with the Chief Shaman and sneered, ¡°It seems¡­ this mysterious Heretical god really has some abilities. Not only did it changed the Elves¡¯ faith but also their behavior too!¡±


    ¡°Well, this new god after all stole the Divinity of Life. We really should be wary of this entity¡­¡± the Chief Shaman remarked.


    Hearing the Chief Shaman¡¯s words, Lionheart King Imsh grinned and said, ¡°Heh! We¡¯ll just wipe out the Elves then, everything afterwards should belong to our Divine Father and to us Half-Orcs!¡±


    He then raised his sword high andmanded,


    ¡°Spread the word, we¡¯ll attack the castle!¡±


    A series of deep sounding horns suddenly pierced the solemn ashen skies as the ominous noise echoed throughout the southern expanse.


    At longst, the Orc army roused from its stillness.


    The Orcs seemed tocked cavalry, appearing entirelyposed of foot soldiers.


    Of the 30,000 strong army, 20,000 remained as a reserve at their original positions, while 10,000 Orcs at the forefront advanced along with five ferocious Behemoths as they moved towards ck Dragon Castle in an orderly formation.


    Upon hearing the horns and observing the Orcs¡¯ movements, the yers, who had grown impatient while waiting on the castle walls, finally erupted in shouts of excitement.


    ¡°Guys look, they¡¯reing! they¡¯re finallying!¡±


    ¡°Prepare for battle! Get ready!¡±


    The entire ck Dragon Castle began to operate like a massive war machine once again.


    Armed with shields and weapons, the vanguardposed of 10,000 Orcs charged relentlessly alongside five colossal beasts, heading straight for ck Dragon Castle on the hillside like an unstoppable tidal wave.


    Meanwhile, ranged yers positioned themselves on the castle walls, raising their bows and arrows, before taking aim at the advancing Orcs.


    The individuals possessing the Archer jobss boasted the most longest attack range, with Iron-ranked archers having an effective range of about 300 meters, nearly ten times greater than mages of the same level.


    Li Mu stood on the castle wall, watching the slowly approaching Orc army with a solemn expression.


    And when the Orc vanguard finally reached the 300-meter range, he raised his staff and shouted in the Raid voice channel,


    ¡°Release the arrows!¡±


    Upon hismand, arrows imbued with skill effects created a spectacr disy, descending from the castle like a shimmering rain of death upon the Orcs below.


    Witnessing the iing arrows, Lionheart King Imsh bellowed, ¡°Raise your shields!¡±


    Instantly, the Orcs hoisted their shields in unison.


    Nearly a thousand arrowsnded in an instant, showering the Orc formation like a torrential downpour.


    However, the majority of arrows were thwarted by the raised shields.


    Nheless, nearly a hundred unfortunate Orcs sumbed to stray arrows, with each pierced in some vital areas of their bodies, before falling to the ground screaming in agony.


    The Behemoths paid no heed to the arrows, allowing them to strike their massive frames. The five beasts became pincushions, yet their ampleyers of fat rendered them impervious to pain.


    The loss of a hundred warriors was a mere drop in the bucket for the Orc army.


    Soon, the Orcsunched their own counterattack.


    Lionheart King Imsh shouted,


    ¡°Hurl the spears!¡±


    As hismand resounded, nearly a thousand Orcs from the rear extracted two-meter-long spears and, following Imsh¡¯s order,unched them toward ck Dragon Castle.


    The five Behemoths also raised their formidable half-meter-thick spears and flung them in the direction of the castle.


    The Orcs possessed immense strength, and under their throws, the two-meter-long war spears demonstrated menacing piercing power as they hurtled towards the castle.


    On the other hand, the Behemoth¡¯s colossal spears resembled artillery shells, whistling through the air.


    ¡°Take cover! Watch out!¡±


    Seeing the barrage of spears hurtling toward them, the yers exhibited expressions of shock and hastily sought cover.


    ck Dragon Castle¡¯s defensive core had already been activated, emitting a subtle magical aura after some spears struck it.


    However, it caused no harm to the castle. Nevertheless, many yers who couldn¡¯t evade in time were pierced through their bodies by the flying spears, resulting in instant deaths.


    The Behemoth¡¯s spears, on the other hand, easily pierced the castle¡¯s defensive magic, prating its walls¡­


    If not for the reinforced defensive enchantments, these humongous spears likely would have gouged sizable breaches upon the walls.


    Furthermore, one spear impaled a tower, shattering it and obliterating two yers within it in the process.


    Blood rained down, and for a moment, the yers on the castle wall were thrown into chaos. Most of them are third-beta yers and hadn¡¯t experienced this kind of gruesome warfare beforehand¡­


    War was brutal and terrifying.


    Although they had initially harbored lofty aspirations, once the conflict began, these neers began to grasp the true brutality of this remarkably realistic war¡­


    Nevertheless, their morale remained unbroken.


    Despite being initially shocked by the gruesome scene, the yers still saw the game for what it was.


    Ultimately, it was still just a game.


    With no real threat of death, this was just an exciting form of entertainment for the yers.


    After the initial panic, under Li Mu and Ji Gang¡¯smand, the ranged yers continued to shoot arrows at the advancing Orc army.


    And among the orcs, there are also some archers who returned fire as a means of counterattack.


    For a moment, the entire battlefield brimmed with arrows soaring in every direction¡­


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 238

    ¡ª <strong>238</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ WE ARE BUFFED ONCE AGAIN</strong> <strong>¡¿</strong>


    The ck Dragon Castle isn¡¯t veryrge.


    In fact, even after yers renovated it, the entire castle still covers less than 40,000 square meters, and the entire length of the perimeter wall is only about 900 meters.


    As a result, the six thousand yers defending the castle walls found themselves tightly packed along the walls, leaving them entirely vulnerable to the Orcs¡¯ spear and arrow attacks.


    After recognizing this issue, the Legion Commanders swiftly altered their strategy.


    Following the orders of Li Mu and Transformer Ji Gang, the yers quickly evacuated the wounded, filled the gaps left by those who had unfortunately perished, and adopting a rotation system for both rest and taking their positions on the wall to defend the castle in shifts.


    As the battle began, it became abundantly clear that the yerscked experience in siege warfare. Their ranks, while filled with high-morale, were tinged with disarray, providing an opportunity for Orc spear throwers and archers to subdue them.


    The orc army, on the other hand, continues to advance despite the rain of arrows from the yers.


    In contrast, the enemy side persists in moving forward, undeterred by the barrage of arrows from the yers.


    At the same time, the foremost portion of the advancing 10,000 orc army was steadily closing in on the castle walls.


    Nheless, King Imsh, the orc army¡¯smander, appeared visibly displeased.


    The reason being¡­ the overwhelming presence of elves.


    He clearly saw the first volley of arrows, numbering in the thousands.


    This clearly indicated that there were at least a thousand elven archers defending the walls, or possibly even more, given that not all defenders had to be archers per se. Hence, there appeared to be a greater number of elves protecting the castle than he had originally anticipated.


    Furthermore, the orcs were not besieging the castle from all sides.


    Currently they were only attacking from the south, and haven¡¯t yet fully encircled the castle. This meant that there might be a simr number of elven defenders on the opposite side of the castle.


    In his rough estimates, King Imsh realized that there were probably at least 3,000 elves defending the castle.


    But that was not the worst part of it all.


    Each Behemoth was a formidable living siege weapon.


    Normally, their enormous spears were capable enough to tear down such walls into pieces. Yet, what made Imsh even more concerned was that he noticed the entire wall appeared to have been reinforced with some kind of defensive magic.


    This diminished his confidence in quickly conquering the castle.


    ¡°Could it be that all the elves are stationed inside the castle?¡±


    With the elves¡¯ strength, it was probable that the Orc army would still incur substantial losses, even if they managed to swiftly seize ck Dragon Castle.


    However, his army was already charging forward, and could no longer retreat.


    With this in mind, King Imsh raised his sword high and roared,


    ¡°Attack! Push Forward!¡±


    Not a secondter, another deep sounding horn echoed through the entire battlefield.


    The four leading Behemoth heard the horn and let out a furious roar. They pounded their chests, while quickening their pace towards the walls. These giant beasts were nearly ten meters tall and almost as high as the castle walls.


    After reaching the castle wall, they then unstrapped thedders from their backs and leaned them against the walls. At the same time, they also brandished their enormous spears, before swiftly clearing away the defending yers stationed on the walls.


    The Behemoth¡¯s thick spears transformed into lethal weapons, and each yer struck by them was sent hurtling through the air, coughing up blood before losing consciousness.


    Many were swept off the walls and fell into the advancing Orcarmy down below.


    Some tried attacking these beasts however, yet their attacks had no impact on the Behemoth, as if they were merely tickling them.


    Every Behemoth possessed the strength equivalent to that of a low-level Silver-rank monster. Although incapable of using magic, their physical prowess and incredibly robust bodies rendered them nearly impervious to pain.


    Arrows from yers couldn¡¯t prate theiryers of fat, and even the spells cast by mages left only scorched marks upon their bodies.


    Melee yers fared even worse.


    They mustered up their courage, and with the brilliance of their skills shining upon their weapons, many melee yers tried to stab the colossal monsters but their attacks barely fazed the beasts.


    The Behemoths remained seemingly unperturbed, dismissing the onught of attacks with ease. They effortlessly seized the charging yers as if they were helpless chicks, and with strangled them to death in their hands¡­


    Screams filled the air, as blood sttered all around.


    Even though the gruesome, bloody scene can be censored in some way through the game¡¯s settings, the sheer brutality of it all still terrified the yers.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable!¡±


    All the yers stared in utmost shock at these seemingly invincible giants of mass destruction.


    However, some of them were also quick to react.


    Additional arrows were loosed at the Behemoth, and a stray arrow narrowly missed one of the creature¡¯s eyes. In response, the Behemoth swiftly lifted its arms to shield its head, skillfully deflecting the following arrows.


    Demacia, who was also present at that moment, saw this and quickly shouted, ¡°Their eyes! Shoot their eyes! Looks like they¡¯re instinctively protecting their eyes!¡±


    Hearing Demacia¡¯s advice, the archer yers immediately changed their tactics and they all focused their next shots on the Behemoth¡¯s eyes.


    This shift in strategy made the giants somewhat disoriented.


    While these beasts do have incredible defenses, they still have one vulnerable weakness which is their eyes.


    Another barrage of arrows soared, but this time, every yer was now aiming squarely for the Behemoth¡¯s particrlyrge eyes.


    In an instant, the four giants panicked and tried to evade the arrows. Their previously fierce offensive was now actually being impeded by the yers¡­


    Even so, the Behemoths still managed to buy some time for the Orcs below.


    Some Orc vanguards finally came to the city wall despite the rain of arrows.


    They used thedders propped up by the Behemoth to finally climb onto the walls of ck Dragon Castle!


    Hence, the long-ranged battle finally shifted into closebat battle¡­


    With resounding roars, the Orc warriors vaulted onto the walls, casting aside their shields to wield swords and maces, before charging at the elven defenders protecting the wall.


    Seeing the Orcs closing in on their position, the ranged yers began to panic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! CQC yers, move in and block these guys! Ranged yers, keep attacking! Don¡¯t worry about friendly fire! As long as we don¡¯t kill our own, we can heal them! Druids and mages, focus your buffs on our main tanks and CQC DPS dealers!¡±<strong><mark> 1</mark></strong>


    Li Mu shouted hoarsely.


    Just as Li Mu finished shouting, a new system message appeared on all the defending yers¡¯ line of vision¡­


    ¡¾?¡¿


    <strong>¡¾Unyielding, fearless heroes! Your bravery has moved the great goddess, and she has decided to bestow her blessing upon you!¡¿</strong>


    ¡¾<strong>You have received a buff:</strong> Blessing of the Goddess¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Your weapon gains a buff:</strong> Blessing of the Goddess¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Effect:</strong> Until the next day, you will be free from negative emotions. Your attack and defense will increase and all skill damage will have a 100% chance of inflicting ¡®bleeding¡¯ effect!¡¿


    ¡¾For the honor of the goddess and the elven race, fight valiantly, Chosen Ones!¡¿


    These message shed, as a faint, ethereal glow appeared on all the yers¡¯ bodies.


    It was the power of the goddess, once again granting a beneficial buff to the yers.


    Simultaneously, the game¡¯s background music suddenly shifted from its triumphant tone to a more majestic and ethereal melody, with a haunting female voice apanying the battle music.


    This sudden change left all the yers with an exhrating sensation, as though they had evolved from mere warriors into heroic saviors of the world.


    Infused with the empowering buff and a growing, volcano-like surge of inner strength, coupled with the stirring background music, a deluge of inexplicable excitement coarse through all the defending yers.


    ¡°Haha! The goddess¡¯s buff is here again!¡±


    ¡°Perfect timing! We¡¯ve been strengthened once more!¡±


    ¡°I knew it! With such powerful enemies, how could the goddess not bestow her blessings upon us? Long live the goddess!¡±


    ¡°Charge! Drive these Orcs off the walls!¡±


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    ¡°Uraaaah!¡±


    With the buff in effect, the yers¡¯ morale soared further, and they charged with renewed vigor. Melee yers let out battle cries, as their eyes aze with unwavering resolve, as they hoisted their weapons and advanced upon the Orcs with maniacal intensity.


    Ranged yers also raised their bows and continued their attacks on the Orcs.


    Observing the elves¡¯ frenzied charge, the Orcs responded with roars of their own, surging forward with the same intense ferocity seemingly influenced by the renewed determination of their adversaries.


    Thus, the two sides shed in a chaotic battle.


    The sounds of shing weapons, cries of pain, the sound of des piercing flesh, and the explosions of magic all blended together into a grim morbid symphony.


    The pungent smell of blood and burning flesh entirely filled the air, making many yers nauseous. Some even had to disable their sense of smell just to tolerate it.


    Bursts of explosive magic and healing spells radiated in all directions, crafting a dazzling spectacle.


    The Orcs roared and bellowed, their breath heavy as they charged under the hail of arrows and magic, locking inbat with the equally ferocious elves.


    Brutal skirmishes erupted in the vicinity of thedders propped against the castle wall.


    Although the Orcs had managed to climbed up the walls, their assaults didn¡¯t unfold as smoothly as anticipated, given that the elves proved to be far more stronger and resilient than they had initially thought.


    Especially Tanks defending ck Dragon Castle.


    These yers included nearly all the tank warriors from the entire server.


    They had thick armors and strong defenses, with all their skills concentrated on defense and aggro. They were renowned as the most craziest and fearless yers, always leading the charge at the forefront like battle-crazed lunatics.


    And now, with the blessing of the goddess and the morale-boosting music, these group of lunatics faced the attack of the orcs, as if they had been given a strong doze of chicken blood <strong><mark>2</mark></strong> and became even crazier.


    Within everybat-loving yer, there burned a fiery spirit, and the ongoing brutal and blood-soaked melee battles stoked that very me.


    Empowered by the goddess, the yers ignited with fervor. They battled as if their very lives hinged upon it, encircling and overwhelming any Orcs who managed to climbed up the walls.


    For a moment, the orcs who charged ahead were taken by surprise and endured sessive setbacks, leading to significant losses.


    Nevertheless, as the Orcs on the frontlines fell one after another, those following behind promptly filled their spots, making the entire battlefield devolved into a chaotic stalemate, akin to a grisly tug-of-war.


    From the looks of it, this deadlock seemed poised to continue for an extended period. However, suddenly at that moment, apanied by a resounding roar, a massive ck figure soared out from the castle¡­


    With a body over thirty meters long, evenrger than the Behemoths, it radiated a terrifying draconic aura all across the battlefield.


    Finally, the ck Dragon Meryer, had joined the fray.


    Whilst carrying Little Salty Cat upon his back, Meryer extended his wings as the two took to the skies.


    Then, with an excited puff of his cheeks, the ck dragon expelled a thick, concentrated stream of dragon breath towards the Behemoths standing at the walls.


    ¡°Ruaahhh!!¡±


    1 <strong>CQC ¨C</strong> Close Quarter Combat


    <strong>DPS</strong> ¨C Damage per Second (Gaming term for damage dealers)


    2 <strong>¼¦Ñª</strong> ¨C Chicken Blood Therapy is an unproven Chinese-medicine treatment dating back to the 1950s in which a person is injected with fresh chicken blood to stimte energy and cure all sorts of ailments.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 239

    ¡ª <strong>239</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾SISTER ZERO IS IMPRESSIVE</strong>¡¿


    The mighty and corrosive dragon breath surged forth in an instant, striking the four Behemoths altogether just as they attempted to evade the relentless rain of arrows.


    Apanied by a heart-wrenching scream, the boiling acidic breath corroded each Behemoth¡¯s body, leaving them with several horrific wounds¡­


    ¡°D-Dragon!!¡±


    The invading Orcs erupted into chaos upon seeing the colossal ck silhouette flying through the sky and dealt grievous wounds to the nearly invulnerable Behemoths.


    A person¡¯s reputation is like the shadow of a tree. <strong><mark>1</mark></strong>


    In contrast to the Behemoths who merely possessed only a tiny fraction of Titan lineage, Dragons, on the other hand, boasted a pure bloodline belonging to the Golden Lineage.


    Just as long as they survived into adulthood, each Dragons have the potential to ascend to legendary beings. What¡¯s more, those exceptionally gifted ones could even be mythical beings that could made even the gods themselves fearful.


    Unlike the true gods, Dragonkind had a much broader range of activities. While their reproduction rate was lowpared to creatures of the same level, their overall poption was surprisingly quiterge due to their rtively long lifespan.


    For the inhabitants of Saig¨¹es, the Dragons are the most terrifying creatures they have ever heard of, and the central figures of the most ubiquitous legends and folklores across all races.


    Therefore, after the ck dragon appeared andunched its breath attack, the Orcs, whose offensive had been greatly impeded by various setbacks, swiftly descended into a state of panic.


    Conversely, with the ck Dragon¡¯s arrival, the morale of the yers reached an all new heights.


    ¡°Haha! Meryer is here!¡±


    ¡°Damn, he easily broke the defenses of those giant beasts!¡±


    ¡°Guys, quick! aim for their wounds! Fire arrows and cast some spells onto it before they recover!¡±


    Meryer¡¯s appearance had undoubtedly altered the tide of the battlefield, tilting the bnce in favor of the yers!


    Apanied by the rhythmic incantations of spells and skill-infused arrows soaring through the air, the yers¡¯ concentrated all their attacks towards the wounds of the four Behemoths.


    The four beasts emitted furious and agonizing howls.


    However, just before they could attempt to flee, an array of dazzling spells rained down upon them, inundating the Behemoths with a myriad of incantations that showed no sign of stopping¡­


    Skill-infused arrows continued to soar from all angles, and each spell grew increasingly potent with every reiteration.


    Furthermore, thanks to the Goddess¡¯s blessing, the yers¡¯ attacks had an added ¡°bleeding¡± effect onto it, which inflicted stacked damage that became increasingly more devastating with each strike that sessfullynded upon the Behemoths¡¯ wounds.


    The continuous pain finally angered the Behemoths, causing them to roar in raging fury before sumbing into aplete frenzied state.


    This resulted into the four Behemothspletely abandoning their positions.


    Pounding their massive chests as their fur bristled with fury, the four beastsunched an all-out attack on anything and everything within their immediate surroundings.


    This, unfortunately, resulted in more chaos among the Orcs positioned below the walls, and a significant number of them were unluckily trampled by the four rampaging beasts, further causing even more coteral damage to the Orcs.


    In contrast, the yers felt delighted upon seeing the enemy side¡¯s misfortune.


    They skillfully avoided the Behemoths¡¯ attack range and drew their bows while the mages chanted spells. They all then redirected their attacks toward the wounded Orcs instead who had somehow survived after being trampled by the Behemoths, thereby further sowing chaos within the enemy ranks.


    At that moment, the Orcs¡¯ siege had ground to aplete halt, as casualties on their side began to skyrocket.


    ¡°Damned it!¡±


    Watching the battlefield from a distance as chaos unfolded beneath the castle walls, King Imsh¡¯s eyes reddened with intensity.


    So far, this battle had exceeded his expectations.


    The elven forces greatly outnumbered his initial estimates, and theirbat capabilities even goes beyond the boundaries of his imagination.


    In the face of the Orc army¡¯s relentless siege, the elves surprisingly disyed remarkable fearlessness. What¡¯s more, they showcased an unprecedented level of high morale, and all the skills they are currently using seemed to be exclusively geared towardsbat.


    This was practically unheard of because the elves he knew mainly excelled in healing and nature magic.


    Unbelievably, all these elves were wholly oriented towardsbat instead, as if they were entirely battle-hardened veterans forged in the crucibles of war.


    Moreover, just as the survivors from Caverock Tribe had described, these elves were not only fearless but also incredibly bloodthirsty as well!


    They just wouldn¡¯t give up until their enemy is killed!


    Among the orcs currently fighting, there were no wounded at all, because once someone is injured, the Elves would then immediately swarm them with all sorts of attacks until they died.


    This surreal situation made Imsh wonder for a second as to whether these elves were actually just humans in disguise given that their behavior rmingly bore a striking resemnce to that of humankind.


    And no to mention, those four idiotic rampaging Behemoth!


    Instead of assisting, they were even being used by the elves to further inflict damage to the Orcs!


    Seeing this whole clusterfuck of drawbacks, King Imsh clenched his fist so tightly that it nearly bled.


    He gritted his teeth and tried to calm his raging fury.


    After a minute, he then patted the Behemoth he was riding, before pointing at the four rampaging Behemoths.


    ¡°Gor! Wake those four idiots up! And also, beat that damned ck dragon in the sky for me!¡± Imsh strictly ordered after climbing down the back of his mount.


    Gor, the Behemoth known as King Imsh¡¯s mount, served as the leader of all Behemoths.


    It held the highest rank among them and possessed the strength of an upper Silver-ranked monster.


    After receiving the Orc King¡¯s order, Gor gave a subtle nod and took a deep breath, before unleashing a thunderous roar into the sky.


    Its roar was incredibly loud, echoing far and wide on the entire battlefield.


    After hearing their leader¡¯s loud roar, the four rampaging Behemoth slowly regained a hint of rity within their crimson eyes.


    Finally, they had calmed down.


    After the four Behemoths let go of their frenzied state, Gor then roared once more and raised an enormous spear, which was nearly eighty centimeters thick and ten meters long.


    A faint radiance then spread across the surface of the gigantic spear, eventually shrouding the entire weapon with snake-like lightning.


    Behemoths typically cannot use magic, but magic is not entirely beyond their grasp for those few fortunate enough to be born with a stronger Titan bloodline.


    And the leader of Behemoths possesses the capability to use lightning magic due to its strong Titan bloodline!


    Gor held a gigantic spear surrounded by lightning in a throwing stance and then aimed it towards the ck Dragon circling the skies.


    A spine-tingling power then surged within the beast¡¯s hands, and the serpent-like lightning spear gleamed with dazzling radiance, as it exudes a menacing aura of energy.


    Noticing the odd behavior of the Behemoth beside the Orc King down below, Little Salty Cat squinted her eyes to check out what it was doing.


    Her face then immediately turned ashen pale as herplexion lost all of its color upon seeing the dangerous looking weapon on its hands.


    ¡°Meryer! Quick! Get out of the way!¡±


    ¡ªs, it was toote.


    Gor¡¯s fur bristled as its muscles swelled to their utmost capacity. The Behemoths¡¯ leader then bellowed loudly and exerted all his might, brandishing the colossal lightning spear before forcefullyunching it toward the ck dragon in the sky¡­


    <em>Whoosh! </em>


    As the wind whistled and electricity crackled around it, the colossal lightning spear soared through the skies with the force of a mighty rocket.


    The little ck dragon also at this point finally noticed the spear heading his way.


    However, its speed was simply too fast!


    This spear had been thrown with all the might of the leader of the Behemoths, and its speed and power had reached a truly frightening level!


    Moreover, the added lightning magic had granted it astonishing energy, ready to explode upon impact.


    The lightning spear was like a meteorite, forming a dazzling electric trail as it arrived upon its target in an instant¡­


    Sadly, Meryer had no time to avoid it.


    Time seemed to ground to a screeching halt as his entire body grew cold, and the ck Dragon¡¯s expression etched into an uncanny look of terror as the tip of the spear reflects upon Meryer¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°¡ªOh no!! ¡°


    ¡°¨¦rh¨¡gon! dodge it!¡± <mark>2</mark>


    ¡°No! It¡¯s toote!¡±


    Many yers on the wall also noticed this terrifying giant spear soaring through the skies, and everyone¡¯s expressions were stricken with utmost worry and panic upon seeing it close in on their beloved silly ck Dragon.


    Meanwhile, the morale of the Orcs rekindled anew. .


    King Imsh¡¯s expression showed a twisted grin, as he watched with anticipation the impending death of the ck dragon.


    The attack that had beenunched just now had been passed down from the Titans, specifically designed to target and kill Dragons.


    And almost all that had been hit by this lightning spear especially Dragons have low chance of surviving.


    However, just as the spear was on the verge of piercing Meryer, a sudden burst of golden light shot out from the castle wall.


    It was just an ordinary-looking arrow.


    However, upon closer examination, this arrow is coated with a brilliant golden light and moved at an extreme speed.


    Its speed even surpassed that of the Behemoth¡¯s leader¡¯s lightning spear!


    Before the spear could hit the ck dragon, the golden arrow had already reached it and struck Gor¡¯s lightning spear.


    In an instant, a massive golden light then erupted and with a deafening bang, the sky was filled with blinding radiance, shortly followed by a thunderous explosion as aftershocks reverberated all across the battlefield.


    A powerful shockwave swept through thends and even causing the ck Dragon to stagger in mid-air. The ground beneath the Orc army was thrown into chaos by the aftershocks of the explosion.


    Seconds passed and as the golden radiance gradually faded, the gigantic spear also vanished from the skies.


    In its ce, shimmering fragments fell down like metallic snowkes.


    A moment of silence nketed the entire battlefield.


    King Imsh¡¯s grin froze upon his face.


    He widened his eyes in disbelief, unable toprehend what he had just witnessed.


    The Orc King then turned his gaze in the direction at which the golden arrow had originated from and noticed an individual standing there, on top of the castle wall¡ª


    ¡ªA female elf stood there all by herself, adorned in sleek ck armor, with delicate features, silver hair, and striking crimson eyes.


    She casually stowed away her bow as though she had just performed something trivial.


    Radiant light shimmered around her as she looked at the direction of the Orc King with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°¡­.High-ranking practitioner! God¡­Godwarden!¡±


    Even from a distance, he could sense the potency of her bow and the majestic aura surrounding this particr female elf..


    King Imsh¡¯s eyes narrowed as his pupils gleamed with a menacing light.


    The elite force of the elves¡­had finally appeared.


    And she¡­ turned out to be a Golden-ranked Godwarden!


    ¡°It¡¯s the Godwarden Zero!¡±


    ¡°S-So cool!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Lady Zero finally had taken action!¡±


    ¡°Incredible! She shot down that huge spear with just a single arrow!¡±


    ¡°Sister Zero is soo amazing!¡±


    The elves manning the castle wall all erupted in loud cheers and sighs of relief.


    In contrast, Imsh¡¯s expression became increasingly grim.


    He then surveyed the entire battlefield, his fists tightening.


    At this moment, all the Orcs who had climbed the wall had been killed in battle¡­


    Not only that, but even their bodies had somehow been reduced to ashes by the elves during the fight.


    The remaining Orcs that managed to climbed thedders had also beenpletely driven off the castle wall.


    Although the four Behemoth had regained their senses, their umted injuries keeps worsening after they got out of their frenzied state.


    These massive bodies werepletely covered in wounds, which greatly diminished theirbat abilities. As it stands, they urgently needed healing, lest they sumb to death entirely.


    Though still a formidable force, these four Behemoths were presently incapable of altering the situation, at least until they hadpletely recuperated.


    Beneath the castle wall, a notable number of Orcs still remained, persistently trying to scale it. Yet, it was evident that they couldn¡¯t break through the fierce defense put up by the elves.


    These elves appeared to have grasped the rhythm of battle, and their morale is as high as ever¡­


    Conversely, the presence of the ck dragon caused the Orcs¡¯ morale to plummet by half, and the arrival of the elves¡¯ Godwarden even further sent their morale to rock bottom.


    Under these circumstances, the death toll among the Orcs was skyrocketing at an astonishing pace.


    What King Imsh had initially thought would be an easy siege had now be an unfeasible endeavor.


    Seeing this grim situation, hisplexion grew increasingly displeased.


    Imsh¡¯s expression changed several times, before finally, he gritted his teeth and sighed.


    ¡°Blow the horns of retreat!¡±


    At hismand, a long and resonant horn began to sound slowly¡­


    His ten-thousand-strong Orc army, having lost over a thousand warriors, retreated in disarray.


    Meanwhile, up above the castle wall, the yers who had sessfully resisted the Orc¡¯s siege erupted with a resounding cheer.


    1 <strong><mark>È˵ÄÃû£¬Ê÷µÄÓ°</mark></strong> ¨C As the name, so is the shadow, is a chinese proverb which means that a person¡¯s reputation is very important.


    2 <strong>¨¦rh¨¡gon</strong> ¨C Combination of (<strong>¶þ¹þ</strong>) ¨¦rh¨¡ = silly but cute husky and (<strong>Áú</strong>) l¨®ng = Dragon.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 240

    ¡ª <strong>240</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>EVE¡¯S CONFUSION </strong>¡¿


    The Orc¡¯s first wave of attack were sessfully pushed back.


    Seeing the orc army slowly receding like a tide, the Saintess, Alice, breathed a sigh of relief.


    She then quickly joined some of the Druid yers and began to heal any yers who were injured during the defensive battle just now.


    Over a thousand orc warriors died, but the yer¡¯s side also sustained some casualties.


    The majority of yers that¡¯s participating in this defensive battle were generally newbies at lower levels, and despite the protection of the castle walls, nearly five hundred yers still died and on the process of being resurrected back on the World Tree.


    The number of injured yers was over a thousand, butpared to the orcs, this amount was rtively minor. Not to mention those yers who were in immediately returned back to the battlefield through the teleportation circle upon their resurrection, so the overall defensive strength of the castle didn¡¯t decrease significantly.


    To be precise, the elves¡¯ losses were mainly the defensive structures destroyed by the orcs such as portions of the walls during the recent battle.


    After the yers¡¯ celebration, they then began to clean up the battlefield.


    Under the coordination of the two legionmanders, yers started collecting the equipment left by the in orcs, while some yers also began repairing the damaged walls.


    Furthermore, after gaining permission from the Supreme Commander, Zero, some yers alongside a few natives also opened up the castle gates in order to search the battlefield on the hillside for any equipment abandoned by the withdrawing orcs.


    Seeing the battlefield up close was quite a peculiar sight, to say the least¡­


    During the recent battle, both sides fought fiercely as if their lives depended upon it, yet after the battle, there wasn¡¯t even a single corpse left behind that could be seen on the battlefield.


    The only signs that a bloody fierce battle happened there was the stters of blood and abandoned equipment were strewn about on the ground.


    This strange situation made the native elves uneasy, but the yers who had long been ustomed to it paid it no mind, as if it were a normal urrence.


    With yers cleaning up the battlefield and reaping their well-deserved spoils of war, the atmosphere in the castle gradually became festive once more.


    With the Elven side securing the first victory in this entire war, the mood at ck Dragon Castle was much lighter than it had been before the battle began.


    In fact, the yers seemed much more eager now after experiencing how lucrative the rewards were.


    The profit they gained from eliminating over a thousand dead orcs far outweighed their losses, and having savored the sweetness of the rewards from a major questline, the yers eagerly anticipated the next wave of assault.


    ¡°These orcs gives a ton of EXP! I killed just one and I gained over 5000 experience points!¡± A level 11 third beta-yer eximed while excitedly checking his status screen.


    ¡°Oh, just 5K EXP? Dude, I was up on the frontlines, and even though I died once, I still gained over 200% CP which is equivalent to 30K experience points! These orcs are giving out way more EXP than those human mercenaries!¡±


    Another yer, a tank specifically, proudly boasted while raising his weapon.


    ¡°But you died once¡­isn¡¯t that a loss?¡±


    ¡°Heh, you see, I¡¯m from Moe Moe Committee. Our guild has this policy that any members who die during a major questline will be reimbursed with CP equal to the revival coin we used.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    War is a brutal and gruesome affair.


    Nevertheless, just as there are many kinds of people, there were also some yers who simply enjoy the intense and realistic feeling of battle in Elven Kingdom.


    ¡°This is so exciting! It¡¯s like I¡¯m in a real war! After experiencing this feeling, any other RPG games felt some inparison!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so much fun! This is way more interesting than hunting monsters!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, seriously¡­ I was just fighting for a while, and just when I started to really get into it, the Orcs had already retreated, which was a shame.¡±


    Each yers relished upon the sweetness of victory, as their fighting spirit surged even more. They then rose to their feet and eagerly gazed once more at the orc army in the distance.


    ¡°They won¡¯t stoping, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll probably attack once more! I mean, they still have so many soldiers, so they won¡¯t give up that easily.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Just think of all the experience points we¡¯ll earn if we wipe out all these orcs!¡±


    ¡°Heh, if that happens, then we¡¯re pretty much guaranteed to advance up to intermediate Iron-rank.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already bragged about our results to some of our friends on the Raid Support Forces. Man, lemme tell ya, they¡¯re totally envious of us right now, Wahaha!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s their fault for not choosing to defend the castle!¡±


    Conversations of a simr nature kept circting around the castle and the general vibe on the yer¡¯s side was pure tion as their morale remained rtively high.


    The orcs¡¯ side on the other hand was in a state of decadence and embarrassment, especially those who had returned from the first wave of battle.


    King Imsh, along with a thousand fewer men than his initial ten thousand army, withdrew from the vicinity of the castle, wearing a grim expression.


    ¡°I was careless¡­ I didn¡¯t expect the elves to gather such a strong force.¡±


    He believed that capturing ck Dragon Castle would be easy with just ten-thousand-strong army and four Behemoths. However now it seemed, he had greatly underestimated the Elves.


    ¡°It seems¡­ I¡¯ll need the power of our Divine Father.¡±


    King Imsh clenched his fist.


    He initially held lofty ambitions of conquering the Elven Forest solely through mortal strength alone, believing it would greatly please the gods.


    However, the arrival of the Elven Godwarden made it clear that he needed to relinquish those ambitions and call forth a Totem Guardian.


    Furthermore, the castle¡¯s defenses proved to be unexpectedly robust, and it appeared that a divine power was even fortifying it.


    If they relied solely upon themselves, then their losses would be quite devastating.


    With that in mind, King Imsh took a deep breath and ordered his subordinates.


    ¡°Summon the Chief Shaman¡­¡±


    Momentster, the chief shaman of the orcs, apanied by two silver-ranked subordinates of hers, arrived before King Imsh.


    The chief shaman, wearing a bone crown and painted face, smiled faintly.


    ¡°Your Liege, it seems your attack didn¡¯t go as nned.¡±


    She still held a glowing skull ne within her hand. However, at this moment, the crimson glow on the ne appeared to have deepened significantly¡­


    King Imsh narrowed his eyes, casting a cautious nce at the ne in her hand.


    ¡ª<em>No, it seemed as though he was almost afraid of it.</em>


    As if she sensed his gaze, the chief priest touched the ne in her hand and chuckled softly.


    ¡°Your Liege, rest assured. I won¡¯t use this artifact unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary.¡±


    King Imsh remained silent.


    After a moment, he then looked at the chief shaman with a conflicted expression.


    ¡°I underestimated the strength of the elves. Your Excellency, I¡¯ve decided to directly summon a Totem Guardian. Have you prepared the summoning altar?¡±


    Upon hearing King Imsh¡¯s question, the Chief Shaman nodded and replied with fervor,


    ¡°Of course! If you wish, we can call upon the power of the Divine Father at any time!¡±


    The yers quickly cleaned up the battlefield.


    As there were no corpses to deal with, their only sole task was to only gather the scattered equipment, something the yers were exceptionally good at.


    Before long, the battlefield beneath the castle walls was cleared to the extent that yers didn¡¯t even spare the dirty clothes left by the orcs, taking them all as well and leaving nothing behind.


    Meanwhile, on the castle walls, the damaged portion were being repaired in a systematic manner.


    Everyone was working hard whilst looking forward to the next wave of assault.


    However, Eve¡¯s expression as she stood on the city wall was a little solemn¡­


    ¡°Just now, something waspeting with me in collecting the lifeforce within the battlefield¡­¡±


    It¡¯s a simr situation to what happened prior with Demacia¡¯s group, who had died earlier.


    It had urred yet again during this recent battle.


    In the battle just now, nearly half of the lifeforce from the deceased orcs was not absorbed by the yer¡¯s passive skill, War Sacrifice.


    Especially for those who died far from the castle walls, even when the skill was triggered, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t receive much life force from their remains.


    Instead, it seemed to evaporate into thin air.


    Thankfully, the lifeforce of the in yers waspletely recovered, and the lifeforce of the orcs who died near the castle walls was mostly absorbed by Ev¨¦.


    However, looking at it as a whole, out of over a thousand dead orcs, about a third of their lifeforce was left unounted for.


    Although Ev¨¦ still ended up with a gain, it fell short of her expectations.


    So in the end, she considered it as a loss.


    ¡°It¡¯s an ability simr to war sacrifice! But¡­ it likely isn¡¯t done by a true god nor an evil god, as the absorption appears to ur in a more mechanical or instinctual fashion, akin to a ritual, or¡­ an artifact!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the same thing I sensed before!¡±


    ¡°These lifeforce absorption abilities are incredibly discreet¡­ If I didn¡¯t have control over War Sacrifice and full authority over the Divinity of Life, then I likely wouldn¡¯t have detected them at all!¡±


    ¡°What are the Orcs up to?¡±


    ¡°Looks like I need to be more cautious¡­¡±


    While Ev¨¦ was busy contemting upon these matters, she suddenly felt a change within the Death¡¯s Casket stored inside her Celestial Domain.


    The Goddess of Death, H, had finally responded.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 241

    ¡ª <strong>241</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>INCOMPLETE DIVINE ARTIFACT </strong>¡¿


    Ev¨¦ felt a surge of excitement as she set her incarnation on auto-pilot. She then let her consciousness return to her Celestial Domain and retrieved the Casket of Death.


    With a single thought, Ev¨¦ opened the Casket which had been flickering nonstop.


    A small dimly glowing orb was floating inside.


    This was H¡¯s response.


    Eve gently poked the orb, causing it to shatter, and anguid yet majestic female voice echoed not a secondter.


    ¡°Uller only attained his godhood a few thousand years ago, and the number of divine artifacts he umted isn¡¯t that extensive. Even the ones he generally uses are mostly at the quasi-divine artifact level. However, he does possess one iplete divine artifact that could pose a threat to true gods.¡±


    <em>An iplete divine artifact?</em>


    Eve¡¯s thoughts stirred as she recalled each description of various artifacts recorded within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance.


    Tools that harness the divine power of Deities aremonly known as Divine Artifacts.


    There are thousands of these items scattered about, with the weaker ones being less effective than legendary weapons crafted by mortals. On the other hand, the more powerful divine artifacts can even make true gods wary.


    Overall, the determining factors for an artifact¡¯s strength are the amount of divine power contained within it and the naturalws from which it is created.


    In Saig¨¹es, divine artifacts are typically categorized as sub-divine artifacts, semi-divine artifacts, quasi-divine artifacts, and true divine artifacts, based on their strength.


    Most divine artifactse into contact with by mortals are typically sub-divine in nature, and they are also the most abundant among them.


    In a sense, the starter weapons Ev¨¦ created for the yers at the beginning could also be considered sub-divine artifacts, although the divine power contained within them was almost negligible.


    But even so, due to these weapons being imbued with the power of the Divinity of Life, these starter weapons proved highly effective against the undead.


    Creating sub-divine artifacts such as these is rtively easy¡­ A true god can simply infuse any object with their divine power to turn it into a sub-divine artifact.


    However, crafting more powerful divine artifacts is challenging.


    After all, not all materials can withstand a significant amount of divine power or bear the force of the naturalws of the world.


    The stronger the divine artifact is, the rarer the materials it requires.


    It is even more difficult to make an artifact that can pose a threat to a true god solely with its intrinsic power.


    Such powerful artifacts are referred to as true divine artifacts.


    It is very difficult to create a true divine artifact since it¡¯s a long and arduous process, plus it also needs a significant amount of divine power to craft one.


    Even the weakest true divine artifact needs a bare minimum DP value of 1,000 divine power units.


    Nheless, don¡¯t underestimate this mere 1,000 divine power units.


    While true gods generally have more divine power contained within them, they cannot unleash it all at once in an instant.


    In other words, a true god¡¯s divine power is akin to a water reservoir.


    However, even if the reservoir holds vast amounts of water, it is still the reservoir¡¯s opening or closing valves that determine how explosively the water can be released.


    Among the true gods, there is essentially no substantial difference in level, whereas there is only a distinction in strength.


    Ascending into godhood is, in essence, the process of erging one¡¯s own reservoir while also widening their valve.


    However, the rate at which the reservoir expands must far exceed the rate at which the valve widens.


    However, ultimately, true gods cannot unleash divine power beyond their limits, but true divine artifacts can.


    The sudden burst of 1,000 divine power units, relying solely on the artifact¡¯s intrinsic power, is enough to pose a lethal threat to true gods within intermediate divine strength or below.


    This means that even an ordinary person, if they possess a true divine artifact and a means to fully unleash its power, has a slim chance to y a god.


    Of course, true gods who also wield true divine artifacts are even more formidable.


    In fact, during the Silver Age, when the gods were at war amongst themselves, many weaker divine beings managed to seize control and mostly relied upon the use of true divine artifacts to y their more powerful divine foes while achieving ascension in the process.


    After the Heavenly War, the victors hoarded most of these true divine artifacts and ultimately became major figures within the Pantheon, resulting in a scarcity of true divine artifacts in the current era.


    Nowadays, most gods with intermediate or lower divine strength possess only quasi-divine artifacts, which can still harm true gods but are not really that lethal on their own.


    In truth, within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, there is a record of Eve¡¯s progenitor possessing their own set of true-divine artifacts.


    Sadly, however, these artifacts were either lost when the World Tree fell, seized by the enemies, or scattered about when the Celestial Domain of the Old World Tree shattered.


    In any case, when Eve reincarnated as the new World Tree, she had gained nothing except the dying body of her progenitor and the faith of her followers.


    From this perspective, Uller was quite fortunate to possess a true divine artifact, even if it was in an iplete state.


    With this in mind, Eve¡¯s expression grew serious as she continued to listen to H¡¯s message¡­


    ¡°Uller¡¯s iplete true-divine artifact is called the ¡®Withering Heart.¡¯ It should appear as a ne resembling a string of skulls.¡±


    ¡°It is said that Uller obtained it from the tomb of the Titan King in the Desert of Death back when Uller was still a totem guardian. Originally, it belonged to a fallen Titan King who had fallen into the abyss, and this artifact was sealed within the Titan King¡¯s tomb.¡±


    ¡°A thousand years ago, even Yggdrasill suffered significant losses because of the Withering Heart. Many divine beings of the Elven race also perished due to this vile artifact.¡±


    ¡°It is not an artifact geared towards offense¡­ instead, it is a sealing type. It can briefly seal a true god¡¯s power, reducing their strength to the level of a Demigod or even lower for a short time.¡±


    ¡°However, Withering Heart is only effective against true gods with weaker divine power or below.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ because this true-divine artifact has been tainted by corruption of the Abyss, it cannot be controlled with divine power. Instead, it requires the sacrifice of flesh or life force to be activated, and using it exacts a significant cost, reportedly causing the user¡¯s mind to be corrupted by the abyss.¡±


    ¡°Rumor has it that in recent years, Uller¡¯s temperament has be increasingly vtile, likely due to some degree of corruption from this artifact. The God of War even has repeatedly urged Uller to destroy the Withering Heart, but Uller never agreed.¡±


    ¡°As a result, the God of War became increasingly discontent with Uller.¡±


    ¡°Ev¨¦, if you ever engage with Uller¡¯s forces, be very cautious of the Withering Heart!¡±


    H¡¯s message finally came to an end.


    Eve¡¯s expression gradually grew more serious.


    ¡°So, the power I sensed earlier should belong to this artifact called the ¡®Withering Heart.¡¯¡±


    ¡°The Orcs brought it with them and, during the battle, used the life force of the fallen Orcs in an attempt to activate its power.¡±


    ¡°¡­ So Uller intends to use this artifact to seal my power!¡±


    Perhaps¡­ the invasion of the Elven Forest by his thirty thousand army is merely just a facade.


    For Uller, it would be best to annihte the Elven race through a war of faith, at least on the surface, as the Elves from their perspective seem tock the power to resist an invasion.


    However, looking at it from another perspective, in Uller¡¯s mind, the future of the Elves might follow only two paths¡ª


    The first involves the Orc¡¯s thirty thousand troops annihting the Elves, which would result in a loss of faith in the new true god, Eve. This would then lead to her being demoted in strength, followed by Uller sending out an even more formidable force to eliminate her and, in the end, seize her divinity.


    The other path involves the Elves being besieged by the thirty-thousand-strong Orc army, pushing them to the brink of extinction.


    Thus, in Uller¡¯s mind, she would have had no choice but to intervene to save the Elves.


    Then, if she decided to directly intervene, chances were that the thirty thousand troops would immediately be sacrifices for the Withering Heart, which could then seal her powers.


    Then afterward, Uller could send out a strong force to kill her and ultimately seize her divinity.


    In any case, it all ends in his victory.


    It¡¯s evident that Uller has more than one n in motion.


    This thirty-thousand-strong army is not just an invasion force; it is also bait to lure Eve, and these Orcs serve as sacrifices for the Withering Heart should things go south!


    ¡°This is truly ruthless! Thirty thousand Orcs, to be used and discarded just like that. Though most of them are shallow believers, they still constitute a significant source of Uller¡¯s faith¡­¡±


    Eve shook her head.


    In reality, Uller¡¯s strategy was quite effective.


    yers might be able to confront the thirty-thousand-strong army all by themselves, but Eve would have no choice but to intervene once the totem guardians took action.


    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t act in her real form, but rather in the disguise of her incarnation, ¡°burrowing¡± the power of a true god.


    However, based upon her earlier intuition, was is now certain that the Withering Heart was highly sensitive to the aura of true gods.


    It was quite likely that the Orcs would easily see through her incarnation¡¯s disguise.


    That would be quite awkward if that were to happen.


    <em>So¡­ what should she do?</em>


    Ev¨¦ fell into deep thought.


    Then after a moment, something clicked within her mind.


    ¡°Hmm? Wait, maybe¡­ this might actually a good opportunity instead!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 242

    ¡ª <strong>242</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE SUMMONING ALTAR </strong>¡¿


    The yers inside ck Dragon Castle didn¡¯t have to wait for long.


    In fact, about four to five hours after the initial wave of attacks, they noticed that the main Orc camp was stirring once more.


    This time, the entire Orc army mobilized, and nearly thirty thousand of them surged forth in full force.


    ck Dragon Castle soon found itself gradually encircled by a horde of Orcs, who were steadily tightening their siege. However despite beingpletely surrounded, the yers inside the castle remained calm and unperturbed, thanks to the presence of the teleportation array.


    On the contrary, they even watched the sea of Orcs with eager anticipation.


    ¡°Is the second wave finally starting?¡±


    ¡°Goodness! they¡¯repletely surrounding us this time.Could this be the final showdown?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for hours, it¡¯s driving me crazy!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Those yers in the Raid Support force are still lurking somewhere in the wilderness and the Dark Mountains.¡±


    ¡°When will they make their move? Aren¡¯t they joining the battle?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. They seem to have a separate task, probably waiting for us to have a tough time against the Orcs beforeunching a surprise attack.¡±


    ¡°Dammit! Are they simply aiming to reap the rewards? They should work harder and eliminate more Orcs attacking the castle!¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­ I¡¯ve been lying in wait all day, so its about time I have to drink some soup, right?¡±<mark>1</mark>


    ¡°Dude, you just don¡¯t get it. We fought for hours this morning, and we¡¯ve only taken down a bit over a thousand Orcs. Those yers in the Raid Support? They¡¯re just chilling on their familiars, and they¡¯re likely gonna ambush the enemies off one by one. Last time, during the Mercenary battle, more than two hundred yers with Spiders mounts made a fortune! Those lucky bastards are all getting rich!¡±


    ¡°Holy shit! No kidding?¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡±


    On the city walls, yers watched the Orcs move like an endless swarm in the distance, chatting animatedly as though they weren¡¯t the ones under siege.


    Simultaneously, deep within the main Orc camp, a different scene was unfolding¡­


    In the heart of the Orc¡¯s main camp stood three imposing altars. The altars were adorned with intricate and mysterious patterns, weaving into a symbol of a curved bow and snowkes.


    In front of the altars, the Chief Shaman led a procession of thirty-six Orc Shamans, three among them bearing the prestigious Silver-rank.


    They all knelt in a continuous series of prostrations before the altars.


    Their faces bore tribal markings created with oil paint, with each shamans disying utmost reverence.


    Right at the forefront, the Chief Shaman holds an ancient book in her hands adorned with symbols of Winter and Hunting, as she prays with great devotion.


    ¡°Divine Father Uller, we offer our worship unto you!¡±


    ¡°Divine Father Uller, all the glory is yours!¡±


    ¡°You are the master of the hunt, the lord of winter, the one and only heavenly father of the Orcs¡­¡±


    ¡°We were once dust in the world, and you bestowed great power upon us. We were sinners, yet you never abandoned us, gracing us with your blessings¡­¡±


    ¡°May your faith purify us and banish the doubts from our hearts. May your radiant light envelop us, granting us boundless strength¡­¡±


    The Chief Shaman utters these chants in a majestic and solemn tone, amplified by divine magic, as her words echo throughout the entire Orc camp.


    Upon hearing these sacred words, every Orc couldn¡¯t resist kneeling in reverence, repeating the Chief Shaman¡¯s prayers with the same unwavering devotion.


    In the blink of an eye, the surrounding Orcs all knelt down and prostrated themselves before the altar.


    They mumbled to themselves, some with fear, some with piety, some with fanaticism, and some with confusion¡­


    And with the Orcs¡¯ prayers, the three altars suddenly began to emit a radiant light.


    It was already past noon, and the afternoon sun added a touch of warmth to the chillyte autumn. However, this warmth was soon dispelled by a sudden cold gust of wind.


    ¡°Achoo!¡±


    On the walls of ck Dragon Castle, a yer sneezed abruptly.


    ¡°Why do I suddenly feel cold?¡±


    He tightened his armor and shivered before opening his in-game settings and deactivated his temperature sensitivity.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s gotten colder all of a sudden¡­¡±


    Another yer rubbed his reddened nose and chimed in.


    ¡°Hey guys, Look there! Up in the sky, to the south!¡±


    A cry of astonishment arose from the castle wall as a yer pointed southward, his expression filled with surprise.


    In an instant, everyone turned to look in the direction he was pointing at¡­


    A gathering of ominous dark clouds gradually formed in the sky above the Orc camp as these foreboding clouds steadily moved together and converged towards the center of the Orcs main camp.


    Minutes passed by and the southern skies had already transformed into a rolling sea of dark, densely packed clouds¡­


    Moreover, these dense clouds kept expanding and rolling as the temperature continuously drops lower and lower¡­


    Feeling the terrifying energy contained within the dark clouds, the Saintess Alice¡¯s pupils slightly constricted.


    ¡°T-Those are clouds formed due to the high concentration of mana within the air!¡±


    Hearing the Saintess exnation, the yers exchanged bewildered looks amongst themselves.


    ¡°¡­Clouds formed by high concentration of mana?¡±


    ¡°My goodness¡­ how much mana is gathering there?¡±


    The yers were taken aback.


    Underneath the converging dark clouds, right at the center of the Orc camp, three silver-gray rays of light kept shing continously.


    As the light shimmered, the clouds in the sky rolled even more violently, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop even further¡­


    For a moment, the yers on the city walls were all drawn towards the ominous light flickering at the enemy camp.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me use [Eagle Eye] to take a look¡­ Hmm? Those lights seems to being from an altar!¡±


    ¡°An altar? Geez, what are those Orcs up to now?¡±


    And just as the yers were left puzzled by the bizarre lightshow, suddenly, countless shimmering tiny particles began to drift down from the sky¡­


    ¡°Its¡­ snowing?¡±


    The yers exchanged puzzled looks.


    And just as the snowkes kept falling, a sacred and majestic power suddenly burst out from the orc camp!


    The three shining altars then bloomed with pirs of holy light as it expands upwards into the skies.


    The pirs of light stirred the dark clouds in the sky, as the clouds began to rotate around the light pirs, forming what seemed like two twistersposed of clouds, ice, and snow.


    The ¡°twisters¡± spun vigorously, and then abruptly began to be drawn into the three altars situated on the ground.


    At the same time, the dark clouds, the ice, and the snow, apanied by a fierce wind, crazily poured into the altars as if being sucked into a bottomless ck hole!


    In just a matter of seconds, the previously dense dark clouds were entirely absorbed by the three altars, and the entire sky turned as clear as if nothing had happened¡­


    However, this eerily calmsted for less than a few seconds.


    After absorbing the dark clouds with high concentration of mana, the three altars suddenly radiated brilliantly once more, as the pirs of light emanating from them rose into the sky.


    Subsequently, the three pirs of light intertwined together, eventually coalescing into an enormous silver gateposed entirely of light!


    1 <mark><strong>ºÈÌÀ</strong></mark> ¨C Drinking soup is a chinese metaphor for getting credits. So what this sentence means is that the speaker have been waiting all day so its about time he gets some credits for it.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 243

    ¡ª <strong>243</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THREE LEGENDARY TOTEM GUARDIANS ¡¿</strong>


    Above the castle walls, yers gazed in astonishment at the circr gateway suspended in the sky that shimmered with a silvery-gray light.


    ¡°Quick, look at that! What is it?¡±


    ¡°It looks like a portal! I saw something simr back when the Goddess and the Orc Demigod fought before.¡±


    ¡°A portal!? Does this mean the orcs are summoning something again? Could it be another Demigod?¡±


    For a moment, many yers grew vignt.


    As the gateway continued to flicker, and distant war chants reverberated, apanied by a profound sense of divinity and heart-rending pressure, three silvery-gray figures suddenly emerged out from it.


    They were three orcs, approximately three meters tall.


    They wore magnificent armor, carried longbows, and wielded battle axes coated in ice and snow. Their faces were adorned with strange tribal-like tattoos, and they bore fervent, devout expressions as a silvery-gray aura emanated from all over their bodies.


    After they appeared, a majestic and powerful voice slowly came about.


    ¡°Totem Guardian Keo¡­¡±


    ¡°Totem Guardian Ladis¡­¡±


    ¡°Totem Guardian Bledo¡­¡±


    ¡°By the divine oracle¡¯s summons, we havee to protect our Lord¡¯s faith and bring judgment upon the minions of the Heretical God!¡±


    <em>Totem Guardians!</em>


    These were three Totem Guardians who had achieved legendary-ranks!


    Upon hearing that deration, the orc army on the ground erupted into a deafening cheer.


    The Totem Guardians were the personal envoys of Uller, the god of winter and hunting. They were sanctified by Uller himself and wielded formidable power in his name.


    In every war of faith that they partook in, Totem Guardians always served as the high-end elite force summoned by the half-orcs topensate for their racial limitations.


    However, since their power fundamentally belonged to Uller, they could not be summoned for an extended period of time. Usually, after a battle or after losing too much power, they had no choice but to return to the heavenly realm; otherwise, there was a risk of falling.


    Nheless, the Totem Guardians were more than enough to be the ace up the half-orcs¡¯ sleeves, a force capable of shifting the battle¡¯s momentum upon their favor.


    They wielded enough power to turn the tide of war!


    Immediately, the morale of the orcs who had been frustrated due to their first defeat, soared once again.


    Looking at the three totem guardians who had suddenly appeared from the portal, the yers situated on the wall were both equally curious and worried.


    ¡°No way¡­ flying orcs? and they even have auras?¡±


    ¡°What is this? Are they the Demigods you mentioned earlier?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ are they this questline¡¯s main bosses?¡±


    ¡°They look seriously strong¡­ being summoned in such a grand way, they don¡¯t seem like pushovers.¡±


    The yers¡¯ eyes were filled with curiosity, but the Holy Saintess Alice had a solemn expression with a hint of panic and worry within her eyes.


    ¡°Those are three legendary-rank Totem Guardians!¡±


    She stated with a grave and serious tone.


    ¡°Wow! Legendaries? What level are they?¡±


    ¡°Are they on the same level as the Shadow Dragon from the underground?¡±


    ¡°Damn, are we in deep trouble here? We¡¯re facing three legendary beings!¡±


    Upon hearing Alice¡¯s words, the yers were taken aback, yet some among them still remained unfazed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! When facing opponents of this caliber, let¡¯s just simply call upon the Goddess. She¡¯s incredibly strong, having even defeated a Demigod. So, what chance do a mere trio of legends stand against her?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Plus, isn¡¯t Lady Zero also capable of defeating legendaries too? I mean, she¡¯s a badass NPC who took down the Shadow Dragon all by herself!¡±


    However, unlike the excited yers, Alice¡¯s expression became much graver.


    She shook her head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s different.¡±


    ¡°Last time, the Goddess can only intervene because the enemy Demigod acted first. s¡­this is a war of faith. If the Goddess personally intervenes, then it might give Uller a reason to summon a Demigod.¡±


    ¡°And a battle on the Demigod level could easily expose the Matriarch¡¯s true identity!¡±


    ¡°In any case¡­it would be very risky.¡±


    With that, Alice couldn¡¯t help but turn her head and look at Zero standing on the tower of the castle wall, her face expressing deep concern.


    Zero had said she was there to deal with high-leveled enemies and above. However, even with the Goddess¡¯s divine protection, Zero was still only at the Gold-rank agter all¡­


    <em>How could she handle three legendary beings?</em>


    However much to Alice¡¯s surprise, despite witnessing the orcs summoning three legendary Totem Guardians, Zero¡¯s expression remained unchanged, leaving Alice unable to discern her inner thoughts.


    Three legendary Totem Guardians!


    Seeing the powerful figures that was summoned, Lionheart King Imsh¡¯s expression was filled with joy.


    Even with a Demigod not intervening, these Totem Guardians were already quite powerful enough and could easily sway the course of the war.


    In fact, considering the strength disyed by the elves, the three legendaries couldpletely overpower them.


    If they could use these Totem Guardians to keep his army at bay without fighting, then that would be even better!


    These thirty thousand troops represented nearly a tenth of the half-orc poption and were all still in their youth. Imsh would be immensely thankful if the arrival of these three legendary beings could reduce the harm and casualties to his people.


    With this in mind, King Imsh¡¯s enthusiasm surged, and he promptly moved forward, showing his gratitude by bowing to the three Totem Guardians.


    ¡°Hail Winter! Hail the hunt! Hail the Great Divine Father! Imsh, the King of the half-orcs, greets the esteemed totem envoys!¡±


    ¡°Please, esteemed totem envoys, lend us your strength! Overthrow those elves in the castle! Eradicate those vile wicked heretics!¡±


    Imsh finished and eagerly looked toward the three Totem Guardians hovering in the sky.


    However, their response left him somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°Half-Orc King, it would be wise for your own army to handle the elves by yourselves. We¡¯ve got our mission to attend to.¡±


    ¡°Your army can take the lead, and we¡¯ll handle any significant threats you cannot handle. However, we won¡¯t meddle in battles within the Mortal realm.¡±


    They all spoke together in amanding manner, leaving no room for refusal.


    <em>They won¡¯t intervene?</em>


    Lionheart King Imsh¡¯s expression turned somewhat unpleasant.


    However, they were the honored Totem Guardians, the esteemed envoys of their Divine Father.


    He had no right to direct them.


    Besides, at this point, Imsh already understood the underlying reason behind their Divine Father¡¯s directive for him tomand his thirty-thousand-strong army to battle.


    Nevertheless, knowing was one thing, but as the reigning king of the Half-Orcs, he still couldn¡¯t bear it.


    s¡­in the end, everything was for the sake of empowering their Divine Father.


    And with their Patron deity bing much stronger also meant greater opportunities for his own people and the half-orcs as a whole.


    As the Chief Shaman had said, sometimes¡­necessary sacrifices were required.


    Yet, King Imsh¡¯s expression fluctuated.


    But after a brief moment of hesitation, he released a profound sigh and drew a bow-shaped symbol over his heart, announcing with unwavering resolve¡ª


    ¡°Spread the word. Prepare for the second siege!¡±


    ¡°This time, our entire army will attack in full force!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 244

    ¡ª <strong>244</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ WHO IS SHE?</strong> <strong>¡¿</strong>


    The entire orc army finally move.


    And the visual impact of close to thirty thousand warriors advancing forward was much more striking than their failed initial assault.


    Not only that, but this time, the siege stretched far beyond the southern side of ck Dragon Castle, with armies numbering in the thousands encircling the fortress from the remaining three directions.


    Moreover the four wounded Behemoths found their injuries mended, and they, alongside five additional Behemoths who hadn¡¯t participated in the initial skirmish, marched toward ck Dragon Castle alongside the orc horde.


    As the orc army advanced on the ground, three legendary totem guardians hovering in the sky also slowly moved towards ck Dragon Castle.


    On the castle walls, the expressions of each yers turned serious.


    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this¡­¡±


    ¡°Can we really defend against this next wave?¡±


    ¡°The main problem is those legendary bosses in the sky!¡±


    The two legionmanders that¡¯s overseeing the castle defense also wore grave expressions.


    The number of attackers had tripled, and the Behemoths had doubled, yet the yer count remained the same.


    Moreover, when the news of three legendary Totem Guardians joining the enemy¡¯s ranks reached the ck Dragon, a shiver of fear coursed through him. s, Meryer now hesitated to unleash his dragon breath, only choosing instead to remain within the secure confines of the castle walls.


    Without the ck Dragon¡¯s assistance, the orcs will likely became even more emboldened and unscrupulous.


    After a moment of contemtion, Li Mu said, ¡°No more holding back. Bring out the catapults and steam guns. We¡¯re gonna finish this questline, even if it means cutting our EXP farming short! We might get less experience, but we can¡¯t afford to fail this quest!¡±


    To gain experience, yers needed to use skills or personally kill enemies.


    However, skills cannot be used on catapults and steam guns thus these tools don¡¯t yield any EXP points.


    Therefore, even though yers had these two weapons at their disposal, and the catapults were already assembled, no one used them during the first wave of attack because everyone was eager to employ their skills to farm EXP points.


    Their operation was slow, and by the time someone managed tounch a catapult with boulders, others had already taken down another orc.


    However, since the situation had grown more serious, there was no more room for easy EXP farming. While killing orcs yielded a significant amount of experience, it would all be futile if the main quest ultimately failed in the end.


    Following Li Mu¡¯s orders, many melee yers on the castle wall brought out steam guns and, together with ranged yers, started shooting at the iing orcs. Several assembled catapults also beganunching boulders and explosives towards the advancing orc army.


    As for biochemical weapons¡­they were left unused.


    What yers now strive to do is to quickly cause damage to the orcs attacking the castle.


    Thirty thousand orcs besieged the castle in all directions, forming a very tight formation. Ironically, this tight formation actually favored the yers at this moment.


    Steam guns roared nonstop, as explosives detonated one after another, and the sound of boulders colliding filled the air.


    In the Orc army, cries of pain were heard from time to time.


    They were either hit by steam gun bullets, crushed into a pulp by falling boulders, or blown to pieces by explosives.


    These unexpected attack methods caused a slight chaos in the Orc army, and their high morale wavered once more.


    The Orc¡¯s tightly packed formation made it impossible for their foot soldiers to escape in time, which caused a lot of casualties.


    Yet, the three totem guardians in the air ignored the rapidly growing casualties down below. They merely floated in the air, coldly observing ck Dragon Castle, seemingly waiting for something.


    King Imsh looked at the massive stones thrown from ck Dragon Castle and heard the thunderous sound of steam guns.


    His expression reflected a mix of emotions.


    ¡°Catapults? And¡­ steam guns? Where did these elves acquire all this equipment?¡±


    These elves had already surprised him too many times within the two waves of attacks he¡¯dunched.


    Imsh¡¯s expression hardened, and he ordered his subordinates to sound the horn to inform the attacking orcs to disperse their formation. He then called out to the totem guardians in the sky.


    ¡°Great Envoys, please intervene and destroy the elves¡¯ catapults!¡±


    Upon hearing King Imsh¡¯s request, the three totem guardians wore serious expressions. At this moment, they were gazing at ck Dragon Castle with grave intent.


    More precisely, they were gazing at a certain elven woman with long, silvery hair standing on one of the castle¡¯s tower.


    In actuality, the three totem guardians weremunicating with each other using telepathic magic.


    ¡®These elves¡­ are indeed peculiar!¡¯


    ¡®Wait, there¡¯s a strange divine aura on the castle¡­¡¯


    ¡®It¡¯s a Godwarden¡­ the elven woman standing at that highest point is definitely a Godwarden!¡¯


    ¡®The powerful elf the believers mentioned must be her, right?¡¯


    ¡®Bing a Godwarden isn¡¯t easy. The death of Night Wanderer has made His Majesty furious¡­I¡¯d say we let her feel the wrath of our Divine Father!¡¯


    ¡®Be cautious; the new god of the elves hasn¡¯t left the mortal realm yet. With her abilities, this Godwarden can easily borrow power from their Patron deity¡­¡¯


    ¡®Hmph, its just a mere high-ranking Godwarden, likely at the Golden Rank. What can she achieve even with the power of a true god?¡¯


    ¡®Don¡¯t getcent; remember our mission. Let¡¯s test her first¡­¡¯


    After their telepathicmunication, the three totem guardians exchanged nces and nodded in agreement.


    Suddenly, one of them pulled out an exquisite longbow from behind, its radiance shining brightly as their aura continued to intensify. He then aimed the longbow in the direction of a specific spot on the castle wall before fully drawing the bowstring with all his might.


    A heart-wrenching surge of energy concentrated on the bowstring, which eventually shaped into a silver-gray light arrow. With a gentle shout, the totem guardian let loose the luminous arrow.


    Ninth-rank divine spell ¨C [Arrow of Light]


    The arrow of light shot out like a dazzling meteor, instantly heading towards the silver-haired Godwarden standing on the castle wall.


    ¡°Lord Zero, be careful!¡±


    Alice, who had been watching the three totem guardians in the sky, had her expression change in a panic and urgently eximed.


    However, Zero merely raised her hands slightly and, with a reverent expression, whispered something, causing a brilliant holy light to emanate from her body.


    Apanied by ethereal sacred chants, numerous scattered orbs of light converged around her, before coalescing into a colossal divine arm that manifested behind her.


    An intense pressure spread out around Zero, causing yers around the Elven Godwarden to involuntarily step back as the enormous divine arm effortlessly intercepted the arrow shooting at her.


    Then, to the astonishment of the three totem guardians and the amazement of the yers, Zero manipted the divine arm, lightly flicking it to send the Arrow of Light back and reversing its course.


    Yet, its speed showed no sign of waning as it charged directly toward the totem guardian who had originally unleashed it.


    This totem guardian¡¯s face turned pale, and with swift determination, he raised his battle-axe!


    The battle-axe shed with the Arrow of Light, resulting in a violent explosion¡­


    This explosion was both deafening and blinding, shrouding everything in a brilliant light.


    A massive fireball, almost fifty meters in radius, suddenly materialized and rose into the sky. Gradually, it morphed into a mushroom cloud, before dissipating after a brief moment.


    After the deafening st, all that remained at the impact site of the explosion was an exaggerated, huge crater shrouded in white smoke.


    Within a radius of several hundred meters, the orcs that had stood there moments ago were instantly reduced to ashes, with no trace of their bones even remaining¡­


    For a few seconds, the entire battlefield fell into silence.


    The totem guardian, who had initially fired the arrow, awkwardly tumbled out of the crater. He couldn¡¯t help but cough up a mouthful of silvery blood, revealing that he had sustained minor injuries.


    He then looked toward the castle with an expression that was a tumultuous blend of shock and disbelief.


    ¡°P-Peak Legendary-rank? How can this be!?¡±


    The other two totem guardians also bore solemn expressions, with their gazes also shaken.


    Equally astounded was the Chief Shaman, who had remained at the rear of the army since the battlemenced.


    The Chief Shaman examined the skull ne in her grasp, equally confounded.


    ¡°The divine artifact is flickering! The artifact is trembling!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s responding to the aura of a true god!¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ is she?!¡±


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 245

    All the yers situated on the castle wall were left in utter amazement as they witnessed the explosive surge of power emanating from the Godwarden Zero.


    ¡°Damn, she¡¯s so strong!¡±


    ¡°Awesome! Is she really just a Golden-ranker? Or are those three legendaries actually just fakes?¡±


    Many third beta yers couldn¡¯t help but gasp in astonishment¡­


    Their arrows proved powerless against even an orc¡¯s shield, and the colossal craters left by their long-range shes with the NPCs highlighted their own vulnerability for the first time.


    Many newbies from the third beta couldn¡¯t help but gulp in surprise.


    They looked at the arrows they had shot, which couldn¡¯t even prate the orcs¡¯ shields, then they gazed upon the terrifying crater left behind by the aftermath of the long-distance battle just now, and for the first time, they realized just how weak they were.


    However, their amazement were quickly met with jeers from the second beta yers.


    ¡°Fake? Seriously? It¡¯s all real! Haven¡¯t you heard? That NPC is a Godwarden! Lady Zero can tap into the power of the Goddess. I mean,e on, it¡¯s obvious they¡¯re crazy powerful!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! She can borrow the power of the Goddess and defeat legendary creatures like the Shadow Dragon in an instant!¡±


    Hearing the exnation from the second beta yers, the newbies looked on with envy.


    ¡°Are Godwardens really that strong? Do we have a chance to be one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m super jealous¡­ I wonder when we¡¯ll be that powerful too!¡±


    Nheless, the first beta yers responded with disdain.


    ¡°The game¡¯s still in beta you know, and heck, even the Priest jobss hasn¡¯t even been unlocked yet! You guys should


    focus on leveling up yourselves first!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Hey, more orcs areing our way. Let¡¯s take ¡¯em down first. They¡¯re all just EXP waiting to be killed!¡±


    The yers conversed with excitement.


    Their morale, which had slightly waned due to the appearance of the three legendary totem guardians, was now back at its peak.


    Even the Saintess Alice couldn¡¯t hide her astonishment as she watched Zero unleash her power.


    ¡°So amazing!¡± she couldn¡¯t help but whispered to herself.


    Although she had heard about Zero using the Matriarch¡¯s power in the underground to kill a legendary shadow dragon, witnessing such a battle firsthand was a first for her.


    However not a momentter, concern once again crept back onto her face.


    ¡°Although Lord Zero can borrow the power of the Goddess and has the aid of the Defense Core, she is still fighting against three legendary beings all by herself¡­can she really hold out against them long enough until they run out of their allocated summoned time?¡±


    The summoning of the totem guardians had a time limit, but at the same time, the borrowed power of a Godwarden also had its limitations.


    Could Lord Zero really endure until the end of the battle?


    Or perhaps, did the orcs have any other cards up their sleeves?


    All of this was still unknown.


    Regardless, Lord Zero¡¯s disy of power undeniably really motivated her.


    Alice silently looked at the silver-haired Godwarden, who was bathed in the radiant aura of the Goddess, and for a moment, felt a trace of envy and shame within her heart.


    ¡°What Lord Zero can aplish¡­ I, as the Nature¡¯s Saintess, should also be capable of. s, this reveals my faith on the Goddess is still insufficient enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Thinking about it now, I¡¯ve grown toocent ever since the return of the Matriarch. With the Goddess bestowing me the authority to assign tasks, I even delegated the cleaning of the temple to the Chosen Ones, which is my original job¡­¡±


    Alicementingly shook her head.


    ¡°I am still too weak and toocent. I must meditate more diligently and improve my strength! I must serve the Matriarch with even greater devotion, for the faith in nature and life, and for the future of the elven race!¡±


    With these resolutions, Alice¡¯s gaze solidified as she promised herself to devote more to the Goddess¡¯s faith.


    Meanwhile, standing upon the castle tower, Ev¨¦, disguised as Zero, calmly nced at Alice, somewhat inwardly surprised to notice that the saintess¡¯ faith had grown stronger yet again.


    She briefly wondered what wild fanciful ideas this saintess had now conjured up in that silly mind of hers¡­


    The elves¡¯ counterattack also greatly shocked the orcs.


    In particr, King Imsh¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the lone figure standing upon the castle wall, shimmering with divine radiance, unable to stop himself from eximing,


    ¡°She actually¡­ injured a legendary-ranked envoy!¡±


    The other side could borrow the power of a true god and exhibit the power of a legend!


    For a moment, he felt a hint of fear within himself¡­


    Thankfully, he had been cautious, avoiding a one-on-one duel with the adversary and instead, opted to retreat first before directly summoning the totem guardians¡­


    Otherwise, he would have been instantly killed instead.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    The two totem guardians floating in mid-air haughtily snorted in unison.


    They then nced at their injuredrade, before looking back again at the female elven figure radiating in divine light on the castle wall, with their expressions turning rather sour.


    At the same time, the injured totem Guardian rose back onto the sky again, whilst wearing an equally sour expression.


    <em>Injured!? </em>


    He was actually injured!


    A legendary-rank totem guardian like him¡­ was actually injured by a mere mortal!?


    This is an immense humiliation on his part!


    Even though the opponent is a Godwarden whose borrowing the power of a true god, it¡¯s still infuriating nheless.


    The two totem guardians who still haven¡¯t made a move calmed their inner agitation.


    ¡°That Godwarden can harness peak legendary power; she¡¯s likely a high-level Godwarden!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! So what if she¡¯s at the legendary peak? I was just careless and she just borrowing external power of their Heretical Deity. I don¡¯t believe¡­ a mere mortal like her can hold out against the three of us for long!¡± The injured totem guardian said as he seethed with anger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste any more time, let¡¯s attack together and eliminate her. We have more important matters to attend to! Don¡¯t forget our real objective!¡±


    He sneers and draws out his battle axe.


    In an instant, a silvery-gray radiance converged around the axe, and the totem guardian¡¯s aura steadily intensified, exerting a powerful pressure that forces the orcs below to involuntarily kneel.


    In the area centered around the totem guardian, spanning several hundred meters across, the temperature suddenly sharply dropped a few degrees.


    <em>Legendary Domain!</em>


    While it can¡¯t materialize governing naturalws like a demigod domain, it can still influence reality to some extent.


    The leading totem guardian roars, brandishes his axe, and charges toward the silver haired elven maiden who is emitting divine power on the castle wall.


    The other two totem guardians exchange nces, nod in agreement, and also unleash their full power, before following closely behind.


    For a moment, the three totem guardians streak like radiant meteors in the skies, all charging towards Zero¡¯s location!


    These three Legendary powerhouses move at astonishing speed and reach Zero in an instant.


    The foremost totem guardian doesn¡¯t hesitate in his actions at all. He immediately raised his axe, wreathed in ice, snow, and lightning, before striking it down towards the Elven Godwarden.


    ¡°Vile Heathen! Die!¡±


    With a roar, a terrifying power condenses between the axe, forming an energy wave that sends shivers down the spine as ites crashing down!


    However, Zero¡¯s expression remained indifferent.


    In response, she just gently raised her hand, and the divine illusionary hand that materialized behind her also imitated her gesture.


    Apanied by an ethereal hymn, the radiant illusionary hand grabbed the battle axe, as it effortlessly intercepted the totem guardian¡¯s attack.


    The collision of two forces once again unleashed a terrifying energy shockwave, but this time, Zero controlled the output. As a result, the resulting shockwave only affected the immediate area around her, merely causing the castle walls to crack.


    However that one strike decisively sets them apart.


    ¡°How is this possible!?¡±


    Watching their furious attacks being effortlessly blocked, the totem guardian looked utterly dumbfounded.


    Simrly, the other two totem guardians following closely behind were equally stunned as well.


    They exchange nces, and then simultaneouslyunch two frightening energy waves, with each swinging their axes at the direction of the Elven Godwarden.


    Two more energy des with terrifying auras are sent directly towards Zero.


    All of this happens in an instant, catching everyone off guard. Three legendary totem guardians have actuallyunched a joint attack.


    ¡°Lord Zero!¡±


    Seeing this scene, Alice turns pale.


    However, the Zero remainedposed.


    She raised her arm once again, before softly intoning something¡­


    And in an instant, a soft radiance emanated from Zero, with her as the focal point, as the dome-like radiance expanded outward, whilst carrying a gentle and sacred aura.


    At the same time, countless green orb particles rose from the surroundings, and below the castle wall, numerous nts and vines suddenly grew rapidly, even though it waste autumn already.


    In just a matter of seconds, a lush verdantyer of foliage manifested around Zero.


    But it didn¡¯t stop there, the green orb particles continue to expand and collide with the energy des swung by the totem guardians.


    At the same time, the three totem guardians are horrified to find that their full-force wave strikes were instantly dissipated into thin air when they collided with the green particles, leaving no trace behind.


    There isn¡¯t even a ripple!


    Then, before they can even further react, the rapidly growing vines suddenly transform into a massive cage, enveloping the three totem guardians and Zero altogether!


    Seeing this scene, the entire chaotic battlefield once again froze for a moment.


    Among the orcs at the rear of the horde, the Chief Shaman silently observed the lush and surreal scene unfolding at the ck Dragon Castle¡­


    She then examined the blood-red skull ne in her hand, which was continuously emitting deep crimson light and vibrating incessantly at the moment, and her expression underwent a significant change.


    ¡°¡­Celestial Domain.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>245</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾CELESTIAL DOMAIN ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 246

    Legendary beings especially those of higher status above that rank will begin toprehend and gradually harness the natural governingws of the world.


    And as such, the representation of mastering thosews is the ability to form one¡¯s own domain.


    Among these domains, the highest tier is the Celestial Domain of a True God, which can be manifested by utilizing the governingws that constitute a deity¡¯s respective divinity.


    Inside the True God¡¯s Celestial Domain, a deity can fully harness the power of their divinity to its utmost potential, and just as long as they have sufficient divine power to manifest it, a deity bes an almost invincible existence within their domain!


    ¡°Celestial Domain!¡±


    Gazing at the verdant cage made of vines at ck Dragon Castle, the Chief Shaman of the orcs disyed an intense and enlightened expression, as though she had just solved a very challenging piece of puzzle.


    Looking at it more closely, that cage isn¡¯t actually borrowing power from the Heretical Deity behind the elves, but its actually deliberately concealing its supreme aura of a Celestial Domain and deceiving everyone into believing it was of a lesser domain!


    However, despite how much the enemy tries to hide it, she could see through that elven Godwarden¡¯s deceit.


    With her being the Chief Shaman of the Church of Winter and Hunting, even though she had not seen a True God¡¯s domain in person, the Chief Shaman had dedicated extensive time in researching matters rting to Celestial Domains¡­


    And ording to her findings, the most distinguishing feature of a True God¡¯s Celestial Domain was the manifestation of the naturalws and the absolute control a deity has over them.


    Without a doubt, that verdant domain on the castle, capable of causing all nts to grow and easily overpowered the three legendary totem guardians, was undoubtedly a Celestial Domain empowered by the Divinity of Nature and Life.


    Furthermore, the fact that this supposedly ¡®legendary domain¡¯ could easily suppress the legendary domains of the three totem guardians showed that its level was way more higher than it normally should be.


    There¡¯s no mistaking it!


    It¡¯s not a mere legendary domain but a True God¡¯s Celestial Domain!


    Conveniently, the Chief Shaman could easily validate her hypothesis since she still possessed a divine artifact that could sense the aura of a True God, which is capable of distinguishing the power between Demigods and True Gods.


    Moreover, the Withering Heart would immediately react whenever it sensed an aura of a True God, and the stronger the reaction is, the closer the True God would be!


    In any case, a domain that was suspected to be from a True God, coupled with the crazy reaction of the skull ne that it has at the moment¡­


    The answer was already quite obvious.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a Celestial Domain! That Godwarden is no ordinary elf, but are likely the Heretical Elven God themselves!¡±


    ¡°This Heretical God¡­ really directly participle in a War of Faith and had broken the Covenant of the Gods, just as our Divine Father had predicted!¡± the Chief Shaman murmured to herself.


    A Celestial Domain can only be manifested by the True God themselves. No Godwarden, nor even a Demigod, can use a Celestial Domain by borrowing the power of their Patron deity, as Celestial Domains are strictly tied to the Divinity of a God. Only that god themselves has the ability to control their divinity in order to manifest their domain into the physical world!


    And the mere fact that Elven Godwarden had actually managed to sessfully manifest a Celestial Domain makes it abundantly clear of her real identity.


    She is probably¡­the newly ascended god of the elves!


    Thinking about it, the Chief Shaman was not entirely surprised of her discovery but rather pleased with it.


    After all, the other party is only a newly-ascended deity.


    Being able to gather so many elves is already a miracle on its own, and their ability of being able to resurrect is most likely due to the assistance of the Goddess of Death!


    In this war of faith, the orcs have the upper hand. The True God on the other side is deliberately hiding their identity under the guise of a Godwarden¡­


    Most likely, that Elven Deity is resorting to these sorts of underhanded trickeries, as her followerscks the capacity and manpower to fight against them.


    Thus, she has no choice but to directly participate herself¡­


    Everything¡­ is just as their Divine Father¡¯s judgment had predicted!


    However, the fact that the other party is hiding her real identity indicates that this new god¡¯s condition is not that good¡­maybe her previous battle with Demigod Volker may have also burdened her!


    Also, ording to their Divine Father¡¯s oracle, the other party has not yet fully established their divine kingdom¡­


    In this state, they probably still hasn¡¯t mastered the use of their Celestial Domain.


    Otherwise, there would be no need to conceal herself.


    As for the safety of the three totem guardians trapped inside the enemy¡¯s Celestial Domain, the Chief Shaman was not entirely worried about them.


    Given that this True God is trying to keep her identity hidden, it¡¯s highly unlikely she would kill the three totem guardians.


    At most, she would probably merely ensnare them inside her domain until their summoning duration expires.


    Directly participating in the War of Faith as a True God has already broken the rules of the Covenant. If she were to also kill the totem guardians, then that would truly be going overboard and simply seeking the wrath of the entire Pantheon.


    Thinking of this, the chief shaman checked the status of the skull ne:


    ¡°Not enough! Still not enough!¡±


    Her excitement calmed down a little.


    After pondering for a few seconds, the Chief Shaman called one of her subordinates and said,


    ¡°Tell the King that the Totem Guardians are currently preupied fighting the elven elites inside that domain, so now is the best time tounch a full-scale attack on ck Dragon Castle! Let his entire army attack, and the Elves will surely be defeated!¡±


    ¡°This is¡­the will of our Divine Father!¡±


    ¡°¡­She really said that?¡±


    A silver-ranked shaman bowed before the Orc King after delivering the message from the Chief Shaman.


    Lionheart Imsh stood silently for a couple of seconds, then gazed back at the cage made of vines on the castle wall with an uncertain expression.


    ¡°Yes, Your Liege! The Chief Shaman said it¡¯s the will of our Divine Father!¡± the Shaman messenger said, as he etched a bow symbol onto his chest with an expression of reverence.


    King Imsh remained silent, but after a moment, gritted his teeth in frustration, and with a stern yet resigned expression, raised his sword high.


    ¡°Send the order! All of the troops¡­willunch a full-scale attack on the castle! Anyone who disobeys my order shall be killed!¡±


    With a resounding horn, the order tounch a full scale attack was given.


    Suddenly, an army of 30,000 orcs surged up like a flood and began to relentlessly attack the ck Dragon Castle without fear of casualties!


    They entirely gave up defending themselves and began to desperately try to find any way to climb up the wall, as started fighting against the yers with heightened ferocity.


    And after the orcs fought tooth and nail like there¡¯s no tomorrow, they soon gained the upper hand due to their numerical advantage.


    Above the castle walls, the yers defending the fortress were left in shock as they witnessed the frenzied assault of the Orcs.


    ¡°Shiet! Are these orcs crazy? Why did they suddenly go suicidal all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Who cares! The three main enemy bosses is trapped on that vine cage! It¡¯s the perfect time to annihte the Orcs!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s go all out!¡±


    The yers¡¯ morale surged and brandished their weapons, as they fought against the orcs with the same amount of intensity.


    Meanwhile, the ck Dragon let out a long roar, jumping around inside the castle and releasing a dragon¡¯s breath wherever yers appeared to be in trouble.


    He stillcked the courage to take flight and sweep the enemy forces with the dragon¡¯s breath, even though Zero and the three Totem Guardians are trapped together, and there is no one to suppress the Behemoths other than him.


    In this very moment, the entire battlefield descended into chaos, awash in a sea of blood and violence, locked in an unyielding standoff.


    Upon the wall, orcs and yers perished with each passing moment, yet in the blink of an eye, fresh new orcs and resurrected yers continually to surged up the ramparts, resolute in their relentlessbat.


    Inside the vine cage.


    Ev¨¦ carried two unconscious Totem Guardians while looking at the operations of the game system.


    ¡°The number of yer deaths seemed to be increasing¡­ it looks like the orcs haveunched a much stronger assault.¡±


    ¡°Nevertheless¡­ the amount of life force the War Sacrifice absorbs remains minimal¡­ Huh, it seems that the orcs are preparing to use that artifact.¡±


    ¡°Heh, in that case, they should have already realized my real identity. Good, I didn¡¯t reveal my divine power and the true nature of my Celestial Domain in vain.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll lend them a hand and and speed up the process of gathering the sacrifice they needed to power up that artifact.¡±


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ had a thought and connected to the game¡¯s task system¡­


    Without the presence of Godwarden Zero, the yers eventually started disying signs of exhaustion and being overwhelmed after facing a neverending fierce assault from thirty thousand Orcs, even with their fearless spirit and their pain sensitivity turned off.


    As time goes by, more and more orcs managed to climb the castle walls, turning it into the new primary battleground for the conflict between the two opposing sides.


    Meanwhile, at the forefront of the castle gates, a horde of orcs had gathered, forming a menacing assembly around the Behemoths. They unleashed deafening howls as they relentlessly battered the castle gates, trying fervently to pry them open.


    They¡¯ve been doing this for quite a while already and despite having protective spells, the castle gates were already on the verge of copsing.


    Despite the astronomical number of casualties they had sustained to attain it, the overall situation was finally slowly tilting in favor of the orcs¡­


    However, the yers defending the castle walls remained high-spirited.


    They didn¡¯t seem to be worried about the impending capture of ck Dragon Castle, and instead, they continued to fight with excitement as the orcs relentlessly stormed the walls.


    Nheless, the orcs also noticed that as time went by, the elves¡¯ resistance seemed to be getting more stronger.


    Not only that, even though yers could resurrect, they were resurrecting far too many times¡­


    Countless Elves seemed to have fallen under the des of the orcs, yet the number of Elves defending the castle seemed to remain unchanged!


    This feeling of no progress made many orcs frustrated to the point of wanting to vomit blood.


    Of course, this was also due to therge number of yers¡­


    In reality, with over six thousand people, even if each person only resurrected once, during a prolonged battle, the number of yers dying per minute was still very limited.


    Under this situation, as time goes by, the overall sentiment of the orcs is that these elves can never be killed¡­


    Even Lionheart Imsh¡¯s expression became more and more frustrated.


    ¡°Are they all the same? Are they all capable of being endlessly resurrected!?¡±


    ¡°No! Their strength seems to be increasing as well!¡±


    Suddenly, he finally discovered something was wrong.


    Although the bnce of the war was finally shifting in favor of the orcs, this discovery suddenly gave him an uneasy feeling.


    The siege had been going on for a long time already.


    s, the Totem Guardians were still stuck inside that domain made of vines.


    Moreover, the day was gradually approaching dusk at this point.


    As the western sun gradually dipped below the horizon, despite the orcs suffering substantial losses, they were ultimately seizing control of the battlefield. Nevertheless, as King Imsh observed the Elves, whose spirits remained unwavering and whose power continued to improve drastically, an unsettling feeling crept over him.


    And just at that moment, the entirend suddenly began to shake.


    <em>What was that sound?</em>


    King Imsh¡¯s expression became serious.


    Standing atop Gor, he looked towards the source of the sound and suddenly saw billows of dust rising from both the north and south directions.


    Vaguely, he could see countless magical beasts heading toward the battlefield.


    However, what made King Imsh¡¯s pupils slightly contract was that all these magical beasts were being ridden by fully armored Elves!


    At longst, the yer¡¯s raid support force had finally arrived!


    ¡ª 246 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ TRUTHS AND FALLACIES ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 247

    The castle siege had reached its most critical moment at this point, with the elves inside ck Dragon Castle teetering under the relentless onught of the Behemoths and the Orcs.


    But at this crucial juncture, unexpected elven reinforcements suddenly arrived on the outskirts of the battlefield!


    Coming from the northern and south direction, one group emerged from the Dark Canyon, while the other descended from the ancient Elven Forest. The two groups then cleverly nked and surrounded the Orcs on the lower hillside in a horizontal formation.


    The Raid Support Force decided to form two separate heavily armed elite elven cavalry units!


    Each group numbered over a thousand elves, with each and every one of them riding various kinds of magical creatures!


    Not only that, but their equipment far surpassed that of the elves nestled within ck Dragon Castle, and their very presence exuded much greater power than their defending counterparts.


    ¡°Elves! There are more of them? Just how many elves have exactly gathered here from the Elven Forest?¡±


    Lionheart King Imsh stood in disbelief as he witnessed the sudden elven cavalry assault against his army.


    The rest of the Orcs also noticed the approaching elves that¡¯s nking them on both sides, which caused a subtlemotion to arose within those Orcs stationed at the foot of the hill.


    No one had expected the elves to possess additional forces.


    What¡¯s more, these reinforcements were entirelyposed of cavalry units!


    In the age of cold weapons warfare, a cavalry is a formidable force capable of overpowering any armies entirelyposed of foot soldiers. And fact also holds true on Seig¨¹es, even with its native inhabitants possessing extraordinary magical abilities.


    Moreover, thebination of elves and magical creatures made their strength far more dangerous than a simple calvary unit.


    What¡¯s more, each familiars that the yers used as their mounts, and those selected for the raiding force, at the minimum possessed the strength of an iron-rank creature.


    After forming a bond, their familiars couldmunicate with yers through the help of the game system.


    Byplementing each other, the strength of cavalry yers has greatly increased.


    Coupled with their organization and sheer scale¡­


    The yers belonging to Raid Support had be a rather formidable force!


    Atop the castle walls, the yers who were defending the castle and struggling to hold their ground regained their spirits when they finally saw the Raid Support Force charging into the Orcs whilst basking underneath the setting sun.


    ¡°Haha, reinforcements are here atst!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the cavalry unit! It¡¯s pretty amazing seeing them from up here on the wall!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time for our counterattack!¡±


    ¡°Charge! Let¡¯s bring down these Orcs!¡±


    The defending yers cheered, as their morale soared.


    Conversely, upon seeing the sudden assault of a new enemy, the Orc army was thrown into disarray, and their suicidal offensive wavered slightly.


    In the heat of battle, the most dreaded scenario was the arrival of the enemy¡¯s reinforcement units.


    Not to mention that these reinforcement werepromised entirely of elite cavalry units with both magical creatures and elves!


    The high-speed charge of the Raid Support Force was akin to a terrifying tidal wave, causing even the sturdiest Orcs to exhibit signs of fear when confronted with such a fierce assault.


    The Orcs on the outermost perimeter even began to scatter left and right, whilst trying to evade the elven cavalry charge.


    s, it was already far toote for them.


    The cavalry yers were either overly excited or wore ferocious expressions as they listened to the thrilling and energizing background music carefully prepared by Ev¨¦ just for this moment.


    Their brandished their weapons whilst letting out boisterous war cries and under the guidance of their legionmanders, the two Raid Support group stormed right into the heart of the Orc army with the intensity of a rabid wolf pack on the hunt.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    The sight of a thousand elven cavalry charging forth with such relentless ferocity left the defending yers entirely awestruck.


    Especially when viewed up high from the castle walls, such raw and turbulent spectacle was a visual delight akin to a blockbuster cinematic scene!


    All the yers taking part in the castle¡¯s defense were deeply moved by the scene happening before them.


    The two heavy cavalry forces, one from the north and one from the south, intersected diagonally into the enemy formation whilst shouting deafening battle cries as they kicked up dust and thrust themselves straight into the midst of the Orc army.


    They were like two unstoppable torrents, and like two sharp des, the two cavalry group fiercely prated right into the orc army that was quickly falling into chaos!


    In an instant, the formation of the Orc army waspletely shattered by the charge of the elven cavalry.


    ¡°This is so thrilling! This is war event is so epic!¡±


    Standing on the castle wall, Demacia watched the cavalry force charged down the hill, and the spectacr scene filled him with excitement and stirred his emotions.


    ¡°All the previous games I¡¯ve yed were so weak! And sure enough, being in a Cavalry is the true romance of men! I swear, ElvKing has the most amazing war events!¡±


    Watching the cavalry yers charge with the momentum of andslide, Demacia felt his adrenaline surge as the game¡¯s background music coincidentally, at this point, also reached its climax.


    ¡°Argh, I can¡¯t wait anymore, Brothers! let¡¯s also charge together!¡±


    Filled with excitement, Demacia shouted while wielding his epic-ss greatsword that he had stealthily retrieved from the watchtower outpostst night.


    In a daring move, he fearlessly rushed toward one of the Behemoths that was currently locked inbat with some other yers but¡ª


    <em>Smack! </em>


    s, he was swiftly swatted away and dismissed with just a single p from the colossal beast¡­


    Nevertheless, Demacia wasn¡¯t the only one getting excited and reinvigorated by the appearance of the Raid Support Force.


    In fact, almost all the defending yers were emboldened by the majestic sight of three thousand cavalry yers charging at the battlefield beneath them.


    Even the usually calm Li Mu began to engage in a brawl alongside some other yers while using his own staff, against some Orcs who had managed to climbed onto the walls.


    Everyone seemed to be infused with newfound energy as theyunched a frenzied counterattack against the Orcs!


    The angle of attack chosen by the cavalry yers was quite impable.


    Originally, in order to avoid the boulders hurled by the catapults from the ck Dragon Castle, Lionheart King Imsh had ordered the Orc army to spread out their formation. As a result, nearly half of the army had not yet ascended the hill where the castle stood but were encircling it on the foot of the hill instead.


    Not only that, but the the main force of the Orcs, those with silver-rank strength, as well as the ten Behemoths, were concentrated near the castle.


    Whereas the Orcs stationed below the hill were rtively weaker in terms of strength.


    This strategy was initially designed to minimize casualties, but at this very moment, it backfired on the Orcs as it now presented the cavalry yers with a golden opportunity.


    Their charge wasn¡¯t directed at the Orcs who had already reached the top of the hill but rather at those positioned below it.


    In a swift and thunderous assault, the outer ranks of Orcs below the hill crumbled in an instant!


    The copse of the army on the outer perimeter caused the surviving Orcs below the hill to ran upwards the hill, leading to a stampede which further escte the chaos within their entire formation.


    ¡°Damn it! Sound the horn! Order the army to stabilize the formation!¡±


    Watching the heavy casualties inflicted by the cavalry¡¯s charge, King Imsh¡¯s face turned livid as he barked out themand in an enraged manner.


    The horn sounded slowly, and the Orc army began the arduous process of reorganizing their formation.


    However, it was already far toote.


    The cavalry yers, having alreadyunched one charge, didn¡¯t halt their stride at all. Instead, they changed direction and charged once more toward the Orc army in the midst of reformation!


    The elves¡¯ initial charge had already shaken the Orcs, and this second charge tore down their formation once more!


    ¡°These damned elves! Do they really think I¡¯m easy to deal with!?¡±


    As he watched his army¡¯s outer forces crumbled into chaos, Lionheart King Imsh¡¯s eyes reddened with fury.


    ¡°You, continue the siege of the castle. Gor, summon three Behemoths to be my personal guard. You guys, follow me, and we shall rip these elven cavalry to shreds!¡±


    Imsh roared and ordered one of his trusted aides to continuemanding the army, while he unsheathed his longsword and rode Gor. Three Behemoths then came after and followed the Orc King, as Imsh led a small elite troops of Orcs to charge toward the elven cavalry that¡¯s currently attacking on the outskirts.


    The elven cavalry was indeed formidable, but Imsh couldn¡¯t help but notice that their levels weren¡¯t actually very high.


    Given that his solders on the outskirts face difficulties in holding their ground, he, a high-level ranker with golden-rank strength, lead the charge alongside four silver-rank Behemoths and reorganize the army on the periphery and crush those ursed long-eared beings!


    <em>Hmph, let them see what it means to be overwhelmed by someone with a high-ranking strength!</em>


    With a resounding loud horn, the orc army changed its formation yet again.


    This time, Lionheart King Imsh, while riding Gor, personally led an elite group and charged toward the cavalry raid force!


    King Imsh¡¯s judgment this time was correct since the yers¡¯ strength was ultimatelyckingpared to the elite group that he formed.


    With King Imsh leading the charge, they instantly overpowered the formidable elven cavalry.


    Lionheart King Imsh rode his Behemoth right into the midst of the Raid Support Force, whilst trampling down numerous yers underfoot¡­


    And at that moment, the casualties among the Raid Support Force rapidly began to soar.


    ¡°Hmph! Is this all they¡¯ve got?¡±


    Watching the elves fall into disarray, Lionheart King Imsh let out a sinisterugh.


    Yet, as the sun disappeared in the horizon and darkness cloaked the skies entirely, a peculiar sound caught his attention.


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s that noise?¡±


    King Imsh abruptly questioned, after hearing a subtle rustling sound as the ground trembled, hinting at an approaching presence.


    The Orc King then raised his head, with his expression filled with confusion, as for some reason, that ominous sound instilled a sense of unease within his heart.


    He swiftly scanned his surroundings, and his perplexed expression soon froze in ce as his gaze fixed upon a specific spot.


    Right there, from the direction of the Dark Canyon¡­


    A multitude of menacing, gigantic spiders, whilst apanied by a truly terrifying colossal arachnid with a chilling aura, surged forth towards the Orc army!


    At longst, once twilight had descended, and darkness engulfs thend¡ª


    Rose, the Spider Queen alongside her brood of crypt spiders, finally arise from the bowels of the underground.


    ¡ª <strong>247</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>CHARGE FORTH, CAVALRY UNIT! ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 248

    Ev¨¦ had never forgotten the formidable might of the Crypt Spiders.


    In fact, Rose, the legendary Spider Queen, along with her two thousand Crypt Spider broods, would be a force to be reckoned with in this war.


    Perhaps during the day, the crypt spider¡¯s strength would be greatly limited.


    But as soon as the sun sets and dusk arrives, their strength will return to its peak, making them a dangerous force to contend with especially during the night.


    Although Eve¡¯s main forces are primarilyposed of over ten thousand yers who had reached the Iron-Rank, their side seemed quite inadequatepared to the Orc army with more than twenty Silver-ranked individuals, ten Behemoths, and two Golden-rank practitioners.


    Therefore, in order for her to win, some outside support was necessary.


    Henceforth, this is where Rose and her swarm of crypt spiderses into picture.


    ¡°Holy shit! The Spider Queen is also here to support us!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! This time, its the Orcs turn to enjoy the feeling of being skewered like barbecue sticks.¡±


    Atop the castle walls, first and second-beta yers watched with glee as the raid support cavalry and the iing swarm of Crypt Spiders decimated the Orc army on the foot of the hill.


    Meanwhile, the ck Dragon was also equally impressed by this turn of events. With the Behemoths being away from his castle, Meryer¡¯s courage finally grew back once more.


    With those Behemoths momentarily out of the picture, Meryer excitedly roared and once again, spread his wings and soared into the sky.


    ¡°Ruuahh! Evil Orcs! Prepare to face the righteous dragon breath of this lord!¡±


    Meryer, the ck dragon shouted enthusiastically while spewing dragon breath at the Orcs who were scaling up the walls, as if finally venting the pent-up frustration the dragon had harbored since his earlier actions of running away from the Behemoths.


    As Meryer began his counterattack, the cavalry too began their charge once more.


    At the same time, arge group of Crypt Spiders also rushed towards the Orc Army, leaving thempletely blindsided by this sudden turn of events.


    ¡°T-Those are¡­Crypt Spiders from the underground!¡±


    King Imsh¡¯s pupils slightly constricted, with his expression showing a look of surprise.


    ¡°Just why did these Crypt Spiders suddenlye out here?¡±


    ¡°W-Wait¡­I remember there were also some elves that¡¯s riding on some crypt spiders from the cavalry earlier¡­.so they must be somehow connected!¡±


    ¡°Great Father Above! How did these underground Crypt Spiders form an alliance with the elves?¡±


    King Imsh¡¯s expression grew even moreplicated.


    Yet soon, his troubled expression turned even worse.


    If they only had to contend with the elves alone, then King Imsh was confident that their side would emerge victorious in this war. However, the sudden appearance of these over ten thousand Crypt Spiders hadpletely changed everything¡­


    As it stands, the tide of the battle is now against their favor with the inclusion of these eight-legged swarm as their enemies!


    Moreover, even though most of these Crypt Spiders had much lower strength, and many were even much weaker than the elves, the mere fact was that there is just far too many of them¡­


    And more importantly, there was also that one gargantuan Crypt Spider that¡¯s apparently the leader of this swarm, which was several dozens of meters in size!


    This monstrous eight-legged giant is currently rampaging through the battlefield, using its long, sharp metallic legs to impale all of the Orcs it encountered along its way.


    Seeing this wanton massacre of his soldiers, left King Imsh utterly dumbfounded.


    Suddenly, the gargantuan spider seemed to had sensed his stare and its huge head slowly turned towards him.


    King Imsh: ¡°¡­.¡±


    ¡ª<strong>Death. </strong>


    That the only word the Orc King could¡¯ve think of in his mind right now as eightrge ominous crimson eyes zeroed in specifically onto him.


    Time seemed to crawl into a halt as the Orc King stood petrified against the deathly stare of the colossal monstrosity before him.


    Slowly, its massive body then began to turn in his direction as the massive spider screeched out loud and charged towards where he stood.


    Imsh was utterly horrified, and the Behemoth he¡¯s riding with tried roaring as Gor tried to resist the iing attack.


    ¡ªHowever, its actions werepletely ineffective.


    The gargantuan spider easily caught Gor, and its two sharp metallic front legs had pierced through the Behemoth¡¯s chest with deathly precision, before biting the Orc King¡¯s mount in one bite with its terrifying huge fangs.


    King Imsh swiftly fell off his mount and roared in utmost fury, raising his longsword to strike at the Spider Queen, yet his attack only produced a tiny spark when his weapon hit the gargantuan spider¡¯s thick metallic carapace.


    ¡°L-Legendary! This is definitely a legendary magical beast!¡±


    King Imsh¡¯s face turned ashen as all colors drained from his face.


    This eight-legged monstrosity was way beyond his capabilities as a mere Golden-ranker and he had no time to consider anything else, but to let his primal instincts took over and escape while he still can.


    For the very first time since the war started, the mighty Orc King felt panic entirely gripped his entire being as he flee whilst listening to his mount¡¯s agonizing screams behind him.


    Subconsciously, Imsh tried to look back, only to be horrified as Gor¡¯s huge body rapidly turned pitch ck.


    The venom of the Spider Queen had gotten into him!


    In a matter of seconds, Gor, leader of the Behemoths, had withered into a gigantic desated corpse, whilepletely being absorbed by the colossal spider frpm its mouth.


    Witnessing such a grotesque and unbelievable scene, the Orcs¡¯ morale finally crumbled.


    ¡°Monster! It¡¯s a monster!!¡±


    Each Orcs looked horrified and disoriented as the crunching sounds of the remains of the Orc King¡¯s mount echoes within the vicinity.


    Gor, the powerful mount of the Orc King and the leader of the Behemoths, had fallen in battle.


    Meanwhile, King Imsh fell to the ground seemingly in disbelief, with his fate uncertain.


    In this chaotic battlefield, it was as if themanding g had fallen.


    At least, for the Orcs besieging the castle, it felt that way.


    Many Orcs had witnessed this scene, and their morale, which had already started to decline with the sudden appearance of the Elven Cavalry and Crypt Spiders, further plummeted even more.


    At that moment, many Orcs lost their will to fight and started to voluntarily descend from the castle walls.


    Even the Orcs down below that¡¯s attacking the castle¡¯s gates showed signs of retreating.


    Furthermore, some of the Orcs stationed at the distance, thought that their king had perished, so as a result, a significant number of them became confused and started fleeing in various directions.


    Overall, the entire orc army had finally began to copse!


    Seeing this turn of events, Tomato eyes brightened up as he shouted to his cavalry,


    ¡°They¡¯re copsing! Everyone, keep charging! Follow the Crypt Spiders and let¡¯s finish them off!¡±


    ¡°Haha! EXP here wee! Were ¡¯bout to farm lots of EXP!¡±


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    ¡°Uraaaah!¡±


    The cavalry yers cheered and followed the swarm of Crypt Spiders to pursue the fleeing Orcs.


    Seeing the Orcs in disarray, the yers stationed on the castle walls also felt invigorated.


    They shouted and waved their weapons up high as they rushed forward, using thedders left behind by the retreating Orcs to climb down the walls and also engage in hot pursuit.


    In that instant, the tide of the battle hadpletely turned towards the elves favor.


    Even the ck Dragon, excitedly let out a long roar and boldly flew out of the castle.


    With his eyes red and teeth bared, Meryer targeted the remaining Behemoths. With the assistance of other yers, he started to beat down these formidable enemies that had once humiliated him.


    The Orc¡¯s defeat was like a mountain falling!


    What had previously urred with the Human Crocodile Mercenary Group was now being reyed at ck Dragon Castle. However, this time, it was the Orcs¡¯ turn, on arger scale and with a more spectacr scene.


    Even though there were still more than ten silver-ranked individuals among the Orcs, ultimately, they are left incapable ofunching a counteroffensive since their entire army had already copsed by this point¡­


    At most, these ten individuals can only roar angrily and kill some of the elves that tried to approach them.


    However, after killing so many elves, these bizarre elves no longer looked for them, and avoided them one after another as they then tried to focus on eliminating the fleeing Orcs on the distance instead¡­


    In any case, even if they somehow miraculously survived, these ten silver-rank orcs also understood that the situation is practically over at this point.


    They had lost.


    Reinforcements from the elves have arrived, including the crypt spiders with terrifying legendary strength. With their totem guardians still trapped within that cage of vines, the orcs in the end had no way of reversing this situation.


    Not to mention, the morale of the entire army has nowpletely copsed, resulting in the decrease of their side¡¯s overallbat effectiveness¡­


    Many Orcs, despite having stronger individual strength, lost theirposure due to fear and were killed by those much weaker Elves.


    And these bizarre Elves had taken full advantage of the chaos and gonepletely berserk, unlike the Orcs who had lost theirposure entirely, resulting in them being killed one after another¡­


    The elves previous battles with the Crocodile Mercenary Group had given them a significant amount of experience inrge-scale warfare and the yers knew that, in a war that hadsted this long, the moment when they could gain the most EXP had finally arrived!


    With the enemy in disarray, it¡¯s the best time to beat the drowned dog!<mark> 1</mark>


    At this moment, as long as they had the courage, even a lower ranked yer can defeat an Iron-ranked Orc, if the said Orc had somehow threw off their armor.


    After all, an Orc who had lost their fighting spirit was practically an easy target, akin to a moving EXP points!


    For a while, the yers¡¯ breathing became much heavier at the glorious sight of numerous fleeing EXP points (Orcs.)


    Even some usually reserved female yers were now emboldened to take risks. They screamed with high-pitched voices, while wildly swinging their weapons at the fleeing Orcs.


    The entire battlefield sumbed into chaos.


    ¡°Chief Shaman! Chief Shaman! We¡¯ve been defeated! The entire army had copsed! Let¡¯s also run away quickly!¡± A few Orc shamans said in a panicked tone after they¡¯ve found their chief, who was sitting alone on the ground.


    ¡°Defeated, you say¡­¡±


    The Chief Shaman¡¯s expression surprisingly didn¡¯t show any signs of panic at all; on the contrary, her demeanor exuded an eerily calm despite the tumultuous copse of their forces.


    She then cast a fleeting nce across the chaotic battleground, with her lips moving in whispered incantations, before taking out the blood-red skull ne from her grasp¡­


    ¡ª <strong>248</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ MOVING EXP POINTS ¡¿</strong>


    1 <strong><mark>ÂäË®¹·</mark></strong> ¨C Beat the drowning dog is a chinese phrase that means capitalize on someone else¡¯s misfortune.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 249

    The Chief Shaman, with a gentle touch, caressed the ne and closed her eyes.


    Then after a moment of silence, she slowly reopened her eyes with a hint of disappointment in her expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s still not enough¡­¡±


    She sighed softly before putting away the skull ne, then continued sitting in ce.


    ¡°Just a little more longer¡­¡±


    ¡°Chief Shaman!¡±


    Seeing the Chief Shaman in such a state, the other shamans felt anxious but s, there¡¯s nothing they could do to convince her to escape.


    They could only call on other Orc warriors to continue protecting the area, whilst barely maintaining the situation.


    However it was obvious to anyone that the tide of the war had alreadypletely tilted against their favor¡­


    If the appearance of the elven cavalry had tilted the bnce of the entire war, then the addition of the spider swarm along with its legendary arachnid queen had effectively sealed the fate of the Orc Army¡­


    In hindsight, the power of legendary beings was truly strategic and could influence the oue of the battle!


    With their three Totem Guardians still currently trapped, the Orc had ultimately lost their ability to counter the spider swarm.


    Not to mention, the Queen Spider even led her minions in a frenzy of pursuit against the Orcs. She also specifically targeted the powerful Orc individuals who had reached the Silver-rank and the few surviving Behemoths.


    Meanwhile while this was all happening, the yers cheered and followed behind the Spider Queen excitedly akin to a newbie riding off a busride.


    There was nothing more satisfying than letting someone else charge ahead and do the heavy lifting while they instead easily reaped the EXP points from behind.


    The yers enthusiastically brandished their weapons, while assisting the Crypt Spiders in killing off the Orcs and taking the opportunity to farm EXP since the copse of the Orc¡¯s morale led to a significant drop in their fighting capabilities as well.


    In the ensuing chaos within the enemy ranks robbed them of any chance for a counterattack.


    Henceforth, the entire battlefield had somehow be a festival of ughter for the yers.


    Within each seconds that passed by, an Orc was either killed while fleeing, or overwhelmed and beaten to death by the pursuing Crypt Spiders and yers¡­


    However over time, the yers also noticed that the rate of experience they were gaining had began to gradually slow down as they umted more and more kills.


    Fortunately, there were still plenty of Orcs to hunt down.


    With the reduced experience gained from killing Orcs, they made up for it by killing alot more!


    If they could take advantage and secure additional EXP by capitalizing on the Spider Queen¡¯s pursuit of Silver-ranked Orcs and Behemoths then it would be a significant victory for them!


    As a result, yers became even more fanatical in their pursuit of the fleeing Orcs¡­


    The army of 30,000 orcs copsed and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the number of casualties had also increased exponentially.


    Anyone with somemon sense could see that the Orc army was on the brink of copse in this battle¡­


    And the oue of aplete annihtion was almost impossible to reverse!


    Meanwhile, the Chief Shaman of the Orcs held the blood-red ne as she looked at the entire chaotic battlefield in silence¡­


    Her thoughts remained a mystery even for her subordinates.


    Seeing the unconcerned appearance of their Chief Shaman, the other shamans grew even more desperate.


    ¡°Please Chief! We need to leave quickly! Let us gather the remaining tribesmen and retreat as soon as possible¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, we still have a chance to escape while the enemy still hasn¡¯tpletely surrounded us! Lets save our strength and we can still fight for another day!¡±


    Her subordinates pleaded in despair.


    Nheless the Chief Shaman remained unmoved, looking at her bedraggled subordinates with a calm expression.


    ¡°Fight for another day? At this point, do you still think we can win with our King¡¯s army?¡±


    After saying this, she then nced at the fierce-looking and crazed elves on the battlefield with an inexplicable expression.


    ¡°From the moment the elf reinforcements appeared, the king¡¯s army was doomed,¡± The Chief Shaman stated before adding, ¡°these elves are as ferocious as the devil itself. Do you really think they will let any of us escape?¡±


    The other shamans grew even paler after hearing this.


    With a loss of thirty thousand of their finest warriors, the Orcs living within the Desert of Death would undoubtedly suffer a significant decline in their race¡¯s overall strength for the years toe¡­


    Not to mention that this war was of great importance to their patron deity.


    If they had truly failed, then they couldn¡¯t even imagine the wrath their Divine Father would inevitably inflict upon them!


    The lower-ranked Shamans felt inexplicable dread simply by imagining these things.


    While her subordinates were busy panicking, the Chief Shaman then suddenly stated something bizarre.


    ¡°A war of faith is ultimately a game between the true gods. We are nothing but pawns in the hands of our Divine Father. In fact, sometimes¡­ certain sacrifices are necessary.¡±


    The Chief Shaman then disyed an intense and reverent expression, as she lifted the blood-red ne from her chest upwards.


    ¡°S-Sacrifice?¡±


    Her subordinates were taken aback.


    The Chief Shaman didn¡¯t exin anything but simply closed her eyes gently, as if she were sensing something.


    This bizarre momentsted for a few seconds before she reopened her eyes once more and her lips twisted into a devious smirk.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s finally¡­ sufficient.¡±


    She slowly whispered with a hint of joy in her words.


    Having said that, her expression then suddenly turned unhinged as she drew a dagger from her bosom, and directly cut her wrist in front of the horrified eyes of her subordinates before smearing her blood onto the skull ne.


    ¡°Praise be the Cold Winter! Praise be the Hunt! Praise be the Great Father¡¯s Divine Majesty!¡±


    The Chief Shaman shouted fervently while raising the blood-stained ne in her hand.


    Then, amidst the terrified gaze of her subordinates, the Chief Shaman¡¯s face suddenly began to age rapidly!


    However, she paid no heed to it and instead, simply looked upwards to the skies with a crazed, fanatical expression.


    ¡°Victory in the end shall belong to our Great Divine Father!¡±


    After witnessing their chief¡¯s weird behavior, one of the senior shamans directed his gaze onto the thing in her hands.


    His face thenpletely lost all its color, as the elderly Orc couldn¡¯t help but utter in utmost horror,


    ¡°Wh-W-Withering Heart! I-It¡¯s the Withering Heart Artifact!¡±


    Following that outburst, his expression contorted into one of absolute terror, and he swiftly turned around to flee as if death itself was chasing after him.


    ¡°Withering Heart?¡±


    The other shamans were momentarily taken aback after hearing what the elderly shaman had uttered.


    However, soon their expressions also changed to one of absolute fear, and simr to the elderly shaman, they too quickly turned around to flee as well.


    Seeing her fleeing subordinates, the Chief Shaman, who by now had aged rapidly into a frail and elderly woman, paid no heed to their cowardly behavior.


    ¡°¡­Everything is for our Divine Father!¡±


    She shouted hoarsely, and the ne in her hand suddenly emitted a deep red light!


    The deep red light then continued to spread outwards, instantly catching up to the fleeing shamans, and their bodies also began to age and decay rapidly¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­ No¡­P-Please¡­¡±


    One shaman cried out in fear, but soon all that was left is silence¡­


    The deep red light didn¡¯t stop there but continued to expand as all the Orcs who came into contact with it also started losing their life force before rapidly aging to death.


    For a moment, frightened screams rang out one after another, with the Chief Shaman at the center of it all.


    And as the crimson light extended further across the vicinity, a sudden sinister and ominous aura engulfed the battlefield.


    The Chief Shaman, who had only one breath left at that moment, appeared pleased with the oue of her actions.


    She then released the ne, as it floated slowly into the skies.


    The Chief Shaman opened her arms wide, with her aged face filled with intense fervor.


    With all her strength, she struggled and shouted in a trembling voice¡ª


    ¡°Come! Withering Heart! Devour me and seal the enemies of our Divine Father!¡±


    After uttering these words, she finally closed her eyes with a content expression.


    With the Chief Shaman¡¯s call, a faint primal roar then emanated from the skull ne.


    Whilst releasing a terrifying and sinister aura, a crimson energy emanated from the ne which instantly devoured the elderly Chief Shaman¡­


    Then after fully consuming the Chief Shaman, this sinister energy transformed into a massive crimson beam of light that directly shot upwards into the sky!


    At that moment, everyone on the battlefield was instantly drawn to the sudden appearance of this strange beam of light.


    The yers who were chasing the fleeing Orcs suddenly halted in ce to looked at it in surprise.


    ¡°Hey guys, check out that beam!¡±


    ¡°Dang, the aura it¡¯s giving off is kinda spooky¡­ and look, all the nearby Orcs on that beam got dissolved!¡±


    ¡°Huh, I thought the questline was already done? Could it be that another Boss is appearing?¡±


    yers discussed the strange urrence one after another.


    Ji Gang, who had just climbed down the castle wall, also felt ufortable upon seeing the strange crimson pir of light in the battlefield.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I just got this gross feeling just now, and¡­ I feel my heart beating so fast all of a sudden¡­¡±


    He shivered and covered his chest.


    ¡°Pfft¡­ are you stupid? That¡¯s just instinctual palpitations. Your body is just scared, and it¡¯s just shaking automatically! It¡¯s just that the Goddess¡¯s blessings is still active, which controls our negative emotions mentally.¡±


    Demacia said with a pale face while shivering his legs but still mocking triumphantly.


    ¡°Oh so our body can still get scared on its own?¡±


    Ji Gang asked with a slightly surprised expression.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what happens when you¡¯re up against high-ranking beings¡­ It¡¯s just how our bodies reacts. You¡¯d be scared out of your wits by now if it weren¡¯t for the Goddess¡¯s blessing. I dunno why but it seems like that¡¯s how the game¡¯s been designed¡­¡±


    Demacia replied.


    With that, he had a slightly serious expression and looked in the direction of the pir of light on the battlefield.


    ¡°By the way, have the Orcs¡­summoned something big again?¡±


    And as if on cue, Demacia¡¯s question was quickly answered.


    The crimson beam of light shot into the sky, with no end in sight¡­


    However, atop the castle wall, just above the cage of vines created by Eve¡¯s divine power, aparable crimson beam of light descended from the heavens, which engulfed the entire cage directly.


    Subsequently, in the midst of yers¡¯ astonished, solemn, and curious stares, the once robust vine cage shattered instantaneously!


    This was promptly followed by the three Totem Guardians and the Godwarden, Zero, reappearing in front of everyone.


    The three Totem Guardians who were originally unconscious suddenly woke up. Their expressions were still frozen in the moment they were knocked out, and when they regained consciousness, they couldn¡¯t help but exim:


    ¡°My Lord! I-It¡¯s true¡­¡±


    However, just before they could finish speaking, they suddenly saw crimson light around them.


    Sensing that familiar and terrifying aura, their expressions changed drastically.


    ¡°Withering Heart!¡±


    As envoys of Uller, they were not unfamiliar with this divine artifact that was capable of sealing a true god¡¯s divine power.


    So, when they saw the light and sensed its sinister and chaotic aura, they immediately knew what was happening.


    The Withering Heart has been activated!


    This iplete divine artifact could only seal true gods.


    However, it meant direct annihtion when used against lesser beings!


    Without hesitation, they turned around and fled, struggling to escape beyond the range of the crimson beam of light.


    But even so, since they had already been enveloped by that crimson light at that moment, the body of the three Orc Totems still showed varying degrees of aging¡­


    The Withering Heart could devour the lifeforce of even legendary beings like them!


    The three Totem Guardians narrowly managed to sessfully escaped, but Zero, apparently did not.


    The exact moment when the crimson beam of light touched her, a skull-shaped chain immediately descended from the skies!


    These chains were the transformed form of the divine artifact, Withering Heart.


    The chain exuded malevolent and chaotic aura, as it directly pierced into Zero¡¯s body, before vanishing as if nothing had happened¡­


    However, just as the crimson light gradually dispersed, and its sinister aura slowly faded away¡ª


    The Godwarden Zero plummeted from the heavens, as her body came crashing down into the earth with astonishing speed.


    She suddenly appeared to had been weakened, and the divine radiance around her body also began to dwindle, as a skull-shaped mark appeared upon her forehead¡­


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Well Shit!¡±


    On the battlefield, the expressions of the yers who witnessed this scene immediately changed to ones of confusion and worry.


    It seemed like the Godwarden, Zero, was injured!


    What¡¯s more¡­ the three legendary Orc bosses had also escaped from their confinement!


    For a moment, the yers who were chasing the fleeing Orcs hesitated and stopped their pursuit.


    Meanwhile, the Orcs who were being pursued by the yers also saw this scene and involuntarily stopped in their tracks as well.


    However, unlike the elves¡¯ uncertain expressions, they were overjoyed instead.


    The Totem Guardians had finally escaped!


    If, at this moment, the Totem Guardians were to shout for the fleeing Orcs to reorganize and turn back to fight, then this war might have a chance to reverse once more.


    However¡­ it was clear that the three Totem Guardians were distracted by something else.


    Specifically, their gaze was focused onto the elven girl with a skull shaped mark on her forehead instead!


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ been sealed!¡±


    Upon seeing the fallen elven Godwarden, the expressions of the three envoys disyed a look of surprise.


    But secondster, the Totem Guardians immediately grew excited, and their gazes were filled with fervor, excitement, and a subtle hint of awe and fear.


    On one hand, they realized that this seemingly elven girl was actually the true target of their mission, so they were thrilled.


    On the other hand, they had already recognized the true identity of the other party, thus evoking a natural reverence and fear for such a lofty and divine being¡­


    And of course¡­ there was also a trace of excitement.


    In hindsight, they shouldn¡¯t been surprised by this discovery.


    The previous cage of vines made of divine power¡­.


    The skull mark applied by the Withering Heart¡­


    And even the absence of aging despite being enveloped by the crimson light¡­


    There was no longer any doubt within their minds about the real identity of this mysterious elven girl right in front of them.


    <em>A True God! </em>


    This girl, masquerading as mere elven Godwarden, is actually the newly ascended Elven Divine Deity!


    And now¡­ this true god had her divine powers sealed by the artifact, Withering Heart!


    There were some mishaps, but in the end, everything was going ording to what their Divine Fathers had nned¡­


    And soon, the three of them were very likely going to y a god!


    They, a mere legendary beings would have a rare chance to kill a true god!


    Oh, what a tremendous feat would that be!


    Upon realizing this, the three Totem Guardians were suddenly overjoyed.


    ¡°Hahaha! Victory shall belong to His Highness, our Divine Father!¡±


    Their expressions went absolutely fanatical, suppressing their inherent awe of the true god, as they rushed towards the incapacitated elven Godwarden!


    Seeing the three Totem Guardians charging towards her, Zero didn¡¯t waste a single second and turned around to escape.


    Her immediate reaction to escape surprised the three Totem Guardians.


    Nevertheless, what followed was a sense of relief.


    She escaped!


    A True God actually tried to escape against mere three legendary beings!


    This meant that¡­she is afraid!


    With a burst of momentum, the three Totem Guardians immediately chased after Zero just like a pack of wolves that smelled blood within the air¡­


    Four of them, one ahead and three from behind, quickly ran off and disappeared from everyone¡¯s view.


    Meanwhile on the battlefield, the yers who saw it all exchanged bewildered looks amongst each other¡­


    Did they all just¡­ran away?


    Even the Orcs, who had originally expected the Totem Guardians to dictate the battlefield, were equally left dumbfounded¡­


    ¡°Well uhh¡­what should we do now?¡± one yer couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    After saying this, he then looked at the Orcs who had momentarily stopped but were still in a fleeing posture.


    At the same time, the Orcs looked back again at the group of elves that was pursuing them moments ago¡­


    yers: ¡°¡­¡±


    Orcs: ¡°¡­.¡±


    Both sides fell into an awkward silence.


    However, this silence onlysted for a few seconds.


    The yers¡¯ hesitant expressions quickly turned into sneers and excitement:


    ¡°What should we do? Well duh, of course we¡¯ll continue chasing these punks!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! One kill is worth alot of EXP, and it¡¯s such a waste not to kill even more! Hell, even if the questline fails, we¡¯ll still take the lives of these Orcs! Muwahaha!¡±


    ¡°After all¡­these Orcs are all our precious EXP points!¡±


    The yersughed ferociously and continued to raise their weapons before resuming chasing the Orcs like a pack of hungry hyenas.


    Seeing the elves wielding their weapons once again and charging at them, the Orcs¡¯ expressions changed into panic.


    Without hesitation, they turned and fled once more.


    And thus the pursuit continues¡­


    Meanwhile, on the other side.


    The three legendary Totem Guardians who are chasing after Zero finally arrived in the depths of the Elven Forest.


    They ran all the way without stopping, and somehow managed to surround the elven girl whose powers had drastically declined due to the skull mark on her forehead¡­


    ¡°Hehehe, you cannot escape now!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>249</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾Victory Shall Belong His Highness, the Divine Father!¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 250

    The three Totem Guardians disyed expressions of joy as theypletely surrounded the silver-haired elven maiden.


    Keao, one of the legendary Totem Guardians, hoisted his battle axe high into the air as the weapon radiated with breathtaking brilliance, matching the surge of his legendary aura.


    His next words then resounded throughout the vast elven woond.


    ¡°Stop right here, Your Highness.¡±


    Despite being on the opposing side, his manner maintained a high level of respect. This veneration stemmed from an inherent reverence for beings who had sessfully ascended into godhood¡­


    Every deity has mastered the naturalws of reality, making them beings who reign supreme and stand at the pinnacle of existence, especially here in the Mortal Realm of Seig¨¹es.


    Therefore, such existence, whether they be enemies or not, deserve the proper respect.


    Nheless, despite his respectful manner, there was still a small hint of arrogance within the Totem Guardian¡¯s expression.


    It was the pride of being the victor!


    Normally, the very notion of confronting a true god sends shivers down their spines. Such an ordeal is practically a death warrant, and the three legendary Totem Guardians wouldn¡¯t even think of attempting such impossible mission¡­not unless they were directly ordered by their Divine Father.


    But things were different now.


    The Withering Heart possesses the ability to seal a true god¡¯s power, temporarily reducing the strength of a deity to that of mere mortals¡­


    And a true god whose divine power has been sealed can, at best, only exhibit strength at the legendary level.


    Henceforth¡­this was their only chance to y a true god!


    It was also the opportunity for the Hunter God, their Patron Deity!


    The other two Totem Guardians also raised their weapons, and their expressions showed excitement as they looked at the cornered elven maiden.


    After their recent chase, the trio finally had a good understanding of their opponent¡¯s strength.


    The Withering Heart had indeed sessfully sealed her divine powers.


    In this very moment, this mysterious newly born patron deity of the elves had truly fallen from grace, possessing only strength at the legendary-rank.


    With the thought of attaining the impossible feat of ying a god, the three legendary Totem Guardians couldn¡¯t help but feel inexplicable joy as they envisioned their fame spreading across various realms¡­


    Their auras continued to surge, and their gazes gradually showed a trace of hostility, with their expressions bing more solemn.


    As their emotions changed, the temperature in the surroundings also rapidly dropped, and ayer of frost began to form on the trees within the vicinity.


    This was their legendary domain with a winter attribute the trio had unleashed!


    At this moment, they simultaneously chose to manifest the full power of their domain, intending to strike with all their might, without holding back!


    On one hand, it was out of respect for the Elven God.


    While at the same time, it was also out of fear of her!


    After all, despite being sealed, she is still a True God.


    Beings who ascended into the pinnacle of existence can never be underestimated no matter what the circumstance is, and the totem trio fully well understood that they only got this rare opportunity by using underhand methods of sealing her divine powers.


    Even if they had the upper hand, the three Totem Guardians still remained cautious.


    In an instant, the three legendary totems simultaneously unleashed their domains, and ayer of frost quickly spread outward with the trio at the center.


    A powerful pressure then immediately permeated the surroundings.


    Feeling such terrifying pressure, even the few remaining small animals in the vicinity rapidly began to flee¡­


    But at this time, the elven maiden who had been thoroughly silent all this time suddenly spoke.


    ¡°You scared away the animals in the forest.¡±


    She said this without any preamble, her voice carrying an ethereal, enchanting quality tinged with solemnity and sanctity.


    Upon hearing her words, the three Totem Guardians were left in stunned silence, unable toprehend her message.


    However, their bewilderment quickly intensified as they watched the elven maiden suddenly move nonchntly, as if being surrounded by three legendary beings meant nothing to her.


    ¡°¡­This won¡¯t do, this is my territory.¡±


    She shook her head gently.


    Then afterwards, the silver-haired elven maiden casually raised one of her hand as power began to visibly converge within her palm.


    Seeing this scene, the three Totem Guardians¡¯ eyes widened as their expressions changed to shock.


    <em>T-That</em>¡­


    That was definitely divine power!


    And¡­she can still use it!?


    Could it be that the sealing has failed!?


    However, as the elven maiden gathered divine powers into her hand, the sacred radiance within her palm then only formed for a few seconds before quickly dissipating into nothingness in an instant.


    What followed next was the skull mark on her forehead faintly flickering a couple of times.


    For a moment, the silver-haired maiden furrowed her brow, appearing somewhat surprised.


    Upon seeing this, the three Totem Guardians inwardly felt relieved.


    It seemed¡­the seal had indeed been sessful!


    Yet, before they could even make a move, the elven maiden started talking to herself once more.


    ¡°Hmm¡­oh I get it now, the principle of this seal is to create a curse energy, that could block the source of power?¡±


    ¡°In other words¡­its essentially targeting a true god¡¯s divinity.¡±


    ¡°How impressive¡­A true divine artifact that can seal a deity¡¯s divinity. Even if it¡¯s damaged, such artifact is really something remarkable. Ahh, I really want it since I don¡¯t even have a single divine artifact for myself¡­¡±


    She then studied the mark on her forehead, with her words even carrying a hint of envy.


    Seeing her acting nonchntly like this, the faces of the three Totem Guardians didn¡¯t look very good.


    <em>Why, she actually had the leisure to care about the artifact that sealed her powers!</em>


    Despite her power being sealed and her falling into the ranks of a mere legendary being, she still acts with indifference, as if facing the three of them matters little to her.


    This made the three totem guardians feel a little aggrieved and a sense of humiliation at being looked down upon¡­


    The trio then exchanged nces, and after nodding slightly amongst each other, raised each of their weapons and charged towards the elven maiden.


    However, at this moment, the elven maiden simply raised her head once more as she looked at them coldly.


    ¡°¡­I told you, this is my territory.¡±


    ¡¾<strong>Stop</strong>¡¿


    She didn¡¯t make any other movements, and just spoke that single word, as if giving a natural order.


    But to their horror, the three Totem Guardians charging towards her found that, after her simplemand to ¡°stop,¡± they immediately lost control of their own bodies!


    They still maintained the posture of charging, but¡­the three of them are now currently stuck in motion.


    the trio at that moment experienced a sensation of being transformed into mere puppets, as if their entire bodies were ensnared by some invisible strings,pelled to move at the whims of an unseen force.


    <em>W-What was going on?</em>


    <em>What was this all about?</em>


    <em>Why¡­can¡¯t they move at the moment?</em>


    The three Totem Guardians were shocked.


    The legendary domains they had previously unleashed which had covered the surroundings in frost, had now entirely vanished. In their ce, the frost was melting, and the forest¡¯s nts were beginning to bud and turn green, as if heralding the arrival of spring.


    At the same time, numerous faint little green lights then began to float aimlessly around, as divine aura continuously wafted through the forest.


    In that moment, it was as if the entirety of the elven forest had transformed into a wondend of greenery.


    But for the three Totem Guardians, it was a different experience¡­


    In an instant, they felt like they had be enemies of the entire world, and everything around them gave rise to an indescribable sense of rejection.


    No, it was more like as if their very own life itself is being denied by the world!


    The three Totem Guardians had a change in expression as they looked into the elven maiden¡¯s eyes, filled with disbelief and fear¡­


    At this moment, they finally realized¡­


    ¡°Ce¡­Celestial Domain!¡±


    One of the Totem Guardians struggled to say the word, with his face etched with utmost fear and horror.


    Likewise, the other two Totem Guardians had equally dramatic expressions of horror.


    A Celestial Domain!


    How could it be a Celestial Domain!


    <em>Great Father Above!</em>


    Wasn¡¯t her powers already sealed?


    How could she still use her domain!?


    And as of this moment, whilst looking at the calm-looking maiden, suddenly¡­a hint of understanding arose within their hearts:


    They had been tricked!


    What they¡¯re facing now¡­wasn¡¯t her true self!


    In an instant, the hearts of the three Totem Guardians shivered as a cold, foreboding sensation inexplicably gripped them¡­


    But¡­ since her current appearance wasn¡¯t her true self, then where was her real body!?


    To manifest a celestial domain of this magnitude¡­ only true god¡¯s could do that.


    Now that she had unleashed her domain, and the silver-haired elven maiden before them was not her true form, but most likely just one of her incarnations¡­


    Then, where had her real body been all this time?


    <em>No wait¡­</em>


    Had she, perhaps, lured the three of them here deep within the Elven Forest just so that they could appear close her real body?


    Could it be that her real body¡­ couldn¡¯t move!?


    In an instant, the thoughts within the minds of the three Totem Guardians whirled madly.


    Nevertheless, they couldn¡¯t do anything at this moment because their bodies were already being manipted.


    The three Totem Guardians hopelessly gazed in the direction of the elven maiden, and in response, she returned them an innocent look and a brief, simple wave, right before numerous vines suddenly sprouted from the ground underneath their feet.


    <em>War sacrifice!</em>


    With no hesitation nor dy, the vines immediatelytched onto the bodies of the trio as the elven maiden simply looked on impassively whilst the three Totem Guardians were slowly being devoured and pulled down underground by the vines with little to no resistance.


    ¡°Devouring the power of these three legendary Totem Guardians aren¡¯t enough to cover the cost of using a Celestial Domain.¡± Ev¨¦ said calmly before ncing in a certain direction.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, Your Majesty, Uller?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>250</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ Outwitted</strong> <strong>¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 251

    Deep within the heart of the elven forest, numerous small green energies of life continuously pulsed like flickering butterflies as these tiny orbs of light aimlessly drifted through the air.


    And wherever these ¡®butterflies¡¯ went by, any withering branches within that area would immediately sprout new leaves, as vibrant green grass broke through the surface of the ground.


    Due to Eve¡¯s divine power, thendscape had transformed into a lush, spring-like paradise, with flowers blooming abundantly, even though it was alreadyte autumn.


    Ev¨¦ stood at the center of this verdant expanse, encircled by a sea of vibrant greenery and resplendent flowers, much like a reigning monarch.


    Radiant light constantly emanated from her body, and her appearance had reverted back to her original form.


    Instead of the full ck armor Zero had worn, she now wore her iconic divine regal dress that¡¯s adorned with floral patterns which exudes profound purity.


    The supreme divine crown atop her head which symbolized her authority over life, nature, and spirits, graced her countenance with regal sanctity.


    Her tinum hair cascaded all the way down to her waist, and her bright amethyst eyes still shimmered with dazzling majesty.


    However, inparison to before, a slightly eerie blemish now somewhat marred her usually pristine appearance¡­specifically, the skull-shaped mark ced at the center of her forehead.


    Nheless, despite the ominous symbol, all the flora and trees within the vicinity still paid homage to her as if greeting their sovereign.


    However, Ev¨¦ paid no heed to them and simply gazed in a particr direction with a solemn expression.


    She tried to directly called out his name moments ago, yet her words did not immediately yield any results.


    Seconds turned to minutes as Ev¨¦ slightly tilted her head and her lips formed a curt, amused smile.


    ¡°Did you think you could really hide from me? Don¡¯t forget, thisnd is my domain.¡±


    Ev¨¦ dered with a voice brimming with unwavering certainty, a hint of yful teasing, and boundless confidence.


    After uttering those words, the surroundings then swiftly began to change.


    In the direction at which Ev¨¦ was looking at, the originally green nts were suddenly covered withyers of frost!


    A cold aura then spread moments afterwards, causing the thriving nts in the vicinity to wither under the shroud of cold breath.


    Out of thin air, a void suddenly manifested, and a tall figure slowly materialized from it while being apanied by a radiant silver light.


    He stood nearly three meters tall, and swathed in a resplendent silvery leather coat that shimmered in the moonlight. Atop his head, a magnificent thorned crown rested like a symbol of his untamed frost power.


    With a formidable physique and rugged features that seemed to have weathered countless battles, there was a hint of wariness within his gaze as his eyes locked onto Ev¨¦.


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow slightly.


    This individual¡¯s appearance was something she had seen countless times in the World Tree¡¯s inheritance!


    The God of Hunt and Winter¡ª<em>Uller!</em>


    This patron deity of the half-orcs, had actually intervened personally.


    In fact, Ev¨¦ had already guessed that this arch-nemesis of hers¡¯ would not only send mere legendary-rank experts when she learned that Uller had nned to use a divine artifact to seal her powers.


    It is often said that, Demigods and above cannot directly intervene in war of faith¡­


    <em>What a joke. </em>


    Such ruling is only applicable during times of peace!


    The mana reserve in Saig¨¹es has once again shown signs of recovering after a thousand years of drought.


    Therefore, as a result, those long-slumbering ancient beings will inevitably awaken one after another, and those experts who have been stuck in their rank advancement for a long time will undoubtedly also soon break through their bottlenecks!


    The Covenant was enacted to preserve the peace within the mortal realm but everyone knew that Saig¨¹es is about to experience a radical change!


    In this case, can Uller truly resist the urge to dispatch his most powerful minions when even Ev¨¦ herself couldn¡¯t resist intervening covertly?


    Can Uller, who was inherently impulsive and unwavering in his obsession towards acquiring the Divinity of Life and Nature really deny his greed and obediently follow the covenant?


    Ev¨¦ clearly didn¡¯t think so.


    Furthermore, Uller knew that she has the strength of a True God. And True Gods cannot be easily be captured by those of lower ranking such as legendaries or below¡­


    So, ultimately, dispatching only three legendary totem guardians and merely sealing her powers wasn¡¯t the full entirety of Uller¡¯s n.


    Henceforth, in order to sessfully subdue her and obtain her divinity, Uller will undoubtedly use some of his higher-ranking minions covertly, while those three legendary totem guardians, as well as the Half-Orc army, are merely being used as cannon fodder to enact the initial stages of his n.


    And ording to Eve¡¯s spection, Uller would likely send one of his remaining two Demigod envoys.


    Or perhaps¡­ both Demigods woulde together!


    In fact, back at the moment when her incarnation was sealed by the Withering Heart, Ev¨¦ had already faintly sensed a formidable presence hiding somewhere within the enemy forces.


    The Chief Shaman who offered herself was just a precursor¡­


    And the true maniptor of the Withering Heart was this hidden individual and the mastermind behind this entire operation!


    Initially, Ev¨¦ believed it was a hidden demigod.


    However, she hadn¡¯t expected that it would actually be Uller himself!


    When Ev¨¦ lured the three totem guardians deep into the Elven Forest, manifested her domain, and directly ¡°saw¡± the figure that came out of the void, even she was astonished.


    It was only thanks to her self-control and diverting her attention towards the skull mark, that she resisted the impulse to attack instantly right there on the spot.


    Of course, the interdimensional passage between realms hadn¡¯t been fully opened yet and this tall figure right in front of her was just one of Uller¡¯s incarnations.


    Due to Saig¨¹escking in mana, true gods often needs to split their divine essence apart just to create incarnations of themselves so that they can walk within the mortal realm.


    For the most part, a deity¡¯s true self would mostly remain within the confines of the heavenly realm and would not even take half a step outside unless it were a real life-and-death crisis.


    Some deities even rarely use their real bodies and let it simply slumber in heavenly realm and mainly use their incarnations instead as their primary body for interaction.


    The strength of incarnations may vary, but generally speaking, incarnations utilized by true gods possess a minimum level of power equivalent to that of demigods.


    Even at the demigod level, true god incarnations are stronger than regr demigods.


    The Hunter God is the same in this regard and his current appearance was that of an incarnation with a substantial reservoir of divine power!


    Realizing this, Ev¨¦ looked at him with a curt smile.


    However, when Uller met her eyes, his expression showed slight bewilderment.


    ¡°Yggdrasill¡­ it¡¯s you? You¡¯re not dead¡­?¡±


    His voice was deep and rugged, filled with uncontroble surprise and even a hint of fear, despite his efforts to suppress it.


    Though he was doing his best to control it, Ev¨¦ could still sense his apprehension.


    ¡°I should have known¡­ to gather the elves so quickly¡­and to gain control over the divinity of life and nature so quickly¡­ aside from you, who else could have done it¡­¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ wait, perhaps those strange elves were created by you¡­indeed, only you and H could¡¯ve made an undying army!¡±


    Uller¡¯s expression was one of anger.


    <em>H?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was slightly startled.


    <em>I¡¯m not taking the me for this one.</em>


    She muttered to herself within her mind.


    Then, she turned her attention back to Uller and Ev¨¦ expression gradually took on an amused look.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, don¡¯t leave just yet. I shall devour this incarnation of yours without any courtesy.¡±


    When an incantation passes through the interdimensional passage, their memories are also cut off from their true selves¡­


    Thus, only when an incarnation returns to its true self will the main body regain the memories of the incarnation.


    That¡¯s why, whether to preserve her own secrets or to consume the divine power within Uller¡¯s incarnation, Eve was determined to hold onto him!


    Hearing Eve¡¯s words, Uller¡¯s expression showed a trace of anger.


    ¡°Hmph! I never thought you, who once been revered by the gods, would fall this low! Do you think I¡¯m the same as I was two thousand years ago!?¡±


    With that, his body suddenly shimmered with silver light, and a thunderous divine axe appeared in his hand.


    He roared and swung the divine axe towards Eve¡­


    The formidable power of a demigod condensed within the divine axe, forming a devastating energy storm that struck Eve in an instant!


    In an instant, the world changed its colors!


    However, Ev¨¦ in response just nonchntly uttered a single word:


    <strong>¡¾Vanish¡¿</strong>


    With this seemingly single word, Uller¡¯s previously terrifying energy transformed into nothingness in an instant!


    However, just as Eve was neutralizing Uller¡¯s attack, this temperamental God of Winter and Hunt suddenly took advantage of a moment when Ev¨¦ was distracted and¡ª


    ¡ªswiftly turned around and sprinted away.


    At that moment, Ev¨¦ was leftpletely bewildered by this unexpected scenario.


    ¡ª <strong>251</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ Uller follows his Heart ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 252

    ¡°Do you think you can escape?¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous yetposed expression. She remained calm while attentively observing the direction Uller sought to escape.


    With an ethereal voiceced with mysterious power, she calmly spoke a single word that bent thews of the surrounding area.


    <strong>¡¾ Impede ¡¿</strong>


    The instant she spoke, the fleeing incarnation of Uller also abruptly decelerated, as if his entire being had been plunged into slow motion.


    Feeling the weight of an unseen force, Uller¡¯s pupils swiftly contracted. His expression turned fierce, and a radiant aura erupted from his body with a resounding roar.


    A cold and violent silvery grayish divine power then erupted from him, as the frigid aura kept surging out of his body relentlessly.


    In mere moments, the surroundings transformed into a winter wondend. Clouds rolled above him as snowkes descended down to the ground, whilst being apanied by howling winds.


    The once verdant greenery, centered around Uller instantly froze as thinyers of ice encapsted the trees as the nts in the area turned into ice sculptures¡­


    The Winter God with a fierce expression, continued to roar, and the aura surrounding him intensified with each passing moment.


    Right then, a sh unfolded between the Law of Winter and the Laws of Nature and Life, creating a tumultuous battlefield of opposing domains!


    On Uller¡¯s side, a frigid and violent aura spread out from him, carrying astonishing pressure and a sacred, resplendent majesty.


    Following this burst of energy, Uller, who had been moving slowly, finally broke free from Eve¡¯s control, regaining his prior momentum as he hastened his escape.


    ¡°Celestial Domain!?¡± Ev¨¦ eximed after seeing the terrifying power bursting out from Uller¡¯s body and sensing the momentary failure of thews of her Domain.


    Her expression shifted to astonishment, and her gaze grew solemn.


    <em>What¡¯s going on? </em>


    Only thews of another god could counteract thews of the Celestial Domain!


    However, Ev¨¦ quickly dismissed the possibility of Uller manifesting his domain.


    A Celestial Domain is essentially a True God using their own divinity as a guide to manifest thews they govern as a medium to influence a region and bringing them under their control, thus making the area their domain.


    Such an ability could only be wielded by the true god themselves and no one else!


    Eve¡¯s eyes locked onto Uller¡¯s aura, and after a few seconds, an idea crystallized within her mind.


    ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s not a Celestial Domain, but rather, a quasi-celestial level domain!¡±


    Though she had finallyprehended it, Ev¨¦ still couldn¡¯t help but be inwardly amazed.


    Uller¡¯s ability to resist her domain with only having power levels of a demigod showcased his strength, even as an incarnation of his true self.


    However in the end, an incarnation was still just an incarnation, even if it was under the control of a true god.


    <strong>¡¾ Imprison ¡¿</strong>


    Ev¨¦ softly uttered again.


    A rich, potent force of life erupted from her body as numerous small specks of green light surged forth, and immediately engulfing the fleeing figure of Uller.


    The Winter God grimaced in pain as the numerous green lights bound his movements, and he once again froze in ce. Yet his expression, though pained, revealed a hint of ferocity.


    He red at Ev¨¦, sneering and shouting, ¡°Yggdrasill! Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve won!¡±


    With arms outstretched, he bellowed, ¡°Withering Heart! Use my incarnation¡¯s divine power as a catalyst to imprison the power of the World Tree!¡±


    <em>Withering Heart!</em>


    Although this damaged divine artifact had initially targeted the wrong one and merely sealed the incarnation of Yggdrasill, now that the World Tree had manifested its Celestial Domain, it¡¯s evident that she¡¯s now using her real body!


    This divine artifact was Uller¡¯s real trump card.


    Even though he didn¡¯t leave his soul mark because he was afraid of the abyssal breath contained inside the artifact, he also left behind a secret contingency within the artifact to control it¡­


    Now, in order to control this artifact once again, Uller had decided to sacrifice the power of his own incarnation!


    With a fierce expression, Uller looked at Ev¨¦ and continued to sneer.


    Yes, he was careless, falling into her trap.


    But at the same time, she also made a fatal mistake of approaching the withering heart whilst using on her real body!


    While she was busy using her domain to deal with him, which in turn, temporarily divided her attention, Uller¡¯s also took this chance to control the Withering Heart once more to imprison her real body!


    For a moment, Uller seemed to have foreseen the reactivation of the artifact, sessfully sealing the World Tree¡¯s real body!


    However, after he gave themand, the skull mark above Eve¡¯s head only flickered slightly for a couple of times, and ultimately, nothing happened at all¡­


    Uller: ¡°¡­.¡±


    ¡°H-How¡­ is this possible?! How did I lose control of the Withering Heart?¡±


    Uller¡¯s gaze became vacant after realizing that the artifact wouldn¡¯t properly activate no matter how much he tried.


    Seeing his confused state, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in amusement.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Your Majesty? Oh¡­perhaps did you want to activate the contingency left inside that artifact? Perchance, the soul of that Orc Chief Shaman?¡±


    Uller initially showed a dumbfounded expression, and when her words finally sank in, anger finally exploded within his face as he eximed, ¡°Y-You!?¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ªwhat did you do!?¡±


    Eve¡¯s lips curled as her face showed a yful look.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    She then lightly touched the skull mark at the center on her forehead, with an evident mocking expression.


    ¡°Where do you think the life force absorbed by that artifact on the battlefield came from? Does Your Majesty really think all that life force came from the orcs who died in battle? Or what¡­ do you think I won¡¯t notice the fluctuation of their souls?¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Uller was momentarily stunned, then his expression turned into shock.


    ¡°Y-You infused your own lifeforce and severed the connection between me and my believers!¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised the corners of her mouth before mischievously chuckling a couple of times.


    ¡°That¡¯s right~¡±


    When she realized that the Withering Heart was absorbing the lifeforce on the battlefield, Ev¨¦ used the yers as a medium to release her own lifeforce, which in turn interfered with the artifact.


    And after the Chief Shaman sacrificed her life, and her soul was absorbed by the artifact, Ev¨¦ kept a close eye on it and manifested her domain to iste the Chief Shaman¡¯s soul from the outside world and gain control over it.


    Therefore, even now, Uller, despite using all his abilities, could no longer manipte this artifact since she now has total control over the Chief Shaman¡¯s soul inside the artifact.


    She executed everything meticulously and had prepared well in advance, utilizing her familiarity with thews of life and soul, so that the other party wouldn¡¯t notice anything at all.


    Of course, although she cut off Uller¡¯s connection to the artifact, Ev¨¦ herself was still unable to control the artifact, at least¡­ for now.


    Soon, Uller understood the gravity of his situation, and his expression turned extremely unpleasant and glommy.


    But in an instant, he turned ferocious once again:


    ¡°Hmph! Yggdrasill! I admit I fell into your traps this time,¡± Uller uttered in a toneced with venom but then smirked before adding, ¡°However, you still can¡¯t stop me if I want to escape!¡±


    He then angrily roared once more, as the divine power within his body suddenly ignited!


    Eve¡¯s expression immediately turned serious.


    <em>This move again! </em>


    Burning one¡¯s own divine power, and even the divine soul within the incarnation!


    This was the very same desperate measure demigod Volker did in the past to escaped her control and it seemed Uller was also nning to do the same!


    Of course, in the end, she managed to dragged Volker back like a dead dog. Yet now, it was Uller who was making the same desperate move, and unlike before, Uller was not a demigod like Volker but a true god!


    If he really managed to break free from her Celestial Domain, then Uller would probably manage to escape sessfully.


    He must be detained at all cost!


    At that moment, Ev¨¦ became vignt and serious.


    <strong>¡¾ Imprison ¡¿</strong>


    <strong>¡¾ Imprison ¡¿</strong>


    <strong>¡¾ Imprison! ¡¿</strong>


    She looked at Uller whilst uttering those series of words and her usual calm demeanor became more urgent, as her voice grew more uncharacteristically louder.


    With eachmand, she quickly approached Uller, and in-between her gestures, a sense of majesty and sanctity continuously erupted out from her body¡­


    In no time at all, the powerfulw of her domain once again enveloped the Winter Deity, and Uller¡¯s expression drastically changed.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    He clenched his teeth, veins bulging, after issuing another heart-wrenching roar.


    But as he roared, the divine power burning within him became even brighter, and a destructive aura erupted from his body moments afterward.


    An icy and violent energy then soared into the sky¡­


    This energy directly collided with the verdant energy in the forest, as the two opposing power shed against each other.


    The two divine powers intertwined relentlessly, before erupting into a myriad of dazzling phenomena. The sacred and resplendent aura generated from this cataclysm wreaked havoc throughout the entire forest, and the overwhelming energy altered the very hues of the heavens and earth.


    The surrounding forest alternated between icy frost and lush greenery, continually shifting between these two states, creating an incredibly surreal fantasticalndscape¡­


    After this phenomenonsted for several seconds, it finally reached its limit.


    There was no explosion nor thunderous noise.


    Silently, everything around appeared incapable of withstanding the pressure of the two opposingws, abruptly shattering and transforming into nothingness!


    In the blink of an eye, a spacious crater nearly a kilometer in radius formed around Uller.


    Everything vanished, leaving behind only an exaggerated giant crater in its wake.


    And this¡­ was still within Eve¡¯s Celestial Domain, her own territory, this oue was achieved due to an intentional suppression on her part.


    Otherwise, it might not have been as small as a kilometer in radius, but a much broader crater, potentially obliterating dozens or even hundreds of kilometers of the forest!


    Such widespread destruction was the a reason why the covenant was made which forbade shes between demigods and above within the mortal realm.


    After all this, Uller finally couldn¡¯t withstand the confinement of thews and waspletely bound by wooden tendrils made from the energies of life.


    His incarnation floated in mid-air above the giant crater, tightly entwined by wooden tendrils.


    The tips of the tendrils pierced into his body,pletely restraining his divine power, and the demigod godly robe he was wearing was already left in a tattered state¡­


    His face was pale, whilst breathing in a rapid chaotic manner, as silver-colored blood transformed from divine power continuously flowed from his mouth and nose. His blood continuously dripped down into the ground, blossoming into ice crystals.


    And at that moment, the incarnation of Uller could only widened his eyes, as he angrily red at Ev¨¦, who was slowly approaching him in a rtively rxed and leisurely manner.


    ¡°You lost.¡±


    Ev¨¦ said calmly.


    ¡ª <strong>252</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ULLER YOU LOST ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 253

    ¡°You lost,¡± Ev¨¦ said calmly whilst looking at Uller.


    Afterwards, with a wave of her hand, divine power of life surged forth as several vines burst through the soil, weaving together to create a majestic throne.


    The throne gently floated behind Ev¨¦, and she slowly seated herself upon it.


    Then, the throne slowly ascended, beforeing to a stop at the same height as Uller, albeit surpassing him by half a head higher.


    With her gracefully seated on the throne, Ev¨¦, with a majestic aura emanating from behind her, flicked the slightly wrinkled hem of her divine robe, as she gazed down at the vine-bound Winter Deity with an enigmatic expression.


    Watching her lofty demeanor as if implying that¡¯s he¡¯s beneath her, Uller nced upward with an enraged expression, as the veins on his forehead kept bulging, signifying that his anger continued to escte.


    He then let out a furious roar as he continued struggling. Nheless, it was all futile as his whole body waspletely bound by the vines and could not break free.


    ¡°Stop struggling, your divine power is sealed,¡± Ev¨¦ spoke calmly.


    Hearing her words, Uller abruptly raised his head, before ring at her like a cornered predatory beast.


    ¡°I refuse to ept it!¡±


    ¡°And pray, do tell, what exactly can¡¯t you ept?¡± Ev¨¦ asked with a somewhat intrigued expression.


    ¡°That you predicted that I would use the Withering Heart! As if you knew it all along!¡±


    Uller gnashed his teeth.


    ¡°So what if I predicted it?¡±


    Ev¨¦¡¯s expression then shifted to yful look of amusement.


    ¡°I was careless¡­ I should have known something was wrong when you remained entirely unconcerned despite being sealed by the Withering Heart. Moreover, with the way the elves epted a new patron deity to the extent that they even changed their core beliefs!¡­ no one could have done all this besides you.¡±


    Uller¡¯s showed aplicated look, with regret written all over his face.


    <em>I know you have this artifact, so I was on guard against it in advance¡­</em>


    <em>Speaking of which, I didn¡¯t know this originally and I only found out about you having this artifact after asking other people¡­ </em>


    Eve said to herself within her mind.


    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t verbally say such words aloud.


    Ev¨¦ extended her hand towards the center of her chest, where a golden light enveloped her left arm, rendering it illusionary as if capable of passing through any material objects.


    With a simple gesture forward, her hand traversed her chest effortlessly, encountering no resistance at all. A segment of her arm entered her own body, and after a moment, she withdrew it, revealing a golden bead entwined with skull chains emerging in between her fingers.


    This was H¡¯s Soul Strorage Orb, and the very core of Ev¨¦¡¯s incarnation.


    Simrly, it was also the reason why the Withering Heart¡¯s initial sealing had failed, as the artifact specifically targeted this orb instead.


    As the Soul Orb materialized in an instant, the skull mark on Ev¨¦¡¯s forehead gradually faded away. Yet, a subtle pallor overcame herplexion, as her figure became somewhat illusory.


    Only when divine power surged into her body from the vine throne did herplexion improve and returned to normal.


    Ev¨¦ sighed with regret whilst looking at the soul orb in her hand.


    ¡°s, this incarnation is now useless¡­¡±


    Technically she could still use her incarnation but unlike before wherein it was being powered by the soul orb, she now have have to rely on her own divine powers instead.


    Of course, now that her divine power is getting stronger and stronger, she already has enough capital to condense her own incarnation, so losing this artifact isn¡¯t much of a setback for her¡­


    It¡¯s just a little bit regretful.


    Upon seeing the Soul Orb, Uller¡¯s expression immediately changed and his face darkened with an ugly look.


    ¡°H actually gave you this kind of thing¡­ it seems you two have indeed joined forces!¡±


    After hearing his words, Ev¨¦ merely gave him a brief nce.


    ¡°So what?¡±


    With that said, she touched the chain on the orb, and a mocking smile formed upon her lips.


    ¡°Even though I lost the Soul Orb I must still thank you¡­since this Divine Artifact is now mine.¡±


    Upon hearing Ev¨¦¡¯s words, Uller¡¯s expression became more sinister, almost exploding in anger.


    <em>The Withering Heart! </em>


    It was his only True Divine Artifact!


    Seeing Uller¡¯s infuriated expression, Ev¨¦ felt a little bit regretful.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a pity Your Majesty. I genuinely wanted your true self to also experience such intense anger, but s¡­ this time, I can only imprison you here in Saig¨¹es and not let your memories return to your original form.¡±


    Uller: ¡°¡­¡±


    His expression became even more unpleasant at her tant mocking sarcasm.


    After teasing him, Ev¨¦¡¯s hand briefly glowed and the Soul Orb, locked in skull chains, instantly disappeared.


    Havingpleted this action, she looked at Uller once again.


    This time, her expression gradually turned serious.


    ¡°I still have some questions and you better answer them honestly.¡±


    She had some doubts and hoped to get some answers.


    At first, she intended to directly delve into his soul. However, True God¡¯s like him haveplete mastery over their own souls, thus she adjusted her strategy instead upon realizing that, despite sealing Uller¡¯s divine power, he could still eliminate a fragment of his divine soul to resist her prying intrusion.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll tell you what I know?¡±


    Uller sneered.


    Upon hearing his words, Ev¨¦ calmly retorted, ¡°If you wish to spare this incarnation from obliteration and maintain your dignity as a True God, then you had best answer me truthfully. Otherwise, I might just grant your devoted followers the spectacle of their revered patron deity sweeping the streets with a broom or, perhaps, cleaning the toilets. I assume you¡¯d prefer not to subject your believers to witnessing you performing such vile undignified acts, is it not?¡±


    Uller: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡­ shameless!¡±


    His eyes abruptly widened, and re fistful of anger fixated upon Ev¨¦.


    For believers, the image of their respective patron deities holds significant importance in their faith. The belief that the one they worship is an all-powerful, almighty being generally fosters strong faith and reverence.


    True gods like Uller depend upon this faith as their primary source of power, and tarnishing his revered image is equivalent to weakening the faith of his followers which would also weakened him.


    ¡°Tell me¡­ why did you besiege the World Tree a thousand years ago?¡±


    Ev¨¦ asked softly.


    After hearing her words, Uller was stunned for a moment, then sneered.


    ¡°Why are you even asking me this¡­ don¡¯t you know it better than anyone else?¡±


    Ev¨¦ fell into silence.


    ¡°I want to know the real reason behind your siege of the World Tree.¡±


    She asked again.


    ¡°The true reason? What other true reason is there? Tch, you know these things better than we do; why bother asking me?¡±


    Uller frowned, then clicked his tongue.


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡±


    As shepsed into silence, Uller¡¯s expression also underwent a sudden change, and he too became silent.


    A subtle flicker crossed Uller¡¯s gaze, apanied by a hint of confusion in his expression as he carefully observed Ev¨¦.


    Then after a moment, he widened his eyes before looking as if he¡¯s been enlightened.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it! You¡¯re Yggdrasill! But at the same time¡­you¡¯re not! Youck Yggdrasill¡¯s memories!¡±


    <em>Oh, did he realized it so quickly?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was briefly stunned.


    But soon, something dawned on her.


    Although she did inherit the body of the World Tree and became the new Ancient Goddess Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill, she was indeed different from her predecessor.


    Perhaps her believers cannot identify the difference between her and her predecessor, and just knew that their patron deity¡¯s name has changed. Still, those familiar with her predecessor could easily perceive the distinction after doing a careful observation.


    Ev¨¦ saw Ullerugh.


    ¡°Haha, since you don¡¯t know, then I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    Having said that, his expression turned somewhat sinister.


    We managed to kill you once a thousand years ago¡­Even if you resurrected in a different way, we can still kill you a second time!¡±


    ¡°Yggdrasill! No¡­ I should call you Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill! From the moment of your birth, your fate was already sealed!¡±


    ¡°You just wait for the second siege by the heavenly gods! If we could defeat you once, then we can defeat you once again! Your era has passed!¡±


    After speaking, he simply closed his eyes.


    ¡°I admit I¡¯ve failed this time¡­this incarnation of mine is yours to dispose of as you wish! However¡­ don¡¯t expect to learn anything from me!¡±


    After hearing Uller¡¯s words, Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow slightly.


    <em>What does he mean by my ¡°fate already sealed¡±? </em>


    <em>Am I predestined to be an enemy of the heavenly gods?</em>


    Could it be that¡­it is as she imagined? That her inherent ability to draw power from the origin have made the rest of the gods wary of her?


    She narrowed her eyes, changing the subject.


    ¡°Where are the Divine Artifacts that originally should belong to me?¡±


    The old World Tree also possessed several Divine Artifacts.


    However, they were lost one after another with the fall of her predecessor.


    Or rather¡­ they were undoubtedly seized by the World Tree¡¯s enemies.


    However, with him being one of the gods who participated in that heavenly war a thousand years ago, Uller surely must have known the whereabouts of these stolen artifacts.


    Of course, after hearing Eve¡¯s question, Uller still closed his eyes and said nothing at all.


    Seeing Uller stubbornly behave like this, Ev¨¦ could only sigh softly.


    It seemed¡­ she had wholly underestimated the gods¡¯ wariness of her!


    Even under threat, Uller still refused to reveal any sort of information¡­


    In that case, this incarnation of Uller was entirely useless to her.


    And his only worth is to be her own nourishment.


    Thinking about it, Ev¨¦ lost interest in using Uller¡¯s incarnation to tarnish his reputation.


    The dignity of a True God should not be desecrated.


    This kind of shameful actions, if she¡¯s not careful, could likely provoke the anger of the other gods.


    Although she was destined to be an enemy of the gods, it still couldn¡¯t be disyed openly just yet.


    She sighed and used her divine power directly to entirely enveloped the incarnation of Uller in a golden light.


    Uller¡¯s incarnation suddenly widened his eyes, before gradually bing dull¡­


    Ev¨¦ knew that Uller had realized she was about to take action and had chosen to destroy this incarnation¡¯s soul in advance to prevent her from tampering with it.


    Afterwards, numerous cracks began to appear all over his body.


    With a soft cracking sound, Uller¡¯s incarnation finally shattered. However, a silver divine power surged out wildly in its ce but waspletely sealed by the vines before slowly absorbing it until¡­it vanishedpletely.


    At this point, Uller¡¯s incarnation waspletely extinguished.


    And afterpleting everything, Ev¨¦ looked down again at the exaggerated giant crater on the ground.


    ¡°It seems that¡­I really need to choose the battlefield carefully when using my domain.¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook her head, before waving her hand gently as her divine power began to spread all across thend a secondter.


    Suddenly, countless nts emerged from the ruined soil and in an instant¡­ what was originally a huge bare crater turned into a dense lush forest.


    Nheless, the newly generatednd ultimatelycked some of the previous rich ambiance.


    After repairing the damage done to the forest, Ev¨¦ nodded with satisfaction.


    She then nced casually in a certain direction, before her figure became ethereal and gradually disappeared¡­


    After Ev¨¦ finally left, two yers suddenly emerged from behind arge tree in a certain location within the forest.


    They looked at where Ev¨¦ had vanished and exchanged brief nces before their shocked expressions morphed into a look of excitement.


    ¡°¡­Did you record it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I recorded it!¡±


    ¡°Man we¡¯re so lucky! Extremely lucky! Originally I thought we having low levels and missing the current main questline was regrettable, but unexpectedly, we both triggered a hidden quest here!¡±


    ¡°Is this a hidden quest? Are you really sure?¡±


    ¡°Definitely! The Goddess¡¯s past, her enemies, her having an amnesia, and the Goddess¡¯s lost artifacts¡­ Dude, this is undoubtedly a hidden quest! Just the fact that the Goddess¡¯s artifacts are said to be lost implies that we might need to find them all!¡±


    ¡°Looks like the Goddess¡¯s secrets are far more than we imagined¡­¡±


    The voice of that male incarnation is so loud that they could still hear him clearly even far within a radius of one kilometer.


    In other words, the two yerspletely understood Ev¨¦ and Uller¡¯s conversation despite hiding a few meters away!


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ this is the main storyline of Elven Kingdom!¡±


    The two newbies discussed eagerly, with happy expressions upon their faces.


    ¡ª <strong>253 ¡ª</strong>


    <strong>¡¾ THE GODDESS¡¯ SECRET ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 254

    The sh between Ev¨¦ and Uller had not gone unnoticed by some yers particrly those who didn¡¯t joined the Orc Invasion Quest and was currently loitering about around the Elven Forest.


    Ev¨¦ had already noticed the presence of these yers even back when the Totem Guardians first appeared, and she deemed that it wouldn¡¯t really cause much of a problem for her even if they somehow saw her fight with Uller.


    In any case, it¡¯s quite typical for yers to be drawn to such a dazzling spectacle; after all, the three legendary Totem Guardians naturally emitted a holy light, resembling enormous light bulbs in the midst of darkness.


    Moreover, all of this happened when dusk had already settled. Furthermore, the body of Uller¡¯s incarnation was entirely bathed in a silvery radiance which illuminated the entire forest with dazzling light upon his arrival.


    Of course, Eve wasn¡¯t much better in this regard.


    Since after manifesting her domain and returning to her original form, she herself was also shining with holy light and likewise, became yet another huge ¡°light bulb¡± that further illuminated the area.


    So, it came as no surprise that the yers inevitably found themselves irresistibly drawn to such an attention grabbing spectacle.


    Fortunately for her, the process of Zero¡¯s transformation into her goddess form wasn¡¯t seen by any yers and the only thing they¡¯ve managed to witnessed were the tail end of the battle between her and Uller.


    Otherwise, it would have been truly awkward and she might even ended up resorting to altering their memories.


    After dealing with the three totem legends and Uller¡¯s incarnation, Ev¨¦ had decided to transform back into Zero.


    However, unlike before, she now used her own divine power to manifest her incarnation instead of relying onto the power stored within H¡¯s Soul Orb.


    Although it¡¯s somewhat regrettable that she has now lost this useful artifact, in hindsight, it¡¯s really about time that she properly learn to condense an incarnation for herself in the normal way, since condensing a true god incarnation is a fundamental skill for any self-respecting true god.


    In any case, creating a strong incarnation should be straightforward affair, as it mainly hinges on the divine power she invested in and regardless of the amount she channels, even the weakest incarnation can unleash power akin to that of a demigod.


    And to sessfully condense an incarnation, the consumption of 100 divine power points is the baseline.


    Previously, Ev¨¦ had to cleverly resort to using the Soul Orb to condense her incarnation due to her insufficient amount of divine power.


    But she doesn¡¯t need to worry about this issue anymore now that she have an abundance of divine power.


    Generally, there are two methods for condensing a incarnation.


    One method is to specifically choose a physical body that harmonizes well with oneself, and infuse it with divine power and soul to mold this body into one¡¯s own incarnation.


    And the other is to directly condense the body of an incarnation purely out of one¡¯s own divine power, hereby creating an energy-based incarnation.


    Each method has its own unique pros and cons.


    The first type allows the true god incarnation to have a physical body, enabling them to blend well amongst the mortals in the mortal realm like an ordinary being while still being able to utilize a limited portion of their power.


    However, the downside is rather obvious¡ªthat is, any damage done to the physical body of this incarnation can easily lead to its destruction. What¡¯s more, this type¡¯s weakened ability to withstand divine power inherently limits the incarnation¡¯s overall strength.


    And more importantly, finding a suitable body for this type of incarnation is quite a challenging affair.


    Ultimately, this type of incarnation is typically chosen by gods who want to descend down into the mortal realm incognito, and supposedly, this method of condensing incarnation was learned from ancient gods, as ancient gods typically possesses incarnations with physical bodies!


    Eve¡¯s previous incarnation is of this type but it was done in a more cunning manner by using the soul orb as her incarnation¡¯s core.


    On the other hand, the second type allows the incarnation¡¯s strength to be fully utilized to its fullest potential without being restricted by the limitations of their bodies since its an energy-based incarnation created out of one¡¯s own divine power.


    However one drawback of this is that this type of incarnation is very conspicuous and is easily identifiable.


    Demigod Volker and the incarnation of Uller in by Ev¨¦ just now were of this type.


    However, considering her needs, Ev¨¦ chose the former type.


    In fact, she had long prepared the body for this new incarnation of hers.


    Although the previous incarnation she condensed by using the Soul Orb was destroyed, it¡¯s body was still left intact.


    And that body, originally prepared by Ev¨¦ as a temte for primordial elves, underwent some magical changes as it served as her incarnation for an extended period of time, which also significantly enhanced its affinity with Eve¡¯s divine power.


    Henceforth, at this critical moment, with the most essential body already made avable for her, Ev¨¦ just simply needed to spend some of her divine power to modify it.


    Of course, with Eve having a huge surplus of divine power at this moment, she naturally didn¡¯t mind spending a hundred points of divine power unlike before.


    With a single thought, she directly infused arge amount of divine power into the damaged body of her old incarnation¡­


    And with it being injected with divine power, Eve quickly fixed any damages done to the body and sessfully modified it into her new incarnation.


    Several moments passed, and Eve, who had already redirected her consciousness into her new incarnation, teleported out of her current location.


    Her new incarnation¡¯s appearance still bore the very same image of the Godwarden Zero.


    Yet, of course unlike before, the power contained within this new body of hers was entirely different and much more potent.


    This incarnation was no longer a mere golden-ranked power, which rely on borrowing the main body¡¯s power to briefly unleash legendary and above powers but rather, a true demigod-ss incarnation!


    With such an incarnation, she could stably unleash the power of a demigod while freely moving, giving Ev¨¦ more room to maneuver.


    After moving her body for a while, Ev¨¦ felt quite satisfied.


    She thought for a while and then went directly through the teleportation circle located in the Chosen City to return to ck Dragon Castle in a swaggering manner.


    Alice¡¯s eyes immediately lit up after seeing her finally return.


    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±


    Then, she eyed her from head to toe, before breathing a sigh of relief when she found that she was unharmed.


    But soon, the Saintess hesitated again.


    ¡°Lord Zero, what about the totem guardians?¡±


    Upon hearing her question, Ev¨¦ skillfully drew a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest and devoutly said, ¡°Praise be the Goddess! Upon entering the Divine Matriarch¡¯s domain, the three envoys can no longer harm us and have received the punishment for which they duly deserve.¡±


    Alice, after hearing this, had a swift change in her expression andpletely rxed.


    ¡°Praise be the Goddess!¡±


    Secondster, the saintess likewise drew a tree-shaped symbol upon her chest with an ecstatic expression.


    In an instant, Ev¨¦ suddenly sensed a strong surge of faith emanating from Alice.


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Hmm¡­</em>


    <em>It seems¡­it would be rather beneficial to extol myself more in front of the native believers in the future.</em>


    <em>¡­Although it¡¯s a bit embarrassing. </em>


    After exchanging greetings with Alice, Ev¨¦ once again climbed the castle walls and surveyed the entire battlefield¡­


    Looking around, the entirety of ck Dragon Castle hummed with activity despite it already beingte at night.


    The yers¡¯ mes and illumination magic cast a radiant glow as they move about, staving off the darkness and somewhat enlightening the entire battlefield.


    At this moment, due to the disappearance of the Totem Guardians and the swift arrival of the Raid Support Force, the army of half-orcs had beenpletely defeated.


    Moreover, unlike elves with their inherent night vision capabilities, the orcs struggled to see well in the dark. This racial disadvantage of the Orcs made it even easier for yers to pursue and hunt down the fleeing orcs.


    The dark mountains where the battlefield urred stretch for several kilometers, and one could practically see orcs running away from yers in any direction¡­


    As for the ten Behemoths, their fate was even more tragic.


    Meryer considered them his archenemies, whereas the Spider Queen also viewed them as delectable treats. As a result, these behemoths couldn¡¯t escape thebined pursuit of a silver-ranked dragon and a legendary magical beast, and in the end, they have all perished¡­


    Many yers felt somewhat regretful about this.


    After all, in their eyes, ying these Behemoths would yield them a considerable EXP points.


    Fortunately, although the Behemoths were killed by two the NPCs, some parts of their corpses still remained.


    The ones killed by the ck dragon had their fur burned, but its flesh and bones were still left barely intact.


    Meanwhile, the ones killed by Rose had their flesh entirely melted and consumed, but their fur surprisingly still remained¡­


    For yers¡­the remains of these Behemoths were all precious materials!


    Definitely rare materials!


    At this moment, some yers have finally decided to give up on chasing the fleeing orcs and, instead, gathered around the corpses of the behemoths and were considering how to divide the spoils amongst themselves.


    However, the majority of the yers were still running all over the ce, relentless in their pursuit of any Orcs that had managed to escape¡­


    After all, one orc head was worth a lucky lottery ticket, not to mention ying one also gives off ample amounts of experience points!


    It was the perfect time to beat the drowning dog in the water, now that the Orc army hadpletely lost their fighting spirit.


    Anyone would get a huge profit just as long as they manage to caught one Orc.


    This¡­ was a lucrative deal!


    Watching these frenzied elves, who went around like rabid lunatics to the extent that they didn¡¯t even spare those who surrendered, the few surviving orcs were left on the verge of a mental breakdown.


    Even King Imsh, the Lionheart, felt fear and anger.


    ¡°These damned long-eared elves! It¡¯s not over yet!¡±


    He was surrounded by his guards, and fled in embarrassment¡­while looking back from time to time to look at the elves hot on his trails whilst firmly pursuing him.


    That¡¯s right¡­


    He too, couldn¡¯t help but run¡­


    He somehow managed to escape after his mount was in by that gargantuan spider. However, he didn¡¯t leave that whole ordeal unharmed, as his leg suffered an injury while fleeing, which significantly diminished his overall mobility.


    At this moment, he had never felt so frustrated in his life being chased by mere group of iron-ranked elves!


    But, because of his fear of the ck dragon and that legendary magical spider beast, the Orc King had no choice but to flee for his life¡­


    He also learned that the Chief Shaman had died, and even the three Totem Guardians were still missing.


    The secret n of the Chief Shaman seemed to have also failed¡­


    And now, the Orcs had beenpletely defeated.


    Despite being a Golden-rank expert and being surrounded by his Silver-ranked guards, Orc King Imsh found himself unable to devise any solution in the face of this hopeless situation¡­


    ¡ª <strong>254</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>NEW DIVINE INCARNATION ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 255

    ¡°I can only go back for now¡­ As a golden-rank expert, I still have at least a century of life ahead of me. This setback is nothing, I still have a chance to retaliate in the future!¡±


    Imsh rallied himself within his mind as he fled into the depths of the dark mountains while being apanied by his guards.


    However, deep within him, even he himself doubted as to whether they would actually really get the chance to retaliate and what¡¯s he¡¯s been thinking are mere futile attempts of deceiving himself¡­


    After all, in just less than two years, the Elvenkind have undergone such significant and radical changes to the extent that one might even question if they are still the very same elves widely renowned for their nature-loving and peaceful nature¡­


    If, in just this short amount of time, the elves have already transformed into such a formidable and crazy species, then how much more would they further evolve if given a few more decades of development?


    Can his own people even keep up with such absurdly fast pace of racial advancement?


    King Imsh couldn¡¯t help but feel apprehensive about the future.


    Moreover, he still couldn¡¯tprehend how so many elves had managed to gather together here in the Elven Forest.


    Nearly ten thousand elves!


    Such figure wasn¡¯t a small number!


    It was a widely known fact that Elvenkind, in general, has difficulty in producing an offspring. Furthermore, it is said that their race was almost close to being extinct due to the rampant hunting of Elves.


    So the appearance of these ten thousand elves with almost all of them being young, really baffled the Orc King.


    Perhaps gathering this many might have involved bringing together even the remaining wild elves hidden within the southwestern part of the continent.


    ¡°No¡­it can¡¯t be more since elves are not like humans.¡±


    Imsh shook his head.


    As the Orc King fled alongside his guards, suddenly, an elf riding a crypt spider emerged out of nowhere at the front.


    From the looks of it, this particr elven rider wasn¡¯t actually part of the group that was chasing after Imsh frpm behind but rather just an individual who had lost their way and had somehow identally stumbled upon the Orc King and his retinue along the way.


    Both sides paused in mid-surprise upon seeing each other for a couple of seconds but when the elf clearly saw Imsh¡¯s appearance, the elven rider excitedly shouted, ¡°Oh, its the event Boss! Nice, I¡¯ve found the Boss!¡±


    <em>¡­Boss?</em>


    Imsh was left both equally baffled and shocked.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what the word ¡®Boss¡¯ actually meant, based on the elf¡¯s behavior just now, it¡¯s most likely referring to him.


    In his anger and surprise, Imsh quickly drew his Lionheart Longsword and swiftly dealt with the unfortunate elven rider as soon as he passed by him.


    At this moment, the group of elven riders that were chasing him from behind also got excited.


    ¡°The event Boss? Is it really the Orc Boss?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice! Heh, don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ve been chasing the Boss all along?¡±


    These elven riders were all from the First Legion, a group of battle crazed fanatics. They had been fervently pursuing the Orc King¡¯s group for quite some time already, but they actually hadn¡¯t really paid much attention as to who exactly they were chasing after.


    In their minds, these particr Orc group were simply armed to the teeth with wonderful equipments, and that alone is enough to chase after them, regardless of these Orc¡¯s identities.


    However, upon realizing it was actually the quest event¡¯s Boss all along, all these pursuing yers became instantly thrilled as their bloodlust rose up a notch.


    ¡°Hell yeah! It¡¯s the Orc Boss! That guy must be the Lionheart King mentioned in the quest description!¡±


    ¡°Guys be careful, he¡¯s a golden-expert; we can¡¯t beat him by ourselves. Let¡¯s call Queen Rose instead! Quick, bring her here!¡±


    ¡°Are you an idiot? Forget it man! if Rosees here, then we won¡¯t even get a chance to gain anything!¡±


    ¡°How about we call for the ck Dragon instead? Meryer is still in golden-rank! He won¡¯t easily beat that boss like Rose, and if we do it this way, we can also score some contribution and EXP points by aiding Meryer in taking down the Boss!¡±


    For a moment, the excited voices of the yers echoed behind him, causing Imsh, the Lionheart King, to feel a foreboding sense of dread.


    These elven riders mounted on magical beasts, were incredibly fast in their pursuit.


    However, due to his injuries, Imsh¡¯s speed had been drastically reduced. Yet, as a golden-rank expert, his speed still far surpassed that of an iron-rank magical beast even while being injured.


    But as their king, he also had to consider the lives of hispanions who were fleeing along with him.


    He had already lost thirty thousand troops¡­


    Too much of their kind have already perished and he didn¡¯t want to abandon thisst group of a few dozen orcs who are fleeing alongside with him


    Therefore, he hadn¡¯tpletely shaken off the elves that¡¯s pursuing him until now due to these concerns.


    Yet, it seemed that his choice of ignoring these pursuers appeared to be a mistake on his part!


    He might truly face his demise here if they really do decide to call the ck Dragon to deal with him considering his current injured condition.


    The other orcs around him also understood this truth.


    Theyposed themselves, steeling their resolve for ast stand despite their injuries. Those with weapons drew them one after another, and those without one simply clenched their fists before addressing him.


    ¡°Great King! Leave quickly! We¡¯ll stay behind to dy these elves!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! You alone¡­can surely make it back to our homnd by yourself and bringing us along with you would be too much of a burden!¡±


    ¡°You are our liege! As long as you survive, we half-orcs can definitely rise up again!¡±


    ¡°Only if you return safely My Liege¡­ can we avenge our fallen tribesmen!¡±


    Everyone within the Orc King¡¯s retinue stated with fervent voices, as each of their gazes burned bright and resolute.


    Observing his subordinates like this, the expression on King Imsh¡¯s face became increasingly conflicted.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    He then momentarily halted, before wiping the blood off his Lionheart Longsword.


    ¡°If I abandon everyone here and escape by myself¡­ then what right do I have to be the king of the half-orcs?¡±


    Imsh¡¯s expression showed a gloomy look of destion.


    The other orcs, upon hearing this, also disyed mixed expressions.


    After King Imsh finished speaking, he then raised his sword anew and with pained eyes and a fierce expression, he bellowed in a tone brimming with sorrow and anguish:


    ¡°After chasing us for so long, I¡¯ve truly had enough! Aren¡¯t they merely just a few hundred iron-rank elves? Let me destroy them alongside all of you! As your king, I dere that everyone here will return to our homnd together!¡±


    His subordinates upon hearing their king¡¯s deration, showed an equally pained expression as they either clenched their fists tightly or raised their weapons high, before shouting in unison:


    ¡°Kill them all! Go back home together!¡±


    ¡°Kill them all! Go back home together!¡±


    ¡°Kill them all! Go back home together!¡±


    King Imsh then took a deep breath, his aura surging with the pressure of a golden-expert bursting forth from his body.


    A faint red glow then enveloped him as he roared and fully turned his body around to face the iing charging elves who had been chasing after him with wild abandon.


    Wielding the Lionheart Longsword tightly in his hands, the Orc King let out a resounding war cry. The other orcs shortly followed suit, also turning around and roaring as they charged alongside their king with the ferocity akin to that of wrathful warriors on death¡¯s door.


    ¡°Kill them all! Go back home together!¡±


    This sudden turn of events startled the yers who had been chasing after them.


    ¡°Oh damn! They¡¯re going all out!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s there to fear? We have more people on our side!¡±


    ¡°Get rid of the other lesser mobs first! The Boss is our main target!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t focus much on gaining EXP! Deploy your best attacks!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! No more holding back!¡±


    The group¡¯s sub-leaders shouted one after another, with every yer preparing to counterattack.


    Then, Imsh, in a mix of astonishment and anger, saw many elves suddenly raise a weapon he couldn¡¯t forget¡ªsteam guns.


    And these elves aimed the gun barrels at the charging orcs, before pulling the triggers simultaneously.


    Amidst their charge, the orcs were instantly assailed by a hailstorm of gunfire as numerous gunshots echoed within the air!


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Lionheart King immediately felt stinging sensations from multiple ces all over his body, knowing full well he had been hit several times.


    However, he also fully knew that a golden expert like him couldn¡¯t be easily killed by mere projectiles. Thus, when he exerted his full strength, the bullets only barely grazed his skin and were entirely incapable of piercing deeper into his muscles.


    s¡­ it was different for the orcs around him.


    Most of his subordinates were at most only at the iron-rank, and many had even previously discarded their weapons, let alone having shields to protect themselves.


    Now, they were practically easy live targets.


    In an instant, seven or eight orcs grunted before falling down to the ground. While others also groaned in pain, whilst visibly sustaining varying degrees of injuries¡­


    Seeing this woeful scene, Lionheart King Imsh¡¯s eyes turnedpletely bloodshot.


    ¡°Bastards!! Cowards!!¡±


    King Imsh released a shout full of anguish, his speed surged forth anew as he charged right into the midst of the elves all by himself!


    ¡ª <strong>255</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾LIONHEART KING</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 256

    ¡°Damn! The Boss is going berserk!¡±


    ¡°Be careful! Dodge! Everyone, keep your distance and kite him!¡±


    The yers were taken aback as Lionheart King Imsh madly charged towards them. Startled shouts echoed through the air as most attempted to swiftly dodge, but among them, a few disyed audacious courage, choosing to confront the rampaging Boss head-on.


    Within this few brave yers, three high-level tank warriors exchanged nces and nodded in unison.


    Wielding their weapons, the trio simultaneously activated their [<strong>Unyielding</strong>] skill to bolster themselves up before charging forward.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hold him off! Everyone, find any chance to wear him down!¡±


    The three tanks yelled.


    As elite members of the First Legion, the trio boasted robust physiques and extensive experience in aggro control.


    In this critical moment, witnessing these high-leveled tanks boldly charging in, the other yers felt a wave of relief as their hearts settled.


    However, their respite was short-lived, as they wholly underestimated the might of King Imsh the Lionheart¡­


    Even while nursing an injury, a golden-rank is still a golden-rank.


    Yet, yers have still not fullyprehended the significance of an expert that attained a golden-rank.


    Imsh rushed straight smack dab right into the center of the yers formation, embodying the tenacity of an insatiable wolf amidst a flock of sheep.


    With a thunderous roar, the Orc King swiftly cleaved a tank in half, sparing not even the mount beneath the yer¡­


    Even in death, the yer¡¯s face still bore an unsettling excitement, seemingly oblivious to his sudden demise.


    Afterwards, Imsh kicked another tank who attempted to sneak attack him from behind, sending the yer crashing ten meters away whilst also breaking several trees in the process.


    The fallen yery on the ground like a broken sack, silent as his bodyy tattered and in pieces.


    Moreover, for yers using the game¡¯s built-in blood and gore filter, their view now turned the dead yer into a mosaic of red and white.


    Imsh roared once more, swiftly grabbing yet another yer that¡¯s attempting to ambush him from the other side.


    The yer was horrified and struggled frantically, but s btedly found out that the opponent¡¯s arm restraining him was as solid as steel¡­


    With bloodshot eyes, the Orc King shouted and snapped the yer¡¯s throat amidst the horrified looks of those yers surrounding him.


    Then, he crushed the yer¡¯s head in his hand easily just like an egg.


    With a thud, red and white scattered all over the ground as yet another mosaic formed beneath his feet.


    In the blink of an eye, the three high-leveled tanks of the First Legion met a brutal end.


    Each of these tanks were usually capable of easily handling strong monsters in the underground dungeon, yet now they sumbed rather helplessly to the Orc King¡¯s attacks.


    One sliced at the waist, another kicked into a pulp, and thest had his head exploded¡­


    What¡¯s more, all of this were done in just mere three seconds.


    Seeing such efficient disy of brutality, the yers were almost stunned, uncertain of how to proceed.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this level of difficulty just too extreme!?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­Golden-rank experts are so scary!¡±


    ¡°This guy must not be spared!¡±


    ¡°Pffft Hahaha! Aren¡¯t you guys too easily scared? Come on now, don¡¯t try to kill me withughter and let¡¯s get back to hunting this monster.¡±


    Although astonished, the yers weren¡¯t overly fearful.


    Despite the situation, they could still have fun and joke around with one another.


    After all, most of these yers are from First Legion, a guild chock-full of battle crazy lunatics.


    Witnessing the Orc King¡¯s ferocity only heightened their enthusiasm, pushing them to greater excitement.


    ¡°Kite him! Sneak around! Don¡¯t engage in closebat idiots! kite him from a distance!¡±


    ¡°Use your aggro skills! Mages and druids, CC him! Everyone, use your crowd control skills together; I refuse to believe we can¡¯t restrain him!¡±


    ¡°Shoot him! Keep shooting! Never stop firing your guns!¡±


    yers chattered like a pack of cunning wolves, dispersing and dodging Imsh¡¯s attacks, whilst also taking the opportunity to counterfire.


    In that pivotal moment, mages tirelessly unleashed their barrage of spells, while the resonating echoes of the steam gun constantly reverberated through the air. Arrows, infused with radiant skills, also continued their relentless descent upon the Orc King and his subordinates.


    Several vines emerged from the ground, entwining Imsh¡¯s thighs, as ice magic spread across his arms, and froze half of his body¡­


    Nheless, amidst the ceaseless onught of attacks, none could do more than only slightly hinder King Imsh¡¯s rampage.


    He still move around akin to a humanoid projectile, roaring furiously whilst charging recklessly through the crowds of yers.


    Even if he is continually disrupted by binding spells, and even when yers ride their mounts to evade him, anyone targeted by him will not survive for more than five seconds.


    Imsh¡¯s burst speed and strength far exceeded yers¡¯ expectations!


    At this point, the Orc King¡¯s rage had already consumed him entirely.


    Imsh didn¡¯t even know how many elves he had in¡­


    His only lingering thought left at that moment was to kill any long-eared ones that stands in his way and lead his remaining tribesmen back at home¡­


    His once glorious armor nowy in ruins, leaving himpletely bare-chested as bullets repeatedly struck him and arrows pierced his body.


    His body was entirely riddled with arrows; however, fortunately for him, all these arrows only prated the shallowestyer of his skin, causing no significant damage.


    Nheless, it made him look more ferocious and terrifying¡­


    With his body bathed in blood and wearing a scathing expression, King Imsh, from the yers¡¯ perspective, resembled an undying infernal demon from hell.


    Perhaps for the sake of authenticity, the devs of Elven Kingdom actually decided on not disying NPC health bars during boss battles.


    Hence, yers currently didn¡¯t know how to assess the Orc King¡¯s state and how much Health Points he had left.


    However, Imsh¡¯s series of killings gradually made yers more and more apprehensive.


    This Orc Boss was simply a live, breathing killing machine!


    Whoever he fixated on, immediately died¡­


    Yet, yers have also noticed that as time goes by, his speed was gradually decreasing¡­


    Although not very noticeable, it was indeed slowing down!


    Moreover, unlike before wherein he can instantly rush up and kill anyone he targeted, now, after enduring a prolonged battle, his ability to perform this task seemed to have considerably slowed down.


    Not only that, but the more sharp-eyed yers have also began to noticed that this Boss was now slightly panting.


    His face now showed a deeper shades of red and green.


    ¡°His condition is declining! We can beat him!¡±


    ¡°Yes, his speed has slowed down!¡±


    Excitement filled the yers as their morale surged again.


    However, inparison to the yers¡¯ rising confidence, King Imsh, on the other hand, whilst being entirely surrounded by an increasing number of long-eared folks, felt increasingly miserable.


    He was a Golden-rank expert.


    He possessed formidable strength.


    Even if he is injured, this numerous group of long-eared folks still wasn¡¯t his match!


    However in the end¡­numbers prevail and the sheer volume of enemy forces remained overwhelmingly daunting for him, even as a golden-expert to contend with¡­


    Moreover¡­ these long-eared folks seemed to also have a way to call for more reinforcements¡­


    These weird elves are as annoying as flies. Despite already killing a lot of them, their numbers still hasn¡¯t dwindled at all and even grew more and more as time goes by¡­


    As a high-ranking expert, Imsh could still much endure at his current state despite the odds¡­


    Yet after fighting for so long¡­


    After hours of intense grueling battle¡­


    He now finally realized that he had no one left by his side anymore¡­


    By this point, in a brief moment of rity, King Imsh looked around and finally noticed that all his subordinates, who had bravely followed him, had already fallen in battle¡­


    s, he¡­was now alone.


    All by himself, amidst the bodies of his fallenrades¡­


    At this moment, the mighty Lionheart, king of the Half-Orcs, the once lofty and imposing figure thatmanded a 30,000-strong army, now instead appears somewhat deste and lonely as he silently gazes up at the darkened skies.


    ¡°Kill them all¡­Go back home together¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>256</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>ALONE ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 257

    Imsh leaned on his lionheart sword and finally ceased attacking.


    Then, he leaned against a withered tree and looked at the increasing number of elves surrounding him, seemingly lost in thought.


    With each passing tense second, more yers gathered around the Orc King. However, at this point, the once rampaging boss had already refrained from attacking, leaving the yers bewildered and hesitant to initiate an assault.


    After all, during their previous shes, every yer who attacked him have quickly met their demise.


    Such quick and brutal way of killing left a profound impact on every yers mind to point that they were still reluctant to face such demise even after this Orc Boss ceased his onught.


    Everyone feared bing the target of this Boss and make a mockery of themselves.


    Thus both sides¡­ended up in this strange kind of standoff.


    There was no longer an orc standing next to Imsh.


    Thest dozens of orcs who fled alongside him have all been killed, and even their corpses have been reduced to nothing but ashes¡­


    Observing the equipment scattered on the ground after the death of his subordinates, Imsh¡¯s expression became somewhat distant.


    Even now he could still identify which piece of clothing belonged to which Orc, and which weapon he had originally bestowed upon whom.


    Despite being an Half-Orc, Imsh boasted exceptional intelligence as well as a remarkable memory and this was something he had always been proud of.


    Yet at this moment, all that he wished for was for his memory be worse¡­


    Gazing at the equipment now rendered ownerless, King Imsh recalled all the familiar faces of the owners of these abandoned items alongside the thirty thousand Orcs who had willingly followed him to their deaths.


    <em>If only¡­</em>


    <em>If only I hadn¡¯t initiated the war of faith in ordance with the oracle of their Divine Father¡­would all those fellow tribesmen of his will still be alive at this point?</em>


    Suddenly, this absurd thought crossed his mind.


    However, Imsh soon sighed wistfully.


    <em>¡­How could that be possible?</em>


    This was a war of faith, a racial war, wherein everything was at stake!


    In the Mortal realm of Seig¨¹es, the oue of such war always ends up with like this¡­


    War of Faiths have always been a brutal and cruel affairs.


    Only the victors survive¡­


    Only the victors could retain their own faith!


    Their Divine Father¡¯s orders could never be broken nor be disobeyed.


    <em>Because¡­</em>


    The future of their Patron Deity is also closely intertwined with the future of their kind, the Half-Orcs¡­


    <em>Yet, thirty thousand Orcs perished, the Chief Shaman sacrificed herself, and even the legendary Totem Guardians has disappeared¡­</em>


    In the back of his mind, such profane whispers rang about, but King Imsh dared not entertain such sphemous thoughts.


    As the king of the Half-Orcs, even though the Chief Shaman hadn¡¯t fully disclosed their Divine Father¡¯s true n unto him, he could still infer a lot from their actions and behaviors.


    But one¡¯s thing¡¯s for sure, this war was of great importance to their Divine Father.


    He would surely employ most of his strongest subordinates, and the mere fact that the three legendary Totem Guardians were still missing at this point clearly indicated that all these higher-ranked beings had already shed, and the result¡­was sadly quite evident.


    ¡°This war¡­has been lost.¡±


    Although he really reluctant to admit it, Imsh had no other choice but to ept this harsh realization.


    <em>What will be the future of our kind, the Half-</em>Orcs?


    Observing the elves before him, with each and every one of them entirely alert and excited, Imsh¡¯s expression became somewhat bewildered¡­


    The eyes of these elves¡­


    It was a set of eyes Imsh was all too familiar with.


    During their hunts and plundering of the Kingdom of Aries, even during capturing elves in the Elven Forest, the Orcs have always wore such simrly looking sets of eyes¡­


    ¡ª<em>That gaze.</em>


    It was the gaze of a predator!


    And their excitement mirrored the same fervor Orcs typically disyed when their prey was about to be caught!


    So¡­to them, he was nothing more than a mere prey?


    For a moment, Imsh felt this was the greatest irony in the entire world.


    Unexpectedly, those who had always seen themselves as hunters would one day find themselves as the prey¡­


    And unexpectedly, those who had always been seen as prey would also had a day of reckoning¡­


    Looking at these elves as they be more and more excited with his prolonged silence, Imsh couldn¡¯t help but pull out a self-deprecating smile.


    <em>Perhaps¡­</em>


    <em>This was also a form of punishment.</em>


    Imsh thought sadly.


    Tired.


    <em>I¡¯m really am¡­tired.</em>


    <em>The strength in my body is getting weaker and weaker, the bone-eroding pain is getting more severe, and my consciousness is getting blurry¡­ </em>


    Leaning against the withered tree, whilst holding on upon his dear lionhart longsword¡­


    ¡ªKing Imsh¡¯s gaze slowly and fadingly lost its focus.


    On the opposite end, as Lionheart King Imsh ceased his assault, yers initially breathed a sigh of relief, only to transition into excitement, and eventually, bewilderment.


    ¡°Huh? Why isn¡¯t the Boss moving anymore?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ could it be preparing for a big move?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s dead?¡± a yer teased.


    However, as soon as he spoke, no one followed up with a response.


    For a moment, everyone¡¯s gaze towards the Orc Boss became somewhat peculiar¡­


    This scary Orc King, whom had battled against them for a long time, still stands tall at that very moment. He resembles a formidable statue, yet clearly, it is now devoid of any signs of life.


    ¡°What the¡ªCould it be¡­ really dead? He¡¯s a Golden-rank NPC for fucks sake! And if he¡¯s really dead then¡­why does he didn¡¯t turned into ashes?¡±


    The yer who initially teased that the boss might be dead was taken aback.


    Simultaneously, Tomato, who was also attacking the boss alongside these yers, disyed a slightly intrigued look and asked in a deep voice,


    ¡°Did anyone receive any EXP?¡±


    The yers exchanged nces among each other before shaking their heads.


    No experience gained¡­


    As well as it didn¡¯t dissolve into ashes¡­


    So, he might not be dead after all?


    At that moment, another figure walked out from the crowd.


    It was a fully armed yer sporting a hunter¡¯s attire. Half of his entire gear set consisted of golden-ss equipment, and his overall demeanor exudes an intimidating feel to it.


    With a cold expression whilst holding a dagger, this yer boldly walked straight toward the Orc Boss amidst the surprised gazes of other yers.


    ¡°It¡¯s Boxlunch!¡±


    ¡°Senior Boxlunch is here!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! Be careful, Senior Box! This Boss is really tough! Don¡¯t get close to it or you might get bitten back!¡±


    Instantly, yers all around him began to remind him.


    After experiencing such a fierce battle against this formidable boss, no one dared to underestimate this high-level expert anymore.


    However, BoxLunch didn¡¯t stop at all.


    Instead he even went directly and stood in front of Lionheart King Imsh.


    The surrounding yers immediately quieted down, watching Boxlunch¡¯s bold actions with widened eyes.


    Boxlunch first made an attacking motion.


    However, there was still no reaction from the opponent at all.


    Then afterwards Boxlunch¡¯s gaze hardened, and he decisively reached out, directly gripping the longsword in Imsh¡¯s hand.


    But to his surprise, the opponent¡­still held it tightly.


    Nheless, with Boxlunch¡¯s touch, the Orc King¡¯s body finally lost bnce and fell directly to the ground.


    Yet despite the fall, the Orc King¡¯s hand still held his own longsword. His eyes, wide open, seemed to be contemting something, but there was no trace of life in them anymore.


    The Orc Boss really¡­ had died.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    Boxlunch said solemnly.


    Instantly, the yers exploded.


    ¡°Oh god! Is he really dead?¡±


    ¡°He was killed by us just like that?¡±


    ¡°Wait guys, if the boss is really dead then¡­ why didn¡¯t we gained any EXP at all? Plus, the boss¡¯ body didn¡¯t turned into ashes too!¡±


    ¡°Could it be a bug in the game¡¯s system?¡±


    At that moment, Boxlunch¡¯s expression slightly stiffened.


    He crouched down again, carefully examining Imsh¡¯s body.


    Seeing this, Tomato¡¯s eyes partly widened. He walked a few steps forward and asked, ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    Boxlunch remained silent for a seconds and replied, ¡°He¡¯s dead, but not killed by us.¡±


    ¡°Not killed by us?¡±


    yers were entirely left bewildered by this sudden revtion.


    ¡°He¡­ was poisoned by Rose.¡± Boxlunch said.


    ¡°Holy shit! Poisoned?¡±


    ¡°Rose¡¯s poison? Well, no wonder!¡±


    yers within the vicinity let out shouts of exmations.


    Of course, some were left feeling regretful.


    ¡°Ahh! If only we knew he was poisoned! We should have finished him off in time! We entirely missed the opportunity to kill him!


    ¡°Dammit give us our EXP, garbage system! Effing devs!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ when was he poisoned?¡±


    Someone asked in confusion.


    ¡°It should be after Rose killed this boss¡¯ mount, I guess? I saw her chasing after this boss several times afterward, but he still managed to escape each time.¡± Tomato said.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Rose¡¯s poison is a real pain. The more you exert movement, the worse it gets! But, if the dose isn¡¯t too potent, then you take it easy just by moving less around, proper care, and getting quick treatment. Anyone can definitely pull through¡­¡± Cbash exined while touching his chest as he recalled his experience with a hint of anxiety in his tone.


    ¡°Pfft¡­ why do you know so much?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask! Just know that I¡¯m quite knowledgeable in this area!¡± Cbash¡¯s face turned dark.


    Even Boxlunch¡¯s expression became slightly awkward.


    And hearing Cbash¡¯s words, some yers looked at him strangely.


    ¡°Since this boss was poisoned, why didn¡¯t he just escape then? And from the looks of him earlier on, he was still quite agile and lively despite being poisoned. He could have just avoided us and dealt with the poison while hiding, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, surely he too must¡¯ve realized that the more he fought, the worse his injuries would gonna get, and in the end, he died of poison without any of us getting the kill. What a loss¡­¡±


    After hearing this, Boxlunch silently observed the rest of the yers as they go around frantically looting the equipment dropped by the Orcs, before ncing down at the Lionheart Longsword still tightly held in Imsh¡¯s hand.


    He then focused his eyes on the face of the Orc King before stating,


    ¡°Because¡­he is the king of the Orcs. He didn¡¯t want to abandon his people even at thest moment.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ even though he knew that turning back to fight would worsen the poison and might even led to his death, the Orc King still chose to turn back.¡±


    Upon hearing this, many yers stopped their actions in unison.


    They suddenly recalled the loud roars of the Orcs at the beginning of their battle¡­


    They wanted to fight together, to go home together¡­


    yers then looked again at Imsh¡¯s fallen body, with their gazes showing aplex array of emotions.


    For a moment, the lively mood around them also stagnated as a solemn atmosphere engulfed the entire vicinity for a couple of minutes.


    Tomato eventually sighed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s bury him.¡±


    After saying that, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a self-mockingugh.


    ¡°Dammit, it¡¯s obviously just a game. Why do I care so much¡­¡±


    Although after saying this, he still reached out and solemnly closed the Orc King¡¯s eyes.


    Despite being an enemy¡­


    Despite being just an NPC¡­


    He was also a king worthy of respect¡­


    ¡ª <strong>257</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>BURY HIM ¡¿</strong>


    <strong>TL/N</strong> : I couldn¡¯t post anythingst week due to being busy with my new job. Things are still hectic as it is, but hopefully i could return to my normal schedule asap.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 258

    ¡¾?¡¿


    <strong>¡¾Raid Storyline Quest ¡°War of Faith¡± Completed¡¿</strong>


    ¡¾All participating yers shall receive ¡®<strong>30,000</strong>¡® experience points, ¡®<strong>5,000</strong>¡® contribution points, ¡®<strong>30</strong>¡® resurrection coins, ¡®<strong>01</strong>¡® lucky draw ticket, and the exclusive rare blue-ss title ¡®<strong>Guardian of Faith</strong>¡®.¡¿


    As the sun rose once again, yers who had participated in this unprecedented storyline war received several new system prompts.


    The questline¡­ was finally over.


    Looking at the system messages passing before their eyes, as well as at therge rewards they¡¯ve acquired, all the yers that participated disyed looks of excitement¡­


    Many couldn¡¯t wait to equip their new titles, and underneath the username¡¯s hovering above their heads, a new line of blue text appeared which states¡ª


    ¡°Guardian of Faith!¡±


    Surprisingly, having a title for themselves made a significant difference in their avatar¡¯s outward appearance, making everything appear more pleasing to the eye.


    The war came so suddenly, but it also end just as swift.


    Thirty thousand Orcish army, the most elite force of the Half-Orcs, nearly all perished in less than two days in the hills surrounding ck Dragon Castle and the grounds of Dark Mountain Range¡­


    Then, the surviving Orcs army that somehow managed to escape experienced a day and night of being hunted down by the yers.


    In the end, only a few lucky Orcs managed to escape the yers pursuit by hiding deep into the Dark Mountain Range, however, only a few lucky ones had such fortune.


    The vast majority of the fleeing Orcs have turned into yer experience points.


    From the ck Dragon Castle to the south, the road was chock full of equipment left behind by the orcs who had perished, as well as yers who were bustling around picking up all the abandoned equipment scattered about¡­


    It¡¯s to the extent that they had picked up so much equipment that they had long since be numb to such monotonous actions.


    At the end of the day, the yers became more interested in killing the Orcs rather than their equipment.


    It was solely because they had killed too many Orcs this time, saturating the supply, which also consequently reduced the demand for it, rendering the Orcs¡¯ equipmentpletely worthless.


    On the contrary, the allure of gaining high experience points and lottery draw tickets was far more greater to the yers.


    Especially after the prize pool opened!


    More than one lucky yer managed to won a legendary golden-ss equipment, which was envied by many non-whale yers.


    Of course, the poor quality of the Orcs¡¯ equipment was also one of the reasons yers were uninterested in these items.


    In fact, most yers wouldn¡¯t bother in using such low-quality equipment unless they were low-level newbies.


    Perhaps back when the server first opened, everyone treated them as treasures, s now that better items could be exchanged in the store, these junk items were no longer quite as appealing.


    Of course, offering all these junk items to the goddess was also a good option, which perhaps may even earn them some contribution points from their ever-so-generous elven goddess.


    After the war, many yers gathered in an inconspicuous corner near the ck Dragon Castle.


    They avoided being totally seen by devoted NPCs like Alice, and happily carved out an offering circle on the ground.


    They then immediately offered to the goddess all the unused Orcs equipment and damaged items they have looted, sneakily gaining some contribution points.


    They only umted small amounts of CP by performing these offering rituals, but doing it several times eventually led to greater satisfaction.


    So¡­ after the war ended, Ev¨¦ quickly discovered a sudden influx of junk items within her Celestial Domain.


    Nevertheless, Ev¨¦ still epted all these offerings.


    She then used some of her divine power to repair and modify the appearance of these junk items, while also adding some special properties at random, before marking the refurbished items with a higher price tag, and then promptly listing them all back in the system store.


    However, it¡¯s not entirely urate to categorize every piece of equipment plundered by the yers as mere junk items.


    In reality, among the items dropped by the Orcs, some were indeed can bebeled as rare treasures.


    Notably, the most famous ones were the sacrificial robes dropped by the chief shaman of the Half-Orcs and the Lionheart Longsword of King Imsh.


    Both of these items were identified by the system as silver-ss equipment!


    Yes, silver-ss equipment.


    Although both of these Orc leaders were golden-rank experts, their equipment still remained at the silver-ss level.


    After all¡­the Orcs were widely known for their scarcity of resources.


    However, these two items were considered excellent even among silver-ss equipment, much better than the in robe that Li Mu acquired from the Orc priest of the Caverock Tribe.


    Not to mention, the chief shaman¡¯s sacrificial robe inherently possessed the special properties of [<strong>eleration</strong>] [<strong>Meditation</strong>] and [<strong>Enhanced</strong> <strong>Perception</strong>.]


    Even in terms of system evaluation, her equipment was a solid epic purple-ss item.


    As for the Lionheart Longsword, the system¡¯s evaluation even went even further and deemed Imsh sword as an¡ªArtifact!


    This was an inherited artifact of the orcs, the very symbol of royalty of the half-orcs¡ªthe Lionheart Longsword.


    Although it was only at the silver level, the sword did contain some traces of Uller¡¯s divine power, with the special properties of [<strong>Sharpness</strong>] [<strong>Intimidation</strong>] and [<strong>Freezing</strong>.]


    Three special properties!


    To determine the ss of an equipment, it¡¯s enough to look at how many special properties it inherently has.


    Those without one are deemedmon white, having one makes it a rare blue, whereas having two special properties make it an epic purple, and items imbued with three special properties make it a legendary golden-ss¡­


    As for having more properties than three, yers still haven¡¯t seen them, so it¡¯s naturally assumed by them that items with three special properties is the pinnacle.


    So in conclusion¡­the equipment of both Orc leaders was ssified as legendary golden equipment!


    Although the Lionheart Sword¡¯s appearance is slightly inferior to those gold legends in the exchange store¡­ it is indeed a genuine golden legendary item.


    Moreover¡­these items can still be used even after a yer advances into silver-rank!


    It can be said that, up to now, this is the most glorious equipment within the game.


    However, one problem that arose was that the yers were uncertain of its rightful ownership because the Orc Boss didn¡¯t really drop this item to a particr yer, as well as the mere fact that hundreds of yers banded together to hunt the Orc King.


    With it being an equipment of a quest boss, naturally, everyone wanted it for themselves, and arguments of its ownership rang about one after another. But, in the end, after some final deliberation, everyone simply decided that the ownership of the Lionheart sword could be gained through an auction.


    Of course, considering that this is a silver-ss legendary equipment, almost unprecedented and far beyond the items listed off the exchange store, which makes it truly a limited edition item. As a result, urately determining its true value bes quite an arduous task.


    So¡­ after yers further discussed it, they then decided to simply auction the Lionheart Sword at a specific time, and the highest bidder would get it.


    Ev¨¦, upon learning about this, did not intervene and let the yers decide for themselves.


    In thr end, it¡¯s just a mere silver-ss equipment, although formidable, it¡¯s still only a single item and doesn¡¯t affect the game¡¯s overall bnce.


    Moreover, high-level equipment such as this can only be effectively used by high-level individuals.


    yers wielding this sword would be doing well to unleash even a fraction of its power.


    In addition, it¡¯s just one piece of equipment, not a full set of golden-ss armor.


    Although the attack power of its owner would skyrocket, one could still overturn if they¡¯re not careful enough.


    However, the appearance of the Lionheart Longsword did indeed gave Ev¨¦ some new idea:


    ¡°As yers grow, they will undoubtedly encounter more of these rare items. Perhaps¡­ I should prepare an ownership binding function? Or¡­ an exclusive recognition function?¡±


    In the world of Saig¨¹es, only artifacts can be recognized as master-ss weapons.


    Moreover, it needs to be a semi-artifact or higher.


    Weapons like the Lionheart Longsword, although considered to be an artifact, do not have any kind of recognition function.


    And there are many of such simr artifacts are scattered about within Saig¨¹es.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ this idea is quite good. I¡¯m going to call it a binding function! Incorporate weapons into the game system and assign them an exclusive mark, which makes them personal items that couldn¡¯t be used besides its owner. This way, whenever a yer dies, these exclusive items can also teleport alongside the deceased yer!¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, besides the item owner, other yers won¡¯t be able to unleash the full effects of the special properties imbued within a binded weapon, just like the recognition effect of an artifacts!¡±


    ¡°¡­However, by implementing such features, the maintenance cost of my game system will increase yet again, although not by much, but its still an added strain on my divine power reserves, sigh.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s do this, we can create a maintenance buff for bound equipment. yers can bind equipment, but they need to deduct a certain amount of experience or contribution for binding maintenance. Yes indeed, this is the maintenance that binding must have!¡±


    ¡°However, this matter cannot be made public, and should be done secretly. hehe, I¡¯ll just inform a yer after they sessfully bind a weapon that binding will impose a certain mental burden unto them, possibly resulting in a slight decrease in experience and contribution points they will gain!¡±


    ¡°I truly am a genius~¡±


    ¡ª <strong>258</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ QUEST COMPLETION & EQUIPMENT BINDING ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 259

    The way the Lionheart Sword emerged brought a minor bug within Elven Kingdom.


    The problem lies within the fact that Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t put the Lionheart sword up for sale on the exchange store unlike before when she had defeated demigod Volker.


    Of course the reason she didn¡¯t was because unlike the Orc King¡¯s sword, Ev¨¦ had extracted the divine power from Volker¡¯s equipment, leading to a significant decline in equipment quality and these items were categorized as ck iron of golden legend, not as powerful as the Lionheart Sword.


    Looking at it from the yers perspective, they found it somewhat unusual as theycked insight into her reasoning behind her decision.


    As a result, Ev¨¦ quickly noticed some people began toin, and although yers expressed their grievances for a while, no one really paid too much attention to theseiners.


    After all, Elven Kingdom is technically still on beta, and minor bugs are often expected.


    However, as this small issue began to spread, it eventually evolved into another legend.


    That is, people began to believe that participating in the main storylines might offer them a chance to acquire exclusive and rare equipment!


    The Lionheart Sword is proof of that!


    Suddenly, the yers¡¯ expectations for the storyline quests began to skyrocket, which surprised Ev¨¦ quite a bit.


    ¡°Not bad, I¡¯ve somehow instilled them a drive of a wage earner!¡±


    Ev¨¦ silently praised herself.


    After inspecting the battlefield, distributing rewards to yers, and secretly contemting of ways to exclusively bind an equipment, Ev¨¦ finally returned to her mindscape.


    And thus, the war of faith against the Orcs had finallye to an end.


    Ev¨¦ then decided to carefully review what she had gained.


    First, she checked her current status¡­


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient Deity)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Status</strong>: Weak Divine Power¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Title</strong>: Mother of Nature, Goddess of Life, Matriarch of the Elves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine</strong> <strong>Power</strong>: 1275/3000¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of believers</strong>: 852 (1 saint, 4 fanatic believers, 354 devout believers, 493 shallow believers) )¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Bestowal, Enchantment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Artifacts</strong>: Withering Heart (Iplete)¡¿


    First off, it¡¯s so gratifying that her divine power had finally exceeded 1000!


    For her to attain this much, she had to thank the oh so generous Uller, the God of Winter and Hunting.


    After all, Uller had sent her one of his demigod before, which provided her almost two hundred divine power in one go.


    And this time, Uller even had personally offered his own incarnation, which further boosted Eve¡¯s divine power!


    In Seig¨¹es, a demigod¡¯s divine power typically ranges from one to three hundred points.


    Although Uller¡¯s incarnation was also at demigod-level, the fact that it was created by a true god made its quality and quantity more higher.


    After absorbing all of the power contained within the incarnation, Ev¨¦ was pleasantly surprised to find that she had gained nearly 500 divine power!


    Even after converting it into her own divine power, there was still approximately 400 DP left.


    In addition, the three totem guardians which merely served as appetizers also provided Ev¨¦ with dozens of divine power.


    Moreover, the thirty thousand orc army also contributed a substantial lifeforce amount to her.


    Although the Withering Heart also took some lifeforce away, overall, Ev¨¦ had absorbed more than the artifact.


    And after converting all the lifeforce she had siphoned in the battlefield into DP, Ev¨¦ realized that it was even more substantial than what the Totem Guardians had provided her.


    After taking into ount various loss due to power conversion, the final result was that Eve¡¯s own divine power had reached an astonishing 1275 value!


    And this was even after she had spent 100 DP to form a new incarnation!


    At this moment, Ev¨¦ can finally no longer be worried aboutcking in divine power.


    <em>Well¡­actually no, I¡¯m still quite worried a bit because, after all, I only had weak divine power for now.</em>


    However, Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t overly concerned about it unlike before.


    She was different from the other gods.


    Her divine power is only being temporarily weakened, not because of a low divinity rank which can prevent her divine power state from advancing.


    Just as long as she gathered enough divine power, returning to a powerful divine state was just a matter of time.


    And attaining this state¡­ is actually not that difficult.


    After this recent incident with Uller, Ev¨¦ had finally figured out the best way to gather lots of divine power for herself.


    ¡ªThat is to seize every opportunity she got to ughter gods.


    A demigod generally had 300 DP, and a divine incarnation had 500 DP; and if she somehow gets lucky to kill a true god, then her powers will skyrocket significantly!


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I should participate in more religious wars?¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart fluttered slightly.


    This time, Ev¨¦ seemed to have tasted the sweetness of victory.


    ¡°But¡­Uller probably won¡¯t have the means to retaliate against her for the time being. After all, there are only a few hundred thousand of his followers in total and thirty thousand of them died at once, and they were all still young and strong too. Also, his incarnation was destroyed by her as well. Henceforth, It can be said that he suffered a significant loss¡­¡±


    ¡°Uller¡¯s number of believers suffered a significant loss this time, which inevitably slowed down his umtion of divine powers. Moreover, I also killed his incarnation to the extent that even its soul was annihted¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ then couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in amusement.


    ¡°I could almost imagine him feeling really ufortable at this moment. Hehe, this feeling is so good~¡±


    Although a divine incarnation is just that, an incarnation, it is still inherently linked to its creator.


    And if the incarnation were to be annihted, typically, its soul would return to its creator, causing them to only suffer a significant loss of divine power.


    Yet, if even a trace of the soul within the incarnation were somehow obliterated, then the creator would also suffer considerable damage as a result.


    Though it does not necessitate the creator to sumb to a deep slumber for recovery, a period of weakness is almost certain.


    Therefore¡­ Ev¨¦ could conclude that Uller¡¯s expression at this moment must be quite fascinating.


    Nheless, despite being amused, she also harbored a hint of caution:


    ¡°He must have been fully determined to seed in this recent operation, yet the result was a disastrous defeat. Surely, he will now harbor more suspicions about my real identity.¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused as she folded her arms.


    He might not necessarily directly link me to the old Word Tree, but he will undoubtedly be more vignt about my identity.


    ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to ask Her Majesty H to help provide cover for me. Luckily I have a contract with her in ce, and she could find a way to shift the me to someone else for this recent incident.¡±


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ acted immediately.


    Whilst seated upon her divine throne, Ev¨¦ took out the Casket of the Dead, which she used formunicating with the goddess of death, and promptly beganposing a message:


    ¡°H, Your Divine Majesty, the war of faith between Uller and me has finally concluded. His army has been defeated, and one of his incarnations has been obliterated. Although the divine soul within his incarnation was destroyed by me, I fear he might still harbor suspicions about certain matters¡­¡±


    ¡°As per our agreement, I hope you can help provide me with cover to conceal my identity.¡±


    Ev¨¦ infused her words with divine power, intending to transmit the message immediately.


    However, just before sending it, Ev¨¦ had a sudden thought and added two more questions:


    ¡°Besides this, I have two other inquiries to seek your guidance on.¡±


    ¡°One is the truth behind the World Tree¡¯s besiegement a thousand years ago¡­ Why was the old World Tree attacked by the gods? What are the gods afraid of?¡±


    ¡°And my other concerns the information about those stolen divine artifacts that originally belonged to the old World Tree¡­ Do you have any clues on that?¡±


    The first matter was something that Ev¨¦ had always wondered about. Although she already had various guesses in her mind, Ev¨¦ still wanted to get real certainty just to be on the safe side.


    As for the second matter, it was a rtively recent interest.


    Her predecessor must¡¯ve owned at the very least more than a dozen divine artifacts with the old World Tree being a Great Ancient One.


    However, the three most famous and powerful artifacts of her predecessor were the Scepter of Life, the Nature¡¯s Crown, and the Source of Elements.


    Of course, these three artifacts were sadly lost.


    Unlike before wherein all she needed to be most concerned about is getting out of her quasi-death state, Ev¨¦ now had recovered considerably. Thus, she now has the leisure to contemte about the whereabouts of these artifacts once more.


    Nevertheless, even though she had a vague idea of their whereabouts, Ev¨¦ also knew that these artifacts were likely in the hands of the gods who had besieged her predecessor.


    Yet, there was still a glimmer of hope within her heart¡­


    <em>What if some were left behind and ended up being not stolen?</em>


    Anyhow, there¡¯s no harm in asking to find out!


    Even knowing which deity actually stole these artifacts would be better than not knowing at all.


    At least, it would give Ev¨¦ a new target for her future wars of faith.


    Afterpiling the content of her message, Ev¨¦ checked again and again just to be sure that she had forgotten nothing else. She then finally injected some of her divine power into the casket and sent her inquiries to the Goddess of Death.


    Afterpleting these tasks, Ev¨¦ directed their attention towards thest item that she had gained from this war.


    It was also the one that currently intrigued her the most.


    The captured and iplete divine artifact¡ªthe Withering Heart.


    Ev¨¦ had already extracted this skeletal ne from the Soul Orb. Now that it¡¯spletely severed from its connection with Uller, it now haf truly became an ownerless item.


    Not only that but it also now lost its original crimson hue, turning into an ordinary-looking skeletal ne.


    Ev¨¦ pondered for a moment whilst silently gazing at this iplete divine artifact. After a minute or so of analyzing it, she then extended their hand and infused it with some of her divine power, feeding it directly.


    As soon as her divine power, imbued with the energy of life, touched the Withered Heart, it then rapidly began to devour her powers.


    The divine artifact, in turn, bes increasingly crimson in hue as it siphons more and more of her powers, eventually emitting a crazed and malevolent aura around it.


    Witnessing this scene, Ev¨¦ narrowed their eyes ever so slightly.


    ¡ª <strong>259</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ TIME TO SHIFT BLAME </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 260

    ¡°Abyss¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured.


    Although she still hadn¡¯t personallye into contact with the Abyss, and most of what she knew about it only came from the inheritance of the World Tree, she instantly grasped its true origin the moment Ev¨¦ sensed the malevolent and frenzied aura emitting from the artifact.


    Indeed, this skeletal ne was a divine artifact that was corrupted by the Abyss.


    The Abyss serves as the collective term for the chaotic nes at the bottom of the realm of Seig¨¹es. It also acts as the in-between boundary that separates the Netherworld from the mortal realm¡ªa dreadful ce wherein the naturalws are in constant disarray.


    The Abyss also serves as the homnd for demons and evil gods.


    No one knows when the Abyss actually first appeared.


    However, it is confirmed that the Abyss ne lie at the bottom of the entire realm of Seig¨¹es, possessing a powerful attraction that continuously draws upon the upper nes toward its depths.


    In the realm of Seig¨¹es, new nes sprout forth each year, yet, ancient nes also sumb to the allure of the Abyss, falling into its depths before bing another stratum of the Abyss.


    This cycle has repeated on for countless of years, and so far, no one still knows exactly how many nes the Abyss has actually consumed, forming an endless stratum hence its name¡ª


    <em>The Abyss.</em>


    Creatures can also be born within the abyss, but the abyssal nature of this nepletely distorts their souls. Creatures born from the Abyss tend to be insane, paranoid, corrupted, and hostile towards the material realm.


    Hence, the inhabitants of Seig¨¹es simply refer to these creatures as demons.


    Moreover, the Abyss is also a breeding ground for evil gods, wherein arge number of them are either hiding or procreating.


    And these malevolent entities often entice mortals from the material realm to sacrifice themselves to them, hereby introducing evil and chaos into the upper nes.


    Eventually, the power of the Abyss corrodes the upper nes and drags them into its depths.


    In essence, the Abyss is a natural adversary of the upper nes.


    The corruption of the Abyss is nearly insurmountable, even causing unease amongst the gods.


    If a deity¡¯s soul is somehow tainted by Abyssal power, then even a true god will suffer severe consequences, ranging from mild confusion to madness or even direct corruption into a fallen Abyssal deity, depending on the severity of the corruption.


    This is why Uller didn¡¯t leave his divine imprint on this artifact and instead used his believers, sacrificing them to indirectly utilize its malevolent power.


    Uller¡¯s wariness regarding this artifact heightened Ev¨¦¡¯s caution upon acquiring the Withering Heart.


    She had noticed that H¡¯s Soul Orb was only sealed for a brief moment by this artifact, yet in that short span, the orb was already tainted with so muchyer of malevolent and chaotic essence.


    Had Ev¨¦ not swiftly extracted her own divine soul from the Orb, then she might have faced a simr fate.


    ¡°It would be great if there was some way to efficiently purify the power of the abyss.¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed internally.


    Divine power of the Gods can suppress the abyssal power up to a certain extent. For instance, if the Abyssal contamination is weaker, then they can remove it directly.


    However, when the Abyssal contamination is potent enough, then purifying it bes a more challenging endeavor.


    The Withering Heart which was even feared by Uller has be heavily contaminated by the Abyss. As a result, purifying this artifact would be exceedingly difficult, even with the intervention of a true god like herself.


    There might be a possibility of her bing contaminated herself if she were to carelessly purify this artifact.


    ¡°There must be a feasible method to purify the abyssal contamination¡­ If I remember correctly, the Netherworld was once a stratum of the Abyss that was purified by a Primordial Death God. The question is, how was it aplished?¡±


    This¡­ is indeed quite challenging to exin.


    The Primordial Death God was a divine entity just a step away from being a Great Old One, far beyond what Ev¨¦ couldpare to currently.


    It is said that even the previous World Tree, even at its peak, still couldn¡¯t surpass this great old being.


    The Primordial Death God was an existence far more older than the World Tree. He was an ancient deity with a history far more older than even the Dragons and Titans!


    Of course, whether the previous World Tree reached its limit is still a mystery¡­


    Even now, Ev¨¦ vividly remembers the description of her [Absorption] ability within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance:


    <em>¡°The inherent ability of the World Tree in its primary form, is capable of absorbing void energy, the power of the origin, and life force from the void, dimensional worlds, and living beings, converting them into its own divine power¡­¡±</em>


    The keyword is the World Tree¡¯s ¡®primary form.¡¯


    If there¡¯s a primary form, then does that mean there are intermediate and advanced forms?


    Based on her current performance, aside from the strength of her divine power, Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t really feel much of a gap between herself and the true gods of faith.


    So that begs the question¡­what form was her predecessor at, the previous World Tree?


    After her revival, as her divine power gradually increased, Ev¨¦ became more and more skeptical about whether the previous World Tree had even surpassed the primary form.


    After all¡­ the name ¡°World Tree¡± carries the words ¡°world¡± within it!


    And now, even though her real body is already quiterge, it¡¯s still only a kilometer tall, not thatrgepared to the grand concept of a ¡°world¡± that inherently lies within their given name.


    Even back a thousand ago at its prime, when the old World Tree had not yet withered, its height was still less than ten kilometers.


    It might be considered the tallest entity in the world, but it still feelsckingpared to the term ¡°world.¡±


    Or perhaps¡­ is the term ¡°World Tree¡± simply an exaggeration to describe an individual tree that is as big as a world tree?


    <em>No¡­ that would still be too low, wouldn¡¯t it?</em>


    If that is the case, then they would be better called the Tree of Eternity, the Tree of Life, or something along those lines.


    Ev¨¦ shook her head inwardly.


    Setting aside these messy thoughts, she focused once again on the withering heart before her.


    However, this time, she was wholly astonished at what she found.


    ¡°Huh?¡­The essence of the Abyss somehow¡­ disappeared?!¡±


    Ev¨¦ observed with shocked eyes as the withering heart hovered peacefully in mid-air within her divine mental domain, as its color changed from ck-red to pure white.


    Although it still had a skeletal appearance, it no longer exuded that chaotic and malevolent aura.


    <em>The Abyssal power on the withering heart had been purged?!</em>


    In an instant, Eve¡¯s expression showed quite a dramatic look as she stared dumbfoundedly at the floating artifact for a couple of seconds.


    She then waved her hand, guiding the withering heart into her palm.


    As the withering heart touched her hand, Ev¨¦ distinctly felt that the weight of this artifact seemed to have increased.


    She sensed it carefully once again.


    ¡°Hmmm, how peculiar¡­indeed the abyssal contamination within it has been purified! There¡¯s not a trace of chaotic and evil aura within it anymore. Although it¡¯s still an iplete divine artifact, I can now im it and manipte it with my own divine power.¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt delighted.


    However, after her onset of joy, she also felt a sense of confusion.


    Even the powerful God of War found it difficult to remove the aura of the abyss within Withering Heart.


    <em>So how could it had been removed?</em>


    Could it be because of her divine power that was rich with the essence of life that she had just infused?


    <em>If so, then could her divine power¡­ purify Abyssal energy?!</em>


    Although the divine power of ancient gods can inherently suppresses Abyssal energy, isn¡¯t her own power seemed too strong?


    Could it be¡­ because she is the World Tree?


    Moreover, her divine power of life and the Abyssal energy within the artifact disappeared altogether¡­


    Could it be that it was both neutralized?


    ¡°My divine power can actually purify Abyssal energy?!¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then¡­ does it mean I can absorb the power of creatures in the Abyss? After all, although they are either eroded by the abyss or born directly from the abyss, technically, these creatures still have a ¡®life,¡¯ which is a naturalw that my divinity governs!¡±


    Ev¨¦ was greatly moved.


    However, after discovering the secret of her divine power, suddenly, a question that confused her even more emerged:


    Wait a moment¡­


    The Abyss is the natural enemy of the gods.


    If the World Tree can purify the power of the abyss, then no matter what angle one look at it, the gods should be supporting the World Tree instead.


    So then, why would they besiege it?


    <em>There may be more hidden secrets that I don¡¯t know about¡­ </em>


    Thinking of this, Eve¡¯s initially joyful expression gradually faded, and a sense of solemnity settled within her heart.


    Just at that moment, the casket of the dead ced beside her throne suddenly radiated a profound light.


    The Goddess of Death, H, had finally replied.


    The speed for which she responded was much faster than Ev¨¦ had imagined¡­


    She raised her hand slightly, directly bringing the casket into her grasp and opened it.


    ¡ª <strong>260</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SECRETS OF THE WORLD TREE</strong> <strong>¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 261

    The casket promptly opened, releasing a deep surge of deathly power.


    Ev¨¦ gently dispelled it, and H¡¯s cool andzy voice echoed a second afterwards.


    ¡°Your Highness Ev¨¦, congrattions upon your victory in the war.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that if you can, I hope you could keep a low profile as much as possible. Just now¡­Uller went to the gates of the Netherworld and made a big fuss.¡±


    ¡°Hence now, it seems the entire heavenly realm knows about my supposed ¡®war of faith¡¯ against Uller.¡±


    Then, the deathly power unfolded slightly, revealing a picturesque scene before Ev¨¦¡­


    It was a silver giant with a divine axe and bow, cursing loudly in front of the passage to the Netherworld.


    Ev¨¦ immediately recognized the attire of the silver giant without hesitation¡ªit was Uller, the god of winter and hunting.


    However, Uller in the image was extremely angry,pletely devoid of the dignity of a true god.


    Uller caused amotion at the entrance of the Netherworld?


    Ev¨¦ was slightly stunned, with her expression also showing a somewhat amused look.


    <em>Isn¡¯t it too silly for a true god with a weak divine power to make a scene right at the doorstep of a god, who is ten times more stronger than him? </em>


    Not to mention that the owner of the house he¡¯s forcefully intruding into has more superior control and output of their divine power.


    Especially since H also inherited the legacy of the Primordial Death God, which also likely possessed one or two true divine artifacts..


    Ev¨¦ really couldn¡¯t believe the audacity of Uller.


    This brute¡­ does he really not know the meaning of the word ¡°death¡±?


    But as this thought crossed Eve¡¯s mind, she quickly understood theplexities of the situation.


    Firstly, although H held median divine power and ruled the Netherworld, she found herself trapped within its boundaries for certain reasons.


    Therefore, Uller was confident that H wouldn¡¯t easily retaliate even if he made a scene at her doorstep.


    Moreover, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows in the Netherworld is also eyeing H¡¯s authoritative position, waiting to see if she would respond, so that he could help out her enemies¡­


    Uller has the support of the God of War on his side, a genuinely powerful deity who gathered several races, including pure-blooded orcs, under the banner of his faith.


    Looking at it from Uller¡¯s perspective, since Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t let the soul of his incarnation return to him and even annihted it, Uller must have thought that only H could do such a thing, causing him to rage at the entrance of the Netherworld.


    Since he had the backing of the God of War and the assurance that H was trapped within the confines of the Netherworld, Uller must have gone to her doorstep to ascertain his assumptions under the guise of making a scene at the Netherworld¡¯s entrance.


    This hunter brute, whose seemingly foolish on the outside, is quite clear-headed now that she think about it¡­


    Of course, it cannot be ruled out that he may really have been somewhat influenced by the abyss will due to the long-term possession of the withering heart, thereby bing somewhat apoplectic as a result.


    However, since Uller immediately came knocking at H¡¯s doors, it may indicate that he still hasn¡¯t figured out Eve¡¯s real identity yet.


    Perhaps H had actively covered for Ev¨¦ after their deal; otherwise, Uller wouldn¡¯t have directly stormed in within her territory.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ felt a bit more grateful towards the Goddess of Death¡­


    Then, she continued listening to H¡¯s message:


    ¡°As for the two questions you asked me¡­ my knowledge is quite limited on that regard.¡±


    ¡°Regarding the secret of the World Tree being besieged, I¡¯ve heard some vague information about it but nothing concrete. However, one thing¡¯s for sure: the gods in the heavenly realm do indeed fear you.¡±


    ¡°Your growth will strengthen the origin of the realm of Seig¨¹es, which will ultimately lead to the eventual ascension of the entire ne¡­¡±


    ¡°And Saig¨¹es¡¯ ascension will benefit all creatures living within the realm, enhancing their overall strength. Perchance it may even result in the resurrection of some slumbering ancient deities¡­¡±


    ¡°But whether it¡¯s the improvement in strength of the mortals or the revival of ancient beings, those possibilities are not what ¡®they¡¯ up above would ever want to see.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Eve¡¯s previous doubts were finally rified to some extent.


    This reason is simr to what she had spected!


    And this can exin why the World Tree, despite its inherent ability to purify abyssal power, is still rejected by the heavenly gods.


    However, H whose situated in the Netherworld, is not as concerned about it since the power of faith is just an added bonus for her, considering her role in overseeing death.


    The Primordial Death God whom she inherited its legacy was an ancient deity, and if it weren¡¯t for wanting to use the power of faith to restore her divinity, then H probably wouldn¡¯t even bother developing her own followers in the first ce.


    ¡°However, speaking of which¡­¡±


    H¡¯s voice continued, now with a hint of mockery.


    ¡°Although the heavenly gods besiege the World Tree, they are also quite apprehensive about such endeavor. In fact, they dare not evenbel the World Tree as an evil god¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you know why?¡± The Goddess of Death asked rhetorically.


    <em>How would I know?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was speechless.


    Of course, H quickly exined, her voice still filled with mockery and disdain.


    ¡°Because¡­birthing true gods of faith is originally the role of the World Tree. In a sense, it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that the World Tree is the divine mother of the gods of faith.¡±


    <em>Goddammit!</em>


    Upon hearing this, Ev¨¦ was truly astonished for the first time, with her mouth even hanging wide open.


    The World Tree¡­ is actually considered the divine mother of the true gods of faith?


    ¡°Therefore, although the remaining Ancient Ones didn¡¯t ultimately prevent the newer gods from targeting the World Tree, they did however establish some agreements with the other gods and the most important one being the reputation of the World Tree.¡±


    ¡°And if I remember¡­ touching your core is also a use within their agreement.¡±


    ¡°Of course, due to curse magic and the nature of dimensional portals, they find it difficult to make contact with your core.¡±


    Hearing this, Ev¨¦ finally understood why, after a millennium, the natives of the Saig¨¹es still had a favorable view of the World Tree.


    But then again, now that she has inherited the World Tree, what does that make her?


    <em>The stepmother of the gods?</em>


    Hmm¡­ no, that title is too damn ridiculous.


    Ev¨¦ sighed, then continued listening to H¡¯s third response:


    ¡°As for the artifacts of Yggdrasill¡­they were all seized by the gods after the heavenly war.¡±


    ¡°From what I know, the Eternal Lord obtained the Source of Elements and the God of War got the Nature¡¯s Crown, but the Scepter of Life was broken into pieces and scattered all over the mortal world. However¡­ rumors say that some true gods are collecting the fragments of the Scepter and possibly intending to restore it.¡±


    ¡°As for information on other artifacts outside the three major divine artifacts, I don¡¯t know much. Presumably, they were also obtained, lost, or destroyed by the heavenly gods¡­¡±


    <em>Is that so?</em>


    Listening to this news, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t say she was disappointed.


    In fact, the fate of these artifacts was simr to what she had already spected; it¡¯s just that she didn¡¯t know in particr whose hands each artifact specificallynded into.


    ¡°Eternal Lord and the God of War¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured to herself.


    The Eternal Lord is the patron deity of humanity, the main god for which mankind believes in. His full name is Eteo, the Lord of Eternity and Radiance, a true god with formidable divine power.


    Meanwhile the God of War is revered by the savage races such as pure orcs, lizardfolks, and trolls. His full name is Lodour, the God of War and Destruction, simrly a true god with powerful divine power.


    Simultaneously, these two were also the main force in besieging the World Tree a thousand years ago.


    Ever since Ev¨¦ revived and checked the records about the thousand year war on the World Tree, she had noted their names in her little book.


    H¡¯s messages concluded at this point.


    Howeverat the end of her message, H added a special sentence:


    ¡°I used up all the divine blood crystals fromst time, please send me some more.¡±


    That¡¯s the reward.


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred.


    However, a few blood crystals aren¡¯t something she¡¯s concerned about now. After listening to H¡¯s messages, Ev¨¦ finally closed the Casket of the Dead.


    She then took a deep breath and began contemting the next steps of her n¡­


    ¡°Now that I know the truth about the World Tree being besieged, I¡¯m now somehow half relieved.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still a possibility of the Scepter being lost in the world of Saig¨¹es. They are still useful for me even if they are just fragments. I can let yers search for them.¡±


    ¡°The Abyss may indeed be a source to strengthen my divine powers but I have to first find the stronghold of the Abyssal Evil Gods in Saig¨¹es¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm, they are probably hiding in the underground! Or perhaps the Dark Mountains¡­after all, the native elves know some old legends rting to these beings in their folklores¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess I can set aside the matters regarding the half-orcs for a bit, considering H wants me toy low for the time being. It¡¯s probably a good idea to shift my attention to finding those evil gods instead.¡±


    ¡°It seems that now is finally the right time to expand the yers¡¯ range of activities even further.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>261</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>TRUTH BEHIND THE HEAVENLY WAR </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 262

    Forest of Elves, the Chosen City.


    Arge gathering of elves eagerly awaits in front of the teleportation array that connects to ck Dragon Castle, with some clutching small baskets and packages brimming with fruits of various sizes.


    Nearly half of these elves are members of Rageze n and the rest are also mostly natives who, for varying reasons, refrained from participating in the recently concluded War of Faith.


    The news about their victory has already been spread across mainly due to the resurrected yers informing the wider popce about the situation and so, the natives who hadn¡¯t joined the battle decided to rush towards the Chosen City to wee the return of the ¡°Country¡¯s Army.¡± 1


    At this moment, everyone was looking in the direction of the teleportation array, filled with excitement and anticipation.


    The Chosen Ones despite the odds and lesser numbers have actually defeated a formidable army of thirty thousand half-orcs!


    For the natives, there is no news more shocking and thrilling than this!


    The shocking result almost made all the natives deeply admire the Chosen Ones and further elevated their reverence for the wisdom and insights of their Divine Matriarch.


    Despite the fact that some Chosen Ones can have a rather peculiar and not-so-honorable habits, it matters a litte in their eyes. After all, no one is perfect and even if these heroes were summoned by the Goddess, they still cannot be wless, which a truth understood even by the natives.


    Nheless despite their ws, the arrival of the Chosen Ones alongside their Matriarch¡¯s revival heralded a profound transformation amongst the Elvenkind.


    Earth-shattering changes rapidly came about one after another as their lives developed and progressed to a better direction.


    Almost every day, the natives learned some new knowledge from the Chosen Ones, and at the same time, their mothend, the Elven Forest also experiences some new changes.


    This is beyondprehension for many indigenous elves especially the older folks who, for many years, have valued tradition and strictly adhered to their old ways.


    Nevertheless, even the most rigid and obstinate elder knew that they must now embrace this new wind of change for its the will of their Divine Matriarch and this new set of beliefs are what the elves needed to be more stronger¡­


    ¡°They¡¯re finally here!¡±


    Suddenly the silent teleportation array faintly glowed, prompting the excited crowd to pause in anticipation, only to swiftly burst into increased enthusiasm as the array briefly shed and the first Chosen Ones finally came out.


    It¡¯s the yer named Cbash.


    Although he appeared somewhat disheveled and his equipment still bore some traces of dried blood spatter, his overall countenance was still quite sharp, and a hint of embarrassment as well as a tinge of uncontroble excitement were evident upon his face.


    Just now, the yers who had participated in the boss battle immediately started a server-wide trade and auction below the ck Dragon Castle.


    And the only legendary silver-grade weapon in the entire server, the Lionheart Longsword, was sessfully auctioned off¡­


    Of course, this weapon was auctioned off at a staggering three million contribution points!


    The winning bidder turned out to be the Guildmaster of Moe Moe Committee, Little Salty Cat which was surprising, yet totally expected.


    Surprising because no one expected a mage like her to bid on a swordsman¡¯s weapon.


    And expected because only she could afford such a ridiculous amount of contribution points.


    As expected of a richest whale in the server, indeed.


    Speaking of which, there are some rumors that this little richdy might actually be the daughter of a certain CEO who owns a mega corporation that is listed off on the stock exchange in real life¡­


    Well in hindsight, that makes sense.


    However, even a richdy like Little Salty Cat herself couldn¡¯t produce so many contribution points all at once. As a result, she had to borrow some CP¡¯s from Moe¡¯s other members as well in her capacity as their Guildmaster.


    She eventually managed to gather three million CP and won the bidding wars.


    After the Lionheart Sword was sessfully traded between the auctioneer and Little Salty Cat, the three million CP was then decided to be divided among the hundred verified participants who have directly took part in defeating the Orc King.


    And as one of the yers involved in the Boss battle, Cbash naturally earned a considerable amount of contribution points for himself, making him ecstatic.


    Coupled with the gains from this war, almost everyone who have participated in this event have struck it rich!


    As the war of faith finally concludes, and auctions arepleted, Cbash was really eager to return to the City of the Chosen Ones.


    He immediately wants to try out the lottery!


    He umted four lottery tickets for this quest and now, he is eager to try his luck and see as to whether he will be one of the few lucky ones who can win a legendary golden item.


    It would undoubtedly be a huge profit if he won, since even the most mediocre wristguard, should it be a golden-ss equipment, can be sold for a hefty amount of CP.


    However, just as Cbash passed through the teleportation array and stepped into the City of the Chosen Ones, he was suddenly awestruck as arge group of NPCs gathered and showered him with joyous salutations at the entrance of the teleportation array!


    <em>W-What¡¯s going on here? </em>


    All these people appear to be eagerly watching him.


    Their fervently intense gaze absolutely made Cbash¡¯s heart pound more harder against his chest.


    <em>What in the blowing wind is happening here? </em>


    <em>Why have these elven uncles and aunties suddenly left Florence toe here?</em>


    But soon upon listening to their shouts, Cbash finally understood what¡¯s happening.


    ¡°They¡¯re here! They¡¯ve finally arrived!¡±


    ¡°Wee back heroes who defeated the orcs!¡±


    ¡°Lord Chosen One, you¡¯ve worked hard. These are freshly picked fruits. You must be tired;e and taste them!¡±


    The native¡¯s eyes light up as they surround Cbash, holding fruit baskets and warmly weing him.


    <em>Oh so they¡¯re weing me¡­ </em>


    Cbash realized as he sighed internally.


    However, upon looking at the NPCs¡¯ sincere smiles and gratitude, he also felt a warm feeling within his heart.


    ¡°If nothing else, the NPC¡¯s in this game is really fantastic¡­ Ah, it¡¯s genuinely so touching.¡±


    He once again sighs in his heart.


    Actually¡­as time goes by, he began to inadvertently treat these NPCs more and more as real people becausemunicating with them feels so natural.


    And this surreal sense of realism¡­ is also one of the charms of ying Elven Kingdom.


    Think about it more carefully, if these NPCs really do have their very own set of independent emotions and thinking schematics, then it wouldn¡¯t really be farfetched to actually treat them as real people¡­


    After all, even Nightingale has already be friends with all the members of Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    And the fond thoughts of this NPC maiden particrly towards the captain of his team are quite known throughout the entire server.


    Well¡­


    It¡¯s really not hard to consider the world of Elven Kingdom as yet another real world besides Earth.


    Moreover, by treating it as such allows one to fully immerse themselves and enjoy this game to its fullest.


    Thinking about this matters, Cbash smiles slightly whilst responding ¡°it¡¯s nothing¡± and ¡°you¡¯re wee,¡± as he epts the fruits enthusiastically offered to him by the elves.


    He then takes a bite.


    <em>Oh, it¡¯s very delicious! </em>


    After Cbash, soon, the second yer also finally emerges from the teleportation array.


    This guy also showed excitement and looks to be nning to go straight to the central square and enter the exchange store. However, like him, he was also enthusiastically surrounded by the natives the instant he stepped out the array, leaving him confused by the sudden weing crowd¡­


    Of course, after understanding the elves¡¯ intentions, the guy also finally rxes. He then unceremoniously takes the offered fruits and starts munching on them, just like what Cbash is currently doing.


    He never realized it, but after participating in the questline for a day and a night¡­


    He was now really hungry.


    The teleportation array continued to flicker nonstop as more and more yers finally returned from the ck Dragon Castle¡­


    And soon, the few hundred weing crowd evidently found it more and more challenging to personally wee each and every returning Chosen Ones as yers continually emerged out from the array in droves.


    At this moment, the natives suddenly realized something and asked themselves a question.


    These Chosen Ones¡­


    Don¡¯t they seem to be more than ten thousand?


    Usually, their numbers don¡¯t seem significant because the yers mostly operate either alone or in a small group of four to five people outside of the cities. Furthermore, most of the time they are scattered across a range of a few hundred square kilometers away from each other.


    However when they gather together like this¡­


    The natives finally realized that the Chosen One¡¯s poption have really grown exponentially!


    For a moment, batches of Chosen Ones continously pour into the Chosen City through the teleportation array, overwhelming the hundreds of weing natives¡­


    Looking around, all you can see are colorful heads of people sporting various non-traditional hairstyles, as the whole city drowns in a cacophony of myriad noises.


    However, the majority of these people, upon returning, either immediately head straight to the temple or the central square¡­


    They then respectfully bowed with sincere and nervous expressions whilst gazing at the World Tree in the distance.


    For a moment, a spectacr scene of thousands of Chosen Ones all clustered together can be seen as they simultaneously pray at the central square.


    And watching these usually non-religious Chosen Ones sincerely pray to the goddess for once made the indigenous elves feel even more moved¡­


    ¡°Indeed, looking at them solemnly praying like this made me once again realize that all these children are the envoys summoned by the Great Matriarch¡­¡±


    ¡°How pious! The first thing they did after defeating the enemy was to immediately pray to our Divine Mother.¡±


    ¡°Look! Look! Some of the Chosen Ones are so excited that they¡¯re even crying¡­¡±


    ¡°Whoever said that these Chosen Ones have no faith must be blind, huh? Just look at them! They clearly are the loyal children of our Great Divine Matriarch! They are sincerely praying to the goddess!¡±


    ¡°What children? Obviously they are divine envoys! The beings closest to the goddess!¡±


    The natives were entirely amazed and felt much closer to the yers¡­


    ¡­ Of course, what they didn¡¯t know was that all these praying yers were simply seeking the goddess¡¯s blessing to draw a legendary golden item for their lottery tickets.


    And as for those yers who were crying¡­


    They are simply the unlucky ones who drew a dud.


    Little Salty Cat was heading back to her guild¡¯s headquarters on the Chosen City after parting away from the crowd at the array.


    This petite rich girl showed a look of satisfaction as she examined the Lionheart sword on her hands.


    Walking beside her is Moe Moe Committee¡¯s Vice Guildmaster, HootyBird.


    Seeing her happy expression, HootyBird couldn¡¯t help but sincerely advise her, ¡°Little Cat, isn¡¯t bidding on this sword quite pointless? It¡¯s so expensive, and wouldn¡¯t it be a loss since you¡¯re a mage? Plus, if I recall correctly, despite your real family being well-off, you¡¯re still a student, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°A loss?¡±


    Little Salty Cat smiles, with her eyes forming into a cheeky crescents.


    She then looks around, giggles, and says to HootyBird,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sis, it¡¯s absolutely not a loss!¡±


    ¡°Sis! Believe it or not, when the equipment being sold in the store fully upgrades to silver-grade in the future, the price of this weapon will definitely only go much higher than what I paid for it, especially considering it¡¯s a unique, one-of-a-kind equipment that was dropped from the main questline!¡±


    ¡°Plus I¡¯ve also asked Meryer. He told me weapons of this caliber are notmon, and it¡¯s even an artifact!¡±


    ¡°Right now, everyone doesn¡¯t have much CP, that¡¯s why I needed to borrow from our guildmates, so it was possible to win it for three million. But in the future, who knows, the value of this sword might increase to ten million! When that happens, I¡¯ll sell it and make a profit!¡±


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°At that time, CP might not be as valuable anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not immediately paying out the three million CP that I¡¯ve borrowed¡­and instead will slowly pay them back!¡±


    ¡°Also, I can rent this weapon to others. This weapon is very sharp and sturdy, almost never getting damaged. I¡¯ll just rent it out and umte a steady ie!¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not going to lend to just about anyone who has dubious reputation. Instead, I¡¯ll pick guys like Tomato, who is the leader of First Legion. Although he¡¯s a bit gloomy, he doesn¡¯t dare to mess with things openly. He also wanted this weapon so bad; heck, he even almost won it. So if I rent it to him, then i¡¯ll acquire a long-term consistent ie!¡±


    Little Salty Cat exined in a leisure manner.


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Are all kids of businessmen this savvy with money?</em>


    Seeing HootyBird¡¯s speechless expression, Little Salty Catughed again.


    ¡°Really now, Sis, did you actually believe any of that?¡±


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Were you just joking with me?¡±


    HootyBird whose a straight-faced top-academic yer widened her eyes, looking at Little Salty Cat with a perplexed expression.


    ¡°Haha! Hmm~ maybe half of it is true?¡±


    Little Salty Cat giggled heartily, before her expression became a bit serious.


    ¡°Actually¡­ I learned about the significance of the Lionheart Sword to the half-orcs through information obtained from a captive orc.¡±


    ¡°This weapon which symbolized royalty, is not just a simple silver-grade weapon for the half-orcs. Its history is even more longer than the Patron Deity of the half-orcs. I think¡­ it might be useful in the future, that¡¯s why I bid for it.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ it could even trigger some hidden quests in the future.¡±


    ¡°Of course, half of what I said earlier is also true.¡±


    ¡°And if I happen to be wrong, then I¡¯ll just consider it as wastefully spending my New Year¡¯s money. Anyway, the point is to enjoy the game!¡±


    Well that makes sense.


    HootyBird nods.


    However, she soon feels a bit horrified.


    <em>Oh my¡­</em>


    <em>Nowadays, the exchange rate between CP to RMB is 5 to 1, right?</em>


    <em>T-This girl¡­</em>


    She gets so much New Year¡¯s money!?


    For a moment, HootyBird feels like she¡¯s poor even though she herself also came from a wealthy household.


    Well, that¡¯s how reality is.


    It¡¯s entirely possible that someone else¡¯s starting wealth is the maximum wealth someone else would struggle for in their whole life.


    No¡­


    Perhaps most people wouldn¡¯t even amass such wealth.


    HootyBird shakes her head.


    After speaking, Little Salty Cat sighed again, with a hint of regret in her expression.


    ¡°Ah¡­to buy this sword, I even gave up getting the Chief Shaman¡¯s ceremonial robe¡­¡±


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>No, it¡¯s actually because you, who is so conscious of one¡¯s own appearance, finds the robe of the Chief Shaman way too ugly!</em>


    HootyBird rolled her eyes and mentally said to herself.


    But indeed, the robe of the Chief Shaman which is made of sheepskin, was a bit ugly.


    HootyBird also found its tribal design kind of unattractive and doesn¡¯t suit her aesthetics.


    As the two idly chatted, they finally reached the vicinity of the central square.


    Seeing the other yers seriously praying made the two want to try their luck as well since they too have also gained several lottery tickets.


    ¡°Sis, since I¡¯m already fully decked out in legendary gear, I¡¯ll just give it to you instead as a thank-you for tutoring me all this time if I pull another legendary golden-ss equipment!¡±


    Little Salty Cat smiled.


    HootyBird raised an eyebrow in response and replied,


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll dly ept.¡±


    <em>Well why not, since this rich girl have already willingly offered it? </em>


    Of course, their friendship has long since changed from mere acquaintances, so being unreserved like this is nothing new for the two.


    In fact, HootyBird, who is usually cold to others, now shows a much more lively expression whenever she¡¯s with Little Salty Cat.


    The two also joined the crowd at the central square and prayed towards the World Tree as they mentally entered the exchange store to start the lottery draw.


    Unfortunately for the duo, the Goddess didn¡¯t favor their tickets and they only won a small amount of CP, some revival coins, and a few ordinary meditation techniques.


    ¡°Ah, it seems I¡¯m destined not to be lucky today.¡¯¡±


    Little Salty Cat shook her head regretfully.


    HootyBird silently nced at her and swallowed the words, ¡°No, you¡¯ve been so lucky since birth.¡±


    Of course, even if Little Salty Cat and HootyBird had bad luck in their lottery draw, there are always those amongst the crowd who got lucky since there are so many yers currently doing the lotteries.


    In fact, asionalughter of yers could be heard amidst the crowd.


    And in everyone¡¯s field of vision, system notifications would asionally appear like¡ª


    ¡°Congrattions to the lucky yer ¡Á¡Á¡Á, you¡¯ve been blessed by the Goddess! You won an iron-grade legendary golden-ss equipment ¡Á¡Á¡Á!¡±


    Of course, seeing such message, envy and jealousy from others are also inevitable.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll do some quests to earn more lottery tickets.¡±


    HootyBird said.


    Little Salty Cat nodded.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go. I¡¯ve yed for too long this time; it¡¯s time for me to log off.¡±


    With a yawn, she said, ¡°Ah¡­yawn¡­staying up all night within the game like this is a first for me¡­didn¡¯t expect it to be as tiring as in reality.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll log off first! I¡¯lle back online once my energy recovers.¡±


    Little Salty Cat said to HootyBird.


    And HootyBird also nodded in response.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    They waved to each other, one logging off, whilst the other continuing with some quests.


    However, just as HootyBird was about to partake in a new quest, she suddenly saw her guild chat channel bustling with activity.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    HootyBird felt curious and opened the guild chat interface. Looking at the chat logs, she eventually found a video link posted only a few moments ago.


    Clicking on the link, the first thing she noticed after being redirected was that the video¡¯s title was quite eye-catching.


    ¡°Shocking! I¡¯ve secretly captured the Goddess battling the God of the Orcs! Is this the game¡¯s hidden storyline?!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>262</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>IS THIS A HIDDEN STORYLINE? ¡¿</strong>


    1 <strong><mark>Íõʦ</mark></strong> ¨C The term the author actually used for this means Emperor¡¯s Army.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 263

    ¡°The Goddess battle with the God of the Orcs?¡±


    The HootyBird blinked in confusion.


    Meanwhile, the guild¡¯s chat group had be entirely lively with various messages popping up one after another:


    ? I¡¯ve just finished watching it; Man, the Goddess is truly amazing! No wonder she¡¯s the top brass in the game. Her words alone are so damn powerful. ????


    ? Indeed¡­ herbat power had literally changed the entirendscape.


    ? Guys I¡¯ve just checked the location out! There are still some traces of the battle about thirty kilometers southeast, near the edge of the safe zone. Lol it now looks like a huge crater that¡¯s quickly covered in vegetation.


    ? Southeast? No wondered why I heard some kind of rumbling in that direction back when I respawned. Oh, I also remember there was some dark clouds in the skies back then too. Initially, I thought it was just in-game weather changes, but turns out a real battle between the gods happeneed there¡­


    ? So powerful¡­ :0


    ? Well its a battle of gods lmao. Essentially a duel between the game¡¯s pinnacle of powers


    ? Hehe I¡¯m definitely holding onto the goddess¡¯s thighs! Maybe one day I can be a Godwarden too! Man, I wanna be a Godwarden of the Goddess! (¡î¦Ø¡î)


    ?Tho I wonder when can we even reach that level


    ? Lmfao what, bing a god? Dream on dude. ording to ElvKing¡¯s design principles, if the yers can be gods, then wouldn¡¯t the system entirely copse? This game is so realistic and even have its own intricate ecosystem to the extent that the monsters doesn¡¯t even have a fixed respawn point in the wilderness lol. The devs definitely wouldn¡¯t allowed us to be that strong. ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥


    ? Well who knows¡­ ??


    ? But seriously, Uller is really weak! The goddess dominated him from start to finish lmao.


    And of course, just like a usual online discourse, the conversation eventually took a humorous turn:


    ? Ohh thats some kinky bondage roley¡­ feels like a great material for a doujinshi. Hehehe~ ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)


    ? It already exists, just look up demigod Volker on certain sites. ??


    ? Lemme step aside for a bit then.


    ? I¡¯m good now, you guys continue lol.


    ? Haha¡­ +1 for the doujinshi, but the way the artist drew Uller looks a bit ugly. ¦²(¡ã¡÷¡ã)¦õ


    ? Well I¡¯m fine with it just as long as the goddess looks good xD


    ? Dude if the goddess see this chat, you can bet yer ass to forget about getting a legendary golden item in this lifetime lol.


    ? Hahaha¡­ #sweatingguy.jpg


    ? Pfft why, do you think the goddess is one of the GM of this game?


    ? By the way, I¡¯ve noticed the goddess really likes using vines¡­ I can almost imagine how demigod Volker got tortured by the goddess ¡®vines¡¯ if you know what I mean. #doge.jpg


    ? Lol, I could almost imagine the scene. xDD


    ? Well¡­looking at it, a cutscene where the goddess beat up demigod Volker would¡¯ve been so epic. Too bad,there¡¯s no official records of it. I mean, the devs could¡¯ve made a cutscene of it and hide it like some easter egg or something¡­ (¡ã©`¡ã;)


    ? Yeah making it an easter egg would be a good surprise tbh. Adorablecat.jpg


    ? However, after looking at it over and over, the goddess¡¯s character model still seems the most perfect NPC¡­hell, I¡¯ve even set a screenshot of her as my desktop wallpaper. ??


    ?Well she¡¯s my waifu after all; I mean just look at those legs, that waist, and that face¡­ ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)


    ? ???


    ? Hey anyone here that has yellow piss?e and wake this delusional bastard up. Better yet if you have diabetes too, to let this idiot above me taste the sweetness of your piss. ??


    ? I¡¯ll go, not only I have a fever atm but also inmmation as well. ??


    ? I¡¯ll join in as well, I have kidney failure lmao. ??


    ? ¡­


    However despite the humorous shenanigans, there were also quite a few serious discussions as well.


    ? Who recorded the scene of the goddess fighting? ??


    ? I heard it was two third-beta life-oriented yers and they¡¯re not even level 11 yet.


    ? Holy shit, those two newbies are so lucky! This must be a hidden storyline, right? There¡¯s so much info that was revealed all of a sudden¡­ (*?????)


    ? Ikr? The truth about the goddess being attacked a thousand years ago and the whereabouts of her lost divine artifacts¡­Hmm, is the goddess perhaps searching for these artifacts? #catthinking.jpg


    ? So does this mean that we the yers need to find it?


    ? Yeah probably. Finding these artifacts is essential for the main storyline, right?¡±


    ? Don¡¯t know, those two newbies said that they still haven¡¯t got any follow-up system prompts after recording it.


    ? There might be a dy; I remember some ppl have encountered it before¡­Of course, it¡¯s also possible that the entire quest hasn¡¯t been triggered yet.


    ? The goddess¡¯s backstory made me really curious about the game¡¯s overarching history¡­That¡¯s why recently, I¡¯ve been chatting with the NPCs like crazy. Dude, ElvKing¡¯s history feels so grand and rich with each NPC even having their own a long, captivating story. I¡¯m getting addicted to it. #Orz


    ? Tsk tsk, a rare storyline enthusiast spotted


    ? Lol, I wouldn¡¯t really call myself a storyline enthusiast per se; more like, I just like hearing rich, in-depth stories. The stories of the elves and their past, as well as the history and culture of the world of Saig¨¹es are really excellently well-crafted. It feels very real, and it reminds me of the times when I used to y Elder Scrolls¡­ No, I think it¡¯s even more immersive, and the world-building is even more extensive.


    Various guild members of Moe Moe Committee passionately discussed such matters within the chat group.


    <em>The Goddess? What Battle? Hidden storyline?</em>


    Their vice-leader, HootyBird raised an eyebrow in curiosity.


    After thinking for a moment, she decided to clicked on the video link posted on the chat. She was then swiftly redirected to a video streaming site and the entire video was approximately ten minutes long.


    Due to how it was filmed in secret, the angles of the video weren¡¯t that great, but strangely, this amateurish recording somehow captured a raw immersive feeling, showcasing the true power of the goddess vividly on a bystander¡¯s perspective¡­


    The video depicts a fierce battle between the Goddess Ev¨¦ and a giant enshrouded with a silver aura as they fought in mid-air.


    The silver giant, which HootyBird eventually recognized as Uller because his appearance closely resembled that of the incarnation they encountered before during thetter stages of the goblin questline way back when they were still beginners.


    Although it was called a battle, it was actually more like a one-sided beatdown since all the goddess did was merely utter words, yet, each word she spoke resulted in various powers and miracles manifesting, while the opponent was entirely dominated by the goddess from start to finish¡­


    However despite being a one-sided battle, the aftermath of the sh between the two deity also ttened an entire area of the Elven Forest and turned it upside down.


    Of course, the goddess eventually restored all the damaged surroundings afterwards by just uttering a single word in the end.


    Although the filming angle wasn¡¯t ideal, the video clearly showed the domineering nature of the goddess.


    This recording clearly showed that despite being the leader of their faction, the goddess wasn¡¯t just a simple background character who only handed out quests at the sidelines; but instead, she is an active NPC powerhouse that is integral in the game¡¯s overarching storyline!


    After all¡­the goddess was the only golden-ss amongst all the NPCs.


    Speaking of which¡­Most yers including HootyBird, originally envisioned the goddess as a gentle, pure, and dignified figure not capable of inflicting harm nor violence.


    However after witnessing her deliver a beatdown at Demigod Volker and now Uller in a domineering fashion, HootyBird felt that the goddess wasn¡¯t just a simple, kind and benevolent NPC but also had a bit of an indescribable haughty sovereign-like vibe to her¡­


    Well, such developments was pretty good on her opinion.


    In any case, after watching the video, what HootyBird cared about the most was the confusing conversation between the goddess and Uller, more specifically¡ª


    ¡°Uller said that the goddess is a goddess, but apparently she¡¯s also not the goddess¡­?¡±


    ¡°The goddess¡¯s revival seems to be wed; she doesn¡¯t seem to remember some of her pasts¡­ and apparently, she wants to know what had truly transpired, especially with her being attacked by the other deities.¡±


    ¡°The goddess also wants to reim her lost artifacts, and from their conversation, it¡¯s likely that these artifacts are in the hands of her enemies¡­¡±


    ¡°Finding these things could very well lead in a hidden questline!¡±


    HootyBird concluded within her mind.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I should chat more with the NPCs, then search those ancient texts dug up from the ruins of Florence and Rivendell. Maybe I can discover something.¡±


    ¡°Perfect timing, I¡¯m almost proficient in Elvishnguage. Although I still can¡¯t fully understand the text written in the ancient scriptures, I can still get a rough idea of it¡­Well, even if I don¡¯t find any secrets, there might be clues about the goddess¡¯s lost artifacts.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna grind some quests first. During this whole summer event, I¡¯m going to collect as many lottery tickets as possible, and then tackle these things after the whole event ends.¡±


    After some contemtion, HootyBird closed her guild¡¯s chat group before heading towards the Temple to pick up a new quest to do¡­


    On the World Tree, within Eve¡¯s mental domain.


    There remain only a few days until the conclusion of the summer event and following its conclusion, Ev¨¦ intends to officially inform yers about her n to expand the map.


    She had already prepared everything that needed to be done and was now only awaiting the summer event to end before issuing another game update.


    As a matter of fact, all she ever does these days is scour any information she may have overlooked within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance regarding the evil gods and clues about their whereabouts.


    She also asionally checks the findings the yers found upon checking some of the ancient scriptures unearthed in the ruins of Florence and Rivendell.


    Dealing with Evil Deities is quite a simple affair since unlike waging war with the Heavenly Gods, she doesn¡¯t need to consider matters like the covenant since evil gods in general are themon enemy of the gods and there are no repercussions upon hunting them.


    Of course while researching about the evil gods, it also came to her attention that she has recently been the talk of the town, the ¡®heroine¡¯ per se, because of a ¡®secret¡¯ recording of her battle with Uller.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s actually a pretty good shot. They really made me look like some sort of a domineering figure.¡±


    She anonymously drop a donation, gave a like, and then discreetly connected to various chat groups of the yers, to search for any relevant information and reading yers¡¯ feedback regarding the uploaded video¡­


    Don¡¯t ask why but such curiosity is one of Eve¡¯s dirty pleasures so to speak.


    ¡°Haha¡­a hidden quest was it? Actually I haven¡¯t even thought of issuing one, but these guys sure already figured it out for me, huh?¡±


    She then moved to another chat group.


    ¡°Yeah, letting yers investigate about the whereabouts of my artifacts isn¡¯t really a bad idea. The only issue though is to how to restrain their mouths and block any sensitive content from ever leaking to outsiders.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, actually this matter can be done alongside the search for clues about the evil gods¡­¡±


    However, as she secretly scrolled through various chat groups, her expression turned a bit green upon seeing a particr chat group wherein they are discussing about certain topics.


    ¡°D-Doujinshi? What the hell is this?!¡±


    Ev¨¦ eventually closed the chat group, sporting a somewhat stiff expression.


    After hesitating for a few seconds, she then immediately connected to earth¡¯s inte and directly type her own name in the search engine, whilst also adding some special ¡®keywords¡¯ right next to it.


    A momentter¡­


    Ev¨¦ was left absolutely speechless.


    ¡ª <strong>263</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE SPEECHLESS GODDESS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 264

    It is inevitable that things like this wille sooner orter¡­


    As a former native of Earth, and a seasoned veteran who also had once been involved within the game and otakumunities, Ev¨¦ knew the enthusiastic propensity of her fellow natives towards creating such fan works especially in regards to popr games.


    However, never in her life did she expect to be the protagonist this time around.


    Well, especially¡­ the heroine.


    ¡°Did I perhaps, treat them too well?¡±


    Ev¨¦ took a deep breath and disconnected from Earth¡¯s inte.


    ¡°Perhaps, I¡¯ve set the probability of winning a prize in the lottery too high.¡±


    With a huff, she specifically tracked down all the yers who had discussed about her doujinshi and marked each and every one of them.


    Then, she decisively readjusted their probabilities of winning the lotteries, and set them up to an almost impossible chances¡­


    The Chosen City, Headquarters of the Natural Hearts Guild.


    Having settled all his tasks for the day and used up all his lottery tickets, Li Mu was about to log out to rest back in the real world. However, his ns were disrupted when, suddenly, Demacia hurriedly approached him.


    He immediately noticed that his red-haired friend¡¯s face was etched with excitement.


    ¡°Hey Bro! Bro! Did you see it? Did you see the video link posted on the chat group!?¡±


    Li Mu stopped his actions and replied, ¡°What Video? Oh, was it the one where the goddess fought against the Gods of the Orcs?¡±


    ¡°Yes! That secret recording! Bro, I guarantee you with me as the server¡¯s luckiest yer, the details revealed in this video will definitely lead to a hidden questline! What¡¯s more, it looks like no one has triggered it yet.¡± Demacia excitedly exined.


    Li Mu nodded slightly after listening.


    ¡°I think so too. In fact, within the next few days, I n to ask Alice and some other NPCs just to see if I can find out more about the goddess¡¯s lost artifacts.¡±


    ¡°Oh as expected of you, Bro!¡±


    Demacia gave him a big thumbs up.


    But soon, his friend¡¯s expression became a bit vulgar.


    ¡°Hehehe, I didn¡¯t expect¡­ the goddess to like using vines so much! Bro, that video gave me more material to work with for my next works!¡±


    ¡°¡­Material for what?¡±


    Li Mu raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Why, material for doujinshis of course!¡±


    Demacia chuckled.


    Li Mu looked puzzled.


    ¡°Doujinshis?¡±


    He then paused and nced at Demacia with a somewhat confused demeanor.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re a part of an anime circle, and you can draw pretty well too. But what does this have to do with doujinshis? Wait¡ªAre you drawing¡­doujinshis of ElvKing?¡±


    ¡°Heh~ Bro, you might not know this but drawing doujinshi can actually earn you some extra ie!¡±


    Demacia said proudly.


    ¡°In fact, I drew a full-color five-page series featuring the Goddess and Demigod Volker. It took me quite a while to finish it, but I got rave reviews on that doujinshi! Plus, I also got quite a few tips online as well! Hehe, seeing that video inspired me to make a sequel since I got new material this time!¡±


    Demacia stated as his voice grew more and more excited.


    ¡°You might not know it, but ElvKing had be so popr on certain ¡®sites¡¯ and with the Goddess being the most popr NPC in the game, naturally works depicting her have also exploded in numbers!¡±


    ¡°Actually, most new works uploaded on that site feature the Goddess Ev¨¦ nowadays! But, of course, none are as good as mine! Hahaha! I¡¯ve watched and read so many doujinshis by this point that I end up quite an expert in this field, if I say so myself! Hahaha!¡±


    Demacia proudly boasted with hands ced on his hips.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡­ are really talented, I guess?¡±


    After a moment, Li Mu could only squeeze out this sentence in response to his friend¡¯s revtions. However, soon after, he sneaked over to Demacia, coughed twice, and awkwardly whispered,


    ¡°Um¡­ cough, what¡¯s your penname on that site? Do you have a link? Can you share it with me, uhh, for research purposes of course¡­¡±


    <em>Men¡­</em>


    <em>They¡¯re all the same.</em>


    ¡°Of course no problem bro, I gotcha, hehehe.¡±


    Demacia slyly chuckled and fiddled with his interface for a few seconds before he sent him a link.


    After sending the link to Li Mu, Demacia waved his hand.


    ¡°Bro, take your time, and remember to give me a thumbs up when you¡¯re done! I¡¯m heading to the central square to use my lottery tickets in the meantime!¡±


    Li Mu, who was about to click on the link, was slightly stunned.


    ¡°The lottery? You still haven¡¯t done that yet? The battle ended almost two days ago, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, don¡¯t I have some other tasks to do? I¡¯ve been pretty busy these past two days after all.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, I was included in the recent task rankings leaderboard and earned a few more lottery tickets. Now, I have ten, and I¡¯m nning to draw them all at once.¡±


    Demacia exined.


    ¡°Ten tickets at once! Don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve got a real shot at snagging a legendary item this time?¡±


    The red-haired said with great confidence.


    ¡°Well, it kinda depends on whether you¡¯re lucky today or not. If your luck¡¯s good, you¡¯ll hit the jackpot. If not, then tough luck. Worst-case scenario, you¡¯ll get junk noob equipment on each of your ten tickets.¡±


    Li Mu shook his head.


    Junk noob equipment¡­


    For yers, this was the most disappointing reward in the lottery prize pool.


    In fact, yers coined the term ¡°junk noob equipment¡± themselves.


    More precisely, it was the starter equipment given by the goddess to yers at the start of their ythrough¡ªthings like wooden swords, wooden armor, or hemp robes and ironwood daggers.


    As starter items with no additional special properties, these equipment are simple and ordinary, except for some specific effectiveness against the undead.


    Eventually, the veteran yers jokingly referred to them as junk noob gear¡­


    The only purpose for yers who won such an equipment was to offer it back to the goddess in exchange for some measly contribution points¡ª50 CP per item to be exact which was a pitiful amount.


    So, no one wanted to draw such things from their hard-earned lottery tickets.


    Of course, the probability of drawing these junk items was also rtively very low.


    Usually, most would simply won things such as purple epic-ss equipment, meditation techniques, resurrection coins, contribution points, and the like¡­


    After hearing Li Mu¡¯s reminder, Demacia smacked his chest in a confident manner.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Bro! I¡¯ve always been lucky!¡±


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re that confident then I¡¯ll wish you all the best¡­hopefully you¡¯ll get a legendary golden item unlike me.¡±


    Li Mu sighed, feeling a bit regretful.


    ¡°Heh, I have a good feeling that I¡¯ll get results in my tickets! Don¡¯t worry Bro, I¡¯ll gift you one if I happen to get two sets of the same item!¡±


    Demacia cheerfully said before waving his hand.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s cut our talk here for today! I¡¯m going now!¡±


    With that, Demacia happily ran off.


    Demacia quickly ran towards the central square and faced the towering World Tree in the distance after arriving. He then paused for a moment to catch his breath before closing his eyes to began praying.


    A couple of seconds passed and the interface for the exchange store began forming within his mind.


    Demacia then eagerly moved to the lottery section, whilst looking at the shining golden prizes indicated the lottery prize pool.


    His eyes lit up with anticipation as he said,


    ¡°Legendary Golden prizes! Here Ie!¡±


    With his heart pounding, Demacia spent one ticket to start the lottery draw.


    The lottery prize pool then faintly lit up in front of him as it emitted a white light.


    Seeing that white light, Demacia¡¯s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared¡­


    White light indicates¡­the most rubbish reward.


    And sure enough, after the light dissipated, Demacia found a pair of wooden shoes in his hand.


    ¡°Darn it! isn¡¯t this the starter footgear? I actually drew a junk equipment!¡±


    Demacia looked somewhat frustrated.


    However, he quickly adjusted his mood:


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry! It¡¯s just the start, I¡¯ll definitely get lucky in my next draws!¡±


    He smacked his cheek and whispered to himself, ¡°Goddess, bless my ticket so that I draw a legendary prize.¡±


    Then, he used up another lottery ticket.


    Another white light floated by in front of him, and Demacia got piece of clothing after the light dissipated.


    It was a hemp robe, bright green one to be exact.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Why is it another junk gear? Moreover its a mage gear that I cannot use?! Curse it!¡±


    He showed a puzzled look after tucking away his second reward.


    ¡°No, no¡­ the probability of getting two consecutive junk items is quite low. Stay positive! I¡¯m definitely lucky! Now that I¡¯ve used up all my bad luck, the next rewards will surely be good instead!¡±


    Demacia encouraged himself and spent another ticket for the third time.


    Then afterwards¡­


    He got a wooden starter staff in his hand.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°This lottery prize pool is so toxic!¡±


    His expression turned grim as a ferocious glint began to emit within his eyes.


    Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he spent yet another lottery ticket after a minute.


    This time¡­


    He won a wooden starter dagger.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­what in the gosh darn hell is this!?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but let out a swear.


    ¡°What kind of cursed rewards is this?!¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­that my odds are not good right now?¡±


    Looking at the remaining six tickets he had left, Demacia hesitated to continue.


    He thought for a moment and rubbed his hands as he began praying towards various deities including Guanyin Bodhisattva, The Jade Emperor, Buddha¡ªand even the goddess Ev¨¦ herself, then decided to pursue on and used up all his remaining tickets.


    In front of him, the prize pool reappeared yet again as it started emitting light once again.


    s, secondster, a vast expanse of white light shed before Demacia¡¯s eyes¡­


    A momentter, Demacia¡¯s eyes were utterly dumbfounded as he looked at therge array of starter equipment and basic meditation methods that appeared in front of him.


    After a few seconds of silence, his body wobbled and plummeted as if power entirely left his body as he crashed down towards the pile of junk equipment and mournfully shouted¡ª


    ¡°¡ªMy ten lottery tickets!!¡±


    ¡°Why am I so unlucky!?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>264</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>WHY AM I SO UNLUCKY? ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 265

    The special summer event thatsted ten earthen days and forty in-game days had finally came to an end quickly without anyone even realizing it.


    Some were delighted, having struck gold with their coveted legendary golden equipment, while others, unfortunately found themselves empty-handed, sumbing to the curse of bad luck.


    Overall, the yers were quite satisfied with the event.


    Especially after experiencing the double EXP gain boost all throughout the entirerity of event which led to a surge of many hard working yers, with the vast majority of the yersbase gaining significant advancement on their levels and strength.


    The Battle of ck Dragon Castle allowed high-level yers to gain substantial EXP points they needed to advance in the next ranking.


    Thus from this point on, the first batch of Peak Iron-Rank yers began to emerged in the server.


    Most of them are first-beta yers, starting with Boxlunch, followed by a small number of second-beta yers. Generally speaking, many of the older yers have finally broken through the bottleneck of level 30 and advanced to the final stage of Iron Rankings.


    In addition, apart from these high-level yers, the overall rankings of the entire yerbase have also surpassed level twenty, with most advancing into the intermediate Iron-Rank.


    Except for a very small number of casual easygoing yers who are still apprentices, it can be said that more than 99% of the yers have been promoted to rudimentary experts.


    However, while the yers took this rapid advancement in rankings for granted as if it were nothing unusual, the native elves of Saig¨¹es were genuinely awestruck by the speed of their progression.


    Witnessing such swift and explosive growth, the natives went from astonishment at the beginning to shockter on, and now finally to numb eptance.


    For the local inhabitants of Saig¨¹es, advancing from a mere apprentice to the Peak Iron-rank in less than a year was entirely unheard of, and even the geniuses of other factions could not achieve such feats.


    It was truly frightening.


    After all, there hasn¡¯t been a single person that attained this kind of feat for many years, yet the Goddess has summoned a whole group of them¡­


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the yers that improved in strength. The native elves were also gradually strengthening themselves as well.


    The Elvenkind is inherently part of the Silver Lineage, and thus, elves originally advanced into Silver-rank upon reaching their adulthood.


    s, the whole race was cursed by the gods from the opposing forces, leading to the natives decline in strength and being cut from their lineage.


    However, after the revival of Ev¨¦ which eliminated the curse, and the resurgence of mana in the realm of Saig¨¹es, it is natural that the strength of the natives experienced an elevated growth as well.


    Nevertheless, with most of the surviving natives being born after the Thousand-Year Heavenly War, it is practically impossible for them to improve their strength in such a rapid manner, akin to the Chosen Ones.


    However, the natives¡¯ current state is still much better than before, especially after the War against the Half-Orcs, wherein the overall strength of the entire Elven faction has begun rapidly expanding.


    All in all, Ev¨¦ was quite pleased with her faction¡¯s development.


    As a meticulous nner who devoted herself to the well-being of these cheeky little leeks, Ev¨¦ naturally ensured the equipment selection being sold in the exchange store was updated to appropriately handle and amodate the yers improvement in strength.


    Generally speaking for awhile now, Eve¡¯s inventory is gradually running low on stocks due to the ever-increasing number of yers and their demand for equipment.


    Most of the equipment in her inventory actuallyes from the yers themselves, with them offering the items they consider as junk, which are then repaired and refurbished by her before being sold back as high-quality goods at the exchange store.


    Yet the items being offered to her so far isn¡¯t adequate enough to create intermediate and peak-level Iron-Grade equipment.


    Fortunately, nearly half of the tattered equipment obtained from the thirty-thousand Orcs on the recent War of Faith has been offered to Ev¨¦ by the yers.


    Most of these offerings are in poor quality, but fortunately for her, many of these damaged items can still be improved to Peak-level Iron-Grade Equipment, thus providing Ev¨¦ with a significant new stocks of goods for her store.


    She wasted no time and skillfully refurbished and transformed most of the items offered to her as ck and purple peak-ss equipment, giving them a new look before putting them up for sale in the exchange store.


    As for the prevailingck of equipment for spellcasters¡­


    Ev¨¦ could only shrug her shoulders in dismay.


    Simply put, there was just no easy way to go about fixing this long-standing problem of hers.


    Essentially the problem is that there were no spellcasters among the orcs except for their limited number of priests. So in the end, Ev¨¦ had no choice but to simply craft them herself using her own divine power.


    Luckily for her, she now have a slight abundance of divine power at her disposal.


    Therefore, she could in the meantime, mass-produce some low-level magic robes within her own Celestial domain to temporarily alleviate the issue of theck of spellcaster equipment.


    For this purpose, Ev¨¦ even took the time to browse the inte for some attractive magic robe designs as a reference point for her spellcaster clothing line.


    Of course, these spellcaster clothes which were personally crafted by her naturally had a slightly more higher price tag than the repaired equipment of the melee yers.


    Afterpleting all these tasks, Ev¨¦ casually listed them off into the exchange store.


    ¡°Hmph, these cheeky little leeks should be praising me for working so hard for their sake instead of making some dubious illicit fan works of me. Aren¡¯t I such a kind and benevolent patron deity?¡±


    The sudden appearance of these newly purchasable goods in the store inventory has caught everyone by surprise.


    After all¡­ it¡¯s ridiculously expensive!


    The starting price for the new peak purple and ck epic Iron-grade equipment is a whopping fifty thousand contribution points!


    This contribution amount is almost on par with the value of a legendary golden equipment in the lower grade¡­


    Of course, despite the exorbitant price tag, the quality of these new goods can be said to be exceptional.


    Ev¨¦ could even confidently vouch that anything produced by a true god such as herself would undoubtedly be a masterpiece.


    s, a group of poor high-level yers after tirelesslypleting various quests to umte enough contribution points to graduate their old equipment and upgrade to a new set of gears, find themselves faced with a dilemma¡­


    They took advantage of the double EXP boost in the summer event to stay upte and grind hard for days, to finally sessfully broke through to the Peak Iron-rank.


    However, just before they could savor their joy and breathe a sigh of relief, thinking they could finally ease up a bit and enjoy the scenery or interact with some local NPC sisters and brothers, they were then greeted with a system prompt, notifying them of new set of items being sold at the store!


    <em>Good news, more powerful, and even more better Peak Iron-grade equipment had arrived can now be purchased at the exchange store!</em>


    yers: ¡°¡­.¡±


    What good news!?


    The smiles upon their faces gradually vanished, bing simrly like that of the meme, smile-gradually-disappears.jpg<mark> 1</mark>


    Even those few lucky yers who had struck gold with legendary equipment on the lottery wore conflicted expressions.


    Because, with the release of this new batch of equipment, came also a new set of Peak Iron-Grade legendary golden equipment!


    Ev¨¦ meticulously chose and repaired this limited collection of legendary golden equipment, with each piece possessing three extraordinary special properties. These items also showcase a magnificent and imposing appearance, making anyone who equips them appear formidable and challenging to be messed with.


    However¡­ they could only be bought by those with lots of contribution points.


    ¡°I knew it! Every reward in the lottery prize pool must be obsolete goods that was about to be phased out!¡±


    Looking at the exorbitant price tag of the newer items in the exchange store, Ji Gang suddenly felt that the intermediate iron-grade golden shoes he had won on the lottery were not so appealing anymore.


    With the arrival of the peak-iron gears, the lower-ss equipment became entirely obsolete!


    ¡°Ah shiet, I can feel my liver aching once more¡­¡±


    ¡°Freakin¡¯ dogshit devs! Do you really have to update the equipment catalogue so quickly!?¡±


    This was the sentiment of every yer upon hearing the news¡­


    Of course, despite theirints, most still persist on grinding nheless.


    After all, the exchange store¡¯s equipment inventory has been updated and has now have better purchasable goods. So, how can one be stronger if they don¡¯t care about such things?


    Furthermore, without getting stronger¡­ how could one clear questlines and unveil the game¡¯s lore even further?


    By being stagnant, one would deprive themselves of being able to look cool, enjoy monster hunting or dungeon runs, while bringing along a fellow boy or girl happily, and proudly raise a g¡­<mark>2</mark>


    Essentially, the ¡°True Fragrance Theory¡± boils down to nothing more than this¡­<mark>3</mark>


    While the yers currently experience a myriad of conflicting emotions¡ªsuch as being happy one moment, dejected the next, followed by being relieved for a while before instantly bing nervous or mournful all over again¡ªthe native elves on the other hand, found their strange rollercoaster of behavior quite odd.


    However, one thing is for sure.


    Most of the chosen ones nowadays seemed to be even more diligent and hardworking especially after repelling the invasion of the orcs.


    ¡°As expected of the divine envoys chosen by the Matriarch!¡±


    Carlos, the elderly cksmith, said in admiration as he observed the chosen ones diligently moved stones on Florence¡¯s construction site.


    Of course, this situation didn¡¯tst for too long¡­


    Because a few dayster, the natives suddenly discovered that all of the chosen ones had collectively disappeared.


    Or rather¡­they had all collectively fallen into a deep slumber.


    This surprised many elves particrly those who have only just recently returned to the Elven Forest.


    In contrast to the neers, the seasoned group of natives, akin to the Rageze n, disyed no surprise at all, given that it wasn¡¯t the first time they experienced such events.


    Moreover, every time that this happened, the actions of the chosen ones typically underwent significant changes not long afterwards.


    As the authoritative figure for issuing and receiving quests of the Chosen Ones, the Saintess Alice possesses a deeper understanding of this urrence.


    And based upon her understanding and interacting with the Chosen Ones on a daily basis, this is happening yet again since the so-called ¡®summer event¡¯ has finally ended, and it is once again time for another so called ¡®game update¡¯¡­


    <em>Well¡­At least that¡¯s how the Chosen Ones worded it, if I remembered it right?</em>


    She might¡¯ve not really understood such foreign terminologies and what it actually pertains but she knew for a fact that the next few days would be really interesting once the Chosen Ones finally reawakens¡­


    ¡ª <strong>265</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HOW CAN YOU BE STRONG IF YOU DON¡¯T GRIND?</strong> <strong>¡¿</strong>


    1 ЦÈÝÖð½¥Ïûʧ.jpg ¨C It is this,


    2 ¡°Raising a g¡± essentially means that you make choices that improve your standing with a particr character and which are more likely to put you on his/her route. This terminology is quitemon in anime visual novels.


    3 <strong><mark>ÕæÏ㶨Àí</mark></strong> ¨C True Fragrance Theory is used to describe situations wherein someone¡¯s opinions drastically change, contradicting their previous stance¡ªa behavior akin to ¡°self-face-pping.¡±


    Since many individuals often go against their own proimedmitments or promises (referred to as ¡°g¡± here), this concept has evolved into a sort of unwritten rule.


    This chinese inte ng originated from the term ¡°ÕæÏ㡱 (Zh¨¥nxi¨¡ng), meaning exceptionally delicious or satisfying.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 266

    Outside the window, the cicadas chirped incessantly as the scorching summer reached its peak.


    G¨´ Q¨ªng, d in a cool tank top, sat at her desk.


    Her shoulder-length hair is presently fashioned into a high ponytail as the osciting fan next to her delicately brushed the strands on her cheeks, while also dispelling the summer heat out from her body.


    G¨´ Q¨ªng disliked using air conditioning.


    Instead, she prefers the gentle hum of the fan as it harmonizes with the enchanting chorus of the cicadas in the background. Together, they weave a distinct summer symphony that nostalgically reminds her of her childhood days spent in her old hometown back in the rural countryside.


    Whilst basking in this setting, she found it much easier to delve deeper into her thoughts and solve problems that currently gued her mind.


    Meanwhile, upon her desky various papers filled with writing and drawings that are untidy organized in a haphazard manner.


    G¨´ Q¨ªng twirled her pen in between her fingers, staring intently at the papers in deep contemtion.


    The writing on the documents is rather peculiar, featuring a blend of hieroglyphic and cuneiform-like characters that are intricate andpletely unfamiliar to modern linguistics.


    Moreover, one particr sheet of paper even has a hand-drawn depiction of an entirely new continent, not found on any geological map of earth.


    This alien-like map has Chinesebels such as ¡®Chosen City,¡¯ ¡®Elven Forest,¡¯ ¡®ck Dragon Castle,¡¯ and ¡®Florence¡¯ ced upon its geographic topography.


    From ayman¡¯s perspective, this map might not made sense but for yers of Elven Kingdom, this map clearly depicts the world of Saig¨¹es!


    In a specific region northeast of the map, a ce was marked in red with a question mark, and the word ¡°Royal Capital¡± written on it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the elves had a royal capital. If I hadn¡¯t started reading a lot of their old books, then I wouldn¡¯t have known about it!¡±


    G¨´ Q¨ªng thought with her eyes gleaming in delight.


    She is one of the first beta-yers of Elven Kingdom.


    Username : HootyBird


    At this moment, G¨´ Q¨ªng¡¯s eyes sparkled with wonder whilst holding the handdrawn map in her hands. Those who personally knew her could tell it was a telltale sign of her being in a good mood.


    ¡°This location might just be yet another major elven ruins! And maybe after this recent update, we can finally explore this area!¡±


    G¨´ Q¨ªng eximed with excitement.


    There were once sevenrge elven cities in the entire expanse of the Elven Forest.


    G¨´ Q¨ªng learned this after reading some ancient text that was either salvaged or preserved by the natives¡­


    The old texts aptly named these seven cities as the Royal Capital, Florence, Rivendell, Kenond, Mirovia, Crystal City, and Icewind Dale.


    Among them, Florence and Rivendell have already been explored by the yers and it can even be easily essed through a teleportation array.


    However, the other five cities remained untouched and inessible considering the range of maps currently avable to the yers.


    Nheless, by deciphering the prevailing records written in the ancient texts, G¨´ Q¨ªng gained a rough understanding of the coordinates of these cities.


    Based on her estimates, Kenond was located southwest of the Elven Forest. It was described as a magnificent city built amidst of a sea of flowers.


    Whereas Mirovia was a beautiful coastal city situated to the west. Crystal City and Icewind Dale on the other hand were located in the far northern section of the Elven Forest.


    Yet, they cannot currently ess these areas because these cities are more than three hundred kilometers away from the core area of the Elven Forest, far beyond the reach of the current map avable to the yers.


    As a matter of fact, although the core area of the Elven Forest is called the central area, technically, it is not actually the center of the Elven Forest.


    It is only called as such because it is where the World Tree grows and this ¡®central zone¡¯ is actually the southeastern portion of the forest.


    Of course, in addition to these major cities, the Elven Forest also harbors some other ruins, which was remnants of various smaller towns and viges left behind by the elves of olden times.


    However, most of these smaller ruinsck anything substantial or of importance, with some even being used as bases by trespassing goblins.


    The only noteworthy items that the yers discovered from these small ruins are a few Divine Blood Crystals which has a contribution value of 800 when offered to the goddess.


    But ording to the ancient texts, aside from the Holy City of Florence and the manufacturing citadel of Rivendell, the nearest city to the core area of the Elven Forest was the Royal Capital.


    G¨´ Q¨ªng furrowed her eyebrows as she analyzed the approximate location of the Royal Capital on her hand-drawn map.


    She nodded for a while, but then shook her head not a minuteter.


    ¡°No¡­something doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±


    She then took out a paper covered in strange characters and scrutinized it, as her brows furrowed even more.


    ¡°It clearly states here that the Royal capital is located within the Elven Forest, surrounded by beautiful oak trees and a towering, holy statue of the goddess as andmark¡ª¡±


    Whilst talking to herself, G¨´ Q¨ªng pulled out yet another paper.


    ¡°¡ªBut this one mentions the capital¡¯s location is about four hundred kilometers northeast of the World Tree¡­¡±


    Frowning even more, she picked up her hand-drawn map and moved it closer to her face.


    ¡°Yet, based on the maps we¡¯ve already explored, the 300-kilometer straight northeast of the World Tree is already outside the Elven Forest. So, does this mean the Royal capital is actually situated beyond the territory of the Forest?¡±


    She then instinctively scratched the top of her head.


    ¡°But¡­isn¡¯t that region supposed to belong to a human kingdom? Something called the Holy Maniya Empire? Meryer even went there to take some livestock¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be that the information written in these old texts is inurate?¡±


    G¨´ Q¨ªng grew increasingly puzzled.


    After thinking to no avail, she gently rubbed her temples and set the papers aside. ncing at her watch, G¨´ Q¨ªng realized that, at some point, the clock hands had moved past twelve noon.


    In an instant, G¨´ Q¨ªng¡¯s expression softened.


    ¡°Well, time to go online.¡±


    ¡°Since I can¡¯t figure it out, I¡¯ll just ask Alice directly instead. The natives surely must know where their old capital is located.¡±


    With this in mind, G¨´ Q¨ªng finally stood up from her seat.


    Shezily stretched her limbs before finishing her takeout food with a few bites and tossed the leftovers into the trash bin.


    After brushing her teeth, she then approached the immersion pod in her room and donned the apparatus¡¯s headgear as shey down inside it.


    ¡°Initiate¡­ Elven Kingdom!¡±


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Game sessfully connected¡­¡¿


    ¡¾New updated version discovered, beta 0.1.5¡¿


    ¡¾Updating totest version¡­01%..02%..¡¿


    ¡¾100%¡ª Update sessful!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update log V1</strong>: Added equipment binding feature¡¿


    ¡¾yers can now use contribution points to bond an equipment exclusively to themselves. Bound equipment can also return alongside the dead yer upon their revival at the World Tree. yers can now also check the coordinates of bounded equipment on their mini-map.¡¿


    ¡¾However equipment binding has a time limit, and bound equipment shall receive a binding buff that requires contribution points for maintenance.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update log V2</strong>: Expanded Maps¡¿


    ¡¾New locations are now open for exploration: yers can now ess, the Dark Mountains, Human Kingdom, Northern and Western section of the Elven Forest.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Update log V3:</strong> Added more hidden Questlines¡¿


    ¡¾ New Hidden Quests now avable in Elven Kingdom. Exploring the new locations may trigger hidden questlines.¡¿


    <em>Equipment binding? </em>


    G¨´ Q¨ªng blinked in surprise.


    It¡¯s not permanent and it actually requires maintenance of contribution points?


    Isn¡¯t this a bit too much?


    ¡°At least we can now bind our equipment to ourselves personally, its just that I¡¯m not sure if the upkeep is expensive and worth the cost¡­¡±


    ¡°However, the new locations were expected.¡±


    Thinking of this, HootyBird finally logged into the game¡­


    ¡¾Logging in¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Username</strong> : HootyBird¡¿


    ¡¾Wee back to Elven Kingdom O¡¯ Chosen One!¡¿


    Along with the familiar chime of the system that signifies her being connected into the game¡¯s server, the scene before G¨´ Q¨ªng also suddenly changed.


    No, she was now HootyBird.


    A strong sense of weightlessness swept over her entire body, and HootyBird felt a momentary pang of dizziness.


    Itsted for a moment, and when she regained control of her body, she found herself in the bedroom of her private vi situated within the Chosen City.


    HootyBird slowly opened her eyes and got up from the bed.


    However, as soon as she stood up, she couldn¡¯t help but to instinctively sneeze.


    ¡°Ah-choo! Ugh¡­ it¡¯s so cold.¡±


    She sniffed and shivered slightly, realizing that she had not properly closed the window in her bedroom thest time she logged out.


    While tweaking the temperature perception settings within her system interface, HootyBird casually strolled towards the window, poised to shut it tight.


    However, she immediately froze in mid-stride as she drew nearer to the window and finally noticed the view from the outside.


    She had only been gone for just one night.


    Yet, in that brief span of time, the entirety of the Chosen City had already been nketed in a pristine whiteyer of snow.


    High above the skies, luminous snowkes gently made their descent, fluttering about with grace along with the wind, as they umte on the ground and conjure a splendid panorama of a winter wondend.


    Meanwhile, down on the streets, a group of yers who had also logged in at the same time as her frolicked in the snow, shouting and ying like some rambunctious children¡­


    From the looks of it, thest autumn leaves have already fallen, heralding the change of seasons within the Elven Forest as the first snow graces thends, signifying that¡ª


    Winter has finally arrived.


    ¡ª <strong>266</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>GAME UPDATES ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 267

    <em>The season in the game finally changed to winter? </em>


    HootyBird took a deep breath and tightened her clothes as her stomach emitted a faint growl.


    She felt hungry yet again.


    Which came to no surprise for her anymore even though she had also recently just eaten back in the real world.


    Simply put, she suddenly felt hungry again simply because her in-game¡¯s body also required some nourishment, especially after a good long hours of sleep.


    After closing the window, HootyBird retrieved a pre-prepared dry rations from her home¡¯s storage and turned them into an impromptu breakfast.


    Then, after finishing her meal and packing up the equipment she needed for going out, HootyBird pushed open the wooden door at the entrance of her house and ventured outside.


    A biting cold wind immediately greeted her upon leaving her doorstep. However it wasn¡¯t as piercing as she initially thought it would be and the temperature actually was quite bearable, given that Chosen City was located in the more temperate areas of the Elven Forest.


    Furthermore, the humidity was still quite noticeable despite the cold season mainly due to the abundance of nts in the forest.


    However, despite the mildness of the cold wind, prolonged exposure to it could still prate people¡¯s clothing, leading them to involuntarily shiver eventually.


    Yet despite the chilling weather, it still didn¡¯t dampen the enthusiasm of the yers, as arge crowd gathered in the central square and yed in the snow amongst one another.


    Whilst chasing one another, they frolicked in the snow asughter filled the air, as if everyone had briefly set aside their initial n of immediately embarking on doing quests upon logging in.


    Of course at this moment, the yers¡¯ snowball fights looks entirely different from a typical snowball fight from the real world.


    In fact, with the participants using diverse set of skills and magical spells incessantly, the snowball fight ended up transforming into a mesmerizing spectacle of magic.


    Enthralled by the majestic snowball sh before her, the typically reserved HootyBird felt an almost irresistible urge to join in the fun.


    Even HootyBird couldn¡¯t help but be enchanted by the majestic and beautiful snowball battle unfolding before her as she also felt an irresistible urge to join in the fun.


    Of course, while some yers simply enjoy ying in the snow in the city square, there were also yers hurrying to pick up quests or forming a party with the intent to go to the dungeon or explore the new maps.


    Amidst the bustling city square, one can see yers riding their mounts whilst darting through the streets as myriad of sounds such as shouts of forming a party, the tter of material collection, and the clinking of equipment all intermixed together alongside the infectiousughter of the people ying in the snow, echoing one after another.


    Silently watching it all from where she stood, HootyBird suddenly felt an indescribable feeling deep within her¡­


    It was like she was seeing the Elven Forest slowly came to life like a huge machine, as more and more yers awaken one after another.


    ¡°Experiencing winter like this truly is quite impressive¡­I mustmend the game¡¯s weather system for creating such a wonderful scenery.¡±


    Moving to the side of the street, HootyBird continued to observe some yers engaged in a snowball fight in the square when a surprised voice suddenly reached her.


    Turning her head slightly, HootyBird immediately noticed a certain female yer in a distance, fully adorned in aplete set of golden equipment, walking towards her.


    It was obviously none other than her friend, Little Salty Cat.


    As the petite girl finally got close to her, the two greeted each other with familiarity.


    Then, HootyBird saw her friend make a beeline for an open space, where she reached out her hands to catch some falling snowkes with an excited and curious expression.


    A few snowkesnded into her palm before it gradually melted into transparent water droplets.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool and superfy! It¡¯s crazy hot out there in the real world, but I never thought the game would be such a great ce to escape the heat!¡±


    Little Salty Cat eximed with satisfaction as she rubbed her reddened hands together and bent down, before grabbed a ball of snow on the ground, and kneaded it into a snowball.


    ¡°Are you from the south?¡± HootyBird inquired.


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m from Y¨¡od¨­u,<mark>1</mark> and I have never seen snow in my life. Although I almost had a chance to see some when we nned to go skiing in the Alps, but my parents were too busy, so we eventually had to cancel. Simrly, a n to ski in Hokkaido also got canceled as well.¡±


    Little Salty Cat sighed with a tinge of disappointment.


    ¡°Alps¡­ Hokkaido¡­¡±


    The corners of HootyBird¡¯s mouth twitched involuntarily.


    ¡°And you?¡± Little Salty Cat asked.


    ¡°Me? My home is in the central part of the country, a temperate monsoon zone with four distinct seasons. In winter, it can get as chilly as minus four or five degrees celsius, but the air isn¡¯t too dry and we get to see some snow every year.¡± HootyBird replied.


    Being a genuine central ins resident, HootyBird had a rtively strong resistance to cold temperatures.


    Although they are not as ustomed to frigid temperatures as real northerners, they are still way more resistantpared to the southerners who have never seen snow in their lives for more than a decade.


    ¡°Four distinct seasons! That¡¯s so awesome!¡± Little Salty Cat looked envious.


    Soon, the petite girl smiled slightly and added, ¡°Speaking of which, the Elven Forest also seems to have four seasons too. I¡¯ve taken so many screenshots back in summer and autumn since the scenery is so unique and breathtaking but this winter season right now is looking pretty fantastic as well.¡±


    <em>Indeed, it¡¯s quite beautiful.</em>


    HootyBird thought of the lush greenery in the summer forest and the colorful leaves in autumn.


    Of course, the central area wherein the World Tree stood is always green despite the change of seasons¡­


    Yet, once people step out of the central area, they can see fantastic seasonal views throughout the four seasons¡­


    It¡¯s an incredibly beautiful forest, enough to drive many photographers crazy.


    In fact, there are already numerous popr screenshots of the Elven Forest being circted online on the inte.


    After ying in the snow for a while, Little Salty Cat thought of more serious matters and excitedly said,


    ¡°Oh, right, Sister Birdy, have you seen the recent update?! Seems like the devs have now added an equipment binding feature!¡±


    HootyBird nodded slightly.


    ¡°Yes, I saw it.¡±


    ¡°Haha, this new feature couldn¡¯t havee at a better time! I was stressing about losing my Lionheart Longsword, but thanks to this update, that concern is solved. Now, I won¡¯t have to fret about losing this expensive sword, even if I lend it to someone else!¡±


    Little Salty Cat said with satisfaction.


    However, after the excitement, Little Salty Cat grumbled and added,


    ¡°But there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m not sure of, specifically this


    whole needing to pay some CP as an upkeep in order to maintain the equipment binding¡­I don¡¯t get what the devs were thinking. I mean, we¡¯re already putting in so much effort, and now they want to squeeze us even more?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked through the official forum and it¡¯s now full of criticism against this maintenance fee! People kept saying that its too much, but devs are still silent about the issue.¡±


    HootyBird nodded slightly.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure things will eventually be solved in the end.¡±


    Little Salty Cat with a smirk said, ¡°Hehe, I think so too, and I¡¯m sure someone will eventually find some loophole in this whole equipment binding feature.¡±


    ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve already thought of some exploits too. My idea is to only bind my equipment when I needed it and disable the bind when I don¡¯t need it anymore. Plus, I n to let whoever rents Lionheart Longsword pay the maintenance fee!¡±


    ¡°But, I have to maintain my own equipment as well¡­ I¡¯ve already spent a bit too much this month, so need to tighten up my expenses for awhile.¡±


    Little Salty Cat said whilst counting on her fingers.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Sister Birdy, it seems like we can finally visit the territory of the Humans now. Would you like to go and take a look together?¡±


    After saying that, Little Salty Cat raised the corner of her mouth and looked at the HootyBird expectantly.


    However, when she saw HootyBird¡¯s slightly thoughtful expression, the petite girl asked in confusion, ¡°Oh sister, do you have some other ns today?¡±


    HootyBird paused slightly as she looked at Little Salty Cat silently for a moment and said,


    ¡°I do actually¡­I was nning to ask someone a question regarding the things I discovered after reading some elven scriptures back at home recently. Specifically, I am quite confused about the location of the elves¡¯ old Royal Capital.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s impressive! You can now actually read those elven scriptures, Sister Birdy? I tried it once but all I got was a huge headache after trying to make sense of those twisted tadpole-like characters¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat admiringly said.


    But soon, her expression turned excited yet again,


    ¡°Wait¡ªThe Old Royal Capital? The Elves have a capital too? Is it a ruins? Where is it?! Can we explore it?¡±


    HootyBird shrugged her shoulders and replied, ¡°If the ancient texts I¡¯ve read are urate, it should be in ruins by now, simr to Florence. Perhaps there¡¯s a chance for us in finding it thanks to thistest update.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ the records in the scriptures have some contradictions.¡±


    HootyBird thought for a moment and told Little Salty Cat what she read in the scriptures.


    ¡°The descriptions in two of the old texts are inconsistent? And ording to one, the location of the royal capital is actually in the human territory?¡±


    After hearing HootyBird¡¯s words, Little Salty Cat also frowned.


    ¡°Yes, so I n to ask Alice about it,¡± HootyBird exined.


    Upon hearing this, Little Salty Cat quickly approached HootyBird with her face full of excitement, eager to stir things up.


    ¡°I¡¯m in! Count me in too! If the ruins of the old Royal Capital truly are somewhere in the human territory, then finding them sounds like a huge amount of fun!¡±


    ¡°The location of the Royal Capital?¡±


    Inside the Temple of Nature, Saintess Alice whose currently wearing a thick winter ceremonial robe, nced at the two female Chosen Ones with a slightly startled expression.


    She set down the Codex in her hand before turning her attention to HootyBird, who had just visited the temple moments ago to consult her about something.


    The blond holy maiden patiently listened to them, but her expression became somewhatplex upon learning of the gist of their inquiries.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Alice, I¡¯ve seen records about the Elves¡¯ Royal Capital in two different scriptures, but¡­ they contradict each other. One says it¡¯s within the Elven Forest, while the other, which specified its exact location, marked it outside the Elven Forest.¡±


    HootyBird replied.


    After saying that, she hesitated for a moment and added,


    ¡°I recall numerous instances in the past when Chosen Ones inquired with the natives about the whereabouts of any ancient ruins. Although we received some scattered information about ruins like Kenond and Mirovia, their exact locations remained unknown to us. The vast distance also made exploring these ces rather impractical.¡±


    ¡°But even so, these ruins still hold varying degrees of information, unlike the Royal Capital, where no one has even bothered to mentioned it¡­¡±


    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t read it in the old records, I wouldn¡¯t have known that the Elvenkind even once had a royal capital.¡±


    After listening to the words of HootyBird, Alice fell into silence for a couple of moments.


    She then sighed slightly and said, ¡°You may not get any answer if you ask others about this matter, but luckily for you two, I happen to know something about this matter¡­¡±


    ¡°Thousands of years have passed since the fall of the Elven Kingdom, and countless things have already perished within the passage of this millennia. In the dust of history, a thousand years is not a short time, even for us elves with long lifespans¡­¡±


    ¡°In such circumstances, if the elders choose to remain silent about certain information, it will naturally fade away with no one passing on the history¡­¡±


    Upon hearing Alice¡¯s words, Hooty Bird¡¯s heart stirred:


    ¡°Lady Alice, are you saying¡­ even the natives are unaware of the existence of the royal capital?¡±


    ¡°How is that possible¡­?¡±


    Alice let out a long sigh:


    ¡°The younger generation may not know, but the older ones still do. It¡¯s just that¡­¡±


    The Saintess¡¯ expression then became slightly serious.


    ¡°Everyone knows your purpose in seeking the location of our old ruins and that you, Chosen Ones are fearless and brave. However, please understand the location of the Old Elven Capital is rather sensitive to us.¡±


    ¡°Some matters shouldn¡¯t be recklessly brought into light. Even though the Goddess has already revived, her identity remains a delicate matter we must protect at all costs. Revealing the location of the Elven Royal Capital could potentially expose the Divine Matriarch¡¯s secret to our enemies. Furthermore¡ª¡±


    At this point, Alice¡¯s expression slightly dimmed, as if she were pained to state the rest of her exnation. Nheless, she pressed on and said,


    ¡°¡ªRegarding the matters of the Elven Royal Capital, that is a very humiliating history for us¡­and also a longstanding pain within our hearts that has persisted for so long. Therefore, the older generation is often unwilling to even mention it¡­¡±


    At this moment, Little Salty Cat suddenly shook her head and interjected,


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right! Even if it was a humiliating past, history should never be forgotten because forgetting the history is merely an escape from the past!¡±


    ¡°Only by facing the history of humiliation can we learn from it and avoid repeating the same mistakes!¡±


    ¡°The goal of the elves is to rise back up again, Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we want to defeat all our enemies that humiliated us in the past?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then, no matter how humiliating this history might be, it deserves more attention from us, and our goal should be to fix it not let it fester in the past!¡±


    Little Salty Cat spoke with a very earnest vocal tone.


    ¡°As for the secret of the Goddess being leaked to our enemies¡­ we are her Chosen Ones, so naturally we will help her keep it a secret!¡±


    Upon hearing the petite girl¡¯s passionate words, Alice gently shook her head:


    ¡°s¡­ although you, Chosen Ones are the envoys of the Divine Matriarch, you all are not of the same mind.¡±


    ¡°In apletely unfamiliar environment, can you be absolutely certain that everyone of you will truly keep the secret of the Matriarch?¡±


    Little Salty Cat and HootyBird both froze.


    Indeed¡­


    Although their primary goal is to assist in the resurgence of the Elvenkind, among the yers, there are always some weird ones who take unconventional approach. For example, during their time in the underground, there was an incident wherein some yers for shits and giggles tried to reveal the secrets of the goddess.


    Of course, for some reason, the NPCs seemedpletely indifferent to what those yers have revealed, as if they couldn¡¯t understand their words at all¡­


    In response, yers who learned about this incident simply thought that perhaps the official storyline didn¡¯t include a branching storyline wherein the yers could rebel against the Goddess.


    In other words, even if the yers make some rebellious moves, they believe that the system won¡¯t issue any subsequent interactions from the affected NPCs since it wasn¡¯t programmed in their database in the first ce.


    However¡­


    What the yers were unaware of is that Ev¨¦ had ced a countermeasure against such rebellious actions by temporarily disabling thenguage trantion ability for any yer who does this by intercepting some key words.


    So in the end, that rebellious yer¡¯s words were uttered in chinese in the ears of the natives. And if that yer made some extreme actions, the system would even directly take away their control over their avatar.


    With the recovery of her strength, Eve¡¯s ability to control the game system has be stronger and stronger. Such things that she never dared to think about before can now be done just as long as she spends her divine power to implement it.


    And yers were oblivious to all of this.


    At this moment, upon hearing Alice¡¯s question, Little Salty Cat and HootyBird also didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    However after a moment, the blond elven maiden sighed deeply:


    ¡°However, what you said is indeed true¡­¡±


    ¡°A history, no matter how humiliating it may be, should not be forgotten, as it is an escape from the past.¡±


    Alice the chuckled in a self-deprecating manner.


    ¡°Actually, I only truly understood this fact recently as well. The Elvenkind¡¯s decline up until now is also mostly due to us stubbornly avoiding and enduring our hardships but not facing our past mistakes head on¡­¡±


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the revival of the Matriarch and the arrival of you, Chosen Ones, then we might have already faced extinction by now¡­¡±


    After saying this, Alice slightly bowed to the two female yers:


    ¡°Thank you, brave chosen ones, for your dedication to the Elven race.¡±


    This bow from the saintess made Little Salty Cat and HootyBird somewhat ufortable. They quickly helped the her up, both saying this was what should be done.


    Then, Alice¡¯s expression became more solemn:


    ¡°However, with yourtest reawakening, the Divine Matriarch has also bestowed an orcale unto me, for which she said to allow certain chosen ones to explore areas outside the Elven Forest. It seems that Her Majesty had already forseen your actions and prepared in advance.¡±


    ¡°So¡­I can now tell you about the Royal Capital.¡±


    Hearing this, Little Salty Cat and HootyBird exchanged nces with expressions of joy.


    However, soon, HootyBird had a sudden thought:


    ¡°Wait, could it be that¡­ the royal capital really is outside the Elven Forest? In the human territory?¡±


    Alice didn¡¯t directly answer her question. Instead, she took a few steps forward and stood by the window as she looked into the distance¡­


    The world outside was entirely nketed in white, covering the greenery of the Chosen City with ayer of silver-coated snow.


    After a moment, Alice sighed slightly with her expression carrying a hint of sadness.


    ¡°You might not have known it, but in fact, a thousand years ago, the area of the Elven Forest was muchrger than it is now. Indeed, the Elven Royal Capital was situated within the borders of the Elven Forest¡­¡±


    Alice stated with a trace of mncholy in her voice.


    ¡°¡­However that was all in the past.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>267</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HISTORY SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN </strong>¡¿


    1 Actually I¡¯m not so sure about this one so I just decided to trante it literally as ¡®<strong>Y¨¡od¨­u</strong>¡®


    The author used ¡®<strong>Ñý¶¼</strong>¡® here which means ¡®<strong>Demon Capital</strong>¡® and based on my research, it might be a reference from the Japanese anime ¡°Cardcaptor Sakura,¡± where Hong Kong is called the ¡°Demon Capital.¡±


    But some results also shows some Chinese use this term to refer to Guangzhou City.


    <strong> NEXT </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 268

    ¡°¡­It was all in the past?¡±


    Upon hearing this, both HootyBird and Little Salty Cat felt a subtle movement within their hearts.


    Little Salty Cat pondered for a moment and curiously asked,


    ¡°Could it be that¡­ the current Elven Forest is much more smallerpared to its terroritory in the past? And the area where the Elven Capital once stood had eventually became part of human territory?¡±


    After hearing her assumptions, the Saintess Alice nodded gently and began to recount the story of the Elven Forest and its almost forgotten Royal Capital.


    The Elven Forest boasts a rich and mysterious history that span for more than a thousand years ago.


    Yet despite its long existence, its origins still remained a mystery even up to the present day but one popr legend about the genesis of the Elven Forest suggested that it was simply an ordinary woond that underwent a vast transformation when the World Tree one day, took root and flourished within its confines¡­


    However another widely known myth ims that, back in the Twilight Era, the World Tree personally manifested a sprawling and vibrant woond in the world of Saig¨¹es in order to provide a safe sanctuary and bring back light and warmth during those tumultuous times¡­


    Nheless, regardless of which origin one believes in, the fact of the matter is that the birth of the Elven Forest is often intertwined with the shadow of the World Tree, and the stories involving the Elven Forest are often rted to the World Tree most of the time.


    In the past, the territory that made up the Elven Forest stretched all the way from the Endless Sea in the west, up to the frigid ice ins in the north, and down to the Desert of Death in the south.


    In its eastern border, the Vymur River cuts vertically through a section of the forest and thisrge river acts as a natural border that separates the Elven Forest from the Fertile ins on the opposite side, which covers an area of millions of square kilometers.


    Finally, the location where the World Tree took root was actually just a part of the Elven Forest.


    In the past, the mountainous range that now bear the foreboding title of ¡®The Dark Mountains¡¯ weren¡¯t actually explicitly known as such. Instead, they had a far more pleasant title which was¡ªthe Emerald Mountains.


    And the Emerald Mountains themselves were just one of the many mountain ranges within the territory of the Elven Forest.


    In ancient times, the highest elevated region within the Elven Forest essentially constituted the territory of the Elven Kingdom back in its Silver Age.


    While some other races also built their settlements in the outskirts of the Elven Forest for which most of them are vassals that received protection and aid from the elves.


    In that olden era, the Elven Forest was considered as the central hub of the entire continent, and all sentient beings took pride in having the opportunity to visit the magnificent elven royal capital and its holy city, Florence.


    Of course, all of this glory vanished when the Heavenly War urred.


    In its inception, the war began as a conflict between the believers of the newly born Gods of Faith and the followers of the Old Ancient Gods¡­


    Their petty disagreements soon turned into a full-blown religious war that spread across thends andid waste to many lives as a result.


    The entire Emerald Mountain was destroyed in a battle, turning the once vibrant mountains and forests into a darkened barrennd, and from then on, the Emerald Mountains acquired the ominous title, Dark Mountains.


    However, the World Tree, as the proprietor of the Emerald Mountains, did not hold the two warring forces ountable for the incident.


    The Divine Matriarch of the Elves merely scolded the warring deities, not expecting that this would lead into a growing rift between her and the Gods of Faith, which then festered and culminated in the Thousand-Year Heavenly War, wherein the Heavenly Gods banded together and attacked the World Tree.


    This apocalyptic war eventually led to the downfall of the World Tree, and it was also the primary reason for the Cradle <mark>1</mark> of Seig¨¹es to suffer a setback, causing the mana reserves of the realm to plummet all across thends, which then led to the eventual closure of dimensional nes one by one¡­


    In the aftermath of the World Tree¡¯s downfall, the Elven Forest was left to be divided amongst the various races that won the war.


    Among them, the region adjacent to the fertile ins was upied by humanity. Mankind deforested, cultivated, built roads, and cities in their newly acquired territory and the once lush green forest gradually disappeared, reced by man-made structures like castles and towns.


    Meanwhile, the majority of the area beyond the Dark Mountain Range was also imed by the orcs, who managed it in a nominal manner.


    However, because the Elven Forest was a vast territory filled with powerful magical beasts and rich in natural resources, no single race could thoroughly develop it in the face of opposition from other races¡­


    As a result, all these forces who wanted to im the enchanted forest for themselves restrained one another for thousands of years. Thus, allowing the inner and deeper sections of the Elven Forest to exist peacefully up to the present day.


    Nheless, despite their squabbles andnd disagreements, one thing united all these upying forces which is to hunt down and eliminate the original owners of the Elven Forest, the race the World Tree conceived, and finally, the sentient race originally meant to be the caretakers of the continent¡ªThe Elves.


    Unlike most other races, the Elvenkind is a unique race created by a True God and only one deity could create such a miracle which is the World Tree, the sole deity who has the authority over the Divinity of Life since time immemorial¡­


    The ability to create sentient life capable of reproduction is truly a unique power and aside from the World Tree, perhaps only the God of Death would have an insight over such profound mysteries¡­


    This fearsome ability of the World Tree, astonished the other gods and perhaps were even wary of it and that¡¯s why they ordered their believers to hunt down any elves they find, in fear of the World Tree having a back up n to revive itself.


    As the center of elven civilization, the royal capital of the elves, naturally experienced the ughter and looting of these various races¡­


    Upon hearing this, Little Salty Cat asked curiously,


    ¡°So, is the Elven Capital located in the area now upied by the humans?¡±


    Alice nodded and continued her narration.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The Elven Royal Capital¡­ or rather as it is once known, the City of Moonlight.


    It was a city established on the edge of the Elven Forest by the Elven Royal Family and a group of primordial elves after leaving the World Tree.


    Moonlight City was the first stop for any elves that wanted to interact with various races, and it was also once hailed as the political, economic, and cultural center of the world.


    Of course, this was all in the past.


    With the fall of the World Tree and the subsequent division of the Elven Forest, the Elven Capital naturally also did not escape ruination¡­


    Especially with it being a city symbolic to the glory of the elven civilization, this beautiful Elven metropolis inevitably suffered a devastating blow as humans conquered the city and forced all its residents to convert into a new beliefs.


    However the elves resisted.


    s¡­ what awaited those who resisted was a ruthless ughter.


    It is said that initially, the orders from the human leadership was to exterminate the entire city¡¯s poption.


    However¡­ the elves were simply too outstanding in appearance. Too beautiful to be killed.


    Driven by their insatiable greed, the human nobility who upied the city executed only the older and male elves.


    Meanwhile, the young and female elves were spared but a fate much worsey in store for them as these survivors were secretly sold into very¡­


    Of course, for the proud elven race, such humiliating fate was even more uneptable than death and many of the enved survivors took their own life but humans merely ignored these tragedies and continued on to erase the legacy left behind by the elves.


    They destroyed everything rted to elves, changed the city¡¯s name, desecrated the stone tablets and elven statues, before erecting their own temples and castles underneath the rubble that was once known as Moonlight City¡­


    For years, this cycle continued and eventually, the was no longer an elven city named the City of Moonlight in the world and in its ce, a human city named Maple Leaf City stood in its remains.


    After the passage of a thousand years, all traces of the elves within this city had beenpletely eradicated by humanity.


    ¡°¡­Maple Leaf City?¡±


    Upon hearing this name, HootyBird¡¯s eyebrows slightly wrinkled as if she¡¯s recalling something.


    ¡°This name¡­ sounds familiar, like I¡¯ve heard it from someone before.¡±


    She murmured whilst crossing her arms.


    ¡°Maple Leaf City?¡±


    Little Salty Cat was slightly stunned, her expression showing a strange look.


    ¡°Pfft¡­Hey Sis, do you still remember the name of the human territory that Meryer robbed his livestock from?¡±


    HootyBird was initially puzzled, before her face bore a look of realization.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it called¡­Maple Leaf Territory?¡±


    Little Salty Cat nodded.


    ¡°I specifically asked Meryer about this before. He told me Maple Leaf is thergest city in Count Maple Leaf¡¯s fiefdom, and it is also the capital city under the rule of that Bordend Lord.¡±


    After saying this, she and HootyBird locked eyes as the two exchanged an all-knowing smile.


    Suddenly, a feeling washed over them¡­


    A feeling that the location they were about to explore next in the new maps has already been determined.


    ¡ª <strong>268</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ELVEN CAPITAL ¡¿</strong>


    1 Previously, I tranted it as ¡®Origin¡¯ but I think ¡®Cradle¡¯ fits it more since the ¡®Origin of Seig¨¹es¡¯ sounds more like I¡¯m talking about the inception of the world per se, rather than its actual meaning which is the ¡®Fudamental Root¡¯ of the World.


    To further expound on this, the word the author used here is ¡®<strong><mark>±¾Ô´</mark></strong>¡® which means the source or origin of something. It is used metaphorically to indicate the root or fundamental essence of a matter, as well as the most crucial aspect of a thing.


    <strong> NEXT </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 269

    <em>Whenever a yer enters a new game, what¡¯s the first thing they are likely to do before anything else?</em>


    It was to open the map.


    <em>Moreover, with each game update and subsequent release of new expansions, what¡¯s the first thing yers tend to do after logging in?</em>


    Why of course, it was still to open the map!


    In summary, many yers are ustomed to checking all the areas showed upon their mini-map. Otherwise they would experience some sort of difort should they fail to thoroughly explore or leave the game¡¯s map uncharted.


    Especially those gamers with obsessivepulsive disorder.


    And ElvKing¡¯s yers shared this very same sentiment.


    However,pared to past virtual games, the map of Elven Kingdom is exceptionally vast.


    Here, when they say one kilometer, they actually mean exactly one kilometer!


    Moreover, the wilderness is rugged as well as difficult to traverse on and despite the elves¡¯ agility and inherent affinity for forest navigation, exploring the Elven Kingdom¡¯s map still remains a daunting task for most yers.


    In fact, apart from a handful of yers who are particrly addicted to exploration, the majority of the yerbase, shift their focus to monster hunting and leveling up after familiarizing themselves with the essential locations on the map.


    Those yers who are addicted to exploring the map¡¯s outer boundaries have spent nearly two months exploring the outer edge of the map.


    The current area avable for yers to explore has a wide radius of three hundred kilometers¡­


    A radius of such proportions signifies a very extensive region.


    And to better conceptualize the sheer size of this map, it¡¯s about the size of seven or eight provinces in Taiwan.


    In this vast expanse, should ten thousand yers be thrown in and spread out all across this massive map, everyone would inevitably feel that the map is truly deserted.


    In fact, whenever a yer leaves the confines of the cities and explore the wilderness, it would usually take them half a day before they encounter other yers¡­


    Conversely, they would be more likely to encounter monsters instead because there¡¯s no shortage of mobs, especially in the wild deeper regions of the forest.


    That is to say, the core area where Chosen City is located are the central hub for yers¡¯ activities, making it the safest and most bustling region on the map.


    However, even though this region¡¯s scope of activities is vastlyrge, it had already been more than two months since the server wasunched back on the real world, and that equates to more than eight months within the game.


    During this entire period, the yers have finally explored all the areas they can explore within this region.


    That left them nothing else to do but merely repeat activities such aspleting quests, exploring dungeons, performing daily tasks, and enjoying some leisure time within Chosen City.


    asionally, yers used to tease the NPCs, buttely, no one dares to do that anymore, as it now affects a yer¡¯s reputation score¡­


    Yet with the introduction of thetest update, the yers now have some newer maps to explore!


    However, calling it a new map isn¡¯t really that urate as it was more on simply expanding the yers¡¯ area of activities.


    In fact, many yers spected that the developers of Elven Kingdom have already finished the entire map of Saig¨¹es but are only expanding it little by little to amodate the progression of the main storyline.


    There is some evidence to support this assumption, as during the War of ck Dragon Castle, some yers who chased the fleeing orcs inadvertently reached the outer boundary limits on the edge of the map.


    To their surprise, the orcs had easily go beyond the map, but the chasing yers were left helpless as they immediately hit an invisible wall upon reaching the map¡¯s boundary limit.


    Although the pursuit failed, the sight of the orcs fleeing beyond the boundary clearly indicates that the Elven Kingdom¡¯s map is much morerger and the yers were only restricted from essing it in the mean time¡­


    Elves has an acute sense of eyesight that can see far beyond the distance and those standing at the edge of the map can perceived an even broader map on the horizon!


    Previously, the yers couldn¡¯t explore thesends, but with the implementation of thetest update, they now they can ess these previously restricted ces!


    Following the recent update, their maps boundary limits has been further expanded, and yers are no longer confined to a range of three hundred kilometers but rather, they can now explore up to five hundred kilometers!


    However, not everyone was immediately granted ess to this newnds¡­


    ording to the requirements imposed by the system, the expanded map beyond three hundred kilometers zone can only be explored by yers who are at the very least level 31.


    The level wherein one could finally call themselves as Peak Iron-rank Experts.


    Across the entire server, only a few yers are currently above level 30 and most of these individuals are primarilyposed of first-beta testers and some hardcore second-beta yers.


    In total, this group amounts to only two hundred people.


    As for the third-beta yers, even the most hardcore yer within this group, Ji Gang, who went all out during the whole summer event, is still struggling at level 25.


    Thus, only a few seasoned yers can explore the new map.


    This deliberate restriction was imposed by Ev¨¦ with the intent of encouraging low-level yers to work harder to level up while also safeguarding the stability and limiting the variables that might pose problems for her in the future.


    Since easily allowing ten thousand yers to rush into thends of humanity all at once would definitely be a recipe for disaster!


    And for most yers, only through hard work and leveling up can they have the opportunity to explore a much broader horizons.


    In short, unless someone is a big spender, yers should at the very least experience the pains of being a liver emperor <mark>1</mark> before they could experience the joys of exploring the new maps.


    As for the new explorable maps that the devs have finally allowed yers to explore, there are actually four regions:


    The Western and Northern regions of the Elven Forest, the Dark Mountains, and a portion of territory that belong to humanity.


    Of course, what made the yers most curious and concerned about is the human territory.


    The sole reason for yers¡¯ curiosity about the humans is simply because the NPCs in Elven Kingdom is too realistic.


    Interacting with these NPCs proves to be really interesting, and with the yers being internally humans themselves, it¡¯s quite natural for them to wonder about their otherworldly counterparts.


    <em>Are the humans of this world the same as those back on Earth?</em>


    <em>Are they greedy or perhaps more peaceful?</em>


    <em>Do they even look the same?</em>


    It¡¯s like seeing a fellow countrymen living overseas while visiting abroad as a tourist. One couldn¡¯t really help but be naturally curious about the other person¡¯s way of life.


    But of course, from a leveling perspective, the Dark Mountains and the northern regions of Elven Forest might be better choices.


    Moreover, there were also rumors that some yers had heard from Lady Zero that these areas might hide some hidden ruins, special monsters, and possibly even cultists of evil gods lurking within it, making it a very worthwhile region to explore.


    Nheless, exploring new uncharted maps and adventuring for the sake of leveling are two different things.


    Even if they wanted explore these newer regions, yers must first and foremost be familiar with them¡­


    And among the them, the human territory which everyone is looking forward to, stood out the most.


    Even Ev¨¦ herself did not expect the yers to show such enthusiasm for visiting the territory of mankind.


    Nevertheless, she also strongly anticipates that some yers will inevitably cause some trouble sooner orter.


    After all, their previous encounter with the Dark Dwarves have already proven enough that these unruly cheeky little rascals have a propensity for trouble!


    Just remembering that whole fiasco, wherein Demacia set up a pyramid scheme and almost scammed half of the ckrock City¡¯s residents still gives Ev¨¦ a headache every now and then.


    <em>What will these yers do when faced with their indigenous counterparts in this world?</em>


    Ev¨¦ can¡¯t help but shudder just by thinking about it.


    Only a few hours had passed since Elven Kingdom went back online following its recent update but the yers¡¯ curiosity about the humannds is already growing more and more intense as time passes by¡­


    And this curiosity and longing for the humannds have been further exacerbated after another explosive piece of explosive news came out.


    <em>Among the newly released maps, a certain city located in the humannds was originally the royal capital of the Elven race! </em>


    It was a bombshell of a news that shocked everyone!


    Furthermore this news held a strong credibility since its source actually came from a high-ranking yer named HootyBird who is also considered a pioneer and the top researcher in regards to Elven Kingdom¡¯s academic lore and history.


    Based on her findings for which she obtained from studying ancient elven scriptures and further verified by the Saintess Alice, the human city now known as Maple Leaf was originally the elven capital back in the olden days!


    ¡°No way! Is this true?¡±


    ¡°So the old elven royal capital is now actually upied by the humans?¡±


    ¡°As the Chosen Ones and Brave Warriors of Elvenkind, as well as for the glory of elves and the goddess, we can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing, right?¡±


    ¡°The royal capital¡­ just think about it guys, this ce surely must be full of hidden quests that can be triggered!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ as the embodiment of love and justice, we great Chosen warriors need to sneak into this upied city and stir things up!¡±


    After the news spread, many seasoned Iron-rank yers who had initially nned to explore the newer regions of the Elven Forest or the Dark Mountains subsequently altered their intended destination upon learning about HootyBird¡¯s findings.


    And those yers who had already decided to visit the humannds even before the news came out became even more excited.


    Of course, considering the harsher death penalties that came with higher levels, the yers still need do their due diligence and gather some preliminary intelligence in advance regarding their destination before venturing out.


    As a result, the natives that escaped from Holy Maniya Empire became the best sources of information for these yers¡­


    In no time at all, hundreds of Chosen Ones flooded into Florence and surrounded the native elves who were at that moment busy working and starled them.


    ¡°Huh? Tips before entering a human city? What should you pay most attention to?¡±


    Listening to the Chosen¡¯s One¡¯s inquiries, the elves that escaped from the empire showed a serious look of contemtion before answering.


    ¡°Hmm, If I may, I think the most important factor to consider is to discreetly conceal your identity and endeavor not to arouse any suspicion from the human guards¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides, those humans are so cunning; you must be very careful not to be deceived by their lies.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do any kind of business with humans at all! Their hearts are utterly ck to the extent that they¡¯ll even deceive their own kind!¡±


    Listening to the words of the natives with plenty of experience regarding how human society works, the Chosen Ones nodded enthusiastically.


    And after spending a few hours gathering information in Florence, the yers concluded that they had now sufficient intel and finally decided to set off.


    Over two hundred Iron-rank yers from the three major guilds formed several teams and, atst, began their journey towards the newly expanded maps.


    Their Objective¡ª<em>The Human Lands!</em>


    ¡ª <strong>269</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ OBJECTIVE¡ªHUMAN LANDS! ¡¿</strong>


    1 <strong><mark>¸ÎµÛ</mark></strong> ¨C Gan Di/Liver Emperor is a chinese gaming ng who refers to yers who invest time and effort in games and are passionate about crafting strategies and umting resources without using real money.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 270

    In the southwestern border of the Holy Maniya Empire lies Maple Leaf Territory.


    As the bordends of the empire, Maple Leaf Territory appears on the map like a protruding dagger, spanning across the Vymur River and cutting diagonally right into the intersection between the Dark Mountains, Elven Forest, and Aries Kingdom.


    In fact, as early as thousands of years ago this whole region was once part of the Elven Forest and even now, the territory still retains numerous remnants of this old forgotten era, bing a popr destination for nobles and tourist.


    To the southwest of Maple Leaf Territory lies the town of Riverwood.


    Underneath the deep blue winter sky, several frozen windmills adorned the town¡¯s entrance, whilst a biting cold wind presently blows through the area, coating the brick and wooden structures within it in a thickyer of snow.


    The town¡¯s ancient alleys are filled with smoke, carrying along with it an enticing aroma of bread and roasted meat, while the sounds of children ying echoed intermittently from time to time.


    An outpost was erected close to the entrance of the town, where the townguards are busy carrying out their duties.


    Inside, a modest bonfire flickered amidst the crackling sound of dry embers, as the fire cast its warm glow upon the two shivering guards d in supple leather armor.


    One of the guards has a stout stature, which stood in contrast with thenky form of hispanion. Currently, the two are enjoying themselves, partaking in murky wheat ale whilst skillfully roasting a plump rabbit they had captured earlier in the wild.


    ¡°Burp¡­ Is it ready yet?¡± inquired the stout guard after belching.


    He instinctively swallowed his saliva as his hungry eyes looked expectantly at the tenderly-cooked rabbit meat dripping with oil as it emits an alluring aroma.


    ¡°Just be patient. It¡¯ll taste even better if we roast it for a little bit more!¡±


    Thenky guard in charge of cooking rolled his eyes before taking out a small bag and carefully opened it, revealing some finely crushed salt.


    He then carefully sprinkled some of it on the rabbit meat andmented, ¡°Let¡¯s also put some salt to enhanced the vor.¡±


    The stout guard gazed upon the glistening rabbit meat as his eyes kept intensifying with each passing moment.


    ¡°Burp¡ª¡±


    <em>nk! nk! </em>


    While they are busy roasting their food, the bronze bell hanging on the side of the outpost suddenly made a series of crisp sounds.


    The guard in charge of cooking immediately turned around, wearing a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Huh? One of the traps has been triggered!¡±


    The stout guard also perked up at the same time and said simultaneously,


    ¡°Huh? Another beast has been caught?¡±


    He reflexively swallowed as the two shared a bewildered look.


    ¡°Who knows, could be a magical beasts instead. Lately, a lot of them have beening from the direction of the Elven Forest. We¡¯re not Experts, so we need to be careful since this new one we caught might be something dangerous. Let¡¯s go check it together.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­what about our food?¡±


    ¡°Just leave it here for now. We¡¯ll be back soon anyway.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ alright.¡±


    The two put on their helmets, grabbed their weapons and leave the outpost before moving towards the town¡¯s outskirts.


    The entire wilderness was covered with thick white snow.


    And the traps the two guards had set to catch some prey were almost buried underneath it.


    For some reason, there are far more wild beasts roaming outside the town this winter than in previous years. Moreover, stronger magical beasts that were rumored to be only sighted deep inside the Elven Forest have also begun to appear more and moretely.


    This unusual migration of the beast poption eventually led to the town of Riverwood suffering several tides of attack from these beasts.


    And to ensure the safety of its inhabitants, the town¡¯s local ordinance decided to establish an outpost specifically to monitor the situation, and traps were alsoid out outside the vicinity of Riverwood to serve both as a precaution and tools to hunt this ongoing tide of migrating beasts.


    The two are seasoned guardsmen yet they still couldn¡¯t help but be apprehensive as they cautiously transverse the periphery of the Elven Forest.


    Clutching their weapons firmly, the pair held their breath as they moved slowly towards the trap¡¯s direction.


    ¡°¡­Hey did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°What is it? I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± The stout guard replied.


    Thenky guard suddenly stopped and ced a hand on his ear.


    ¡°Odd. I thought I heard someone shouting just now¡­anyways let¡¯s move on.¡±


    The two resumed walking and as soon as they arrived, the pair immediately spotted a figure caught in a trap.


    However, it¡¯s not a wild beast like they initially expected but a human being instead.


    It was a man who looked to be in his fifties, with a thin build and disheveled hair. He was wailing while holding his injuried leg that was caught in the jaws of the beast trap.


    Dirty and shivering from the cold, the older man¡¯s clothes werepletely torn and stained with blood, but still recognizable as a butler¡¯s attire, made of high-quality fabric only affordable by someone of higher status.


    ¡°A H-Human?!¡±


    The two guards eximed with wide-eyed look.


    They quickly ran and when the pair finally caught a glimpse of the older man¡¯s face more clearly, a look of recognition swiftly formed at their faces.


    ¡°Sir Anders?! Is it really you?! Did you somehow escape from the ck dragon?!¡± thenky guard eximed in surprise.


    ¡°Sir Anders? What happened to you? Why have you lost so much weight?!¡± the stout guard asked in a tone of astonishment.


    Anders: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Quick, you two! Help me get out of this trap this instant. Some idiot had set up an animal trap here, goddammit! Don¡¯t they know it could identally hurt someone?!¡±


    Anders cursed, yet his voicecked its usual venom and even carried a hint of exhaustion.


    <em>It¡¯s already winter, and being at the border, who else apart from smugglers would dare go outside in this kind of weather?</em>


    The two muttered inwardly within their hearts.


    However, they moved fast and quickly helped the old man break free from the trap¡­


    After all, he was the steward of the lord, a figure of high status!


    Finally free from the trap, Anders limped to his feet. As if on cue, his stomach at that moment made a loud rumbling sound.


    ¡°Gurgle~¡±


    Anders, with his dirtied face, felt slightly embarrassed. He awkwardly coughed a few times and asked,


    ¡°Is there anything to eat?¡±


    The two guards exchanged silent nces and were about to answer, but Anders sniffed and his face immediately brightened up.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s that smell? It¡¯s so delicious.¡±


    The Two Guards: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Riverwood¡¯s outpost.


    Anders sat beside the bonfire whilst indulging in the sulent, aromatic roasted rabbit meat with his hands and mouth coated in grease.


    Witnessing the Lord¡¯s typically refined steward voraciously devouring the food as if he were an uncouth beggar who hadn¡¯t eaten in ages, the two guards were left utterly speechless.


    Thenky one was hiding his expression well, but the stout guard on the other hand, clearly showed a pained expression while looking at the rabbit meat that was quickly getting smaller and smaller at the hands of the steward.


    Finally, thenky guard covertly pulled his partner¡¯s sleeve, and the stout guard reluctantly withdrew his gaze.


    ¡°Ahem¡­¡±


    As if he had eaten too fast, Anders suddenly choked.


    Thenky guard saw it and promptly handed the The old man his partner¡¯s wine bag filled with ale:


    ¡°Sir Anders, take it slow. Here, please take a sip of our drink.¡±


    Stout Guard: ¡°¡­¡±


    Anders didn¡¯t refuse.


    He silently grabbed it and unceremoniously took a big gulp.


    However, mere secondster, the old man¡¯s expression swiftly changed. Anders spat out all that he had drunk and disyed an aggrieved expression.


    ¡°You call this ale? Just how much water did you mix in this poor excuse of a drink?! It tastes absolutely terrible!¡±


    Thenky guard showed an impassive look, but the other guard was not pleased at all.


    The stout guard pouted and muttered, ¡°That was so expensive¡­why did this bastard have to waste it all away¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What did you say?!¡±


    Anders¡¯ expression instantly darkened.


    Thenky guard was startled as he quickly pulled his partner behind him and awkwardly smiled at the steward.


    ¡°A-Ahem¡­Sir Anders, as you¡¯re well aware, our resources here in Riverwood are quite limited and having some alcohol to go along our food is already a luxury for us, so please understand our situation.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Anders¡¯ expression softened a bit.


    The old man took another bite of the roasted rabbit and resumed his lofty demeanor.


    ¡°¡­This rabbit meat is roasted well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your praise sir.¡±


    Thenky guard replied.


    However, despite the old man¡¯s lofty and arrogant demeanor, he still looks like a beggar outwardly, creating a somewhat humorous sight.


    <em>Hmph, how stupid, this old man still has the audacity to act all high and mighty despite looking like that? </em>


    The two guards felt a hint of satisfaction within their hearts as they silently observed the disheveled state of the steward.


    After all, it has been only just a few months ago since this pompous steward arrived in town to fulfill the role of a tax collector.


    Like the nobles in the city, he was also very greedy, which made the townspeople very unhappy as they reluctantly handed to him their hard-earned money as taxes.


    Back then, many people pped their hands in celebration when this old man was abducted by the ck dragon.


    Of course, they didn¡¯t dare to say such things out loud.


    Moreover¡­ many residents of the town were also captured together with Anders.


    Thinking of this, thenky guard couldn¡¯t help but ask:


    ¡°Sir Anders, um¡­where are the other people?¡±


    Anders blinked slightly.


    ¡°What other people?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ those people taken away by the ck dragon along with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, them¡­¡±


    Anders¡¯ gaze flickered slightly, then he sighed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ After we escaped from the ck dragon, our group had encountered a beast tide on our way back. Everyone got separated during our escape¡­¡±


    ¡°I ran in the wrong direction since I didn¡¯t know the way and after struggling for days finally managed toe back here today¡­ How about the others? Didn¡¯t they alsoe back?¡±


    The two guardsmen nced at each other, and showed a serious look.


    The others¡­still haven¡¯te back.


    However, when Anders mentioned the beast tide, they knew that the other escapees chance of survival was not good.


    In recent months, the surrounding magical beasts have been constantly migrating. If the other abducted folks have also encountered a beast tide, then their situation would be really dangerous¡­


    They didn¡¯t know what had caused it, but a few months ago, many of the magical beasts from the Elven Forest suddenly went on a rampage and rushed out of the forest like a tide, causing considerable losses to Riverwood.


    Fortunately, during that incident, the levels of the rampaging beasts were rtively low, and there were no casualties among the town¡¯s residents.


    But with this winter season, more powerful magical beasts would surely appear if a beast tide were to suddenly ur during this time.


    Thinking about this, the hearts of the two guardsmen suddenly felt heavy.


    <em>We might not survive at all if the town was attacked by a huge beast tide in this weather¡­ </em>


    <em>Sir Anders had miraculously returned, but the other townsfolk still haven¡¯te back yet and perhaps¡­they would never return.</em>


    ¡°Eternal Lord above¡­¡±


    The stout guard whispered as he drew a symbol of the sun upon his chest, looking somewhat depressed.


    There were also some of his childhood friends among those townsfolk who were abducted.


    ¡°Eternal Lord above¡­¡±


    Thenky guard also sighed, before uttering a silent prayer.


    Anders nced around awkwardly but felt inwardly relieved. He then cleared his throat and ignored the two guards as he continued eating the roasted rabbit.


    For a while, the small outpost fell into silence as the two guards stared at the bonfire in a daze.


    Suddenly, the rm bell rang yet again¡­


    ¡ª <strong>270</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>RIVERWOOD¡¯S</strong> <strong>GUARDSMEN</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 271

    ¡°Haha, I knew it! We¡¯ve finally found some human traces. There must be a vige nearby if we just follow these traces. Look¡­ there¡¯s even a trap here. I¡¯m positive there¡¯s a vige up ahead!¡±


    While dressed as a mercenary, Demacia picked up a trap from the snowy ground and grinned at the other yers.


    After saying that, he then drew out his knife, cut off the rope on the animal trap, and stowed it away.


    ¡°I understand your logic, but why do you bother picking up these things? I also remembered you picked up the tattered clothes lying on the ground earlier, and now you want this trap too?¡±


    Remarked Li Mu as he shook his head.


    He is currently wearing noble attire, and the outfit he was using was found amongst the goods they had seized from the human mercenary group that tried to kidnapped elves beforehand.


    ording to Nightingale, most nobles from the southern Kingdom of Aries preferred this type of clothing, and in recent years, it has also began to grow in poprity within the Holy Maniya Empire in the north.


    Behind Li Mu and Demacia were hundreds of yers as the group apanies a processionprised of a dozen or so carriages and each marked with the symbol of an oriental dragon.


    Each and every one in this group were the first batch of yers who sessfully met the requirements needed to explore the human territory.


    Given the extensive journey ahead, fraught with unknown dangers, along with the information they¡¯ve gathered from the natives, yers from the three major guilds decided to disguise themselves as a smuggling caravan on their way to the humannds.


    Some yers masquerade themselves as mercenaries, while others dressed up as servants of nobility.


    Meanwhile, the carriages they are using were the very same ones they conveniently seized from the Crocodile Mercenary Corps.


    Of course, following the advice given by the natives, the yers also didn¡¯t forget to change their outward appearances. As a result, their prominent pointed ears were now magically altered by spellcasting yers to look exactly just like the ears humans have.


    Furthermore, they also adjusted their overall appearances to a lesser degree, as Elves in general were simply too good-looking. Even with altered ears, the yers still looked like gorgeous men and women, making it impossible not to attract attention.


    After all, being too handsome or beautiful made it hard to stay low-key¡­


    Naturally, some modifications were also made to the carriages to prevent it from being recognized as well.


    The chances were slim, but it was better to be safe than sorry¡­


    In response to Li Mu¡¯s remarks, Demacia shook his head yfully and said, ¡°Listen, Bro, how could there be randomly discarded clothes with blood in the wilderness? It might be a key item needed for some questter on or something¡­¡±


    Li Mu listened and said nothing more.


    Looking at the small town in the distance made of ck wood and blue stone, with smoke rising from the chimneys, Little Salty Cat¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement.


    ¡°Is that a human town? Nice! It gives off a very strong distinct Western Fantasy vibe¡­¡±


    ¡°That should be Riverwood.<mark>1</mark> I heard from an NPC that it¡¯s the most furthest town in the bordends of Holy Maniya Empire¡±


    HootyBird exined while tinkering with something within her mini-map interface.


    ¡°Riverwood¡­¡± Tomato murmured and suddenly chuckled softly before adding, ¡°I wonder¡­ if there are any chickens that can be killed in that town.¡±


    Little Salty Cat heard what he said and looked at him with a slightly puzzled look.


    ¡°¡­Why do you want to kill chickens?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it; it¡¯s a gaming meme. What is being killed is not a chicken, but a god <strong><mark>2</mark></strong> instead.¡± briefly exined by Tomato before further borating,


    ¡°It¡¯s from a ssic Western fantasy game called ¡®Elder Scrolls.¡¯ Coincidentally there¡¯s also a ce called Riverwood in that game too and there¡¯s a carefree chicken at the vige on the start. However, if you kill it, then everyone in town will immediately turn hostile towards you, including the quest NPCs, and they will all hunt you down like crazy. Hence, we call that chicken, ¡®Chicken God.¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Elder Scrolls?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I remember once you did that, it¡¯s almost practically impossible to kill everyone unless you installed a mod.¡± Demacia chimed in while humorously shaking his head.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°By the way, the NPC that Senior Hooty asked about is Nightingale, right?¡±


    Demacia asked as he looked towards their silent coachman who is actually Boxlunch in disguise and raised one of his eyebrows.


    ¡°Boss Box, Miss Nightingale really wanted toe with you, but you didn¡¯t let her. What are you thinking? She¡¯s an experienced NPC so I see no harm in letting here with us, right?¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    He merely nced at Demacia and curtly said, ¡°We can resurrect.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Demacia was momentarily speechless.


    <em>True.</em>


    This time, everyone came prepared with a good amount of resurrection coins, anticipating the possibility of dying.


    Therefore, they weren¡¯t afraid of death at all.


    But the NPCs were different.


    Although they were aware that this was just a game, the NPCs still behaves as if they have real emotions and memories. Despite being programs, yers still often befriendeds them.


    So, hearing Boxlunch¡¯s words, Demacia clearly understood the underlying meaning behind it.


    The group then chatted in a leisurely manner as they slowly advanced towards Riverwood.


    However, when they finally reach the vicinity of the town, a yer suddenly noticed two human guards running towards them from the opposite direction.


    ¡°Is this¡­ a caravan?!¡±


    Watching the vast procession from a distance, the two guardsmen looked at each other with surprised expressions.


    Generally speaking, not many caravans operate during winter and only two types are known to do so.


    One type is arge caravan with thousands of people that can operate across the entire continent regardless of the season, and the other¡­


    ¡ªIs a smuggling caravan.


    Seeing this caravan that only has a modest number of members along with the dozen or so carriages they are apanying in the style of Aries Kingdom, the two guards began to specte within their minds.


    <em>This was definitely a smuggling caravan from the Aries Kingdom!</em>


    Smuggling caravans like this were not an entirely umon sight in the town of Riverwood.


    In fact, they even often provided amodations or assistance in obtaining fake entry permits for these smugglers and in doing so, the town would also gain some benefits in return.


    Riverwood isn¡¯t particrly affluent, and supplies are also scarce since merchants don¡¯t visit frequently. As a result, the townsfolk adapted by deciding to trade with these smugglers.


    The two guardsmen felt relieved and hurriedly ran towards them.


    ¡°Someone¡¯sing!¡±


    Seeing the pair of humansing towards them, the yers¡¯ eyes lit up with excitement.


    They instantly became alert and eagerly gazed towards the approaching humans who seemed to look like the town¡¯s security.


    Meanwhile, following their prearranged n, Li Mu while disguised as the caravan leader, stepped forward to greet the approaching humans.


    Soon, the two guards reached the yer¡¯s caravan.


    ording to their usual experience, when a smuggling caravan approached the town, their protocol would be to first question who they were and ascertain whether these smugglers would be dangerous or not.


    Then after confirming it, the guards would ask for some ¡®benefits¡¯ and finally guide the caravan into the town.


    However, the two guards instantly became suspicious after getting closer to this particr caravan¡­


    They look like the typical smugglers from a distance but upon closer inspection, they found this caravan to be very different from the norm.


    First of all, the mercenaries guarding these caravans radiated a youthful and vibrant aura, with smooth skin far from the rough appearance typical of mercenaries operating in the northern and south territories.


    Not only that, but their eyes also gleamed with curiosity, revealing a youthful spirit absent from a typical smuggler whose line of work involves performing illicit tasks.


    Secondly, their equipment¡­ was exceptionally high in quality and looks to be entirely brand new.


    What was even more astonishing was the presence of some exceptionally gorgeous female mercenaries among them!


    Additionally, there was a unique air about them as well, with each person in this caravan giving off a subtle sense of superiority, clearly indicating they were pampered and well-bred.


    The two guards instantly made a correction upon their initial judgment.


    <em>This¡­ was definitely not a smuggling caravan! </em>


    However, when the pair saw the excited and curious gazes from the approaching group, that practically reeks of sheltered innocence¡­


    Thenky guard, who had once been a mercenary, suddenly had a sh of insight.


    <em>This people¡­</em>


    Could they instead really be just a group of naive young nobles from Aries Kingdom who, for some reason, decided to disguise themselves as smugglers?


    He remembered hearing that doing weird stuff like this seemed to be quite popr amongst the young noble circles andtely, he also heard some rumors that these rich kids were hooked on doing¡ª


    <em>What was it called again? </em>


    ¡ªThe caravan game?


    ¡ª <strong>271</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>SMUGGLING CARAVAN</strong> ¡¿


    <strong><mark>1 </mark></strong><strong><mark>ϪľÕò</mark></strong> (<strong>Riverwood</strong>) ¨C Previously tranted as Ximu Town. There is a also a town with a same name in the game Skyrim.


    2 <strong><mark>¼¦Éñ</mark></strong> ¨C Some Chinese gamers refer to the chicken in skyrim as ¡®<strong>Chicken God</strong>¡® or ¡®<strong>The Sixteenth Demon God of Skyrim</strong>¡® since killing it essentially brings forth the wrath of the townspeople of Riverwood.


    <strong> NEXT </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 272

    <em>A group of young noblemen pretending to be a traveling caravan?</em>


    Thenky guard¡¯s gaze subtly changed at the thought.


    At this moment, he noticed a few more discrepancies¡­


    <em>Experts!</em>


    Every single one of them is an Expert!


    The oldest among these experts appeared to be in their twenties, while the youngest simply looks like a teenager¡­


    Even though he wasn¡¯t an expert himself and was just an apprentice warrior, his years of experience as a guard gave him a pair of sophisticated eyes that could somewhat gauge the strength of others.


    Plus, it wasn¡¯t even hard for him to do since all these youngsters didn¡¯t even bothered concealing their auras at all!


    Upon closer inspection, this group¡¯s overall strength was truly terrifying!


    Their auras seemed to surpass even the strongest hunter in town by a significant margin, despite that said hunter having been much older and likely had already reached intermediate Iron-rank even before these kids were born.


    This meant that these youngsters likely possessed, at the very least, Intermediate-Iron strength, and it¡¯s possible some of them could even be on the verge of advancing into Peak Iron-Rank.


    However, that strongest hunter in Riverwood was already fifty this year, while these youngsters were still so¡­young.


    <em>Attaining such a formidable strength at that age, do I still need to doubt their real identities?</em>


    <em>Nobles!</em>


    <em>Undoubtedly, all these youngsters are part of nobility!</em>


    Only someone from nobility could cultivate such outstanding young experts!


    Unlike themon folks, these aristocrats have monopoly over supernatural powers and most of thend¡¯s resources.


    As a result, these young nobles didn¡¯t need to struggle for their livelihood and only need to grow up step by step and grasp the supernatural powers held within their household.


    Therefore, for these youngsters whose been fed with a silver spoon ever since their birth, everything about themon life was a novelty.


    So to satiate their curiosity, some adventurous nobles would asionally did things thatmoners couldn¡¯tprehend at all¡­like pretending to be amoner or traveling as a merchant caravan during winter!


    After all, it is said that there are no harsh winters or snowyndscapes in the southern Kingdom of Aries. So instead, every winter, many nobles from Aries travel north to the Empire just to see some snow.


    Likewise, aristocrats from the Holy Maniya Empire also have their fair share of nobles heading south to have a warm vacation during winter.


    For decades, these two nations have enjoyed a state of peace, with the attitudes of their respective citizens toward each other being significantly less hostile than a century ago wherein both countries were at war.


    This paradigm shift has led to innumerable interactions between the civilians of both countries as cultures from both sides intermixed with one another¡­


    Thinking of this, a spark of inspiration lights up in the eyes of thenky guard.


    Young nobles!


    He could amass a fortune if he could, even for a tiny bit, somehow please them during their stay!


    And if they really enjoyed themselves, then perhaps the entire town could also benefit as well!


    Riverwood has always struggled with poverty, due to it being piged by marauding half-orcs and being situated on the southwestern part of the Bordends, which stood in contrasts with the more prosperous towns located on the eastern side of the territory.


    Soon, thenky guard thought about what he should do next.


    Casually, as if oblivious to their real identities, he made a few stiff coughs and assumed the usual demeanor of a guard.


    ¡°Who are you people?¡±


    Thenky guard asked in a stern tone.


    The yers¡¯ spirits lifted.


    <em>Here ites! </em>


    Having received some tips from Nightingale in advance, they knew this was the standard procedure of the town security when encountering smuggling caravans.


    Everyone instinctively looked at Li Mu, who responded with a reassuring nce and then smiled at the guard:


    ¡°We are a caravan from the south. I am Rim, amerce guild president from Aries. We n to sell some goods in the north this winter.¡±


    If everything went as expected, the guard¡¯s next move would likely be him requesting some bribes from them. Afterwards, the guard should then help them obtain a permit to operate within the empire.


    Li Mu thought to himself.


    All this information came from Nightingale.


    It is said that before returning to the Elven Forest, this awesome NPC sister often pretended to be a human or modity¡¯ and wandered around in various smuggling caravans to save her fellow elves from captivity¡­


    So based on her experience, Nightingale rmended that they disguised themselves as Caravans or mercenary groups since being one was the best way to systematically infiltrate the human society.


    Among the two choices, the yers initially wanted to be mercenaries. However after some more deliberations, they realized that being a caravan were more flexiblepared to mercenary groups since it¡¯s more convenient for doing certain type of ¡®business.¡¯


    So in the end they choose to disguise themselves as a smuggling caravan.


    As expected, after hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, thenky guard showed a pleasant smile.


    ¡°I see so you¡¯re a caravan! It¡¯s quite tough to run a business in winter. Come, Come! Wee to our town¡­you guys should be tired now since it¡¯s gettingte. After resting, I¡¯ll report to the mayor and provide your caravan with a permit for the empire.¡±


    After uttering these words, the guard extended a weing gesture, signaling them that they could now enter the town.


    <em>¡­Huh?</em>


    <em>Aren¡¯t he going to inquire about their background?</em>


    Li Mu was slightly surprised.


    His entire conversation with the guard went so smoothly that he didn¡¯t even need to use the various exnations and excuses he hade initially prepared¡­


    ? How about it, guys? It¡¯s already gettingte, so should we rest first? Or should we still explore the town and experience how the human society looks like in this game, and perhaps even inquire about how far Maple Leaf City is?


    Li Mu mentally asked in the group¡¯s chatroom.


    This town is still too small.


    Even looking at it from the outside, it¡¯s probably just slightlyrger than a vige.


    Of course, even visiting a small human vige is enough to pique the yers¡¯ curiosity.


    However, if possible, Li Mu wanted to avoid unnecessary dys and lead their group straight towards their real destination¡ªMaple Leaf City!


    ording to the elves who escaped from the Empire, Maple Leaf City is the most prosperous city on the southwestern section of the Bordends.


    Moreover, given that this thriving city was once the elven capital, it undoubtedly holds numerous resources and opportunities for hidden questlines!


    The yers exchanged nces and nodded.


    ? It¡¯s already quitete. We¡¯ve been on the road for so many days now, so I¡¯m totally exhausted.


    ? Yeah, mainly because it¡¯s too far, and we haven¡¯t gained much EXP. I¡¯m starting to regreting out to explore.


    ? Don¡¯t worry! Once we reach the destination, we might make a fortune all at once.


    ? I¡¯m curious about this vige.


    ? Let¡¯s take a rest. We¡¯ve been walking all day guys. This game is too hardcore¡­


    ? Agreed¡­


    The yers sent such messages within the group¡¯s chatroom.


    Seeing rest of the yers unanimously agreeing, Li Mu smiled at thenky guard:


    ¡°Well then, thank you for your work.¡±


    Thenky guard sighed in relief and then enthusiastically led the yers inside Riverwood.


    What greeted them was rows of houses made of ck wood and blue stones that¡¯s covered in ayer of snow.


    Whiffs of smoke ascended leisurely from the chimneys atop the roof, bearing a tantalizing fragrance that could even be smelled at the ground¡­


    The yers walked through the small town, curiously examining everything around them.


    Riverwood wasn¡¯t a particrlyrge town, with a poption of roughly only a few thousand residents.


    With over two hundred yers suddenly entering its premises, the previously small town instantly felt crowded with their arrival.


    While the yers enjoyed the town¡¯s scenery, many pairs of curious eyes peering through the windows silently observed the caravan¡¯s every movement after they entered the town.


    asionally, some children would also ran out of their houses, before cheering at the caravan, only to be scolded by the apanying guards.


    After the caravan was stationed at the town square, many vigers immediately came out of their homes and approached the caravan in a curious manner. Some local residents even took out some hunted animal skins or local specialties before inquiring as to whether the caravan merchants was interested in buying their things.


    Since they were ying a role of merchants, the yers naturally have alreadye prepared for these kinds of situations.


    In response to the enthusiastic vigers, some yers took out surplus food from the Elven Forest and engaged in trading.


    Of course, since Riverwood was quite an impoverished town, the items brought by the residents to trade weren¡¯t that much appealing to the yers.


    However, although most of the items were useless for the yers and only a few local specialties were deemed eptable, they still decided to trade.


    However in exchange, they asked for some information instead.


    ¡°Is there anything interesting in this region? Like any folklores or ruins?¡±


    ¡°You see, it¡¯s our first time visiting the empire. So¡­ we are quite curious about the famous Maple Leaf Territory. Also, since it¡¯s our first time opening a trade route in this country, here, consider these goods as a gift.¡±


    Holding the food handed to them by a yer, the stout andnky guard was slightly stunned by their inquiries.


    ¡± We¡¯re willing to trade goods for some interesting rumors and information in exchange but it must be genuine.¡±


    Li Mu said with a smile.


    Currently, the Elven Forest was overflowing with food.


    With the use of magic and an excellent environment for growing crops, their stock of food had be rather overabundant.


    What yers brought this time for trade was essentially the failed experimental oues from their crop breeding and some of the poorest quality among the yields of crops they harvested.


    However, even if the yers deemed this food as low-quality crops, it was still many times betterpared to what the local residents usually consumed.


    Looking at the bags brimming with luscious Aries sweet potatoes and fragrant, rapidly growing wheat, thenky guard¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment.


    <em>Nobles!</em>


    <em>These youngsters are definitely nobles!</em>


    To give away such high-quality food just to hear some interesting news, they are probably too tired of eating such delicacies and want some life excitement instead¡­


    This kind of wasteful indulgence, except for these young and arrogant nobles, who else would¡¯ve done it?


    Of course, he also briefly considered if these young experts might actually be spies¡­


    But he quickly dismissed the idea.


    <em>How could it be?</em>


    It would be a really asinine decision to simply let a group of naive young nobles to undertake such a dangerous tasks!


    On the contrary, these young inexperienced nobles would probably even be scammed to the bone before they could even reached Maple Leaf City.


    Thenky guard shook his head inwardly.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t remind them of this.


    Those from the nobility are terrible people, and he wasn¡¯t particrly fond of them to begin with.


    And based upon the discrepancies he noticed, his findings clearly indicated that these smugglers were indeed a group of naive indulgent young aristocrats seeking excitement!


    Manymoners can¡¯t even afford a meal, yet these damned nobles live a life of debauchery.


    <em>Ah well¡­I guess that¡¯s just how the world is. </em>


    Of course, he would be an idiot if he don¡¯t take advantage of this rare opportunity these noble youngsters had presented him.


    Since these kids only want interesting news in exchange for their precious goods, then thenky guard was more than happy toply.


    Thinking about it, he quickly racked his brain, before spewing out all the interesting news and information he thought that these young ones might find intriguing:


    ¡°Oh yes, I knew quite a few interesting things¡­!¡±


    ¡°Recently, something strange happened in the entire Maple Leaf Territory. You see, many experts have suddenly broken through rankings after years of being stuck in a bottleneck. It¡¯s said that even Maple¡¯s Lord, who had been stuck in the Intermediate Gold-Rank, has loosened his bottleneck.¡±


    ¡°Oh Ruins? There are plenty of ruins in Maple Leaf Territory! They are remnants from the Silver Age of the Elves. However, many of these ruins have already been explored by adventurers.¡±


    ¡°However, it is rumored that there is a hidden ruin in Maple Leaf City that no one can open. Plus, on nights with a full moon, the city experiences some various strange phenomena¡­¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s just an urban legend and I haven¡¯t personally experienced those strange events myself¡­¡±


    ¡°What else¡­oh! there¡¯s one more thing! The annual Maple Leaf City auction is about to begin. I heard that this time, the Lord destroyed an elven underground stronghold and captured many elves, all of whom should belong to the ¡®Oakhand¡¯ Organization.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s said that the Lord has invited nobles from various regions to participate in the auction¡­¡±


    <em>Elves?</em>


    The yers exchanged contemtive nces.


    ¡°Oakhand?¡±


    Little Salty Cat reiterated the new term while looking curious.


    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s a secret underground resistance organization within the empire. Members are said to be elves, half-elves, and some humans sympathetic to the elves.¡±


    Thenky guard exined before he sighed slightly:


    ¡°Speaking of these elves¡­their race is really pitiful. Not only do they need to constantly hide, but they also are highly sought after as ves. Perhaps¡­that¡¯s their fate. The Elves¡¯ patron deity who made them so good-looking must be turning over their grave¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I was lucky enough to see an elf once. You might not know it but they are really beautiful¡­its almost surreal, how should I put it¡­they¡¯re like angels¡­ It¡¯s no wonder people wanted them so much.¡±


    ¡°s, they were already locked in a cage by the time I saw them¡­Oh well, it¡¯s quite pitiful.¡±


    ¡°Think about it, which race would want to be treated as ves? s¡­their long lifespans, good looks, and magical capacity, really made them so popr with the nobles and I heard that some noble Lord¡¯s even love to raise an elf and keep them in captivity for years so that their household can benefit for a long time¡­¡±


    ¡°I would say these elves are just too kind. Oh well¡­ a once powerful and kind race in the past, ended up like this, it¡¯s reallymentable. Perhaps, in this world, only those who are ruthless can survive.¡±


    ¡°Just like the great nobles of the empire, each more greedy and cruel than the other. Hell, the more powerful they are, the worse they get! None of them are good people!¡±


    Thenky guard spoke fervently, somewhat getting carried away. But soon, he realized he might have said too much¡­


    Moreover, because the atmosphere was too good, he couldn¡¯t hold back and evenined about the nobility¡­right in front of the nobles themselves!


    <em>Great Eternal Lord above!</em>


    He actuallyined about the nobles right in front of their faces!


    Thenky guard broke into a cold sweat, quickly stopping himself, then cautiously looked at the noble youngsters.


    However, to his surprise, these young nobles didn¡¯t get angry at all.


    Moreover on the contrary¡­ after hearing his words, they even disyed a notably interested and eager expression.


    ¡°About this auction¡­ when exactly is it?¡±


    Li Mu asked with a tone of interest.


    The other yers also looked on expectantly at thenky guard and their enthusiastic gaze made him shudder involuntarily.


    Sure enough, despite their youth, they are still aristocrats through and through¡­.All these damned nobles just can¡¯t resist whenever they hear something about elves.


    Thenky guard shook his head inwardly.


    After exchanging information with the yers, thenky guard left contentedly with several bags of food.


    Other vigers also followed suit, exchanging various goods for information they knew.


    However, the simplicity of these vigers surprised the yers a bit.


    Although the yers said they would mostly preferred to exchange information for the caravan¡¯s goods, many residents still freely offered the things they brought with them that they originally intended to trade after collecting the food¡­


    Whether it was eggs, animal skins, small objects, or some game that they hunted¡­the residents willingly gave these items as a show of gratitude.


    In their words:


    ¡°Milord, here have some eggs! how can I only give you information in exchange for these grains of yours which are all high-endmodity. My God, these are rare even in Maple Leaf City¡­¡±


    ¡°These foods are too precious; the information we shared is easy for you to find if you just simply ask around¡­¡±


    ¡°We have already gained huge benefits trading with your caravan. Although we don¡¯t have much on hand, in exchange, please ept these items of ours since we can feel more at ease in our hearts.¡±


    ¡°Eternal Lord be praised! May the true god be with you forever¡­¡±


    This actually caught the yers off guard as this recent exchange clearly showed that not all the humans in this game are antagonists!


    These vigers are quite nice people.


    After trading, the vigers then warmly brought out all kinds of delicious local delicacies to entertain these generous strangers.


    And after the whole town held a small impromptu festivity thatsted for several hours, the situation gradually quieted down¡­


    After thest viger left, the yers gathered within their makeshift camp.


    Outwardly, everyone in the caravan appeared to be only sitting in groups of three or four, seemingly resting. However, the yers were actually conversing within the chatgroup¡¯s #voice-channel, discussing their next n.


    ¡°So how does everyone feel?¡± Li Mu initied the conversation.


    ¡°How else can we feel? Trading with the residents are definitely worth it! All these information we obtained are definitely crucial intel we needed to trigger a hidden questline! Let¡¯s see, Find that mysterious ruin, save the elves, and do some business along the way!¡±


    Demacia replied in an enthusiastic manner.


    ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s take a break for now. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll immediately head to Maple Leaf City! What do you guys think? Can everyone adjust your schedules to be online at that time tommorow?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡±


    ¡°However¡­ we need a guide. We can¡¯t just wander around like headless flies like we¡¯ve been doing all this time.¡±


    Tomato suggested.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. ording to that skinny guard, he¡¯s also apparently going to Maple Leaf City tomorrow.¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s replied but then made a weird expression.


    ¡°By the way¡­ I took a stroll in the town just now. Can you guys guess who I saw?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>272</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PITIFUL ELVES </strong>¡¿


    TL/N : Happy Holidays Everyone! (*¡ã¨Œ¡ã*)


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 273

    After speaking, Little Salty Cat continued on without waiting for other yers to respond.


    ¡°Do you guys remember the human butler we captured before during the crocodile mercenary quest?¡±


    Li Mu was slightly startled.


    ¡°Oh is that butler also in this town?¡±


    Firstly, he had vivid memories of that timid butler, and it was interesting how the old man would do anything just to preserve his life, so he couldn¡¯t help but be curious about how the elderly man¡¯s life turned out to be after he escaped.


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­you might not recognize him at all with the way he currently looks now.¡±


    Little Salty Cat said, before sending into the chat a screenshot she took earlier in secret.


    A couple of seconds passed and the image she uploaded showed an image of thenky guard speaking to the butler.


    Thenky guard wore a ttering expression, while the older man¡¯s face looked rather unpleasant. However, what caught the yers¡¯ attention the most was the butler¡¯s current appearance.


    The old butler no longer resembled the refined figure they once saw. Instead, he now looked so skinny akin to a living skeleton with a waxenplexion and dry disheveled hair, resembling a fugitive who had been through months of hardship.


    His clothes were also no longer the expensive attire from before but rather an ill-fitting winter coat simrly worn by the townspeople.


    ¡°Come on now, why did this guy lost so much weight? I remember he was as round as a ball when I first saw him at the crocodile mercenary camp.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really him¡­I almost didn¡¯t recognize him.¡±


    ¡°How did he end up in this town?¡±


    Hearing the surprised voices of the rest of the yers, Little Salty Cat chuckled and continued talking in the voice chat:


    ¡°I inquired about it from the guards and it seems he got lost outside in the wilderness for nearly two months before finally making his way back to this town, hence the drastic change. Also, ording to the guards, he arrived just a bit earlier than us.¡±


    ¡°He got lost after escaping? That¡¯s quite a story.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, quite pitiful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Meanwhile, Li Mu raised an eyebrow:


    ¡°Did the other humans that apanied him also returned when he came back?¡±


    Little Salty Cat replied with a confused look.


    ¡°I probed a bit, but no one else returned. Among the dozen or so we let go that day, only he came back apparently.¡±


    HootyBird furrowed her brow.


    ¡°Other humans? Does that mean¡­this town was actually the one Meryer robbed some livestocks from?¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­No Sister, he didn¡¯t robbed them per se, but bought¡ªor rather forcefully bought those livestocks and Meryer also didn¡¯t forcibly kidnapped the townspeople and were instead just hired to be used as temporarybor.¡±


    ¡°Meryer exined to me that he directly bought the livestocks from a human count¡¯s territory nearby. Since it was more profitable dealing with nobles than with the poor folks of this town, as it was useless dealing with them.¡±


    Little Salty Cat exined with a hint of strangeness in her tone.


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I was thinking, since that timid old man is, in fact, the butler of the Lord of Maple Leaf City, perhaps we could apany him, as we are also traveling towards that city. Additionally, the guard who greeted us is apparently going to be that butler¡¯s escort, so we might consider hiring that guard as our guide.¡±


    ¡°So here¡¯s what I think¡­ why don¡¯t we travel together with that butler and see if we can gain his trust so that he could introduce us to the aristocrats or auction houses in Maple Leaf City? After all, he likely has numerous connections being the butler of the Lord of the city.¡±


    Little Salty Cat suggested.


    Upon hearing her words, some yers began expressing interest with her idea.


    ¡°Hey that¡¯s actually a good idea!¡±


    ¡°This n seems doable! I remember that old man seemed to know quite a lot about the human society back when we interrogated him. We can definitely seed if we tapped upon his aristocratic connections!¡±


    However, some yers also voiced their hesitations.


    ¡°But the problem is¡­ how do we gain his trust in the first ce, and¡­won¡¯t he recognize our identities?¡±


    ¡°He still hasn¡¯t recognized us.¡±


    Little Salty Cat shook her head and continued:


    ¡°It looked like he was checking with the guards about who we are earlier! I just don¡¯t get why he didn¡¯te over himself to ask us directly¡­¡±


    ¡°I believe it was because it was still dark when we attacked their camp, and by the time we defeated the mercenaries, everyone was already covered in blood, making it difficult to properly see our faces. Moreover, he probably hasn¡¯t recognized us all this time since we slightly altered our appearances.¡±


    ¡°By the way, he also didn¡¯t recognized any of our carriages either, indicating that our modifications are quite effective.¡±


    Little Salty Cat expressed her judgment and the yers nodded in agreement.


    <em>Well that makes sense.</em>


    However, after listening to Little Salty Cat, Boxlunch¡¯s brows slightly furrowed. He pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, ¡°He¡¯s inquiring about us?¡±


    Little Salty Cat nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s brow furrowed even deeper.


    Seeing his expression, Li Mu became curious.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong brother Box, is there a problem?¡±


    Boxlunch nodded slightly and said in a low voice,


    ¡°Feels like¡­he¡¯s hiding something.¡±


    The rest of the yers looked puzzled.


    ¡°Hiding something?¡±


    Li Mu was about to ask further when he noticed Boxlunch suddenly looking towards Demacia.


    ¡°That clothes, bring them out.¡±


    Demacia was slightly puzzled.


    ¡°What clothes?¡±


    ¡°The one you picked up.¡±


    Boxlunch said.


    Demacia suddenly showed a look of realization.


    He then quickly pped his forehead before he stood up and eventually pulled out a shabby, bloodstained piece of clothing from the apanying carriage next to him.


    As he pulled it out, he muttered to himself, ¡°I almost forgot about this¡­ I thought it was some key item, but it triggered nothing even after we entered the town so I was about to throw it away¡­¡±


    However, as he spoke, Demacia suddenly fell silent because he noticed Boxlunch and Li Mu¡¯s expressions gradually turning serious.


    Even Tomato narrowed his eyes slightly as they all stared at the tattered clothing in Demacia¡¯s hand, seemingly lost in thought.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Demacia suddenly felt a bit uneasy.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hide any treasures this time, really. If you don¡¯t believe me then here, have a look, I still haven¡¯t even searched through this clothing yet¡­ and it¡¯s not even a mercenary¡¯s attire or anything ¡­¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    HootyBird: ¡°¡­¡±


    Tomato: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°What a mess,¡± Li Mu said as he showed aplex expression.


    He then sighed slightly after scrutinizing the clothing for a while.


    ¡°Demacia, don¡¯t you find these clothes look really familiar if you look at it more closely?¡±


    ¡°Familiar?¡±


    Demacia was slightly stunned.


    He carefully scrutinized the clothing, and suddenly felt a little surprised:


    ¡°Now that you guys mentioned it¡­this attire really resembles what those humans captured by the ck Dragon were wearing back then.¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s expression was solemn as he snatched the clothing from Demacia¡¯s hands and unfolded it.


    It was a rather worn-out piece of clothing, with the chest portion showing arge ck stain that appeared to be dried blood.


    After unfolding the clothing, Boxlunch¡¯s expression became even more solemn. Pointing at the dried bloodstains, he evenly said, ¡°The entry wound is on the back.¡±


    ¡°Likely inflicted by a knife from behind.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Li Mu¡¯s expression subtly changed.


    ¡°Are you suggesting¡­ the butler did this?¡±


    Boxlunch nced at him.


    ¡°Most likely.¡±


    HootyBird¡¯s expression also changed. She frowned in thought and then realized, ¡°The possibility of him doing it is really high¡­since the butler was the only one walking in this direction ahead us.¡±


    ¡°But, if it¡¯s really him, then why would he kill those people who escaped along with him? There¡¯s no benefit for him at all to do so¡­¡±


    Demacia found it a little strange.


    ¡°It could be rted to our confrontation with the crocodile mercenary group¡­he might be eliminating any potential witnesses and has some hidden agenda of some sort, possibly even linked to us,¡± Li Mu said as his eyes flickered.


    ¡°I heard from the Elves that escaped from this country that the Borderlord of the Holy Maniya Empire, just like the orcs, also relied on selling elves to make his fortunes.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but rumors indicates that he is also quite powerful and more formidable than the Orcs with a high-endbat capabilities possibly just below the Legendary-rank¡­¡±


    ¡°If the orcs are not blessed by their patron deity, then maybe he alone can destroy the tens of thousands of orcs all by himself.¡±


    ¡°That Butler might¡¯ve seen us either as a possible threat or prey since we defeated the crocodile mercenary group with a thousand elves alongside Meryer¡­¡±


    After hearing his exnation, Demacia¡¯s expression became somewhat peculiar.


    ¡°Brother Mu, are you saying that butler silenced them and ns to take all the credit for our information when he reports it to his master?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°But if it¡¯s really him, then why would he even bother carrying this clothes? Isn¡¯t he exposing himself as their murderer?¡±


    Demacia remained puzzled.


    However, both HootyBird and Li Mu rolled their eyes at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the current season?¡±


    Demacia was stunned.


    ¡°Uhh¡­Winter?¡±


    He then widened his eyes and pped his thigh, before eximing,


    ¡°I see! His butler uniform is quite thin, offering little warmth. So topensate, he used these clothes as additional instion. However, upon his return to civilization, he discarded them out of guilt. Unfortunately for him, I just happened toe across them!¡±


    Li Mu nodded slightly and added, ¡°Those dozen or so people who escaped alongside him didn¡¯te back.¡±


    Demacia frowned. ¡°Brother Mu, are you suggesting that butler killed the others? Just him alone? How could he do it? I mean, that timid guy was so scared out of his pants by us back then!¡±


    ¡°He was only afraid because we had the advantage in numbers. But what if he¡¯s only up against a dozen or so ordinary humans who aren¡¯t even experts?¡±


    Little Salty Cat countered.


    Demacia was momentarily speechless.


    Li Mu pondered for a moment and said, ¡°That butler¡­ is suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be cautious around him; we can consider traveling together with them, but we must be careful.¡±


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s better to travel alongside him. Since we can observe him more closely, and perhaps even find out what that he is up to¡­¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t figure it out, worst case scenario, we might fail another potential hidden quest.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>273</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE SUSPICIOUS BUTLER</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 274

    In one of the more luxurious room in Riverwood, Anders can be seen as he reclined on a neatly made bed, questioning thenky guard in front of him with an apprehensive expression.


    ¡°Are you certain? Are you positively sure the people from that caravan is actually some delicate aristocrats from the south?¡±


    Upon hearing these very same words he had already heard many times before, the guard¡¯s face disyed a somewhat helpless expression.


    ¡°Sir Anders, this is the seventeenth time you¡¯ve asked me this. Like I said, they must be southern nobles pretending to bemoners if my judgment is correct¡­¡±


    ¡°Sir just think about it, doesn¡¯t their physique and appearance resemble that of ordinary mercenaries and merchants to you? They also carry an air of elegance in their behavior and even though they purposely avoid presenting themselves as nobles, they truly don¡¯t look like a typical merchants and anyone with a discerning eye could easily tell that they are a group of young nobles instead¡­¡±


    ¡°Also, from what I¡¯ve heard from them, their caravan¡¯s destination seemed to be Maple Leaf City as well. So, I was thinking of asking you Sir. Anders if we could travel together with them,¡± the guard cautiously suggested.


    The old steward didn¡¯t immediately respond.


    Instead, he narrowed his eyes and asked with a tone of suspicion, ¡°Did they say anything else? Apart from what you told me earlier that is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, nothing else I could think of,¡± the guard shook his head.


    ¡°They¡¯re truly just a group of young lords anddies seeking adventure and excitement. Sir. Anders, you should be able to perceive it as well since you¡¯re more familiar with the nobility.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and the goods they brought with them, didn¡¯t I show them to you, Sir? Those are definitely not something a meremoner could obtain¡­¡±


    Anders nodded slightly.


    That part was indeed correct.


    Those in wheat and Aries sweet potatoes emitted a faint magical aura, indicating they are fine crops that have been carefully cultivated unlike the crude ones being eaten by the masses.


    Such raremodities were only essible to nobles.


    With somemon knights and mages even having no means to purchase these kinds of exotic goods.


    Furthermore, since they came to Riverwood for excitement and adventure, it also meant that they still didn¡¯t encounter anything else that might¡¯ve interested them along the way.


    <em>¡­Like the ¡®things¡¯ inside the Elven Forest for example. </em>


    Thinking about this, Anders felt a bit relieved.


    He curtly nodded and decided, ¡°Let¡¯s travel together then.¡±


    He actually wasn¡¯t particrly fond of these foreign noble sons and daughters who adore the reckless life of adventure¡­


    However, despite their youth, these kids are still part of nobility. Therefore, as a retainer of the imperial Borderlord, even though he was reluctant, his job entails him to socialize with these kinds of people.


    Nheless, despite his reluctance, making more acquaintances will certainly help further expand hiswork.


    Andworking and making connections has always been the most potent weapon and tool in his arsenal for a steward like him¡­


    Time swiftly passed away, as the night yielded to the embrace of dawn. Meanwhile back on Earth, both the clock¡¯s hands stood straight upwards, signifying the middle of the day.


    During this time, some yers had chosen to log out and take a nap in the real-world, while others slept inside the game or even logged out to do some other things back in reality.


    And after a whole night¡¯s rest, the yers who have already replenished their stamina finally logged back in again one after another¡­


    When everyone was finally present, the caravan then moved towards the entrance of Riverwood, where thenky guard and Anders have also been waiting.


    As soon as they arrived, the guard promptly gave the caravan their travel permit, and after bidding farewell to some locals who had alsoe to see them off, the caravan, alongside the two humans, finally set out on the road towards Maple Leaf City.


    The subsequent ride became much more easier after they leave the town of Riverwood.


    Perhaps due to it having been properly maintained on a routinely basis, the paved road that connects Riverwood and Maple Leaf City offered a far more smoother ride, bringing relief to yers who had previously endured a rough time during their previous journeys.


    Along the way, some yers also engaged in deep conversations with the guard and Anders, probing each other out.


    The yers mostly asked about the culture and customs of Maple Leaf Territory, and inquired about news about some nobles from the Empire, as well as information about the uing auction.


    And through their exchange, the yers eventually realized that their disguise as a smuggling caravan had been exposed.


    However, for some reason, they now been mistaken as a group of young noble lords anddies who came to the north looking for excitement and adventure¡­


    This was evident from Anders¡¯ subtle inquiries about the yers¡¯ origins and their courteous tone during each of their conversations.


    Of course, the crucial moment was during one of their lunch break wherein the guard identally let it slip.


    At that time, the yers took out the provisions they had brought along with them, and being modern individuals ustomed to a rich diet, their food was naturally far more extravagantpared to what the inhabitants of Saig¨¹es normally consumed.


    Especially more so for Little Salty Cat.


    This petite girl had been leading a guild full of life-oriented yers, and its members, instead of leveling up and strengthening themselves, focused more on either building structures or recreating things from Earth, such as foods or pastries.


    As such, after she shared a fruit dessert with the guard, he immediately eximed,


    ¡°As expected of a noble from the south¡­you guys really knew how to enjoy life! This is the most delicious food I¡¯ve ever had in my life¡­¡±


    Of course, as soon as the guard uttered it, he quickly realized he had made a mistake.


    s, there was no more hiding it.


    The yers who heard him were initially puzzled, but quickly understood that the guard might have developed some sort of misunderstanding.


    But, all of it was fine.


    After all, they couldn¡¯t properly pulled it off anyway!


    In the end, the yers decided to go along with being mistakenly identified as nobles, boldly inquiring about local customs and such, whilepletely abandoning their initial n of being a smuggling caravan.


    Strangely, this made the guard and Anders act more normal towards them.


    However, much to the disappointment of the two humans, these ¡®southern nobles¡¯ remained tight-lipped about their origins no matter how much they both inquired.


    Of course, in the end, Anders didn¡¯t press on the matter.


    Despite being a steward, he was also a lesser noble and since the other party was so secretive about their origins, there was no need to get involved much further.


    Another reason was that, upon further observation, Anders also discovered that these young nobles, although peculiar,cked the inherent refinement and knowledge expected of a typical nobility.


    Of course, younger people in general have a tendency to be a bit reckless and dumb.


    However, this also indirectly indicated that even if these young people were part of nobility, their background were probably just nouveau rich¨¦, and their foundations most likelycked the deeper roots of an old longstanding aristocratic household.


    Essentially, the Nobility also had different ranks.


    The most deeply rooted noble households in Saig¨¹es all have histories dating back thousands of years, with some even having demigod blood within their lineage!


    Moreover, those of the highest ranking households even had bloodlines of true gods!


    This was especially true for many aristocrats of the Holy Maniya Empire.


    Of course, as time passed, many of these prestigious households had declined or even went extinct¡­


    Speaking of which, the ancestor of the current Borderlord isn¡¯t a nobleman, despite his household spanning a history more than thousands of years.


    It was actually founded by a legendary expert who had achieved great sess during the Heavenly War.


    It was truly a legendary household!


    However, in recent years, although the current Borderlord hasn¡¯t achieved a simr legendary status like his ancestors, his marriage has secured his position as one of the Empire¡¯s candidates for the throne, and the influence of the entire Maple Leaf household has been steadily growing ever since then¡­


    It could be said that within the Empire¡¯s aristocratic circles, the Maple Leaf Nobles were considered upper-ss.


    This made Anders, who took pride in being a retainer of the Borderlord, stand a bit taller.


    <em>These young nobles from the south probably don¡¯t have a deeper backing unlike him¡­ </em>


    <em>Not only that but they weren¡¯t even nobles of the Empire in the first ce!</em>


    As for the Kingdom of Aries, its history is not as long as that of the Holy Maniya Empire, and it is founded by some remnant forces that used to belong to an old magic kingdom. Therefore, the nobles from the south are often looked down upon by the imperial nobles from the north.


    Although the aristocrats from the Kingdom of Aries were generally more wealthier, in the eyes of the northern nobles, they were just nouveau riche with not much experience with magic andmerce.


    After this shift in perspective, Anders now looked at these youngsters differently.


    In his mind, all these young nobles,den with various goods and disying evident wealth, no longer seemed like potential lucrative business partners¡­


    Instead, they now appear as a flock of fat sheeps ready to be exploited and taken advantage of.


    Furthermore, the old steward has already started thinking of ways to shear the wealth off these naive, ignorant youngsters¡¯ fleece before sending them to the butchers, so to speak.


    <em>These handful of fat sheeps would soon be in the palm of his</em> <em>hands!</em>


    And they wouldn¡¯t even realized it! Especially when they entered the vicinity of Maple Leaf City¡­


    ¡ªSince that would be his home territory!


    ¡ª <strong>274</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ A FLOCK OF FAT SHEEPS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 275

    Winter, along with its biting cold winds, enveloped the entire city of Maple Leaf in an unrelenting chill.


    Even so, with it being the most prosperous city in the southwestern section of Holy Maniya Empire, Maple Leaf City still remained as lively as ever.


    Several horse-drawn carriagesden with goods hurriedly traversed the marble-paved main road of the city, while various vendors selling hot drinks and cooked food enthusiastically called out to any pedestrian walking by the streets.


    The guards, d in half-te armor patrolled the streets diligently to uphold the city¡¯s order, while distant chimes echoed from the cathedral located in the central square, as its loud knell reverberated throughout the city in waves¡­


    Suddenly, a slightmotion arose at the gate entrance, but it was swiftly pacified by the guards stationed at that area.


    What followed was a procession of carriages, as the very ground trembled and dust swirled as each wooden vehicles bearing the distinctive emblem of an oriental serpent slowly make their way through the towering gates of the city.


    Yet, the citizens within the vicinity merely cast a cursory nce at the new arrivals before resuming their prior activities as nothing was anew.


    And in fact, it wasn¡¯t anew as locals had long been ustomed to such a sight, especially moreso recently with caravans like these bing more and more frequent as ofte.


    ¡°Oh, another merchant caravan has arrived.¡±


    ¡°Judging by their style, it seems to be a caravan from the Kingdom of Aries. What brings these southerners here from such a distant ce?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably here to attend the Count¡¯s auction, right?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. Rumor has it the Lord seized another resistance stronghold and captured numerous Oakhand elves.¡±


    ¡°Not just elves! I heard that there were also some humans as well, all of whom were eventually enved.¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­ Keep your voice down.¡±


    Such whispered exchanges were shared amongst the city residents.


    Meanwhile, back at the city gates, the newly arrived caravan was finally permitted entry as these neers proceeded towards the heart of the city.


    Sitting by the front and peering through the carriage windows, numerous yers couldn¡¯t conceal their excitement as they inspect the bustling city passing right before their eyes.


    ¡°Maple City¡­So this is Maple Leaf City!¡±


    Little Salty Cat gazed at the bustling street crowd with sparkling delight.


    <em>So many humans! What a lively city!</em>


    This human metropolis seemed way more prosperous inparison to the bleak ckrock City of the Dark-Dwarves underground.


    ¡°This should be the former Elven Royal Capital. Looking at the buildings around us, there¡¯s still some semnce of elven architecture, although the outer city walls appeared to have been built muchter.¡±


    HootyBird spoke as her gaze keenly observed the structures around her.


    Li Mu, on the other hand, looked at the busy pedestrians around him. Silently observing them as some bargained with merchants, while others do mundane things or converse with each other.


    Finally, the Guildmaster of Natural Hearts couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore as he let out an astonished sigh.


    ¡°Man¡­Entering ckrock City was one thing, and reaching Riverwood was another, but here¡­a city so lively and bustling, with NPCs so vivid and lifelike¡ªit¡¯s really hard to believe that this degree of realism could be recreated within a game¡­I truly wonder how the game servers could handle such a crazy amount of load, and it seems like, just like the older maps, every NPC in this city also uses a unique character model. So far, I¡¯ve seen no reskin do far. My God, just how¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tch, Brother Mu, you talk way too much! If it weren¡¯t for its realistic and vivid elements, wouldn¡¯t this game still be called Elven Kingdom? I¡¯d say just don¡¯t worry about it and just think of it like some advanced ck alien-tech fuckery or something,¡±


    Demacia interjected as he rubbed his hands expectantly.


    ¡°Anyhow, regardless of how it was achieved, what¡¯s only important to us yers is to explore new maps, triggering hidden questlines, and of course, making some boatload of cash along the way!¡±


    While the yers expressed their excitement, Anders, who had also returned along with the caravan, jumped down from another carriage and walked towards them.


    ¡°Mr. Li Mu, Miss. Little Salty Cat.¡±


    The old butler bowed slightly to the two youngsters.


    ¡°This is Maple Leaf City. I have urgent matters to attend to and won¡¯t be apanying you much further in exploring the city.¡±


    ¡°However¡­I know most of you came for the Elven ves. Fret not, I can introduce you to the most renowned vingpany in the city.¡±


    ¡°Feel free to ask any personnel of thatpany if you need anything. With my introduction, they will definitely aodate you well and conduct business with your caravan.¡±


    ¡°As the Borderlord¡¯s personal steward, I have the capacity to connect you with these people.¡±


    Proudly stated by Anders.


    The yers¡¯ eyes lit up after hearing the older man¡¯s words.


    <em>A ving Company!</em>


    It¡¯s exactly what they needed!


    When they learned that there would be an auction in Maple Leaf City, and that there were elves among the things that will be auctioned, the yers immediately knew¡­ that they have to involve themselves in this auction no matter what!


    An special event where enved elves will be sold¡­


    Why, this uing auction practically has ¡®hidden questline¡¯ written all over it and nobody would have believed it otherwise, if they say that it wouldn¡¯t be the case!


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Anders.¡±


    Li Mu politely smiled and bowed to the old butler as Anders showed a look of satisfaction with Li Mu¡¯s courteous demeanor.


    Subtly, the old man¡¯s posture straightened even more.


    Then, he reached into his pocket and took out a pen he always carried with him before ordering a guard to fetch a piece of paper. He then nimbly wrote something on it and promptly handed it to Li Mu.


    ¡°Mr. Li Mu, this is the address of Maple Leaf City¡¯s most famous vepany. Mention my name, and they will certainly treat you well.¡±


    ¡°There are still three days until the day of the Silver Moon, and the annual auction will also be held during that time. With the introduction from the vepany, you can attend as honored guests in this event.¡±


    ¡°Well then¡­I wish you all a pleasant time during your stay here in Maple Leaf City, farewell.¡±


    After saying this, Anders finally bid farewell to the yers and hastily left.


    Once the old butler finallypletely disappeared from their view, the yers swiftly exchanged nces and felt the urge to explore the city¡­


    However, at this moment, thenky guard who hade along with them suddenly approached their group with a look of hesitation.


    ¡°Do you have something to say, Mr. Tom?¡±


    Li Mu subtly inquired without changing his expression.


    After spending some time together, the yers eventually learned that the guard¡¯s name was actually Tom.


    However, being amoner, he only had a first name and nost name.


    ¡°Young master Li Mu.¡±


    Tom hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:


    ¡°Please hear me out¡­Never go to that address given to you by Sir. Anders.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Why is that?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Tom continued.


    ¡°Since you are from the Kingdom of Aries, most of you are likely unaware of certain matters concerning our territory. Mr. Anders is the Lord¡¯s steward in charge of affairs regarding the very trade and has close ties with manypanies in Maple Leaf City, particrly the shady types. ¡°


    ¡°Let me tell you, that old steward is a very greedy guy! He often leads newly arrived caravans to apany where he has close connection to.¡±


    ¡°Also, some locals knew that if the steward personally apanied someone, it meant he was fostering genuine rtionship with the other party. However, if he only provided an introduction letter, then the personnel of thepany you were introduced to would know right away that Anders¡¯ intention was to take advantage of the group written on his letter.¡±


    ¡°Looking at the way it turned out, that steward introduced the vepany to your group but didn¡¯t escort you personally so he definitely doesn¡¯t have good intentions towards your caravan.¡±


    ¡°Be careful young masters! All thesepanies have really deep backgrounds. Even if you have nobles backing you in the Kingdom, you are still within the territory of the Empire. As outsiders without deep imperial backing, you will definitely suffer at their hands¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡­that greedy steward must have regarded your group as¡­flocks of fat sheeps waiting to be butchered.¡±


    Thenky guard blurted out in an impassioned speech as if revealing everything all he wanted to say.


    ¡°¡­Why are you telling us this?¡±


    Surprised by his words, Little Salty Cat asked.


    After a moment of hesitation, Tom continued:


    ¡°I know¡­ your group are definitely not just a simple caravan, and while you young masters might be nobles from the south, but¡­ you are also the good and rare kind of nobles, so I don¡¯t want to see your group being taken advantage of here in our country.¡±


    ¡°Please believe me, young masters. Just stroll around the city while you¡¯re waiting for the auction instead of acquainting yourselves with a shadypany. During the auction, there will naturally be many kinds of tradepanies participating, and there will also be caravans on-site willing to do business with anyone.¡±


    ¡°So if you really want to do business, you¡¯re better off transacting directly at that time and it¡¯ll be more secured rather than involving yourselves with shadypanies¡­¡±


    Looking at the guard who spoke such series of words, Demacia looked surprised.


    ¡°How do you know so much anyway?¡±


    A hint of nostalgia appeared on Tom¡¯s face.


    ¡°I actually used to be a city guard here in Maple Leaf City, but then one day, I was hit by an arrow in the knee and had to retire¡­¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    Tomato: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    After finishing what he wanted to say, Tom politely bowed to the yers.


    ¡°Young masters, that¡¯s all I wanted to say. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I won¡¯t continue following you any longer seeing as we¡¯ve already arrived here in Maple Leaf City. Please take care¡­¡±


    After saying that, he left in a hurry without ever looking back.


    ¡°Why did he run away? Even if we don¡¯t believe him, it¡¯s not like we will eat him, right?¡±


    Watching thenky guard¡¯s departing figure, Little Salty Cat frowned slightly.


    ¡°We won¡¯t, but old man Anders might not. He¡¯s probably trying to avoid that butler.¡± HootyBird said.


    Little Salty Cat suddenly showed a look of realization.


    After the two humans left, the group of yers stared at each other in a bemused manner while their caravan stopped at the city square.


    As soon as they parked their carriages, many onlookers were gradually drawn towards them.


    After all, with more than a dozen carriages and two hundred good-looking people, it¡¯s came to no surprise that a crowd would then immediately gather, given their conspicuous presence at a heavily crowded area.


    ¡°¡­So what should we do next? Should we explore separately or do we still have act together? Or perhaps do we need to go to that vepany right away?¡±


    A yer asked.


    Li Mu nced at the note Anders gave him and formed a wry smile. He then took a screenshot of it and shared it over to the group¡¯s chatroom:


    ? Hey everyone, look at what thispany is called.


    Tomato opened the chat and looked at the image that was uploaded just seconds ago.


    ¡°¡­Sauron Trade Company?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Why does this sounds so familiar?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Doesn¡¯t thispany have the same name as that syndicate that operated the smuggling caravan where Boss Box and Miss Nightingale first hooked up?!¡±


    Demacia eximed but he was unceremoniously kicked by Boxlunch immediately after.


    ¡°Yeah, that very same Sauron Syndicate!¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s nodded as his eyes brightened.


    ¡°That smuggling syndicate and this vingpany are probably both connected to the Sauron Household¡­which if I remember, is an officially recognized hostile force in ElvKing and ording to what Lady Alice had said, it¡¯s a noble household that mainly oversees the trade of enved elves!¡±


    ¡°Now that we uncovered this, doesn¡¯t we now have more reasons to go to this address?¡±


    He suggested:


    ¡°However, we have too many people in our group. I propose that the three major guilds act separately, and each individual yers can decide for themselves what they want to do on their own.¡±


    ¡°Some of you can go to the Sauron Company to gather information, while some can also inquire about the ruins and other noteworthy information from the locals, and others can also try to contact this city¡¯s underworld organizations just to see if they can find some information about the Oakhand Resistance that was mentioned before by those two humans we traveled along the way¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, thest two options can be done together. But our main focus should be the first task and I don¡¯t think we need too many people to go to the Sauron Company.¡±


    Each of the yers then began to talk amongst themselves as they weigh in the options. A couple of moments passed and when the conversation was finally dying down, Little Salty Cat stepped forward and said,


    ¡°Then, my guild Moe Moe will inquire about the ruins. Sister Birdy and I are quite curious about this mysterious ruins you see,¡±


    Tomato also stepped forward and proimed,


    ¡°We of the First Legion will go look for the underworld organization.¡±


    ¡°Heh, are you really looking? Or are you going to just pick a fight with the underworld organizations of this city?¡±


    Demacia mockingly chuckled as he received a disdainful looks from Tomato. However, he payed it no mind and rubbed his hands eagerly.


    ¡°So¡­that leaves us, Nature¡¯s Hearts to infiltrate Sauron Company, right Brother Mu?¡± Demacia smirked and added, ¡°That¡¯s great! I was just thinking of doing some business with that vingpany! And I¡¯ve already discussed it with a few buddies of mine¡­¡±


    After saying that, he and several other yers draped their arms around each other, before sharing a sinisterughter while looking as mischievous as they could.


    ¡°What are you guys up to? nning tomit suicide-scam again?¡±


    Li Mu raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Cough¡­ we¡¯ve already chosen the Sauron Company option anyway, so¡­ can¡¯t we do whatever we want?¡±


    Demacia¡¯s eyes darted around.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°By the way, Little Cat, did you bring the Lionheart Sword with you? Lend it to me, will ya! I¡¯ll definitely return it to youter!¡± After saying that, Demacia looked at the petite girl in aical pleading manner.


    ¡°¡­What are you doing?¡±


    Little Salty Cat instinctively took two steps back.


    ¡°Cough¡­don¡¯t you want to do some business?¡± Demacia said awkwardly.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    Her eyes then flickered slightly as if realizing something, and suddenly, she pulled out a long sword wrapped in a cloth from the carriage without hesitation, before handing it to Demacia:


    ¡°Here, take it. No need to pay rent. We¡¯ll split whatever gains you¡¯ll make 30-70, with you getting thirty percent.¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Only thirty?¡­Isn¡¯t my share too little?¡± he wailed.


    ¡°Hey, I invested the capital.¡±


    Little Salty Cat remarked casually whilst shifting her gaze towards the Lionheart Sword.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Also, I temporarily unbound it so you can bind it to yourself for a few days. If you dare lose it or if you somehow damaged the sword then be fully prepared to be hunted down by my people.¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    Maple Leaf City, West District.


    Being themercial district of the entire city, adjacent to the slums, this business district is rife with chaos, as myriads of incident urs here on an almost daily basis.


    As such, thewlessness of this district eventually gave rise to numerous underworld organizations, including the ck market, but along with it also came endless flow of money, and whenever money amassed, a multitude of other major legitimatemercialpanies would sure to follow.


    The same goes for Sauron Trade Company.


    As thergest smuggling group on the continent, it naturally also has its own branch office in Maple Leaf City.


    Inside, a middle-aged man wearing a wig while dressed in the attire of an imperial noble, sat gloomily in his luxurious seat.


    This middle-aged man¡¯s name is Caige Sauron, the acting branch leader of the Maple Leaf City¡¯s Sauron Company branch.


    At this moment, Mr. Caige was not in a particrly good mood.


    ¡°Are those elves still refusing to eat?¡±


    He asked gloomily while rhythmically tapping the ss sculptures imported from the south on his table.


    ¡°Yes, Master Caige, those elves still refuses to eat no matter what¡­¡±


    On the other side, a fat man dressed as a steward reported while wiping the sweat off his forehead.


    ¡°These stubborn long-eared bitches! Do they really want to die so badly!?¡±


    Caige then grabbed the ornament sculpture on the table and threw it to the ground, smashing it to pieces.


    The steward was startled; he hesitated for a moment and said:


    ¡°W-Why don¡¯t we just use mind control then? Master Caige, these elves are all die-hard fanatical members of Oakhand Resistance. I¡¯m afraid¡­ they would rather die than submit to us. In the end¡­I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to use some force to control these ves.¡±


    ¡°¡­Mind control?¡±


    Caige frowned.


    ¡°No, It¡¯ll damage the souls of these ves if we use such magic. They are elves, which are magically-attuned creatures. Under the spell of mind control, their souls will inevitably be harmed, thus losing their sanity¡­and elves without a sane mind won¡¯t fetch a good price.¡±


    The fat steward then showed a troubled expression after hearing it.


    ¡°But¡­ as you know, we bought these elves from the Count at a low price since all of them were part of Oakhand Resistance, and every member of that organization are tough as hell and almost cannot be tamed¡­¡±


    Caige¡¯s brows furrowed even tighter.


    However at this moment, suddenly, the office door was knocked on lightly.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Caige raised his head, feeling annoyed at the voice that interrupted his thoughts.


    At this moment, the respectful voice of a subordinate came from outside the door:


    ¡°Sir Caige, some southern young nobles have arrived outside. These people imed to be introduced by Lord Anders and stated that they have a big business deal to discuss with you.¡±


    ¡°Introduced by Anders? A big business?¡±


    Caige narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡ª <strong>275</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>BIG BUSINESS IN MAPLE LEAF CITY ¡¿</strong>


    <strong>TL/N</strong> : Soren now changed to Sauron.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 276

    In the meeting hall of the Sauron Company.


    A young nobleman with ck hair stood alongside his red-haired attendant, as both showed a look of admiration at the murals hanging upon the walls of the entrance hall


    The mural they were looking at depicted a knight in armor, wielding a long spear with sharp eyes and dignified demeanor.


    ¡°This looks really cool¡­¡±


    The red-haired attendant looked at the knight in the mural with eyes filled with envy. Meanwhile, the ck-haired nobleman, focused his eyes on the small text written on the corner.


    ¡°Sauron¡­¡±


    Upon hearing him, the attendant turned his head and gave the nobleman a puzzled look.


    ¡°Brother Mu, can you finally read the local text in this game?¡±


    The ck-haired noble shook his head in response.


    ¡°Originally I couldn¡¯t, but after the update, I found a new feature within the system settings that can visually convert these local texts into chinese.¡±


    The red-haired attendant: ¡°¡­¡±


    Naturally, the nobleman and his attendant were Li Mu and Demacia in disguise.


    After consulting with the rest of the yers, they promptly arrived at the Sauron¡¯s branch office by following the address given to them by Anders.


    Of course, at this moment, they didn¡¯t revealed themselves as elves but instead, Li Mu disguised himself as a young human noble from the south, while Demacia yed the role of his attendant.


    The reason for this was simple.


    Demacia is good at fooling people but always gave off an unstable vibe and these traits were already deeply ingrained within him. Thus, having him impersonate a nobleman might expose them instantly.


    On the other hand, Li Mu is moreposed as a person.Although he doesn¡¯t know what nobles are truly like, he is still better than Demacia at impersonating the role of an aristocrat.


    In short, silence is golden.


    So¡­after the two of them discussed it, they decided that one would act as a noble, while the other would serve as an attendant.


    Demacia will be tasked with deceiving the NPCs whereas Li Mu will pacify the other party should their talks turns south and pretend to be the person in charge to control the situation.


    As for Li Mu being able to understand the local human texts, it all started with thetest update.


    Although the patch notes didn¡¯t directly specify it, to better facilitate yers¡¯munication with the various inhabitants of Saig¨¹es, Ev¨¦ had added a text trantion feature into the game system.


    If needed, yers could mentally visualize any local text they saw into chinese, sort of like augmented reality trantion.


    Of course, this feature was only one-way street, as any individuals not connected to the game system wouldn¡¯t have ess to this conversion feature and, therefore, wouldn¡¯t be able to understand any foreign text physically written by yers at all.


    While the two were quietly chatting, suddenly, a heartyughter came from behind them.


    ¡°The knight depicted on that mural is our household¡¯s patriarch.¡±


    Li Mu and Demacia subtly turned around.


    Behind them stood a middle-aged man in an expensive attire, with an obvious wig atop his head. He smiled warmly with a kindly facade, akin to a friendly elder with a respectful servant by his side.


    The middle-aged man was naturally Caige, the branch leader of the Sauron Company in Maple Leaf City.


    When he saw Li Mu and Demacia, he immediately sensed their inherent strength.


    <em>Iron-Rank Experts!</em>


    His heart couldn¡¯t help but beat more fiercely.


    These two youngsters have already attained Iron-ranked strength.


    It seems¡­ that this two new visitors of his is indeed an aristocrat from the south, given that such strength at a young age is not attainable by meremoners and furthermore¡ª


    Caige¡¯s gaze briefly paused upon the clothing wore by the two.


    As the leader of a tradepany that normally deals with the nobility, he possessed extensive knowledge on various matters, especially in regards to luxury goods.


    His discerning eye had easily noticed that even this young nobleman¡¯s attendant was wearing thetest fashion style currently popr amongst the nobility of Aries Kingdom in the south.


    Such clothing was extremely expensive and coincidently, they were also selling the very same type of clothes here in theirpany just a few months ago.


    <em>This ck-haired youth is indeed a noble, and a rich one at that!</em>


    Caige further affirmed his initial judgment within his mind.


    Nheless, despite their refined outward appearance, he also noticed that there was still a trace of stiffness within their actions, as well as an inherentck of temperament solely unique to nobles in their decorum.


    And these small incongruities led him to believe that this dark-haired youth was actually not a true-born aristocrat but rather, a not-so-well-educated typical lower-ss nouveau rich¨¦ from the Kingdom.


    <em>These kind of upstart nobles¡­usually had shallow foundations.</em>


    Thinking of this, Caige¡¯s smiling face became even more amiable.


    In the mean time, while Caige was silently scrutinizing the two, both Li Mu and Demacia were also doing the same.


    Caige didn¡¯t concealed his aura of an expert.


    Therefore, when the two of them saw him for the first time, they immediately sensed that he was an Intermediate Iron-Rank Expert.


    However, although this middle-aged man dressed as a noble wasn¡¯t particrly powerful, the servant standing beside him with a humble attitude gave them both a very dangerous feeling.


    Inside the game, a yer¡¯s sixth sense is much more heightenedpared to the real world. As such, yers are more naturally attuned to their intuition, especially the sense of threat.


    And what Li Mu¡¯s and Demacia¡¯s sixth senses are telling them now is that the strength of this servant is undoubtedly formidable!


    ? Brother Mu, that servant might be a Silver-ranker.


    Demacia formted a written text within his mind and sent it over to the chatroom.


    ? Indeed but we¡¯ll still proceed as nned, start your performance.


    Li Mu replied.


    However, just before the two could speak, the other party beat them to it and spoke to them first.


    ¡°Why hello, my fellow two young experts! I am Caige Sauron, the branch leader of the Sauron Trade Company here in Maple Leaf City. Are you perhaps members of a caravan? Did Anders perhaps introduced this ce to you two?¡±


    He smiled, as if conversing with old friends, whilst crafting an seemingly irresistible fa?ade radiating warmth.


    However, the two yers wasn¡¯t fooled as they already knew what the other party¡¯s real intention in advance. Thus, the pair were extremely cautious.


    At that moment, Li Mu took out the note he got from Anders and handed it to Caige.


    ¡°Hello, Sir Caige. We are members of Bluestar Caravan from the Kingdom of Aries. My name is Li Mu, the leader of our caravan, while this is my steward and attendant, Demacia. Indeed, Mr. Anders introduced you to us, and we¡¯re interested in doing business with yourpany.¡±


    Caige nodded slightly, then inspected the note he got from Li Mu.


    He immediately recognized Anders¡¯ handwriting and certain hints subtly left within it by the old steward.


    <em>So this young noble from the south is ying around, masquerading themselves as a caravan and is interested in some elven ves, eh?</em>


    Inspecting Anders¡¯ hints had further confirmed what Caige had already mostly guessed within his mind.


    Of course, regardless of whether what was written on the note is true or not, the mere fact that Anders introduced these youngsters to him was adequate enough for him to amodate them.


    Thinking of this, Caige¡¯s face instantly lit up with a smile.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s Anders¡¯ handwriting. Since you are acquainted with that friend of mine, naturally you will be my friends as well! We, the Sauron Trade Company, may not possess much, but our stock includes a variety of rare treasures. I¡¯m curious, Mr. Li Mu¡­.what kind of business would you like to conduct with us?¡±


    After hearing his words, Li Mu exchanged a quick nce with Demacia and the red-haired stepped forward with a wide grin.


    ¡°Of course, we came with a huge business opportunity for you Sir. Caige! Mr. Anders mentioned that you have elven ves here? Hehe, we are very interested in some elven ves you see, and¡ª<em>wink</em>¡ªmoney is not a problem!¡±


    <em>Indeed, they came here to buy some elves and boldly dare even say¡­money is not an issue? </em>


    Caige¡¯s thoughts began to churn wildly.


    At that moment, his face became even more radiant and friendly to the extent that its almost blinding.


    ¡°Why yes, of course, of course! the selling of ves is the most lucrative business of ourpany. What Mr. Anders told you is indeed correct.¡±


    ¡°Brilliant! You¡¯vee at the perfect time. Just a few days ago, we received a batch of fresh new goods. If you, my fellow gentlemen are interested, then we can take a look together right away.¡±


    After saying that, he gestured something to the old steward standing on the other side. The steward first hesitated, then nodded with realization before swiftly withdrawing.


    ¡°There, I¡¯ve arranged it already. If you, my fellow gentlemen are interested, then you can apany me to take a look at our collections. However, before we proceed, I must inform you¡­the ve room is quite messy, and the smell isn¡¯t that pleasant either. I already ordered my servants to begin cleaning, but it might take a little while before we can enter.¡±


    ¡°So in the mean time, you two might as well have a cup of coffee with me! I have exotic coffee beans from the Southern Continent that you¡¯ll definitely like. Let¡¯s chat for a bit, and in about ten minutes, the showroom should be almost ready.¡±


    Caige warmly invited the pair to a table nearby.


    Li Mu and Demacia exchanged nces and nodded in agreement.


    Thus, under Caige¡¯s enthusiastic invitation, the two sat down in the meeting hall, drinking coffee whilst idly chatting with the older man.


    Their conversation naturally revolved around the local customs of Maple Leaf City and the origins of Li Mu and Demacia.


    However, thetter always managed to deflect questions with a chuckle, making Caige, who was eager to dig deeper about their backgrounds, feel a bit frustrated.


    Soon, the old steward came back and approached Caige.


    The man whispered a few words in his ear, and Caige¡¯s face showed visible signs of glee.


    He then turned to Li Mu and Demacia with a smile.


    ¡°All right, the showroom has already been properly cleaned. My fellow gentlemen, we can now go see the goods that you¡¯ve been wanting.¡±


    After that, he stood up and made a weing gesture.


    Li Mu and Demacia also became spirited, as the pair quietly stood up from their seats and followed the older man without uttering a word.


    With the old steward guiding them at the front, Caige along with the two silently walked further into the interior of thepany grounds.


    A couple of moments silently passed before the group reached a building surrounded by sturdy high walls.


    Looking at the fortress-like structure in front of them, Caige¡¯s face disyed a hint of pride.


    ¡°This is where we detain all the ves in ourpany, modeled after the Imperial Capital¡¯s very own Vermandois Prison, it is extremely sturdy!¡±


    ¡°Come, Come! all our ves are waiting inside.¡±


    After saying that, Caige walked in first.


    Li Mu and Demacia took a deep breath and followed behind as they passed through therge gates made of robust iron bars.


    The interior of the building was dimly lit with the air carrying a hint of stagnation, and only the flickering torches adoring the walls illuminated the dreary surroundings.


    The group walked further inside and not a minuteter, Li Mu and Demacia began to see rows of cells. On both sides of the wall were single cramped rooms resembling cells, detaining various types of ves¡ªthere were orcs, half-orcs, lizardmen, minotaurs¡­ and some we¡¯re even housing rare magical beasts.


    Of course, there were humans too.


    While these ves were not the objective of the two, both Li Mu and Demacia still couldn¡¯t help but looked around curiously, especially at the peculiar races they¡¯ve seen for the first time, whilst also closely following Caige¡¯s steps into the structure¡¯s depths¡­


    After walking for a few more minutes, they finally arrived at an area with better lighting and rtively cleaner cells.


    Here, Li Mu and Demacia finally saw their purpose for this entire trip¡ª<em>Elves!</em>


    Numerous elves were confined here, at least thirty of them, both male and female, with the majority being females.


    Not only that but their ages were generally young as well with even the oldest one looking like a human in their thirties, while on the opposite end, the younger ones were criminally just small children.


    Furthermore, apart from these elves, several strange-looking elves were also confined on the cells at the opposite side.


    What¡¯s noteworthy about them is that while they also have the prominent pointed ears of the elves, their length is less than two-thirds of the usual size for a regr elf¡¯s ear.


    <em>This¡­is a group of half-elves!</em>


    As soon as Li Mu and Demacia saw these elves, a new system message suddenly appeared within their field of vision:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾yers ¡°<strong>Li Mu</strong>¡± and ¡°<strong>Demacia</strong>¡± triggered the hidden questline ¡°<strong>Rescue Your Fellow Kinsmen</strong>¡± ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Hidden Questline</strong>: Rescue Your Fellow Kinsmen¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: The Sauron Trade Company has detained arge number of elven and half-elven ves. They are our fellow kinsmen and should be rescued!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objectives</strong>: Rescue the detained elves and half-elves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Mission Deadline</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Mission Participants</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Minimum Level Requirement</strong>: Level 31¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: For each rescued elf, you will gain ¡®<em>5000</em>¡® experience points and ¡®<em>3000</em>¡® contribution points; For each rescued half-elf, you will gain ¡®<em>3000</em>¡® experience points and ¡®<em>1500</em>¡® contribution points.¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>276</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HIDDEN QUEST : RESCUE YOUR FELLOW KINSMEN </strong>¡¿


    <strong>TL/N</strong> : Happy New Year to everyone! (*¡ã¨Œ¡ã*)


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 277

    ¡°Sure enough, a lot of elves have been imprisoned. It seems that there is some benefit in allowing yers to explore the human society.¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered as she attentively observed the multiple live feeds being broadcast on arge interface hovering before her while seated upon her throne within the Celestial Domain of the World Tree.


    In it were the various real-time perspectivesing from every yer that¡¯s currently exploring Maple Leaf City.


    However, at the moment, she paid no heed to most of it as she focused her attention onto the live-feed at the center, which shows the perspective of both Li Mu and Demacia.


    Through their eyes, Ev¨¦ could clearly see vivid images of elves being imprisoned in rows of cells. All these enved elves wore anti-magic cors upon their necks with some even had their limbs restrained with chains.


    Each of them looked extremely haggard, with their pointed ears drooping low as their eyes gleamed with despair and desperation.


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­.¡±


    She could only let out a deep sigh after seeing all these.


    Some elves were even staring straight at the screen, with their eyes carrying boundless anger as if they could pierce through the fabric of space and discern that she was secretly watching them.


    Of course, she knew that what their truly focusing on was actually both Li Mu and Demacia, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel that they were also naturally watching her¡­


    ¡ªSilently judging her.


    Observing the deep-seated anger within their eyes, Ev¨¦ pondered, ¡°These elves should be members of the Oakhand Resistance Group mentioned by the steward earlier.¡±


    ¡°When the yers eventually rescues all these imprisoned elves, this local resistance force mighte under mymand.¡±


    She then proceeded to tap the armrest of her divine throne with her fingers in a rhythmic fashion, as though she were deeply immersed in contemtion.


    A few moments passed and her eyes suddenly gleamed as if an idea formed within her mind.


    On the other side of the screen, both Li Mu and Demacia wore startled expressions after seeing the system message hovering in front of them.


    ? Hahaha! Bro, I told you so! Involving ourselves with anything rted to elven ves almost guarantees a hidden quest! And look, the rewards are quite huge too!


    Demacia excitedly sent a written message in their chatroom.


    ? Well, it still depends on whether we can rescue everyone here sessfully.


    Li Mu was equally enthusiastic.


    Sessfully rescuing one elf meant gaining 5000 EXP and 3000 CP.


    Additionally, even though the rewards for half-elves was lesserpared to their pure-blooded counterparts, it was still a considerable amount, to say the least.


    Thinking of reaping such huge rewards, both their gazes towards the enved elves had changed.


    <em>If we somehow managed to save all of these elves, then the amount we¡¯re gonna get would be substantial enough for the two of us to buy ourselves a piece of legendary golden equipment! </em>


    After noticing the undisguised fervor and greed within the youngsters eyes, thest trace of concern vanished from Caige¡¯s heart.


    These two¡­were not members of Oakhand!


    Their greed was a good sign!


    Since he could stroke their greed and secure a favorable deal for himself!


    Seeing their eager looks, Caige smiled slightly and said to them, ¡°So how about it? These are our elven ves. This scale of numbers can¡¯t be found anywhere else here in Maple Leaf City! And you can rest assured¡­the quality of our ves is very high!¡±


    Li Mu and Demacia exchanged nces, and thetter promptly said, ¡°Name your price!¡±


    Caige¡¯s smile became even brighter.


    He pointed to one of the cells containing young elves and said, ¡°The ones in this cell are those with strong potential for growth. Each female is worth 8,000 gold coins, while the males is worth 5,000 gold coins.¡±


    Then he pointed to another cage with young elves, ¡°These are all ready-made.<mark>1</mark> 6000 gold coins for females, 4500 for males.¡±


    Finally, he gestured to thest cage, ¡°The elves in here are older or isn¡¯t a pure-breed. They are much cheaper, all at 4500 gold coins each.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, but don¡¯t be fooled by their apparent age. They¡¯re only a few hundred years old, which is still young for elves. Moreover, some customers of mine specifically prefer these older ves.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but these older elves also knew a lot of things. If you can extract some elven heritage from them, then you¡¯ll definitely reap some huge benefits.¡±


    ¡°As for the half-elves, they are even cheaper. 2000 gold coins for females, 1500 for males, and you can get a discount for buying in bulk.¡±


    Caige spoke warmly as he smiled again and said:


    ¡°How about it? This price is quite fair, right? Considering you¡¯re friends of Anders, I¡¯ll give you a 20% discount.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, if you buy a lot, then I can even throw in a few sturdy domisticated orc ves as a bonus. Each can be sold for 300 gold coins,¡± Caige said cheerfully.


    Based on the yers¡¯ previous experience in doing business back in ckrock City, the pricing of Sauron Guild is indeed quite fair.


    Li Mu nodded silently.


    However, they weren¡¯t actually here for business, and they certainly didn¡¯t have that much money either in the first ce¡­


    Moreover¡ª


    ¡°No, no!¡±


    Unlike the silent Li Mu, Demacia on the other hand looked at the elves and dramatically shook his head like a rattle:


    ¡°Mr. Caige, I¡¯m sorry but there seems to be an issue with these elves of yours¡­¡±


    ¡°Their condition looks quite poor. How long has it been since they¡¯ve eaten? Could they be those insurgent fanatics that¡¯s part of that resistance group? These elves would rather die than be ves so they¡¯re not worth the price you¡¯re offering us, Mr. Caige!¡±


    Demacia then let out a long and exceptionally loud sigh.


    ¡°For these rebellious elves who are tough to handle, maybe the only option is to control them forcibly through mind maniption. But, the downside is that magic messes with their sanity, turning them into basically dolls! Plus, their worth would plummet by at least half if we go that route!¡±


    Listening to Demacia¡¯s convincing words, Caige¡¯s reaction aside, Li Mu was left awestruck.


    ? How do you know so much?


    He couldn¡¯t help but type distractedly in their chatroom.


    ? Hehehe, selling myself in ckrock City was really beneficial. My experience from back then had teach me which types of elves can fetch a good price and which ones doesn¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry bro, I¡¯m really experienced at this stuff! Why else do you think I took on this task?


    Demacia stood more proudly afterward.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Caige, likewise, looked at the red-haired attendant with astonishment, never expecting the guy to be so knowledgeable and could immediately spot the issues with these elves.


    In fact, he had already tried to adjust the lighting within the showroom to make the elves¡¯ conditions less apparent.


    ¡°So¡­ what are you suggesting?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Mr. Caige, it¡¯s your mistake. Although the quantity of these elves is high, their quality on the other hand is really poor. In my opinion, the price should be cut by at least half.¡±


    Demacia shook his head once more whilst feigning a disappointed look. He then pointed to a certain area much deeper into the room.


    ¡°The Elves over there are certainly better, but¡­ still not worth this price!¡±


    <em>Over there?</em>


    Caige raised an eyebrow.


    What Demacia was pointing at was actually the personal elves that theirpany isn¡¯t selling. These elves weren¡¯t part of the Oakhand batch that the guild recently purchased from the Borderlord but rather, the elves that have been in thepany for years already.


    Therefore, all of them are already well trained and rtively obedient.


    Of course, Caige doesn¡¯t have any ns to sell these elves to these two youngsters. After all, thepany have meticulously chosen these elves from all the ves they¡¯ve acquired throughout the years, and the majority are women distinguished for their boundless beauty.


    In human society, they were like the cream of the crop, the rare top-notchmodities not easily essible to their ordinary customers.


    In fact, if the batch they bought from the Borderlord weren¡¯t suitable enough, Caige was nning to use these rare elves in the uing auction instead.


    As long as these elves is properly dressed and presented, they could spark a bidding war amongst the nobles that would attend the auction.


    Yet¡­ this young red-haired attendant imed that these elves were not worth the price?


    This irritated Caige, who had been involved in elf trading for a long time.


    This red-haired attendant clearly understood the intricacies of their trade, yet he was making such a bold statements.


    <em>Wasn¡¯t he looking for trouble?</em>


    <em>Are they really here for business?</em>


    ¡°Mr. Demacia.¡±


    Caige evenly said with a hint of cold tone.


    ¡°I admit, the elves I¡¯ve introduced to you earlier do have some ws. However, it¡¯s not as serious as you say. As for those elves in the deeper area¡­ those are ourpany¡¯s personal treasured darlings. Even if you double the price, I won¡¯t sell any of them to you.¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Treasured darlings?¡±


    Demacia chuckled when he heard this, wearing an expression of ridicule that made anyone who saw it feel an urge to beat him up.


    ¡°Are they treasures just because they look a bit better and resist a bit lesspared to others? Haha, you call these guys treasured darlings, but can your ¡®darlings¡¯ even fully submit themselves to you?¡±


    Hearing his provocative question, Caige¡¯s expression became somewhat unsightly.


    ¡°Mr. Demacia.¡±


    His voice now carried a hint of anger.


    ¡°Seeing that you understand our trade well, then you should¡¯ve known also that taming elves is extremely difficult.¡±


    ¡°Making these stubborn elves obey someone is already a very difficult task even for a seasoned ver. And ves that do be partially tamed are very expensive. Not to mention the truly obedient ones which are almost priceless.¡±


    Caige then slowly walked towards Demacia and stood in front of him.


    ¡°Let me tell you this, I¡¯ve been in this business for so long, yet I haven¡¯t seen a fully obedient elf in my life!¡±


    ¡°Hah! those truly obedient elves you mentioned only happens because some high-ranking nobles bought them when they¡¯re very little and raised for who knows how many years. Have you ever considered how much they¡¯ve invested in training one?¡±


    ¡°These kinds of rare fully obedient elves are ¡®treasured darlings¡¯ of each high-ranking noble household, and you cannot buy them since they are almost priceless!¡±


    Hearing Caige¡¯s exnation, Demacia wasn¡¯t fazed at all and merely shook his head while sporting a disdainful expression.


    ¡°In the end, it just mean your just a bunch of amateurs who don¡¯t know how to properly tame an elf. Those who truly know how to tame one don¡¯t need so much trouble. Take me for example, just give me a few days and I can make any elves obedient like little kittens¡­¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    Caige sneered, looking at Demacia with increasingly cold and disdainful eyes.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    Demacia raised an eyebrow before moving his hands in a grandiose manner.


    ¡°Perfect! I just happened to have recently brought quite a few goods myself, all of which are high-quality elves. Their quality is way beyondparison as to what you have here in yourpany.¡±


    ¡°Today, let me show you what true elven ves are! What the pinnacle of true obedience actually means!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>277</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ YOUR ELVES WON¡¯T DO! WATCH US </strong>¡¿


    1 <strong>ÏÖ³É</strong> ¨C I tried researching on this but ¡®ready-made¡¯ is too broad of a term. I got confusing results but I think what the author is implying here is the ves are already trained? or sexually sullied? I¡¯m not too sure tho.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 278

    ¡°True Elven ves?¡±


    Caige¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    Just as he was about to inquire further, the old steward suddenly rushed over, sweating profusely.


    ¡°Master! Master Caige! A few people iming to bepanions of Mr. Demacia have suddenly arrived outside¡­ and they brought along with them over a dozen elves!¡±


    ¡°Over a dozen elves?¡±


    Caige couldn¡¯t help but eximed in astonishment. He widened his eyes, casted a doubtful nce at Demacia.


    Thetter just lifted his head slightly, looking rather proud, and muttered,


    ¡°It seems¡­ my people have arrived. Hehe, should we go check?¡±


    He nudged the older man with a sly expression which made Caige¡¯s face slightly contorted.


    Apprehensively, Caige nced at Demacia and nodded.


    Back in the entrance hall of the Sauron Company.


    Caige, who hurriedly returned from the ve showroom, finally saw the elves Demacia had mentioned.


    The entrance hall was filled with over a dozen elven ves, with some appearing as if they were in their teens, while others in their twenties.


    Of course¡­if one were to factor in their ages inparison to an elf¡¯s lifespan, it would likely mean that these elves were not even two hundred years old.


    This was the prime age for elven ves to be sold!


    And what¡¯s more¡­ there were over a dozen of them as well!


    Caige¡¯s eyes flickered with a faintly amazed sparkle.


    All of these elves were obviously prepped in advance as they all wore gorgeous traditional elvish style of clothing, whilst they stood in ce quietly, disying exceptional manners.


    Upon the arrival of Caige, Demacia, and the others, these elves then respectfully and obediently bowed towards Demacia, uttering in unison:


    ¡°Master.¡±


    <em>¡­Master? </em>


    Caige¡¯s eyes for a moment bore a look of sheer astonishment.


    To address a human as their master with such respect, this grand show of obedience must be really difficult for these obstinate elves, given their inherent upbringing as a proud and lofty members of the Elvenkind.


    At this moment, the older man couldn¡¯t help but nce once more at Demacia. His previous scornful expression finally changed as it is now mixed with a tinge of recognition.


    The red-haired on the other hand, still wore a provocatively insolent look. He merely nodded at the grandiose manner he was greeted before arrogantly walking towards one of the guest seat in the hall and sat down unceremoniously.


    ¡°I¡¯m thirsty.¡±


    He nonchntly muttered as he shook his head.


    Immediately, two elves approached and served him a cup of coffee.


    ¡°My shoulders are a bit sore.¡±


    Demacia smirked and another pair of elves hurriedly came behind him, massaging his shoulders.


    ¡°My shoes are a bit dirty.¡±


    Demacia shifted his gaze towards his shoes, and as if on cue, another pair of elves approached him, half-kneeling, andmenced cleaning his footwear.


    ¡°Okay¡­now I feel like eating some fruit.¡±


    Demacia looked at the fruit basket on the table as another elf came up to him, peeled the fruit, and then gently stuffed it into his mouth.


    Demacia¡¯s expression then became more triumphant and unrestrained as he observed all the elves serving him.


    ¡°Everyone, recite these words, ¡®We are dogs raised by Lord Demacia.¡¯ ¡°


    Silence.


    Other yers: ¡°¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, every actions of the elves serving him came to an abrupt halt. What¡¯s more, the air¡­ became strangely heavy and somewhat eerie.


    Demacia, as if sensing the brewing trouble, hastily typed in the chat group:


    ? Dear everyone, esteemed seniors! I am the dog! I am your ever loyal dog! Just please bear with me this time¡­It¡¯s all part of the questline! I¡¯ll make it up to everyer on and treat you all to a barbecue once we¡¯re back in the Chosen City¡­¡±


    After a brief stiffness, the elves disyed radiant smiles as they stated in unison,


    ¡°We¡­ are dogs raised by Lord Demacia.¡±


    However, despite their outwardly bright demeanor, a slightly resentful undertone was intermixed within their voices.


    Nevertheless, at this critical moment, fortunately, Caige seemed not to have caught onto it.


    Demacia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.


    Then, he looked at the older man with an even more triumphant expression:


    ¡°How about that?¡±


    On the other side¡­


    Both Caige and Li Mu showed looks of utter bewilderment.


    <em>Eternal Lord above!</em>


    <em>How were these elves trained?</em>


    Watching these elven ves show obedience like this, Caige felt his worldview copsing.


    Seeing their dumbfounded reactions, Demacia felt even more emboldened.


    He confidently grabbed an elf¡¯s hand, causing the yer to shiver involuntarily, but still managing to put on a smiling cramped face.


    Then, Demacia pointed at the yer¡¯s hand and face.


    ¡°Mr. Caige, see this? This is what¡¯s considered a true elven ves! Meanwhile, the elves you have over there, even the ones you¡¯re so proud of in the innermost chambers, are they even receiving proper skin care maintenance? Clearly they can¡¯t match the quality of my elves. Just look at these¡­ their skin is as tender as a baby¡¯s!¡±


    Li Mu rolled his eyes.


    <em>Well of course, it¡¯s like a baby! After all, our bodies willpletely rejuvenate after reviving and practically everyone engages in death-seeking behavior on a daily basis. So even though the penalties for resurrection are much higher now, it¡¯s stillmon for us to have a mishap every ten days or so.</em>


    <em>So this so called skin care ¡®maintenance¡¯ is just us constantly dying,</em> <em>isn¡¯t it? </em>


    ¡°And¡­ look at their appearance, look at their figures. Aren¡¯t they quite exquisite? Definitely much better than what you have, right? My elves clearly have far more outstanding looks even amongst their kind!¡±


    Demacia proudly dered.


    Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but secretly gripe once again.


    <em>Yeah, no kidding! I mean, unlike the ordinary elves, we¡¯re given freedom to thoroughly customize our avatars¡¯ appearance when we started the game, so it¡¯s no wond</em>er <em>everyone looks so stunning¡­.</em>


    ¡°And¡­ they are quite obedient and adaptable as well.¡±


    Demacia smiled faintly, before nodding to a pair of elves.


    ¡°You two, go give Mr. Caige here a shoulder massage.¡±


    Immediately, the two elves that was ordered positioned themselves at the older man¡¯s back as they began massaging his shoulders.


    Caige : ¡°¡­!¡±


    The older man couldn¡¯t help but widened his eyes as their hands expertly stroked his back, whilst a refreshing sensation coursing through him, both physically and mentally.


    Watching the two familiar figures, Li Mu¡¯s mouth involuntarily twitched as he resisted the urge to facepalmed himself.


    <em>Aren¡¯t these two, members of our guild who do blind massages? Did Demacia also rope them in his scams too?</em>


    After they were done, Demacia looked at Caige with great satisfaction.


    ¡°So how about it? Aren¡¯t they much better than your elves?¡±


    By now, Caige was thoroughly shocked.


    ¡°H-How¡­How did you manage this?¡±


    Questioned the older man, as his face disyed clear looks of astonishment.


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s a unique training method! Something you won¡¯t ever learn.¡±


    Demacia shook his head.


    Looking at these high-quality fully obedient elves, Caige was indeed thoroughly impressed. However, despite how exceptional these elves are, one matter still bothered him and Caige couldn¡¯t help but asked in a skeptical tone¡ª


    ¡°¡ªBut¡­why are all your elves male?¡±


    ¡°Cough! cough, cough¡­¡±


    Demacia inadvertently spew out the coffee from his cup as he erratically replied, ¡°¡­A-Aren¡¯t male elves better anyway?¡±


    His eyes then roamed aimlessly for a moment, as if he were in a dilemma, before it sparked back again with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Uh¡­t-that¡¯s right! It¡¯s precisely because they are male that they are better!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Caige, think about it. Didn¡¯t male elves usually resist being enved more fiercelypared to their female counterparts? So these fully obedient male elves are way more precious and rarer than any female elves!¡±


    ¡°Moreover¡­ not only that, but their looks are much better than the female elves you currently have! Besides¡­doesn¡¯t some nobles also fancy some male elves as well?¡±


    Demacia winked at Caige.


    Of course, the real reason there weren¡¯t any females at all was that he couldn¡¯t attract any willing yers of the opposite gender to join his schemes.


    After hearing Demacia¡¯s words, Caige¡¯s thoughts stirred as he mulled over it.


    <em>Now that I think more about it¡­ </em>


    <em>There¡¯s some truth to it! </em>


    Compared to female elves, males are more challenging to deal with and ve hunters oftentimes ended up exterminating these male elves since most of them preferred dying while fighting over being captured.


    Moreover, from the perspective of breeding half-elves, theoretically speaking, male elves would have an advantage over female elves¡­


    s, no ver have ever tried to do so because they couldn¡¯t find any obedient male elves willing to do the deed!


    But¡­these fully obedient male elves were entirely different.


    If he could somehow, acquire some of these male elves then he could in theory, build himself a sustainable helf-elves breeding farm!


    These past recent years, elves are getting more and more scarcer and harder to hunt especially in the wild, plus there¡¯s really not a stable supply of them that could fill in the huge demand in the market.


    Therefore, if he could somehow sessfully establish a breeding farm, then his position within thepany and Sauron Household would undoubtedly rise like never before since he could theoretically procure himself a constant supply of elves unlike most of hispetitors!


    For a moment, Caige considered the possibilities and found himself genuinely intrigued by the idea.


    ¡°¡­State your price.¡±


    The older man said in a feigned casual manner.


    Demacia lips curled into a cheshire grin.


    ¡°We don¡¯t want money.¡±


    He shook his head first.


    Caige narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Not interested in money?¡±


    Demacia chuckled.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we aren¡¯t. Instead, we¡¯re willing to exchange all these male elves for all the elven ves in your esteemedpany!¡±


    Hearing this, Caige was momentarily stunned, before sporting a cynical smirk.


    ¡°Mr. Demacia, do you take me for a fool?¡±


    ¡°You just said you could train any elves like a fully obedient ves. Are you perhaps also going to train our elves before selling them at a higher price at the uing auction? If so, then aren¡¯t I eventually going to lose in this deal?¡±


    Demacia adamantly shook his head in response.


    ¡°That might be so, but the problem is, you still won¡¯t be able to train them like I do, nor will you ever learn of my taming methods, Mr. Caige. Because my method demands talent and other specific conditions,¡± the red-haired replied before continuing,


    ¡°Additionally, the elders in my household also won¡¯t let our taming methods leak out to any outside groups. Mr. Caige, believe me, our elders are truly formidable; not even yourpany could afford to provoke them, even if you have a legendary expert.¡±


    <em>Elders that couldn¡¯t be provoked? And he¡¯s telling me that his household aren¡¯t even afraid of a legendary expert?</em>


    Caige looked at him with some suspicion.


    ¡°And¡­as I stated before, the quality of your elves is inherently inferior to ours!¡± Demacia reiterated with emphasis.


    Caige fell silent.


    ¡°Does your taming methods¡­ have any negative effects?¡±


    After a moment, the older man asked again.


    Demaciaughed.


    ¡°You still think it¡¯s not possible? They genuinely consider themselves ves, with no negative effects whatsoever.¡±


    After saying that, he gestured towards the male elf he was holding.


    The yer nodded quickly:


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we are ves!¡±


    For a moment, Caige was even more astonished. He stayed silent for a moment, as though contemting hard onto something, until the older man adopted a determined expression.


    ¡°Fine, we have a deal! But after we exchanged our elves, you¡¯re not allowed to sell them within the empire, and you certainly can¡¯t participate in the uing auction. You can only sell them back in the Kingdom of Aries.¡±


    Caige added these conditions to prevent the other party from taming these elves as well, and then selling them at the auction.


    Demacia smiled slightly.


    ¡°No problem!¡±


    Seeing this, Caige was reluctantly satisfied.


    Although he knew the other party wouldn¡¯t be at a loss, if he could manage these male elves well, then these batch of fully obedient male elves would be the foundation of his eventual sess in the future.


    And at this moment, Demacia smiled yet again:


    ¡°Lord Caige.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re willing but we have another business that might interest you¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Demacia called some other yers and took out the Lionheart Sword¡­


    ¡ª <strong>278</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ISN¡¯T MALES BETTER ANYWAY? </strong>¡¿


    <strong> NEXT </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 279

    ¡°This is¡­ a divine artifact!¡±


    Caige¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the Lionheart Sword.


    As the acting branch head of Sauron Company, he has developed a keen sense of appraising various items over the years.


    Through his rich experience of daily exposure to preciousmodities, Caige swiftly identifies the value and extraordinary power infused within this sword with just a mere nce.


    ¡°Exactly! This is a divine artifact!¡±


    Demacia boasted with pride.


    ¡°It¡¯s a heirloom from our household collection, secured from the Orcs by one of our Elders. We call it the Lionheart Sword.¡±


    ¡°Lionheart Sword? The one symbolizing the orcish royalty, the Lionheart Sword? You actually snatched it from them?¡±


    Caige couldn¡¯t help but exim in wonder.


    Despite the orcs not being a particrly powerful race, they still held some semnce of influence, as their kind is backed by a true god.


    ¡°Cough, it¡¯s precisely because we snatched it from the Orcs that we need to sell it discreetly!¡±


    Demacia winked in an alluding manner.


    Cage nced at him in surprise and suddenly realized what¡¯s he¡¯s hinting at.


    ¡°¡­So you want to sell it to us?¡±


    ¡°Otherwise?¡±


    Demacia said leisurely.


    This deal definitely piqued Caige¡¯s interest.


    A divine artifact!


    Even though the Lionheart¡¯s level wasn¡¯t particrly high, it was still a genuine divine artifact with significant symbolic value!


    This is after all, the royal sword of the orcs!


    In an instant, Caige devised a n for what he could do next.


    That is to acquire this weapon first, then sell it back to the orcs at a much higher price! Fortunately for him, the Sauron Company had priormercial dealings with the Orcs in the past.


    This way, he would not only sell a favor to the Orcs by returning their prized sword but also make a small profit for himself as well!


    ¡°Name your price.¡±


    Caige dered boldly.


    Demacia grinned.


    ¡°Hehe, simrly, we won¡¯t ask for money this time too.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you want then?¡±


    Caige narrowed his eyes slightly.


    Demacia grinned again, before getting straight to the point.


    ¡°Do you have any spatial storing tools?¡±


    ¡°Spatial tools?¡±


    Caige was momentarily puzzled, then nodded.


    ¡°We do have quite a few, but what¡­ are you nning to  trade for these spatial tool?¡±


    ¡°Really? You actually have some?¡±


    Demacia looked pleasantly surprised but quicklyposed himself.


    ¡°Yes, we n to purchase more goods during our stay in the empire. However, our portable spatial equipment is quite limited, so we want to get some more. Well¡­how about it? How much can we get for this Lionheart Sword in exchange for some spatial storing equipment?¡±


    ¡°How much, you say?¡±


    Caige gave Demacia a strange look, before shaking his head.


    ¡°Mr. Demacia, it seems you don¡¯t understand the market value for spatial goods. While the Lionheart Sword you¡¯re offering is a divine artifact, it¡¯s only a silver-ss equipment. Even if it is the orcish royal sword, its value is not adequate enough to be exchanged for a premium spatial tools¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, this evaluation is only inparison to spatial equipment, as spatial tools can only be crafted by high-level mages! Therefore, you won¡¯t receive any high-quality spatial equipment in exchange for your Lionheart Sword.¡±


    Caige borated.


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±


    Demacia looked somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°s, my evaluation is solely based on ourpany¡¯s standards. Even the lowest-quality spatial equipment within ourpany is considered high-end items by otherpanies!¡±


    Caige added confidently.


    Demacia¡¯s heart stirred:


    ¡°Then¡­what can we get in exchange for this sword?¡±


    Caige pondered for a moment.


    ¡°While high-quality spatial items are beyond your reach, if you¡¯re willing to exchange this sword for a single item, then I can get you a lower-quality spatial tool with a storage capacity of ten cubic meters. Of course, if a single item isn¡¯t sufficient enough for you, then I can get you more, but they¡¯ll be of the lowest quality.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the storage capacity of the lowest-quality spatial tool you have?¡± Demacia inquired.


    ¡°Merely one cubic meter, and I have approximately eight of them. However, I believe that size might be too restrictive for your needs,¡±


    Caige shook his head.


    Demacia¡¯s smile became more amiable upon hearing this revtion.


    ¡°Um¡­ Can I see what your spatial tools looks like?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d like to visit your warehouse topare before making a decision. Also, if there¡¯s anything else we fancy as well, then we¡¯d like to make additional purchases,¡± Demacia added.


    Upon hearing this, Caige nced at Li Mu and this ck-haired nobleman only nodded in response.


    After some hesitation, Caige said,


    ¡°Thene with me.¡±


    After saying that, he led the two out of the entrance hall and head towards the warehouse located at the backyard of thepany¡¯spound.


    A brief moment passed, and as soon as theyid eyes on the warehouse, the two immediately sensed several extremely powerful auras lurking within the vicinity.


    Based on their estimates, these experts possessed Silver-ranked strength and most likely the guards that¡¯s tasked with safeguarding the Sauron Company¡¯s warehouses here in Maple Leaf City.


    Of course, with the background of Sauronpany, no one would be daring enough to provoke them, but it¡¯s always wise to have some guards, at least to deter any potential troublemakers.


    The two yers looked around for a few more times, before following Caige into the Sauronpany¡¯s warehouse.


    Once they were inside, the pair were immediately stunned by the dazzling array of goods that greeted them.


    The warehouse is divided into over a dozen rows of shelves, filled to the brim with a myriad ofmodities such as magical tools, equipment, scrolls, potions, special materials, and so much more, in abundance.


    ¡°Well, damn! You sure have so many things in here!¡±


    Demacia eximed as he sighed slightly with awe.


    ¡°Of course! We are after all, the Sauronpany!¡±


    Caige boasted with a proud demeanor.


    Demacia¡¯s eyes lit up as he quickly looked around and reached for a expense looking scroll on the shelf, which startled the older man.


    ¡°A high-level scrolls! There are high-level magic scrolls here!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t move it! Our deal will be over if you damage it!¡±


    However, Demacia ignored Caige as he inspected the scroll just like a kid that got a new toy.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine! I just want to touch it since I also happened to know a bit about magic. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t mess it up! I¡¯m just curious!¡±


    After saying that, he touched the scroll while marveling:


    ¡°Such exquisite workmanship, such delicate patterns¡­Truly worthy of the legendary Sauronpany. You guys have so many scrolls!¡±


    Upon hearing Demacia¡¯s praise, Caige¡¯s expression also eased up a bit. He stared at Demacia, feeling relieved when he saw that the attendant only touched the scroll for a while before reluctantly putting it down.


    However, much to his dismay, Demacia¡¯s antics didn¡¯t stop there.


    After touching the first scroll, he reached for yet another advanced magic scroll and did the same.


    ¡°Oh! This one is good too! It¡¯s even a rare spatial teleportation magic! The foundation of your Sauronpany truly is really profound!¡±


    ¡°Stop touching these things ande take a look at the spatial tools you wanted.¡±


    Caige looked at him helplessly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just touch it for a bit more. Lord Caige, you might not know this but, I have this habit of touching and ying with precious things whenever Ie across them. Hope you can understand and indulge this little whim of mine.¡±


    After saying that, he also purposefully winked at Li Mu.


    ¡°Lord Li Mu, you alsoe and touch it. The feel of these scrolls is truly amazing.¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ? What are you up to?


    Li Mu send in the chatroom.


    ? Quick! Bind these items to yourself bro! These are all precious goods we cannot easily find anywhere! Later on, every item that we sessfully bound will be ours!


    Demacia excitedly replied.


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ? Well I¡¯ll be damned¡­You do really have a talent for this!


    Soon, Caige was left dumbfounded as he witnessed the usually silent ck-haired nobleman, who had always been courteous, also began acting simr just like his red-haired attendant.


    ¡°This scroll also feels amazing! As expected of a high-quality item!¡±


    ¡°This equipment is not bad either! It¡¯s actually a silver-grade superior magical equipment!! Huh? There¡¯s even a special properties imbued onto it!¡±


    ¡°Really? Let me touch it!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Look, there¡¯s magical stones in this shelf! I heard others say that this is the material needed for crafting artifacts! And not just the ordinary but real higher ss of artifacts at that!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Is this a dragon scale? It¡¯s colored red and muchrger than the one at our ce. Looks like it came from an adult red dragon.¡±


    ¡°These dragon scales aren¡¯t interesting, so don¡¯t bother ¡®touching¡¯ them.¡±


    ¡°This potion looks good too! It can instantly restore mana without negative effects!¡±


    ¡°Haha, I even found a magic potion form! Too bad, the box is sealed and we can¡¯t open it to see what¡¯s inside. Anyway, let¡¯s just touch the box for now.¡±


    The two of them marveled and eximed as they touched lots of different items on the shelves.


    Caige was left utterly astonished as he dumbly watched the two young nobles going crazy touching everything they found interesting in the warehouse.


    Nevertheless, as he take a closer look, Caige found that the two of them had indeed just touched the goods and didn¡¯t do anything out of the ordinary.


    In the end, he was only left utterly speechless as he silently observed their wholly unrefined behavior.


    It was only after the two had thoroughly touched almost half of the warehouse goods did they finally stop.


    ¡°Have you two touched enough goods now?¡±


    Watching the pair, Caige couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes.


    ¡°Ah¡­can¡¯t ¡®touch¡¯ anymore, since we still need to save it for the spatial tools.¡±


    Demacia sighed regretfully.


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    What a mess.


    These two are certainly among the strangest customers he had ever met!


    Their behavior just nowcked the dignity of nobility!


    Normally speaking, he would have already chased them off away if it weren¡¯t for the mere fact that they havee to hispany with a huge business transaction.


    Caige shook his head and then took out an exquisite wooden box containing several spatial rings, quietly resting inside.


    ¡°These are all the spatial rings in our branch¡¯s inventory. Take a look and choose the one you like. I¡¯ll then tell you the specific prices of it.¡±


    Caige said indifferently.


    Demacia eagerly took the wooden box.


    ¡°Let me touch it first! We¡¯ll inspect and see whichever feels good, then we¡¯ll pick that one!¡±


    He stated with a hint of impatience in his tone.


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>279</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾  CAN I TOUCH YOUR ITEMS ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 280

    Just like before, Demacia meticulously touched each ring in the wooden box but eventually he picked the one with thergest storage space capacity and reluctantly returned the rest.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take this one.¡±


    Caige who had been waiting impatiently at his side for a long time finally sighed with relief as he handed the storage ring selected by Demacia and carefully stored the rest.


    In fact, the value of these rings alone ounts for nearly half of thebined worth of the goods stored within the warehouse.


    After receiving his chosen ring, Demacia generously handed the Lionheart Sword to Caige amidst his delight.


    Of course, he also didn¡¯t forget their prior deal regarding the exchange of elves.


    ¡°Lord Caige, just as we agreed on, we¡¯ll entrust the elves we¡¯ve trained into your care. In exchange, we expect you to hand us all the elves and half-elves currently under yourpany¡¯s ownership.¡±


    Caige nodded repeatedly.


    ¡°Naturally of course, that¡¯s only fair.¡±


    However, the older man soon frowned slightly.


    ¡°¡­Half-elves?¡±


    ¡°Come on, Lord Caige, the quality of your elves is honestly not that high. How about throwing them in as a bonus for us?¡±


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, take them all. But leave Maple Leaf City as soon as possible once you have them, and you are not allowed to trade with anyone else, let alone sell elves and half-elves!¡±


    After a moment of thought,  Demacia and Li Mu readily agreed.


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    With the business deal finally done, their next course of action is to make a hasty exit, as only a fool would linger in Maple Leaf City after engaging in such audacious schemes.


    Of course, even if they stayed, the elves under their protection have to be transported out of the city safely first at the very least.


    After all, the Soren Company had a significant influence within Maple Leaf City and it would be disastrous if they were exposed.


    ¡°Well then, we have a total of 27 elves and 15 half-elves. How do you n to take them away?¡±


    Caige asked with a smirk.


    ¡°We have our caravan¡¯s carriages outside. Just tie them up and hand them over to us,¡± Li Mu replied.


    The two parties quickly reached an agreement and even signed a blood contract before proceeding with the deal.


    Viting the terms would result in the offending party forfeiting their life, which is amon practice within many ckmarket transactions in Saig¨¹es, as it is verymon for gangsters to take advantage of others.


    Only a blood contract like these that oozing with malevolent and ruthless energy can make people feel at ease¡­


    Seeing Li Mu and Demacia signing the contract without hesitation, Caige inwardly felt relieved.


    After all, a blood contract was nearly foolproof and almost no one would ever dare gamble with their own life.


    However, unbeknownst to the two youngsters, Caige also made some slight adjustments to the contract.


    As the one who had written the contract, Caige had deliberately made the terms really vague.


    If one were to carefully inspect the terms, they would find that it is cleverly worded, and the blood contract would be null and void once the auction concludes.


    In reality, Caige has already decided on a new n. In his mind, he not only wanted these dozen male elves they exchanged, but he also wants to reim the other elves and half-elves as well.


    Maple Leaf City is not like the Kingdom of Aries in the south.


    These young nobles didn¡¯t enter the city through any conventional means. Under such circumstances, it is quite normal for them to experience something ¡®unexpected¡¯ right?


    Nheless, he still needs to be cautious.


    To ensure this, he allotted himself a few days to monitor their caravan.


    Throughout this period, he would closely observe them until he was confident enough they harbored no hidden methods that may endanger him, then execute his n when they finally leave Maple Leaf City.


    Thinking about this, Caige¡¯s gaze toward Demacia and Li Mu became friendlier.


    The two of them were also in high spirits.


    Both sides had their own hidden agendas but sessfullypleted what seemed like a profitable deal for each of them.


    After everything was done, Li Mu and Demacia  finally bid farewell to the older man and swiftly departed.


    Demacia couldn¡¯t contain hisughter after their carriage that¡¯s now filled with elves and half-elves finally vanished from the Sauronpany¡¯s sight.


    ¡°Hahaha! Brother Mu! Bro! We hit the jackpot!¡±


    Simrly, Li Mu¡¯s smile was also continuous.


    However, he quickly suppressed it and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t sessfullypleted the quest yet since we still need to deliver these NPCs back safely.¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right! We still have toplete the quest! With the things we got today, we¡¯ll definitely be making a lot of fortune for ourselves!¡± Demacia proudly dered.


    ¡°Then, we have to ensure the questpletion at all cost! This equipment binding that you found¡­ is definitely a bug. What if it gets patch? Besides, do you still care about your reputation score?¡±


    Li Mu red at Demacia.


    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re right.¡±


    Demacia said awkwardly.


    However, as he spoke, he showed a bit of regretful expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity I don¡¯t have enough contribution points in my ount. Otherwise, I would havepletely emptied that warehouse today.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s just be content that we¡¯ve already gained a lot. If you think about it, we can just go borrow some contribution points from other yers and repeat the process in a different ckpany instead.¡±


    Li Mu teased.


    After saying that, he seemed to be considering something:


    ¡°Actually, I inquired about it prior to our arrival, and Maple Leaf City stands as the central trade hub within the southwestern region of the Empire. Surely, numerous ckpanies thrive here, each one remarkably wealthy just like Sauron.¡±


    Demacia¡¯s eyes immediately lit up after hearing Li Mu¡¯s words.


    ¡°We can do this! Striking against these ckpanies is definitely our responsibility as the Chosen Ones!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Li Mu finished speaking and looked back cautiously:


    ¡°These ckpanies, despite their willingness to trade, might have some hidden tricks up their sleeves. Let¡¯s be careful not to capsize in a gutter.¡±


    His eyes shed then added,


    ¡°I¡¯ll contact Little Salty Cat.¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly, she and HootyBird intentionally left behind a teleportation array near the town of Riverwood while also bringing along materials for a sub-array. Let¡¯s ask them to set up a sub-array to directly teleport the NPCs we¡¯ve rescued.¡±


    ¡°Damn! Brother Mu, your idea is great! Let¡¯s teleport the elves first, and then we can continue to have some more fun! let¡¯s also ask Salty Cat to lend us some contribution points!¡±


    Demacia¡¯s eyes brightened.


    The two of them acted promptly and quickly contacted Little Salty Cat, who was currently exploring in the civilian area and gathering information about the ruins.


    Hearing the two as they inquired about the teleportation array, Little Salty Cat showed a look of confusion as she asked,


    ¡°The teleportation array? We left that one for emergency purposes only. Why do you want to use it now?¡±


    Li Mu cleared his throat and recounted everything they had just experienced.


    ¡°Cough, in fact¡­ we just triggered a hidden quest and saved dozens of elves¡­¡±


    Although he and Little Salty Cat were from different guilds, they are also good friends in the game and thus, as fellow gaming buddies, he¡¯s naturally inclined to share joys and sorrows towards this petite girl.


    Li Mu wanted to tell her about the equipment binding bug they had just discovered.


    Of course, it was also just so that she would be more willing to lend them some contribution points in return¡­.


    Binding the items at the Sauron Company warehouse to themselves had already depleted all his contribution points.


    So¡­ he needed to borrow some more contribution points so that they could do the same thing once again.


    After listening to Li Mu¡¯s words, Little Salty Cat was stunned:


    ¡°Huh? ve exchange? Equipment binding Exploit? Can you really do that?¡±


    ¡°Shhh! Keep it quiet! We just discovered this bug. Besides us two, you¡¯re the only one who knows this exploit so far.¡±


    Li Mu replied with a hushed tone.


    ¡°Also¡­I want to borrow some contribution points from you¡­ It¡¯s not much, just lend me around fifty thousand CP. There are many ckpanies here in Maple Leaf City. We want to do some more before the devs finds out about this.¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well! Okay, let¡¯s meet at Civilian Area No. 45. I bought a house there. Originally, I nned to set up a secret teleportation array there.¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡­bought a house?¡±


    This time, Li Mu was the one left dumbfounded.


    Little Salty Cat smirked.


    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t be surprised. I bought it after selling some of Meryer¡¯s dragon scales. You might not know this, but apparently, dragon scales are valued goods highly sought by any local merchants!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Only you cane up with so many dragon scales! </em>


    In a sense, Little Salty Cat¡¯s rtionship with Meryer was also based on mary gains¡­


    He silentlyined within his heart.


    Soon, the two agreed on meeting at their intended location and immediately went into action.


    After her conversation with Li Mu, Little Salty Cat closed her chat and hurriedly searched for HootyBird, who was still inquiring about the information of the ruins in the distance, and excitedly said:


    ¡°Sis! Sister Birdy! Let¡¯s stop asking about the ruins for now and instead do something more fun! Brother Mu found a super interesting bug! Let¡¯s forget about the ruins for now and instead go make some cash in the ck market!¡±


    HootyBird raised one of her eyebrows as she gave her petitepanion a puzzled look.


    ¡°¡­Something more fun?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, hear me out! Mu Bro discovered a new bug. Let¡¯s keep it to ourselves for now and try out this new exploit for ourselves! It¡¯ll definitely be fun!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>280</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ KEEP IT LOW KEY KNOWING IT IS ENOUGH </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 281

    Sauron Trade Company.


    Caige felt pleased with himself whilst looking at the several obedient elves he just acquired at a high price.


    Now that he could observed them more closely, these elves are indeed quite an outstanding ves. Although it¡¯s somewhat regrettable that there are no female amongst them, their looks and level of obedience on the other handpensate for theck of it.


    Furthermore, with proper management, they might even sell better than female elves!


    Thinking about this, Caige¡¯s mood became even more delightful.


    After observing them for a while, he ordered the steward at his side.


    ¡°Bring them downstairs and ensure they are well taken care of.¡±


    The steward hesitated and asked, ¡°Should I put them in the ve room?¡±


    ¡°Of course, lock them up,¡± Caige rolled his eyes and added, ¡°We still have to be careful even if they¡¯re fully obedient.¡±


    The steward quickly gave a nod.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Caige changed his tone, ¡°Put them in the best ve room. Treat them well and don¡¯t hurt or touch them roughly; remember, they are our most valuable treasures!¡±


    Upon hearing this, the steward left to carry out the orders.


    Havingpleted all this, Caige was in a good mood for the rest of the day.


    He yed with the Lionheart Longsword then went back to his office as he handled somepany matters.


    Half a day had passed in a blink of an eye.


    Night had fallen.


    At this time, the spies he sent to watch Li Mu and Demacia¡¯s caravan had finally returned to report their findings.


    ¡°So, what have they been up to? Where are they now?¡±


    Caige asked his subordinates while enjoying a green apple.


    The spies briefly exchanged nces as they showed a slightly strange expressions.


    ¡°They¡­ drove their carriages to one of the courtyards in the civilian district.¡±


    ¡°A courtyard in the civilian district?¡±


    Caige was slightly stunned.


    ¡°Yes, I asked some residents around, and it seems that courtyard was bought by those southerners.¡±


    One of his subordinate replied.


    Caige nodded knowingly and ordered, ¡°Good. Continue to keep an eye on them.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The night passed quickly as Caige got up early for the next day.


    Last night, he vividly remembered dreaming of bing wealthy, obtaining Demacia¡¯s secret training methods, and making so many great achievements that the headquarters couldn¡¯t help but summon him back to their headquarters to promote him as thepany¡¯s new chairman.


    Feeling refreshed, Caige started the day with a great mood.


    He performed his morning routine, and as soon as he arrived at thepany, the old steward, who had already been waiting there for a while, swiftly came forward to greet him with a strange expression.


    ¡°Master Caige! Uh¡­ someone is here again, wanting to do business with us.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡±


    Caige was slightly surprised.


    After a moment, Caige decided to meet the new visitors in the entrance hall.


    Upon his arrival, he immediately noticed a small group of youngsters bearing yful smiles. Their appearance suggested that they were southern aristocrats, which is rather eerily simr to Li Mu¡¯s group from yesterday.


    Looking at these southern youngsters in front of him, Caige¡¯s expression changed slightly as he narrowed his eyes.


    This scene gave him a sense of deja vu¡­


    ¡°¡­Do you have something good to sell to us?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    These youngsters replied as they smiled ambiguously and then said with a mysterious tone,


    ¡°We have fully obedient elven ves, are you interested?¡±


    ¡°¡­Fully obedient elven ves?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Caige was stunned as a weird foreboding feeling started to form within him.


    ¡°Let me see the goods first.¡±


    He calmly said.


    The other party¡¯s expression brightened, and soon brought forth a group of elves with outstanding features.


    Afterwards, just like he predicted, they ordered the elves to perform variousmands that the ves obediently followed.


    However throughout the whole ordeal, Caige¡¯s expression remained rtively calm and only sported a wry smirk.


    Inwardly, he shook his head in slight amusement.


    This whole scene¡­.was just too familiar to him.


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    The youngsters asked nervously.


    Instead of immediately answering, Caige instead asked with a curious tone,  ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Demacia?¡±


    They were momentarily stunned, as their faces swiftly changed as if they¡¯ve eaten something sour.


    ¡°¡­Demacia?¡±


    ¡°He visited thispany already?¡±


    Caige nodded nonchntly.


    ¡°He did. We conducted a trade just yesterday, exchanging  elves.¡±


    Upon hearing this, he noticed the disappointment upon the faces of these southerners.


    ¡°Darn it! That punk has been here already!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­don¡¯t tell me¡ªIs this the Sauron Trade Company?¡±


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    The older man pointed to the sign outside thepany, looking perplexed.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the sign at the front before you entered?¡±


    But as he scrutinized them, his initial foreboding feeling turned into full-blown suspicion.


    <em>Was this group actually a part of the caravan from yesterday?</em>


    <em>And where did they get so many fully tamed elves?</em>


    <em>Wait¡­ did I incur a loss in yesterday¡¯s trade? Or was I tricked?</em>


    However, before Caige could even say anything, he noticed the youngsters took the elves and was about to leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s really is the Sauron Trade Company!¡±


    ¡°Ah goddammit¡­this ce¡¯s already been fleeced, let¡¯s go find another one guys.¡±


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°W-Wait¡­ I didn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t want your elves!¡±


    He hastily called out to them.


    However, in response they only gave him a pitying look whilst shaking their heads, and left without even giving him a second look.


    Caige was left utterly bewildered.


    ¡°¡­What the heck is this?¡±


    He wanted to ask about their connection with Demacia and how they obtained those elves, but just like that, they ran away as if his ce was cursed or something¡­


    Moreover, that pitying look they gave him before they left¡­


    <em>What was that all about?</em>


    Suddenly, Caige felt a bit irritated.


    This whole ordeal left him feeling as if something were off.


    <em>Could it be¡­ I really made a loss in yesterday¡¯s trade?</em>


    But¡­ no matter how much he thought about it, Caige felt like he should be the one profiting in that deal.


    Suddenly, a sh of insight hit Caige.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    ¡°How many of these tamed elves are there anyway? How many of these southerners have arrived in Maple Leaf City along with those two from yesterday?¡±


    Seemingly as if realizing something, Caige¡¯s expression changed as he stood up abruptly andmanded the steward:


    ¡°Hurry,e with me! We¡¯re going to inquire about this matter with the otherpanies!¡±


    The Sauron Trade Company¡¯s branch office resides in the heart of the ck market in Maple Leaf City, alongside numerous other well-known ckpanies.


    As a result, Caige naturally maintains connections with these otherpanies, having engaged in numerous dealings with them over the years.


    Soon, while being apanied by his steward, Caige arrived at the entrance of another ckpany that¡¯s situated right next to Sauron branch office.


    As soon as he arrived, he immediately saw several carriages speeding away, each bearing a familiar oriental serpent insignia etched upon them.


    Meanwhile, the president of this otherpany was happily standing at the entrance, witnessing the departing carriages while also appearing like someone who had sessfully closed a hugely profitable business deal.


    Caige¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he hastily approached the other party.


    ¡°Mr. Adolf! Good morning!¡±


    Adolf also spotted Caige:


    ¡°Oh, why, if it isn¡¯t Mr. Caige! Good morning to you as well!¡±


    Without hesitation, Caige went straight to the point:


    ¡°Mr. Adolf, just now¡­ did you make a deal with those people?¡±


    He pointed towards the gradually departing carriages.


    Adolf widely grinned.


    ¡°Hehehe, yeah we had a huge deal just earlier! Caige, our Golden Apple Trade Group is definitely going to surpass your Sauron Company in this uing auction!¡±


    Caige¡¯s expression shifted.


    ¡°¡­What did you trade?¡±


    Adolf wryly smiled but remained silent.


    With a cold snort, Caige said,


    ¡°¡­Was it fully obedient elves?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Adolf¡¯s smile froze, before showing a surprised expression:


    ¡°¡­How did you know?¡±


    Caige didn¡¯t exin but continued:


    ¡°What did you trade with them? Was it your entire stock of elves for their fully obedient ones?¡±


    Adolf was bewildered.


    ¡°¡­H-How?¡±


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t inquire further and hastily turned to leave.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next one¡­¡±


    Hemanded the steward with a grim expression.


    Soon, while being apanied by the old steward, Caige arrived at anotherpany.


    And there, they encountered an eerily simr situation.


    ¡°Hehehe! Those southern youngsters were so guible! I used a fake artifact to exchange for their fully tamed elf. Haha, indeed Mr. Caige I made a huge profit.¡±


    ¡°But¡­just like you said, they are too picky, rummaging through my warehouse and touching everything¡­I only tricked them with some difficulty.¡±


    Another ver spoke proudly.


    Caige: ¡°¡­¡±


    All throughout the day, Caige continued visiting onepany after another, and the more he asked his colleagues, the more shocked he became. Almost everypany in the ck market had received simr transactions just like he did¡­


    Some happenedst night, whilst some just this morning.


    Of course, the exchanged items ranged from fully tamed elves, simr to the ones he traded, to others exchanging equipment or items instead. Additionally, a very small number also traded for money.


    In short, those fully obedient elves that he got from yesterday all seemed to have suddenly be worthless in just a span of a day¡­


    And counting the total number acquired by these otherpanies, it added up to nearly fifty!


    What¡¯s even more frustrating was that there were quite a few female elves as well among those tamed elves that hispetitors acquired!


    <em>Great Eternal Lord Above! </em>


    <em>Where did so many fully tamed elvese from?!</em>


    <em>And¡­ why did hispetitors get females while I haven¡¯t?!</em>


    Caige¡¯s expression turned somewhat sinister.


    His first thought was ¡°this is bad¡± because it meant his future ideas involving these fully obedient elves was likely going to be ruined¡­


    With so many tamed elves entering the market, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to make a huge profit!


    Not to mention¡­ hispetitors now also have females!


    Nheless, despite all this, he still managed to maintain some semnce ofposure.


    At least¡­due to him being cautious, he had signed a blood contract and left himself a backdoor.


    However, hisposure soon turned into apprehension upon learning another piece of shocking news:


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°One of the fully tamed elves bought by others¡­mitted suicide?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>281</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ AN ELF COMMITED SUICIDE? </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 282

    A female elfmitted suicide.


    It is said that after the ve trader bought her, the person wanted to use her as a maid, while expecting some personal enjoyment as well. However, the initially fully obedient female elf instead of obeying themand unexpectedlymitted suicide on the spot.


    Not only that, but after the female elf¡¯s death, something bizarre also happened. That is¡­it was discovered that nearly one-third of the goods stored within theirpany¡¯s warehouse have somehow also mysteriously disappeared not long after the incident.


    Moreover, everything that vanished was the most preciousmodities of thepany alongside the elf¡¯s dead body for which had alsopletely disintegrated into particles of light.


    Hearing this, Caige¡¯s unease grew more stronger.


    ¡°Their goods had vanished not long after the body of the deceased elf disappeared?¡±


    He looked at his subordinate who delivered this news with astonishment.


    The disappearance of bodies, whether they are alive or dead bes a real question¡­


    For a moment, Caige became increasingly uneasy as if he suddenly understood everything.


    Why, this suicide incident¡­really sounds like some kind of escape n!


    The subordinate in charge of gathering information hesitated for a moment and added,


    ¡°Indeed¡­and it is said that all the items that have vanished were the ones the original seller of the dead elf had touched beforehand¡­¡±


    ¡°Touched? Everything touched by those who sold the tamed elves have disappeared?¡±


    Caige was momentarily stunned.


    Suddenly, he thought of something as his expression changed drastically:


    ¡°Oh no!¡±


    ¡°Quick! To the ve room! N-No! To the warehouse!¡±


    Caige showed panic to the point where he didn¡¯t even bothered to properly maintain his decorum. In his panic-stricken haste, Caige unceremoniously jumped off his chair, twisting his obese body like the wind, and rushed towards thepany warehouse while fully drenched in sweat.


    s, when Caige opened the warehouse door, what he feared the most actually happened¡­


    The once full warehouse was now almost emptied, particrly the shelves that once hold their most expensive items. Instead, they were nowpletely barren, with not even a single trace of hair left behind!


    Caige dumbfoundedly stared at the rows of empty shelves as his gaze gradually became dull and vacant.


    ¡°G-Gone! All gone!¡±


    Their most precious potions within thepany had disappeared¡­alongside boxes containing magic potion recipe books, valuable metals and expensive equipment¡­all gone!


    <em>D-Don¡¯t tell me those things also¡ª! </em>


    Caige then widened his eyes in utmost horror as he scrambled to his feet and dashed towards a section of the warehouse.


    <em>I-It¡¯s not here! </em>


    A profound feeling of dread engulfed him as the box containing the spatial rings, just as he had predicted, nowy empty with not a single one left for him.


    Seeing this unbelievable scene resembling a grand robbery, strength left Caige as his body plopped down onto the floor as if his strings had been cut.


    <em>It¡¯s over.</em>


    He¡¯s ruined¡­


    He¡¯s really done for this time!


    Based on his rough estimates, he judged that probably more than seventy percent of the valuable items stored within the warehouse have vanished!


    <em>Those were worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins!</em>


    These goods were thebined assets of thepany and the household, and he totally wouldn¡¯t be able to cover the cost of these lost items if the higher-ups ordered him to bear the expense since this incident happened under his watch!


    Now, not only is his position within thepany was in jeopardy, but he might also have to face the wrath from his superiors¡­


    Thinking of this, Caige¡¯s heart turned icy.


    After a moment, he gritted his teeth and let out a roar, as his voice intermixed with fury and despair resonated across the immediate surroundings.


    ¡°Demacia!!¡±


    At the same time, the old steward hurriedly ran in from the outside, sweating profusely.


    Pale-faced, the steward shouted,


    ¡°M-Master, Master Caige! This is bad! Those elves we got from yesterday¡­allmitted suicide!¡±


    <em>Su¡­suicide¡­</em>


    <em>Did they reallymit suicide?!</em>


    <em>They¡­really nned this all along?</em>


    <em>Was he really¡­scammed?</em>


    Caige widened his eyes in sheer disbelief.


    In an instant, he felt a sharp pain in his heart and couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears:


    ¡°Those are the elves we obtained after exchanging all our ve collections! We lost dozens of elves for nothing! My hard-earned savings! Fuck I haven¡¯t even touched them myself!¡±


    While crying, Caige was assaulted by a dizzying sensation and inadvertently passed out.


    ¡ª January 23, 1067, in the Eternal Era.


    This exact day will be remembered for all eternity by everypanies that operates within the ckmarket and every ve trader within  Maple Leaf City as the day wherein all of them would suffer an unprecedented scheme like never before.


    To think that only a day prior, everyone was thoroughly excited about the sudden influx of good business, but in just a blink of an eye, everything took a different turn the following day!


    Warehouses full of expensive goods were emptied without remorse, and the elves the vers obtained in exchangemitted suicide one after another!


    The ripple effect of this entire massive scamming incident spread wide within the ckmarket as severalpanies went bankrupt not long afterwards¡­


    For a moment, the entire ck market district of Maple Leaf City echoed with rage-filled shouts and mournful wails as every ver who had been scammed scoured the entire city looking for those young southern nobles who had the sheer audacity to pull off this kind of widescale scheme.


    ¡°Those southern nobles are the problem! We must find them at all cost!¡±


    ¡°The elves they sold us are suspicious too! It¡¯s really weird since their bodies disappearedpletely after they died!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! Is every youngsters from the south this ruthless? Fuck, our warehouse had been fully emptied by them!¡±


    ¡°Kill them! We must kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Damned southern nobles! This group of despicable and shameless bastards!¡±


    ¡°I knew it! Those southerners from the Kingdom of Aries are no good! Shiet!¡±


    ¡°Just why did this happen? I clearly made sure that I signed a blood contract before our deal! I was assured because an evil god usually binds the souls of the written participants, but now you¡¯re telling me that even a blood contract like this is unreliable?¡±


    ¡°Hurry! They were sighted in No. 45 at the Civilian District! Just now, someone saw those southern nobles went inside that courtyard!¡±


    Every major ckmarketpanies and ve traders, furiously gathered as they all head towards thend property purchased by Little Salty Cat in Maple Leaf City¡­


    However, when they arrived, they only found that the small manor within the courtyard was already deserted with not even a single furniture inside, and the only thing that remained was the inactive teleportation array in the garden at the back¡­


    Elven Forest, the Chosen City.


    Not long after they received confirmation that every yers finally withdrew from Maple Leaf City, did Demacia and Li Mu finally chose to end their lives, before respawningter in the Chosen City.


    ¡°Hahaha! Brother Mu, we¡¯ve hit the jackpot! We really hit the jackpot this time!¡±


    Demaciaughed heartily whilst looking triumphant.


    Li Mu also raised the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°This expedition was truly worth it!¡±


    However, while theyughed merrily, Demacia showed a look of confusion.


    ¡°By the way, bro¡­ you only told Salty Cat about this bug, right? Howe it feels like in no time at all, the entire server suddenly knows about it? Almost all the two hundred yers that went into this expedition immediately began doing the same thing to the point that even that bastard Tomato also involved himself in this mess!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I specifically told her to keep it to herself, but I guess Salty Cat told HootyBird, and then thetter maybe told someone else. You know, a secret¡­ once a second person knows, is no longer a secret and all that.¡±


    Li Mu shook his head.


    Hearing this, Demacia wryly chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°Hah, women!¡±


    ¡°Well enough about that! Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore! This time we truly made a fortune; let¡¯s carefully go through what we brought back!¡±


    Shaking his head, Demacia began to inspect the items they brought back with them. However, when he actually looked around and check his inventory status, he couldn¡¯t help but be stunned at what he found¡­


    The items the was once listed as ¡®bound¡¯ in his inventory was now missing after they died and respawned.


    It was all empty.


    Except for the Lionheart sword lying at Demacia¡¯s feet¡­


    Demacia looked around utterly bewildered.


    ¡°¡­Where is our treasures?!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>282</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>WHERE IS OUR TREASURES? </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 283

    ¡°Where is it? Why is there nothing at all?¡±


    Surveying the barren square, Demacia¡¯s tion morphed into profound shock as subsequently, a wave of deep sorrow washed over him.


    ¡°Oh my god! None of the items we binded came back! My storage ring, my artifact materials! My heart hurts so much!¡±


    He sat down on the ground, howling like a ghost.


    It¡¯s a big loss.


    Except for the storage ring he traded using the Lionheart sword, none of the other bound items actually returned!


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes zed over as well, mirroring the same sense of bewilderment.


    His hands moved cautiously over his own body and as expected, found nothing beyond the equipment that were already bound to him before the scam was executed.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ have we encountered a game bug?¡± He murmured with a somewhat forlorn tone.


    The items they had bound didn¡¯te back in the end¡­


    Well¡­reality often works this way.


    Nheless, it¡¯s still disheartening when you unexpectedly find yourself unable to attain something you thought would be easily acquire.


    At this moment, the mood of the two yers plummeted from cloud nine to rock bottom.


    Suddenly, Li Mu thought of something else as his face changed hastily.


    ¡°Oh no! Our contribution points! Quick, check your ount!¡±


    After hearing his words, Demacia¡¯s face also turned green:


    ¡°Oh crap! Right! There¡¯s also our contribution points!¡±


    They had sacrificed over two hundred thousand contribution points just to bind those items! Furthermore, a good portion of it were borrowed from Little Salty Cat and they still need to pay it back.


    It would truly be heartbreaking if the contribution points that they used as capital was debited and also didn¡¯t came back just like the warehouse items!


    After all, a guy could only lost so much!


    Moreover, such a significant amount of contribution points could equate to tens of thousands in real world currency. If they were to lose that as well, then it might even lead to them thinking of quitting the game¡­


    However, after checking their ount, both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the six-digit figures written on it.


    ¡°Thank goodness, our contribution points returned back to its previous value¡­¡±n


    The contribution points they spent peacefully rested in their ounts. Not a bit more, not a bit less, as if they didn¡¯t performed the bound exploit in the first ce.


    ¡°How weird¡­so did the binding bug really fail? I clearly remember it was sessful before! The contribution points were also deducted too, right?¡±


    Demacia said in confusion.


    Seeing his once deducted contribution points return to its prior amount, Li Mu¡¯s face also eased a bit and replied,


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll ask the others.¡±


    However, the result was still the same.


    None of the other yers who performed the same exploit back at Maple Leaf City¡¯s ckmarket have sessfully brought back their bound goods as well.


    ¡°Ah¡­ it seems the binding exploit cannot be used in the end. The game system doesn¡¯t allow us to do this, so the contribution points we used were refunded instead.¡±


    Li Mu sighed with regret.


    ¡°But we still died once¡­so in the end, all of it was for nothing?¡± Demacia said gloomily.


    ¡°Yeah, we even suffered a loss.¡± Li Mu shook his head.


    Originally, they could have slowly made their way back alongside the NPCs they rescued and the yers who missed the opportunity to do the exploit, but they still chose to kill themselves to immediately return back to the chosen city.


    s, in doing so, they lost over thirty resurrection coins as fees for their revival¡­


    The two sighed helplessly.


    However, at this moment, Li Mu received a new message notification.


    He swiftly opened and looked at it as his expression gradually became strange.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Brother Mu? Who sent the message?¡±


    Demacia asked curiously.


    ¡°It¡¯s from a yer who went back to Maple Leaf City. After learning that the items they bind didn¡¯t sessfully transferred over, some people boldly begged HootyBird to reestablished the teleportation array and went back once more.¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re back?¡± Demacia was slightly stunned.


    ¡°Yeah, they did. And¡ª¡± At this point, Li Mu¡¯s face twisted into a peculiar expression, revealing a mix of emotions.


    ¡°Maple Leaf City¡­ is in chaos. The ve traders we scammed at the ck market are going crazy, and those items we bound haven¡¯t returned to their prior ce and have mysteriously disappeared.¡±


    ¡°What!? They mysteriously disappeared?¡± Demacia suddenly felt a bit hopeful, only to be swiftly reced by disappointment secondster as his expression sank once more.


    ¡°Even if the items do in fact disappeared, in the end, they still didn¡¯te back to us! So where did our treasures go?¡±


    Li Mu checked his ount bnce, pondered for a moment, and said with uncertainty,


    ¡°Indeed, they disappeared, but maybe¡­ it¡¯s really a game bug. After all, ElvKing is still in its beta-testing phase, and having bugs like this is pretty normal, so to speak¡­¡±


    He reasoned and then continued with a slightly humorous tone,


    ¡°Or perhaps the items, did in fact disappeared¡­ but the goddess somehow tricked us and intercepted them, right?¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    The two exchanged a nce, sighed helplessly once again.


    <em>Ah¡­</em>


    <em>What a heartache!</em>


    Within the Celestial Domain of the World Tree.


    ¡°Even though I had somewhat already expected them to cause amotion, I wasn¡¯t really expecting it to go down like this¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but feel both amused and exasperated as she surveyed the rows of disorganized equipment, potions, scrolls, and other various valuable materials that the yers had managed to acquire back in Maple Leaf City.


    ¡°The method they used is indeed too cheat-like, or should I say, as expected of yers of the fourth cataclysm!¡±


    The binding exploit was indeed sessful.


    However, they were all intercepted by Ev¨¦ during the transmission.


    Speaking of which¡­ she didn¡¯t expect that the equipment binding system she initially designed to prevent yers from losing their items would somehow be exploited like this.


    She really have tomend these cheeky rascals as they were indeed really good at finding loopholes to exploit.


    Of course, in the end, she still nedded to intervene since even though Elven Kingdom at its core isn¡¯t a game, letting them acquire these items would cause some problems in the long run.


    Logically speaking, the reputation system has given yers somewhat of a subconscious choice when tricking the NPCs. This time, the action was aimed at the vers at the ckmarket, which undermined the potential enemies of the elves, thereby somehow indirectly weakening them.


    However, this is a dangerous slope to tread on and¡­Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t intend to let them continue on like this.


    Or at the very least, not encourage it.


    ¡°Although on the surface, this whole incident may look quite beneficial but in hindsight, the ramifications of this exploit is too significant. Moreover, it would be too risky if they somehow identally bind an item with a mark of other mysterious entities and the other party discovered it¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ll put these things away for now. I¡¯ll treat this whole incident as a bug and just reimburse the contribution points they initially used afterward. After all, they¡¯ve still worked hard, and I¡¯ll give them credit for that. Also¡­ if a yer obtains an item through proper conventional means rather than exploiting the binding system, then I won¡¯t reim the items they¡¯ve got.¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered to herself.


    Of course¡­ this is only one of the reasons.


    Another reason is that she¡¯s worried that this binding bug will be exploited to a greater degree and everyone will just go to any NPCs to randomly bind items haphazardly, which may impact her future earnings from the exchange store.


    In addition, with the current level of the yers, it is too early and too luxurious to get these things rather easily.


    Although Elven Kingdom at its core is not a real game, Ev¨¦ still hopes for some semnce of bnce within it.


    Essentially, doing questlines, gradually leveling up and umting contribution points to exchange for resources is the right way to go!


    As for these items the yers have exploitedly obtained, she¡¯ll just give them a slight makeover and put them back in the exchange store¡¯s lottery prize pool.


    Of course, she¡¯ll also discreetly adjust the odds slightly in favor of the yers to whom the items was bound in the first ce.


    ¡ª<em>But not for Demacia.</em>


    Ev¨¦ still remembers her grudge towards that rascal.


    ¡°Also, in the future, let¡¯s add a condition for equipment binding. It must be done in my temple first or while within the vicinity of the World Tree.¡±


    She thought for a moment and said to herself.


    ¡°But¡­ this matter can be dyed for now as there are more important things to do at the moment.¡±


    With that, Ev¨¦ redirected her focus to the group of yers that¡¯s currently returning with the rescued elves and half-elves.


    On the other side, Li Mu who had just experienced a roller coaster of emotions, received another message.


    It was from Little Salty Cat.


    For a moment, his expression became serious once more after reading it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Brother Mu?¡±


    Seeing his grave expression, Demacia asked curiously.


    Li Mu took a deep breath, pulled out his staff, and said:


    ¡°Demacia.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Go get some help and find Meryer as well. We quickly need to support Little Salty Cat and the others who are still on their way back.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened to Salty Cat and the others?¡±


    ¡°The yers who went back to Maple Leaf City were discovered by the vers. Although they managed to escaped sessfully, the teleportation array they used to escape waspromised. Now¡­most of the ckmarket forces in Maple Leaf City are hunting down our returning forces that was escorting the elven NPCs.¡±


    ¡°Oh crap!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>283</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>THIS MUST BE A GAME BUG  ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 284

    On the southwestern border of Maple Leaf Territory, a convoy of individuals disguised as humans was escorting around a dozen fully-loaded horse-drawn carriages as they hurriedly rushed towards the direction of the Elven Forest.


    asionally along the way, some members would voluntarily leave the convoy as they draw their weapons and willingly take on the duty of protecting the rear of the caravan.


    These were the yers who had scammed the major ckmarketpanies back in Maple Leaf City.


    Apart from yers who were impatient andmitted suicide on the spot, there are nearly a hundred people currently escorting the rescued NPCs back to the Elven territory.


    Of course, this number is also gradually decreasing because the ck market vers who have discovered their whereabouts are relentlessly chasing after them from behind.


    Hence, the yers have to periodically assign someone to dy their pursuing enemies so that their caravan can continue to move forward with the rescued NPCs, akin to tin cans, in tow.


    At the forefront of the caravan.


    HootyBird nced at their current position within the mini-map, whilst slightly furrowing her brows.


    ¡°I thought we only agreed that you guys should teleport over and take a quick look? So howe you ended up luring all our enemies at our location?¡±


    Standing on the opposite side, Tomato was sporting a conflicted expression.


    It was actually him who ordered some members of the First Legion to go and check the situation back in Maple Leaf City. s, his people were immediately exposed the moment they returned, and as the acting Guildmaster of First Legion, he had to shoulder the me for this incident.


    Tomato remained silent for a moment as he replied with a frustrated tone,


    ¡°I emphasized to them and instructed my people to change their appearance before they went back. Moreover, as an added precaution, I even ordered them to teleport a familiar first to check if the opposite side of the array was safe.¡±


    ¡°But¡­those human NPCs are simply too cunning. Who knew they were secretlyying an ambush near the teleportation array all along? They even purposely let the familiar that went there in advance return without interfering with it to give us a false assumption that the courtyard was safe so that we would go back and be caught in the act¡­¡±


    After hearing his exnation, HootyBird sighed in helplessly.


    ¡°I see¡­sigh, we truly underestimated these NPCs.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, I¡¯ve already informed Li Mu and the others of our situation. I even asked them to quickly bring Meryer and A¨¦l over for support. Plus, after rescuing so many elves this time, maybe Zero and Alice will alsoe along too. As long as we hold on a bit, we¡¯ll definitely be able to return smoothly.¡±


    On the other side, Little Salty Cat encouraged everyone.


    Cbash whose sitting in front of the carriage while holding a whip and pretending to be a coachman, chimed in,


    ¡°Our main problem is that there are just too many people within our caravan, resulting in our travel speed being too slow as the horses are now hauling a heavier load. Guys, what if we let those elven NPCs run with us instead of keeping them stuck inside the carriage? It could lighten the load on the horses, making the carriages move more faster.¡±


    Little Salty Cat shook her head helplessly and replied,


    ¡°Hmm, that sounds good, but earning the trust of those captive NPCs might be tough since they¡¯repletely wary of us and think that we are ve traders.¡±


    ¡°So what? We¡¯ll just remove our disguises then turn back into elves and talk it out with them! I understand that we initially agreed to disguise ourselves as humans to keep our real identity hidden but that¡¯s unnecessary now!¡± Cbash reasoned but Little Salty Cat only shrugged her shoulders and let out a long sigh.


    ¡°If only it were that simple¡­I¡¯ve already tried it you know, but those NPCs just t out didn¡¯t believe that we¡¯re here to rescue them. Even after going back to my original appearance and bringing up the matter of the goddess, they still remained skeptical and just think that I was brainwashed and only following the orders of my southern ve masters¡­¡±


    Everyone was left speechless after hearing her words.


    It was a very awkward situation.


    Clearly, they were doing all this hardwork to rescue these elven NPCs, but these fellows just didn¡¯t believe in their real identity and even thought that they were tricking them!


    Of course, the yers also realized that the first impression they left upon these clueless NPCs was partly to me for their mistrust, but still!


    To strike a deal with the ckmarketpanies, the yers had to resort to either mischief or disguised themselves as ve traders during their transactions.


    At that time, their shameless behaviorpletely portrayed the actions of a shady merchants, not to mention their greedy appearance when touching the vers items.


    Throughout that entire time, what the yers had overlooked was that the captive elves also witnessed their behavior.


    And more importantly, there were captive elves who had also seen some yers demonstrate the capability to make an elf fully obedient just to gain the trust of the ve traders!


    Shameless actions like those carried out by Demacia were not entirely umon among the yers throughout this entire time!


    Some yers even went far and ordered some elves to be totally subservient, as they happily pretended to give massages and shoulder rubs just to gain the trust of the ve traders.


    Yes, we¡¯re talking about Demacia here, with that despicable appearance that even yers wanted to beat, let alone the native elves.


    It can be said that, in the pursuit of gaining the trust of the ve traders, the yers have insteadpletely disregarded the trust of the captive elves.


    After the yers rescued the elven NPCs and quickly loaded them into carriages without exining anything due to time constraints, the newly liberated elves convened for a discussion¡­.


    Their talks naturally revolved around their new owners, and as they pieced together the experiences of everyone, the yers¡¯ image became firmly etched within their minds.


    It can be said that the first impression the yers created was a group of southern ve traders who preyed upon and insulted the elves, reducing their fellow kind to helpless ythings devoid of will and dignity.


    After all, genuine elves would never behave submissively like that.


    In addition, despite the yers having gradually learned how to impersonate the elegance of an elf, the imperfections within their actions still became apparent when observed by genuine elves.


    No matter how well they pretended, they still couldn¡¯t appear authentic enough in front of true elves, let alone imitate the inherent lofty and aloof demeanor of the natives.


    Hence, no matter how much they insisted on their true identity or shed their disguises, these stubborn natives still ended up not believing them at all.


    After all, these captive elves have experienced various devious methods that the humans had employed to somehow trick them, which in turn made them extremely wary and suspicious.


    Thus, the yers¡¯ck of credibility, coupled with the natives¡¯ mistrust, eventually culminated into the current awkward situation wherein the yers despite revealing themselves as elves had no other way to further prove their real intentions and identity¡­


    They couldn¡¯t showcase the power of faith like the Saintess, nor could they wield the goddess¡¯s power like a Godwarden, and to further add insult into the injury, the rescued elves even regarded the yers that revealed themselves as elves as poor brainwashed brethren which frustrated many yers almost to the point of vomiting blood.


    Naturally, if they were given enough time to exin their side, the yers should be able to convince and gain the elves¡¯ recognition and understanding.


    s, the pursuing forces of the human vers were so quick to catch up to their trail, denying the yers the opportunity for an in-depth conversation with the captive elves to adequately rify the situation¡­


    Nheless, just when everyone within the convoy was feeling despondent, Boxlunch who had been silent all this time suddenly spoke:


    ¡°Untie them and give them weapons.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Untie and give weapons to whom?¡±


    ¡°The Captured Elves.¡±


    Tomato frowned.


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t really earned the trust of these native elves yet. Plus, we can¡¯t really untie them since they¡¯ll just instantly run away, and it usually takes a lot of effort to capture them back again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, our task is to send them back safely to the Elven Forest. How are we supposed toplete the quest if they run away?¡± One of the other yers chimed in.


    ¡°Besides, what if some of these natives decide to act recklessly and attack the ve traders that¡¯s pursuing us? The safety of these elven NPCs is one of the priorities of our quest!¡±


    Yet despite hearing their concerns, Boxlunch still reiterated:


    ¡°Untie and give them weapons.¡±


    However, after saying that, he also added:


    ¡°This is our chance to prove ourselves.¡±


    While Tomato was about to respond, Cbash finally figured out the meaning behind his team leader¡¯s words as his face lit up and eximed,


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s untie the native elves and give them weapons! Listen guys, since they don¡¯t believe that we are here to save them, then perhaps seeing us protecting them with our lives on the line should convinced them, right?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>284</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>THE UNTRUSTWORTHY PLAYERS ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 285

    Inside one of the carriages, the elves bound by anti-magic ropes conversed in hushed tones.


    ¡°Mdy Selena.¡±


    The elves surrounding the golden-haired elf, who outwardly resembled a human around twenty years of age, regarded her with looks of apprehension.


    ¡°Mdy, where do these ve traders intend to take us?¡±


    Selena hesitated for a moment before shaking her head in a vague manner.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, perhaps¡­the Kingdom of Aries in the south. I saw themmunicating with the merchants before, and they seemed to be southern aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°But, they said they¡¯re here to rescue us, and¡­ even though we¡¯re still tied up like this, they¡¯ve been treating us pretty well all this time,¡± another elf spoke after a brief moment of hesitation.


    Yet another elf retorted, ¡°Bruce, are you suggesting they are good people? Think about how we were rescued, will you? They traded other elves to get us out, and not only that, they also have a way to fully control our fellow brethren to do their bidding! Remember what they did back at the vers Den!? Such vile actions was an insult to our kind!¡±


    ¡°But, they said those ¡®fully enved elves¡¯ were merely feigning obedience and were, in fact, coborating with them¡­¡±


    ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re too naive, Bruce. Have you forgotten what kind of ce the ckmarket is? Also, why did they risk trading some our fellow brethren just to save us? And¡­ are those humans fools? They have ways to verify a person¡¯s real identity! As a senior member of Oakhand, you should have realized this already!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Bruce remained hesitant, ¡°Why would they even do this in the first ce? What do they gain from it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I¡¯ve asked some of our rescued brethren from the other carriages earlier and,¡± the disgruntled elf continued,


    ¡°It seems these southerners were able to gather all of us by exchanging one of those fellow southern brethren for two or even three imperial elves. Since they have a way to make us fully obedient, surely their n is to take us back to the Kingdom and sell us there at a higher price after fully brainwashing us!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Bruce still hesitated, ¡°During our recent interaction with them, they revealed their real identities as elves, and¡­ you should have sensed it as well; they were truly one of our fellow brethrens.¡±


    ¡°Our fellow brethren, you say? Hmph, since these vers have a means to fully control our kind, naturally they¡¯ll order one of our fully brainwashed brethren just to deceive us! Have you forgotten how our stronghold was destroyed this time¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    As the two elves argued, Selena, the golden-haired elf whose been silent the entire time finally spoke and her words instantly silenced the ongoing debate.


    She was one of the leaders of Oakhand and their direct superior.


    Therefore, although these two elves have opposing opinions, they still have to give her some face as everyone there holds some deep respect and trust for this fellowrade who has been for a long time the one leading the charge of saving their fellow brethren under the pressure of human oppression.


    ¡°Mdy Selena¡­¡±


    The two looked towards the blond elf with conflicted expressions.


    Selena slightly furrowed her delicate brows and softly said,


    ¡°It¡¯s still much too early to draw conclusions for now, as the current actions of these rather peculiar humans are too contradictory¡­¡±


    She then paused briefly and added,


    ¡°Nevertheless, if they truly are vers from the southern Kingdom who have a means to make our kind fully obedient, then there¡¯s no need to win us over by tricking us, is it not?¡­furthermore, they also don¡¯t quite fit my perception of a typical vers.¡±


    ¡°But, if they really dide to rescue us, then why do they still control our freedom, and did those shameless things in front of the humans¡­ If they really are genuine elves like they imed to be, then they too should understand the importance of our dignity¡­ and how it is much greater than our very life itself!¡±


    Selena only seemed confused after hearing the elf¡¯s argument and could only respond,


    ¡°However the case may be, what truly begs the question is, what are their true motives? Who are they, really?¡±


    Hearing her inquires, the other elves exchanged uncertain nces, unsure of how to respond.


    At this moment, a weak voice suddenly spoke up.


    ¡°C-Could it be true¡­that the World Tree has revived, and they are warriors from another world that came here to save the elves?¡±


    It was a half-elf girl.


    ¡°The revival of our Divine Matriarch?¡±


    The disgruntled elf who initially opposed the idea shook his head.


    ¡°The Matriarch has long since fallen, and this is something we elves had already confirmed beforehand. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have left the Elven Forest to join the Oakhand in saving our fellow brethren here in the humannds.¡±


    ¡°Moreover¡­ Our Divine Matriarch was so majestic, kind, and just. If the Goddess had truly returned, the warriors she will summon wouldn¡¯t act disgracefully like that.¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the usual envoys of our Divine Matriarch are Oak Guardians,prised of one hundred thousand treant warriors that make up the Legion of Nature.¡±


    He spoke with a touch of reverence that mellowed down into sadness and btedly added, ¡°s¡­ that¡¯s all in the past.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ didn¡¯t those guys exined earlier that they only did those things back then at the vers den to gain the human vers¡¯ trust?¡± the half-elf girl insisted.


    ¡°Hmph, we elves would never stoop low to such vile acts of deceit!¡±


    ¡°So, would you rather die instead?¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    Selina¡¯s frown deepened as herpanions began arguing once more.


    However, she neither agreed nor refuted anything and simply listened silently while being preupied with her own thoughts.


    Currently, a somewhat absurd thought kept fluctuating within her mind.


    <em>What if¡­ these strange folks are actually telling the truth?</em>


    As one of the leaders of Oakhand and having spent over hundreds of years in human society, Selena had her own views on many things.


    For instance, she believed that while the demise of their patron deity was the fundamental reason as to why the Elvenkind has fallen to the point where they are today, certain character ws of the elves themselves are also partly to me for their race¡¯s subsequent rapid decline.


    Hence, some of the things herrades said were actually acknowledged by Selena.


    Moreover, as a member of the Galewind n, Selena had lived in the Elven Forest since her childhood days and as such, at this moment, while everyone was busy arguing, she was the only one who noticed that the entire caravan was heading in the direction of the Elven Forest!


    However¡­ she isn¡¯tpletely sure either, considering the current route they¡¯re traversing is a remote one, and while it is indeed the main path towards the Elven Forest, it is still a viable route to the kingdom as well, albeit a roundabout one¡­


    Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop.


    The door abruptly opened, as the light outside graced the the elves and half-elves tied inside the carriage.


    The ¡®humans¡¯ who had traded them out of the vers once again appeared before them. However,pared to theirst encounter, this time around, their expressions were much more serious than before.


    For a moment, everyone within the carriage instantly became vignt.


    <em>What are these people now up to?</em>


    However, to their surprise, these individuals led everyone out of the carriage in a hurried manner.


    In the astonished gazes of the elves, they then began to untie them one by one before handing each of the newly freed elves a human weapon.


    ¡­.<em>What is happening?</em>


    For a moment, regardless of their skepticism about the other party¡¯s intentions or uncertainty about their real identity, all the elves and half-elves that were rescued were freed just like that, but the abruptness of it all left the elves utterly bewildered.


    Afterwards, the confused elves saw the female leader among these ¡®humans¡¯ named Little Salty Cat came forward and began to speak:


    ¡°Comrades, I know you still don¡¯t believe us at all, but there¡¯s no need for you to do so any longer.¡±


    ¡°Our n has beenpromised by those humans and the people who have reced you back at Maple Leaf City have been exposed. Now, the vers from those ckmarketpanies are chasing us and will arrive soon.¡±


    ¡°Now listen, everyone of you should quickly escape to the Elven Forest. Take these weapons we¡¯re providing you for self-defense and focus solely on escaping! Once you reach the vicinity of the Elven Forest, then you¡¯ll find out whether what we said is indeed true or not.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, we won¡¯t let anyone harm you again.¡±


    The other yers also drew their weapons, with serious expressions.


    <em>These Elven NPCs¡­ not a single one is allowed to die! </em>


    After all, their previous attempt to exploit the bug for illicit goods had sadly led to failure; so now, all that was left for the yers was these elves and half-elves and the subsequent rewards for sessfully rescuing them through this whole operation!


    ¡ª <strong>285</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>ESCAPE TO THE ELVEN FOREST</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 286

    Upon witnessing the yers¡¯ actions and listening to their exnations, a burst ofmotion swept through the rescued elves and half-elves.


    ¡°Lady Selena¡­¡±


    Many turned their gaze towards Selena, with a subtle expectation that she would take on the role of decision-maker for their group.


    The golden-haired elf, however, found herself bewildered by the yers¡¯ behavior. Yet, after observing the other parties¡¯ earnest expressions and the weapons they freely handed to them, Selena suddenly felt something stirred within her heart.


    Soon, she became contemtive once again¡­


    Her eyes flickered for a few times, and then she cautiously reached for the weapon. Her eyes briefly lingered on it for a moment before a determined expression firmly etched upon her face.


    She then turned to her fellowpanions and dered:


    ¡°Let¡¯s listen to them for now and escape to the Elven Forest together.¡±


    ¡°Lady Selena!¡±


    Some elves showed a touch of uncertainty as they cast nces toward the yers, still harboring suspicion and scrutiny, as if eager to voice their objections.


    However, Selena firmly raised her hand to stop them.


    ¡°What¡­is worse than being reduced to a meremodity?¡±


    The Oakhand leader chuckled in self-deprecation.


    ¡°Furthermore¡­¡±


    Selena shifted her focus, looking at the sword in her hand.


    ¡°They willingly handed over their weapons to us. Regardless of their real intentions and identity, at least for this moment, we both stand on the same front¡­¡±


    ¡°Our enemy¡¯s enemy can tentatively be an ally, or at the very least¡­ escaping our pursuers should be our shared objective for now.¡±


    After listening to her words, although some elves still harbored some hesitation, they eventually epted the weapons being given and stood alongside the yers.


    Seeing the elves finally listening to them, the yers breathed a sigh of relief.


    Anyhow, regardless of whether these elves believed them or not, once they listened to their instructions and witnessed their oing reinforcements, these NPCs would surely recognize them as genuine allies!


    After the rescued elves gained their freedom and put down their guard to temporarily stand with the yers, thetter could finally act upon their own discretion more freely.


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up. Some of us will lead the NPCs back to the Elf Forest, while others should hop in the carriages, and move to a different route to throw off anyone chasing us. Leave behind some agile runners and tough tanks as rearguards!¡±


    Boxlunch ordered in a concise andmanding tone.


    This was probably the longest sentence he had uttered in a while.


    ¡°The First Legion will stay behind as the rear guard!¡±


    Tomato suddenly spoke up.


    This brought quite a few surprised looks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I might be a bit greedy, but I still have a sense of the bigger picture.¡±


    Tomato grumbled.


    After that, he sighed, ¡°I figured it out already that this game is different from others and that it¡¯s primary focus is PvE instead of PvP at its main content. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not opposed to cooperation.¡±


    ¡°ying games is about enjoyment and fun after all, and doing PvE¡­ can be quite interesting at times.¡±


    ¡°Moreover¡­¡±


    Tomato released his aura.


    With him being level 33, he could effortlessly outmatch everyone there in strength, except for Boxlunch.


    ¡°In terms of battle and endurance, who can match First Legion, which engages in field battles every day?¡±


    He squinted whilst smiling arrogantly.


    However, despite his arrogant demeanor, Tomato always had a somewhat gloomy expression, making him not appear entirely trustworthy, even when smiling¡­


    Other members of the First Legion alsoughed heartily, simrly disying their domineering strengths.


    ¡°Hmph, we¡¯ll be the bait. Leave the carriages protection to us and we will lure them away to another route!¡±


    A high-ranking guild member of Heart of Nature made a decision without backing down.


    Seeing two of the major guilds had made their own choices, Little Salty Cat and HootyBird didn¡¯t say much.


    Instead, Salty Cat hesitated for a moment and said:


    ¡°Then, we, Moe Moe Committee will go back with the NPCs.¡±


    Afterward, her gaze swept over the yers from other guilds, as a serious and earnest expression etched across her face.


    ¡°You¡­take your time, you foolish veterans. Don¡¯t die too early.¡±


    yers from Heart of Nature and First Legion: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh, and here I thought Ladyboss Salty Cat was going to say ¡®take care¡¯ and worry about us.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    Having temporarily gained the trust of the rescued elves, the yers¡¯ atmosphere took on a moreid-back vibe as each of them engaged in a casual banter while organizing tasks and assigning personnel into smaller groups.


    Meanwhile, this was all seen by the elves and the yers carefree attitude despite facing insurmountable foes, gave the natives a strange, inexplicable feeling they could not fathom.


    ¡°Then, we shall also¡­¡±


    Selena hesitated for a moment, preparing to say something, but was interrupted by the unanimous voices of the members of the three guilds:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything, just run far ahead.¡±


    Selena: ¡°¡­¡±


    She opened her mouth to say something, but the yers had already begun to act one after another.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! You guys should understand everything once we reach the Elven Forest. Let¡¯s just leave our pursuers to them.¡±


    Out of nowhere, Little Salty Cat patted the Oakhand leader¡¯s shoulder before winking at her guild members from Moe Moe Committee.


    The yers from Salty Cat¡¯s guild then gathered around the elves and gestured for them to head towards the Elven Forest.


    ¡°They¡­¡±


    Selena turned her head with a puzzled expression, whilst looking at Tomato and the others standing still, as well as the yers from Heart of Nature who were already driving the carriages in another direction.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them. They will fulfill their purpose just as long as you guys can escape sessfully.¡± Cbash whose standing on the side, chimed in.


    Since Little Salty Cat had roped Boxlunch into Moe Moe Committee, it¡¯s only natural that Cbash and the rest of Boxlunch¡¯s team have also joined as well, following their leader.


    Selena: ¡°¡­¡±


    So, under the leadership of the Moe Moe Committee, these rescued elves and half-elves began their journey towards the Elven Forest, feeling confused and bewildered.


    After abandoning their heavy carriage and applying various eleration magics such as [Light Body Technique], the pace of the yers and elves was much fasterpared to how it was at the beginning¡­


    In this manner, over a hundred rescued elves and half-elves, while being apanied by more than twenty yers as their guards, sprinted through the densely wild forests without ever looking back¡­


    They ran without stopping and as they progressed far ahead into their path, the hearts of the rescued elves became increasingly more and more confused.


    ¡°¡­I-Is this really the route to the Elven Forest?¡±


    Seeing the increasingly familiar path in front of them, the faces of some of the older elves began to disy looks of excitement.


    Even Selena¡¯s eyes sparkled with a bright luster akin to a child that had rediscovered a deep connection with her homnd after being away for a long time.


    Although the Elven Forest still faces threats from its enemies, such as the half-orcs, at the very least¡­it remains the same, good old Elven Forest, which is far better than being caged within the murky dungeons of a vers¡¯ Den!


    Moreover, if everything these peculiar folks said was true¡­


    ¡ªFaintly, a sublime sense of anticipation surged within Selena¡¯s heart.


    <em>Could it be¡­the Divine Matriarch has truly revived?</em>


    <em>Could it be¡­ they truly are the heroes summoned by their Goddess?</em>


    <em>The Elven Forest¡­ could it really be restored to its former glory?</em>


    For a moment, Selena felt her heart, which hadn¡¯t experienced intense fluctuations for many years, suddenly pounding with expectations.


    Of course¡­ it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that it was just the result of them running too fast.


    However, in contrast to the rescued elves, who were slowly growing more excited, the Moe Moe Committee yers moving alongside them instead began to wear increasingly grave expressions.


    After a moment, Little Salty Cat who was positioned at the forefront, abruptly came to a stop. This was then promptly mirrored by other yers, who halted as well as serious expressions adorned their faces while they drew their respective weapons.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Watching these strange folks suddenly stopping, Selena¡¯s heart skipped a beat and a vignt expression crossed her face.


    ¡°Uh¡­ get ready for a battle.¡±


    Little Salty Cat tapped the ground with her devil¡¯s staff with some annoyance.


    ¡°The people in the rear who were acting as our bait were all wiped out¡­¡±


    She then looked at Selena with a puzzled and sullen expression:


    ¡°Who are you really? Do these humans really care greatly so much about this whole Oakhand group you belong to, to the extent of even sending over a dozen Silver-rank experts after you guys?¡±


    Selena: ¡°¡­!?¡±


    ¡°I-If we were truly valued that much, then you wouldn¡¯t have sessfully exchanged us in the first ce. In their eyes, we¡¯re justmodities to be sold for gold coins.¡±


    The Oakhand leader shook her head, then looked at Little Salty Cat with a strange expression:


    ¡°Should I say¡­I think it¡¯s more of what you guys did in Maple Leaf City.¡±


    ¡°We?¡±


    Little Salty Cat blinked, then suddenly felt a bit guilty.


    ¡°Oh¡­.it wouldn¡¯t be about the goods we illicitly acquired, right¡­Was it really¡­that serious?¡±


    ¡°illicity acquired¡­?¡±


    Selena mumbled strangely, but soon, she noticed another sentence the other party said.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡±


    ¡°You said¡­ the people we left behind were all wiped out? Are you telling me they all¡­ died in battle?¡±


    Her expression changed slightly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Little Salty Cat nodded with an unexpectedly calm tone, which surprised Selena a lot.


    <em>Why are they so calm in the face of death?</em>


    The petite girl¡¯s sheer nonchnce about such grave matters confused the older blond elf to no end.


    Then, she saw the this littledy and the others exchange brief nces, before walking behind them and pulling out their weapons.


    ¡°You guys should keep running. Spread out and head towards the Elven Forest. Soon, some of my colleagues will meet you ahead.¡±


    For a moment, the gaze of the rescued elves became moreplicated.


    Selena remained silent for a moment and said:


    ¡°But¡­ what about your group? Are you also¡­ going to fight to the death?¡±


    ¡°Of course, our task this time was originally to save you guys anyway.¡±


    Someone at the crowd of yers said naturally.


    The elves fell silent.


    To the yers¡¯ surprise, this time the rescued elves did not take any further action. Instead, they also all drew their given weapons and stood amongst the yers.


    ¡°Although we don¡¯t know your true identity, at least for now, we are still allies.¡±


    ¡°We Elves¡­shall never abandon our allies!¡±


    The natives said firmly.


    Seeing them behaving like this, the group of yers didn¡¯t know whether to eitherugh or cry.


    ¡°Damn, this is not the time for emotional scenes!¡±


    ¡°Just hurry up and run! It¡¯ll be our win if you guys sessfully escaped!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! We¡¯re not afraid of death at all.¡±


    However, the elves persistently shook their heads.


    ¡°We are not afraid of death either!¡±


    The yers: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°God I swear, it¡¯s really a miracle that the elves in this game have survive for thousands of years¡­¡±


    Cbash muttered with a exasperated expression.


    At this moment, Boxlunch suddenly spoke:


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    Serious lines etched across his face, revealing the gravity of the situation.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the yers sensed several powerful auras quickly approaching their location from the northeast¡­


    Their opponents¡¯ speed was exceptional, and yers soon discerned multiple figures emerging within their field of vision.


    There were seven humans, some dressed as mercenaries, while others as wandering mages, and some even sported attire simr to what thieves would wear.


    There weren¡¯t many of them, but the aura they were exuding was extremely powerful.


    These were without a doubt¡­the seven Silver-rank experts they sensed before!


    ¡°S-Silver! Seven Silver-rank Experts!¡±


    Seeing their approaching enemies, Selena¡¯s pupils slightly contracted.


    Despite their side having the numerical advantage, their overall strength still pales inparison, as their strength merely ranges from low to high Iron-rank.


    Facing seven fully equipped Silver-rank experts, the elves and yers were no match at all.


    For a moment, the yers disyed resolute expressions as members of Moe Moe Committee suddenly stood forward.


    Led by Little Salty Cat, they positioned themselves in front of the elves and half-elves, then spoke unanimously and earnestly:


    ¡°You guys run! We¡¯ll stop them at all cost!¡±


    ¡°Your lives are the most precious, as you are the future of the elven race. We definitely cannot afford to lose you guys!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you must live on! The rise of the elven race still needs your efforts!¡±


    ¡°We came for you. It¡¯s worth it even if we have to sacrifice our lives!¡±


    ¡°Yes, this time¡­ even if we have to fight to the death, we¡¯ll definitely protect your back!¡±


    ¡°Go for it! You can do it Aol¨¬g¨§i!¡± <mark>1</mark>


    Perhaps seeing the enemies, the yers became more and more excited, as their words also became more and more earnest.


    They donned solemn expressions, standing as warriors with unwavering determination in the face of impending doom.


    For a moment, the gaze of the rescued elves towards them became more conflicted¡­


    At this time, the leader among the seven human experts lightly sneered.


    ¡°Run?¡±


    He was a silver-ranked warrior dressed as a mercenary, and on his chest was a symbol familiar to yers¡ªthe ck hawk emblem of the Sauron Trade Company.


    He waved his longsword, the tip of which was faintly stained with blood, and his voice carried a trace of coldness:


    ¡°You¡­ none of you should think about running away.¡±


    However, just as he finished speaking, a loud dragon roar suddenly echoed in the sky as a gigantic dragon with wings spanning dozens of meters suddenly appeared in the sight of the human experts.


    With a fierce looking skull, glossy ck scales, sharp ws and majestic bat-like wings¡­


    This was a ck dragon!


    It was Meryer.


    Riding upon the ck dragon¡¯s back, Alice, Li Mu, and Demacia, tightly gripped Meryer¡¯s scales, as they desperately struggled to maintain their sitting positions.


    Observing the yers below who were loudly speaking in a righteous manner, Demacia couldn¡¯t help but wryly sigh.


    ¡°Well damn, these punks really are experts at gaining favorability¡­they¡¯ve already long realized we¡¯ve arrived yet they¡¯re still pretending to be all cool like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I goota say, their performance are much better than when I rescued the Rageze n back then. She may look quite innocent and but Salty Cat sure is quite scheming girl as well! Ah well¡­a woman¡¯s heart is as deep as the sea! Can¡¯t argue with that!¡±


    But just as he finished speaking, he received a roar from Meryer below him:


    ¡°Shut your stinking mouth!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Dammit! Meryer, why is my favorability with you dropped down again?¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face turned green.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Alice: ¡°¡­¡±


    1 <strong><mark>°ÂÀû¸ø</mark></strong> ¨C This term is the anagram of the Chinese phrase ¡°Aol¨¬g¨§i¡± (pronounced the same as ¡°¸øÁ¦àÞ,¡± meaning ¡°awesome, cool¡±). This term often appears at the end of a sentence as an exmation to praise other people or cheer them or oneself up.


    ¡ª <strong>286</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>DAMMIT! WHY IS MY FAVORABILITY DROPPED DOWN AGAIN?</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 287

    The events on the dragon¡¯s back were just a minor episode.


    Meryer¡¯s roar echoed loudly through the air, drawing the attention of those people on the ground as their gaze witness the majestic ck dragon soaring across the sky.


    The yers from Moe Moe Committee, who had already known about their arrival via chat messages and the team¡¯s mini-map show no surprise.


    However, the native elves and human experts on the other hand had different reactions¡­


    ¡°B-ck¡­ck Dragon!¡±


    Both sides couldn¡¯t help but exim almost simultaneously.


    For a moment, the elves¡¯ faces turned incredibly pale, whereas the pursuing humans wore serious expressions.


    There¡¯s no avoiding such reactions, as ck dragons, in general, have a rather infamous reputation within Saig¨¹es. Moreover, among the types of dragons that usually attack settlements and towns, at least seven or eight out of ten are ck dragons.


    While the local inhabitants stood frozen at the sight of the ck dragon, the yers burst of excited shouts broke through the eerie silence:


    ¡°Meryer! It¡¯s good that you finally came! Quickly, help us deal with these humans!¡±


    A clear and cheerful female voice suddenly echoed.


    It was Little Salty Cat.


    For a moment, numerous gazes turned towards her, prompting instinctive reactions from both elves and humans. Yet, the former reflected surprise and confusion within their eyes, while thetter conveyed fear and vignce instead.


    ¡°Tch, I don¡¯t need you to tell me, I¡¯d do it anyway.¡±


    A lofty response reverberated through the sky.


    Then, to the incredulous gaze of the elves and the horrified look of the pursuing experts, the ck dragon with wings spanning dozens of meters puffed up his cheeks and released a thick dragon breath towards the humans on the ground.


    ¡°Not good! Quick, dodge!¡±


    The expressions of those human experts undergo dramatic shifts as each of them engages in a flurry of skill and magic, adeptly dodging or defending in response.


    For a moment, the ground shimmered with radiant sword techniques and colorful magic shields cast by the human crowd.


    In an instant, the strong acidic dragon breath reached its target, spraying onto the mage¡¯s magic shield, which was then split by the energy wave generated by several sword skills.


    Finally, it sshed onto the ground, corroding thend into terrifying potholes as white smoke dissipated into the air¡­


    This dragon breath, under thebined effort of magic and sword skills, was barely blocked by the joint defense of the human experts.


    However, the weakest among the seven experts remained seriously injured in the aftermath and immediately fell onto the ground on the verge of death.


    Yet, Meryer¡¯s attack did not end there.


    While taking advantage of the gap created after exhaling his dragon breath, Meryer swiftly dove down and crushed the injured Silver-ranked expert with his foot before biting a mage who seemed weakened due to his prior attack.


    The mage looked terrified.


    Having just cast a defensive spell to resist the dragon breath, he now had no time to chant another spell and could only frantically pull out a magic scroll to protect himself¡­


    However, before he couldplete anything, Meryer swiftly rushed up and bit his body, effortlessly tearing it into two pieces.


    With a scream, the silver mage¡¯s two severed halves fell to the ground akin to a lifeless sacks¡­


    A strong aroma reeking of blood then permeated the air in the aftermath.


    Seeing this scene, the silver expert dressed as a mercenary narrowed his pupils as he involuntarily eximed,


    ¡°A Silver-Peak dragon!¡±


    The surrounding yers were also shocked by Meryer¡¯s strength and violence.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Although they knew Meryer was quite powerful, witnessing how he efficiently annihted two formidable silver experts in the blink of an eye still left them dumbfounded.


    Seeing the bright red and horrible mosaic that barely censored the grotesque shapes of broken internal organs, the corners of the mouths of all the yers twitched involuntarily.


    ¡°This game is great in every way, except the battles are too damn hardcore.¡±


    Smelling the pungent smell of blood, a yer couldn¡¯t help butment.


    Of course, while there were those who found such carnage repulsive, there are also others with twisted tastes whom reveled in it.


    ¡°Bloody? I love scenes like this¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In addition, there were also some who are grieving:


    ¡°Meryer, at least leave us some enemies to kill will you! They¡¯re all experience points!¡±


    The rescued elves, on the other hand, were already stunned beyond theirprehension.


    Seeing apanion of theirs effortlessly killed in an instant, the remaining human experts changed their expressions as one of them uttered,


    ¡°R-Run!¡±


    The mercenary from Sauron turned around and ran without hesitation.


    ¡°Ruaah! Don¡¯t even think about running away!¡±


    Meryer continued to roar, excitedly chasing after the fleeing mercenary.


    The yers also followed suit.


    With weapons in hand, they eagerly followed behind Meryer, chasing the fleeing experts. It was a somewhatical scene, considering that just moments ago, it was the other way around, and thetter were the ones doing the chasing.


    Meanwhile, Meryer paid no heed to the yer¡¯s antics as he continued his unstoppable rampage.


    Suddenly, he dived down again, pping a panicking thief with a single palm before casually tossing the half-dead  thief in front of Little Salty Cat, who had a look of surprise on her face.


    Of course, the poor unfortunate thief quickly turned to ashes courtesy of Little Salty Cat¡¯s exploding fireball amidst the envious gazes of the other yers¡­


    Next, Meryer let out another long roar and charged towards another human swordsman who had exposed their back to him.


    This time, the ck dragon unleashed his second dragon breath.


    The swordsman recoiled in horror, desperately attempting to dodge the oing attack when suddenly, a chilling incantation reached his ears.


    At the side, Li Mu and a group of spellcasters brandished their wands as they unleashed their crowd control skills.


    Although their skills were only at the third-circle at most and could not fully bind their opponent, even a slight dy proved sufficient enough in this crucial moment.


    Several vines emerged from the ground and entangled the swordsman¡¯s legs.


    rm surged through the swordsman, as his panic-stricken roar echoed through the area while he frantically fought to break free from the entangling vines.


    ¡ªs, it was toote.


    Before he could free himself, the highly corrosive dragon breath had already engulfed him, immediately incinerating his body into ashes before he could even scream.


    Li Mu and the others showed expressions of joy.


    The assistance they provided resulted in them gaining a modest increase in experience points¡­though not a substantial amount.


    After eliminating the human swordsman, Meryer turned his attention to an elderly Silver-ranked mage.


    With a mere nce from the ck dragon, the elderly mage shivered uncontrobly with his long beard even trembling.


    Terrified, the old mage pulled out a scroll from his pocket and tore it to summon a silver-rank ghoul familiar before turning around and running without looking back.


    However, the familiar he summoned couldn¡¯t even withstand Meryer¡¯s attack, being bitten into pieces in an instant.


    As the summoned familiar died, the old mage who had a contractual connection with it suddenly turned pale and couldn¡¯t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.


    Nevertheless, there was also a hint of joy in his expression.


    While the ck dragon was preupied killing the ghoul, the old mage had already taken out another scroll.


    A teleportation scroll!


    However, before he could even activate the teleportation magic, a deathly sensation suddenly hit him. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then everything went nk¡­


    Silently emerging from the shadows behind the old mage, Boxlunch materialized without much of a sound and sheathed the golden dagger within his grasp.


    A few secondster, the dead body of the old mage subsequently turned into ashes.


    This series of battles urred within just a span of a few seconds.


    Most of the current participating yers were from the first beta and thus, already experienced beforehand how an operation that usually involves the ck Dragon and Little Salty Cat unfolds.


    And so, even without exchanging words, they coordinated perfectly with the little ck dragon.


    In the blink of an eye, the seven powerful silver experts fell one after another¡­


    Pity these formidable silver experts, which can be considered as mini-bosses, ended up being chased by Meryer and died tragically one after another¡­


    Heck, the yers didn¡¯t even know their names.


    The remaining two surviving experts were horrified after watching theirrades fall under the relentless attack of the ck dragon.


    As if sensing their fear, Meryer slowly turned his gaze towards them.


    Thesest two experts, including the mercenary from earlier, all had a ck hawk emblem upon their chests, signifying their allegiance with the Sauron Household.


    Upon realizing the dragon had fixed his gaze upon them, the two wasted no time and sprinted for their lives.


    Witnessing their rapid retreat, Meryer unleashed another resounding ¡°Ruuah!¡± and pursued them with a fierce charge.


    With the two being silver experts, their speed was certainly fast¡ªs, it was only rtive to human speed¡­


    How could itpare to that of a ck dragon?


    Moreover, while their strength was also in the silver-rank, Meryer hadpletely outssed them, being a peak silver-rank dragon.


    As the ck dragon descended, he swiftly closed the distance with them.


    Yet, at the moment when Meryer was about to caught up with the two, the mercenary soldier running at the front suddenly turned grim.


    He abruptly turned around, and in the shocked and puzzled gaze of hispanion, the mercenary thrust a sword through his own body.


    Then, he pulled something out of his hand and stuffed it into his wound.


    All this happened in an instant, leaving even Meryer and the yers bewildered by his actions.


    However, they soon understood why.


    The mercenary, having inflicted a wound upon himself, contorted in extreme agony, before unleashing an uncontroble scream.


    Innumerable worm-like flesh masses started wriggling across the mercenary¡¯s body as it steadily expanded, whilst his skin cracked and morphed into ominous ck scales.


    Secondster, a lizard-like tail emerged from his buttocks, while his face, with bulging veins and bloodshot eyes, emitted an evil and dark aura¡­


    In an instant, the mercenary transformed into a monstrous creature nearly seven to eight meters tall.


    ¡°W-What on earth is this?!¡±


    yers were astonished by this sudden change.


    Meryer also looked serious.


    However, his expression carried a hint of uncertainty.


    Meanwhile, the rescued elves, who had been shocked by the series of battles, turned pale at the sight that was happening before them:


    ¡°S-Scaled Demon! It¡¯s a Scaled Demon of Despair!¡±


    ¡°That human¡­ is a follower of the God of Despair!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>287</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>SCALED DEMON OF DESPAIR</strong>  ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 288

    ¡°Scaled Demon? God of Despair?¡±


    yers were left bewildered by the elves¡¯ words.


    Selena gritted her teeth and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s an evil god that appeared near Maple Leaf Territory in recent years. It ims to be the God of Despair, who delight itself in leading other beings into despair and transforming them into terrifying monsters, which are these Scaled Demons.¡±


    ¡°It managed to deceive one of ourpanions before, causing them to be corrupted and fall into despair. This ultimately allowed the Borderlord of Maple Leaf Territory to take advantage of the situation, leading to the destruction of our stronghold.¡±


    ¡°Evil god?¡±


    Upon hearing this particr term, the yers felt a subtle shift within their hearts, remembering the quest the goddess have given them.


    Meryer¡¯s eyes also nted into a subtle squint.


    ¡°An Evil God? I smell a scent that I despise.¡±


    The ck dragon bared his teeth and said with a tone full of contempt.


    The strange creature referred to as the Scaled Demon of Despair exuded an ominous aura that grew more intense with every passing moment since it emerged.


    Thereupon, as it underwent transformation, the demon¡¯s strength also surged and only came to a halt upon reaching Peak Silver-rank.


    By now, the overwhelming pressure it emanated caused an unexpected shudder among the yers and even Meryer¡¯s eyes shifted to a more serious expression.


    Feeling the malevolent and dark aura of the grotesque monster, and the pressure that seemed to directly permeate through their bodies, Demacia, who had already jumped off the dragon¡¯s back, shivered and muttered to himself,


    ¡°Ugh¡­this pressure, why does it feel somewhat familiar?¡±


    Beside him, Li Mu nced at the demon¡¯s pitch-ck scales with a look of uncertainty.


    ¡°Its pressure feels somewhat simr to Meryer when he¡¯s angry.¡±


    ¡°Damn! Oh yeah, it does really felt like that!¡±


    Demacia widened his eyes, then along with the other yers, couldn¡¯t help but look towards the ck dragon.


    ¡°Humph! Nonsense!¡±


    Meryer¡¯s snarl echoed, followed by a thunderous roar as he advanced forward and charged at the Scaled Demon.


    In an instant, a dragon and a demon locked themselves in a ferocious battle.


    Yet, as their sh progressed, an unforeseen development suddenly urred.


    yers were horrified to discover that, after Meryer engaged into closebat with the demon, several tendrils of ck energy began streaming relentlessly from the grotesque creature towards him!


    Moreover, as this ck energy gradually encroached the dragon, Meryer too began to disy a growing restlessness, mirroring the enemy he was fighting with.


    Meryer¡¯s eyes slowly turned red, as his breathing became more and more intense, whilst his expression became even more ferocious as if he sumbed into a berserk state.


    Eventually as their fight continued, the majestic aura surrounding the ck dragon began to exhibit signs of chaos.


    ¡°Wait¡­ this doesn¡¯t seem right¡­¡±


    ¡°Is the little ck dragon being corrupted by the opponent?¡±


    Some yers began to notice that something was wrong.


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s expression changed.


    ¡°Meryer, quickly get away from that guy!¡±


    However, the ck dragon appeared to have already forsaken reason, merely unleashing instinctual roars and persisting in his mindless rampage against the demon.


    The berserk state that Meryer was in only further heightened the intensity of their battle, and with each sh, the dragon¡¯s once majestic aura keeps being eroded as it increasingly exhibited signs of chaos.


    By now, even the least perceptive yers could discern that the ck dragon was sumbing to the sinister influence of his adversary¡¯s malevolent power!


    ¡°Meryer!¡±


    They wholly felt anxious as this kind of situation never happened before.


    The air was thick with uncertainty, and a sense of unease permeated their surroundings.


    However, just as the yers were on the verge of intervening with the conflict, a soft, holy light suddenly emanated from Meryer¡¯s body, catching everyone by surprise.


    [Purification¡­]


    A faint yet resonant voice, divine and solemn, echoed through the vicinity.


    While stunned at first, the yers soon erupted into expressions of joy:


    ¡°It¡¯s the voice of the goddess!¡±


    ¡°Haha! The goddess has intervened!¡±


    ¡°I knew it! If I remember correctly, the goddess adopted Meryer as her pet. Of course, there¡¯s no way she would let him be corrupted!¡±


    Meanwhile, the rescued elves wore expressions of confusion after hearing what the yers were moring about.


    ¡°Voice of¡­the goddess?¡±


    They too heard the majestic feminine voice, but the elves led by Selena only disyed looks of uncertainty, as this whole series of events happened too fast for their minds to catch on.


    Like the sunlight breaking through winter¡¯s grasp or the long-awaited rain quenching the earth¡¯s thirst, an ethereal hymn apanied the emergence of the radiant light, as it softly wrapped the ck dragon in its divine brilliance.


    A potent divine aura, teeming with the essence of life, then began to spread, as it bestowed immediate rity upon all who brushed against its ethereal touch.


    Simultaneously, the expanding aura also restored everyone¡¯s physical wounds and weariness in a swift, miraculous manner.


    Verdant nts immediately sprang forth wherever the divine aura touched upon, as fresh patches of flowers unfurled one after another in a dazzling disy of vibrancy.


    On the other hand, the originally clouded eyes of the ck dragon¡¯s gradually cleared out but most notably, the Scaled Demon standing on the opposite side began to tremble akin to ice encountering mes.


    Pulsating tumors manifested across the demon¡¯s body once more, but the evil aura it exudes began churning with an audible sizzle.


    Momentster, the Scaled Demon let out a painful howl before its entire body suddenly copsed, and its ck scales shattered one after another, which gradually turned into ashes.


    Its massive body then began to melted away, as ity onto the ground in a heap of mangled ck flesh.


    Yet even in death, the ck flesh persisted in squirming until it ultimately dissipated into nothingness, after being bathed in the illumination of the expanding divine light.


    With the corrupted demon now gone, eventually, everything returned back to a state of calmness.


    Thend, which had been ravaged in the aftermath of the battle, swiftly transformed into a blossomingndscape, with flowers and greenery concealing the recent damage it had incurred.


    Watching this seemingly miraculous scene, whilst still feeling a certain familiar power contained within the recent divine light, the initially bewildered elves finally realized what was happening and could barely contained their excitement.


    ¡°T-This power¡­ this power is¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­without a doubt the essence of life! T-This is the power of the Divine Matriarch!¡±


    An elderly elf said excitedly.


    After speaking, the rest of the rescued elves also began to kneel down one after another, with each one showing utmost reverence towards the newly grown flowers and greenery.


    Selena, on the other hand, could do nothing but simply widen her eyes.


    She instinctively covered her mouth, unbelievably looking at the blossomingndscape teeming with life, as she observed the lingering light green particles still hovering within the air.


    The Oakhand leader cycled through myriads of expressions such as fear, anticipation, and awe as her entire body began to tremble uncontrobly in pure excitement.


    ¡°T-This is¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is the power of our Divine Matriarch.¡±


    A gentle female voice sofly interjected.


    Selena instinctively spun around and noticed a tall slender figure draped in clerical vestments slowly approaching her.


    Adorned with long, straight golden locks, captivating emerald eyes, and delicate features for which perpetually emanated a gentle expression, the neer greeted the Oakhand leader with a soft, familiar smile.


    ¡°Selena, long time no see.¡±


    ¡°Alice?! It¡¯s you! You¡¯re alive?!¡±


    Selena showed a surprised expression.


    She looked at Alice in a daze for a couple of seconds, with her eyes examining the clerical gown adorning the saintess figure. She then shifted her gaze towards the yers around, currently picking up items on the ground, before finally turning to the direction where the expanding holy light had disappeared¡­


    Silence reigned for a couple of minutes as if she was savoring the moment but in the end, Selena¡¯s voice finally returned as she asked with rapt anticipation:


    ¡°C-Could¡­ Could it be¡­ all of this is true?!¡±


    Alice didn¡¯t immediately respond.


    Instead, she simply drew a familiar tree-shaped symbol upon her chest, then solemnly and devoutly said:


    ¡°The Divine Matriarch¡­ has indeed returned.¡±


    After saying this, Alice opened her arms, and the power of faith behind her condensed into a brilliant halo that exuded holy light.


    She then looked at these fellow brethren of hers rescued by the yers and said with a smile,


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home, my dear sister, let¡¯s go home, my fellow brethren¡­¡±


    For a moment, over a hundred elves stood still in utmost awe.


    ¡ª <strong>288</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>LET¡¯S GO HOME MY FELLOW BRETHREN</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 289

    In the Forest of Elves, the Chosen City.


    ¡°Oh no, why did I get another apprentice-grade outfit again!¡±


    In the central square, Demacia looked at the pair of white shoes that appeared in his hands, feeling helpless.


    ¡°Your face is too ugly, you should just save your contribution points to buy the epic purple-grade instead of using it on the lottery.¡±


    Standing on the opposite side, Li Mu shook his head, then chuckled with a foolish grin as he marveled at the legendary golden-grade iron staff that he drew.


    ¡°I feel¡­ the lottery¡¯s winning rate has significantly increased after wepleted the Maple Leaf City Questline, and quite unexpectedly, during the rewards distribution, the system also gave me 5000 contribution points and an extra lottery ticket aspensation for the bugged items that I lost!¡±


    Li Mu said joyfully.


    At his feet, several pieces of epic purple-grade equipment that he wony in a satisfying array, showcasing his recent streak of fortunate draws.


    Meanwhile, Demacia could only look at it with envy.


    ¡°Ugh¡­Ipleted the questline too, but only snagged a couple of decent prizes. Plus, the contribution points I just got just all vanished like that in a string of bad draws.¡±


    Demacia sighed in frustration.


    After the end of the summer event, the lucky draw can also be redeemed for lottery tickets based on one¡¯s contribution, and one draw can be exchanged for 1,000 contribution points.


    Demacia used all the contribution points he obtained for lottery tickets, but except for one draw wherein he got 50 resurrection coins, the rest were all losses.


    ¡°Having a gambler¡¯s mindset isn¡¯t a smart move, you know.¡±


    Li Mu shook his head.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s rich,ing from a lucky guy.¡±


    Demacia said gloomily.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    Li Muughed wryly.


    As Demacia let out another sigh, a crisp call echoed from afar.


    ¡°Demacia! Demacia!¡±


    It was Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°Sister Cat, why are you here? Weren¡¯t you supposed to follow the NPCs to watch their homnd arrival cutscene?¡±


    Demacia asked with a curious tone as he looked at Little Salty Cat who had just called him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not watching anymore, since I¡¯ve already seen the arrival of the NPCs many times, so it got old for me. More importantly, what really matters to me now¡­ is what you¡¯ve scored back at Maple Leaf City!¡±


    Little Salty Cat waved her hand, then grinned with a crescent-shaped eyes:


    ¡°Demacia, I heard you used my Lionheart Sword to trick a ver for their spatial storage ring in Maple Leaf City?¡±


    Demacia¡¯s face transformed into a mask of seriousness.


    ¡°How is that a trick? Clearly, it¡¯s a fair trade, in and simple.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it. Bring it out!¡±


    Little Salty Cat extended her hand with a smile.


    ¡°B-Bring what?¡±


    Demacia feigned ignorance.


    ¡°We had a thirty-seventy split agreement! You know the deal¡­I lent you the Lionheart Sword, so I get 70% of whatever you snagged!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°How do you even split a single ring? Besides, didn¡¯t you already have a Spatial Ring, the only one for the whole server?¡±


    Demacia said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing! My spatial ring has a smaller storage capacitypared to yours, so I n to exchange it with yours instead!¡±


    After saying this, Little Salty Cat took out her own Spatial Ring that used to belong to the vampire, Night Wanderer and subtly extended the ring towards Demacia.


    ¡°You wanna exchange rings?¡±


    Demacia was slightly stunned.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    Little Salty Cat nodded.


    ¡°This ring¡¯s storage space is rtively small, not even three cubic meters in size, so its capacity is not enough for my daily necessities.¡±


    ¡°I checked with some NPCs, and ording to their estimates, my ring is worth about a quarter of yours. Since your ring is more expensive, I can throw in some contribution points to cover the difference¡­what do you think?¡±


    Intrigue shed across Demacia¡¯s face as he inquired,


    ¡°How much is the difference?¡±


    A sly grin crept onto Little Salty Cat¡¯s face as she stretched out two fingers.


    ¡°Two hundred thousand contribution points, what do you say?¡±


    ¡°Holy shit! Okay, Bosdy Cat we have a deal! I¡¯m short of contribution points!¡±


    Demacia said excitedly.


    Little Salty Cat didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately started transferring the CP amount they agreed directly with Demacia.


    Both parties sessfully exchanged rings and Demacia also took this time to finally returned the Lionheart sword to Little Salty Cat. In return, thetter transferred two hundred thousand contribution points to the former.


    In the end, both were left satisfied.


    After their transaction concluded, Little Salty Cat intercepted Demacia.


    ¡°By the way, Demacia.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Sister Cat, is there anything else?¡±


    Engrossed in examining the newly deposited 200,000 contribution points in his ount, Demacia casually replied, whilst already on the process of exchanging the CP for lottery tickets with a goofy grin.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, just when I came over, I saw several members of your guild seemingly searching for you all over the ce. Hmm, I think they were the ones who went to Maple Leaf City with us. However, their expressions didn¡¯t seem too good¡­.did you do something again?¡±


    Little Salty Cat teasingly inquired, and Demacia¡¯s grin immediately froze upon hearing it.


    He cleared his throat twice and mumbled nervously, ¡°Uh¡­ I have something to do, I-I¡¯ll be going now.¡±


    With that, he left without even looking back.


    ¡°This guy!¡±


    Little Salty Cat couldn¡¯t help but shake her head in exasperation, before turning her heads towards Li Mu.


    ¡°What did he do this time?¡±


    Li Mu shook his head.


    ¡°I guess those members you saw were the ones sold by Demacia back in Maple Leaf City¡­ They¡¯re likely hunting him down to settle the score since, uh¡­ he did something reckless back then.¡±


    ¡°Besides¡­ didn¡¯t the bound item exploit all end up in failure? I guess the things he promised them before all went down the drain, so¡­¡±


    Li Mu helplessly shrugged.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really surprised that he hasn¡¯t been hunted down yet and PK¡¯d to hell after all the shenanigans he¡¯d done¡­¡±


    She sighed leisurely.


    ¡°That¡¯s because Demacia¡¯s quite good at admitting his mistakes¡­ as reckless as he is when doing stupid things, he¡¯s equally humble when apologizing. He probably went to apologize to someone by now.¡±


    Li Mu said helplessly.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s like that, then why did he do it in the first ce.¡±


    She shook her head.


    Li Mu shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s his old habit; he won¡¯t change unless he truly suffers a big loss.¡±


    He then looked at Little Salty Cat curiously and asked, ¡°By the way, Little Salty Cat, how¡¯s Meryer?¡±


    Upon hearing Li Mu¡¯s inquiry, Little Salty Cat¡¯s brows slightly furrowed.


    She sighed and said, ¡°Meryer is currently with Alice, Zero, and those rescued NPCs in the temple on the World Tree. He has been acting all strange ever since that fight with the Scaled Demon. I tried asking him about it, but Meryer didn¡¯t tell me anything.¡±


    ¡°But¡­Sister Zero said she¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    Little Salty Cat said.


    Afterward, she clenched her fist with a huff and said angrily,


    ¡°Unfortunately, the human mercenary who tricked Meryer ran away; otherwise, I would have made him pay!¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s at least a Silver-ranked and seems to be quite formidable too. You better advance your rank first before trying.¡±


    He shook his head.


    After hearing Li Mu¡¯s words, Little Salty Cat beamed widely.


    ¡°Haha, speaking of rank advancement, I¡¯m already level 35 now!¡±


    She then released some of her aura.


    ¡°No way¡­How did that happen so quickly? If I remember correctly, you were only level 31 when we went to Maple Leaf City, right?¡±


    Li Mu was surprised and envious.


    ¡°Heh! Well, I solo-killed a Silver-ranked Thief after all and gained three levels in one go!¡±


    Little Salty Cat said joyfully.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that really a solo kill? It¡¯s more like Meryer handing you a well-prepared meat, and you only need to take a bite to enjoy its savory delights. The way you effortlessly finish foes, it¡¯s almost like he¡¯s doing all the hard work for you.¡±


    He rolled his eyes and said with a touch of incredulity.


    Little Salty Cat giggled.


    ¡°Hehehe! Meryer¡¯s strength is my strength! We have such a strong beneficial rtionship!¡±


    However, she then thought for a moment and touched her chin as a look of contemtion crossed her face.


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ in this battle, the strength of Silver experts doesn¡¯t seem to be that strong! Although Meryer did indeed do the bulk of the work, I still managed to kill a thief with a single fireball, and the Boxlunch also instantly killed a mage with just a sh.¡±


    ¡°The situation back then is special.¡±


    Li Mu shook his head.


    ¡°I have asked Alice before about the difference in strength between ranks.¡±


    ¡°It seems that until somone reach the Gold-rank, there won¡¯t be a significant leap in the physique of Experts. Before the Gold-rank, the differences in strength mainly lie in magic level, skill application, or destructive power. Although there are differences in physical qualities, they aren¡¯t significant at all, especially for mages¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s entirely possible to unintentionally defeat an opponent ranked higher than you due to their carelessness.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    Little Salty Cat realized.


    She nodded slightly and then turned around, looking in the direction of the World Tree, whilst muttering to herself:


    ¡°I wonder how Meryer is doing right now.¡±


    On the World Tree, in the grand Temple of Nature.


    Alice, the Nature¡¯s saintess, Zero, the Goddess Godwarden and Selena, the leader of Oakhand, stood among a gathering of over a hundred elves and half-elves, as each of them were deeply engrossed in prayer before the statue of the goddess inside the temple.


    Meanwhile, Meryer, the ck dragon,y on the side with his head lowered while also appearing contemtive and lost in thought about something¡­


    ¡ª <strong>289</strong>  ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ A GAMBLER¡¯S MINDSET ISN¡¯T A SMART MOVE ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 290

    The Divine Matriarch has revived!


    Their patron deity had truly came back!


    Looking at the resplendent sacred statue of the goddess in the temple and the world tree beneath her feet brimming with the essence of life, Selena¡¯s expression was filled with excitement.


    ¡°My fellow brethren, wee home. After the weing ceremony, you can choose to live within Florence alongside the nsmen of Rageze n. The Chosen Ones will assist you in quickly settling into your new home,¡± said the Godwarden Zero, whilst looking at the hundreds of elves before her.


    Alice¡¯s eyes involuntarily flicked towards her.


    Today, the elven maiden seemed to discerned a buoyant air surrounding Zero, evident in the cheerful tone she adopted during today¡¯s conversation.


    <em>The Chosen Ones¡­</em>


    Upon hearing this term, Selena recalled those rather strange individuals from before.


    After defeating the humans that pursued them, the yers finally shed their disguises, revealing their original elven forms. With Alice attesting to their authenticity and the rescued elves firsthand witnessing the manifestation of the goddess¡¯s power, Selena and herpanions harbored no more doubts about their identity.


    However, thinking about these Chosen Ones rather¡­ unconventional personalities, Selena still found it somewhat incredible that they are indeed the summoned enjoys of the Goddess!


    Not to mention that their seemingly immortal beings!


    Selena still felt a profound shock when she thought about that time wherein her group had just arrived after passing through the teleportation array and seeing once more the fellows that they thought had already died, came back alive and kicking right before her eyes¡­


    <em>Immortals!</em>


    These chosen ones summoned by the Divine Matriarch can actuallye back to life!


    This discovery made her even more in awe of their Matriarch¡¯s power.


    ¡°So¡­is this the power possessed by the patron deity of our elven race?¡±


    A fleeting sense of uplift enveloped Selena, yet within the surge of excitement, a subtle undercurrent of disappointment also lingered inside her.


    She thought back to the countless Oakhand operatives that sacrificed their lives over the years, herrades, and those fellow brethren of theirs still living under human oppression¡­


    ¡°Can we also¡­ stay?¡±


    In that instant, a feeble voice suddenly spoke up.


    All eyes then shifted toward a delicate half-elf girl, as her gaze remained hesitant yet brave as it met Alice and Zero.


    The half-elvenss¡¯ fingers clutched tightly at her hem, and her slightly pointed ears trembled with unease.


    After the courageous female elven halfling broached the topic, all the remaining half-elves in the temple also looked toward the two prominent figures ahead, anticipating their decision with a blend of hope and apprehension.


    This time, there were quite a few half-elves rescued by the yers.


    About a hundred people exactly, with nearly half of them being half-elves!


    Alice looked at Godwarden Zero, who nodded slightly.


    The saintess felt a slight relief, then turned towards the Elven halflings with a smile.


    ¡°If you wish, of course, you can.¡±


    ¡°Even if it is half, our elven blood still courses through your veins, and thus, should you willing choose, then you shall be a part of our Elven Forest.¡±


    Alice¡¯s gentle and reassuring voice resonated through the air.


    In response to her promation, a glimmer illuminated the eyes of every half-elf within the vicinity, and the brave girl who spoke first bowed deeply towards the two, with her voice choked full of emotion.


    ¡°Thank you! Lady Alice! Thank you for epting us!¡±


    Seeing her like this, Alice sighed inwardly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me as you are also the children of our Divine Matriarch, hence you¡¯re naturally also under Her protection. If you wish to show gratitude, then please devote yourselves more fervently to the service of our Divine Matriarch.¡±


    The saintess gently shook her head, with words filled with fervent emotion.


    The situation of these elven halflings are not much better than that of elves.


    Particrly, in the eyes of humanity, they do not recognize such existences, even with them having a trace of human blood. Instead, they view them more asmodities simr to elves.


    Moreover¡­ because these half-elves haven¡¯t even inherited the long lifespan of pure blooded elves, they are seen as inferior beings by mankind.


    Even worse, many of these half-elves are deliberately bred by ve traders for their rapid growth and elf-like beauty, to purposely be sold as ves.


    Thinking about this, Alice also felt pity for these elven halflings.


    At this moment, Godwarden Zero spoke again, interrupting her thoughts.


    ¡°Alice, take everyone to Florence. I¡¯ve already arranged for Philothea and the others to receive them.¡±


    Alice snapped out of her reverie, offering a subtle smile to those below.


    ¡°Follow me. I¡¯ll guide you all now to your new home.¡±


    For a moment, the elves and half-elves kneeling below stood up.


    However, the dozens individuals led by Selena remained motionless.


    ¡°¡­Selena?¡±


    Seeing her like this, Alice showed a look of puzzlement.


    After hesitating for a moment, the Oakhand leader looked at Zero, bit her lip, and said,


    ¡°Lady Zero, we¡­ don¡¯t want to stay in the Elven Forest!¡±


    ¡°Selena!¡±


    Alice furrowed her brow slightly.


    Selena, on the other hand remained insistent and only gave her sister an apologetic expression.


    <em>Hmm?</em>


    Looking at these fresh batch of elves and half-elves, Zero raised an eyebrow.


    At this moment, Selena borated:


    ¡°We¡­ are all members of the Oakhand Resistance and our organization is still active within human territories. If possible, we would like to return to inform our remaining members of the Divine Matriarch¡¯s revival and continue lurking in mankind¡¯s society to save our fellow brethren still trapped back there.¡±


    Selena lowered her head and spoke softly before btedly adding,


    ¡°This¡­ is also my self-atonement as a priestess who betrayed our faith and deviated from the beliefs of our Divine Matriarch hasid upon us.¡±


    ¡°Selena¡­¡±


    Alice¡¯s face bore aplex expression after hearing that.


    Zero, on the other hand, had her expression shift, revealing a look of understanding before she broke into a smile.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    With that, a green leaf suddenly appeared in palm of her hand:


    ¡°This is a leaf of the World Tree, imbued with the power of our Divine Matriarch. By carrying it with you as its holder, you can not only protect yourself but also hear the Goddess¡¯s oracle.¡±


    After saying this, Zero gracefully extended her hand, and the leaf gracefully sailed toward the Oakhand leader.


    Taking it within her hands, Selena bowed deeply before the goddess statue¡­


    After concluding the weing ceremony in the temple, the newly arrived elves finally departed from the sacred grounds.


    The majority of them followed Saintess Alice, utilizing the teleportation array to embark upon their new life in Florence¡­


    However, many members of the Oakhand Resistance, led by Selena, decided to momentarily take a brief rest before returning back to the humannds to continue their cause.


    However unlike before, this time around¡­ they would go back with renewed vigor and faith.


    Perched on the World Tree¡¯s trunk, Selena gazed upon the sprawling and grand city beneath, seemingly lost in contemtion¡­


    ¡°This is the Chosen City, a metropolis built by the Chosen Ones.¡± Alice said behind her.


    ¡°The Chosen City¡­¡±


    Selena whispered, her eyes reflecting a mix of wonder and surprise.


    ¡°What a great city!¡±


    ¡°I never imagined the Elven Forest could experience such prosperity¡­ in my childhood recollections, it was only a ce of ruin and destion. Back then, we were just children, dwelling here together, whilst evading the relentless pursuit of the half-orcs¡­¡±


    Her words held a touch of nostalgia.


    ¡°The Divine Matriarch has finally returned, and everything else is in the past now.¡±


    Alice took a step forward, cing her hand on Selena¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°¡­Selena, are you really going back?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Selena nodded.


    After that, she looked at Alice again and sighed:


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯ll be a Silver-ranked Expert after so many years of not seeing you.¡±


    ¡°This is all bestowed upon me by the grace of our Divine Matriarch. You have regained your faith and broken free from the shackles that have bound our kind. I¡¯m sure your rank shall arise soon too.¡±


    Alice smiled.


    Selena nodded slightly, returning the gesture.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡±


    After smiling, Selena suddenly changed the topic, looking puzzled:


    ¡°Who is Lady Zero? Why do I sense such profound respect from you towards her?¡±


    ¡°Lady Zero serves as the Godwarden under the Divine Matriarch.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re a saint, and aren¡¯t saints like you technically also Godwardens, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡±


    Alice shook her head and continued,


    ¡°Lady Zero is a high-ranking expert and can harness the power of our Divine Matriarch. She is much closer to Her Highness than I am and I still has a long way to go before I reach her level¡­¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Selena realized.


    Then, the Oakhand leader hesitated for a moment and suddenly reached out her hand to stab her own throat.


    In the surprised gaze of Alice, Selena retched for a moment and spat out a spatial ring. A radiant light then appeared on her hand secondster, revealing a book.


    Selena picked up the book and handed it solemnly to her sister.


    ¡°Alice, this book contains information about all the members of my organization, including some intelligence we gathered in human society. Now, I am imparting it to you as the Saintess of Nature.¡±


    ¡°Also¡­ be wary of the God of Despair. He¡¯s a deity with a profound animosity towards us elves¡­ You¡¯ll find more details about Him in this book.¡±


    Alice, on hearing this, adopted a grave expression and took the book.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    They exchanged nods.


    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte; it¡¯s about time you take those fellow brethren of ours who were brought along with us to the Holy City of Florence,¡± Selena said.


    ¡°Won¡¯t your groupe together with us? Even if you¡¯re leaving, you and yourrades could have stayed in the Elven Forest for a few days before going, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Selena shook her head, releasing a wistful sigh.


    ¡°I fear that if I linger here for too long, then returning to thend of humans will be far less appealing to me anymore.¡±


    Alice hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.


    A brief silence lingered between the two before Selena waved to the Oakhand members, who were still curiously admiring the City of Chosen Ones.


    Turning back to Alice, she spoke:


    ¡°Well then¡­ take care.¡±


    Alice sighed and ultimately nodded.


    ¡°You too, take care.¡±


    The two friends who hadn¡¯t seen each other for many years hugged each other, then set out upon their own respective paths once more¡­


    Back in the Temple of Nature.


    After the elves departed, only Meryer remained within the vicinity, lying down at the sacred grounds with his gaze seemingly lost in thought.


    ¡°Wake up, you¡¯ve been in a daze for so long¡­Tell me, what did you see back then?¡±


    In the midst of Meryer¡¯s contemtion, suddenly, aid back and ethereal female voice echoed from behind him.


    Upon recognizing the familiar voice, Meryer jolted and swiftly broke free from his trance.


    Instinctively shuddering, he pivoted around to find an elven maiden with tinum hair and amethyst eyes, adorned in regal garb and an exquisite crown behind him.


    Currently the Elven Goddess was seated upon a divine throne made of wood that materialized out of nowhere, whilst she observed him with a leisurely demeanor.


    Feeling the formidable aura and overwhelming presence exuding from her, even though it was his first time seeing her, Meryer immediately grasped the other person¡¯s real identity.


    Startled, he promptly bowed, stammering,


    ¡°G-Goddess!¡±


    Ev¨¦, in her manifested avatar form, looked at the somewhat disoriented little ck dragon and offered a faint smile.


    ¡°Alright, no need to bow.¡±


    ¡°Now, tell me, what did you experience during your battle with that Scaled Demon?¡±


    Meryer hesitated after hearing this.


    However, soon, he lowered his head and said somewhat dejectedly:


    ¡°Meryer doesn¡¯t know either¡­I¡­ at that time, only seemed to have seen some strange scenes¡­¡±


    ¡°Strange scenes?¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow.


    ¡ª <strong>290</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE PATHS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 291

    Seeing the little ck dragon being hesitant, a sudden thought crossed Eve¡¯s mind.


    Without uttering any words, Ev¨¦ descended her throne and moved towards Meryer, who began to visibly tense in her presence.


    Ev¨¦ could clearly sense that Meryer had became noticeably nervous as she approached.


    <em>This guy has already signed a contract to be my pet, so why is he still nervous? </em>


    Ev¨¦ found it a bit strange.


    ¡°Get down,¡±


    Shemanded.


    Hearing Eve¡¯s words, Meryer instinctively shivered. However, after a momentary hesitation, he obedientlyy down on the ground like a giant husky.


    Quite obedient.


    Eve nodded slightly, then reached out and ced her hand upon Meryer¡¯s skeletal head.


    Secondster, her gentle divine power began to flow into Meryer¡¯s body, and Ev¨¦ felt the dragon stiffened after receiving it.


    She eased the transmission of her divine power even more, whilst dispelling the other party¡¯s negative emotions, and then began to tap into the little ck dragon¡¯s memories¡­


    As her divine power surged within Meryer, a illusionary scene gradually hovered in midair on the temple akin to a visual projection¡­


    It was a gigantic and ferocious ck dragon, muchrger than Meryer, and its body entirely blocked out the skies as its terrifying obsidian scales gleamed with an ominous luster.


    Roaring and bellowing in wild abandon, this colossal dragon seemed to carry boundless anger and hatred within it¡­


    Chaotic and malevolent ck smoke enveloped its body as the dragon¡¯s sharp ws tore through a thickwork of roots.


    ¡°Yggdrasill!¡±


    A faintly angry and triumphant roar reverberated through the projection as the enormous ck dragon, with its mouth wide open, sank its teeth deep into the roots that¡¯s entangling it.


    At that moment, it seemed the very world itself quivered with an unbound intensity due to the sh of the two¡­


    The visual projection ended there.


    ¡°Nidhogg¡­¡±


    Eve¡¯s voice softly echoed through the temple.


    <em>Nidhogg.</em>


    It was an ancient ck dragon that participated in the


    preliminary stages of the Heavenly War, tearing at the roots of the World Tree¡­


    <em>So, was this the vision Meryer saw when he was corrupted by that so-called Scaled Demon of Despair?</em>


    Ev¨¦ pondered.


    ¡°A deity that suddenly appeared near Maple Leaf Territory in recent years, iming to be the God of Despair. It revels in the act of plunging other beings into despair, before turning them into terrifying monsters, like that Scaled Demon¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Eve recalled the words she overheard from the Oakhand leader while eavesdropping upon the yers.


    For a moment, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    <em>Scaled Demon of Despair¡­</em>


    <em>And a deity iming to be the God of Despair¡­</em>


    <em>What¡¯s more, it¡¯s particrly hostile towards the Elvenkind¡­</em>


    <em>Is it truly Nidh</em>ogg?


    Following her revival and gaining the inheritance of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ had extensively investigated about the enemies of the World Tree during the Thousand-Year Heavenly War.


    Based on her findings, most of the gods who attacked her predecessor back then are now thriving in various realms in the current era.


    However¡­only Nidhogg, the Dragon of Despair seemed to havepletely vanished without a trace.


    In this regard, Ev¨¦ had subtly probed upon this topic in one of her correspondence with H.


    However¡­ording to the Goddess of Death, it seems even the gods themselves are also unclear about its whereabouts.


    Nevertheless, the only clear thing is that although Nidhogg bit the roots of the World Tree and devoured almost half of her predecessor¡¯s source of power during the Thousand-Year Heavenly War, this ancient dragon also seemed to have suffered a severe counterattack from the World Tree, sustaining heavy injuries.


    But now¡­ could this so-called God of Despair lurking within the shadows of humanity¡¯s underbelly actually be Nidhogg itself?


    In fact, this guy never left the realm of Seig¨¹es, and didn¡¯t even stray far from the Elven Forest¡­so was it always lurking nearby?


    From what she gleamed from the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, this ancient dragon is quite persistent. Not only did it not change its name while hiding, but it also pretends to be a god and insists upon using the word ¡°despair¡± on its honorific title.


    Just how obsessed is this ancient ck dragon that had a falling out with her predecessor¡­


    Ev¨¦ shook her head inwardly.


    However, if this so-called God of Despair is indeed Nidhogg, then it indicates that its current condition may not be optimal.


    Furthermore, if it is really Nidhogg, then why would this ancient dragon decide to hide within the confines of Maple Leaf Territory?


    ¡­<em>Or perchance, does Maple Leaf Territory have something that attracts it?</em>


    Eve¡¯s thoughts became more active for a moment¡­


    Suddenly, she remembered some of the things the yers had heard while exploring Maple Leaf City, specifically regarding the mysterious ruins.


    ¡°Mysterious ruins¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured.


    Maple Leaf City was once the Elven capital.


    Although the inheritance of the World Tree that Ev¨¦ received was iplete, she also knew clearly that the Elven Capital might hold artifacts of archaeological value, but there would definitely be no treasures or ruins left behind there.


    Nheless, if there really is one then¡­


    ¡ªIt should have formed after the fall of the World Tree.


    All the findings the yers discovered during their exploration of the humannds were recorded in the game system by Ev¨¦.


    Thinking about this, Ev¨¦ began to cross-check and verify various pieces of information obtained by the yers regarding the mysterious ruins.


    ¡°Hidden ruins¡­¡±


    ¡°A phenomena that only urs on a full moon night¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a thought crossed Eve¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Could this phenomenon be happening due to a fragment of a divine artifact? specifically, the Scepter of Life?¡±


    The Scepter of Life was one of the three true divine artifacts of her predecessor.


    It also had another pleasing name ¨C the Scepter of the Lunar Goddess.


    This artifact was created by her predecessor during the Twilight Era to bring vitality and hope to the entire realm of Seig¨¹es during those dark times.


    It possessed authority over thews of life, and could even bring the dead back to life and stimte living beings to evolve¡­


    When it was in use, her predecessor would typically suspend it in the sky, casting its illumination over the entire world of Seig¨¹es.


    The scepter¡¯s shape closely resembled a crescent moon, and coupled with the artifact¡¯s radiant light, ground-dwelling creatures gradually mistook it for the very moon itself¡­


    Thus, it gained the title the Scepter of the Lunar Goddess.


    Of course, ording to what H had said, this divine artifact sadly had already been shattered during the heavenly war.


    <em>But now¡­</em>


    Could it be that there are some fragments of the Scepter of Life hidden within Maple Leaf City?


    After connecting all the information together, Ev¨¦ eventually  came up with this guess.


    ¡°It appears¡­ I should direct my attention towards Maple Leaf City. If it is truly Nidhogg, and there happen to be fragments of the Scepter of Life there too, then it presents an opportunity for me as well!¡±


    Ev¨¦ began to formte ns within her mind.


    ¡°From Selena¡¯s description, it seems that the other party has set it sights on Oakhand Resistance. Perhaps I can start from this aspect.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ maybe I can also send a few yers back alongside the elves from Oakhand. They would probably enjoy doing some espionage questline, right?¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought with a slight mischievous smirk.


    After a brief consideration, she came up with a new hidden questline.


    Of course, theputational ability of a true god far exceeds what an ordinary person could imagine as all these thoughts were just a momentary urrence for Ev¨¦.


    After making up her mind, Ev¨¦ looked back at Meryer.


    However, while Meryer¡¯s response to the projection was indeed surprising, his subsequent behavior showed some peculiarities to it as well¡­


    Moreover,


    Why did Meryer even see this scene when he encountered the Scaled Demon in the first ce?


    Ev¨¦ nced once more at the little ck dragon, and found him filled with fear as hey down on the ground, cowering in trepidation.


    At the same time¡­


    His eyes also carried a hint of confusion and apprehension.


    <em>Hmm?</em>


    Eve¡¯s mind moved slightly.


    ¡°Meryer.¡±


    She tried to make her voice as gentle as possible.


    ¡°What¡­ are you afraid of?¡±


    Hearing her words, Meryer¡¯s body trembled slightly.


    After hesitating for a moment, the little ck dragon muttered:


    ¡°Your Divine Majesty¡­I¡­ Meryer might not be a righteous silver dragon after all¡­¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>You¡¯re just noticing this now!? </em>


    ¡°Meryer¡­ f-felt an inexplicable closeness to the guy in that projection¡­¡±


    ¡°E-Even though, Meryer knows that the aura it exudes is so evil¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ who exactly am I? Is Meryer really an evil ck dragon?¡±


    The little ck dragon was at a loss.


    ¡ª <strong>291</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>NIDHOGG</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 292

    <em>He felt an inexplicable closeness to Nidhogg?</em>


    Ev¨¦ was slightly bewildered after hearing Meryer¡¯s words.


    In Seig¨¹es, creatures like dragons, especially those of direct lineage, possess a keen sensitivity to auras.


    Dragons who are directly rted to each other, even if they have never met, will have some sort of special reactions whenever they sense each other¡¯s aura.


    Thinking of this, Ev¨¦ once again examined the little ck dragon.


    ¡°Meryer, how old are you this year?¡±


    Ev¨¦ asked a question that she had always been curious about.


    Meryer shook its head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was around a hundred years ago when my father found me. I was very young back then, maybe¡­ at most, a little over a hundred at most.¡±


    <em>Over a hundred years?</em>


    Eve widened her eyes.


    <em>So, this guy is younger than Alice!? </em>


    After subduing Meryer, Ev¨¦ had specifically searched for information about dragons.


    If she remembered correctly, for pure-blooded dragons, being a little over a hundred years old should still be considered a juvenile.


    Typically, ck dragons in their juvenile phase are only a little more than ten meters tall, and the strength they can muster at this point usually peaks around intermediate silver at most.


    Meryer, on the other hand, despite having the appearance of a juvenile, has already reached an astonishing length of twenty-three meters, with his strength even greater, being one step away from attaining the level of a golden-rank dragon.


    This indicated that although this little ck dragon is quite dumb and naive, Meryer possessed genius-level talent amongst his kind.


    And talent is often linked to one¡¯s lineage.


    <em>Could it be that Meryer is a direct descendant of Nidhogg?</em>


    The moment this thought crossed Eve¡¯s mind, her expression took on an even more peculiar twist.


    ¡°Meryer, what do you think?¡±


    She turned her gaze back to the little ck dragon.


    A trace of confusion shed within Meryer¡¯s eyes.


    After hesitating for a moment, he raised his head and replied, ¡°Meryer doesn¡¯t know, but¡­ I want to be a righteous silver dragon.¡±


    <em>Why are you so persistent of wanting to be a silver dragon?!</em>


    The corners of Eve¡¯s mouth twitched as she resisted the urge to facepalm herself.


    In response, she offered a gentle nod and spoke sincerely, ¡°Embrace your true self, Meryer. Let not your identity nor origin breed fear or anxiety within you. You¡¯re already a righteous dragon as it is ¨C you only need to be true to yourself. Believe in your capabilities, Meryer!¡±


    As she spoke, Ev¨¦ used a gentle touch of life magic to calm the ck dragon.


    Upon hearing Eve¡¯s words, Meryer¡¯s mood gradually settled.


    ¡°I understand, Your Divine Majesty.¡±


    He then lowered his head slightly.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go find the chosen ones and have some barbecued meat to lift your spirits.¡±


    Ev¨¦ immediately noticed a gleam in Meryer¡¯s eyes when the words ¡®Barbecued Meat¡¯ were mentioned. She observed him subconsciously swallowing in anticipation, followed by the dragon rising from the ground like an overexcited husky.


    ¡°Your Majesty! In any circumstance, Meryer will stand by your side. After all¡­ you¡¯re the one who saved the entire world. Lord Yggdrasill, the savior of the world!¡±


    Then after saying that, without even waiting for Eve¡¯s response, Meryer swiftly turned around whilst drooling a bit and spread its wings, before flewing out of the temple toward the direction of the ck Dragon Castle.


    ¡°Saved the world¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured to herself.


    ¡°That was my predecessor, not me.¡±


    She shook her head with a soft wry smile.


    Bringing the dawn back at the Twilight Era was the work of her predecessor, not her.


    On the contrary, Ev¨¦ felt a bit embarrassed since she had nned to do the opposite and drag down the entire world with her should the gods decide to attack her.


    Ev¨¦ chuckled at her own self-deprecating thoughts.


    Of course, just as she told Meryer to be himself, this is what Ev¨¦ also wants to say to herself.


    She was merely an ordinary person that inherited the legacy of an ancient deity.


    And all she wants now is to live openly and honestly in this world¡­


    But sometimes, one¡¯s identity charts the course for their destiny.


    Like an emperor tethered to his realm, parents must stand steadfast beside their children.


    Ev¨¦, who had inherited the ancient god¡¯s legacy, would inevitably bear the corresponding responsibilities that came along with it.


    Therefore, for her, the very prospect of living openly already presents a formidable challenge, as all these obligations and expectations that she inherited tether her fate to what her predecessorid out for her.


    Maple Leaf City, White Maple Castle.


    This is the core area of Maple Leaf City, a castle built upon the ruins of the preexisting elven metropolis and the residence and office of the Lord of Maple Leaf, Otto von Cappadocia.


    Truly, it is the heart of the entire Maple Leaf territory.


    The castle is constructed from white colossal stones, supposedly repurposed materials from the dismantled old elven structures, giving it a majestic and imposing presence.


    It is rumored that due to the Cappadocia family inheriting elven legacies and wealth, the interior of White Maple Castle is even more splendid. It houses countless elven artifacts and magical items that could never be found anywhere else, at least in the current era.


    At this very moment, inside White Maple Castle.


    A middle-aged man in butler attire anxiously paces around the castle¡¯s reception hall.


    It¡¯s none other than Anders, who had recently returned to Maple Leaf City alongside the yers.


    Presently, Anders exhibits signs of distress ¨C beads of sweat materialize on his forehead, and his face reflects palpable anxiety.


    After a while, a person dressed as a castle guard walks in from the outside.


    Anders immediately brightens up and quickly approached the guard, asking with a mix of anticipation and concern,


    ¡°¡­How is it?¡±


    The castle guard respectfully bows to the steward and said,


    ¡°Sir Anders, I have already inquired and all the establishments that operate in the ckmarket have been swindled, and the culprit who did it¡­ is probably the southern caravan that came to Maple Leaf City along with you.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible!?¡±


    Anders eximed, eyes wide, as his breathing became morebored.


    ¡°Then¡­what¡¯s happening now?¡±


    He asks hurriedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s absolute chaos. It¡¯s said that severalpanies have dispatched Silver-rank experts to track down the culprits, but they still haven¡¯t returned yet.¡±


    ¡°S-Silver!¡±


    Anders¡¯ pupils slightly contract with trepidation.


    Dispatching Silver-rank experts clearly indicates the severity of the losses thesepanies have incurred. He himself has invested in these establishments, particrly in Sauron Trade Company.


    If the losses are too significant, then he¡¯ll definitely be in trouble.


    ¡°Damned Southern nobles! They actually deceived me!¡±


    He uttered with a voice full of resentment.


    ¡°And¡­,¡± the guard paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that all the elves and half-elves ves being sold at the ckmarket were swindled and taken away by those people.¡±


    ¡°All the Elves and Half-elves ves were taken away?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ even the elves from Oakhand are gone.¡±


    Anders was left momentarily stunned, as his face turnedpletely pale.


    ¡°Then¡­d-doesn¡¯t that mean that the auction organized by the Count in the uing days will¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid¡­ there are no elf ves left for the auction,¡± the guard concluded.


    Upon hearing this, Anders appeared momentarily dazed, nearly inadvertently lowering himself to the floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ it¡¯s all over for me¡­ he¡¯ll surely be furious if the Count finds out about this.¡±


    The steward¡¯s forehead began to sweat like a waterfall.


    Many of the foreign merchants and nobles that will attend the auction are most likelying here in the city with the intent to purchase some elven ves for themselves¡­


    Furthermore, the very auction itself was announced by the Borderlord himself!


    If this matter goes awry, his lord will definitely be aughingstock amongst the circles of nobility!


    And all of this incident originated from him bringing those Southern nobles in and introducing them to the ckmarket.


    Thinking of this, Anders bes even more frightened.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    He instinctively grabbed the guard with a grim expression.


    The guard, taken aback, initially attempted to break free butter on sumbs to Anders¡¯ unyielding hold.


    In the end, the guard can only spill everything he heard.


    ¡°B-Based on what I¡¯ve heard¡­ it seemed those southern nobles at first proposed exchanging the ve collections of thepanies for their fully-tamed elves. However, afterwards, all these tamed elvesmitted suicide one after another¡­¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but it¡¯s even rumored that the corpses of these fully-tamed elves also disappeared shortly after they died, although whether it¡¯s true or not, I¡¯m notpletely sure, sir.¡±


    ¡°Exchanging their ves for fully tamed elves?¡±


    Anders was momentarily stunned.


    ¡°Where did those southern youngsters even got these fully tamed elves?¡±


    He wondered aloud while thinking back on his journey alongside the caravan of these swindlers.


    Never once had he seen nor noticed any signs of an elf back then, so surely those youngsters hadn¡¯t brought it back with them from the Kingdom.


    At this moment, another guard hastily runs in from the outside.


    It¡¯s one of Anders¡¯ trusted subordinates.


    ¡°S-Sir Anders! Sir Anders!¡±


    He gasps for breath, conveying urgency as he runs.


    ¡°The Count has returned!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>292</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE IDENTITY OF MERYER ¡¿</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 293

    At the gates of White Maple Castle.


    The patrolling soldiers stood tall on either side while avish four-wheeled carriage, adorned in ck with gold ents and intricate hollow carvings, made its gradual entrance into the castle whilst being apanied by a retinue of numerous knights.


    The carriage bore a shield-shaped coat of arms on its side, featuring a majestic ck lion and vibrant red maple leaves. This emblem is the very symbol of the noble household of the Borderlord of the Maple Leaf Territory.


    Each apanying knight is mounted on a white steed and d in silver armor, as they radiated a formidable aura, bearing the ranks of a Silver Expert.


    The carriage smoothly entered the castle¡¯s premises, beforeing to a stop in the courtyard. Following this, a man in his forties descended from the carriage.


    Otto von Cappadocia.


    As one of the seven imperial candidates for the Empire¡¯s throne, he bears the titles of the White Knight, Borderlord, and Count of the Maple Leaf Territory.


    With many of such glorious titles under his portfolio, Lord Otto is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and influential people in the entire empire.


    Moreover, his unfathomable strength and powerful army in his arsenal also made his name very popr amongst the surrounding territories.


    Nevertheless, at this moment, the Borderlord, who was respected and envied by countless people, did not seem to be in a very good mood.


    ¡°C-Count, Borderlord, Your Highness!¡±


    The moment the Borderlord descended from the carriage, an old man in a steward¡¯s attire adorned with a wig hurriedly approached him, as his voiceden with joy and anxiety echoed through the premises.


    However, the Borderlord¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the approaching figure.


    ¡°Anders¡­¡±


    He slowly called out with a tone devoid of any emotion, a clear indication known to those familiar with the Borderlord that his current mood was far from good.


    ¡°Y-Your Highness¡­¡±


    Anders stammered nervously.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talkter.¡±


    The Borderlord¡¯s hand swept in amanding wave, prompting the apanying knights to disperse in swift session, while the coachman skillfully guided the carriage away.


    However, one attendant remained in ce, respectfully following behind the Borderlord.


    It was a middle-aged man dressed as a mercenary. His face was a little pale, and the armor on his body showed recent signs ofbat, as well as some faint traces of blood.


    If the yers were here, they would then immediately recognize that this was one of the seven silver experts who had originally pursued them, and he was also the only mercenary from the Sauron Chamber of Commerce who managed to escaped!


    ¡°Mr. Hawk, what are you doing here?!¡±


    Anders¡¯ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the mercenary but thetter only gave him a disdainful look and sneered.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Anders: ¡°¡­¡±


    The mercenary¡¯s expression soured further after seeing the old steward¡¯s dumbfounded face.


    Ignoring their exchange, the Borderlord, while being apanied by four elven-blooded maids, removed his cloak and changed into an indoor boots.


    He then walked straight further into his castle and came to his own personal study.


    Seated upon his favored elven-styled wooden chair, while sipping on a high-quality Aries coffee served by his steward, the Borderlord idly toyed with a delicate ck ring as he listened to the head butler¡¯s report on recent affairs in his domain.


    Meanwhile, Anders and Hawk stood respectfully at the door, avoiding unnecessary words.


    About twenty minutes into the head butler¡¯s report, the man briefly paused as his gaze casually shifted towards Anders and with a feigned nonchnce, he remarked:


    ¡°Additionally, these days, there seem to be some rather¡­ unpleasant incidents urring within themercial district of the territory. Since you¡¯ve already met Mr. Hawk, I presume you¡¯re familiar with the details, Your Highness.¡±


    <em>This damned old coot!</em>


    Cursing silently, Anders shot a hateful look at the head butler, who then tactfully added pressure to Anders, before politely excusing himself, leaving only Hawk, Anders, and the Borderlord himself alone in the room.


    ¡°Speak, what exactly happened? I only briefly went to the capital, and now so much has urred in my territory?¡±


    The Borderlord¡¯s voice was deep andden with dissatisfaction as he interrogated the visibly shaken steward.


    ¡°Almost all of the establishment in Maple Leaf City¡¯s ckmarket industry have suffered massive losses while at the same time, the elves they¡¯ve prepared for the uing auction have been swindled¡­Anders, tell me, what is the meaning of this?!¡±


    He red coldly at Anders.


    While the steward holds only a few shares in some businesses, including Sauron Company, being the Borderlord of Maple Leaf himself, Otto naturally holds more significant shares in various business firms that operate within his territory.


    To say that he is mad is an understatement, as this time, in fact, almost half of the goods that the swindlers have stolen actually belong to him.


    Under the Borderlord¡¯s reprimand, Anders shivered.


    Regretting his choices, the panicking steward hastily exined:


    ¡°I-It¡¯s the work of those nobles from the south, Your Highness! All the schemes were orchestrated by those damned southern nobles! I was deceived by them too!¡±


    ¡°Nobles?¡±


    The Borderlord scoffed, turned his head, and looked at the mercenary from the Sauron Trade Company.


    ¡°Hawk, tell Anders what you saw.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡±


    Hawk bowed to the Borderlord, then looked at Anders with a cold snort.


    ¡°Nobles? What nonsense! I tracked them along with six other Silver-ranked experts from various groups. Those swindlers¡­ none of them wouldpromise, even choosing suicide over surrender. And the way they fought was quite shameless too! You¡¯re saying they are nobles? Horseshit! They¡¯re nothing but desperate criminals!¡±


    ¡°¡­They aren¡¯t nobles?¡±


    Anders opened his mouth wide.


    <em>But¡­ if they aren¡¯t nobles, then how could those youngsters maintain such good appearances? And how do they seem to lead such an leisurely lives?</em>


    <em>Moreover¡­ if they are really nothing more than desperate criminals, then how could they appear so knowledgeable and sophisticated?</em>


    <em>C-Could it be¡­ I was deceived from the beginning?</em>


    ¡°And¡­clearly their main purpose is to take our elven ves. Throughout our pursuit, they consistently protected those elves, even at the cost of their own lives! Obviously, they are in league with those elves!¡±


    Hawk added.


    <em>They¡¯ve protected the elves even at the cost of their own life?</em>


    Anders was momentarily stunned.


    ¡°B-But I heard those swindlers were¡­reselling those elves, right?¡±


    He felt his mind getting scrambled.


    ¡°Nonsense! The elves they resold allmitted suicide! Not a single body left! Thinking about it, I¡¯m not even sure whether the elves they sold are elves or not! Did they really killed themselves or merely faking it¡­no one even know!¡±


    ¡°But ording to the Golden Apple Trade Company, when those fully tamed elvesmitted suicide, theirpany¡¯s defensive magic array detected traces of spatial magic. So maybe¡­ they were all teleported away instead!¡±


    Hawk sneered again.


    <em>T-Teleported?!</em>


    Anders widened his eyes.


    ¡°S-So¡­ So you mean¡­ Those stolen goods from the ckmarket establishments¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmph, everything touched by those criminals vanished into thin air! The Sauron Trade Company had also already sent some people to investigate this incident and based on their findings, these criminals are probably using¡­ an extremely sophisticated teleportation spell!¡±


    Hawk continued to sneer.


    <em>A sophisticated teleportation spell!? </em>


    Hearing this, Anders widened his eyes.


    <em>But¡­ their strength isn¡¯t that particrly strong!</em>


    ¡°S-So¡­¡±


    Anders¡¯s voice was somewhat dry.


    ¡°So¡­you¡¯re telling me, the actual culprits aren¡¯t nobles from the south but rather, an unfamiliar mysterious force?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Hawk taunted.


    Anders: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Anders noticed another thing. He looked at Hawk, as his expression showed a look of confusion.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve returned, what about those people who went along with you to pursue them?¡±


    Hawk sighed.


    ¡°Dead¡­They¡¯re all dead.¡±


    ¡°D-Dead?!¡±


    Anders¡¯s gaze was slightly dazed.


    Seven Silver-ranked Experts!


    The group that chased after the culprits was quite a formidable force, fully capable of dominating anyone below the Golden-rank.


    <em>How could they died like this?!</em>


    ¡°We encountered a ck dragon.¡±


    Hawk looked at him deeply and continued:


    ¡°And that ck dragon is in the same group as those guys.¡±


    ¡°B-ck¡­ck dragon?¡±


    Upon hearing this word, Anders was left utterly astonished.


    ¡°Anders¡­¡±


    At this moment, the Borderlord finally spoke.


    Startled, the steward¡¯s gaze swiftly turned respectful as he faced his lord.


    ¡°Do you know why I didn¡¯t kill you on the spot when I saw you just now?¡± The Borderlord said with a sly smile.


    However, his smile held no emotion, and his gaze towards Anders was cold and indifferent.


    Upon catching the undertone of threat in the Borderlord¡¯s words, Anders instantly broke into a cold sweat. Desperation consumed him as he clung tightly to the Borderlord¡¯s thighs, tears streaming down his face in cries of anguish.


    ¡°Your Highness! P-Please spare me, Your Highness!¡±


    ¡°It was indeed my greed that led those people to the ckmarket, but¡­ but I am sincerely loyal to you! And¡­ and I also have important information to report to you!¡±


    As the unsightly steward spoke, the Borderlord chuckled and promptly delivered a swift kick, sending the man sprawling to the ground.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    He then took out a white handkerchief from his chest, wiped the spot where Anders had clung to, before throwing the handkerchief onto the steward¡¯s face.


    ¡°Was it that ck dragon?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you know?¡±


    Anders was astonished.


    ¡°ck dragons aren¡¯tmon¡­¡±


    The Borderlord said casually.


    Afterwards, he took a sip of coffee, put on the ring he had been ying with for a while, and continued, ¡°I heard that the territory suffered an attack from a ck dragon some time ago, and you were abducted by that ck dragon. This time, the territory was infiltrated by an unknown force, and Hawk and his group also encountered a ck dragon¡­¡±


    Saying this, the Borderlord pointedly looked at Anders, narrowing his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Anders, don¡¯t you think you owe me an exnation?¡±


    Hearing the Borderlord¡¯s words, Anders was greatly shocked.


    ¡°My lord! Do you think it was me?!¡±


    The Borderlord remained silent.


    Tears streamed down Anders¡¯ face as he instinctively tried reached out to embrace his Lord¡¯s thighs once more. Yet, under the cold re from his master, the steward quickly altered his course, opting instead to hug a nearby chair while he sobbed.


    ¡°My lord! My lord! I¡¯mpletely loyal to you! After escaping from the ck dragon¡¯s clutches, it took me almost two months toe back! My lord! Haven¡¯t you noticed how thin I¡¯ve be?¡±


    ¡°Sob¡­ My lord! I indeed have some important information to report to you! It¡¯s about that evil ck dragon! But¡­please believe me, I absolutely have no connection with it!¡±


    Listening to Anders, the Borderlord lifted an eyebrow slightly.


    ¡°Well, tell me then, what do you want to report?¡±


    Upon hearing the Borderlord¡¯s words, a surge of joy lit up Anders¡¯ expression. He poised to speak, but as his eyesnded on Hawk standing nearby, an abrupt hesitation seized him.


    ¡°Hawk is on our side.¡±


    The Borderlord said indifferently.


    ¡°On¡­ our side?¡±


    Anders widened his eyes.


    <em>By the Grace of the Eternal Lord! </em>


    <em>Does my lord also have nted spies inside a Behemoth-like organization like the Sauron Trade Company? </em>


    He took a deep breath, organized his words, and then said,


    ¡°My lord¡­ The mastermind is definitely that ck dragon! This incident must be that evil ck dragon¡¯s doing all along!¡±


    ¡°That ck dragon! It raised numerous elves! Moreover, the elves it raised are incredibly ferocious,pletely unlike a typical pacifist elves! I personally witnessed them attacking the crocodile group, killing over a thousand mercenaries!¡±


    ¡°¡­A ck dragon raising elves?¡±


    Surprise flickered across both Hawk and the Borderlord.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    Anders eximed with excitement. However, as his words flowed, a sudden sh of realization illuminated his mind.


    ¡°¡­I understand now!¡±


    ¡°I finally remembered! Elves! It must be elves! Those southern nobles were definitely elves in disguise!¡±


    ¡°Elves in disguise?¡±


    The Borderlord became even more surprised.


    ¡°Yes! My lord, I suddenly remembered that when those elves attacked the crocodile mercenary group, their bodies too would disappear once they died in battle¡­ This matches exactly with Mr. Hawk¡¯s description and the experiences of other tradepanies!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡­ they are all connected! That southern caravan must actually be elves who disguised themselves as humans!¡±


    Anders eximed loudly.


    ¡°Swindled Elven ves¡­Elves disappearing after death¡­ A ck dragon raising elves¡­¡±


    The Borderlord tapped the armrest of the chair he was sitting in, as a subtle furrow formed on his brow.


    Rubbing his temples, he cast a nce toward Anders.


    ¡°Do you know anything else?¡±


    ¡°What else do I know¡­¡±


    Anders felt somewhat bewildered.


    However, seeing the Borderlord¡¯s cold gaze, the steward quickly racked his brains to recall anything else of value¡­


    ¡°Oh, I remember! Those people¡­ no, those elves, they eat meat!¡±


    ¡°Or rather, instead of saying they are elves, they are actually more like humans draped in elven skin!¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, when Imunicated with them, I didn¡¯t realize anything unusual about their identity! It¡¯s just that they looked and acted so much like humans! Nothing like the typical elves we often encounter, you see.¡±


    ¡°They¡­ arepletely different from the traditional elves! Now that I think about it, perhaps those so-called fully tamed elves were probably just pretending as well!¡±


    ¡°Moreover¡­ those weird elves arepletely not scared of death, nor are they afraid of pain! Back when they were fighting the Crocodile Mercenary Corps, I saw some elves being cut in half, yet they¡¯re still jumping around andughing madly until their death¡­¡±


    The elves raised by the ck dragon aren¡¯t afraid of death?


    The Borderlord furrowed his brows slightly.


    <em>In what circumstances wouldn¡¯t someone fear death anyway?</em>


    <em>Perchance, if one would have unshakable beliefs like those religious fanatics¡­ </em>


    <em>But another case would be if¡­they cannot die at all.</em>


    ¡ªOr rather¡­they have some means to defy death!


    For a moment, the Borderlord¡¯s thoughts diverged¡­


    A brief silence ensues and after contemting for a while, the Borderlord shifted his gaze back to Anders.


    ¡°Do you have anything else to say? Is there anything you¡¯re hiding from me?¡±


    A tremor passed through Anders as he briskly shook his head.


    ¡°Nothing! Nothing at all!¡±


    The Borderlord¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.


    Anders dropped his gaze.


    ¡°You can leave.¡±


    After a pregnant silence, the Borderlord dered.


    Anders, feeling like he had received a pardon, excitedly bowed to him and then scurried out. However, just as he was about to leave the door, a long sword pierced through his chest.


    His excited smile froze on his face.


    ¡°An Iron-rank strength? No wonder he could kill everyone who was traveling with him¡­¡±


    A somewhat surprised voice came from behind the steward.


    Hearing the Borderlord¡¯s words, Anders¡¯ eyes froze instantly.


    <em>He¡­H-How did he know?</em>


    Anders tried to opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only managed to spew out a mouthful of blood.


    He then slowly fell to the ground, lifeless.


    From behind him, came the Borderlord¡¯s indifferent voice:


    ¡°I can forgive your foolishness, and I can forgive your greed, but you shouldn¡¯t have kept from me the fact that you killed a few lowly people to silence them. I¡­ dislike deception.¡±


    ¡°Take him away.¡±


    After saying that, the Borderlord nced at Hawk, who was totally taken aback.


    As if sensing his cue, the mercenary saluted the Borderlord and then dragged the dead steward¡¯s body away¡­


    A few secondster, only the Borderlord remained in the room.


    ¡°Your control over soul magic is getting stronger. You can now even see the undead lingering around that foolish steward. It seems¡­ you are indeed quite suited for the governing path of life and death.¡±


    At this moment, an old voice suddenly echoed within the room.


    Nheless, the Borderlord appeared not surprised in the slightest.


    Instead, Otto nonchntly  took a sip of coffee, and responded:


    ¡°As you said, I ced all the Oakhand elves in the ckmarket, but I didn¡¯t expect that it actually attracted a big fish¡­¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ what¡¯s the connection between those strange elves and the Oakhand? Can our n still proceed smoothly?¡±


    The old voice chuckled.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    His voice continued to resonate in the room:


    ¡°Didn¡¯t that steward said that he saw arge number of Elves?¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t our original purpose to find more elves? After all¡­ only elves possess the bloodline of Yggdrasill!¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the Borderlord squinted slightly.


    ¡°However¡­ Anders said those elves are very peculiar.¡±


    ¡°Even if they are strange, the means of detection I left in the ckmarket has confirmed they¡¯re real and my methods cannot be faked.¡±


    The old voice continued tough.


    ¡°In any case, these strange elves make me even more interested in them¡­¡±


    ¡°And just now¡­ it seems they also killed one of my children¡­¡±


    ¡°s, the distance was too far, and I didn¡¯t perceive how they did it¡­ but I did catch a familiar scent.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>293</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong> <strong>BORDERLORD</strong>  ¡¿


    <strong>     NEXT </strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 294

    Chapter 294


    The initial group of yers that explored the human territory courageously prepared for an extended period whichsted for days, only toe back with a somewhatical oue.


    Despite the failure of their n to exploit the bound item bug and loot the goods of the vers, in the end, the yers still managed to rescue numerous elven ves andplete the main questline.


    Hence, ultimately, their first excursion towards human society was still a significant achievement.


    In actuality, as far as the actual situation is concerned, from the moment yers first entered Maple Leaf City, up until their hasty escape, the entire exploration duration onlysted for two and a half days.


    Nevertheless, during these two and a half days, the yers mostly dedicated their time conducting business and scamming various ver establishments that operates within the ckmarket.


    As a result, they have yet to explore the remainder of Maple Leaf City, so for yers, the exploration of this new map is just starting.


    The incident with the bound-item bug and the subsequent pursuit of the vers¡¯ henchmen did not dampened their curiosity nor enthusiasm concerning Maple Leaf City in the slightest.


    In fact, on the contrary, after the first group of yers shared their experiences and operations in Maple Leaf City by uploading it on the inte, the rest of the ybase became even more intrigued by this newly unlocked map.


    After all, it¡¯s vastly different from any prior maps the yers had encountered before, and Maple Leaf City, unlike the other older locations within the game, is a bustling metropolis full of life-like human NPCs.


    Although the scale of structures within Florence and Rivendell are also veryrge, s, ruins are still ruins after all, and theyck a little bit of humanity with their destitution.


    Even with the subsequent return of the natives and the reconstruction of Florence, the remation only covered specific areas.


    Moreover, the number of elven NPCs currently living in Florence was limited, and as for the underground city of ckrock, it merely constitutes a small settlement inhabited by only a few thousand Dark-Dwarves.


    Nevertheless, the yers were still shocked when they first saw ckrock City since a lively city,posed of thousands of lifelike NPCs, was already a remarkable achievement for a virtual game.


    The Chosen City, built by the yers themselves, is much more prosperous, but¡­ the residents are all yers, and itcks a certain essence despite the familiarity and rxation of the ce.


    Reveling in excitement was amon trait among yers. Hence, upon encountering the bustling Maple Leaf City, the other older cities now seemed a bitcking and smaller inparison.


    The human city of Maple Leaf is a bustling metropolis teeming with life, boasting a poption reaching into the hundreds of thousands!


    This vibrant new map unfolds with residents immersed in their daily routines, merchant caravans navigating bustling streets, carriages swiftly weaving through the lively thoroughfares, pedestrians adding their own rhythmic footsteps, and the asional city guards ensuring order.


    Together, these elements breathe chaos and vitality into the very essence of Maple Leaf for which the older mapscks.


    This prosperous human city,bined with the absence of reputation restrictions typical for other cities within their own faction¡¯s territory, significantly heightened the gamey for the yers.


    In fact, many first-beta yers, who hadn¡¯t yet explored various other activities within Maple Leaf City, due to them being preupied with the whole binding bug event and enved elves rescue questlines already want to return for another round!


    s, with the current situation in Maple Leaf City, the yers have no choice but to wait for awhile for things to calm down. So in the mean time, they logged online and talk about the recent happenings within the game.


    Naturally, the incident regarding the failed bound item bug became a topic of amusement on the forums.


    However, as another piece of news spread, the conversation¡¯s tone began to change.


    The best tank on the entire server, the vice-leader of the Heart of Nature who enjoys seeking death, and the yer with the lowest reputation, Demacia, used the binding system¡¯s recall function to swindle himself a spatial ring!


    Reportedly, he made a fortune selling the ring and earned himself a whopping hundreds of thousands of contributions points!


    The forums buzzed with excitement upon learning of this news.


    ¡°Wow! I didn¡¯t know the binding feature in this game could be used like that?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ isn¡¯t this technically a bug? Why can¡¯t you bind equipment on the spot and recycle it after death, but scamming equipment like this does?¡±


    ¡°Bro, did you miss the update log? During the recent maintenance yesterday, the binding bug got fixed. Now you can only bind equipment in the temple or within the vicinity of the World Tree. So now, those previous bindings are all void.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I heard those items disappeared?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ might genuinely be a bug.¡±


    ¡°Ah! No way! I¡¯m so jealous! How is Demacia so lucky!¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­ lucky you say? don¡¯t you know? That guy drew 100,000 contributions from the lottery yesterday, and only got a bunch of junk equipment and resurrection coins in return.¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­ that¡¯s too pitiful. Even I got a legendary item in a single draw.¡±


    ¡°Get outta here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true! I also spent a lot of contributions on the lottery, and I only got a single draw after returning from Maple Leaf City. But Demacia¡¯s trick isn¡¯t bad; I¡¯m tempted to try my luck in Maple Leaf City again. No¡­ perhaps I can try it in ckrock City first!¡±


    ¡°ckrock City? Dealing with the dark dwarves? The system has already ssified them as friendly faction, so you better be careful not to drop your personal reputation score.¡±


    ¡°Oh right¡­ then I¡¯ll go mess with the humans instead¡­¡±


    One¡¯s own reputation score is crucial for leveling up and determining luck when exchanging equipment. Among yers, no one underestimates this metric.


    Haven¡¯t you noticed? Due to Demacia¡¯s overall low reputation score, he struggled to barely reach the first-rank level¡­


    On the other hand, Li Mu, with the highest server-wide reputation score, effortlesslypleted quests one after another and already reached level 31!


    However, Demacia¡¯s experience gave yers a new ideas.


    Suddenly, the beta yers that recently just returned became lively once again with renewed thoughts.


    And this liveliness reached its peak with the release of new system questlines!


    Afterpleting the hidden quest of rescuing elves, a new questlines finally appeared!


    And this time, these quests are still rted to Maple Leaf City.


    However, this time, the system triggered not one, but two questlines.


    The first was <strong>[Secrets of the God of Despair.] </strong>


    The objective was to gather information about the God of Despair and track their influence.


    This was undoubtedly a follow up to the Little ck Dragon¡¯s questline!


    yers sensed something odd during the battle between the ck Dragon and the Scaled Demon, and none amongst them believed that the Little ck Dragon had no connection to the God of Despair!


    The second quest was <strong>[ Oakhand.] </strong>


    The objective of this second questline was to first return with Selena and the other elves, join the Oakhand Resistance Group, and rekindle the faith of the resistance members, and assist them in continuing to rescue elves within the human territory.


    In particr, this quest had a hint of espionage, attracting the attention of many curious yers whose into that kind of games.


    It was unclear which of the two tasks held more importance, but most yers who have reached level 31 can ept both questlines.


    In any case, when it came to questlines, whether they could bepleted or not, the key was to ept them first.


    Completing them was undoubtedly good, but failing to do so didn¡¯t matter much either way¡­


    So in the end, Selena was stunned as she looked at the hundreds of chosen ones who were moring to follow her back to Maple Leaf City.


    ¡ª <strong>294</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>PLAYERS ENTHUSIASM</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 295

    Chapter 295


    In the end, Selena didn¡¯t return alongside every chosen ones that volunteered but rather, she only selected a few lucky ones to join her resistance group.


    Why? It is none other than simply because it would put a huge target upon them if she had brought so many people back, and they might have even be caught by the humans first before entering the city!


    The Oakhand leader whose very familiar with how humans operates, knew that their enemies would definitely be on high alert after the yers caused such chaos andmotion in Maple Leaf City.


    While Maple Leaf City is the central hub of the Borderlord¡¯s territory, it still experiences a significant influx of visitors even in winter. However, at this crucial moment, if a group of a hundred individuals were to enter the city, they would undoubtedly face rigorous scrutiny.


    Nheless, the yers were not in a hurry.


    The questline¡¾Oakhand ¡¿involves sessfully joining the organization, with a reward of 1000 contribution points.


    For yers who are at the top of Iron-ranking, although this reward is somewhat attractive, it is not really that big.


    Moreover, joining the organization is just the beginning¡­the subsequent rewards for rekindling faith and rescuing other captured elven ves are all counted separately.


    In other words, this questline will be a long-term endeavor.


    Therefore, yers aren¡¯t in a hurry.


    As for the method of joining the organization¡­


    There¡¯s always another way!


    And¡­ isn¡¯t there another questline?


    ¡¾Secrets of the God of Despair¡¿


    Just hearing about it gives a sense of major news!


    Maple Leaf City.


    In a certain tavern located in a civilian area of the city.


    A guard sat at the bar with hispanion, drinking watered-down ale and gossiping about the recent happenings within the city.


    ¡°Did you hear? A few days ago, it seems like several ckmarketpanies in themercial district was scammed! They even say that several silver-ranked experts died!¡±


    ¡°Wow, really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure but I heard somepanies have even dered bankruptcy¡­Gods, I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening recently.¡±


    ¡°Damn! So who did it? I bet they¡¯re really powerful to pull off this kind of stunt¡­¡±


    ¡°Heard it was some nobles from the south¡­¡±


    ¡°Southern nobles were the culprits? Good! I¡¯ve always found those ckmarket goons annoying¡ªnever respecting us city guards and not abiding by our rules at all. Hmph, they should have been taken care of long ago! Once I make it big, I¡¯ll show them who¡¯s the boss and demand a half-elf ve from them to warm my bed every day!¡±


    ¡°Hush¡­ Keep it down. Don¡¯t you know those ckmarket goons are protected by the Lord? The Count has shares in their business. Otherwise¡­why would they be so arrogant?¡±


    Upon hearing hispanion¡¯s words, the guard quickly gestured for caution.


    ¡°My Lord!¡±


    Hispanion¡¯s expression shifted, swiftly concealing his mouth. Once he was certain no one had heard them, he released a quiet exhale of relief.


    After speaking, the guard, while sipping the tasteless liquor, surveyed the entire tavern with his piercing blue eyes.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    He nudged his old buddy.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    Hispanion hupped, asking in confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think¡­ there have been quite a few outsiders in the town recently?¡±


    The guard¡¯s gaze surveyed some unfamiliar faces in the tavern, asking in a low voice.


    ¡°Huh? People from outside¡­? Hup¡­Well, isn¡¯t the Borderlord organizing an auction soon? Many elven ves will be auctioned¡­ Hup¡­look¡­Hic, it¡¯s normal for outsiders toe!¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    The guard¡¯s brow furrowed as he rubbed his head, the aftertaste of watered-down ale still lingering on his mouth.


    In that moment, he suddenly noticed a group of people huddled in the corner of the tavern in his peripheral vision.


    Those hooded individuals were all huddled in the corner, speaking fervently to some excited residents¡­


    Seeing these people, the guard shook his head:


    ¡°Ah, these guys¡­are back at it again.¡±


    ¡°Eternal Lord above, I wonder what the Borderlord is thinking¡­Why does he allow the Church of Despair to spread its teachings within our territory? Aren¡¯t they afraid of invoking the wrath of the Eternal Church?¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the church doesn¡¯t list the God of Despair in their orthodox canon, so these guys don¡¯t have the right to preach their faith.¡±


    He muttered under his breath whilst sipping his drink.


    Upon catching his words, hispanion nonchntly took a hearty gulp of his ale and remarked, ¡°Hup¡­brother, why even bother? The Borderlord hasn¡¯t said much, and us guards don¡¯t really care either way¡­¡±


    ¡°And¡­¡±


    A pause lingered as hispanion continued, ¡°What the Church of Despair says isn¡¯t all falsehood anyway¡­They speak of an impending great disaster¡­Just look at these past months with all the monster waves and strange phenomena happening one after another, who knows, hup¡­ perhaps troubled times are trulying!¡±


    ¡°What Church of Despair? What phenomena? What great disaster?¡±


    Amidst their casual conversation, a curious voice unexpectedly interjected from behind them.


    Turning swiftly, their gaze fell upon a young man d in the attire of a mercenary.


    With red hair, an unfamiliar visage, and worn-out equipment resembling a salvaged gear from a garbage dump, the young man seemed aplete broke wandering mercenary.


    His wide-eyed stare brimming with curiosity, send an involuntary shiver down the spines of the two.


    <em>Where did this wandering mercenarye from? Could he be a sick person?</em>


    ¡°Hey, hey¡­ two elder bros, what¡¯s up¡­ I¡¯m just curious! Just curious! Tell me about it.¡±


    The young man chuckled, pulling out a water pouch from his pocket and handing it to the two guards.


    A rich aroma of alcohol wafted through the air.


    <em>So fragrant!</em>


    Instantly, the eyes of the two guards widened in surprise.


    Instinctively, they leaned in, noses subtly twitching as their gaze honed in on the water pouch in the young man¡¯s hand.


    <em>What kind of drink is this?</em>


    They gulped down mouthfuls of saliva, their reactions revealing a blend of curiosity and thirst.


    At that a moment, they felt their mugs of ale lost their appeal.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­this is a little local specialty from my hometown. Here, have a taste, have a taste! In exchange you can tell me about that God of Despair and that Great Disaster you¡¯re talking about¡­¡±


    The young man smiled.


    The two guards exchanged nces before epting the wine bag.


    In a swift motion, they downed the drink in one gulp, then proceeded to pour out a generous amount of the offered wine.


    ¡°What kind of wine is this?!¡±


    With a gleam in their eyes, the two guards eximed joyfully, savoring the warmth and mellowness of the transparent liquid with each sip.


    ¡°It¡¯s called¡­ um¡­ let¡¯s call it An¡­ no, let¡¯s call it Erguotou!¡± 1


    ¡°Er Guo..Tou? What a strange name¡­¡±


    The two guards furrowed their brows.


    Nevertheless, their spirits were lifted.


    ¡°Good liquor! Although the taste is different, even a bit peculiar, it¡¯s stimting enough! I like it!¡±


    ¡°So, my esteemed elder brothers, enlighten this curious younger brother of yours about this so called, God of Despair and that impending great disaster you¡¯re talking about¡­¡±


    A smile yed on the young man¡¯s lips, showcasing a set of pristine white teeth.


    The two guards eased into the conversation, gradually unveiling what they knew:


    ¡°A few years ago, a church organization suddenly appeared in the territory. Rumor has it they have dealings with some major nobles in Maple Leaf County. They are quite mysterious, but they possess advanced healing techniques, so they¡¯ve developed rapidly within Maple Leaf.¡±


    ¡°However, there are also rumors that they are forces of the evil gods. But¡­ the Lord hasn¡¯t intervened yet, and the Eternal Church has not prohibited their activities either.¡±


    The two guards exchanged information, one after another.


    ¡ª <strong>295</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>CHURCH OF DESPAIR ¡¿</strong><hr>


    1 <strong>¶þ¹øÍ·</strong> ¨C ¨¨rgu¨­t¨®u is a strong, colourless liquor distilled from sorghum (so called because it is distilled twice)<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 296

    Chapter 296


    The Despair Church worships the God of Despair. They believe that the future of the entire world is filled with despair, and only by understanding despair can one find their true self. Only those who worship the God of Despair can survive the impending cmities.


    In short, this mysterious church is quite active in our Maple Leaf Territory, and they have a deep background. All forces that caused trouble for them disappeared mysteriously in the end.


    However, although these guys are always preaching in the territory, so far they still havent done anything wrong that warrants interference or opposition to their activities. Its just that the followers of this God of Despair feel rather peculiar


    One of the guards spoke.


    Peculiar?


    The young mans demeanor brightened.


    Thats right,


    The guard affirmed, proceeding:


    All the followers of the God of Despair will gradually distance themselves from others, as their personalities be very depressing over time. So even though they still havent caused any major incidents in the territory, the thing is


    The guard left his statement hanging, shaking his head with a secretive air.


    What is it?


    The young man quirked his head.


    Its wise to keep your distance from them if you can!


    The guard sipped his drink, leaving an air of caution in his words.


    The young man showed a look as if hes pondering about something.


    After asking about the information, he then suddenly revealed a brighter smile. Extracting a handful of water bags from his pocket, he beckoned a few reverent dark dwarfs to join him from the outside of the tavern.


    Brothers, theres one more thing


    The young man licked his lips.


    What is it?


    The two guards wore expressions of confusion.


    Do you want to get rich?


    The young man shed a grin.


    Get rich?


    The two guards exchanged puzzled nces.


    Then, the young man smoothly approached the ears of the two guards. Amidst their strange gazes, like a tempting devil, the youth whispered:


    Have you heard of Amway?


    The resurgence of mana shall herald the apocalypse! Our world, Seiges, teeters on the brink of chaos in the impending catastrophe! To survive, you must internalize despair and revere the almighty God of Despair to receive salvation!


    An elderly figure with a hooded cloak dered with fanatical fervor, whilst observing the residents being drawn to his words.


    Beside him, the residents of Maple Leaf City listened attentively, asionally imitating his actions and drawing a strange dragon-shaped symbol upon their chests.


    In the midst of the old mans contentment in spreading his teachings, an untimely voice disrupted the atmosphere.


    This so called God of DespairIs he really an actual deity?


    The old mans expression subtly froze.


    Meanwhile, the believers around the hooded elder swiftly turned their heads, casting angry res at the skeptic.


    It was a young man dressed as a wandering mercenary.


    As the crowd shot angry res his way, the young man couldnt help but shiver. He swiftly chuckled nervously and remarked,


    Hey, dont be angrylets be calm, okay Im just curious, really curious, thats all! After all Ive never heard of this God before.


    <em>Curious?</em>


    Upon hearing this word and sensing theck of reverence for the divine in the youths words, the old man squinted his eyes slightly.


    Upon looking closer, his keen observation didnt miss the unrestrained disy of strength from the other party, firmly cing them in the upper echelon of iron-rank.


    This revtion stirred something within the old man.


    A wandering mercenary, wielding the prowess of an Iron-rank Expert!


    Furthermoreit seemed this youth had not yet firmly established a solid faith to any divine entity!


    For a moment, the old mans gaze towards the adolescent skeptic became fervent.


    Of course! His Divine Grace for which I serve is undoubtedly a real deity!


    His words burst forth with fanatical conviction.


    Its just that My Divine Lord was affected by the catastrophe a thousand years ago, thus sumbing to slumber. Thats why you still havent heard of His glorious name all this time.


    Yet, soon, His Divine Grace shall reawaken, ready to reim His dormant power and usher in a tide of change upon this despairing world!


    As he spoke, the hooded elder raised his hand slightly


    Then, amidst the murmurs of the crowd, a dark green radiance emanated from the old mans grasp.


    With a sh, it illuminated everyone.


    For a moment, everyone felt a vibrant divine power surging into their bodies, dispelling all ailments and fatigue the crowd was afflicted with, leaving no trace.


    Divine Magic! This is real divine art! My word, such powerful healing magic is even more impressive than what the priests of the Eternal Church could perform!


    Feeling the divine power within his body, an elderly believer excitedly shouted.


    Then, he devoutly knelt down towards the old man.


    Seeing the excited believer in front of him, the hooded elder felt very satisfied.


    Yet, as his peripheral vision captured the sight of the young mercenary, he observed a surprised expression on the youths face.


    Divine Art of Life?


    The old man heard the young mercenary muttered such words.


    A slight smile yed on the old mans lips as he responded,


    Indeed, its the Divine Art of Life!


    In despair, hope is born, and hope nurtures life. Therefore under His Divine Grace, The God of Despair naturally possesses the power of life! This is an advanced healing divine art that only the true Gods followers can use!


    The hooded elder said with enthusiasm and pride.


    Hehe.


    A soft chuckle escaped the mouth of the young mercenary in response to his words.


    Yet, that smile consistently triggered a subtle difort in the old man.


    Young man, do you have something to say? The hooded elder asked as his eyebrows furrowed slightly.


    The mercenary shook his head, and in an instant, the youths expression became devout:


    In fact as a mercenary who frequents the battlefield, I deeply admire the True God of life. Um I wonder if I have the chance to join the Church of Despair and receive the favor of your Esteemed Deity?


    <em>Huh?</em>


    The sudden change in the mercenary caught the old man off guard, sparking a hint of surprise.


    Nheless, considering the miraculous divine arts the youth had just witnessed, the unexpected reaction from the mercenary seemed strangely ordinary, in hindsight.


    After all, he specifically showcased the Divine Art of Life exclusive to His Divine Grace to attract this young mercenary.


    The old preacher smiled slightly and said enthusiastically:


    Of course! In the eyes of His Divine Grace, all beings are equal. As long as youre willing to worship Him, you can receive His recognition and protection!


    After saying this, he took out a note from his pocket and handed it to the young man:


    If you want to be a follower of the God of Despair, then you cane to this location at 12 oclock tonight.


    Having listened to the old mans preaching in the tavern for a while, the young man eventually departed with the dark dwarfs who apanied him.


    Their group swiftly navigated through the streets of Maple Leaf City before arriving at a cheap inn.


    Without dy, the youth left the dwarves and ascended to the second floor by himself, pushing open the door to a room, and essed the chat interface.


    Soon, the young mans voice resonated with excitement in the voice chat for yers currently in Maple Leaf City:


    Hey, Comrades! Comrades! Ive finally established contact with the Church of Despair!


    Well, see? Ive made up for it this time, right? So now, can you guys finally let go of what I did before in Sauron Company?


    ying spy in the Oakhand Questline is boringOnly by causing trouble in the Cult of an Evil God can we live up to our status as sessors of Shehuism!


    These evil cultists say that the power of life belongs to the God of Despair. Hmph, as the loyal dogs of the goddess, can you guys bear it?


    <strong>296</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>DIVINE ART OF LIFE</strong>  <hr>


    <strong></strong>  Not actually sure about this one but it seems to be a niche chinese meme rted to the anime, ssroom of the Elite.<hr><hr>

 Chapter 297

    Chapter 297


    Oh, Demacia, Youve only been in the city for a few days but youve already hooked up with the Despair Church?


    The other yers were astonished upon hearing what Demacia had said in the chat group.


    Hehehe! I met one of the preachers at the tavern, and got invited, replied Demacia proudly.


    So, how about it? This is a clue for the second questline! Im pretty nifty, right? I got this information and Im gonna share it with everyone for free! Lets meet up at midnight, and sneak in together, okay?


    Demacia shared a screenshot of the note he got from the elderly preacher in the group.


    Okay, okay, Demacia, well overlook what you did a few days ago considering you shared this information for free.


    I agree, butyou still owe us a barbecue feast.


    Demacia turned a bit green.


    Oh,e onyou still thinking about having a feast? Nobody ended up getting the bugged items in the end, so does my original promise even count?


    Why not? Didnt you ended up with a storage ring in the end?


    Demacia:


    Fine, fine. If its just one barbecue per person, then when Im done having fun here in Maple Leaf City this time, Ill treat you all to a feast.


    Demacia sighed.


    However, soon he curiously typed,


    Anyways, what are you all busy with in the city?


    This time, the yers didnt form anyrge teams; instead, most operated individually or as part of a small party consisting of two or three members.


    Meanwhile, Li Mu was chosen by Selena to partake in the Oakhand Questline, leaving Demacia on his own.


    Im wandering around the city, checking if there are any tasks to do. However, after half a day of looking around, it seems there are no NPCs offering any tasks. Although many shops are hiring, simr to the dark dwarves in ckrock City, their rewards are merely copper coins, so its not worth the time.


    I noticed that too. The human NPCs here are simr to the dark dwarves in ckrock Cityit seems theyre NPCs not capable of issuing tasks.


    Thats probably the case. Also, I heard some elven NPC mention that only followers of the goddess can issue tasks. Welp, I guess its the games way of binding us to our own faction


    So we arent allowed to change factions? Thats a bit disappointing I wanted to try joining other factions


    Ohho, seems like we have a traitor here! Lmao, so you want to abandon the goddess, eh? Well then, prepare to be killed!


    Death to traitors!


    Hunt down the betrayer!


    you bunch of paper trolls! I was just joking, geez dont get so worked up!


    The chat group buzzed with excitement, just like always.


    Of course, while there are yers who want to try out something new, there were also some who boldly decided to return to their scene of the crime, so to speak


    Im gonna try buying stuff in the ckmarket once moreThis time, I brought a legendary golden equipment! Hopefully I could exchange it for a storage ring!


    A yer replied in the voice chat.


    However, he quickly received teasing from others:


    Damn! Arent you afraid of your identity being exposed and be ripped into pieces?


    Fear what? My current appearance is entirely different from the disguise Ive used beforethey wont recognize me for sure! But speaking of itthe memories of these NPCs sure are really strong. Now, when I enter a store, they dont let me freely touch things anymore


    Hahaha! Probably because theyre afraid of being scammed, just likest time? But then againI wonder where all those items we bound fromst time went.


    Maybe it got corrupted, and the system deleted it. Anyway, the CP we used was refunded, and it turned out to be a gain of a few hundred contribution points, so this oue is quite satisfying if you asked me


    Its a pity since we scammed so many items from those vers. But it would be nice if we could exchange our bound equipment for a ring this time.


    Hehehe, Im checking it now; This merchant Im currently transacting has several storage ringsCome quickly if youre interested.


    Darn it! Tell me your location quickly!


    Messages like these continued to flood the group chat.


    Meanwhile, Demacia sighed dramatically as he silently watched his fellow buddies wrack their brains out just to acquire a storage ring.


    He then looked at the small, exquisite ring he had exchanged with Little Salty Cat and kissed it before proudly stating,


    My foresight sure is unmatched Ah~ to have such great insight sure is lonesome.


    yers:


    Get lost!


    Die you scamming prick!


    Watching his chat screen being filled with messages as it scrolled down like a waterfall, Demacia wryly chuckled.


    However, hisughter didntst long as the envious jeers from the yers gradually shifted when everyone began collectively spamming:


    Hey Demacia, did you pull a legendary item today in the lottery(lol)?


    Hey Demacia, did you pull a legendary item today in the lottery(lol)?


    Hey Demacia, did you pull a legendary item today in the lottery(lol)?


    Demacia:


    Get Lost!!!


    He typed with lots of exmation mark, suddenly feeling that his storage ring didnt feel as good anymore.


    As night descended, Maple Leaf City slowly transformed from a bustling hub into a tranquil metropolis being enveloped in darkness.


    One by one, buildings in every region gradually flickered with faint lights inside them, casting a mystical aura all over the city.


    Eventually, as the lights in each house dimmed and each resident tucked in as midnight neared, even the once bustling areas sumbed to an all-epassing darkness.


    Maple Leaf City was no different from any other major cities within the world of Seiges.


    Although it was the most prosperous city on the entire Empires Bordend, it was still far from a Nightless City typically seen back on Earth.


    Meanwhile, as the entire city embraced the lull of slumber, the emptied streets soon became a nk canvas for secretive figures to emerge.


    Under the cover of night, these figures stealthily moved towards a specific direction within Maple Leaf City.


    In the southwest of Maple Leaf Cityy thergest slum district in the entire city.


    Compared to other ces, this area fell into darkness much earlier.


    Being the most chaotic ce in the city, every house in this region had already locked its doors as soon as the sun had disappeared.


    In a certain corner of the slum.


    Herein lies a piece of ancient ruins, resembling arge amphitheater.


    It is said that these are ruins left behind when Maple Leaf City was just builtan architectural relic belonging to the elven civilization that predates it.


    The deliberate preservation of this ancient site stands as a tribute, amemoration orchestrated by the very first Borderlord of the Cappadocia Household himself to immortalize his own heroic military feats.


    During the day, this amphitheater stood as a famous sightseeing spot for curious visitors.


    But as soon as the night fell, an eerie and terrifying ambiance would cloaked the surroundings of this ruins, dissuading anyone to dare approach it.


    Currently at the ruins entrance, two mysterious figures, draped in hooded cloaks, stood silently, as if waiting for something


    Also asionally, from time to time, someone would approach from a distance, bowing to them.


    They will then drew a strange symbol upon their chests before entering the ruins.


    At the inner section of the amphitheater, nearly a hundred hooded individuals formed a silent circle, with each one cradling an ever-burning candle in their hands.


    Amidst them, a tform hosted an elderly figure, draped in a hood and leaning on a cane.


    It was the very same old man who had preached in the tavern during the day.


    Draped in ck attire featuring an eye-catching dragon emblem on his chest, the hooded elder held a cup radiating a subtle glow, all the while eagerly observing the area beneath the tform for which he stood


    <strong>297</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>LETS SNEAK IN TOGETHER</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 298

    Chapter 298


    I dont know how many people will attend tonights congregationHowever, if I somehow managed to attract more than twenty attendees, then His Divine Grace will undoubtedly reward me! Ill definitely attain more powerful strength and more offerings!


    Observing the ever-growing assembly of people beneath the podium, a subtle madness flickered within the old mans eyes as his heart brims with anticipation.


    A hushed quiet envelops the surroundings.


    Yet, despite the silence, more and more people gradually make their way inside the amphitheater from the outside.


    The people at the crowd were mainlyposed of ordinary citizens and their faces expressed looks of either curiosity, fear, or reverence.


    As the midnight hours ticked away, a growing throng of individuals continued to arrive one after another


    Ten eleven twelve


    Meanwhile, watching the gathering crowd with eyes resembling a hawk on the prowl, the elderly preacher quietly tallied their numbers, as the anticipation within his gaze further intensified.


    Neen twenty!


    Soon, their numbers finally surpassed his quota for the day which is twenty atendees.


    Seeing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief.


    Todays turnoutis a sess!


    However, much to his surprise, more and more people continued to arrive!


    They kept pouring in without stopping, and the trend didnt seem to be slowing down anytime soon.


    Seeing this sudden influx of new potential believers, the old man couldnt help but feel a mix of amazement and astonishment at the unfolding scene.


    Thirty-nineForty!


    <em>Forty Attendees!</em>


    Todays congregation had attracted forty participants, far exceeding his usual audience.


    For a moment, the old man was overjoyed.


    However, it still didnt stop there as the influx of people still kept growing at an rming rate.


    Now, people in groups of two or three continued to arrive from outside. Some were dressed as mercenaries, while others looked to be small-time merchants, and some appeared as ordinary civilians.


    Watching all of this unfold from his podium, the old man widened his eyes, feeling incredulous.


    <em>There are still more?</em>


    But soon, his ecstasy turned to shock, then to utter bewilderment


    <em>Hmm? Did I reallyattract this many people earlier</em> today?


    Looking at the hundreds of figures gathering below, each standing respectfully, the old man fell into deep contemtion.


    But soon, he disregarded his apprehension as his expression became indifferent.


    <em>Nevermind! The more participants, the better! Regardless of their reasons foring, once theyre here, theyll soon be one of us after the ceremony!</em>


    The elderly preacher smirked wickedly.


    Amidst the crowd of people within the amphitheater, several figures stood quietly.


    While these individuals initially appeared calm at first nce, but a closer inspection would reveal their subtly wandering eyes, discreetly surveying the surroundings, akin to that of an awestruck tourist visiting an attraction.


    Within the yers group chat:


    Oh my! I cant believe Maple Leaf City has such a ce?


    Is this the headquarters of the Despair Church?


    Doesnt seem to look like it..more like a stronghold if you ask me.


    Amongst the crowd, Little Salty Cats intrigued eyes scanned her surroundings excitedly.


    She then pulled HootyBird, who was disguised as an ordinary resident at her side and whispered:


    Sister Hooty, isnt this the ce we passed by when we were exploring the cityst time?


    HootyBird also looked around and nodded slightly.


    Yes, it seems to be a remnant of the prior elven civilizationI heard that the first Borderlord decided to preserve it and turned it into a tourist attraction.


    Little Salty Cat nodded and continued to look around.


    Actually, only a few people among the crowd were local residents, and the majority were yers, as evident from their usernames hovering above their heads.


    While surveying each individual, Little Salty Cats eyes suddenly stopped at a certain person and lit up when she recognized the username hovering above this yers head.


    Huh? Sister Feng is here too?!


    Feng?


    HootyBird raised an eyebrow.


    Little Salty Cat gestured her head in the direction of a casually dressed yer who stood quietly in the corner.


    Really, I dont know where shes beentely since she hasnt logged in for a long time, Little Salty Cat pouted before adding, However, its really shocking to see her already at level 31 since she never grinds levels nor participate in any quests at all.


    Maybe shes busy in real life


    HootyBird replied.


    Despite this yer named Fng also being a member of Moe Moe Committee, HootyBird had never interacted with her even once.


    All she knew was this particr member was quiteid-back but still quite a formidable yer.


    And like Little Salty Cat had said, this Fng person is hardly ever seen doing quests or hunting mobs and instead often found idling away leisurely in the City of the Chosen either rxing or simply enjoying herself like the ideal life-oriented yer.


    However, despite being a life-oriented yer that primarily focuses on leisure activities, surprisingly, no one has ever defeated her, especially on PK rted activities organized by their guild.


    Though her level wasnt exceptionally high, for some reason, she could still consistently keep up with the top yers. Moreover, while her equipment wasnt top-notch, the way she handled herself, especially during battles, was quite sharp.


    In short, anyone in the Moe Moe Committee whos acquainted with this mysterious member of theirs very well knew that she was a low-key, high-leveled yer.


    The general consensus within their guild was that shes just some sort of an unassuming oddball of a yer, but make no mistake, though shesid-back, there is an inexplicable sense of pressure when interacting with her.


    Despite her approachable demeanor, she made people feel as if they were dealing with an elder.


    Some of their guild members even spected that since she seems to be quite busy in reality and does not spend much time online, Fng might actually be rtively older, likely an auntie in real life, and quite possibly also holds a high position given the imposing presence she exudes in the game.


    But this time, this mysterious member of their guild unexpectedly participated in this quest?


    For a moment, the two were left really curious.


    Finally, Little Salty Cat couldnt contain herself any longer and decided to send Fng a message.


    In the corner, Ev whose currently donning her yer disguise was suddenly alerted when a notification chime entered her ears.


    Looking at her inbox, Ev opened the new message got from Little Salty Cat.


    Sister Fng, just when did you reach level 31? Im so surprised seeing you here today (|||)


    Btw, what made you decide to finally take on a quest?


    Ev raised an eyebrow and sent her reply a couple of secondster.


    I only reached this level a few days ago. This new questline seems interesting enough, so I came to check it out.


    After sending the message, she refocused her attention back on the surroundings, particrly at the followers of the God of Despair standing on the podium.


    Upon discovering that the ck ancient dragon, which had gnawed at the roots of the World Tree during the Heavenly War, might be hiding itself within Maple Leaf Territory, Ev developed an interest in this so-called Church of Despair.


    Nidhogg was a true ancient ck dragon, having ascended to the mythical rank, and also ssified as a Great Ancient One.


    Or ratheran Ancient Dragon Deity!


    Knowing that there was such a being lurking at her doorsteps, Ev always felt uneasy.


    Of course, the other party seemed quite weakened at the moment; otherwise, it wouldnt be hiding itself so evasively.


    As such, this rare chance stirred Evs adventurous spirit.


    Just think, a dragon that has reached the level of a Great Ancient One is currently weakened and is close enough to her territoryjust how much divine power would she possess if she could somehow hunt this ancient being?


    Ev licked her lips.


    After obtaining the divine artifact Withering Heart, she became a little bolder.


    This time, she wanted to do something big


    Having witnessed Demacias experience through her surveince, Ev had decided to disguise herself as a yer and visit Maple Leaf City in person.


    Of course, hunting the Ancient Dragon wasnt her only objective and she also came in person to protect the yers.


    After all, one couldnt be careless enough when facing an Ancient God, even a weakened one at that


    Nidhogg clearly had some connection with the Abyss and seemed to also grasp some divinews of life.


    In this situation, if yers infiltrate the enemys congregation and Nidhogg somehow discovers her scent on them, Ev is worried they might encounter mishaps and she couldnt react fast enough to defend them


    Thats why Ev decided to quietly follow along herself this time around.


    The sense of a true god was very urate, sotheres a high chance the enemy might really detect the anomalies within the yers.


    Of course, she also took this into consideration and decided to use the yers as bait luring the opponent out, sort of like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole lurking behind


    The influx of arrivals finally ceased as their numbers approached nearly two hundred.


    Looking at the unexpectedlyrge number of attendees, the elderly preacher of the Despair Church showed visible excitement.


    He took a deep breath, etched a dragon-shaped symbol upon his chest, then dered loudly:


    Hope is born in despair, as life begins anew in hope! Let the echoes of despair be our hymns, as we singing praises to our Lord, the Great God of Despair!


    As he finished speaking, the followers standing around the amphitheater fervently echoed:


    Hope is born in despair, as life begins anew in hope! Praise our Lord, the Great God of Despair!


    The old mans gaze settled upon the assembly of about a hundred figures below him. Among them, a spectrum of emotions yed outsome reserved, some filled with excitement, and others marked by curiosity.


    Observing this, a subtle grin curved on the old preachers lips, carrying a hint of wickedness, as he uttered,


    Everyone here today is wee to be part of the Despair Church.


    After saying that, the old man then raised a cup, before silently chanting an incantation.


    Secondster, a chaotic and malevolent aura began to arise out from the cup


    Looking at the cup in the old mans hand, one of the unassuming female attendee standing in the corner squinted her eyes in suspicion.


    A tainted artifact.


    In an instant, a myriad of ck figures burst forth from the depths of the cup.


    These were worm-like creatures, with their bodies adorned with numerous scales.


    With frenzied roars and screams, they surged toward the attendees gathered beneath the podium!


    <strong>298</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>WHY IS SHE HERE?</strong><strong> </strong><hr>


    <strong></strong>  A mantis stalking a cicada is unaware of an oriole behind is a chinese proverb that means, to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger. <hr><hr>

 Chapter 299

    Chapter 299


    What the heck is this?!


    The yers were startled by the grotesque creatures that suddenly lunged at them.


    However, as they subconsciously attempted to draw their weapons to y the creatures, they found themselves losing control of their bodies.


    Unbeknownst to them, a massive magic array had materialized beneath their feet at some point, thereby restricting their movements.


    Meanwhile, in their surroundings, hundreds of Church of Despair followers, d in hooded robes, stood on each luminous node of the array whilst silently chanting something.


    Feeling the restrictive force beneath her, Eves mind stirred.


    A Confinement Array


    However, she remained passive, neither breaking free nor extending assistance to the yers.


    Because at the moment the worms appeared, she had already identified their identity through the world trees inheritance:


    Mutated Abyssal Worms


    Abyssal Worms are usually low-level magical beings that dwells within the abyss, often regarded as a delicacy by various demons.


    However, the creatures currently lunging towards them are no ordinary Abyssal Worms.


    Though generally weak, when these magical creaturese into contact with potent abyssal energy or certain corrupted mythical bloodlines, they usually undergo mutation.


    As such, Mutated Abyssal Worms will gain the ability to parasitize other organisms after they mutated.


    Although they are still weak, these mutated worms can infiltrate their hosts when the person least expects it, eventually parasitizing the hosts brain.


    Then, the Mutated Abyssal Worm would treat the brain as its own home, absorbing nutrients and even interfering with the hosts thinking, all the while gradually eating away their soul.


    As time goes by, the inhabited creature will gradually lose its soul and consciousness, bing a body without a self, and can only function under the control of the Abyssal Worm


    It is precisely because of the peculiar ability of the mutated abyss worm that many Evil Gods favored using these weird creatures.


    They would cultivate mutated Abyssal Worms to control other sentient beings to build their own armies, and clearly, the Church of Despair was doing the same thing.


    Amidst the cacophony of female yers screams and the fervent shouts of male yers, these ferocious Abyssal Worms singled out their targets.


    They sank their teeth into the opponents skin, while at the same time also burrowing deep into their bodies.


    Ev was not an exemption to this.


    A worm slithered towards her, scaling her legs and arms, before piercing through the outer skin to infiltrate her body.


    Yet despite the intrusion, Ev offered no resistance at all; instead, she weed the worm, allowing it to freely parasitize her body.


    She could feel that after entering her body, this strange bug rushed straight to her brain and quickly expanded its body, turning into a mesh-like structure, waving its tendrils to wrap around her brain.


    However, just as the abyssal worm was poised to pierce Eves brain, she nonchntly snapped her fingers.


    Instantly, the abyssal worm froze, deprived of its ability to move, and curled up in a corner, trembling.


    Of course, Ev merely used her power to control its actions and didnt kill it, since these abyssal worms were cultivated by the Despair Church, and killing them would alert the Despair Gods followers.


    In that case, this whole endeavor would be meaningless.


    Then, Eves gaze subtly shifted to the yers.


    Looking around, nearly everyone has begun convulsing involuntarily, a telltale sign of the abyssal worms preparing to take control of their brains.


    Of course, even if these abyssal worms had somehow gained control of their brains, the yers thoughts would still remain unaffected, as their souls were never confined to their avatars to begin with.


    At most, the yers would horrifyingly realize they lost control of their bodies and they couldnt move freely anymore.


    However, Ev wouldnt let these worms go that far.


    She quietly snapped her fingers once again.


    Then, all yers felt a warm force surging from deep within them, rushing towards their brains, and soon that dizzying feeling gradually disappeared.


    Of course, their bodies still remained beyond their control and they couldnt even speak.


    However, it wasnt the abyssal worms doing but rather, it was due to Eves maniption.


    Meanwhile, a new system notification had appeared before them.


    You are under attack by Mutated Abyssal Worms! These Mutated Abyssal Worms are attempting parasitize your body


    Parasitism Completed! Its now attempting to seize control of your body and thoughts


    Due to the goddesss intervention, the Mutated Abyssal Worms parasitism has failed


    <strong>You gain a BUFF:</strong> Mutated Abyssal Worms Parasitism Immunity


    <strong>Effect 1:</strong> During the entire duration this Buff is in effect, you will find it easier to disguise yourself as a Despair Church member and gain their trust.


    <strong>Effect 2:</strong> During the entire duration this Buff is in effect, the speed at which you gain experience points from killing monsters will decrease by 10%.


    Instantly, a collective shiver swept through every yers within the vicinity, as their control over bodies was gradually restored.


    They then nced at each other, noting a hint of strangeness within each others eyes.


    Outwardly, everyone remained still and quiet.


    But in private, their group chat was buzzing with activities.


    Looking at the string of new notifications on his interface, Cbash was startled.


    What the heck is this Buff?


    Havent you figured it out? Weve got some help! With this, we could sessfully infiltrate the enemy.


    Demacia replied.


    While silently monitoring the constant stream of information flowing within each respective chat group of the yers, Ev raised an eyebrow.


    Seems like almost everyone had realized what my intentions is


    At the same time, she felt fortunate for disguising herself as a yer beforeing here.


    Who would have thought that the Despair Churchs means of controlling others would involve Abyssal Worms!


    It seems the Ancient Dragon of Despair Nidhogg has indeed fallenpletely.


    This time, if she hadnt personallye and controlled the situation from a distance as she usually does, it wouldnt have been easy to deal with the Abyssal Worms attacking the yers without attracting attention


    Of course, not all yers remained asposed, especially the female ones


    Ahhhhh! What a disgusting situation! How do we get rid of this thing inside us?


    Ugh just thinking about having a bug inside my body makes my skin crawl.


    Even the typically bold Little Salty Cat andposed HootyBird couldnt hide their disgust. The former continuously rubbing the spot where the worms had entered, while thetter furrowed their brows.


    However, considering the questline at hand, they ultimately suppressed their difort and endured it.


    Additionally, some yers also eventually noticed the deduction of experience points added to the effects of the Buff.


    The heck, why are we now getting less EXP too?


    This should be a type of DEBUFF. Lets just endure it for now itll probably disappear after weplete the Secrets of the Despair God questline. Besides its only a 10% reduction from hunting mobs and doesnt affect the EXP gained from the quest itself.


    Another yer responded with uncertainty.


    Ev naturally added this DEBUFF to cover the maintenance cost of the BUFF, as controlling these Abyssal Worms and preventing them from eroding the yers brains is quite a costly affair that consumes her divine powers.


    Hence, Ev decided to offload the cost in the form of DEBUFFs.


    Wellthey could just think of it like protection money, so to speak.


    Afterpleting everything, Ev lightly snapped her fingers.


    Once again, all yers present received a new system message:


    <strong>Hidden Quest Triggered</strong>: Infiltrate the Despair Church


    <strong>Quest Description</strong>: To investigate the secrets of the God of Despair, you decide to infiltrate the Despair Church


    <strong>Quest Objectives</strong>: 1. Do not expose yourself. 2. Investigate the secrets of the Despair Church.


    <strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: 10,000 EXP points, 5,000 contribution points, exclusive title Infenal Agent


    <strong>Failure Penalty</strong>: 5,000 contribution points deduction


    Its indeed a hidden questline!


    The eyes of the yers lit up upon seeing the system message.


    <strong>299</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>MUTATED ABYSSAL WORM </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 300

    Chapter 300


    A Hidden Quest! The hidden questline has been triggered!


    A string of excited cheers flooded the yers chat group.


    Of course, there were also some who voiced out some of their confusion:


    Oh Why is there a penalty for failing the quest this time?


    There is indeed a penalty but look, the reward is also very high! Plus, we can also get an exclusive title if weplete the quest well. With the 5000 CP, you can definitely get a purple equipment or five lottery draws. It would take several days of grinding otherwise!


    This just shows how terrifying the penalty is5000 contribution points


    Uh, guys, just be careful, dont be reckless.


    In the group chat, lively discussions like these unfolded as yers engaged in conversation with one another.


    Meanwhile, certain troublemakers, led by Demacia, who had initially wanted to cause chaos, swiftly discarded their ns upon seeing the penalty.


    Seeing their reactions, Evs lips curled into a faint smirk.


    For the yers, there is indeed nothing better other than to use tasks and contribution points to control them.


    At this moment, the elder on the stage spoke.


    He revealed a sly smile, looking at the audience below and chuckled:


    Wee to the Church of Despair.


    After speaking, the ordinary citizens who were sessfully controlled by the Abyssal Worms and were standing alongside the yers respectfully bowed towards the elder preacher and solemnly uttered:


    Praise our Lord the great God of Despair!


    However, their facial expressions were rather stiff, even a bit pallid, giving them a really uncanny appearance.


    Seeing their behavior, the yers quickly caught onto it and mimicked the brainwashed locals, assuming a stiff facade and also loudly proiming:


    Praise our Lord the great God of Despair!


    Observing the hundreds of respectful figures from his podium, the elders smile faded slightly.


    Ah it didnt work.


    He shook his head discreetly.


    <em>It didnt work?</em>


    Despite the elders low voice, Ev, whose attuned to the subtlest nuances due to her divine perception, still discerned his words distinctly.


    Suddenly, she felt a stir within her heart and once again focused onto the Abyssal Worm thats shivering inside her.


    Secondster, upon closer examination, she discovered something different.


    <em>Hmm? There is something hidden?</em>


    This time, Eve noticed that there was a hidden power concealed within these mutated Abyssal worms.


    Specifically, this hidden power contained an evil and chaotic essence with a deep sense of despair.


    Without a doubt, this power belonged to the Ancient Dragon of Despair, Nidhogg!


    This power is hidden deeply and concealed by the unique malevolent aura of the abyssal worm.


    Even Ev, with her divine abilities, hadnt recognized it immediately.


    <em>So these worms not only serve as a means for the Despair Church to brainwash others but also as a method to select their believers!</em>


    Ev realized as she changed her mind and directly killed the Abyssal Worm dwelling within her.


    The moment the Abyssal Worm died, a malevolent energy instantly erupted from its body, engulfing Ev in an instant.


    For a moment, Eves senses were assailed by a cacophony of ravings echoing within her ears.


    That was the whisper of the evil god, Nidhoggs bewitchment.


    For ordinary beings, simply hearing these ravings would drive them into sheer madness, turning them into fanatical worshippers of Nidhogg.


    But of course, for Ev with a strong divine soul, these ravings were just a minor irritation.


    <em>So these Abyssal Worms are not only a means of controlling others but also a way to assess a persons potential</em>


    <em>These Mutated Abyssal Worms may be bizarre, but they are also quite fragile.</em>


    <em>For beings with strong willpower, they can rely upon their own soul power to kill these worms, but then the evil ravings hidden in these worms will be triggered,pletely transforming the host into a true follower of Nidhogg!</em>


    <em>Through this doubleyered schemeNidhogg can brainwash anyone and only select those with powerful souls as his followers.</em>


    Beings with powerful souls have the potential to grow into fanatical believers and even saints.


    They provide more potent power of faith to a true god.


    In no time, Ev quickly understood the other partys intentions.


    With this in mind, she had a sudden thought.


    In an instant, several yers who were prominent on the contribution orbat rankings, such as Lunchbox, Cbash, Salty Cat, and HootyBird, released strange smoke from their bodies.


    The worms within them were also discreetly killed by Ev.


    Of course, Ev also protected their consciousness from the subsequent evil ravings that came secondster.


    As a malevolent aura enveloped the individuals chosen by Ev, the other yers stood in stunned silence, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.


    Meanwhile, Lunchbox and others were surprised to find that they had suddenlyprehended a new skill:


    <strong>Transform into Despair Scaled Creature</strong>


    Huh? What kind of new skill is this?


    Little Salty Cat took a screenshot and shared it in the group chat.


    Soon, other yers gathered around,menting:


    Oh Transform into Despair Scaled Creature? Isnt that name simr to the monster we fought with Meryer before?


    But why dont I have this skill?


    I dont see it in me either.


    Me too.


    <em>Of course, you dont have it because I only bestowed it to a few people.</em>


    Ev sarcastically muttered to herself.


    At this moment, the elderly preacher on the stage suddenly became energetic.


    He looked at the few people below who were surrounded by malevolent energy and eximed:


    Five! There are actually five!


    However, he quickly calmed down, as his expression returned back to normal.


    He then chuckled and said to the people below:


    You all go back for nowawait the next summons from our Lord.


    Then, he turned to Ev and the others:


    You guyson the other hand have to stay instead.


    Whoa! Did the system choose Little Salty Cat and them? On what basis did they get picked? Im so jealous!


    Ahh! Are they the only ones who can proceed to the next stage of the quest? Goddammit! Why wasnt I chosen?!


    As Little Salty Cat and the others were enveloped in malevolent energy, messages filled with envy bombarded the group chat.


    Seeing this, Little SaltyCat happily typed.


    Its because you guys have bad luck!


    Then, she looked at Ev and excitedly whispered:


    Sister Feng, you got chosen too huh?


    Ev smiled slightly and replied briefly:


    Good luck.


    Ah being wealthy is already enviable enough, but why does she have to be so lucky as well?


    I found out, Im not suitable for this game


    Tsk, is there a problem with me being wealthy and lucky?


    Little Salty Cat rolled her eyes.


    As the old mans words fell, those ordinary people that was fully parasitized by the Abyssal Worms respectfully bowed and then left one after another in an orderly manner.


    However, the yers who were not chosen remained somewhat hesitant to leave and began causing a fuss within the group chat.


    However, when they remembered the penalty listed in the questline message, they eventually reluctantly bowed and withdrew.


    Watching the yers leaving one after another, Little SaltyCat typed with a smile,


    Dont worry guys, Ill livestream the next stage of the quest!


    After the rest of the yers finally left, the old man nodded at Ev and the others:


    Follow me.


    With those words, he swiftly pivoted and strode ahead into the dimmed section of the amphitheater.


    Little Salty Cat and the others exchanged nces before trailing behind the elderly preacher.


    Meanwhile, Evgged slightly behind and positioned herself at the rear.


    Behind them, nearly a hundred figures draped in hooded cloaks snuffed out their candles before following them a step behind.


    The group quickly entered a darkened path, turning left and right, before eventually arriving at a cavern entrance leading to the underground sewer.


    The old man didnt hesitate and entered first.


    Several yers frowned slightly, turning off their smell perception settings in their system, and followed.


    Of course, at the same time, they also didnt forget to start their own live broadcasts and recordings.


    At the same time, those yers who werent chosen also began entering their live stream and watching their actions.


    The underground sewer stretched deep and damp, shrouded in a hazy mist.


    Without warning, a rat, startled by the groups sudden arrival, darted out from the side and disappeared into the mist.


    Then, smoke suddenly rose from the rats body, and in an instant, the entire body corroded into a pool of blood.


    Seeing this, the old mans expression grew grave.


    He extended his hand, retrieved a handheldmp, and ignited it.


    A subtle fluctuation spread not long after, and the eerie mist dispersed slightly.


    The old man breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued to move forward with the team.


    Be careful not to touch the mist,


    He warned.


    As the team slowly advanced, the mist slowly closed behind them.


    Holding themp, the old man continued walking.


    In the narrow passage, only the footsteps of the group echoed continuously and after about ten minutes of walking, a huge stone door appeared in front of everyone.


    The stone door seemed quite ancient, carved withplex and mysterious patterns, and adorned with some unfamiliar writing characters.


    Yet Ev immediately recognized it.


    It was Ancient Draconian Language from the Dragon Era, meaning Land of Vitality.


    Ev raised an eyebrow slightly.


    <em>Land of Vitality </em>


    Like Elvish, Draconian Language was a script with strong magical sensitivity. Each word in Draconian Language had a special meaning and held mysterious power.


    And Land of Vitality, in some trantions of Draconian Language, also holds the meaningthe Lair or the Origin of Birth.


    In other words


    This is a ce where a powerful being is preparing to revive itself.


    As for who this particr powerful being is, Ev already has the answer within her heart.


    <strong>300</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong> THE LAIR </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 301

    Chapter 301


    The elderly preacher halted before an imposing stone gate, standing still for a moment as his hand instinctively traced a protrusion to press gently.


    Then, a deep, pulsating glow erupted from the gate, its eerie light wrapping around his hand before extending towards his body.


    The light epassed his entire body as if confirming the elderly preachers identity before gradually fading.


    For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then a creaking noise began to reverberate as the stone gate began to swing open on its own.


    Behind him, several yers widened their eyes, their curiosity piqued by the unfolding scene beyond the stone gate.


    Meanwhile, Ev, who is positioned at the rear, became intensely vignt at the sight.


    As the groups field of view gradually widened, everyone finally saw the scene inside the stone gate more clearly.


    It was a vast hall with ancient stone pirs erected around it, and each pirs depicted a ferocious mural of dragons.


    Ev discretely scanned the hall, as a mixture of slight regret and relief washed over her as she failed to detect the aura of Nidhogg.


    Of course, this discovery also meant that perhaps the other party had already been revived and this so-called Land of Vitality had already fulfilled its intended purpose long ago.


    However, even though she couldnt sense Nidhoggs aura, at the moment the hall opened, Eve suddenly felt a rather familiar sensation.


    She suddenly looked up toward a certain direction in the hall, only to see a towering gray-ck pyramid at its deepest part.


    Specifically, it was a pyramid with a crescent-shaped orb floating atop it.


    The orb emitted a dark green light which is constantly flickering and vaguely revealing something rotating inside it.


    As Eves eyesnded on the orb, the initial familiar sensation she felt intensified with each passing moment sheid eyes upon it.


    <em>This is the aura of a divine artifact! Moreover simply looking at it fills me with a sense of familiarity and closeness! This divine artifact definitely belongs to my predecessor.</em>


    Eves eyes widened momentarily, whilst a surge of excitement coursed through her.


    However, this artifacts aura is somewhat strangeit feels somewhat chaotic and unstable.


    As Ev observed the orbs constant flickering and noted its distinct crescent shape, her initial agitation subsided swiftly.


    <em>Could it bea fragment of the Scepter of Life?</em>


    The followers of the Despair Church, established by the Ancient Dragon Nidhogg, can perform healing miracles thats even more powerful than those typically performed by the Orthodox Churches.


    As such, this rather miraculous ability of theirs can only mean one thing.


    That Nidhogg has somehow stolen a portion of the naturalws of life and somehow gained a certain degree of control over them.


    Before, Ev had spected as to whether this malevolent ancient dragon had gained a portion of Lifes Essence by devouring her predecessors roots, therebyprehending some of the World Trees governing naturalws.


    <em>Or perhaps He simply directly or indirectly obtained a divine artifact that belonged to the World Tree.</em>


    However, when Ev finally saw this crescent-shaped orb, the answer to her spections was already obvious


    <em>It is indeed the Scepter of Life! It was through this iplete artifact that Nidhogg gained the ability to grant his followers the ability to perform healing miracles. Howeverthis is not theplete Scepter of Life, but merely a fragment of it! </em>


    Ev came to this conclusion.


    <em>The Scepter of Life I didnt expect it to be here! Although it seems to be just a fragment, but if I could obtain it, then it would be enough to further elevate my mastery over the naturalws of life to another level!</em>


    However


    Eves gaze shifted slightly downward as her eyes narrowed gradually.


    Below the pyramid were rows upon rows of translucent grayish-ck cocoons, and within each cocoon, a human-shaped figure with closed eyes could be seen


    Wait, arent those elves?!


    Theres so many elves! There must be at least a few hundred, right?


    Within Little Salty Cats livestream, a flood of viewerments like these began to appear one after another


    Meanwhile, the yers who came alongside Ev also became increasingly serious after noticing the cocoons.


    Why are there so many elves here? (|||)


    Little Salty Cat typed in confusion.


    HootyBirds eyes narrowed slightly:


    Quick, look at the base of the pyramid!


    Upon seeing her message, the yers hurriedly nced down at the bottom of the pyramid, and noticed that each cocoon had a slender tube connecting to the pyramid.


    Moreover, upon closer inspection, they could also faintly see greenish energy flowing through the tubes into the pyramid, as it ultimately converged into the crescent-shaped Orb thats floating at the top


    What is that?


    What, What did you guys see? Cant really see anything since its so dark


    Curiosity flickered among several of the livestream viewers.


    Meanwhile, Ev, upon seeing the elves inside the cocoons down below, instantly understood what Nidhogg was doing


    <em>I seeSo hes relying upon the elves bloodline to repair the Scepter of Life!</em>


    Among the artifacts of the former World Tree, the Scepter of Life stands as one of the three great divine artifacts, wielding some authority over the naturalws of life itself.


    Moreover, while itscking in offensive capabilities, the Scepter of Life harbors terrifying healing abilities and the capacity to nurture life, fostering a creature to rapidly transform and evolve.


    For any race, this is an artifact capable of altering their fate.


    It was because of this that during the Thousand-Year Heavenly War, the gods fought over the Scepter of Life, leading to its fragmentation


    Its just that those fools never expected that the one who had been collecting fragments of the Scepter of Life in the aftermath to be the revived Nidhogg himself!


    Hmm although this old dragon seems to havepletely fallen into an evil god.


    And since the Scepter of Life was created by her predecessor from a condensed essence of its own, repairing it also requires the bloodline of the World Tree.


    Stunned silence fell among the few gathered individuals as they gazed at the pyramid, lost in their own contemtions, until the elderly preachers voice broke the quiet once more.


    You,e here.


    Without them even noticing it, the old man had already reached the bottom of the pyramid.


    Each of you now have be true followers of despair, and as servants of the Lord, every believer shoulde here to pray devoutly.


    The old man said.


    After speaking, he turned around and bowed slightly towards the crescent-shaped orb on the pyramid.


    Praise the Lord, the great God of Despair! He eximed fervently.


    And the other hooded believers also made the same gesture:


    Praise the Lord, the great God of Despair!


    Seeing this scene, Eves heart stirred.


    By now, she also finally understood why the old man had brought them here.


    Repairing the Scepter of Life not only required the bloodline of the World Tree but also the divinity of life.


    s, Nidhogg did not possess the divinity of life, so instead he used the power of faith that the artifact can epted more easily rtive to his own divine power as a substitute, having his believers continuously pray towards the Scepter of Life!


    This was both Nidhoggs way of repairing the Scepter of Life and leaving his mark upon it!


    And seeing the old mans actions, the five chosen yers looked at each other and also pretended to pray to the pyramid.


    Of course, their prayers have no effect whatsoever.


    Meanwhile, Eves mind gradually formed another bold idea


    <strong>301</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>SCEPTER OF LIFE </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 302

    Chapter 302


    A sudden thought shed through Eves mind.


    <em>Currently Nidhogg is not present.</em>


    Not only that, but he hasnt even left behind a defensive statue nor a guardian to protect this ce!


    <em>Therefore, if I were to act now, reim the Scepter of Life and then teleport all of his believers here to my Celestial Domain to silence them all</em>


    Thinking of this rather daring ideamade Eves hands really itchy.


    However, just as she was considering whether to actually follow through with her idea, she suddenly calmed down.


    <em>Nothis idea is too reckless. Although I dont know what Nidhogg is up to, that old dragon wouldnt leave hisir undefended like this. After allit contains a divine artifact!</em>


    With that in mind, Ev carefully observed her surroundings once more with her divine vision.


    And this time, she finally noticed something amiss.


    <em>Its those pirs these pirsseems like its specifically ced as a defensive magic array against divine magic!</em>


    Eves gaze swept over the pirs, with each one intricately etched with dragon markings, and a slight furrow creased her brow.


    This is a bit troublesome


    Although she can undoubtedly break this defensive array with the strongest magic she can muster, doing so would definitely expose her presence.


    Furthermore, this kind of magic array always has some sort of connection with the one who set it up.


    The other party will definitely sense her existence if she were to forcibly breaks it


    Nidhogg and the World Tree are archenemies.


    If He were to find out about her revival, and she didnt immediately eliminate Him, the entire Crystal Sphere  would probably know that the World Tree had revived.


    In that case, it would be a problem.


    With this in mind, Ev carefully observed the pirs once more, while also scouring any information aboutrge-scale magic arrays from the World Trees inheritance in order to find its weaknesses


    Unfortunately, aside from brute forcing it, Ev didnt have any good alternative methods.


    <em>Sigh, brute forcing wont workId inevitably need to use my divine power if I forcefully break this array, and once I do, the other party is likely to sense my existence through their connection with the magic array.</em>


    <em>Unless there was an even stronger divine power that could create an interference around when I destroyed the magic array, then I could conceal my presence</em>.


    Thinking of this, Ev felt somewhat troubled.


    She sighed lightly and shifted her gaze towards the cocoons below the pyramid.


    A faint aura of life emanated from these elves, despite their feeble vitality, thus confirming to her that each of them is still alive.


    s simr to obtaining the Scepter of Life, rescuing these elves is almost synonymous with announcing her presence to Nidhogg.


    Ev had a thought.


    <em>Perhaps I should try to lure that old dragon out and see if I could use the Withering Heart to kill Him? </em>


    However, she quickly dismissed this idea:


    <em>No trying to lure out the true form of a mythical being is very difficult, especially an old monster like Nidhogg who has lived for who knows how long.</em>


    Mythical beings are very protective of their lives, whether they are true gods, ancient gods, or even evil gods.


    Unless absolutely necessary, they will protect their true forms very well.


    <em>Could it be that my only option now is to simply hide and just quietly wait for an opportunity?</em>


    Evs gaze fell upon the hundreds of slumbering elves once more, as her features etched with a somber expression.


    These are all potential believers of hers!


    Moreover, those selected by Nidhogg are undoubtedly the elite among the elves. Who knows how many more would perish if she had to wait any longer


    At this point, Ev was almost one hundred percent certain that Maple Leafs Borderlord and Nidhogg were in cahoots.


    <em>Im afraid Nidhogg has caused a lot of trouble for the elves over the years.</em>


    As for the so-called Elven Auction its probably just a ruse for a more borate n.


    Even those elves in the ckmarket, as well as the Oakhand elves, might have been intentionally ced there by the other party to attract more elves toe and rescue them


    Like the story of the Cbash Brothers saving their grandfatherwhen Selena left, Eve, while in her guise as Zero the Godwarden, hadmunicated with the Oakhand leader, and discovered that simr things had happened among their members


    Its just a pity that the other party never expected to encounter a yer this time.


    And with that thought, Ev could almost conclude with certainty that perhaps at this very moment, the other party should also already be aware of the existence of the ck Dragon and arge number of elves within the Elven Forest.


    After all, Anders, the steward of that Borderlord had personally seen the battle with the Crocodile Mercenary Corps.


    In that case


    The other party will probably send forces to the ck Dragon Castle sooner orter!


    Eves eyes shed.


    After all, capturing arge number of elves would probably be quite an attractive endeavor to Nidhogg, who wants to repair the Scepter of Life!


    But soon, she felt that this idea didnt make much sense.


    <em>So what?</em>


    Even if the other party attacks ck Dragon Castle, they can just use the Borderlords troops, and Nidhogg can still hide himself behind the scenes


    Or should she persist in waiting and lurking within the Despair Church for an opportunity?


    Ev wasnt too thrilled with thetter option.


    <em>Sigh, if only H could help me at the moment. She wouldnt need to do much and could just casually throw arge-scale divine interference spell into Maple Leaf City, then I would have a chance to destroy the defensive array here and take away the Scepter of Life and these slumbering elves</em>


    Ev internally sighed with regret.


    However, at that moment, a sh of inspiration suddenly crossed her mind:


    Hmm? Nowaitsince Her Majesty H cant intervene, butmaybe I can ask someone else to intervene!


    Eves spirits were lifted as she thought of a rather ingenious solution.


    If she remembered it correctly there is also a temple of the Eternal Church here in Maple Leaf City.


    And the Eternal Lord is the chief god of humanity.


    Although He is an enemy of the World Tree, He is also a true god who hates evil gods just as much.


    Thinking of this, a sly smirk appeared upon Eves lips:


    <em>Hehe, Let me, the Worlds Trees sessor, teach that unfilial son of my predecessor a lesson or two</em>


    With that thought, every yers still in Maple Leaf City suddenly received a new system notification.


    yers, Little Salty Cat, HootyBird, Boxlunch, Cbash, Feng triggered the hidden questline Sabotage the Conspiracy of the Despair Church


    <strong>Quest Description</strong>: After infiltrating the Church of Despair, you discovered a mysterious facility left behind by their believers in an underground hall, and saw arge number of slumbering elves.


    Although its unclear what conspiracy the Despair Church is up to, you have decided to take action to disrupt their ns in order to save your fellow brethren!


    <strong>Quest Objectives</strong>: 1. Destroy the pyramid; 2. Rescue the slumbering elves; 3. Obtain the mysterious orb above the pyramid and send it as an offering to the goddess


    <strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: 30,000 experience points, 5,000 contribution points, +1 personalprehensive reputation score


    <strong>Quest Tip 1:</strong> The orb above the pyramid emits a natural glow, perhaps it is an item rted to the Goddess Eve. Calling out her name in your mind during the action may receive her assistance.


    <strong>Quest Tip 2:</strong> The Despair Church is heavily guarded, and the power of the goddess cannot easily descend in there. However, if a demigod-level or higher power is attracted to Maple Leaf City, then perhaps the goddess can intervene.


    <strong>Quest Tip 3</strong>: The Eternal Church is one of the Orthodox Deities worshipped by mankind, and such, is very likely to possess demigod-level or higher power.


    <strong>302</strong>


    <strong> ASKING OTHERS FOR HELP </strong> <hr>


    <strong></strong>  A Crystal Sphere/System is a Dungeons and Dragons reference that means, a gigantic spherical shell that contained an entireary system. On the context of the sentence, Ev is basically saying that the entire world will know of her existence.<hr><hr>

 Chapter 303

    Chapter 303


    Upon seeing the system message appear in their field of vision, everyone couldnt help but feel delighted.


    New Hidden Quest!


    Nice! we can also receive an added reputation score if weplete the quest!


    After noticing thest line of the quest reward, Cbashs eyes instantly lit up.


    As a long-timebat-focused yer, he hadntpleted many tasks. As such, Cbash hasnt had many chances to interact with NPCs, and the one hes mostly familiar with is Nightingale, mainly due to her connection with their team leader, Boxlunch.


    s, Nightingale never issued any tasks, and on the contrary, shes even the one performing tasks, providing free meals for them from time to time


    Thus, his personal reputation score barely reached the average inparison to the entire server.


    So seeing this reward at this moment, made his eyes widened in joy.


    It wasnt just Cbash either.


    Even Boxlunchs interest was piqued.


    As the captain of abat-focused team, his reputation score wasnt much better than Cbashs in that regard.


    Meanwhile, the other yers who were currently watching Little Salty Cats livestream were also getting excited.


    Oh myOne of the rewards is a personal reputation score? Howe I never encounter such good quests?


    Wow, thats lucky! Its like hitting the jackpot! Just gaining one reputation point added to your rep score can boost your EXP and CP umtion rate by 1%! Thats like a permanent bonus!


    Im so enviousI dont know what else to say but Im so envious of these guys.


    The livestream was flooded withments like these expressing jealousy.


    Little Salty Cat was also feeling excited.


    She looked at the crescent-shaped orb floating above the pyramid with curiosity:


    The rewards this time are so generous! I wonder what exactly is on top of that pyramid?


    Meanwhile, HootyBirds gaze lingered upon the hovering fragments of the Scepter as she scrutinized it.


    With a hint of uncertainty, she whispered,


    This questline seems to be connected with the goddess, so perhaps its the artifact weve heard about from before.


    Ev looked at HootyBird unexpectedly.


    <em>Oh? This girl had actually guessed it?</em>


    Little Salty Cat was stunned.


    Artifact?


    Yes, Cat, do you remember the video on the official forum before? Its the cutscene where the goddess battles Uller specifically.


    Little Salty Cat paused, furrowing her brows momentarily, before her eyes lit up with realization.


    Cutscene? Oh! I remember now! Is it that video where the goddess uses her tentacles to brutally torture that dumb-looking God?


    <em>TentaclesTorture</em>


    Ev whose silently listening to their conversation, couldnt help but twitch the corner of her mouth, while internally considering as to whether she should change her way of attacking and controlling her enemies


    Exactly.


    HootyBird nodded in agreement.


    Seemingly thinking of something, Little Salty Cats eyes suddenly lit up:


    Hey, I think Ive got it! Heres what I thinkthe devs wouldnt just throw random stuff at us. So, if they mentioned the goddesss artifact, then theres gotta be a quest to help the goddess find it! And now, since its rted to the goddess and even specifies an item rted to her, its very likely to be the same artifact that you suggested!


    Whats more


    Little Salty Cats gaze fixed on the hovering orb, her eyes gleaming with interest.


    I also seemed to sense a familiar aura on that thing, like the breath of life or something simrso surely it must be rted to the goddess!


    After listening her analysis, the others also agreed.


    So what should we do?


    Cbash asked in their group chat.


    Pray! ording to the quest tips, lets try praying to the goddess first!


    Little Salty Cat replied.


    Um how do we pray again?


    Cbash asked again.


    Little Salty Cat made a incredulous expression.


    Its obvious you dont do tasks very often. Of course, you need to start with this phrasePraise be to the Mother of Nature, praise be to the Goddess of Life, praise be to the Great Supreme Being, Ev Yggdrasill!


    All of these interactions were taking ce within the voice chat channel. Outwardly, they still appeared to be praying devoutly.


    Nheless, the time Nidhogg allocated for prayer wasnt short, so they still had time to spare for the time being.


    Upon hearing Little Salty Cats analysis, a solemn hush fell over them, and silently, they too began to offer prayers to the goddess in their hearts.


    <em>Praise be to the Mother of Nature, praise be to the Goddess of Life, praise be to the Great Supreme Being, Ev Yggdrasill!</em>


    They devoutly chanted within their hearts.


    Or, at least they believed they were genuinely devoutly chanting such prayers.


    Nevertheless, regardless of their authenticity, Ev still sensed their prayers and once again utilized her authority to link their consciousness into her domain.


    She manipted the game system to momentarily obscured the yers actual vision and senses, and presented them with a new perspective through the gamework


    For a moment, a subtle shift swept through Little Salty Cat and the others, causing a momentary ripple in their perception.


    In their perspective, the surroundings gradually became hazy, as the group vaguely seemed to see a grand temple before them.


    At that moment, they felt as if they had instantly traveled through time and space.


    Within the illusionary temple, the stars in the skies sparkled as a backdrop, whilst atop the central throne sat a figure of awe-inspiring holiness.


    Divine radiance surrounded her figure, obscuring details yet hinting at the familiar silhouette of a splendid dress known to countless yers. Her wless visage, the allure that had garnered her countless followers among yers and online gamers, remained veiled in the ethereal glow.


    The embodiment of the World TreeGoddess Ev Yggdrasill.


    This NPC, widely recognized as the most popr one within the game and the actual de facto leader of the elven faction, once again appeared before them


    At this moment, the other yers who are watching Little Salty Cats livestream also became equally excited:


    Whoa! Its the Goddess!


    The Goddess actually appeared!


    Its been so long since west saw Lady Goddess, I miss her so much


    prprprpr


    Then, the yers were greeted by a familiar, enchanting voice, one that had sparked spection amongizens for a long time, yet its true identity remained elusive.


    Brave chosen ones, I have indeed heard your prayers


    What you have uncovered is indeed one of my artifacts.


    If you aid me in retrieving it, then I shall grant you one wish.


    When you are ready, invoke my name once more


    The cutscene ended there and their vision returned back to the underground hall once again.


    However, at that moment, the yers excitement reached a fever pitch.


    Oh my! It really is an artifact! And it seemspleting the quest will also earn us special rewards from the Goddess! We hit the jackpot! We mustplete this questline at all cost!


    Cbash said excitedly in the voice chat.


    Yes! We must definitelyplete it!


    Little Salty Cat clenched her fists. Her expression, which had outwardly pretended to be solemn in prayer, was now genuinely excited.


    As her assumptions were confirmed, a pleased smile tugged at HootyBirds lips. But without dy, she redirected her focus to the next step of the quest.


    ording to the other two quest tips, we must attract an external interference to the Despair Church if we want toplete this questline. And this external force that could create an opportunity for the Goddess, ording to the tips, is the Eternal Church.


    Cbash eyes flickered as he asked,


    But how do we seek assistance from the Eternal Church in the first ce? Theyre a hostile faction and enemies of the Goddess


    HootyBird frowned.


    At this moment, a booming voice suddenly rang in the groups voice chat, startling each member of the group.


    Of course, we gonna make a mess!


    Demacia gleefully dered.


    Little Salty Cat threw a disdainful expression.


    What theDemacia!? Who let you in our private channel?


    It was me.


    Fng, who had maintained silence throughout, finally spoke up.


    Little Salty Cats eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    Really, Sister Fng? You did it?


    Yeah! Thats right! Miss Fng invited me! Boss Cat, this quest is not just yours anymore! Its ours too! Stirring up trouble is what Im best at! So lets share the questline, okay? When the timees, well share the rewards together!


    Demacia proudly stated.


    You? What do you want to do?


    Wary nces passed between the other yers as Demacia responded with a wry chuckle.


    Its simple! Just a moment ago, Miss Fng and I had a private chat. We figured, that gods cant be disrespected based on ElvKings lore. As such, if we made a mess in the Eternal Church like dessecrating their sacred temple, their patron deity would definitely react angrily!


    Demacia then paused there dramatically for a second before a devious expression formed upon his face.


    Also conveniently, this time aroundwere masquerading as followers of the Church of Despair. When the timees, well make a huge mess and then ce all the me on these guys afterwards hehehe, isnt that great?


    After hearing Demacias n, the other yers exchanged dumbfounded nces amongst one another.


    <em>This guy</em>


    Seems to really live up to his name as the most daring and provocative yer in the entire server.


    <strong>303</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong> OF COURSE WERE GONNA MAKE A MESS</strong><strong></strong><hr>


    <strong>Prpr</strong>  An abbreviated inte ng that originated from the japanese word  (peropero), which means, to lick. <hr><hr>

 Chapter 304

    Chapter 304


    Within the Northeast sector of Maple Leaf City lies the upscale district, home to a plethora of nobles and other wealthy merchants.


    While other districts typically sumb to darkness after sunset, the affluent northeastern district still retains a semnce of illumination throughout the night due to the expensive and gorgeous magicmps that are ced around its vicinity.


    Nheless, although these magicmps provide steady illumination at night, they still require regr maintenance, thus making them affordable only to nobles who can afford their costly upkeep or to rich merchants who could hire mages due to their wealth.


    Such individuals are few and far between in Maple Leaf City.


    Among them is the Eternal Church.


    As the primary state-endorsed religious diocese in the Holy Maniya Empire, the Eternal Churchs chancery naturally lies within the upscale district.


    Their main temple is a grand and imposing cathedral that sits at the southernmost end of the upscale district.


    Its adjacent to White Maple Castle, which belongs to the Borderlord, and the cathedral itself marks the boundary between the affluent andmoner districts.


    Constructed in the archaic Maniyan architectural style, the cathedral showcases old traditional Maniyan arches and sculptures intricately carved onto its mountain-shaped walls, culminating in a grand circr arch structure at its summit.


    From afar, it resembles a fortress, conveying a sense of strength, upright, and impregnability, symbolizing the supreme authority of its patron deity, the Eternal Lord.


    At the apex of the cathedral looms the prominent symbol of a radiant sun, epitomizing the majesty of the Eternal Lord, reserved solely for Etriu, the Supreme Deity amongst all gods.


    Simr to the neighboring White Maple Castle, the Eternal Cathedral also illuminates a faint beacon of light amidst the darkness enveloping Maple Leaf City.


    This light typically came from the magicmps within its premises.


    However, unlike other magicmps elsewhere, the power source of the Eternal Churchs magicmps is the idol statues enshrined within the cathedral.


    Moreover, the term magicmp might not be entirely urate to use, as the priests and nuns of the Eternal Church tend to prefer calling them sacredmps instead.


    These sacredmps never extinguishes, symbolizing the power of their patron deity and the very faith of their religion.


    Of course, although the cathedrals premises currently still remains illuminated, the priests and nuns have long retired for the night, except for one person.


    The bishop of the Maple Leaf City branch diocese of the Eternal ChurchComanche morgan.


    Comanche is a third-tier priest (Upper-Iron Ranker) who is already sixty-five years old this year.


    ording to its traditional practices, only fourth-tier and above clergymen can hold the position of a bishop within the Eternal Church.


    As such, with Maple Leaf City being the unofficial capital of the Bordends, naturally, a sixth-tier priest should act as the bishop of this territory.


    However, ever since the Borderlord tightened his grip on the territory years ago and reduced the influence of the Eternal Church, clergymen beyond the sixth-tier have slowly been pushed to the sidelines and marginalized unable to hold prominent positions.


    Naturally, dissatisfaction within the Eternal Church regarding this matter have began to sprung up.


    However, with numerous emerging threats springing forth all throughout the empire in recent years, including various nefarious cults and heretical events, as well as rumors of the revival of evil gods, even the high-ranking members of the Eternal Church have turned a blind eye to the Borderlords machinations in Maple Leaf City.


    Especially since this year, there have been numerous reports of the resurgence of evil gods in various parts of the empire, and it is said that some of them have even rmed the gods in the heavenly realm


    In this context, the Borderlords schemes in his backward territory at the outer edge of the empire appear even more inconsequential considering the grand scale of things.


    However, none of this matters concerns Comanche morgan in the least.


    As the acting bishop relegated to this ce, he is privy to some of Maple Leaf Citys inner secrets.


    He even knew that there was a so-called God of Despair who was secretly preaching their heretical beliefs here in Maple Leaf City!


    But what exactly does that have to do with him?


    As a bishop pushed to the sidelines here in the bordends, Comanche has long been won over by the Borderlord after the man had graciously conferred him numerous mary offerings in the pasts, so to speak.


    To him, the authority of the gods is not as valuable as a few more gold pounds in his pocket, and being at the ripe age of sixty-five with not many good years left, he couldnt care less if the very gods themselves deemed him as sphemous for epting bribery


    Just as long as Maple Leaf City remains peaceful, and as long as its residents continue to look up to the Eternal Church, hell turn a blind eye to practically anything.


    At this moment, Bishop morgan is nestled in a corner of the cathedral, basking in the radiant glow of the sacredmp, whilst happily counting the gold pounds the Borderlord has once again bestowed upon him.


    Nearly reached five hundred pounds Once I have five hundred gold pounds, Ill definitely apply to retire to the Holy See and leave this damned ce to live out my remaining years in peace there!


    However, just as Comanche finished counting his recent ill-gotten wealth and was preparing to return to his quarters for the night, suddenly, there was a creaking sound from the cathedrals window.


    Whats that noise?


    Comanches senses sharpened as a subtle rustling catches his attention.


    After swiftly tucking away his belongings, he prepares to investigate by the window, only to catch a glimpse of a ck shadow outside.


    Then, to his shock, someone shattered the entire window from the outside.


    Who goes there!? Whos this bastard daring enough to desecrate the Eternal Temple in the dead of night!


    Comanches heart races with shock and anger, but instinctively recoiled as cowardice began to cloud his senses.


    The proverbial waters of Maple Leaf City runs very deep.


    Faced with such a bizarre situation, although he held the esteemed position of a bishop, he really didnt have the courage to act rashly, being a mere third-tier priest.


    With fear beginning to seep into his bones, Comanche suddenly watched in horror as several shadowy figures boldly sneaked in through the broken window.


    These figures cloaked in ck hoods emerged one after another, and their faces could not be seen clearly.


    Yet, an unsettling presence emanated from each of them, stirring a mix of disgust and dread within Comanche, who could feel their malevolent energy permeating the air.


    Evil, despair, chaos


    These assants were exuding this ominous feeling, and based upon his knowledge, thats the distinct aura of followers of the evil gods!


    These are definitely followers of an evil god!


    Moreover their strength is clearly not inferior to his!


    Comanche could do nothing but simply watch dumbfoundedly as these evil god followers entered the inner hall and head straight towards the idol statue of their patron deity in the center of the cathedral.


    Seeing the direction theyre heading, Comanches eyes widen in sheer disbelief.


    <em>Lord Eternal above! What are these heretics up to?</em>


    In the world of Saiges, these idol statues enshrined within each temple of any respective religion are not merely simple statues.


    They not only receive and contain within them thebined power of believers faith but also have a function to send the power it umted over time towards the respective gods that own these sacred statues.


    Furthermore, these statues also serve as the very eyes of the true gods here in the mortal realm.


    If a true god wishes for it, they can even temporarily manifest their power with the help of these statues.


    Even Comanche dare not count his wealth under the gaze of a gods statue, and instead do it in a secluded corner.


    <em>What do these heretics want!?</em>


    s, Comanches realization dawns upon him as he observes the intruders next actions.


    Specifically, he witnesses them approaching the Eternal Lords sacred statue, and daringly stood in front of it.


    Momentster, the echoes of their arrogant and disrespectful words reach his ears.


    So this is the statue of the Eternal Church patron deity.


    Tch, its a male?


    Stop staring, get to work, get to work!


    What are they now up to?


    Comanche instantly felt a foreboding sensation.


    Then, he saw one of the intruders gesture with his hand as a brief light shone for a second before summoning arge bucket.


    <em>They have a spatial item?</em>


    Comanche was left astonished.


    As the bucket materializes, a nauseating odor assaults his senses, causing his stomach to churn.


    <em>U-Ugh, its so foul and disgusting! </em>


    Its the smell of excrement.


    <em>What are theyp-nning to do?!</em>


    In an instant, fear overtakes Comanches expression.


    Then, he simply watches in horror as one holding the bucket deviously smirks and lifts it before sttering the majestic and sacred statue of the Eternal Lord with filth.


    Comanche:


    <em>B-sphemy! </em>


    <em>Theyre spheming the statue of their patron deity</em>!


    Unimaginable fear entirely grips Comanches heart.


    Moreover It appears that the intruders actions arent over yet


    After dousing the statue with noxious filth, they then proceeded to drop their pants and urinate on the sacred statue.


    Also, whilst relieving themselves, they too excitedly shout sphemous words like:


    Hope is born in despair, as life begins anew in hope! Praise our Lord, the Great God of Despair!


    What a load of bullshit, eat crap Eternal Lord!


    Come,e, Our Patron Granddaddy Despair told us to treat you to this delicious treat of shit and piss to enjoy! Hahaha!


    Each provocation and insult, leaves Comanche, hidden in the corner, on the verge of fainting.


    <em>H-How dare they?</em>


    <em>How dare they actually do this!? </em>


    <em>sphemy!</em>


    <em>This is sheer utmost sphemy in the highest order!</em>


    <em>Theyre inviting the wrath of the Eternal Lord!</em>


    <em>Lord Eternal above! </em>


    <em>Have these heretics gone mad?!</em>


    Comanches eyes widened, reflecting sheer terror as his legs quiver uncontrobly.


    Yet the asinine actions of these crazy heretics continue unabated.


    Their leader, it seems, is still not satisfied yet.


    He looked around for a moment and retrieves a broom used for cleaning from one side of the temple.


    Then, with the brilliance of a skill shing upon his body, he shouts loudly and knocked the defiled statue of the Eternal Lord down into the ground


    With a resounding crash, the statue hits the floor, as one of its arms snapped in two.


    At the same time, the person who knocked down the statue fervently shouts:


    All Hail the Great God of Despair!


    His cronies also parroted the same thing as they too shouted in unison repeatedly:


    All Hail the Great God of Despair!


    All Hail the Great God of Despair!


    All Hail the Great God of Despair!


    After shouting, all of the intruders proceed tomit suicide right there on the spot


    Their bodies then dissolved into wisps of darkness, only leaving behind a scattering of ck insects in their wake.


    Silence and peace finally returned to the cathedral in the aftermath of their demise


    But then.


    Momentster, an unsettling energy abruptly envelops the entire surroundings!


    <strong>304</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong> BLASPHEMY! THIS IS BLASPHEMY!</strong><strong></strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 305

    Chapter 305


    Under the cover of darkness, Maple Leaf City fell into a deep silence, its streets devoid of life as each household nestled into the embrace of slumber.


    Only the asional noisesing from stray dogs and cats, along with scavengers huddling in city corners seeking warmth, added a touch of vitality to the slumbering city


    But then, out of nowhere, the Cathedral of the Eternal Diocese in the center of the city suddenly emitted a burst of radiant light.


    The brilliance was astonishingly blinding, akin to a rising sun illuminating the darkened world as if it were broad daylight.


    What followed was a grand, majestic, ever-epassing, and sacred aura descending into the unsuspecting city.


    The homeless people nestled in the corners of the city stirred awake as the dazzling light pierced the darkness, rousing them from their slumber. Amidst their confusion, they traced the source of light and looked towards the direction of the cathedral, sensing a pressure that seemed to affect their very souls as awe and perplexity etched upon their faces.


    Of course, there were also some people whose faces were filled with horror. They instantly leaped up, donned their hoods, and hastily ran in the opposite direction of the cathedral


    M-Miracle Its a miracle! This is the miracle of the Lord! The will of the Lord has descended!


    An elderly scavenger looked towards the direction of the light, his expression fanatical as he quickly knelt down onto the ground and began praying.


    However, in the midst of the blinding light, a deafening roar of anger also reverberated through the air, shaking the very foundation of the city.


    Nidhogg!!


    The thunderous voice was filled with boundless rage and murderous intent as it echoes far and wide in every dark and silent streets of Maple Leaf City.


    By this point, everyone in the entire city had already been untimely awakened by this majestic and angry roar.


    Each houses quickly relit its lights, as many people opened their windows to peek outside, and some brave residents even directly pushed open their doors to venture onto the streets to inquire about this sudden phenomenon


    W-Whats happening? Is it dawn already?


    Im not sure I thought I heard an angry voice just now, as if shouting something


    Currently the popce were still feeling rather unclear about what had transpired.


    But soon, they noticed the source of everything:


    The Cathedral Look at the Eternals Cathedral! Its shining!


    T-This light! I feel the divine aura contained within it! T-This is a miracle! The will of our God has descended!


    Many believers were left awe and excited when they saw the eternal cathedral emitting a bright light.


    sthis excitement quickly turned into terror.


    A golden pir of light, exuding divine grace and majesty, descended from the sky as if crossing through the void until it struck the cathedral in an instant.


    Boom!


    With a deafening roar, the cathedral shattered amidst a dazzling explosion of radiance before dissolving into smithereens!


    The very earth trembled in its aftermath, as if the end of the world were ushering in.


    At that moment, the surrounding void was distorting, and even faintly showing signs of spatial rifts tearing apart the fabric of space itself.


    However, the spatial rifts just as quickly disappeared under the grace of the golden pir of light.


    One by one, people crumpled to the ground as they gazed upon the radiant aura of faith from the Eternal Lord and were overwhelmed by its palpable force capable of rending the world asunder.


    Their eyes widened in terror, and everyone wore horrified expressions.


    T-The wrath of godWhy is the wrath of god descending upon us!?


    Eternal Lord above! What exactly happened inside the cathedral? How could it incur the wrath of the Lord!?


    C-Could it beour city is about to be destroyed?


    At this moment, some devout believers seemed to have thought of something. Their expressions were filled with grief as they prostrated on the ground, wailing:


    T-The Despair Church it must be those bastards from the Despair Church! They must have provoked the wrath of the Lord here in Maple Leaf City with their unsanctioned proselytizing!


    I knew it! I definitely saw thising! The church officials had let them be all this time, so now were also gonna get in trouble and incur the wrath of the Lord! Curse them!


    Divine punishment! This is divine punishment!


    For a while, silent tears streamed down the cheeks of every believers as they sank to their knees, their faces turned towards the radiant pir of light as each of them uttered a heartfelt prayers from their lips.


    Then, their bodies began to emit a faint trace of light, a manifestation of their faith, as this radiance slowly transformed into countless tinum-colored particles before converging into the pir of light in the distance.


    Yet, despite every believer of the Eternal Church praying devoutly to quell their patron deitys anger, the sacred light hovering above the cathedral that had been reduced to ashes seemed to be more restless with each passing moment


    By now, even the most obtuse person could felt it


    The Eternal Lordwas truly angry this time.


    In the Underground Lair of the Despair Church


    Upon hearing the furious roar and sensing the majestic and divine aura that shook the entire world outside, Nidhoggs believers were also filled with terror.


    Meanwhile, beneath the pyramid, the yers who had been watching Demacias actions via the livestream also wore strange expressions.


    Damn, theyre really setting things on fire, huh?


    Feeling the overwhelming anger contained within the divine aura, Ev was also a little surprised.


    However, being a deity herself, she had a more profound understanding of this power that suddenly descended.


    It was a power far beyond that of ordinary gods!


    The sheer magnitude of this power sends shivers down Evs spine, evoking a sense of terror within her.


    She hadnt expected Etriu to actually directly cross the void, manifesting his will before condensing his divine power into a pir of divine punishment to shatter one of his own temples!


    As the Patron Deity of humanity, the true strength of the Eternal Lord, Etriu, was probably not weaker than that of the old World Tree back in its prime


    That ray of light just now that destroyed the cathedral, although the Eternal Lord had restrained its destructiveness, its intensity was still already at the utmost limit of what the World of Saiges could bear.


    Confronted with such an attack, Eves avatar would likely be instantly obliterated, with even her true form at risk of injury if she were to directly face it without manifesting her Celestial Domain.


    It seemsDemacias actions had truly angered Etriu.


    <em>This rascal, no wonder hes the number one tank in the entire serveranyone he taunts will immediately be filled with so much hatred.</em>


    But thinking in retrospect, if Demacia were to try the same provocative stunt against her then


    <em>Um</em>


    Ev felt that she probably would have angrily torn them apart too.


    A deitys religious statue is not an ordinary object that merely represents a gods dignity but is practically the direct link that connects a god to the mortal realm.


    Only gods hostile to one another would destroy each others statues, let alone with such sphemous methods employed by Demacia.


    What Demacia just did was tantamount to urinating and defecating onto the neck of Etriu, since these statues were linked to their respective deities.


    Not only that.


    But when a deitys will descends into the mortal realm without employing an avatar or seeking a suitable body to possess, the usual method is to rely upon the statue.


    In other words, these sacred statues that contain the umted power of faith of their believers are temporarily used by a god as their temporal body in order to perform a descent.


    And in that case


    From a gods perspective, a divine being who suddenly found themselves pushed to the ground by ants and be covered in the ants filth would probably be enraged, right?


    Ev imagined it for a moment


    <em>Ugh miserable.</em>


    Such scenario is simply too awful.


    She silently drew a tree symbol within her mind for the Eternal Lord, Etriu.


    However, Demacias sess also confirmed Eves spection.


    That is, Nidhogg had indeed corrupted most of the clergy serving under the Eternal Church here in Maple Leaf City.


    Otherwise, Demacia wouldnt have been able to infiltrate the cathedral so easily.


    And since thats the case, her n had a high chance of seeding.


    Besides the wrath of the Eternal Lord, Etriu, had not yet subsided.


    The golden light above the ruined cathedral flickered once more, and a terrifying wave of energy spreading out, sweeping across the entire Maple Leaf City.


    That was the soul magic of the Eternal Lord.


    He was probing the entire Maple Leaf City.


    After sensing the ever-expanding magical fluctuation, Ev quickly held her breath and ceased all her bodily functions, pretending to be invisible at all costs


    Of course, such rudimentary preventive measures still didnt give her theplete assurance she sought, so Ev also used a miniscule trace of the Goddess of Deaths power, covering herself and the yers with it, thus fully masking their original aura.


    <strong>305</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong> WRATH OF GOD </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 306

    Chapter 306


    Eves mind raced while she calmy waited:


    Nextthere should be two possible scenarios.


    <em>Since Nidhogg has essentially nullified the Eternal Church here in Maple Leaf City, his true body is most likely hidden somewhere in this city. But given his current condition, Im sure that even if he recovers, his true body wont be in optimal condition.</em>


    In this scenario, if he were to be caught off guard, then Etriu would surely detect his presence!


    <em>Although Etriu is only exerting his will across the void, as a Supreme God amongst the deities, he should be capable enough of fighting Nidhogg even in long-distancebat. In this scenario wherein a sh or collision would ur between them, will be my best chance to seize the Scepter of Life!</em>


    However, the other scenario is if Nidhogg currently isnt present in Maple Leaf City


    In this case, Etriu will undoubtedly choose to purge every follower of that old dragon in the city!


    Either way, itll be a significant blow to Nidhogg. Hell either face the enraged Eternal Lord head-on or opt to remain in hiding.


    <em>Regardless of the situation, Ill have a chance to seize the Scepter of Life!</em>


    These thoughts shed within her mind an instant as Ev formted her next ns.


    As for whether the Eternal Lord would discover the Scepter of Life, she wasnt worried at all since this underground Lair of Vitality that Nidhogg created had superb defensive magic that isted it from the outside world.


    Even Ev, who had inherited the position of the World Tree hadnt sensed the Scepter of Life before entering here, let alone Etriu whose only employing his will at the moment


    Looking at it this way, even if Ev didnt conceal her own aura, she likely wouldnt be discovered just as long as she remained inside this ce.


    Nevertheless, its still better to be cautious and be prepared should an unexpected event ur!


    Just then, another roar of anger rang out while Ev calmly observed the unfolding chaos in the city.


    Yet thistest roar didnt actuallye from the Eternal Lord this time, but rather, it resembled the fury of a wild beast.


    Or rather, a dragons roar.


    Eves eyes shed as her lips involuntarily curved into a slight grin.


    <em>Perfect! </em>


    Nidhogg is currently present in Maple Leaf City!


    Suddenly, the entire Lair began to tremble as faint but terrifying energy fluctuations emanated from the surface


    And within those fluctuationsy an aura, thick with malevolence and destion.


    This was definitely Nidhoggs aura.


    As Ev felt this aura, a realization dawned upon her, revealing the extent of Nidhoggs power in an instant.


    So his strength is at the peak of weak divine power


    The energy fluctuations disyed by the old dragon were at the peak level of weak divine power.


    However, the image of Nidhogg stored in the inheritance of the World Tree clearly showed that he was at the peak of intermediate divine power during the time when he was tearing her predecessors roots.


    Considering his race is a mythological dragon that attained the status of Ancient One, Nidhoggs strength definitely wasnt inferior to that of the true gods with strong divine power.


    <em>It seemsHis current condition is really bad, no wonder hes been hiding all this time</em>


    Simrly, this revtion made Ev breathe a sigh of relief.


    As someone only currently in her incarnation form and not in her true body, she wouldnt be able to deal with him unless she lures Nidhogg inside her Celestial Domain and uses Withering Heart within it.


    However, thanks to her machinations, someone else was dealing with that old dragon for her.


    <em>Good. </em>


    Let these clueless dogs bite one another whilst she poses as an opportunistic fisherman fishing in waters she deliberately troubled


    Ev calmly observed as Nidhoggs aura surged and shed against the majestic and sacred aura of the Eternal Lord the moment it emerged.


    It was evident by this point that these two mythical beings ended up fighting on the surface.


    For a while, constant thunderous roars could be heard from afar as violent tremors shook the entire underground Lair.


    asionally, a rubble would also fall from the ceiling, apanied by faint creaking sounds, as if the entire Lair itself were about to copse at any given moment.


    Meanwhile, as chaos erupted on the surface, the believers of the Despair Church within the underground Lair also fell into disarray.


    Dont panic! Dont panic! Our mission is to guard this ce! The Lord will surely take care of everything! Well be killed by His Majesty if something goes wrong here!


    The elderly preachers voice echoed urgently, his attempts to pacify his fellow believers marked by hurried shouts and gestures.


    Gradually, the tense atmosphere began to ease, dissipating to its prior state under the preachers authrorative words.


    Yet, despite themotion, Ev remained unperturbed.


    As a true god herself, she understood clearly that the Lair built by Nidhogg was far stronger than imagined.


    In fact, she firmly believed that this ce wouldnt be destroyed even if the sh between the two mythical beings on the surface razed Maple Leaf City to the ground.


    Meanwhile, at her side was Little Salty Cat whose also listening to themotion with a look of excitement.


    It looks like theres a fight going on in the city Shouldnt we also summon the goddess?


    Yeah, lets do it! Lets summon her!


    Excitement rippled through the group, as they quietly invoked the goddesss incantation deep within their hearts.


    Praise the Goddess of Nature, the Overseer of Life, and the Great Sovereign of the ElvenkindEv Yggdrasill!


    However, Ev, who was standing beside them, remained motionless.


    <em>Theres no need to rush</em>


    <em>Just patiently wait a little bit longer</em>


    She squinted her eyes and once again observed the fluctuationsing from the battle above, whilst maintaining a calm expression.


    However, the gradual clenching of her fists betrayed the calm facade she outwardly wore.


    Then Ev noticed a shift in the energy fluctuations, as if the two deities were moving further away and ascending to higher altitudes.


    The battles between gods, even when the two opposing forces were not fully utilizing their full power would still have quite terrifying destructive capabilities.


    It seems although the Eternal Lord was angry, there was still some semnce of rationality within his will, as they still managed to drive Nidhogg to a farther and higher ce to battle.


    With this, Ev can finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    The perfect moment to take action has finally arrived!


    In that instant, she decisively employed her own divine power as surge of divine power imbued with the essence of life suddenly emanated from the yers.


    As her divine energy coalesced and gradually weave into a spectral form, her illusionary body emerged like a mirage.


    Without hesitation, she extended her hand towards the Scepter of Life perched atop the pyramid.


    Seeing the illusory figure suddenly appearing within the Lair, the face of the elderly preacher from the Despair Church changed drastically.


    Oh no!


    However, just as the old preacher could raise the rm, a shimmering, circr magic array materialized beneath him, halting his movements.


    Simrly, the same array also materialized beneath each of his fellow believers, freezing them too in ce with a sense of ominous foreboding.


    Then, the array that materialized out of nowhere shimmered with dazzling light, and amidst their terrified gazes, without warning, each individual found themselves whisked away from sight.


    Their Destinationthe divine kingdom of the World Tree.


    Not long after sending away the bothersome believers of Nidhogg, Ev immediately utilized her divine power to violently break through the defensive magic thats protecting the pyramid!


    The air shimmered with golden light as the once sturdy stone pirs crumbled into fragments, revealing Scepter of Life within Evs reach, beckoning her to im it atst.


    At that moment, Ev immediately detected a shift in the ongoing battle far above.


    Vaguely, it seemed as though she could hear the angry roar of a dragon echoing from afar, directed towards this ce.


    Nidhogg finally discovered that the defensive array of his Lair had beenpromised!


    Eves features quickly shifted, as her expression turned more serious.


    With swift movements, her illusory figure in mid-air instantly enveloped the fragments of the Scepter of Life, as she conjured a massive teleportation array, enfolding not only the slumbering elves and yers but also her own incarnation, before whisking them all away in an instant.


    Of course


    Before leaving, she also utilized the power bestowed upon her by the Goddess of Death, as she meticulously cleansed the Lair of her lingering divine energy, and veiling it with Hs aura, leaving no trace of her presence behind.


    <strong>306</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>ACQUISITION OF THE DIVINE ARTIFACT </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 307

    Chapter 307


    Eves movements were swift.


    Having rehearsed this series of actions countless times within her mind, she acted ording to her n the moment the opportunity arose.


    As a result, in just a matter of seconds, the subsequent events waspleted seamlessly.


    After Eves figure had finally disappeared, the sky above Maple Leaf City crackled with heightened energy fluctuations, pulsing with an ominous intensity.


    The earth shuddered, as if recoiling from the fury of the True Gods who realized they had been hoodwinked while they were busy battling each other.


    A harrowing cry then pierced the air, carrying with it a palpable sense of dread. Eventually, the oppressive aura ebbed away, leaving behind an eerie stillness that settled over the ruined city like a shroud.


    Momentster, the underground Lair, which by now waspletely empitied, is bathed in the soft glow of countless tinum orbs materializing out of thin air.


    The orbs danced and twirled, before converging seamlessly to give shape into an illusionary humanoid form.


    Its face was indiscernible, but it exuded an aura of majesty and nobility, illuminating the entire darkened hall with divine light.


    This was the astral projection of the Eternal Lord, Etriu.


    Clearly, the sh between Nidhogg and the Patron Deity of Humankind was won by thetter.


    Even Nidhogg, the Ancient Dragon of Despair, whom is at the peak of weak divine power, could not defeat the Eternal Lord, who merely projected his will yet could still muster strengthparable to that of a God at the peak of strong divine power.


    As expected, being the reigning Supreme Deity of the current Eternal Era, the might of Etriu indeed needs no further questioning.


    Of course, regardless of his strength, this chief deity of the human pantheon seemed to have still paid a considerable price in order to project his will upon the mortal realm.


    It was quite evident since the fluctuation of his projection was somewhat unstable, as if it could dissipate at any given moment.


    The Eternal Lords illusionary figure simply stood in ce for a few seconds before raising his hand, and a semi-transparent rainbow-hued crystal hexahedron appeared on his palm.


    The object appears to be a projection of a true divine artifact as it then began constantly flickering and emitted a faint halo.


    Secondster, the halo wandered in a circle throughout the whole area before gradually emanating strands of green energy as well as ashen-ck energy from various points of their.


    Etrius astral projection then waved his hand slightly, and those two contrasting energies that his hexahedron had detected floated into his hand.


    The Essence of Life and Divine Power of Death


    As well as a Divine Artifact rting to Life


    Etriu: .


    Was it H?


    His rhetorical words flowed forth in a monotone, devoid of any emotion nor inflection.


    Then, his entire astral projection shattered with a loud rumble, as it turned into countless scattered orbs of light, leaving behind the barren underground Lair as everything returned to it prior tranquility.


    Elven Forest, the Chosen City.


    Suddenly, a faint golden light shimmered upon the central square, as it gradually intertwined to form a massive circr magical array.


    Then, to the astonishment of the mid-to-low-level yers who happened to be within the vicinity, hundreds of figures suddenly appeared over the array one after another


    These were the hundreds of elves that was originally imprisoned and slumbering back in the underground Lair.


    They remained enveloped in grayish-ck cocoons, with their eyes firmly shut. But in addition to these elves, there were also five standing figures amongst them.


    They were the yers who had infiltrated the Despair Church, including Fng, who was actually Eves incarnation.


    A few of these five yers still seemed dazed but were equally excited, apparently not yet fullyprehending the whole subsequent series of events that transpired just now.


    It was only when they recognized the familiar surroundings that they finally realized they had been teleported back at their homebase.


    Their sudden appearance on the city square quickly attracted the attention of the yers within the surroundings.


    After all, the yers who infiltrated Maple Leaf City were not only high-leveled yers but also somewhat famous within the game, Elven Kingdom.


    Even though they received a hidden questline and one of them even started to livestream their activities, this kind of limited quest that didnt involve the entire server didnt really attract much attention of the whole yerbase.


    Thus, only simrly high-leveled yers paid attention to it, whilst most mid-to-low-level yers didnt really care much, and instead opted to focus more on either grinding tasks in the Elven Forest or leveling up in the dungeon underground.


    As a result, many newbies from the chosen city who were not privy to the Despair Church Questline were shocked as they curiously inspected the sudden appearance of the cocoons.


    Whoa! Whats going on here?


    Huh? Guys look! Theres Elves sleeping inside those cocoons!


    So many elves! Are they new NPCs?


    Hmm? Arent those Little Salty Cat, Boxlunch, and HootyBird? What are these top-ranking yers doing here all of a sudden?


    Did they bring back these elves?


    It seems so? I think Ive heard that they were doing somekind of quest in Maple Leaf City


    Man, Im so jealous! Im only level 21, and the summer event is already done. I still have a long way to go before I can check out that Human City all the high-level yers are raving about


    These kinds of talks rippled among the newbies in the vicinity.


    Meanwhile, the four fortunate yers who were selected by Ev finally came to their senses.


    Looking at the hundreds of cocoons around them, Little Salty Cats eyes lit up with joy.


    We did it!


    She then nced around and quickly spotted several members of Moe Moe Committee who were observing from a distance.


    With urgency, she beckoned them over, eximing, Quick! You guys! Come help out! Get some Druids to take care of these NPCs! And make sure to call Sister Alice too!


    With Little Salty Cats call, the onlookers quickly sprang into action.


    Some rushed forward to smash the cocoons and rescue the slumbering elves one by one, while others hurried to the Temple of Nature to inform the Saintess Alice of the situation.


    Observing the actions of everyone around her, Little Salty Cats satisfaction grew.


    As she nced around once more, Salty Cat noticed Fngs absence from the group. She quickly scanned her surroundings and found Fng striding by herself at the outer edge of the city square.


    Sister Fng, arent youing to help rescue these elves?


    Little Salty Cat called out.


    Fng only smiled and shake her head.


    No, the quest is almost done. I have something to take care of so Im logging out first. Ev replied before disappearing from Little Salty Cats view.


    H-Hey! The quest rewards havent been distributed yet, you know!


    Little Salty Cat shouted again.


    However, Fng was already gone.


    Geez, why is she in such a hurry?


    Little Salty Cat muttered under her breath before shifting her focus and joining the other yers in their efforts to rescue the elves trapped inside the cocoons.


    In the divine kingdom of the World Tree, within the majestic Central Temple.


    A dazzling holy light shed, and Ev materialized in ce.


    Those elves should be in good hands since Alice is overseeing everything


    Ev whispered to herself.


    Even before transporting them, she already analyzed the state of those slumbering elves.


    They werent dead, just deeply asleep and weakened.


    Therefore, with the help of the yers, along with the assistance of Saintess Alice, all those elves should gradually recover as long as they rested for a while.


    By then, Ev would be able to gain another batch of devout followers.


    Of course, if Ev wished for it, she could also directly intervene herself and quickly restore all the elves conditions in one go..


    However, it was better to involve the yers upon their recovery and make good use of them.


    Moreover, letting yersmunicate more with the natives could also increase cohesion and unity within her faction.


    Therefore, it was a win-win situation.


    Thinking of this, Ev casually sent a notification of questpletion to the yers who participated in the questline and properly distributed the rewards.


    Next, she sent a new set of daily tasks that the yers could choose to aid these newly arrived elves.


    Afterpleting all this, she returned to her throne, settling back with a regal air.


    As she reclined upon her throne, Ev extended her hand, conjuring a faint green halo within her palm.


    Within the ethereal glow, fragmented pieces of a broken artifacty scattered, faintly hinting at the shape of a Scepter.


    However, upon closer inspection, one would find that these fragments seemed to be in an iplete state. Although it vaguely outlined the Scepters shape, it became apparent that only two-thirds of it were left intact.


    So, as expected, Nidhogg still hasnt collected all the fragments of the Scepter of Life


    Eves voice hinted at her understanding.


    The iplete state of the Scepter of Life fell within her expectations. Furthermore, Nidhoggs descent into a fallen evil god had forced him into hiding most of the time


    Thus, making the task of collecting divine artifacts fragments a daunting endeavor.


    The mere fact that he managed to obtain two-thirds of the artifacts fragments was already considered fortunate enough, given the challenges and dangers associated with such an undertaking.


    Yet, this revtion still managed to surprise Ev.


    <strong>307</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>BACK TO THE ELVEN FOREST </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 308

    Chapter 308


    Divine artifacts had truly earn their name because they contain the power of a deity, with some even possessing power of the very fabric of the worlds naturalws or partial authority over certain aspects of them.


    Take, for instance, the Scepter of Life.


    Crafted from the very essence of the former World Trees core, this divine artifact is imbued with the essence of life, elevating it to the status of a supreme artifact among others of its kind.


    Given its prestige, if all the artifacts in Seiges were to be ranked, then the Scepter of Life would undoubtedly be amongst the top ten.


    Nheless, the Scepter of Life is not anbat-oriented artifact but rather, its capabilities inherently lean more towards assistance and creation.


    Back when this artifact was still intact, it mainly possessed enviable abilities such as granting and depriving life, enlightening and strengthening souls, purifying bloodlines, racial evolution, transformation, and creation, which made other gods immensely envious.


    Originally, the World Tree created this artifact to save some races that were on the verge of extinction during the Twilight Era, and to rescue those kind-hearted ancient gods who were affected in the aftermath of the war of that time.


    Of course, being a divine artifact, even if the Scepter shatters into pieces, it still retains some divine power of life within it.


    As one of the most outstanding divine artifacts, as stated in the inheritance Ev received from the World Tree, the divine power value contained within the Scepter of Life almost reaches ten thousand points!


    As for the upper limit of the divine power it can withstand, it is even higher.


    It can even easily handle the output and consumption of the more higher ranked true gods, and is capable of serving even the most powerful deities who have outgrown the need for such artifacts.


    Even if it was shattered into fragments, Ev could still sense that these pieces retained nearly two thousand points of divine power!


    Whats more, its a divine power specifically imbued with pure essence of life!


    If Ev were to extract and consume all of the divine power contained within the Scepter at this moment, then shes pretty sure that she could instantly surpass the 3000-point divine power mark and regain the status of a deity with weak divine power.


    However, Ev refrained from such action, recognizing that by doing so would render these fragments useless, ultimately making the Scepter of Life truly worthless, irreparably damaged, and beyond repair


    Furthermore, as it stands, Ev no longercks divine power at this point of time.


    With the Withering Heart at her disposal and the inability of the gods to descend here in the mortal realm, she could effectively protect herself already.


    Thupared to over two thousand points of divine power, the allure of repairing the Scepter of Life is far more important to her.


    Although this artifact has been broken and she has only obtained two-thirds of its fragments, as the true god who has authority over the Divinity of Life, Ev can still unleash a portion of the broken Scepter of Lifes power.


    For instance, even in its broken state, the Scepter can still purify the bloodlines of any half-elves and elevate them into pure-blooded elves!


    Since converting the yers into her own religion is quite a difficult endeavor, it would be more beneficial for her if she were to perform such miracles upon the native inhabitants of Seiges instead, since these locals are more likely to believe in her faith.


    Regardless, whether she can foster believers from other races is still uncertain, but at the very least, the Elven race has a strong affinity with nature and are the children of the World Tree, which in turn can provide a value of faith far superior to that of other races.


    s, with her having been revived for quite some time already, Eves to the realization that there may not be many elves remaining in this world.


    Nevertheless, while the number of elves dwindles, the poption of half-elves with elven lineage remains plentiful.


    And these elven halflingsare also potential believers to convert into her religion!


    By gathering them and purifying their bloodlines into pure-blooded elves, she can quickly increase the elven poption!


    After all, shes sure that no half-elf can resist the temptation of bing a full-blooded elf.


    Because it means having a far longer lifespan and more stronger magical aptitude.


    These elven halflings merely inherit the innate beauty of the elves but not their actual lifespan and magical aptitude, so they would be even more eager to attain these features if they were given such an opportunity


    Moreover, most of these half-elves have also suffered envement and persecution no less than their pure-blooded counterparts, thus, making it easy for Ev to gain their recognition.


    In addition to purifying the bloodlines of half-elves, the broken Scepter of Life can also allows her to enhance the aptitude and strength of pure elves.


    Since Elves originally belong to a Silver Lineage, which elevates them to Silver-rank upon reaching adulthood.


    Unfortunately, due to the racial curse inflicted during the thousand-year-long heavenly war, the Elves have lost such lineage, and newborns nowadays are restricted from reaching the upper limits of their strength.


    Although the elves that have returned have now freed themselves from this curse and are gradually regaining their strength, their speed of growth is still too slowpared to the yers.


    Nheless, even though the yers have far more faster rate of growth and higher aptitude, one aspect that she had topromise for boosting these cheat-like enhancements are the yers other abilities


    Nheless, even though the yers have a far faster rate of growth and higher aptitude, one cannot grant such cheat-life abilities without paying a steep price.


    Even if shes a god, she still had to bnce things out; thus, in exchange for these elevated enhancements, Ev had topromise and lower some of the yers other functions, mainly the most difficult and most energy-consuming aspect of creating a raceFertility.


    Yes.


    The yerscked reproductive ability.


    It was also because of this that Ev was able to easily create their bodies inrge quantities.


    While the yers bodies can be modified, its much more difficult for Ev to modify real elves with her current abilities.


    Their bodies have already taken shape, and although it is still possible to forcibly increase their strength, it would be too costly for the current state of Ev.


    But its different with the aid of the Scepter of Life.


    Even in its broken state, Ev could use the Scepter to quickly restore the strength of the native elves so that they could keep up with the pace of the yers.


    At the same time, she can also reduce the consumption of her divine power to an eptable level.


    Furthermore, with the help of the Scepter of Life, the cost of resurrecting dead yers will be further reduced.


    Not only that, but by cing the Scepter of Life within her own body, Ev can also enhance her innate ability to absorb energy from the cosmic void!


    Of course, the rate at which the mana of the World would recover would be further elerated than it already is if she were to perform such a thing


    Overall, it can be said that obtaining the broken Scepter of Life was truly Eves greatest surprise at that moment.


    And if she could sessfully restore this broken artifact


    Eves heart stirred.


    If Nidhogg could attempt to repair it, then why couldnt she, as the Goddess of Life, do the same thing?


    <em>Come to think of it I should have been the rightful owner of the Scepter of Life in the first ce!</em>


    Thinking this, Ev closed her eyes and carefully inspected the current state of the Scepter of Life, then attempted to simte its repair process within her mind


    Only to furrow her brows in confusion momentster.


    The difficulty of repairing this broken artifact is far greater than I imagined


    Sigh, it would probably take hundreds or even thousands of years to repair it unless I extract another essence of life from myself and merge it with the fragments of the Scepter of Life. Otherwise, my only method for now is to rely solely on using my divine power to nurture this artifact!


    Thinking of this, Ev shook her head helplessly:


    This time frame is too long; I cant afford itMoreover, even if I have already escaped from the state of pseudo-death by now, the essence within me still hasnt reached the same level at that of my predecessor, who didnt care much about removing their own essence without much thought.


    Without collecting the remaining one-third of the fragments, quickly repairing the Scepter of Life wont be possible.


    What a pity


    Regret swept over Ev, her thoughts churning until a spark of inspiration ignited within her.


    Wait a moment


    If I, the Goddess of Life, cant repair the Scepter of Life then how did Nidhogg manage to do it?


    Eves eyes narrowed gradually as she murmured,


    No


    A flicker of doubt crossed her mind.


    Was Nidhogg even the one who truly repaired the Scepter of Life in the first ce?


    With a decisive gesture, she elegantly rose from her throne.


    She snapped her fingers, and thenvine-like tendrils appeared from within the vicinity.


    Each tendril tightly bound a Church of Despair believer whom Ev had whisked away into her domain.


    Inside her Celestial Domain, these believers werepletely cut off from the outside world, so Eve wasnt worried about them revealing any of her secrets.


    Now, it was time to extract their memories and delve into what Nidhogg had been hiding all along.


    <strong>308</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>THE POWER OF THE SCEPTER OF LIFE </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 309

    Chapter 309


    The members of the Despair Church which was suddenly transported, found themselves in a state of perpetual wakefulness.


    Confusion clouded their minds as they grappled with the sudden shift, theirst memories having a fleeting glimpse of a divine presence before chaos engulfed them, spinning their world into uncertainty.


    Until suddenly, their surroundings changed.


    At this moment, they found themselves in a towering and magnificent temple, with thick, tentacle-like vines tightly coiled around their bodies.


    Not only that, but they were also horrified to discover that all of their powers had seemingly vanished under the entanglement of these strange vines.


    Thus, despite being ranked experts, they found themselves rendered powerless, resembling helpless children in their predicament.


    Terror and bewilderment etched onto their faces as they grappled with the inexplicable turn of events.


    For a moment they simply stood there, momentarily frozen in confusion, until their gaze fell upon a magnificent throne in front crafted from flowers, vines, and golden stones, which were then presided over by a majestic, divine figure.


    However, just as they caught sight of the figure enveloped in divine light before them, they all suddenly grimaced in pain, with their eyeballs bursting as tears of blood streamed down their faces.


    A-A Deity! This is a True God!


    The elderly preacher who was the acting leader amongst them clutched his head in agony, as his expression twisted in utmost horror.


    Just a mere nce had already caused them such a severe bacsh such a being capable of such feats can only allude to one kind of existence in the world of Seiges


    <em>A True God!</em>


    Without the permission of these divine beings, no one below the rank of a demigod can directly stare at their visage.


    Even if it is simply their incarnation, as long as the respective deity does not conceal their divinity, mortals like them cannot endure the bacsh of directly seeing a divine being.


    As a matter of fact, this is not a secret in the world of Seiges, where belief in True Gods is hugely prevalent.


    At that moment, the hearts of these Despair Church followers surged with immense foreboding waves.


    They actually encountered a True God!


    However, their thoughts halted abruptly as they faced the presence before them. Slowly, they began to grasp the gravity of encountering a deity as their minds sumbed to a state of sluggishness.


    Subsequently, these people only felt their surroundings slowly drifting further away from them, and the feeling of their souls being torn apart by facing a god eventually also gradually faded.


    Their consciousness descended as if sinking to the bottom of the ocean, with each of their thoughts weighed down by the depths, growing more sluggish and blurry with each passing moment


    Until, finally, their minds disconnectedpletely, and each person fell into a deep slumber


    Within the Hall of the Temple.


    Ev stood amidst the crowd of a hundred slumbering Despair Church believers, with their bodies tightly ensnared by her vines as their consciousness fell into a deep slumber.


    With a gentle wave of her hand, a subtle ripple coursed through the entangled crowd, causing their motionless forms to stir, as their faces twisted with unseen emotions.


    Vaguely, it seemed like something was being drawn out from within their bodies


    In actuality, Ev was attempting to extract the souls of these individuals.


    As the deity presiding over the Divinity of Life, soul extraction was a fundamental function for her.


    However, as Ev continued her efforts, wisps of ck smoke began to rise out from their bodies, obstructing her extraction.


    Evidently, that was Nidhoggs power at y.


    Nheless, Eve wasnt surprised by this.


    Considering that these individuals were personally chosen by Nidhogg to be his servants, it came as no surprise that their souls undoubtedly had severalyers of protection.


    However, despite Nidhoggs thorough preparations, Ev had transported these individuals to her own domain. Thus, any protection that the old dragon had set up within them would be rendered futile in the end.


    With just a little effort, Ev eventually extracted each of their souls from their bodies.


    Yet as their souls were drawn out, the bodies of these individuals erupted with boils and cysts, covering their outer skin in a sudden and unsettling transformation.


    To Evs astonishment and realization, their bodies mutated into patches of ck scales, continuously expanding and swelling until finallybursting into darkened-red mist before exploding into pieces.


    This oue was the result of losing their souls, which stabilize their existence. With it gone, their physical bodies could no longer suppress Nidhoggs power that was constantly rampaging inside them.


    Clearly, these were one of Nidhoggs contingencies, originally intended to silence these people in case they might expose his secrets.


    s, with Evs mastery over matters regarding the soul, she effortlessly stripped away Nidhoggs power from the souls of these individuals and contained it within their physical bodies.


    These followerswere destined for a destructive end right from the moment they decided to worshipped an evil god.


    Ev sighed lightly as she observed the hundreds of lifeless bodies around her.


    However, she had no ns of wasting their bodies.


    With a light wave of her hand, all of the dead bodies and the chaotic powers within them each began to disintegrate, before ultimately turning into an energy imbued with the essence of life and abyss.


    Then, Ev absorbed this converted energies right into her own body, as it gradually dissipated, leaving no trace behind.


    Her divine powers had increased by eight points, slightly exceeding her expectations.


    Afterpleting all of this, Ev then set her gaze upon the hundreds of translucent souls floating in the air.


    In the moment Ev forcefully extracted them, the souls of these people lost their physical anchor, with their countenances bing vacant, signifying that their sense of self was quickly diminishing


    What she needed from them was only their memories, so without wasting any more time, Ev waved her hand once more as radiant holy light enveloped each of these souls


    Then, countless scenes began to appear as projections in the midair of the temple.


    These were the memories of these Despair Church followers.


    Various scenes flickered and shed as Ev screened each and every one of them. Eventually, the subsequent scenes condensed into only memories involving the God of Despair, Nidhogg.


    Some scenes showed countless followers praying to grotesque sculptures, while others depicted believers performing wanton ughter. Another scene showed people making sacrificial offerings of flesh and blood before obtaining mutated abyssal worms as a result


    Seemingly endless visions like these kept appearing and shing, until finally they finally stopped at one particr scene.


    In it showed hundreds of Despair Church followers kneeling in the undergroundir, as everyone continuously prostrated towards the pyramid. What was odd about this scene was that the fragments of the Staff of Life floating above the pyramid were missing.


    Then, whilst being apanied by a loud draconic roar, ck smoke began emanating from the golden pyramid, before the smoke gradually formed an illusory huge shadow in the shape of a dragon.


    The dragon-like silhouette faintly resembles Meryer but isrger in size and more ferocious.


    In an instant, Ev immediately recognized it as the true form of that old ancient ck dragon.


    It was definitely Nidhogg.


    However, his form depicted in this particr scene is ethereal and indistinct, signifying that it is only his astral projection.


    Seeing it, Ev finally understood the answer to the question within her heart:


    So Nidhogg has been hiding himself all along because he still doesnt have a physical body, and only his soul has been revived! No wonder he currently only has a weak divine power!


    If I have to guess his physical body probably perished during the thousand-year heavenly war What did he experience back then? What sort of thing could make an ancient divine dragon like Nidhogg lose his body like that?


    At this moment, Ev also finally understood what Nidhogg wanted to do with the Scepter of Life.


    Perhaps it wasnt to repair this broken artifact per se, but rather to use it to create a new body suitable for himself!


    Too bad for him, the Scepter of Life is now in my hands.


    Ev shook her head slightly.


    With this information, she could now roughly guess the current situation in Maple Leaf City.


    Deprived of his body, with only his soul being revived, its no wonder even the once mighty ancient divine dragon like Nidhogg couldnt contend with the Eternal Lord who only descended with his will.


    As it stands, it is still impossible to kill the old dragon with a mere manifestation of divine will, but taking a beating and fleeing in embarrassment is a very likely oue of their bout.


    So the current situation of Nidhogg is this


    An Ancient One who has lost his true body and the means to remake it and is also a giant dragon who had hisirpromised with his followers probably being hunted by the enraged Eternal Lord in addition, he also holds some secrets of the thousand-year heavenly war


    Ev narrowed her eyes and subconsciously licked her lips.


    <strong>309</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>EXCELLENT</strong><strong>INGREDIENTS </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 310

    Chapter 310


    Ev quickly witnessed the scene of Nidhogg and the Eternal Lord Etriu battling. However, it wasnt a projection retrieved from the souls of the Despair Church believers, nor was it a scene reconstruction.


    Instead, she viewed it as a video uploaded on Earths inte


    Shocking! Ive secretly caught another god-level battle on camera!


    It was a video recorded by some yers who were still in Maple Leaf City at the time wherein the battle between Nidhogg and the Eternal Lord urred.


    Normally, a deity cannot be looked at directly, as ordinary mortal souls couldnt withstand the spiritual suppression emitted by true gods.


    However the yers only entered Saiges by connecting their consciousness with their avatars through the game system Ev had created. Therefore, for them, such restrictions were virtually non-applicable.


    Thats why Ullers incarnation, upon first encountering the yers, mistakenly concluded that they werent actually elves but rather Hs legion of heroes instead, as his initial assumptions.


    Judging by the length of the video, this recording most likely only covered the first half of the two deities battle.


    The beginning of the video showed a silhouette suddenly rising from somewhere in Maple Leaf City, as it transformed into the shape of a dragon, before engaging inbat with a golden giant.


    For a moment, a radiant light flooded the world, briefly blinding everything in its brilliance. Then, not long afterwards, the two divine figures ascended into the sky after engaging in a single round of directbat, as their figures gradually vanished among the clouds.


    The only sign that the battle was still urring was the continuous intermingling of golden and ck lights beyond the clouds, which were then apanied by brief shes of lightning, thunderous roars, and faint dragon howls and angry snorts that could be asionally heard in the sky.


    Looking at their battle, it is obvious to Ev that despite their fierce sh, the Eternal Lord still upholds the covenant agreed upon by the gods, as demonstrated by Etrius efforts to elevate the battlefield skyward, thus mitigating the devastation inflicted upon the mortal realm.


    But even so, Ev also noticed through the yers videos that many buildings in Maple City were left crumbling due to the sh between the two mythical beings, and some even copsed directly in its aftermath


    If the two true gods hadnt left the surface and fought directly on the ground, then Maple Leaf City might have already been reduced to ruins by now, just like when Ev and Uller fought previously.


    This is a battle between demigods and above In the face of such power, all mortal creatures are nothing but ants.


    Watching the scenes in the video, Ev sighed slightly.


    It was Eves luck to be reborn as the world trees sessor and acquire the qualifications to be a prominent figure from the very beginning.


    Of course, correspondingly, Ev also had to bear the responsibility of being a prominent figure in guiding and leading others, as well as making difficult decisions that would inevitably impact the world.


    At that moment, a deeper understanding of the woes guing the sentient races in Saiges dawned upon Ev


    Without true gods to rely on, it was really difficult to protect oneself in a world brimming with such extraordinary power.


    Thinking of the tragic experiences of the race that had served as the offspring of the former World Tree for a thousand years, Ev sighed softly within her heart:


    Dont worry Since Ive inherited your body and divinity, I will naturally not let your offspring experience those tragic ordeals anymore, and your former enemies and those that betrayed you will inevitably receive the punishment they truly deserve


    Since the video wasnt very long, Ev quickly finished watching it. Afterward, she then refocused her attention onto her next ns.


    The Scepter of Life has a great effect on me; hence, I cant devour the divine power contained within it. Not only that, but I also need to continue searching for the remaining fragments to restore it as soon as possible.


    Now, two-thirds of the Scepters fragments are in my hands, and the main material of this artifact is the core essence of the World Tree. In this situation, perhaps I can locate the remaining fragments through a certain ritual


    Thinking of this, Ev immediately acted upon it.


    With a casual wave of her hand, she summoned the fragments of the Scepter of Life into her grasp, where they continuously converged and assembled, before eventually forming a Scepter thats missing one-third of its upper portion.


    After assembling the parts that could be assembled, Ev gestured with her hand once again, summoning a few drops of pale green liquid from the void.


    As the green liquids emerged, an intense aura of life enveloped the entire temple, prompting fresh flowers and lush grass to sprout around Ev until she slightly frowned, causing them to dissipate one after another


    This green liquid was the sap of the World Tree.


    With a solemn expression, Ev meticulously followed the steps outlined in the inheritance, carefully dripping the sap onto the Scepter of Life.


    As the sap made contact with the Scepter of Life, a brilliant light burst forth from it, enveloping the entire surroundings. Ev then felt a surge of intimacy and joy emanating from the iplete divine artifact, akin to a long-lost child reuniting with its mother after a prolonged separation


    A moment of relief washed over Ev, her features briefly softening.


    Inhaling deeply, she whispered gently, her voice barely audible:


    Reveal the whereabouts of the remaining fragments.


    As soon as she finished speaking, the scepter of life began to tremble violently.


    The tremble of the Scepter of Life spurred Ev into immediate action. Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and merged her consciousness with the artifact.


    As her consciousness connected to it, Ev felt a slight buzzing within her brain, as her vision began to rise continuously, leaving her Celestial Domain and spreading towards various parts of Saiges


    At the same time, she sensed a distant yet faintly strong attractioning from the north


    Upon sensing it, Ev felt immediate joy within her heart, knowing that she had finally found one of the fragments.


    However, just as Ev was on the verge of honing in on its precise location, the source of the attraction underwent a sudden transformation.


    A burst of light erupted, abruptly severing Eves connection.


    With a resounding bang, Eves consciousness snapped back to her Celestial Domain.


    A few seconds passed as a shadow crept over Eves expression, gradually darkening her features.


    The remaining fragments have also been collected by someone else and this person has gathered a significant majority of them! There may be some small fragments left elsewhere, but they are no longer as important. As long as these major fragments are collected, they will naturally return on their own


    However, those major fragments have been sealed by that person, and the other party can even interfere with my ability to locate them.


    However, the other partys power doesnt seem to be strong, probably not at the level of a true god. Its likely some legendary figure skilled in sealing With this level of sealing, once my strength recovers a bit more, I should be able to slightly pry it open with the connection between the Scepter of Life and the fragments thus, I would be able to locate their location.


    Its just that I have to restore my strength to weak god-level at the very least, or I might fail again Just to be sure, I need to umte at least 3000 divine power points.


    So the most urgent thing for me at this point is to still increase my divine power!


    It seems I still need to continue investigating the whereabouts of Nidhogg and find a way to kill and devour that old dragon. After all, my previous experience has shown that killing and plundering someone elses power is the fastest way to increase my own divine power.


    Moreover, I almost have aplete n in mind.


    Thinking of this, Eves gaze crossed her domain and looked towards a certain ce in the Elven Forest.


    There within her sight was Meryer, who was currently happily gnawing on a barbecue provided by some yers, while also enjoying a massage


    At the same time, amidst the bustling streets of the Holy Maniya Empire, a certain silver-haired man blends into the crowd.


    The man was casually strolling when, all of a sudden, he let out a subdued gasp before lightly patting his pocket, as if he had felt something unexpected.


    <strong>310</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>THE REMAINING FRAGMENTS </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 311

    Chapter 311


    The silver-haired mans brows furrowed subtly, as if sensing something he hadnt expected brewing on the far-off horizon.


    The seal has been loosened Is it about to awaken anytime soon? He muttered in a voice that carried a mellow richness, tinged with an undercurrent of vignce and solemnity.


    Then, he turned his head, gazing thoughtfully towards the distant southwest.


    Whichever the casewhat is destined toe, will inevitablye.


    He sighed slightly, seemingly have made some sort of decision.


    Momentster, he gracefully turned around and disappeared into the crowd.


    Meanwhile, the people within the vicinity seemed entirely indifferent to the silver-haired mans departure, as if he had never existed in the first ce


    Maple Leaf City.


    A week had passed since the city was subjected to the Divine Wrath of God.


    Or, as locals called it, the Day of Gods Wrath.


    Even now, people still remember the golden pir that descended from the sky that fateful day, and how the cathedral of the Eternal Diocese vanished in an instant, alongside the subsequent strange phenomena that urred in the sky not long afterward.


    Such immense power that hadpletely befallen the city far surpassed any mortals mundaneprehension, and perhaps only the very gods themselves possessed any means to trulyprehend it.


    Some devoted believers attributed the event to the power of the Eternal Lord and were convinced that some transgression made by the people of Maple Leaf City had somehow angered their patron deity, thereby inviting His divine punishment


    Of course, there were also many pseudo-worshippers and believers of other gods who remained skeptical about this reasoning.


    After all, in just the span of six months, various anomalies like these have urred more frequently all throughout the Empire.


    Before, such events like these might have been regarded as an extraordinary urrence, but nowadays they had be much moremon and ordinary.


    One factor that also somewhat made the people indifferent about such phenomena was the activities of the Despair Church in Maple Leaf City over the past few years.


    Especially their preaching of the uing Apocalypse has left a deep shadow within peoples hearts, and many have been convinced due to the increasing urrence of various phenomena in recent times


    Of course, the most concerning issue arose following that dreadful night, notably regarding the reaction from White Maple Castle, the residence of the lord of Maple Leaf.


    As the reigning lord of the bordend, Count Otto surprisingly did not appear in public to appease the popce after the incident. Instead, he only dispatched some guards to maintain order in Maple Leaf City and cordoned off the ruins of the cathedral.


    Furthermore, there was no further exnation whatsoever about the phenomena that urred


    It wasnt until various rumors began to spread wildly in Maple Leaf City that the White Maple Castle finally issued an official statement, providing a brief exnation for the events of that dreadful night.


    In essence, the official statement dered that a secret organization within Maple Leaf City was responsible for the incident, resulting in the destruction of the cathedral and igniting a conflict among powerful beings.


    This secret organization is called the Despair Church, and it is suspected of being an heretical cult that believes in an evil god.


    Currently, the great Borderlord Otto von Cappadocia had secretly tracked down their of this cult andpletely destroyed it, whilst executing its members by burning.


    Shortly after the announcement was made, some White Maple Guards, under themand of the Borderlord, tied dozens of hooded figures to the square in the city center and burned them alive in front of the residents of Maple Leaf City.


    Watching this public execution unfold, the entire Maple Leaf City buzzed with activity, as emotions ran high among its inhabitants.


    Some cheered, some questioned its validity, some were frightened, and some finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    However, regardless of the citizens reactions, the matter regarding the Day of Gods Wrath was finally suppressed.


    Although the authorities did not specify which exact powerful being was involved, the notion that it was done by a divine entity gradually spread among the residents.


    Time has a way of erasing everything away.


    After a few days, the residents are finally slowly recovering from the events of that dreadful night.


    As a matter of fact, it would only be asionally brought up in taverns as a topic of discussion after a few drinks.


    As it stands, people are more concerned about their daily lives than such extraordinary events and so, gradually, life in Maple Leaf City is returning to normalcy.


    Meanwhile, in the center of themercial district, outside the towering headquarters of the Golden Apple Trading Company, a group of short-statured figures was gathering in front of the establishment.


    One person climb up adder and took down the sign belonging to Golden Apple Trading Company, before recing it with a brand new one.


    From time to time, some passersby would asionally stop out of curiosity and read the neat inscription on the new sign:


    Amway Trading Company?


    It was then followed by whispers rippling through the crowd as many leaned in to exchange murmurs with one another.


    Amway? Is this a newpany? What happened to the old Golden Apple Trading Company?


    Didnt you know? Golden Apple went bankrupt over a week ago! I heard they fell victim to a scam syndicate operating from the South


    My word how did those southerners bankrupt Golden Apple? If I recall correctly wasnt Baron Baird behind that tradingpany?


    Heh Baron Baird? Havent you heard? Because of the bankruptcy, that nobleman has already been found dead in his own study room Rumors say that hemitted suicide


    Tch how much money was the Baron scammed out of anyway? And whats the deal with this new Amway Trading Company? Ive never heard of it before Wait, Amway? It sounds really familiarOh! Isnt that thepany those neers work for, the one recently seen in taverns buying and selling goods?


    Hah, you just remembered it? I heard thispany is run by dwarves, and they have some really good stuff. Plus they also allow usmoners to invest and share profits of theirpany stocks through dividends. Ive heard some people making a lot of money within just days!


    No way, it it true? They are offering such a good deal?


    How could it not be? Havent you seen the crowd lining up at Amways doorstep? Theyre not there to buy things, but rather theyre there to invest. It only costs 5 gold coins or items of equivalent value to join theirpany and if you work hard, you can be a hundred-golden pound rich man within a year!


    What5 gold coins!? Thats my familys entire ie for a year! And youre saying that my five gold coins will turn into a hundred? Isnt this too good to be true? Arent they actually scamming people?


    Hey, you just dont get it. If you want to know whats going on, go check it out for yourself before jumping to conclusions.


    Anyway, lets talk about itter. Things have been really chaotictely scam syndicates bankrupting many establishments, divine wrath, and whatnot, plus I even heard theres a ck dragon lurking in the Dark Mountains recently.


    Ah Ive heard about it too! I heard that ck dragon even captured and ate people, causing trouble in the viges near the outer edge of the border Its really terrifying.


    I wonder if the Lord will organize a team to deal with it. A ck dragon just thinking about it is horrifying.


    The speaker shook his head, sighing.


    Simr discussions urred one after another among the people in the surroundings.


    Behind them, a man dressed as an imperial nobleman with eye-catching red hair stood there, smiling smugly as he watched the long line forming in front of his newly establishedpany, his face full of pride.


    Hispanion hesitated for a moment, then leaned over and asked him in a hushed manner:


    Boss Demacia are we really gonna do this? Wont we end up being chased by the entire Maple Leaf City poption once again? Shouldnt we keeping a low profile for the time being?


    Yet, the red-haired man merely chuckled and shook his head dismissively.


    Whats there to worry about? Did my business in ckrock City fail?


    After saying that, he turned back to hispanion and asked,


    Oh right, hows the follow-up to the hidden quest going along?


    Hispanion nodded.


    The news has already spread to every tavern. Everyone in Maple Leaf City should know by now that a powerful ck dragon has appeared near the border of the Dark Mountains!


    <strong>311</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>RUMORS</strong><strong> </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 312

    Chapter 312


    A week had passed since the yers ventured into Maple Leaf City andpleted the hidden quest of thwarting the Church of Despairs conspiracy, whilst also liberating scores of captive elves in the process.


    Currently, the elves that were rescued are still depleted of a significant amount of their bloodline power due to the rituals of the Despair Church that used these elves as a medium, thus they are all still in a deep slumber.


    However, ording to Alice, their lives havent been seriously affected, and they will likely wake up one after another as long as they get to properly rest for a while.


    In the meantime, while the Saintess and the yers who had rescued them were taking care of these slumbering elves, some yers who had remained in Maple Leaf City also triggered the subsequent storyline of the main questline one after another.


    The gist of the storyline is that Lady Zero, the goddesss Godwarden, has finally figured out the identities of those Despair Church believers by reading their memories.


    Based on her findings, the real mastermind behind the Despair Church is the Ancient Dragon of Despair, Nidhogg, who once participated in the thousand-year heavenly war and gnawed at the roots of the World Tree!


    Moreover, Lady Zero also received a revtion from the goddess pertaining to the current state of this ancient dragon.


    At present, Nidhogg exists solely in a spiritual state, having lost his true body in the Heavenly War, and has been further weakened by his recent battle against the Eternal Lord.


    Furthermore, his n to obtain a new body has been foiled by the yers. With his current unstable state and his original ns ruined, Nidhogg is undoubtedly eager to obtain a suitable body for himself.


    Therefore, for the further recovery of the goddess and to exact revenge against this evil dragon deity who directly caused the goddess to lose her power in the past, Lady Zero ultimately devised a n.


    That is to use Meryer, being a ck dragon and descendants of Nidhogg as bait to lure the Old Dragon out.


    Then, if Nighogg were to truly fall into the trap, Lady Zero would perform a divine possession, borrowing the power of the goddess, to kill the severely weakened ancient dragon and present him as an offering to the goddess!


    That is the gist of this new hidden questlineHunting the Ancient Dragon God


    The role the yers need to fulfill is to spread the existence of Meryer around the human territory and asionally trick the little ck dragon into wandering around the Empires Bordends to confirm the rumors of its supposed existence.


    With the rewards as rich as ever, the yers acted swiftly and cajoled the gluttonous Meryer into going on walks by offering him roasted barbecues.


    In just a matter of days, news of sightings of a ck dragon immediately spread throughout Maple Leaf City.


    Nheless


    Boss Demacia, werent we supposed to work with those yers who were still pretending to be Despair Church members to reveal the existence of the ck dragon to the city higher-ups? Why does everyone in the city now knows about it instead?


    The person standing next to the red-haired man asked with a trace of confusion upon his face.


    The red-haired man smirked:


    You dumbass! Even if it doesnt attract the intended targets, we can still rope in some people who might want to be heroes and earn the title Dragon yers if we spread the news more widely!


    Ive asked around and almost every human experts in ElvKing have a great interest in ying dragons. Seriously, all those Ive asked want to be called dragon yers, so its better this way!


    Once we attract some human experts to take the bait, wont we be able to take advantage of the situation?


    Just think about it even though were spreading rumors about this really powerful ck dragon, if you properly analyze the description we gave, any expert can tell its just a juvenile dragon. So, the people well likely rope in probably arent all that strong either.


    Upon hearing the red-haired mans reasoning, hispanion showed a look of apprehension.


    But what if we cant handle them? What if we somehow attract some really strong folks? I mean, were not even level 40 yet, Boss.


    Demacia shrugged.


    Well, if we cant, then theres my boy, Al! If Al cant handle it, theres Sister Zero! But if Sister Zero still cant either, theres ultimately the Goddess! Look buddy, we can always rely on more powerful people to help us, so dont be too worried, okay?


    The red-haired man winked at hispanion.


    Ever since the Orc War at ck Dragon Castle, Lady Zeros formidable prowess has left asting impression upon the yers. In the aftermath of that event, some yers began to affectionately refer to her as Sister Zero, a testament to the respect and admiration she garnered through her actions that day.


    But wont spreading the news so widely like this mess up the original n? I mean, wont it make the enemy more cautious or something? Sister Zero might also get mad at us for not sticking with the intended n, and then well lose some favorability with her


    Demaciaspanion asked again but the former only shook his head.


    I dont think so Before I did anything, I got Brother Mu to subtly asked Sister Zero what she thinks about my n and it looks like shes cool with me spreading the news everywhere.


    After saying this, Demacia furrowed his brow, with his fingers tracing absent-mindedly along his chin.


    I even think the original n might really just be a ruse by Sister Zero, and it has a much deeper schemes hiding beneath it I mean, given how the A.I. operates in this game, that Ancient Dragon wouldnt fall for such an obvious trap, right?


    Well, who knows! Lets just wait and see what happens next!


    ck Dragon?


    In the Lords study of White Maple Castle, the Borderlord frowned slightly after listening to the guards report.


    These days, the Count appeared more noticeably worn-out, likely from being overwhelmed by recent events in Maple Leaf City.


    He remained silent for a moment before nodding:


    I understand. You may leave.


    The guard bowed respectfully and retreated with measured steps.


    In the study, silence enveloped the entire room.


    As the door closed behind the departing guard, the Borderlord paused whilst deep in thought, then rose and locked the door.


    Then, the Count retraced his steps to a bookshelfs side, before extending his hand to a specific spot. With a faint creak, the bookshelf shifted, unveiling a hidden passage beneath it.


    After a deep breath, the Borderlord stepped into the passage.


    As he advanced, the bookshelf behind him eased shut, enveloping him in darkness. Yet, shortly afterward, the passage was illuminated by the soft glow of magicalmps hanging upon its walls, unveiling an underground chamber.


    It was a ndestine passage leading somewhere deep underground.


    Without hesitation, the Borderlord descended the stairs, proceeding directly to the lowest level of the underground chamber.


    Within a confined space of less than twenty square meters, a solitary mirror stood at the center.


    As the Count moved closer to the mirror, his voice filled the air with melodious yet rhythmic incantations, causing the mirror to shimmer and radiate a deepening light until a dark shadow slowly emerged from within its depths.


    A voice, old and weary, echoed from the depths of the mirror.


    Youvee. Have you taken care of the aftermath?


    Its taken care of. I found some scapegoats, and the main base of the church has been relocated as per your instructions. I used the secret technique you taught me to erase any traces. They wouldnt be able to find anything even if the Eternal Diocese sends someone to investigate, The Borderlord said.


    Very good! the old voice sounded satisfied.


    For now, keep a low profile. Well discuss about this matter more once the new bishop of the Eternal Diocese arrives.


    Upon hearing the old voices instructions, the Borderlord nodded slightly.


    Then, after hesitating for a moment, the Count asked:


    Where are you now?


    There was a moment of silence from the old voice before it replied:


    Im in a safe ce and wont be returning for a while.


    Upon hearing this, the Borderlords expression shifted, a hint of uncertainty flickering across his features.


    After a brief pause, he spoke in a deep voice, It wasnt me! I wouldnt be that foolish since we already signed a contract!


    I know it wasnt you, the old voice admitted with a tinged of self-deprecation.


    Hehe, this time I was simply outyed by an old friend.


    A slight furrow creased the Borderlords brow.


    An old friend? he inquired.


    Hehe, I certainly felt the breath of death at thatst moment


    Though the Borderlord wanted to inquire further, the other party remained reticent.


    Seeing the old man didnt want to further borate on the matter, the Borderlord didnt press further.


    However, after a moment of hesitation, Count Otto ventured to ask:


    Your condition seems to be very bad?


    You probably wouldnt have been able to contact me again if I had been a second slower in escaping chuckled the old voice, tinged with self-deprecation.


    A subtle shift crossed the Borderlords expression.


    After a moments pause, the Count asked, his tone tinged with uncertainty:


    The one you fought with that day was it truly


    He stopped and simply gestured upward.


    The old voice sighed.


    Only He could force me into such a miserable state with His mere projection of will alone


    Of course its also because I havent obtained a body yet


    Upon hearing this, the Borderlord fell silent, his gaze drifting momentarily.


    Then, with a subtle shift in his expression, the Count spoke:


    Actually I came here this time for another reason.


    Do you recall the ck dragon we discussed previously?


    Upon hearing this, the old voicepsed into silence for a moment.


    You mean the recent rumors?


    There was a trace of ridicule in the old voice before it added:


    Its such an obvious trap for me. Do you think Im that stupid?


    <strong>312</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>DO YOU THINK</strong><strong>IM THAT STUPID? </strong><hr>


    Theres a chinese proverb here in the original raws which doesnt really trante well into English<strong> (Even if you cant eat meat, you can still drink some soup/</strong>) This proverb alludes to the concept of mutual support, generosity, and fairness in rtionships.<hr><hr>

 Chapter 313

    Chapter 313


    Hehe, first, the elves we intentionally ced in the ckmarket were swindled, then for some reason, the existence of the Despair Church was exposed to the Eternal Lord, which subsequently even attracted His wrath


    And even now, I still havent figured out what happened that night to make Him so angrybut one thing I have realized is that this whole string of events entirely reeks of conspiracy against me.


    The old voice continued to echo in the secret chamber.


    A conspiracy against you?


    The Borderlord furrowed his brow.


    Indeed.


    The projection of the Eternal Lord descended, and then my arrangements in my undergroundir were disrupted by some other entities, the fragments of Scepter of Life that I had collected were stolen, and then this recent news of ck Dragon sightings spread in Maple Leaf CityDont you think its all too much for a mere coincidence?


    The old voice sighed.


    If you think about it carefully, youll realize that this whole slew of events revolves around one thing, and that is my desire for a corporeal body


    The mastermind behind this conspiracy is clearly targeting me, and this recent news of ck Dragon sightings is probably an attempt to lure me out.


    My n to rebuild my body has been thwarted. Now the best option I have left is to find a new vessel. The culprit who stole the Scepter most likely knew this as well


    The old voice exined, dryly chuckled, and added,


    And very conveniently, not long after I lost the means to rebuild my body, news of a ck Dragon spread in the Maple Leaf Territorythe culprit is clearly looking down on me, did they think I wouldnt notice such a tant trap?


    Listening to the old voices response, the Borderlords expression became serious.


    And the mirror in the secret chamber continued to flicker, with the old voice still echoing:


    swhat I dont understand is how they discovered my undergroundir. Could it be theres a traitor amidst the members of the Despair church? But all of those individuals are parasitized by my children, so theoretically speaking, there shouldnt be any problems. Unless


    Unless what? The Borderlord asked.


    Unless an entity around Demigod or above personally intervened, thereby obscuring my perception amidst the chaos that urred that night.


    The old voice said.


    A demigod! Hearing this, the Borderlords pupils slightly contracted.


    Hehe, dont be surprised. The realm of Seiges has been closed and isted for a thousand years. However, based on Rigdals foresight a thousand years prior, its projected that it is around this era, that mana of Seiges will undergo a resurgence, potentially resulting in the dimensional passageway reopening within the next dozen years at mostby then, not just demigods, but even the very gods themselves might physically grace this realm once more.


    A chuckle escaped the old voice, filling the chamber with a sense of amusement.


    As the Borderlord listened on, his eyes flickered slightly and he couldnt help but asked:


    Sois this the real reason for the strange phenomenas happening all over the Empire withn the past half year, as well as news of various evil gods reawakening one after another?


    Of course, with the resurgence of mana, this hibernating realm will finally reawaken and be more active. s, if we dont take advantage of these uing transitional years to umte strength, then everything will be out of our control when the dimensional passageway fully reopens and true gods walk thends once more.


    With a hint of mockery in its tone, the old voiceter on added:


    The Heavenly Godsdo not want to see any powerful beings beyond their control in Seiges. After all, they dont want to witness the seconding of yet another Yggdrasill in this day and age!


    After saying that the olden voice shifted the conversation, and said in meaningful manner:


    Of course, this turbulent times also an opportunity for you.


    Upon hearing these words, a subtle flicker graced Count Ottos eyes.


    He deliberated for a moment before inquiring:


    Do you know who is behind the conspiracy against you?


    The old voice fell silent for a moment, then chuckled lightly:


    I have some guesses.


    Being able tomand elves suspected of being immortal, whilst also showing interest in the Scepter of Life, along with that oh so familiar aura of death, Im afraid theres only one such being thates into mind.


    But its perplexing. If She has already obtained the Scepter of Life, shouldnt She have aplished her objective? Why is She still enticing me with this ck Dragon


    Or perchance is that rumor true?


    The ancient voice in the secret chamber carried a hint of doubt.


    Rumor? The Borderlords mind stirred slightly.


    However, the old voice remained silent, leaving the question hanging in the air.


    Observing theck of response, the Borderlord chose to let the matter rest and smoothly shifted the conversation to another topic.


    So do you still intend to deal with this ck Dragon?


    After a moment of silence, the shadow in the mirror finally sneered:


    Deal with it? Of course, we must deal with it!


    However, its not for me to deal with, but for you to handle instead.


    Me? The Borderlord was astonished.


    Yes, after all, it is also the lords responsibility such as yourself to kill anyone that attacks their territory.


    Whether you send your own people or call forth some adventurers to do your bidding, since the other party wants to attract people, thenlet us abide by their whims and send people over.


    The old voice carried a hint of mockery.


    Borderlord:


    And who said Im not interested in this ck Dragon anyway?


    Hmph, even if my current condition is not good, I am still a genuine ancient deity! The other side not only needs to borrow the power of the Eternal Lord to weaken me but also wants to lure me into the Dark Mountains. This clearly indicates that the other sides strength is not necessarily stronger than mine!


    At leastthe other party doesnt have the confidence to defeat me head-on!


    Furthermore, no matter what bait the other side uses, it shouldnt have used a ck Dragon which is a descendant of mine


    Who attracts whom, and who will be the ultimate victor, still remained uncertain.


    You just need to do as I say, and leave the rest to me.


    Dont worry, once I have fully obtained a body, I will naturally fulfill our contract and help you achieve your goal.


    The old voice dryly chuckled, but in the dimly lit chamber, it sounded somewhat eerie.


    A ck dragon has appeared at Maple Leaf Territory!


    Moreover, it is suspected to have made itsir in the Dark Mountains along the bordends edge!


    Not only that, the esteemed Borderlord, Count Otto has issued a heftymission to the entire Maple Leaf Territory, offering a reward of 300,000 gold coins to anyone that could hunt down this ck dragon!


    And the reward will be doubled if this ck dragon can be captured alive, directly increasing it to 600,000 gold coins!


    Furthermore, if their of this ck dragon is found, the treasures in their shall belong to the individual or group thatpletes the task!


    As this news spread in Maple Leaf Territory, all mercenaries and adventurers operating in Maple Leaf Territory and its vicinity were stirred up with excitement.


    300,000 gold coins! Eternal Lord above! What a huge stroke of fortune!


    Look, the rewards will even double if we somehow capture it alive! Moreover the Count has even promised to give all the treasures of the ck dragon to anyone who sessfullypletes the task!


    Is there something wrong with the Count? Why is he being so generous all of sudden?


    Its said that hes currently busy dealing with the Despair Cultists in the territory and cant spare the time to do the task himself, thats why he delegated the task to outside parties instead


    Hiss truly generous! No wonder hes one of the seven major candidates for the throne!


    Looking at the posted notice, everyones eyes turned bloodshot with greed.


    <em>Three hundred thousand gold coins!</em>


    This huge sum of money is enough to buy thirty standalone vis in the most luxurious district of Maple Leaf City!


    Not to mention, if the ck dragon is captured alive, the rewards will even double!


    Moreover, ording some reliable information broker, that ck dragon seems to be a juvenile, with its strength only reaching the peak of Silver-rank!


    This level of strength is not impossible to subdue for some mercenary groups to handle.


    As for the ck dragons treasures in itsir As a member of the dragon race, ck dragons are also adept at umting wealth.


    Even a juvenile ck dragon like in the rumors probably has already collected a staggering amount of wealth!


    For a moment, almost all the mercenary groups who received the news were itching to take action.


    <strong>313</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>HUNTING THE BLACK DRAGON </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 314

    Chapter 314


    The news of the ck Dragon Hunting Commission spread very quickly within the Bordends, to the extent that it even reached the ears of those living within the Elven Forest through yers who were still loitering around in disguise in Maple Leaf City.


    Dark Mountains, ck Dragon Castle.


    After traversing the Empires Bordends on patrol for the day, Meryer found himself drawn back to hisfyir once more.


    For several days now, hed been diligently carrying out this task due to an agreement he had with Little Salty Cat.


    The specific task she asked him to do was to simply take a daily stroll of the Bordends in exchange for a whole roastedmb each day.


    Little Salty Cat referred to this job as monster baiting.


    Of course, as for what this monster baiting actually entails, Meryer had absolutely no idea at all.


    For him, all that matters is that he gets to eat delicious roastedmb for such an easy, simple work.


    However, on this particr day, when Meryer flew back to hisir, he noticed several chosen ones who usually prepared food for him eyeing him with some strange looks.


    <em>That look </em>


    Meryer was no stranger to it.


    It was the very same look these crazy long-eared folks would have when looting goods after they finished a battle.


    That was the look one would have when gazing upon some treasures


    In fact, on an almost daily basis, there were always some brazen chosen ones staring at him like this.


    Their aim was either the dragon scales he shed or his saliva.


    And Meryer had often exploited these assets which mattered little to him, to ensure that these chosen ones served him well.


    When he was in a good mood, he would reward them a piece of his dragon scale but when he wasnt, he would only spit out some saliva, or simply allocate a couple of hundred contribution points in the task system to settle the matter.


    Today, however, for some unknown reason


    <em>Why did he feel like the gazes of these long-eared ones were rather unsettling, as if they wanted to devour him?</em>


    Ruahh! What are you looking at?


    Meryers eyes narrowed, and he emitted a guttural roar with his teeth bared.


    In response, the yers quickly recoiled inadvertently, their necks retracting, as each of them emitted awkward chuckles.


    Meryer snorted and took away the roastedmb the yers prepared for him, beforeying down into a pile of glittering gold coins.


    That was his current wealth, as well as his nest.


    The majority of these gold coins were his umted personal savings over the years, while the rest were acquired through transactions with the yers, by exchanging the daily contribution points allocated to him by the task system, at a 1:1 ratio where gold pounds are exchanged for contribution points.


    This was also one of the motivations for yers to trade with the Dark Dwarves or humans to earn money.


    Find Little ck Dragon, and exchange their money for contribution points!


    Especially for some yers who have low luck but were actually good at making money, it was simply a brand new method to acquire wealth.


    Of course, using gold coins to buy some specific items and offering them to the goddess through the offering array was also another way to obtain contribution points.


    After some thorough experimentation, the yers eventually figured out the hidden mechanics of the offering feature.


    Some minerals, metals, and magical materials can be sold to the goddess for a good price!


    Of course, the most cost-effective option is still exchanging ones CP for currency with the Little ck Dragon, this rather simple minded but big-shot NPC


    These are your rewards for roasting thismb for me, off you go!


    Meryers lips curled with satisfaction as he devoured the roastedmb, leaving no bone untouched. With a simple gesture, he then rewarded the awaiting yers with a hundred contribution points before ushering them away from his nest.


    As the yers watched Meryer devoured his dinner, they exchanged nces, shook their heads and sighed before reluctantly leaving.


    Meryer, whilst silently observing their reactions, felt a chill run down his spine, perplexed by their odd behavior.


    Whats wrong with them today? Why do they seem to look at me strangely like that?


    Meryer asked Little Salty Cat, who was standing at his side.


    Little Salty Cat covered her mouth, chuckled, and replied:


    Meryer, youve be famous in Maple Leaf City. Theyve put a high bounty on you. ording to the yers stationed there, several mercenary groups are nning toe to the Dark Mountains in order to catch you.


    Hearing Little Salty Cats exnation, Meryer turned pale:


    I knew there was never a good reason for all this flying around the Bordendstely!


    However, Meryer wasnt too worried.


    After all he now had someone powerful backing him up.


    But what does this have to do with the way those chosen ones looked at me just now?


    Meryer asked Little Salty Cat once again.


    The pink-haired mage chuckled mischievously:


    Theyre probably just thinking about the bounty on your head and couldnt help but be tempted, after all its a lot of money.


    Meryers expression darkened.


    What!? Do they still want to sell me to those pesky humans? Do they dare to set their sights upon this Great Lord? Arent they afraid that I would eat them?!


    But soon, his expression became somewhat hesitant.


    With a flick of his thick dragon tongue, Meryer moistened the corner of his mouth before asking, pretending not to care.


    How much bounty are those humans offering anyway?


    Little Salty smirked mischievously.


    Thirty thousand gold pounds if you were killed, but itll be doubled to sixty thousand gold pounds if youre taken alive. If converted into contribution points, then I think thatll be in the hundreds of thousands points, more or less.


    The petite girl replied, whilst counting her fingers.


    Meryer:


    The expression of the ck dragon shifted several times before he murmured softly:


    Sixty thousand gold pounds It doesnt seem too bad to sell myself


    Little Salty Cat:


    Do all dragons love money so much?


    Within her Divine Kingdom, Ev, who had been secretly monitoring Meryers actions, had an incredulous look all over her face.


    This rascal actually had the thought of selling himself. Although it was just a passing idea, it was still unbelievable.


    Shaking her head helplessly, Ev refocused her attention on her n against Nidhogg.


    These days, she had been secretly watching Meryer, always on guard against a possible attack by Nidhogg.


    However, the recent developments of the situation took an somewhat unexpected direction.


    She did not expect that the rumors she deliberately let the yers spread around, would actually attract the human mercenaries first.


    These mercenaries are all assembled by the Borderlord, and the Maple Count is very likely to be involved with Nidhogg, which means this recent development is Nidhoggs response?


    This old dragon actually has such patience Is he nning to test the waters first with these mercenaries?


    This turn of events made Ev gradually frown.


    Nidhogg still retains his sanity?


    The power of the Abyss is filled with chaotic energy, and all mythical beings eroded by it will eventually sumb to paranoia, madness, and savage recklessness.


    It was precisely because of this that Ev designed such a n full of loopholes.


    She made it obvious that it was a tant conspiracy.


    Ev felt that by using the little ck dragon as bait, it might still lure the other party out, even if it was an obvious trap that could be easily exposed.


    However, she didnt expect the other party to be much calmer than she had initially anticipated


    This was quite different from the knowledge recorded within the World Tree Inheritance regarding the nature of evil gods.


    It should be noted that Evil Gods contaminated by the Abyss have difficulty resisting their own desires, and in most cases, they will act ording to their sheer instincts and impulses.


    So Nidhogg has a way to suppress the corruption of the Abyss and although he has the power of the Abyss, he still somehow retained his own sanity?


    Eves eyes narrowed.


    How did he do it?


    At this moment, Ev became even more curious about Nidhoggs current state.


    Because this discovery almost shattered the notion regarding the contamination of the Abyss as recorded within her inheritance!


    Nheless, although the other partys performance exceeded her expectations, Evs confidence in her ns still remained unwavering.


    So hes using these mercenaries as his scouts? And Im pretty sure that he also secretly included some of his servants along with these mercenaries, right?


    Also, Im almost certain that Nidhogg too could freely switch his perspective with his believers like me.


    As she spoke, Ev idly toyed with the skull ne in her hand, and raised the corners of her mouth.


    Well, Ill just treat it as experience points being delivered to my doorsteps


    <strong>314</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>IT DOESNT SEEM TOO YSELF</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 315

    Chapter 315


    The second month of the year arrived with the suns radiant beams illuminating the frigidndscape.


    The gradual departure of winter gradually unfolded, marked by the lessening bite of the cold breeze. Yet, amidst the persistent chill, scattered evidence of natures reawakening are slowly emerging ever so subtly


    Green patches of leaf buds timidly unfurled on many tree branches, signaling the passing of the coldest days of the season.


    Spring ising.


    Bordends, Maple Leaf City.


    The reconstruction work in the aftermath of the Eternal Lords wrath continued on, as residents banded together to rebuild their shattered homes and lives.


    It stands to reason that due to the various incidents that urred and the nned auction event being canceled, one would assume that Maple Leaf Citys influx of visitors would decline for a while.


    Yet, the reality was entirely different.


    On the contrary, the whole city seemed livelier instead.


    If you were to look around, you would see numerous taverns and street alleyways filled with burly, scary-looking mercenaries, while beyond the city walls, a sprawl of makeshift tents dotted the outerndscape, each one a temporary shelter for these bands of sellswords.


    Each and every one of them hurriedly came to the city after hearing about the ck dragon huntingmission issued by the Borderlord and rushed towards Maple Leaf City after learning about the bounty amount.


    Three hundred thousand gold coins!


    For any individual or even arge mercenary group, this was not a small sum.


    Such huge rewards was enticing enough that it could even attract any expert with high-ranking strength to join the hunt.


    The allure became palpable if one would stood upon the outer perimeter walls of Maple Leaf City. While looking out into the expanse, a vast open space would unfold before ones eyes, dotted with clustered tents numbering in the thousands.


    Rough estimates suggested that the number of mercenaries participating in this dragon hunting operation would exceed five thousand.


    It could be said that almost all active mercenaries operating within Maple Leaf Territory and its surrounding fiefdoms had rushed there for the time being.


    And it was precisely due to the influx of these mercenaries that allowed the caravans, which were initially poised to depart after the auctions cancetion, to encounter fresh business prospects, prompting them to remain in ce.


    After all, mercenaries such as these were very active all throughout the continent and most of them have a very loose pockets.


    They may be organized into small groups of dozens up to arge organization with thousands of members, and the majority rely on doingmissioned work during peacetime or hunting monsters for a living.


    However, during wartime, they would transform into hired military forces under the employment of noble lords.


    Of course, some of these mercenaries may sometimes also dabble in banditry, lurking in the mountains and preying on unsuspecting travelers unlucky enough to cross their path.


    It could be said that this was a high-risk, high-reward profession teetering on the edge of legality in the world of Seiges.


    Many of them are experts or, at the very least, reach the rudimentary rank of apprentices. Although their ie may be somewhat unstable most of the time, once theypleted a job, they receive a considerable payment.


    s, the majority of them would immediately choose to spend it upon receiving their due payments.


    After allthis was a profession with a significant risk of death. In the world of Seiges, wherein those with extraordinary power reigns supreme, the mortality rate among these mercenaries even surpasses that of human armies filled with experts.


    Hence, in their line of work, it was almostmon knowledge to spend their payments as soon as possible after receiving them.


    Unless they were old and unable to work anymore, most mercenaries would hardly save money for themselves, and would only begin to do so in their waningtter years to umte enough to support themselves in retirement.


    Therefore, for merchants with keen business acumen, the presence of these mercenaries also meant endless business opportunities wherever they congregated.


    At this time, many merchants that hade to Maple Leaf City even felt grateful to this rumored evil ck dragon for giving them this opportunity, as their visit wont go to waste.


    As a result, one could see many merchants being active within the mercenaries makeshift camp, selling their goods and making a good profit for themselves.


    Of course, the newly established Amway Trade Company also joined this festivity. They sold some cheap yet exquisite second-hand equipment, which was well-received by many mercenaries.


    Moreover, the workers of this new trade group were kind and eloquent, and their goods were quite cheap as well.


    So its no wonder they quickly bonded with the mercenaries, and thetter talked about practically everything whenever any Amway personnel asked about anything.


    At this moment, at the gate of Maple Leaf City, several figures, some in armor and some in steward uniforms, were gathered, discussing something.


    Sir Keynes, Madam Cynthia, we entrust you with the task of hunting the ck dragon this time. If it werent for the fact that the Count is currently busy dealing with the cultists who have been active in the territory recently, he would definitely take the White Maple Knights with him to join you.


    The speaker was an old steward dressed as a butler, the chief steward of the Borderlord. At this moment, he looked at the man and woman in front of him with sincerity.


    Dont worry, I guarantee with the reputation of our Breta Mercenary Group that we will sessfullyplete the Borderlordsmission and capture that evil ck dragon alive.


    The male warrior in armor standing opposite the old steward replied assuredly.


    His towering figure exuded strength, his stubbled jawline framing a determined expression. Whilst carrying arge shield with conviction, his eyes shone with a blend of pride and ferocity.


    Keynes Breta, he was the captain of the Breta Mercenary Group, a silver-ranked shield warrior.


    Due to the Bordends being gued with monster invasion, many mercenary groups operates in and around Maple Leaf Territory, and Breta Mercenary Group was thergest one amongst them, boasting about over three thousand active members.


    They even had seven experts who have reached silver rank!


    Not to mention, their captain Keynes Breta himself possessed the strength of a Peak Silver-ranker!


    It could be said that this massive group ounts for three-fifths of the mercenaries gathered within the city, and its overwhelming high-endbat power makes it difficult for other mercenary groups topete against them.


    As Keynes finished speaking, a charming female voice came from beside him.


    Hehe, our Owl Mercenary Group will also cooperate with Sir Keynes.


    She was a female warrior who looked just about thirty years old and was dressed in a coquettish fashion, donning a revealing light armor with a curved bow slung across her back.


    She positioned herself next to Keynes, whilst consistently casting flirtatious nces in his direction.


    Cynthia Ballin.


    She was the captain of the Owl Mercenary Group, the secondrgest mercenary group in the surrounding area after Breta Mercenary Group.


    With members exceeding fifteen hundred, including three silver-ranked experts, they outpaced the third-ranked Crocodile Mercenary Group in Maple Leaf Territory.


    Furthermore, Cynthia herself was a Silver-ranked Hunter.


    The task of hunting the ck dragon this time had attracted the attention of the tworgest mercenary groups active around the Bordends.


    This time, they are the main force tasked in hunting down the ck dragon!


    They gathered all their avable forces due to the widespread understanding that tackling any dragonsir, even if the dragon was a juvenile, was far from a straightforward endeavor.


    Since Dragons were known to cultivate subordinates or vassal races to protect theirirs or serve them as servants.


    Moreover, when hunting dragons, they would not only face the dragon itself but also its subjugated subordinates.


    Soa certain number of people were necessary.


    Dragons, in general, symbolize wealth, but the same could also be said about their subordinates.


    If they could sessfully hunt the ck dragon, not only would they gain a huge amount of profit, but it would also greatly elevate the reputation of all the mercenary groups involved.


    Of course the Counts statement that he didnt want the dragons treasures alsoid the foundation for the cooperation between the two usuallypeting mercenary groups.


    For any one of these mercenary groups, it would be a tough endeavor to confront a ck dragon with the strength of an upper silver-ranker just by themselves.


    However, if the tworgest mercenary groups in the regionbined their forces together, there was a good chance that they could really hunt their target.


    Moreover, in addition to the tworgest mercenary groups, there were also some smaller mercenary groups and bounty hunters joining in, intending to get a piece of the pie during the ck dragon hunt.


    These people didnt care about the rewards for hunting the ck dragon per se, but rather, as long as they made a profit while attacking the dragons subordinates, they would be satisfied as well.


    Hearing the statements of the two mercenary group captains, the old steward felt very satisfied. He waved his hand, and dozens of hooded figures, presumably mages, suddenly appeared behind him one after another.


    Hehe, while the Count wont be joining this operation himself, he instructed me to dispatch some mages from the Citys Mage Guild to support you. They are all skilled in magic and particrly adept at healing. Maybe they could be of assistance to you in your operation.


    The old steward said with a smile.


    The two mercenary group captains eyes lit up upon hearing this.


    Mages skilled in healing are quite rare!


    Not to mention, mercenary groups like them were oftencking in not just healers but spellcasters in general.


    With dozens of skilled healers at their disposal, casualties during their operation would undoubtedly have been further reducedpared to their original estimates.


    Hearing about the Borderlords support made the two mercenary captains feel really satisfied.


    Please extend our thanks to the Count, the two said in unison, offering slight bows.


    This is our duty. We wish you both sess in your hunt! the old steward replied warmly, a smile gracing his lips.


    After a brief exchange, the two groups finally parted ways separately.


    Nearly all preparations had been finalized.


    They had spent three full days resting in Maple Leaf City in anticipation of this hunt.


    Now, it was time to begin their operation.


    <strong>315</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>MERCENARY GROUP</strong><strong></strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 316

    Chapter 316


    After bidding farewell to the old steward, the leaders of both mercenary groups made their way back to their camp, apanied by a contingent of mages that was provided by the Borderlord.


    However along the way, the once bright smiles on their faces dimmed considerably, reced by a subtle tension that lingered within the air, evident in the cautious nces the two mercenary leaders exchanged.


    The Breta and Owl Mercenary Groups are both veteran mercenary groups that operate along the empires Bordends.


    As such, like the half-orcs nearby, they initially gained their reputation by hunting elves, leading to asional friction between them.


    Cynthia, despite our past differences, we are now confronting a ck dragon. It may not be fully grown yet, but considering ourbined strength, we must approach this operation with utmost seriousness. Lets set aside our previous squabbles for the time being. I assume you wouldnt want Crocodile to surpassed you, right?


    Kaynes nced at Cynthia, speaking with a solemn tone.


    <em>Crocodile</em>


    Upon hearing this name, Cynthias smile diminished even further, a shadow of gloom settling between her brows.


    Crocodiles Group is a mercenary group that has developed rapidly in recent years.


    Although theyck high-endbat experts, the number of mercenaries under Crocodile is close to that of the veteran Owl Mercenary Groups.


    As for the Breta Group which was positioned as the top mercenary corp within the Bordends, Crocodile treaded carefully to avoid offending them.


    However, Cynthias Group didnt share the same privilege.


    This was evident in the Crocodile groups acquisition of numerous lucrativemissions that once belonged to the declining Owl Mercenary Group, which left Cynthia seething with resentment.


    Hes just a bastard who somehow got lucky. Once we seed in hunting the ck Dragon, the entire Maple Leaf Territory will know the might of my Owl Mercenary Group!


    Cynthia sneered.


    I heard that Crocodile recently went to the Kingdom of Aries and supposedlynded a big contract. I reckon theyll further bolster their strength upon returning this time,


    Kaynes remained nomittal, merely disying a facade of a smile before adding,


    You better brace yourselves.


    Upon hearing this, Cynthias expression grew even more sullen.


    But in the end, she forced out two coldughs.


    That bastard Crocodile, its already been three months, yet theyre still no news about them. Who knows, maybe theyve been wiped out in the Kingdom and we just havent heard about it.


    Kaynes just shrugged.


    While he also found it strange that the Crocodile Mercenary Group still hadnt returned after so long, without any news, he couldnt believe that a mercenary group numbering in the thousands could bepletely wiped out that easily.


    <em>I mean,e on if a mercenary group of that scale were annihted, the information brokers in the ck market wouldve already been buzzing with rumors of their demise.</em>


    <em>Yet, those intel brokers is still so quiet</em>


    <em>Perhaps theyve been held up by some other task?</em>


    <em>Or maybe Crocodile encountered the half-orcs?</em>


    After all, he heard some rumors that said a few months ago, the half-orc tribes in the Desert of Death had raised another invading force, a whopping thirty thousand strong army.


    It wasnt clear whether the orcs were still targeting the Kingdom of Aries this time, but given their long-standing enmity with the Kingdom, it was a highly probable scenario.


    If that were the case, then it wouldnt be unusual for the Crocodile Mercenary Group to be dragged into such a conflict


    Nheless, so much time had passed. They should have already finished whatever they needed to by now, right?


    Its just strange that theres still no news about them


    Kaynes shook his head and shrugged.


    <em>Forget it, what does it matter to me anyway? </em>


    Lets pack up and depart as soon as possible. Were not too far from the Dark Mountains here. The longer we dy, the more likely it is for unforeseen circumstances to arise. If the ck dragon senses anything, our task of hunting it will be significantly more challenging. In such operations timing is crucial!


    Kaynes dered.


    This time, they were thoroughly prepared and received substantial aid from the Borderlord as well. With just a juvenile ck dragon to contend with, their prospects looked really promising.


    However, Kaynes also didnt forget that the ck dragon, despite its rtively young age and inclination to be obstinate due to its malevolent nature, wasnt foolish.


    If it somehow got wind of their operation, then theres a chance it might decide to flee in advance.


    I dont need your lectures. Cynthia, whose mood had soured due to thoughts of the Crocodile Mercenary Group, coldly retorted before heading towards her own camp with half of the mages.


    Kaynes wryly shook his head, then beganmanding his own forces to dismantle their makeshift camp and prepare for departure.


    With a resounding whistle, the mercenary camp outside Maple Leaf City began to stir.


    The mercenaries in the vicinity halted their dealing with the surrounding merchants and swiftly began packing their belongings under the watchful guidance of their respective captains, before seamlessly transitioning into a formation.


    For a moment, dust clouds arose on the empty ground outside the city, stirred up by the brisk footsteps of the mercenaries as they prepared to embark on their journey.


    Meanwhile, the merchants that roamed the camp also began to withdraw and merely stood aside to watch.


    Their expressions betrayed a hint of regret, subtly etched upon their faces.


    As the mercenaries geared up to leave, it finally hit them that their chances for doing business would take a nosediveat least until they waited for these guys toe back from their hunting mission.


    However, its uncertain how many days will that take, and most of them cant stay in Maple Leaf City indefinitely.


    Nevertheless, amidst the crowd of merchants observing the mercenaries, a handful of individuals stand out with pleased expressions, seemingly somewhat out of ce among the rest.


    These individuals belong to the Amway Trade Company.


    They gathered closely together and exchanged whispers filled with excitement:


    Finally, these guys are leaving! Its been three days! Weve been waiting impatiently


    Their damn operation preparations took too long I almost thought Id run out of junk equipment to sell during these three days


    Shhkeep your voice down, its just junk items and not worth much contribution points. Besides wont it return back to uster on anyway? In any case have you all gathered the intel we needed?


    Yeah, Ive got all the information we need on these mercenary groups.


    Quick, upload it to the forums! Also inform Boss Cat and the others! Afterwards, well change our outfits and blend in with these mercenaries until we find the right time to sabotage their operation, hehehe!


    Hehehe Thats a good idea, I like it!


    Hehehe!


    Guys, stopughing already and inform Boss Cat and the others!


    These individuals slip away sneakily, muttering about something.


    Meanwhile, some of them also discreetly put on another outfit, disguising themselves as mercenaries, and stealthily join the rear of various departing mercenary groups


    At the border of the Elven Forest, ck Dragon Castle.


    Theyve set off.


    Little Salty Cats eyes widened as she read the message that popped up in her chat, a spark of excitement lighting up her face.


    This time around, what the mercenaries didnt know was that some yers situated in Maple Leaf City were actually livestreaming everything, making it entirely visible for the wider yerbase to see and analyze every action of the other party.


    Except for the specifics of the opponents strength, everything else was quite clear to the yers.


    Now, almost everyone on the server knew that the Borderlord was sending mercenary groups to hunt down Meryer!


    The number of participating mercenaries is at least five thousand!


    Essentially, a group of fatmbs are unwittingly walking right into their doorsteps!


    After hearing this, the yers who were mostly active in the Elven Forest Map became excited.


    Especially those who hadnt yet broken through to the Peak of Iron-rank.


    During these past few weeks, theyve been simply grinding their levels by hunting mobs in the vicinity or the underground dungeon while watching enviously as those who were given ess to the Map of Humankind enjoyed themselves and had a st in Maple Leaf City!


    But now they finally had the chance to participate as well!


    How strong are they?


    Next to Little Salty Cat, Ji Gang, the Guildmaster of Autobots, was just as excited.


    Demacia uploaded the details on the forums. There are a total of thirteen people with Silver-ranked strength, including two Peak Silver-rank Experts, four intermediate Silver-rankers, and the rest are low Silver-ranked experts.


    Also, there are about eight hundred mercenaries who have reached the Peak of Iron rank, and around three thousand with intermediate and lower Iron-rank strength the rest are all mere apprentices.


    Among these Silver-ranked bosses, the strongest is the leader of the Breta Mercenary Group, a level 70 shield warrior, skilled in


    Little Salty Cat scrolled through the information listed on the forum, reading it out one by one.


    The information was very detailed, all of which was gathered by yers who had infiltrated the mercenaries forces.


    Based on their marching speed, they should arrive here in a maximum of four days.


    After stating aloud the information, Little Salty Cat promptly closed the forum post.


    That is to sayits equivalent to one day in reality?


    Ji Gang eagerly rubbed his hands together.


    Little Salty Cat nodded.


    Yep, inform all the major guilds and tell everyone to prepare to mobilize for war!


    Then she added as an afterthought,


    Oh right! Also tell everyone not to be rash. It could cause more trouble than its worth if we attack them too soon. The NPCs in this game are really cunning and their response is too realistic, once they see they cant win, I bet theyll run faster than rabbits!


    <strong>316</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>DONT LET THE ENEMY ESCAPE </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 317

    Chapter 317


    If one were to ask the yers why they enjoy ying Elven Kingdom, they may encounter various responses.


    Some might speak of its lifelike graphics, while others may cite its intricate and expansive storyline, or perhaps, they could also attribute their enjoyment to the vivid portrayal of NPCs that seamlessly resemble their real-world counterparts.


    Some may even mention the games unparalleled freedom to explore vast open worlds, engage in endless quests, and shape their own unique adventures.


    But regardless of each yers own respective reasons, if one were to inquire about their favorite aspect of the game, the vast majority would likely choose the questlines that involve war scenarios.


    For instance, the recent questline involving the half-orcs during the summer event have already made many people addicted to such kinds of bloody battles.


    These massive war campaigns, involving thousands of participants, hold a fatal allure for yers who never experienced this kind of bloodshed in the real world.


    After all, in the virtual world of Elven Kingdom, these wars transcend the typical gaming experience.


    yers dont just observe the battlefield from an outsiders perspective; they too will be part of it


    Experience it firsthand.


    They would feel the raw carnal frenzy, spine tingling thrill, epic heroism, and massive adrenaline rush as if they were really there, far surpassing those of mere virtual simtions offered by some other less capable games.


    Moreover, what truly highlights the grand scale of Elven Kingdom is its real-like portrayal of war.


    The more participants there are, the more exhrating the spectacle will be, which in turn makes one feel more adrenaline rush coursing through their veins.


    The sheer realism, epic scale, and unparalleled immersion, coupled with the thrill of pursuing enemy NPCs under the Goddesss buffs, engaging in closebat, and experiencing the tense excitement of ranged attacks filled with dazzling fireworks-like spells, collectively captivate many yers, making it impossible for them to resist once they have experienced a taste of it.


    Of course, besides these subjective experiences, another reason for the poprity of these war-rted quests is undoubtedly because anyone who participates in these events usually experiences a rapid increase of their levels.


    In every battle, theres always a group of lucky individuals who will level up like crazy, while at the same time also rake in a lot of money throughout the entirety of the event.


    What might take weeks of tediously grinding for EXP and contribution points on a regr basis can be achieved in just a single battle!


    So upon learning that another major battle was looming on the horizon, almost all yers went ballistic with excitement.


    In just a short span after it was announced, almost Everyone in the server spread the word, eagerly opting to join the fray.


    As a result, ck Dragon Castle, which is usually not a very popr location amongst the yerbase, has been gathering more and more crowd as time goes by.


    It even got to a point that some anxious yers had gone so far as to camp in the castle in advance, fearing they might miss out on the optimal opportunity to secure their spot.


    And at this moment, although the high-end top yers are still in Maple Leaf City or hiding amongst the mercenaries, the rest of the yers who stayed in Elven Forest are no longer what they used to be.


    Following a period of dedicated effort, those intermediate and low-leveled yers have also made breakthroughs one after another


    Level 21 had essentially be the median level across the server, while at the same time, many 2nd-beta yers as well as a few lucky 3rd-beta yers had gradually reached the threshold of Iron-rank strength.


    Without a doubt, after this questline, they will sessfully advanced to Peak Iron-rank and enter the top echelon of the yerbase.


    As such, it wouldnt be long before many yers will be able reach the current level cap of Elven Kingdom, which is level 40.


    Everyone was looking forward to the uing event with eager anticipation, as their eyes glow with excitement, prompting even Alice and some other native elves to sigh in resigned exasperation.


    These chosen ones are really too aggressive.


    <em>Divine Matriarch, have you perhaps also infused the Chosen Ones with the blood of orcs?</em>


    Such questions swirled in the minds of many natives.


    Meanwhile, as yers were spiritedly gearing up themselves, the mercenary group gradually approached the vicinity of the Dark Mountains


    Even before setting off for this hunting operation, almost every mercenary already knew the approximate location of the ck Dragonsir based on the information circting in Maple Leaf City.


    Everyone knew that the dragonsir was situated in an abandoned castle at the border of Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest!


    Although they still didnt know the precise location of itsir, considering the ck dragons habit of hovering in the sky that they observed, the scouts had already roughly determined the specific coordinates of itsir based on its behavioral patterns.


    And so, with the scouts guidance, the entire mercenary group drew closer and closer to their target with each passing day.


    Keynes, the leader of the Breta mercenary group, stood atop arge stone marker, whilst furrowing his brow as he studied the map in his hand.


    In half a day at most, well likely reach the Dark Mountains. So whats up with that expression? Are you perhaps scared?


    Cynthia, whose currently standing beside him, wiped her bow with a smile.


    Ignoring her ambiguous tone, Keynes merely nced at her, and said with a grave voice:


    No, I just feel that somethings off.


    Off?


    Cynthia raised an eyebrow slightly before a wry chuckle escaped her lips.


    Are you worried about the ck dragons strength? Well, considering that its a dragon, its power cant bepared to ordinary silver monsters despite not being at the Golden-Rank yet. But remember, we also have over a dozen Silver-ranked experts in our group!


    Not only that, but considering both of us outrank the majority here, Im sure that with ourbined efforts and thorough preparations, handling a mere juvenile ck dragon would be within our capabilities.


    Hearing Cynthias words, Keynes shook his head.


    No, its not about the dragon.


    Not about the dragon?


    Cynthia was puzzled for a moment before once again chuckling lightly.


    Well, if its not about the dragon, then is it about its ves? Whats there to worry about? Its just a juvenile ck dragon Its probably only enved some weak goblins or kobolds at most, or perhaps some wandering half-orcs. There shouldnt be any problem dealing with them with thebined forces of our two mercenary groups.


    Generally speaking, an adult ck dragon could easily subdue thousands of lesser beings to be its ves, but this time they were only dealing with an underage ck Dragon, so Cynthia felt that a force of 5,000 mercenaries were enough to handle it.


    After speaking, she nced at Keynes, only to find him still frowning at the map.


    Sensing something amiss, Cynthias expression grew more serious:


    What is it? Is it not about its ves either?


    Keynes gave her a pointed look and spoke in a low voice.


    Its the half-orcs.


    Half-orcs? Cynthia furrowed her brow.


    Indeed.


    Keynes nodded, then gestured on the map:


    Based on my observations these past few days, the ck dragonsir is most likely located here, here, and here And these three locations should all fall under the jurisdiction of a medium-sized half-orc tribe, which is the Caverock Tribe,


    He then paused and give her a meaningful look.


    At this moment, weve essentially entered the territory of Caverock Tribe.


    Cynthias expression grew solemn.


    Caverock Tribe, was it?


    The scope of activity of her Owl Mercenary Group isnt active in this region, so she wasnt very familiar with the local power dynamics within this area.


    Nevertheless, she had heard of the rather infamous Caverock Tribe.


    It was a renowned half-orc tribe that mainly hunted elves within this region, and they often also interacted with humans, particrly passing caravans.


    Though not particrly powerful, they still numbered in the thousands.


    With this in mind, Cynthia also furrowed her brow:


    Now that you mention it it does seem a bit off. ording to their habits, these orcs should have already issued a warning in advance if we had already entered their territory.


    Yet not only have we not received any warnings at all, but theres not even a trace of any orcs within the vicinity.


    Keynes nodded.


    Which is why I feel that somethings wrong.


    With that, he promptly closed the map.


    Cynthia wanted to say more, but seeing Keynes walking away, she held her tongue.


    They resumed their march and as their entire hunting group drew closer to their destination with each passing moment, their apprehension also became more prevalent.


    Then, after crossing a certain mountain ahead, the two mercenary group leaders simultaneously narrowed their eyes.


    What they saw wasnt a fully functional half-orc tribe but rather:


    It was a vast expanse of dpidated ruins.


    <strong>317</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>SOMETHINGS WRONG</strong><strong> </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 318

    Chapter 318


    Thiswas the Caverock Tribe?


    Cynthias voice carried a hint of disbelief as she looked at the dpidated ruins before her.


    Kaynes furrowed his brow, his gaze sweeping over the destendscape in front of him.


    Carefully, he moved forward, each step measured as he approached the scene. The ground beneath his feet revealed faint, ominous traces of blood, now transformed into a dried, murky ckness. Whereas the ruins surrounding them bore the scars of devastation, as if it was thoroughly ransacked, leaving nothing but destion in its wake.


    A fierce battle took ce here, likely over three months agoJudging from the scene, it appears as though the entire tribe was raided by bandits, leaving nothing behind. From the extent of devastation the Caverock Tribe appears to have beenpletely wiped out.


    Kaynes said solemnly.


    Three months


    Cynthia murmured, her eyes showing a hint of suspicion.


    Thergest half-orc tribe near the Elven Forest was quietly wiped out three months ago, and despite so much time having passed, the news of their demise still hasnt spread around!


    <em>What did they encounter?</em>


    <em>What exactly happened here?</em>


    <em>Moreover, it was just a mere impoverished half-orc settlement; what could be worth stealing from them? Scraps?</em>


    As the two mercenary captains mulled over their bizzare discovery, their expressions grew increasingly wary and perplexed.


    From the traces left behind in their surroundings, the Caverock Tribe seemed to have experienced an attack by mountain bandits, and not just any run-of-the-mill bandits at that, but a powerful group that had the capacity to wipe them out silently.


    Nevertheless this was a medium-sized settlement full of aggressive half-orcs!


    <em>What could be worth stealing amongst their belongings?</em>


    Furthermore this area was within the Caverocks jurisdiction, and Orcs usually dont allow any bandit camps to form inside their territory.


    Could the perpetrator be the ck Dragon? Or perhaps its enved servants?


    Cynthia asked.


    A juvenile ck Dragon wouldnt have the ability to wipe out a tribe this size so silently. To quietly eliminate a half-orc tribe like Caverock the culprits must be rather brutal, and instead of a single being, odds are there are probably a lot of them! Kaynes said, furrowing his brow.


    Listening to Kaynes exnation, Cynthias brow furrowed even deeper, reflecting her growing concern.


    Her eyes darted around the area once more and suddenly her expression changed:


    Look! There are a lot of footprints over here!


    Kaynes rose to his feet, followed her gaze, and spotted the chaotic array of tracks ahead.


    Among the footsteps were distinct human shapes, intermingled with hints of something more primal, akin to an animal all strewn across the ground in abundance.


    The footsteps theyve found appeared recent, as though whoever or whatever had made them had just passed through.


    These are new footprints, definitely not more than a day old! Cynthia muttered.


    Kaynes squinted slightly, then stretched out his foot andpared it with the footprints on the ground.


    Hmm?


    After a moment, he made a light sound of surprise.


    Whats wrong? Cynthia asked curiously.


    Kaynes face disyed a mix of surprise, doubt, and a glimmer of excitement.


    These footprints seem to belong to elves!


    Cynthia was slightly stunned.


    Elves?!


    As herpanions words sank in, she scrutinized the ground once more, this time with a focused gaze that picked out the subtle traits distinctive to elves.


    Having encountered and hunted elves in the past, both mercenary captains possessed the expertise to discern their telltale footprints. With each passing moment of examination, their suspicions were easily confirmed, revealing unmistakable nuances that set these footsteps apart.


    It really seems to be elven footprints! But where did so many elvese from? Could they be the ones who were acquired by those southern nobles before?


    Cynthia was both surprised and puzzled.


    The thrill of potentially earning extra profit surged within her at the thought of encountering elves once more. Yet, it was tempered by the sheer abundance of footprints spread across the ground, raising even more confusing questions for her.


    Before Kaynes could voice his thoughts, a deafening roar reverberated through the air, unmistakably that of a dragon, echoing from a distance


    Instinctively, they looked up in the direction of the sound, and on a distant hillside, they saw a ck castle.


    No, that couldnt be called a castle anymore.


    Looking at it more closely, outside the castle perimeter, a sturdy wall had been built, appearing very new, likelypleted not too long ago.


    Even the castle itself seemed to have been meticulously repaired.


    And atop of it on the air, a majestic ck dragon was circling above the castle.


    Its the ck Dragonsir!


    Both of their eyes lit up.


    Just as they were stunned by the orcish ruins in front of them, they suddenly realized that the ck Dragonsir they had been searching for all along was just right up ahead!


    However, just before they could rejoice to the fact that they finally found their targetsir, the expressions of the two of them turned serious almost in an instant


    The sight of the restored castle, the decimated orc tribe, and the myriad footprints akin to those of elves spoke volumes even without a word being spoken


    Seemingly realizing something, the two mercenary captains instinctively looked around.


    The Caverock tribe was nestled against the mountain, with low terrain, while the other three sides were dense forests, creating the impression of a secluded enve.


    This terrain seemed quite unfavorable in case something happened.


    Both of them almost simultaneously had this thought.


    Yet at this moment, an ominous breeze suddenly blew as countless birds flew out of the forest, chirping loudly, as if startled by something


    Not good!


    In an instant, both mercenary captains stood up almost simultaneously.


    And as they spoke, a sudden rush of air broke the stillness, apanied by the whispering swish of arrows slicing through the wind. From the enveloping forest, a volley of arrows, gleaming with majestic skills, surged forth, aimed directly at the mercenaries congregated near the remnants of the Caverock tribe settlement.


    These arrows came so unexpectedly that the mercenaries situated on the outer edge of the group hadnt even realized what was happening before they were hit one after another.


    In the blink of an eye, dozens of mercenaries fell to the ground, their fate unknown, amidst cries and screams of the rest.


    Instantly, the mercenary forces erupted into chaos.


    Ambush! Its an ambush! Weve been tricked!


    Almost at the same moment, the two captains realized what had happened.


    In an instant, realization dawned upon both captains, their faces contorting with a mix of shock, anger, suspicion, and horror.


    And after the bombardment of arrows subsided, a frenzied roar suddenly resounded from all around their immediate surroundings.


    Amidst a cacophony of frenzied war cries, a multitude of figures erupted from the dense forest, their movements a blur of urgency and fervor.


    Each of them carried splendid equipment, boasting about strikingly attractive featuresclearly, their assants were definitely


    Elves?!


    Seeing the hundreds of elves suddenly rushing out one after another, the expressions of the mercenaries were quite dramatic.


    But soon, their expressions turned into excitement.


    Elves!


    They had actually encountered elves!


    And these elves were rushing towards them foolishly!


    <em>Eternal Lord above, these elves are practically walking gold coins!</em>


    Even though dozens of their fellow mercenaries had just been shot dead by these elves, the rest of the mercenaries initial panic and confusion quickly turned into excitement when they saw these elves.


    Who among the mercenaries of Maple Leaf had not participated in hunting elves?


    They were so familiar with these weak, cowardly, but invaluable long-eared creatures.


    Sure, their archery might be a bit better, but their closebat skills were weak to the extreme inparison!


    However, this subconscious thought onlysted for a few seconds.


    Because they quickly noticed something strange about these elves


    Their current appearance diverged entirely from the mercenaries usual perception of them.


    These elves swung their weapons wildly, their voices echoing loudly through the air as they clustered together in a frenzied mass, cheering with fervor, resembling a band of crazy madmen.


    Moreover, their gaze toward them was akin to that of wild wolves seeing prey!


    Ferocious, excited, crazy


    Such eyes made the mercenaries involuntarily take a step back.


    And just as the mercenaries were feeling a bit uncertain.


    Even more countless figures appeared from the forest as they shouted continuously, each charging towards their location as if they all lost their minds


    Deafening shouts filled the air as numerous figures flooded into view.


    The expressions of the two captains instantly became serious.


    In their field of vision, there appeared a fully armed legion of elves!


    Whats more, these elvessuddenly surrounded them in an instant.


    <strong>318</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>AMBUSH OF THE ELVEN LEGION</strong><strong> </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 319

    Chapter 319


    <em>Howe there are so many elves?</em>


    As they watched the clusters of long-eared figures emerging from the forests on both sides, the two human mercenary captains instinctively nced at each other, each seeing a hint of shock in the others eyes.


    <em>Eternal Lord Above!</em>


    <em>Are we hallucinating?</em>


    However, their men falling on the outskirts, killed by arrows, assured them that this was certainly not an illusion!


    No! Impossible! The Elven Forest couldnt possibly have so many elves! Furthermore, the elves I know wouldnt be this aggressive! They must be impostors!


    Cynthia eximed.


    Meanwhile, Keynes squinted, then nced back at the only Silver-ranked mage in their mercenary group.


    The Silver-ranked mage, catching the captains gaze, instantly understood his underlying meaning and began to chant a spell, casting an appraisal spell towards the approaching elves


    A few moments passed and astonishment flickered across the mages face.


    T-They are indeed elves!


    Keynes took in a sharp breath.


    <em>Real elves? </em>


    To instantly surround their force of over five thousand mercenaries in just a short span indicates that the enemy clearly outnumbered them!


    <em>All these crazy looking guys are real elves?</em>


    <em>These long-eared beings that almost went extinctsince when have they be somon?</em>


    <em>Where did all these elvese from anyway?</em>


    For a moment, Keyness puzzlement outweighed the gravity of being surrounded.


    However, he also noticed that although these elves outnumbered them, the individual strength of each of these elves was limited as well


    Based on his estimates, most had just low or intermediate Iron-rank strength, with only a few upper Iron-rankers, let alone Silver-rank experts.


    With a glint in his eyes, Kaynes quickly shouted, Their rank strength is weak! Everyone, hold your formation and counterattack! Lets crush and capture them all! They are a valuable treasures!


    Their captainsmand swept through the group, restoring order among the chaotic mercenaries, as their spirits lifted by his words.


    Moreover, the excitement of seeing elves began to spread again among the mercenaries


    After all these were elves!


    And elves practically meant gold and riches!


    If they could somehow capture one, then those who seed in doing so could livevishly for a lifetime!


    And here in this remote location theres not just hundreds but thousands of them!


    There was no need to consider where these elves came from, just as long as they knew they were real elves!


    Although most of them hadnt personally fought elves, it was quitemon knowledge in their line of work that elves, in general, were weaker and averse to violence


    Thus, at this moment, the mercenaries who had fallen to the barrage of arrows were quickly overshadowed by the allure of gold.


    Although the charging elves seemed to be ferocious, the mercenaries fighting spirit was just as equally high.


    The rushing elves intense gaze hinted at ferocity, but the mercenaries hearts burned with a fierce fighting spirit.


    Here on the bordends, the mercenaries were all hardened desperadoes who thrived on danger and the pursuit of wealth.


    Therefore even though everyone now realized that something was off with these elves, they still became excited.


    And soon after, the elves charging at the forefront finally collided with the mercenaries.


    In that initial moment of engagement, the mercenaries at the front swiftly changed their expressions.


    They felt as if these elves rushing towards them were like immensely powerful beasts, knocking them dizzy and almost causing them to vomit blood


    The elven vanguards charging ahead donned formidable armor, brandishing giant swords and shields adorned with shimmering enchantments. Their faces contorted into wild grins, exuding an aura of madness as they advanced.


    They were the yers who had chosen the tank warrior jobss.


    Different from the more bnced mercenaries, these elves almost exclusively focused on increasing their toughness especially in close range meleebat.


    Though they somewhatcked the agility and their attack output damage isnt that particrly high, each individual was as hard as a rock.


    Coupled with the various support spells from druid and mage yers behind them, the mercenaries were shocked to find that they couldnt break through the defenses of these elven tanks at all!


    These were clearly elves, but more dressed heavily, looking like mountains of flesh. With thunderous steps, they surged into the midst of the mercenaries, leaving chaos in their wake.


    They couldnt defeat the mercenaries, but they didnt engage in prolongedbat either, mostly just ignoring the attacksnding upob them, whilstughing madly as they rampaged through the enemy crowd


    They were like tempests, stirring up the meticulously arranged formations of the mercenaries as the enemys des fell upon them, sshing blood, with even some asional stray arrows being shot by elven archers causing friendly fire.


    However, these elven tanks paid no heed to their injuries, showing no pain nor fear and onlyughing in joy as they ughtered through the crowd at the forefront


    This surreal scene stunned the mercenaries.


    <em>By the Eternal Lord! Where did these reckless lunaticse from?</em>


    Meanwhile, the elves in the rear were invigorated after seeing how the tanks were performing, taking the opportunity to also charge into the enemy formation and engage the mercenaries in meleebat.


    These guys were the real damage dealers!


    Their bodies glowed with vibrant energy, each flicker signaling a skill in action. Trailzing behind the tanks, they surged into the fray, shing at the mercenaries left dazed by the tank yers onught.


    Likewise, the mages and druids stationed in the rear also made their mark, fervently chanting incantations while hurling various spells such as fireballs or torrents of wind into the battlefield following the frontline tanks.


    For a moment, shes of des shed everywhere, as battle cries echoed throughout the battlefield whilst spells erupted in rapid session, each explosion punctuated by the anguished screams of ughtered mercenaries.


    With just a nce, the elves unleashed devastation upon the mercenaries. Some were brutally in, their bodies torn asunder by the elves swords, while others were mangled by their powerful spells. Strangely, the fallen bodies even vanished into ashes, leaving behind an unsettling mystery.


    At this moment, the mercenaries finally realized that these peculiar elves were nothing like the peace-loving elves they had encountered or heard about in folklores.


    They were truly fighting without fear of death!


    That predatory gaze and that bloodthirsty grin were definitely not fake!


    <em>These elves were a bunch of lunatics!</em>


    Seeing their formations crumbling almost instantly under the charge of the elves, the expressions of the two mercenary captains changed slightly.


    It seemed that the overall strength of these elves exceeded their imagination.


    However, even so, the two did not panic.


    The number of both sides was simply toorge.


    In fact, those truly engaged inbat were only those on positioned at the forefront.


    Moreover, the individual strength of these elves was not high, and the mercenaries side still had their silver-ranked experts who had yet to join the conflict.


    The two captains exchanged a nce, nodding in agreement, preparing tomand their silver-ranked subordinates to finally join the battle.


    However, at this moment, the mercenaries formation suddenly erupted in cries of rm


    On the hillside in the distance, huge boulders burning with mes suddenly flew up.


    Amidst the piercing winds and billowing smoke, the boulders soared through the air, tracing an ominous path before mming into the heart of the mercenaries ranks


    With the elves surrounding them, the mercenaries alreadypressed formation became even tighter at this moment.


    Facing the descending boulders, they couldnt dodge at all.


    In a deafening eruption, the boulders shattered as it send forth a lethal barrage of mes and debris in its wake, reducing a cluster of mercenaries to mere carnage in an instant.


    Even those not directly hit were unluckily ignited by the sttering mes, causing them to scream in agony as well


    As they struggled, they further disrupted the mercenaries formation and spread panic.


    The two mercenary captains expressions shifted noticeably as they observed the imposing contraptions perched upon the hillside.


    Trebuchets!


    But immediately after, the mercenaries heard a sudden barrage of curses from the elves side:


    Fuck! Who allowed the use trebuchets!?


    Idiots, dont you know trebuchets dont give EXP?!


    Damn it a lot of em died too! My experience points and contribution all wasted pointlessly like that!


    My heart hurts! My heart hurts so much!


    No trebuchets, okay? Like, seriously, can we please ban the use of these in this battle!?


    Their voices were filled with strong indignation and grievance.


    Listening to the elvesints


    For a moment, the mercenaries were left utterly dumbfounded.


    <strong>319</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>NO TREBUCHETS ALLOWED </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 320

    Chapter 320


    Never underestimate the quality of yers.


    Sure, they might be subservient when they interact with friendly NPCs, considering their attitude will affect their favorability score, thus they have learned to be polite and role-y as good-natured individuals


    But when facing enemies


    Kusa(Lol), theyll totally let loose and act like a bunch of wild beasts.


    Since their reputation wouldnt be affected, then they can do whatever they want!


    The coarse and vulgarnguage that spilled out from the yers mouth left the mercenaries dumbfounded, making it difficult for them to connect the crazy figures before them with the elegant elves in their memories


    If the chaos of the initial battle had already fractured their perception of the elves, now it shattered entirely.


    These elves, which defied their expectations, rendered the mercenaries speechless, momentarily paralyzing them with disbelief.


    Although unlike their bewildered subordinates, the expressions on the faces of the two mercenary captains shifted abruptly upon hearing what the elves have said just now.


    They suddenly realized a problem.


    Since those trebuchets seemed to belong to the elves, and those were positioned on the castle which in turn, belonged to the ck dragon.


    Then, in other words were these elves allied with the ck dragon?


    More specifically, were these elvesthe enved subordinates of the ck dragon?!


    The mere fact that a juvenile ck dragon had enved so many elves sent chills down the spines of the two Silver-ranked mercenary captains, making them feel incredulous


    <em>This cant be, right?</em>


    <em>That evil ck dragonhow could it possibly mix with elves?</em>


    <em>No these weird elves cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes; they are a bunch of lunatics masquerading as elves!</em>


    <em>Wait a minute</em>


    <em>If thats really the case, then the existence that wiped out the Caverock Tribe</em>


    Thinking of a certain possibility, the pupils of the two mercenary group leaders contracted.


    <em>Could it be that the Caverock Tribe was also destroyed by them?</em>


    <em>Did they silently wipe out a medium-sized Half-Orc tribe?</em>


    After realizing this possibility, Kayness expression changed drastically, and he hastily shouted:


    No good! Break through! Break through quickly! Everyone fall back to the direction we came from!


    Having the capability to eradicate an entire medium-sized Half-Orc tribe without detection, such an existence, even if two mercenary groups could handle it reasonably, would still suffer severe damage in the process!


    Mercenaries like them are profit-driven individuals.


    If its really just as he imagines, then even if this operation can bepleted, the two mercenary groups are likely to incur severe damage and lost a lot of personnel.


    At this moment, Kaynes had already decided to abandon the operation and decided to leave.


    <em>What a joke!</em>


    The ability to eradicate the Caverock Tribe without a survivor suggests that the ck dragon behind them is quite formidable.


    <em>Faced with such an adversary, what other challenge couldpare?</em>


    <em>See those elves still charging towards us from a distance?</em>


    <em>There are probably not just thousands of them, but tens of thousands!</em>


    <em>Moreover theyre also riding on magical beasts!</em>


    <em>Lord Eternal above! Did the ck Dragon enved all the elves in the world!? </em>


    At this moment, Kaynes was certain that this so-called huntingmission was definitely a conspiracy!


    <em>Damn it! No wonder the Borderlord didnt send out his own White Maple Knights; he must have known that this might be a trap!</em>


    Kaynes gritted his teeth.


    Although he was still puzzled by the origin of these elves, it did not stop him from feeling the urge to retreat.


    However, at this moment, what worried him the most actually happened


    With a loud roar akin to a dragon, an overwhelming pressure engulfed their surroundings.


    Ruaaah! How dare you step into the territory of this great lord! You evil humans must be punished by justice!


    From a distance, an excited voice echoed through the air, prompting Kaynes to nce upward.


    There in his vision, a looming shadow stretched across the sky whilst being apanied by the thundering beat of massive wings.


    Its colossal form, enveloped in menacing scales and crowned with sky-obscuring bat-like wings, exuded an aura of terror.


    Before him stood a ck dragon, its body spanning dozens of meters in size.


    <em>Is this the ck dragon that the Borderlord mentioned?!</em>


    Feeling the aura emanating from it, Kayness face turned green.


    Although he was sure that the opponent had not yet reached adulthood and had not broken through to the gold rank, its terrifying aura was definitely not something ordinary silver ranks couldpare to!


    Not to mention Although this ck dragon was not yet an adult, its size was already more than two-thirds that of an adult ck dragon!


    And the size of the dragons body is almost proportional to its strength within the same dragon species.


    As Kaynesid eyes on the circling dragon on the skies, he made a judgment within his heart:


    <em>This was not an opponent I could contend with!</em>


    <em>Weare definitely not a match for this ck dragon</em>!


    Perhaps they could still have dealt with it if the dragon had been alone


    But with the addition of those crazed, long-eared creatures the bnce hadpletely tipped against them!


    Kaynes could clearly see that with the emergence of the ck dragon heightened the chaos among the already disarrayed mercenaries.


    This was not only because humans naturally feared dragons, but also because of the overwhelming aura emanating from this particr ck dragon, despite it being a juvenile.


    Even though this ck dragon had yet to reach adulthood, its aura rivaled that of a fully grown one.


    And as the dragons oppressive aura enveloped them, even the most seasoned mercenaries couldnt help but quiver in fear.


    Observing their formation further descending into chaos, Kaynes clenched his teeth and issued amand:


    Cynthia! Rally your silver experts and assist me in subduing that ck dragon. We need to create an opening for everyone to escape!


    After saying that, he hoisted his greatsword high and surged forward, leading the charge towards the descending ck dragon.


    Upon hearing his words, Cynthia hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly called on the other silver experts to follow suit.


    For a moment, thirteen silver-rank experts among the mercenaries moved together and met the attack of the ck dragon.


    Meanwhile, the silver mages from the two mercenary groups looked at each other, then took out a golden scroll from their pockets.


    Without hesitation, they chanted incantations, causing the scrolls to pulsate with magic. With swift movements, they tore the scrolls apart.


    A surge of magical energy rippled outward, as two brilliant beams of light ascended into the sky. Complex and intricate patterns formed in the air, conjuring two formidable devil vines that sprang forth to ensnare the ck dragon.


    Sixth circle magic[Summon Devil Vine].


    This was a trump card specially prepared by the two major mercenary groups to deal with the ck dragon before this whole operation.


    The ck dragons magic resistance was high, and ordinary magic was ineffective against it except for divine spells.


    However, summoning magic was an exception.


    The devil vines summoned by the golden scroll were not magical, but rather powerful living nts. They were not only excellent magical materials but also excellent control spells to subdue an opponent.


    Of course, this alone wouldnt be able to fully control the ck dragon.


    But even so, they could greatly disrupt its movements.


    And sure enough.


    Meryer had never expected the other party to have such a trick up their sleeve.


    Whilst dodging one vine narrowly, the ck dragon found itself ensnared by another. As its wings became entangled, its ability to fly was swiftlypromised, sending the young dragon plummeting into the ground below.


    Damn it! Its this kind of sneaky move again!


    Meryer was furious.


    However, sixth circle magic was still sixth circle magic, far inferior to the Light Cage that had once controlled it.


    Although the devil vine entangled the young ck dragon, it only affected its movements, causing it to lose its ability to fly, but did notpletely imprison it.


    Of course, before the magic power of the devil vine was exhausted, the young ck dragon would not be able to break free from it.


    Nheless Kaynes and the others were already satisfied by this oue.


    Being able to slightly affect the opponents mobility had already created an opportunity for them!


    The silver experts immediately seized the opportunity.


    Each of them promptly raised their respective weapons, as various glow of skills shimmered upon them.


    In swift session, they charged towards the enraged ck dragon, ready to confront it head-on.


    Additionally, the human mages also began to chant, as powerful magical fluctuations gathered around them


    Skills and spells erupted one after another, aimed at Meryer.


    Responding with a furious roar, Meryer extended its razor-sharp ws to deflect the iing attacks while unleashing a torrent of fiery dragon breath to counter the approaching spells.


    The two sides fought each other for awhile and unexpectedly fell into a stalemate.


    While the skirmish among the silver ranks reached a standstill, the sh between the mercenaries and the elves grew increasingly fierce.


    In the midst of the chaos, dozens of figures hidden within the ranks of the mercenaries began to move discreetly.


    These were the mages dispatched by the Borderlord to aid the mercenaries.


    Quietly, they dispersed to the outskirts, assuming various positions that subtly outlined a hexagram, encircling the majority of the mercenaries and the ck Dragon.


    Their expressions bore a fervent intensity as theymenced their silent incantations, the air humming with the resonance of mysterious spells.


    Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, their movements went unnoticed by all.


    <strong>320</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>COVERT OPERATION</strong><strong> </strong><hr>


    <strong></strong>  The raw specifically used this term, and it is read as kusa (at least in Japanese) and its quite the equivalent of lol


    For more detailed exnation for those who are curious, you can click here.


    One thing to note tho is that chinese users generally use this in a more cynical/venting frustration manner but in the context of this chapter, I think its original Japanese meaning is more appropriate to be used here. <hr><hr>

 Chapter 321

    Chapter 321


    As the chaos of the battlefield raged on, the sh between the yers and mercenaries further intensified, creating a symphony of shing steel along with the cries of pain that echoed throughout the vicinity.


    At the center of it all, the ck dragon faced off against a small group of silver-ranked experts


    Around them, people would constantly die, leaving the ground underneath their feet a deep shade of red as fallen bodies mysteriously vanished into ashes before being carried off by the wind.


    Of course, Meryer paid no mind to these as he desperately struggled to fend off the mercenaries attacks. s, as time wore on, more and more wounds began to appear upon his battered body


    Yet despite the odds stacked against him, the small band of silver rankers surrounding the ck dragon found themselves locked in a stalemate, as they found the juvenile ck dragon to be way much stronger than they had initially anticipated.


    Even with thirteen of them attacking together, as well as having previously used a rare scroll containing sixth-ring magic to immobilized their opponent, two of the silver experts still fell prey to the dragons ws and dragon breath.


    Meanwhile, while the ongoing battle between the ck dragon and the silver rankers reached a stalemate, the sh among ordinary mercenaries became increasingly challenging due to yet another unexpected event.


    Suddenly, within the middle section of their formation wherein the archers and mages are securely located, hundreds of mercenaries drew out their weapons and without warning, attacked those mercenaries around them.


    W-Whats happening!?


    Have you gone mad? Why are you guys attacking us!?


    The blindsided mages and archers screamed in anger as these mercenaries whose actually yers in disguise, began to ambush any mercenary close to them,ughing heartily as total mayhem broke out smack in the middle of the mercenary group.


    With the yers sudden ambush, the situation on the battlefield became even more chaotic.


    After hearing themotion, the rest of the yers at the forefront cheered while the mercenaries formation began to show signs of copse.


    Nevertheless, the battle still continued on as it grew even fiercer, with the ground already stained a deep shade of blood-red.


    What no one noticed however was that the blood being spilled on the ground seemed to be pulled by some inexplicable force as it began moving on its own along a certain trajectory.


    Without anyone noticing it, the blood eventually began forming a vast and intricate magical array beneath the battlefield.


    And when the array finally took shape, as if on cue, the dozens of mages lent by the Borderlord all simultaneously drew daggers from their sleeves and decisively plunged them right into their own hearts.


    The surrounding mercenaries were stunned by this sudden turn of events.


    Then, to their horror, they noticed streams of ck blood gushing from the chests of these suicidal mages.


    Several tense seconds passed and each of the bodies of these mages dissolved akin to ice meeting mes, leaving behind only a noxious puddle of ck sludge.


    This ominous sludge then quickly merged with the array on the ground, as it emanated a deep glow, before releasing wisps of ck mist.


    Immediately after, a prevalent aura of malevolent chaos began to spread continuously across the battlefield.


    As soon as this urred, the mercenaries engaged in battle feel a heaviness in their bodies, as if something is pulling at their legs.


    Instinctively, they lowered their heads, only to be horrified to see ck arms emerging from the ground, trying to grab their bodies while emanating an evil, dark power that relentlessly corroded them.


    As the corrosion further progressed, their terror deepened as their bodies swelled, encasing them inyers of ominous ck scales.


    Simrly, the malevolent power also began to affect the yers.


    However, as the ck arms reached for them, the yers quickly noticed these bizarre arms couldnt breach their flesh.


    Despite this, this sudden change still startled the yers.


    What the hell! What is this thing? I nearly jumped out of my skin!


    Shadows? Arent these shadow monsters? Fuck! These things are pulling at my legs!


    Quick, cut them off!


    The yers swiftly brandished their weapons, but it seems that only those purchased from the systems exchange store have a lethal effect on these creepy ck arms.


    Realizing this, the yers skillfully freed themselves from the entanglement of these strange ck arms without expending too much effort.


    However, it wasnt the same for the mercenaries at the center of the massive array, as almost all of them began mutating into monsters one after another


    As the ck energy fully corroded them, most of them eventually lost their senses and began letting out beast-like roars.


    At this moment, the yers finally recognized the form the mercenaries mutated into:


    Oh no! Theyre mutating into Scaled Monsters!


    We cant let themplete their transformation! Kill them quickly!


    At the same time, the dozen or so silver ranker battling the ck dragon also noticed the drastic changes on the battlefield.


    Watching their fellow mercenaries sumb to the malevolent force and turn into corrupted monsters, they were both shocked and furious.


    However, they couldnt afford to pay attention to such things because, to their horror, they themselves found out that their own bodies were also beginning to be affected by that evil power.


    And at this moment, the mercenaries who had initially begun to mutate finallypleted their transformation.


    The fierce ck armor made of scales, as well as the distinctive draconic tail, are exactly like the Scaled Monsters that yers have encountered before!


    However, after transforming into these Scaled Monsters, their physical mutation did not stop there but expanded further.


    As they expanded, numerous cracks began appearing upon their bodies, as ck mist spread continuously from them


    Eventually, they reached their limit.


    Apanied by painful howls, their bodies burst into puddles of sludge surrounded by ck mist.


    And these sludges, as if endowed with life of its own, instantly rushed towards the ck dragon whose still incapacitated due to the control spell from the golden scroll.


    From the looks of it, Meryer also suffered from the influence of that strange power.


    At this moment, although his body did not undergo any changes, his eyes gradually became vacant and dull.


    With almost no resistance at all, Meryer was enveloped by the surging ck sludge.


    Meanwhile, somewhere in a remote hidden space, an old voice rang slowly, with a hint of satisfaction.


    Hehe, finally caught you.


    Then, suddenly, strong spatial fluctuations fully enclosed Meryers body.


    Under a deep glow, his huge body suddenly became illusory and distorted, before gradually disappearing altogether


    This was not a teleportation magic, but rather, a spatial skill exclusive to mythical beings.


    In fact, every being that attained mythical status could expend their divine power to perform this kind of teleportation to the extent wherever their own power could reach.


    However, this time, it wasnt Ev, but Nidhogg who had cast the teleportation.


    The entire operation to hunt the ck dragon was merely a ruse, and its true purpose was to exploit the chaos to discreetly spread Nidhoggs power onto the battlefield, and capture the ck dragon, before sending this juvenile dragon back back to his own ce.


    There was no need for Nidhogg to involve himself personally, nor was it necessary since regardless of who the opponent was, or what traps they had set up, this scheming ancient dragon wouldnt step into it and only needed to capture his target remotely via teleportation.


    He was certain that this n would work since Nidhogg believed that no one knew he could perform such teleportation.


    Nheless, this type of teleportation can actually be easily interrupted by any other mythical beings.


    However, with him being able to wield the power of the abyss, Nidhogg found a way to remotely simte a Celestial Domain by using abyssal power from a long distance and temporarily iste the power of other gods.


    The massive array on the ground just now was what he used to artificially simte a Celestial Domain.


    Therefore, regardless of who the opponent was, within the Celestial Domain Nidhogg simted, they couldnt stop him from teleporting the ck dragon away.


    Of course, this domain was fake and can be easily countered by other mythical beings.


    However, Nidhogg seized this time difference and he actually seeded.


    The moment Meryers figure disappeared, the array on the ground suddenly copsed, leaving only a group of mutated mercenaries and yers continuing to fight.


    And somewhere in the Maple Leaf Territory, within a hidden underground ruin, an illusory dragon-shaped figure lurked in its deepest part.


    Suddenly, a deep light shed in front of him, and a young ck dragon with injuries all over his body materialized out of thin air.


    It was Meryer.


    Watching the young ck dragon appear before him, a hint of pride and joy faintly appeared on the illusory dragons face.


    Nidhogg then extended his dragon ws towards Meryer.


    But right at the moment he was about to grab the other party, Meryers vacant gaze suddenly became alert.


    His hazy crimson vertical pupils immediately turned into gorgeous purple eyes, and deeply gazed onto the illusory dragon figure.


    Finally caught you.


    A melodious female voice whispered, echoing through the underground ruins.


    After hearing this feminine voice, the smile on the illusionary dragons face instantly froze.


    <strong>321</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>FINALLY CAUGHT YOU </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 322

    Chapter 322


    A golden light rose from the ck dragons body, gently purifying the sludge that ensnared it. Each glimmer shimmered vividly, illuminating the murky surroundings, whilst an aura of pure sanctity and grandeur graced the underground ruins, as if nature itself paid homage to its presence.


    As the aura of the ck dragon shifted before his very eyes and the unmistakable aura of a true god pressed down upon him, the dragon-shaped phantasm involuntarily let out a startled cry, as he eximed,


    Divine Descent? How is this possible?!


    This dragon-shaped phantasm was none other than Nidhogg, the Ancient Dragon of Despair hiding somewhere within Maple Leaf Territory.


    At that moment, this mythical being that had survived since ancient times widened his illusory eyes with his face etched with disbelief.


    It turned out that the mastermind orchestrating this whole ordeal behind the scenes was actually a true god!


    Furthermore, this deity actually used a ck dragon as a medium to perform a Divine Descent!


    <em>T-This how is this possible?</em>


    Based on his meticulous observations beforehand, Nidhogg was almost certain that he had deduced the entity behind those weird elves.


    He assumed it was most likely H, the Goddess of Death, who was still trapped in the Netherworld!


    Although Nidhogg didnt know why the other party was targeting him, he gained confidence to take action after guessing the masterminds identity.


    Because H, in her current condition, is still unable to harness her full power and can only wield her strength to a limited extent.


    But even so, Nidhogg didnt dare to rashly intervene in person upon her obviously set trap and instead cleverly teleported his target, the juvenile ck dragon, back via special means


    However, what surprised him was that his initial assumptions were actually wrong, and the mastermind wasnt H, but rather a strange deity he didnt know about!


    Not only that, but this deity could actually use a dragon as a medium to directly perform a Divine Descent, which was shocking, to say the least!


    This revtion was even more confusing to Nidhogg than knowing he was facing a true god.


    Being the oldest surviving ck dragon in existence, he intimately understood the innate characteristics of his own kind.


    To say that dragons in general is a very prideful beings would be an understatement.


    As such, there would be hardly any dragon out there that would willingly worship a True God, and even those who have been subjugated and forcefully converted to follow a certain faith would, at best, only be superficial or shallow believers


    If any dragons really did convert to certain faith, then they were most typically be of the metallic breed, such as Silver or Gold dragons.


    Therefore, using a dragon as a medium to perform a Divine Descent was almost unheard of in history since their kind usually doesnt have much faith, and one needs to be, at the very least, a devout or fanatical believer in order to be a medium.


    So far, the few instances he knew of in the past are when some Ancient Dragon Deities temporarily borrowed their descendants bodies to perform a Divine Descent.


    Moreover, it is absolutely impossible for him and his descendants, the ck dragons, who are notoriously known for their unruly nature, to bow their heads to someone, rendering the idea of using their kind as a medium for a Divine Descent truly unprecedented.


    Therefore, in that instant, as Nidhogg observed the juvenile ck dragon glowed with divine power, his surprise was so intense that he felt like his illusory eyeballs might pop out of their sockets.


    <em>Whats going on with this young ck dragon?</em>


    <em>Itsactually a believer of another deity! </em>


    Whats more, its faith was clearly not just superficial, since it allowed another deity to perform a divine descent upon their own body!


    <em>What about your pride? </em>


    <em>What about your races dignity?</em>


    <em>Did this young fool of a descendant even forget that it belonged to the prestigious bloodline of ck dragons?!</em>


    For a moment, Nidhogg couldnt tell if he was astonished or angry.


    At the same time, a sense of vignce also arose within his heart.


    He had recently just fought against the will projection of the Eternal Lord, so his current condition was still quite weakened, barely maintaining a low level of divine power.


    If he were to engage in a battle against a True God performing a Divine Descent at this moment, Nidhogg fears that despite winning in the end, the injuries hell sustained during the fight would further exacerbate his already worsened condition.


    Not to mention, the other party also using the ck dragons body as a medium for Divine Descent and could potentially destroy the young dragons body at any given time during their fight, thus ruining his ns!


    For a moment, Nidhoggs face contorted, his illusory features twisting in a disy of intense displeasure.


    Ev felt a surge of delight washed over her as she looked directly at the huge dragon-shaped phantasm in front of her.


    After consoling Meryer and addressing some of his confusion, this little ck dragons faith in her deepened further, evolving from a mere superficial believer to a devout one


    Dragons possessed a very strong souls and body, so even as a devout believer, Meryers faith allowed her to perform a Divine Descent into his very being.


    Therefore, after piecing together Nidhoggs true intentions, she plotted her next move.


    That was to use Meryer as bait to attract Nidhogg and then perform a Divine Descent, seizing the Ancient Dragon in a single decisive strike!


    Whether Nidhogg actually saw through her trap or not, Ev didnt care much


    Because she knew the other party would never give up such a good opportunity to seize a body for himself and would definitely make a move against Meryer.


    So, regardless of the method Nidhogg chooses to employ, the only thing she needed to do in response was to simply silently observed and protect Meryer.


    And right at that instance when the ck dragon was suddenly teleported out of the battlefield, Ev was already in control, acting as if she were the ck dragon.


    In fact, right from the moment the Meryer entered the battlefield, Ev had already performed a Divine Descent into his body and was merely pretending, deliberately portraying herself as struggling to deal with the mercenaries to bait Nidhogg into making a move.


    And sure enoughthe opponent really did make a move, and even directly transported Meryer back to its location!


    Hook line and sinker!


    Whilst looking at the dragon-shaped phantasm in front of her, Meryer spoke softly:


    Its over.


    After uttering those words, a potent surge of divine energy, brimming with the essence of life, burst forth from the ck dragons form


    Feeling the divine power potent with vitality and sensing a very familiar aura from it, the pupils of the dragon-shaped phantasm slightly contracted.


    Looking at the young ck dragon being controlled by a true god in front of him, Nidhogg couldnt help but eximed:


    I-Its you! Yggdrasill! Youre still alive!


    After saying that, he sneered again:


    So its actually you whove been scheming behind the scenes all along! Hmph! Do you think you can deal with me like this with just a mere Divine Descen


    However, Nidhogg couldnt finish his words as the purple eyes of Meryer calmly looked at him and began radiating a brilliance akin to countless stars swirling within them.


    <strong></strong>Imprisonment


    Meryer spoke gently, whilst still using that sweet and ethereal female voice.


    Then, a skull-shaped ne was spat out from the ck dragons mouth, as the object floated into the air and rapidly absorbed the divine power imbued with life that Meryer released.


    The Withering Heart!


    Seeing that rather infamous artifact, Nidhogg was left utterly horrified.


    How do you have this artifact in you!? I remember the Withering Heart shouldve been in Ullers hands!


    Upon seeing the other party produce this artifact, the dragon-shaped phantasm didnt hesitate and quickly used some of his divine power to cast teleportation magic to flee.


    However, Eves action was much faster.


    With the Withering Heart already been charged by her, Ev immediately activated it at this moment as a crimson beam erupted from the artifact, striking Nidhogg directly while he faded into an increasingly ethereal state during the process of his escape.


    In an instant, Nidhoggs teleportation was interrupted, and the crimson beam prated his soul, eventually forming a skull-shaped mark above his illusory head.


    Secondster, the aura surrounding Nidhogg visibly diminished at a rapid pace.


    His once formidable strength rapidly declined from low divine power to Demigod, then from Demigod to Legendary-rank, and from Legendary-rank to golden-rank


    Eventually, it teaued around Silver-rank, before graduallying to a halt.


    <em>This is the terrifying sealing ability of the Withering Heart!</em>


    Devoid of any physical form, Nidhoggs defenses against the Withering Heart was practically nonexistent, leaving him vulnerable to a greater extent.


    Meryers mouth curled up in satisfaction, giving the ck dragon somewhat of a feminine charm despite its imposing appearance.


    You lost.


    Nidhoggs expression twisted into one of horror as he sensed the gradual decline of power from within his body.


    But as he caught sight of the mocking smirk on the other partys face, his expression swiftly morphed into seething rage.


    Yggdrasill! Dont ever think that youve already won!


    With those words, Nidhogg abandoned any notion of escaping and charged towards the ck dragon without hesitation.


    His illusory form then transformedpletely into a ck light as he pierced into Meryers body.


    Yet, as Nidhogg entered Meryers body, Ev suddenly sensed something stirring from deep within the ck dragons body, as if something slumbering had been awakened.


    <strong>322</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>YOU LOST</strong><strong> </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 323

    Chapter 323


    Ev inwardly expressed surprise as she suddenly felt something changed deep inside Meryers body.


    Meryers consciousness had somehow awakened


    Ev muttered as she sensed some mental fluctuationsing from deeper within the ck dragons mindscape.


    Generally speaking, when a god performs a divine descent by using the body of a believer as a medium, the active consciousness of the host would typically fall into a deep slumber, thereby relinquishing control of their body.


    This is usually done as a preventive measure since the psyche of the host is far more rtively weakerpared to a True God.


    Hence, in the off chance that the consciousness of the host doesnt fall into sleep as it usually does, theres a huge chance the mediums psyche might be assimted and merged with the far stronger psyche of the deity, which will eventually bes aplete incarnation of the deity they relinquished their body to.


    Even a dragon, despite its rtively stronger psyche, is still susceptible to be assimted, since no matter how powerful a dragons mind is, its psyche remains a mere drop in the bucketpared to the sea of consciousness of a divine being.


    So, if the host doesnt fall into self-induced slumber, their bucket-worth of psyche would inevitably merge into the divine beings sea of consciousness and will disappear entirely.


    Therefore, when Ev borrowed the Little ck Dragons body and used it as a medium to perform a divine descent, she had already relegated Meryers consciousness to the deepest recesses of his mindscape, far away from her, so that he wouldnt be affected by her intrusion.


    However, when Nidhogg forcefully invaded Meryers body and entered the ck Dragons mindscape, Meryers slumbering psyche unexpectedly awakened all of a sudden.


    Nheless, Nidhoggs mental invasion fell somewhere within Eves expectations.


    With her being able to sealed off most of the Ancient Dragons power with the withering heart and Nidhogg having no physical body for himself, it was easy to deduce that the only option he would be left with was some kind of mental attack to forcefully seize control of Meryers body.


    Having deduced this, Eve came fully prepared into this battle with plenty of methods to counter any kind of mental attacks.


    Moreover, she had also long hidden Meryers psyche in the deepest corners of his mindscape, protecting it tightly.


    But the moment Nidhogg entered Meryers body, thetters consciousness, which was slumbering in the deepest part of his mindscape, suddenly awakened as if it had been stirred by some unseen force.


    This sudden turn of events startled Ev.


    Her divine psyche was, after all, still within the confines of Meryers mindscape, exerting her influence upon it.


    Should the ck Dragons consciousness awaken at this particr moment, there was a high possibility of it being inadvertently assimted into her own, thus losing his sense of selfpletely.


    Furthermore, even if his psyche somehow evaded assimtion, it is still very likely that Nidhogg, who had now invaded the ck Dragons mind, would discover the fluctuations happening inside Meryers mindscape, hone in on the source of this fluctuations and find the corner where she hid Meryers psyche before devouring it.


    With these implications, Ev felt a slight sinking feeling within her heart.


    At the same time, she also felt a trace of puzzlement on how this sudden turn of events had transpired in the first ce


    <em>How did Nidhogg do it?</em>


    <em>He actually managed to awaken the slumbering psyche of the Little ck Dragon, which I had been protecting so carefully all this time!</em>


    Thinking of this, Ev felt really confused since she herself, after all, was a Deity who governs over the Divinity of Life.


    And having the Divinity of Life actually entails her with unparalleled understanding regarding the fundamentalws and aspects of life itself.


    Under her influence, even if the other party were the ck Dragons ancient progenitor or might even be Meryers very own father or grandfather, they would still not be able to easily awaken Meryers consciousness just like that when shes clearly still in control.


    Moreover, with him forcefully awakening Meryers psyche, wasnt Nidhogg worried that he would be assimted by her?


    Once the ck dragons psyche was assimted by Eve, Meryers body would truly be an incarnation of her, thus rendering Nidhoggs schemes futile in the end.


    In this situation, his best course of action would be to break through theyers of obstacles Ev had initially ced within Meryers mindscape in order to devour the ck dragons psyche.


    Of course, from Eves perspective, achieving this feat would be equally just as difficult for Nidhogg.


    After all, Ev in her current state was someone not to be trifled with and unlike in the beginning wherein shes almost in a constant state of pseudo-death, her strength now is quite formidable.


    Facing someone like her whilst their powers had also been sealed, Ev couldnt fathom how the other party would be able to break through her blockade.


    Yet, the subsequent turn of events greatly exceeded her expectations.


    At the very moment wherein Meryers consciousness had been awakened, Ev immediately noticed right away that there seemed to be somekind of inexplicable connection between the two.


    In fact, both of them actually started rapidly converging with each other, as if there were a strong tendency hidden somewhere within them to merge into one existence


    This revtion weighed heavily upon Eve.


    <em>Was Nidhogg nning to devour Meryers psyche in this manner all along?</em>


    <em>No This wasnt just a simple devouring but rather, this method is closer to actually merging Meryers consciousness with his own.</em>


    By the end of this, Ev was uncertain whether the dominant psyche would either be Meryer or Nidhogg!


    What made her even more puzzled and uncertain was that she discovered that Meryer showed no resistance to this, as if it was the natural order of things and were preordained all along


    Of course, although Meryers consciousness has been awakened, it is still in a very instinctive state and he is probably still confused.


    And this instinctive nature of Meryer to merge with Nidhogg was what surprised Ev the most.


    The instinctual convergence they both have gives the feeling akin to rivers flowing into the sea, or like fallen leaves returning to their roots


    Suddenly, Ev realized that she seemed to have misjudged something.


    <em>Regardless I shouldnt let this convergence ever seed!</em>


    With this thought, Ev no longer hesitated and directly sank deeper into Meryers mindscape, entering the ce where she hid his psyche.


    Immediately upon entering this space, the scenery around her silently changed.


    Ev found herself deeper inside Meryers subconscious mind.


    Typically, on most cases, ones mindscape reflects and is shaped by the hosts emotions and experiences in their life.


    Sometimes, they manifest into what the host desires the most, or perhaps, on the opposite spectrum, they can also manifest what the host is most afraid of, and it varies vastly from person to person


    Ev remembered that after performing divine descent and entering his mindscape, the scenery that greeted her was a magnificent castle, filled with treasures and roast meats, while the personification of Meryers psychey sound asleep on a giant bed made of gold coins


    Obviously, this scenery was the manifestation of Meryers desires and the aspects that mattered most in his life.


    However, unlike the outer region of Meryers mindscape, his more deeper subconscious mind showed a vastly different scenery.


    Unlike before, it was no longer the magnificent castle, but a rather deste forest instead.


    In the distance, Ev showed surprise as her gaze fell upon a towering world tree, seemingly the centerpiece of this entire subconscious space.


    After observing it for a while, Ev found that this particr world tree was much thicker and taller than Eves original body and looked exactly like the former world tree recorded within her inheritance during its peak.


    Also, one noteworthy difference is that there was arge pit dug at the roots of this world tree, and its thick and robust roots were also pulled out haphazardly, as if it had just experienced a fearsome battle.


    Furthermore, a huge cocoon was hanging down from the crown of the world tree, for which a figure was curled up inside.


    It was Meryer.


    <em>Whats going on? </em>


    <em>Why is there a world tree here? </em>


    <em>And how did Meryer grow out from the world tree?</em>


    As Eveid eyes upon the subconsciousndscape around her, a sense of bewilderment enveloped her.


    Meanwhile, inside the cocoon, Meryer began to grow rapidly.


    Bit by bit, his body expanded as the scales on his body darkened and thickened until he transformed from a young dragon into a fully-grown one.


    Seeing the appearance of that particr adult ck dragon, Eves pupils slightly contracted.


    She instantly recognized him.


    <em>That appearance </em>


    <em>It was exactly the same as Nidhogg!</em>


    Its just that his body shimmered with natural light, whilst his breath was pure and calm, which was far from the malevolent dragon within Eves memory.


    And right at this moment, while apanied by a crazy roar, another giant ck dragon rushed out from the other side.


    <em>It was Nidhoggthe real one!</em>


    His aura was evil and chaotic, and his emotions carried a hint of obvious excitement and madness, allowing the power constantly dissipating from Eves to corrode him, yet he still directly rushed towards the giant cocoon hanging on the world tree.


    Hahaha! Yggdrasill! You cant stop me! From the looks of things, it seems victory now belongs to me!


    I thank you for returning my body!


    <strong>323</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>I THANK YOU FOR RETURNING MY BODY </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 324

    Chapter 324


    <em>I thank you for returning my body!</em>


    Upon hearing these words, an idea formed within Eves mind, as if she had found the missing parts of a puzzle and things finally clicked into ce.


    In that moment, it was as if she vaguelyprehended the reason behind how an imaginary world tree has taken root upon Meryers subconscious world.


    <em>If its really what Im assuming, then I definitely couldnt let him seed!</em>


    Eves expression hardened.


    Her gaze remained fixed and followed each step Nidhogg took, whilst also monitoring how the cocoon in response seemed to inexorably drew more closer towards the approaching Ancient Dragon.


    With resolve in her heart, Ev tapped into her divine power and conjured forth the Scepter of Life.


    Although this sudden turn of events greatly exceeded Eves initial expectations, she hadnt entered this battle unprepared and had several trump cards up her sleeve.


    Specifically, using the Scepter of Life was her ace in the hole should the situation really turn for the worst.


    As a powerful artifact that can somewhat control thews of life, even though its still in a iplete state, the Scepter of Life still had the effect of augmenting her powers.


    And obtaining this artifact is what gave Ev the courage to possessed Meryers body in the first ce and confront Nidhogg!


    The Scepter of Life?! How is that possible?! So it was you who actually stole the Scepter of Life! Nidhogg eximed, his face turning pale at the sight of the divine artifact.


    In response, Ev maintained her silence as she directed her full attention towards Meryer inside the cocoon, which, by this point, is looking a lot more like Nidhogg himself, yet it also rmingly flickered and faded with each passing second.


    If this continued on, Im afraid the consciousness of Meryer would definitely disappear, and Nidhogg would ultimately be the dominant personality


    Ev somberly thought and decisively infused a portion of her divine power into the Scepter of Life, awakening itstent power.


    Then, a golden light enveloped her illusory body, rendering her current form even more tangible as it exudes as more potent aura.


    Following this, without hesitation, Ev also began to rushed towards the cocoon.


    Seeing her approaching from behind, Nidhoggs expression contorted into a ferocious grimace, and with a deafening roar, he surged forward whilst burning through all the divine power left within him to rush towards the cocoon at an even faster speed!


    With his speed greatly amplified, Nidhogg finally reached to the cocoons side first, while Evgged behind, still some distance away.


    By this point, Nidhoggs divine power reserves had nearly been depleted, leaving him visibly weakened.


    Yet, despite his diminished state, a fervent gleam danced within his eyes, brimming with ecstasy and anticipation.


    He then cast a nce over his shoulder at Eve, who was still trailing behind, andughed heartily, as his aged voice resonated through the entirety of Meryers subconscious world.


    Hahaha! Youre already toote, Yggdrasill! Prepare to be hunted down again by the gods! Once I devour this dragons psyche, then youll be expelled from this mindscape, even if you have the Scepter of Life!


    However, as soon as his words trailed off, a calm voice, imbued with authority, sliced through in response.


    <strong>Imprisonment</strong>.


    In an instant, Nidhogg felt an irresistible force grip his entire being, rendering him immobile all of a sudden.


    Moreover, the cocoon that had been drifting towards him also stopped moving, along with Meryers mental personification inside it, which was gradually fading, bing visibly more solid once more.


    In an instant, Nidhoggs smile faltered and froze in ce upon his face once more.


    He was only mere seconds away from grasping the cocoonyet thesest few seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity, as if time had halted and stood frozen in ce.


    This was the power of Eves domain and also one of her trump cards in her arsenal.


    The moment Nidhogg invaded Mayers mindscape, Ev decisively sent the young ck dragons physical body back to the core area of the Elven Forest via teleportation so that he could be in the vicinity of her True Body, the World Tree, hereby allowing her to manifest her Celestial Domain.


    Since only within her Celestial Domain could she unleash her strongest power.


    And only within this domain could Ev navigate unforeseen circumstances, like whats happening right now, with ease, thus ensuring Nidhogg had no means of escape.


    Out of all the trump cards she had prepared, her Celestial Domain definitely stands out as her ultimate weapon!


    In fact, as soon as Nidhogg invaded Mayers mindscape, she knew deep down that no matter how much this Ancient Dragon struggled, the oue had already been predetermined.


    Even if he truly devoured the ck Dragons consciousness and took control of Meryers physical body, he still wouldnt have been able to escape from Eves grasp.


    T-Thisdomain! You you


    Nidhoggs expression contorted into horror as Ev gradually approached and eventually caught up to him.


    I told you.


    Ev sighed softly.


    Youlost.


    Anger and despair mingled within Nidhoggs roar, which is a bit ironic as he himself embodied the very essence of Despair, so to speak.


    No! No!


    With him being imprisoned by the power of Eves domain, while at the same time his strength was being sealed by the Withering Heart, and adding to the fact that he had no body and was only in a spectral state, at that point, Nidhogg, the Ancient Divine Dragon of Despair and one of the oldest ancestors of the ck Dragon Bloodline, had ultimately be nothing more than a piece of meat on the chopping board, subject to whatever Ev had desired.


    It was to the extent that even Nidhogg himself couldnt even kill himself!


    With a decisive gesture, Ev extended her hand and delved into Nidhoggs consciousness to extract his memories.


    She wanted to uncover the secrets of the thousand-year heavenly war and understand why her predecessor had been attacked.


    With her divine power surging through his mind, Ev intruded into Nidhoggs mindscape and began analyzing his vast expanse of memories.


    On the other hand, this Ancient Dragon let out a miserable wail as his spectral form flickered in and out under Eves mental intrusion.


    For a moment, Ev felt a surge of vast memories flooding into her mind.


    These were Nidhoggs enormous collection of memories, which span millions of years, dating all the way from the early Dragon Era up until now in the present age


    <em>I am afraid that only True Gods like myself can handle suchrge amount of information flowing directly into our minds like these </em>


    Ev thought as she skimmed through a lot of redundant information and finally found some useful images within Nidhoggs ocean of memories.


    The first piece was a scene depicting a templeposed of white pirs.


    In particr, right at the center of this temple was a long table with figures exuding grandeur, engaged in what appeared to be a deep discussion.


    Each of them had majestic and sacred voices as their conversation reverberated through the temple:


    The World Tree must fall, or else it shall be us who will!


    If the status quo continues on like this, more mortals will gain strength and ultimately shall attain the right to ascend into Godhood. In due time, these beings shall eventually question our authority, akin to our defiance against the Ancient Ones beforehand


    Nidhogg, did you not aspire to ascend to the status of a Great Old One? Should you manage to sever the connection between the World Tree and the Provenance of Seiges, then we shall grant you a share of this Provenance


    The second scene depicted a fierce battlefield.


    Fiery streams of moltenva cascaded from above as mountains trembled and shattered.


    Amidst the chaos, numerous oak guardians unleashed thunderous roars as this Legion of Treants engaged in fiercebat against divine angels hovering in the skies.


    In the sky, over a dozen majestic figures materialized, their forms shimmering with illusionary grace. With sweeping gestures, they unleashed myriad of divine spells, transforming the forest below into a zing inferno.


    At the center of this scene stood a towering World Tree from the distance, clearly viewed from Nidhoggs perspective.


    Whilst being apanied by resounding dragon roars, the scene unfolded from a first-person perspective as Nidhogg tore through the ground and unearthed the World Trees majestic roots.


    He ferociously tore and gnawed at them before devouring the roots piece by piece


    The third scene was viewed from a deep canyon.


    Painful cries apanied the continuous rolling perspective, punctuated by a voice speaking from behind.


    Nidhogg, do you really believe that you can entirely devour the World Tree?


    Suddenly, a gentle and mellow voice resounded and the perspective steadied and shifted slightly to reveal a massive silver dragon.


    Reinhart


    The voice of Nidhogg, old and feeble, echoed slowly.


    Then, the silver dragon breathed out a frozen breath, instantly freezing the Ancient ck Dragon and enclosing him into a prison of ice.


    Subsequently, with a thunderous roar, the perspective shifted once more and the spectral soul of Nidhogg escaped from his frozen body before fleeing into the distance


    As he fled, the perspective showed Nidhogg looking back and seeing his gigantic body in the center of the canyon suddenly shattering from its ice prison.


    The shattered crystals from his frozen remains, along with some mangled flesh, then merged with a faint green light, which surprisingly formed into a massive egg


    After viewing each scene, Ev sank into contemtive silence.


    <strong>324</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>NIDHOGGS MEMORIES </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 325

    Chapter 325


    Nidhoggs memories were filled with numerous ancient mysteries.


    Yet, Ev disregarded most of these and simply focused on memory fragments containing matters rting to the Heavenly Gods, especially their attack against the World Tree


    As the image of the first memory fragment she had seen flickered through her mind, Evs brow furrowed slightly.


    Does the existence of the World Tree result in a rise in the number of true gods?


    Do the Gods of Faith fear that the continual ascension of mortals to a higher existence with the help of the World Tree poses a long-term threat to their status, thereby prompting them to take action against my predecessor?


    Is thisactually the real reason behind the thousand-year Heavenly War?


    The first reason surprised her a little bit.


    However, upon further reflection, she somewhat understood the reasoning behind it.


    After all, it requires an appropriate number of sentient beings for the realm of Seiges to function properly, just as the universe outside also requires a sizable existence of other mythological beings to oversee the fundamentalws of reality.


    Ev recalled that H had mentioned that her predecessor had indirectly brought forth the Gods of Faith, thus earning the title of the mother to these newer gods who relied solely on faith to umte strength.


    Considering her predecessors gentle andpassionate nature, it is probable that olddy was concerned about the decline of the Ancient Gods and thus decided to begin supporting more and more beings to ascend into higher existence, with the eventual aim of recing the dwindling numbers of Ancient Ones


    If she were to take a guess, her predecessor most likely brought forth the Gods of Faith so that they could take on the role of maintaining the order ofws so that the universe could still function smoothly much like how she birthed the elves to be the caretakers of Seiges.


    Nheless, regardless of her predecessors good intentions, unlike the elves which are mere mortals and rtively easily to manage, the Gods of Faith have the status no less than hers and are far more challenging to control.


    Henceforth, as time passes, things will inevitably deviate from their originally intended purpose


    After all, all living beings have their own desires, even those who be deities themselves.


    Presumably, these newer Gods who have already ascended naturally do not want to see more beings reach divine ascendance and take a piece of the power and authority they already possess.


    <em>Of course, all of this was only a spection of mine</em>


    Ev thought as her attention shifted to another matter.


    As for the second reason, it was simr to the one she initially spected about.


    The World Trees ability Absorption can indeed continuously elevate the overall quantity of mana within the entire realm, and as Seiges mana reserves rise, it will lead to a domino effect wherein ordinary beings will also tremendously benefit from it.


    The power of faith inherently stems from the reverence of believers towards the divine.


    Therefore, if the overall strength of these believers bes far too strong, theoretically speaking, it is indeed quite possible for them to threaten the very gods they are worshipping.


    However, from her standpoint, Ev somehow felt that this reasoning seemed somewhat wed upon closer inspection.


    Because from the various anecdotes she derived from many historical records as well as her very own inheritance, even if the World Tree has the ability to elevate the mana reserves of Seiges, the entire duration of this process will probably take a long time.


    The World Tree essentially can only influence one realm at a time, and within the entire universe, Seiges is just a one of the realms within its vast expanse of other realms in its entirety.


    Normally speaking, most gods wouldnt bat an eye if another deity fully took over a realm for themselves, as most of them do so in the first ce


    s, the realm of Seiges, where the World Tree is located, is by far the oldest andrgest, but more importantly, the realm wherein the fundamentalws of reality are most concrete within the entire universe.


    In this situation, the consensus among various Gods was that they wouldnt allow a single entity to fully control Seiges and make it more of amunal realm, wherein any God would have the capacity to propagate their faith within this realm.


    Moreover, the World Tree is situated in Seiges and with her predecessors ability to elevate other beings to a higher status, the other gods could just temporarily relocate their flocks of believers in Seiges before sending them back to their own realms when these believers finally gained adequate strength for themselves


    Doing it this way, the existence of the World Tree is quite beneficial plus it also diminishes the concurrent fight over the ownership of Seiges, especially since such a sh carries the risk of breaking the realm apart.


    In fact, the very same heavenly war from a thousand years ago did indeed cause great damage to Seiges as a whole.


    So, if someone were to think about it more carefully, they would discover that the two reasons for the attack against the World Tree shown within Nidhoggs memory were not actually the real reasons, or at the very leastnot the actual reasons which made the gods decide to immediately turn against the World Tree.


    There must have been some catalyst that led the gods to decide on the immediate elimination of the World Tree! For instanceif the former World Tree was on the brink of advancement, its probable that my predecessors mana absorption rate also increased, resulting in a significant boost in her overall strength, thereby posing a threat to the other gods.


    Ev spected out loud.


    It was not without reason that her assumption lead to this direction.


    Especially since there are various signs that the former World Tree is just an aloof good olddy that simply likes to care about lesser beings and minds her own business


    If her predecessor had not be a threat to the other gods, then no one would take action against such a kind olddy.


    Furthermore, back when she was recovering from her near-death state, Ev already knew that the current form of the World Tree was not her primary one but rather, only a preliminary one, and considering how long her predecessor had stayed within the level of powerful divine power for so long, it woulde as no surprise to her if that olddy might actually be on the verge of a breakthrough.


    As for whether it was the Provenance or other specific abilities of the World Tree that the gods coveted


    Ev had already ruled this out because if these were the real reasons, then it made no sense, since a thousand years had already passed since the Heavenly War, and these things were still contained inside the World Tree even after she reincarnated into it a thousand yearster.


    Sure, her predecessor might have cast a self-preservation spell into her True Body before that olddy died, but Ev didnt believe for a second that the Gods who wanted to take those things away wouldnt have the means to get it during those thousand years in the aftermath of the war


    Moreover, shes absolutely certain that theyre also constantly monitoring the state of the World Tree, yet even after Ev had already resurrected to the World Tree for quite a while already and the self-preservation spell had already vanished, no one still came to check on the status of the World Tree and took the opportunity to get those things


    Of course, it cannot be ruled out that its also possible that her brief revival time contributed to theck of reaction, considering the gods perception of time may differ significantly from that of ordinary beings.


    Howeverin the end, these are still just spections.


    But at the very least, based on Nidhoggs memories and Ullers words from before, Ev also knew that her current situation was not good.


    No matter what their reason is, all that matters in the end is that these gods are determined to destroy the World Tree.


    Just disguising myself as Hs subordinate wouldnt be enough at this point. s, I must also find a new suitable public identity for myself from this point on.


    As the number of yers keeps growing and their activities further expand, its inevitable that their existence will not remain hidden for long.


    Plus, the appearance of theserge number of elves, as well as the reappearance of the Divinity of Nature and Life, can easily makes others associate them with the World Tree.


    Ev knitted her brows and sighed out loud.


    I suppose now I need to find a way topletely disassociate myself from the World Tree. Doing so would be the best course to mitigate the risk of my real identity being uncovered. Subsequently, I must also provide the general public with a logical exnation for the existence of these elven yers.


    Judging from the attitudes of the Goddess of Death, H, as well as Uller, some gods might still be able to discern the differences between me and my predecessor. Perhaps I could start from this aspect.


    I need to do these things as soon as possible. The more trouble I stir up here in Seiges, the bigger chance someone figures out who I really am.


    Some ideas gradually trickled into Eves mind, gently nudging her thoughts in new directions.


    With a newfound sense of purpose, Ev redirected her focus back to Meryer nestled within the cocoon.


    I never expected that this rascal would actually be a fusion of Nidhoggs crystal core and part of his flesh and blood, fused with the life essence of the World Tree. No wonder I felt an inexplicable feeling of closeness to Meryer when I first saw him, subconsciously wanting to take this rascal as a follower of mine.


    Thinking of certain scenes from Nidhoggs memories, Ev nodded slightly in realization.


    The essence of life has a profound effect, and under these special circumstances, as it merged with Nidhoggs crystal core and part of his flesh and blood, it ultimately formed a brand new dragon egg and gave birth to new life, which is unheard of.


    In other words, Meryer holds a closer connection to Nidhogg than his own blood rtives, which may also exin their inherent attraction to each other.


    This also indirectly exins why Meryers aura already rivals that of an adult ck dragon and his strength far exceeds those of the same age, even though Meryer himself is still in his juvenile years.


    Essentially, Meryers origin isplex.


    He is more akin to a piece of flesh that detached from Nidhogg and gained sentience, constituting the most crucial part of thetter.


    As for therge dragon from Nidhoggs memories that attacked it


    Ev found relevant information within the World Trees inheritance.


    It is an ancient dragon deity, with strengthparable to Nidhoggs, and is its old archnemesis.


    Moreover, this dragon holds a prestigious title as well:


    tinum Dragon KingReinhart.


    <strong>325</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>PLATINUM DRAGON KING </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 326

    Chapter 326


    tinum Dragon King, Reinhart, is an ancient silver dragon who has survived since the Age of Dragons and has the strengthparable to that of a deity with intermediate divine power.


    His dedication to justice and his intolerance towards evil have led him into being Nidhoggs long-time arch nemesis and the two couldnt tolerate each others existence.


    Reinhart is deeplymitted to preserving the legacy of the Dragonkind and passionately educates the younger generations of his race.


    Most dragons hold him in high esteem, especially the metallic dragons, who consider him their leader and even the chromatic dragons, which are known for their malevolent tendencies, cannot help but acknowledge the tinum Kings wisdom and power, begrudgingly showing him a measure of respect.


    In addition, Reinhart, much like other silver dragons, enjoys immersing himself in human society, often assuming humanoid form or other disguises.


    As a result, he eventually became a prominent figure in many human legends and folklores, leaving behind a legacy that spans across various tales and myths.


    As Ev sifted through the information within her inheritance, a spark of curiosity ignited within her mind regarding this illustrious dragon.


    This tinum Dragon King is probably Meryers foster father, isnt he?


    It all makes sense since only someone with this kind of disposition couldpletely gaslight a ck dragon like Meryer, whose bloodline significantly leans towards bing evil, into believing that hes some kind of righteous silver dragon instead


    And, to be honest, the malevolent and destructive nature ingrained within the bloodline of ck dragons is as stubborn as the inherent greed for treasure among the Dragonkind as a whole.


    Therefore, to be able to instill thewful values of a silver dragon into a ck dragon, this ancient silver dragon is indeed quite formidable.


    The strength of dragonkind, despite their decline from their heyday, is still quite impressive, to say the least and judging from the World Trees inheritance, although this tinum Dragon King did not have much interaction with the World Tree, he is not an enemy of my predecessor, and his core values are also very righteous. If there is a chance in the future, then perhaps I could try to acquaint myself with this dragon if its possible.


    With a faint sigh, Eve redirected her focus back to Nidhogg.


    After a moment of contemtion, she first extracted Nidhogg, who was still imprisoned from Meryers subconscious world before withdrawing herself from Meryers mindscape


    After a thorough mind search, this pitiful ancient ck dragon became even more weaker.


    At this moment, Eve noticed Nidhogg began exuding corrupt and evil aura, which were then apanied by indications of escting confusion and madness within his consciousness.


    Finally sumbed to the Abysss corruption, huh?


    Ev mused aloud.


    As expected, even the most ancient deities like Nidhogg, once tainted by the Abyss, will eventually sumb to spiraling paranoia, insanity, and corruption.


    In fact, Nidhoggs ability to maintain the rity of his mind up until now had far exceeded Eves expectations.


    However, upon delving into some of his memories, a faint suspicion began to take root inside Ev.


    Without hesitation, she chose to directly erase Nidhoggs consciousness andpletely wiped it out!


    Thus, an ancient dragon god who had wielded power and dominance all over the universe for millions of years died in such a humiliating manner.


    Even if he had some backups and hidden tricks to somehow revive himself somewhere, given that his physical body as well as his consciousness were already wiped out, Ev was pretty certain that this menace of a Ancient Dragon probably wouldnt be able to return to life anymore.


    After erasing his consciousness, Ev decisively consumed Nidhoggs remaining divine powers


    With each gulp, she experienced a surge of immense power coursing through her.


    Nidhoggs divine powers had very chaotic properties, but given that they came from an ancient being that had lived for a long time, their potency was also very high, with almost half of them being tainted by the power of the Abyss.


    Yet surprisingly, as Ev kept devouring them, she also began to sense some pure energy contained within them that emitted a faint green essence.


    Ev immediately recognized itit was a part of the World Trees Provenance.


    Initially, when Nidhogg gnawed at the roots of the World Tree, he sessfully devoured a portion of its Provenance as well.


    Although Nidhogg couldnt withstand the immense power of the World Trees Provenance, he absorbed a portion of it nheless and over time, integrated it into his own divine power.


    And most likely, the reason why Nidhogg could maintain the rity of his mind and why his believers could in some way use magic rting to life, aside from the influence of the Scepter of Life, stemmed from this portion of the World Trees Provenance.


    Of course, after a long time, it was finally time for this Provenance to return to its rightful owner.


    As Eve absorbed it, Nidhoggs lingering presence finally faded away, dissipating into a state of raw mana.


    This mana, which was once tainted by the Abyss, then merged with Eves essence, enhancing her divine power even further


    In the end, an ancient god is still an ancient god.


    Though weakened and merely a fragment of his former self, the power of Nidhogg still remains very potent and as she consumed more of it, Eves reserves of divine power also quickly advanced further, effortlessly surpassing the value of 2000 and steadily nearing the 3000 mark.


    As the divine power surged through her like a rocket, Eves expression lit up with pleasant delight.


    Yet, her delight stemmed not solely from the surge in divine power alone but also in the fact that the portion not yet corrupted by the Abyss and was converted into raw mana reinforced her own power


    At that moment, Ev felt her consciousness seem to be more clearer and sharper, vaguely sensing her control over yers as well as the connection with her believers and mastery of her divine power as a whole, all began to rapidly strengthen.


    All of these was the result of the growth of her Divine Soul.


    As for that portion of the World Trees Provenance hidden deep within, it returned to the World Trees core once again


    And at the moment of its return, Eves divine powerpletely broke through the threshold of three thousand, reaching the minimum standard of weak divine power!


    In that instant, Ev felt as if her True Body was rejoicing.


    And thenit began to grow rapidly along with the Elven Forest.


    A powerful coercion emanated from the World Tree as its vibrant aura extended outward, which affected the surroundings with its presence.


    The yers and native elves whose staying in the Chosen City subconsciously raised their heads, as their expressions shifted into expressions of deep astonishment.


    Their gazes locked onto the main trunk of the World Tree as it abruptly surged upward, piercing through the clouds.


    Within an instant, the body of the World Tree expanded, nearly doubling in size before their eyes.


    And upon the branches of the World Tree, numerous fresh new shoots emerged one after another, as each bud unfurled slowly until a lush canopy of greenery gradually took shape


    The ground trembled beneath their feet, echoing the revitalization of once-decayed roots as they stretched anew and delved deeper into the very earth below.


    A miracle! This is the miracle of the Divine Matriarch! Its definitely the sign that the power of our Patron Deity has further recovered!


    As they witnessed the transformations unfolding within the World Tree, a wave of excitement swept through the native elves.


    Without hesitation, they all prostrated themselves before the towering tree, one after another.


    Meanwhile, a vast and potent energy, brimming with life, broke into countless green particles of light as these particles emanated from the center of the World Tree, spreading outward in a continuous, expansive wave.


    These green particles then entered the bodies of both the yers and native elves, infusing them with a revitalizing energy that seemed to whisk away all their fatigue in an instant.


    Meanwhile, the nts in the Chosen City experienced a second wave of revitalization.


    New branches and leaves sprouted from countless nts, enveloping the entire city in a vibrant sea of greenery and flowers, each seemingly paying homage to the World Tree.


    However, this was not the end.


    Just as the power of life continued to permeate the Elven Forest, several Oak trees within the Chosen City also underwent a sudden transformation


    These oak trees, which were initially transnted from the forest by the first and second beta yers, now surged with rapid growth and vitality.


    Within a short span, they shot up from less than ten meters to towering heights of at least thirty meters.


    Then, they sprouted branches from their sides, resembling a pair of sturdy arms, as their roots emerged out from the soil, before forming a pair of coiled giant feet


    Under the influence of the power of life, these Oak Trees evolved into new Oak Tree Guardians!


    These newly evolved oak tree guardians then turned towards the direction of the World Tree one by one, each lowering themselves onto one knee, as their voices, rich with power and solemnity, echoed through the air:


    Praise nature! Praise life! Praise the Great Elven MatriarchEve Yggdrasill!


    <strong>326</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>PROMOTION TO WEAK DIVINE POWER </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 327

    Chapter 327


    Chosen City, The Elven Forest.


    Orderly and solemn praises echoed throughout the city as some of the elderly native elves eximed with wonder as they watched the Oak Trees spring into life.


    Oak Guardians! These are Natures very own Legion, which serves under the Divine Matriarch! Their revival definitely shows that the power of the Matriarch has further recovered!


    Praise the Divine Matriarch! Praise the Goddess of Life!


    Their fervor was palpable, evident in the tears streaming down their faces, brimming with excitement.


    Because nothing demonstrates the resurgence of the World Tree better than the reappearance of these illustrious Oak Guardians.


    Although the total number of these newly revived Oak Guardians is less than a hundred, and their strength is only at the rank of lower Silver-ranker, nheless, their mere presence alone has already attested to the fact that their Patron Deity has be even more powerful!


    Almost all of the native elves living within the Elven Forest celebrated and expressed excitement at the sudden changes happening all around them.


    Meanwhile, just like the natives, a sense of astonishment spread among the yers who stayed behind, as well as those who had died in the recent battle against mercenaries and were just resurrected but hadnt yet rejoined the battlefield.


    Their mouths hung open in disbelief as they found themselves swept up in a different kind of excitement.


    Whoa! Holy shit, the Oak Trees on the streetside came alive!


    Oak Guardians? I think these are called Oak Guardians! I remember seeing them in an old cutscene before!


    This gotta be a sign of the Goddess getting stronger, right? Anyway, what happened? Did someone finish a hidden quest or something? Or maybe set off the main storyline?


    Many yers who had watched Elven Kingdom-rted videos online instantly recognized the identity of the Oak Guardians and had various spections about their sudden reappearance.


    Without a doubt, in their minds, the most likely scenario was that someone hadpleted the main quest and further advanced the entire games storyline!


    As for those newbies who had never seen the Oak Guardians nor ever witnessed the NPC Berserker transform back into his true form, they curiously observed the kneeling natives, their expressions filled with eagerness.


    These Treants look awesome, dont they? They seem super powerful too. Hey, maybe we could try to make a deal with them to be our mounts?


    The kneeling natives:


    They quickly raised their heads, ring angrily at the few chosen ones who had rudely set their sights on the Oak Guardians.


    <em>The Oak GuardiansThey were the personal messengers of the Goddess!</em>


    <em>Even the chosen ones must show respect for them!</em>


    Soon, the newbies who had been eyeing the Oak Guardians as if their mere mounts received a string of system prompts consisting of


    [ Favorability with the NPCdecreased by  1]


    [ Favorability with the NPCdecreased by  1]


    Seeing these prompts, the newbies excited smiles immediately froze upon their faces


    What the? My favorability suddenly dropped?


    Mine tooweird, what triggered it?


    Meanwhile, the seasoned yers who had already figured out the games favorability mechanics cast a pitying nce at the newbies who hadnt yetpletely figured out how the favorability system works.


    <em>Ahto be still so young and naive!</em>


    Without personally experiencing the games trials and tribtions, these neers wouldnt understand the real value of favorability unless they experienced it themselves


    Same old story, different clothes.


    With smirks on their faces, the veteran yers adopted expressions of excitement and fervor as they knelt down one after another, before skillfully eximing:


    Praise be to nature! Praise life! Praise the great Elven SovereignEve Yggdrasill!


    And as if on cuewithin their field of visions, came a wave of system prompts:


    [ Favorability with the NPCincreased by + 1]


    [ Favorability with the NPCincreased by + 1]


    By the way, whilst smirking, these shameless veterans also set their system status to public and proudly disyed the system prompts so that the clueless newbies could see it.


    Huhso thats how its done?


    The neers were left dumbfounded.


    Then secondster, without hesitation, they too knelt down before the World Tree, adjusted their expressions, mimicked the actions of their seniors, and also sincerely shouted:


    Praise be to nature! Praise life! Praise the great Elven SovereignEve Yggdrasill!


    Waves of praises such as these echoed within the vicinity, one after another.


    Eventually, the native elves finally withdrew their angry gazes


    And seeing that their favorability are starting to rise back again, the neers breathed a sigh of relief.


    Then, with curious nces, they scrutinized the appearance of the Oak Guardians, while thinking:


    <em>So is there a chance to get them as mounts after all?</em>


    Theseical events unfolding within the chosen city amounted to a mere blip, unworthy of catching Eves attention.


    In fact, right now, she were facing quite a bit of a problem


    With Eves divine power surpassing the standard value of weak divine power, her Divine Kingdom likewise, also experienced a sudden, rapid expansion.


    More specifically, the projection of the World Tree at its center continued to soar to a greater heights


    At the same time, Ev felt her body begin to instinctively absorb more energy from the cosmic void, resulting in the power within her rapidly strengthening in a much more elerated manner.


    <em>T-This rate of absorption is extremely too fast! </em>


    Ev thought with a slight panic as she tried to contain the absorption, but to no avail.


    Although the same thing happened when she finally recovered from her near-death state she was in beforehand, this time around, her absorption ability was further strengthened, making it a lot more harder to control.


    As a direct result, the entire realm of Seiges also began to exert a strong attraction, guiding the cosmic void energy surrounding Seiges to continuously surge towards the entire realm in an instant


    In fact, if one were to look at Seiges from the outer space, they would instantly see the whole realm seemingly turning into a huge vortex thats constantly devouring the cosmic void energy around it.


    This sudden change that urred along with her promotion startled Eve, and she quickly tried to stop this instinctive absorption that seemed like it had no way of stopping


    <em>Oh youve got to be kidding me! </em>


    <em>With such a tant disy of absorption, even a fool would know that something weird is happening right now inside Seiges!</em>


    Ev thought incredulously, yet even despite her alreadymanding her [Absorption] ability to stop, the rate at which the cosmic energy from the void continued to pour in did not immediately weaken at all


    It was as if the moment of her promotion had formed some kind of inertia and triggered a domino effect wherein Seiges itself had also begun absorbing the cosmic energy from the void surrounding it.


    Sort of like how a hungry man was finally given the go signal to madly devour the energy surrounding it after abstaining for so long.


    Moreover, Ev herself also felt the immense void energying from the outside instantly being sent into the Provenance of Seiges and, after being absorbed by it, a very small fraction of this energy also flowed into her body through the roots of the World Tree.


    Within her, pain and joy intertwined as her divine power, almost visibly, began to skyrocket at a staggering speed once more


    In less than a moment, Eves divine power had increased by a hundredfoldand it was still showing signs of continuing to grow.


    Even the nts and monsters around the World Tree benefited from this change, with the former bing even more lush, and thetters aura further soaring, with many even breaking through their ranks on the spot


    The native elves, simrly, were no exception.


    Being a race with a silver lineage, the natives too enjoyed this sudden change that affected the entire core area of the Elven Forest, with their respective strengths increasing significantly.


    On the other hand, the yers having already experienced a simr case in the past, had their experience barspletely locked by Ev via the game system, so her sudden promotion didnt affect them at all.


    At the same time, Ev also clearly felt that the level of mana within the entire realm of Seiges had almost instantly increased by ten percent in just this short amount of time.


    Its just a mere ten percent, but this amount was already adequate enough to reach a certain critical point, and the whole realm trembled slightly as a result.


    Finally, the crazy rate of energy absorption gradually stopped.


    At this time, Eves divine power had soared a lot, rising by a thousand points, and the size of her Divine Kingdom had expanded to nearly three times its original size


    Of course, her true body also grew further during this time, reaching nearly three thousand meters high. It was to the extent that the World Tree would still be visible from Florence, even though the city was already tens of kilometers away from where the World Tree stood.


    However, at this moment, Eve wasnt very excited at all.


    On the contrary, she felt apprehensive instead, since her recent promotion seemed to have caused quite a hugemotion, stirring up unexpected consequences as a result.


    <em>Im probably inhuge trouble right now.</em>


    Ev thought with a grimace, and as if sensing her thoughts, a subtle tremor coursed through the entire realm, as if the world itself responded to her troubled thoughts.


    Vaguely, Ev felt a sinking sensation.


    <strong>327</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>HUGE TROUBLE </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 328

    Chapter 328


    The fleeting sensation of sinking came and washed over Ev swiftly, as if it were merely just an illusion.


    However, being a God herself, Ev perceived that what she had just felt was not a simple figment of her imagination


    Just now did the entire realm sink from its position?


    Eves heart skipped a beat.


    It was definitely not a good sign.


    Having received the inheritance of the World Tree, Ev personally knew that this feeling of plummeting could only mean one thing:


    <em>The Realm of Seiges was drawing much more closer towards the endless abyss right beneath it.</em>


    Within the universe, there is a continuous process wherein the various realms spread across the cosmic void will constantly absorb cosmic energy to grow stronger


    s, this process also has adverse effects as the realm gradually gets drawn towards the abyss at the bottom, before ultimately descending into the Abyss over time


    Sinking into the abyss also meant the realms destruction.


    Did the increase in mana elerate the fall of the realm of Seiges towards the Abyss?


    Thinking of this, Ev frowned.


    This was really different from what she had learned from her inheritance!


    In fact, ording to the inheritance she had obtained, the realms ability to resist the attraction of the abyss increased depending with the amount of energy it absorbed and the level of mana concentration it amassed.


    Therefore, logically speaking, the realms that amass more cosmic energy and solidify their fundamentalws are usually the ones with longer lifespans.


    This was why despite it being the oldest, the realm of Seiges still remained resilient up to this day.


    Just now, Seiges had absorbed so much cosmic energy, which in turn made the quantity of mana across the entire realm skyrocket like never before.


    Technically speaking, this should have made Seiges far more resistant to the abysss attraction, and as such, it sinking from its position should not have urred


    Could it be that something unexpected happened outside?


    With this thought, Ev steadied her mind and began to elevate her consciousness so that she could peer through the outer space beyond the crystalline wall protecting Seiges from the outside


    In the past, when Ev first awakened her ability [Absorption], she instinctively elevated her consciousness and identally caught a glimpse of the outer space beyond the crystalline walls.


    Back then, because her power was stillcking, she couldnt see much and was only able to perceive the endless void beyond the realm of Seiges.


    But at this moment, with her strength now reaching the level of weak divine power, Ev found herself capable of controlling her transcendental observation more effectively than before, allowing her to adjust her perspective with greater precision.


    As her perspective continued to rise, Ev soon saw her vast body, as well as the flourishing Chosen City right below it, with yers scattered like sesame seeds within the city.


    Her field of vision continued to ascend, and the World Tree gradually shrank, whilst the city became increasingly miniature, and the full view of the Elven Forest gradually unfolded right before her eyes


    As Evs gaze wandered around, she found some hidden ruins from the depths of the forest, while further vistas revealed crumbling ruins strewn across the Dark Mountains, the eastern human territories, and the deste expanse of the Desert of Death to the south.


    This was a perspective she had never seen before, as if the entire map of the Elven Kingdom had been revealed to her in that moment.


    However, just as she expected, many areas outside the Elven Forest were shrouded in mist akin to a fog of war, making it unclear for her to see these ces more clearly.


    <em>These areas are situated within the sphere of influence of other gods, and as expected, their power can obstruct my prying eyes from observing them from afar.</em>


    Ev had no intention of spying around these locations to begin with, so she hastened the rise of her field of view to peer beyond the realms protective wall and ascertain what had gone wrong.


    Her true body, which is the World Tree, is bound to the realm of Seiges.


    As such, if Seiges really did plummet into the Abyss, then, even if she could absorb the power of the abyss, there is no guarantee that she can resist the will of the abyss after the entire realm sinks into the abyss.


    It could even be said that the fate of Seiges was intertwined with hers; if this realm suffered, then she too would inevitably suffer alongside it.


    As her field of vision continued to rise, Ev soon saw the entire continent, as well as a smaller continent to the south, and the boundless ocean surrounding the twondmasses.


    Then, with a slight tremor, Eve felt as if her entire being passed through some kind of transparent enclosure.


    Immediately right after, her consumption of divine power suddenly elerated, signifying that she finally passed through the crystalline walls thats protecting the realm of Seiges.


    Momentster, Eves perception shifted, revealing not the familiar map of Seiges, but instead a colossal amber-like bubble shimmering with captivating luster, subtly reflecting an array of magnificent colors.


    This bubble was the entire realm of Seiges seen from the outside.


    Moreover, around this huge bubble, Ev also noticed numerous smaller bubbles attached quite close to it.


    She thought for a second and realized that these smaller bubbles were actually demi-realms of various sizes somehow linked to Seiges.


    This was her first time observing Seiges from an outside perspective, and unlike the celestial bodies depicted in her previous life, the realms in this universe which were encased with crystalline walls, appeared far more mysterious and magnificent


    Within Eves scope of vision, a myriad of bubbles stretched out before her, each encapsting its own unique beauty.


    The closest bubble, a vivid representation of Seiges, held her gaze, while others also dotted the outer cosmic space, hinting at the vastness of the surrounding realms, both near and far.


    Ev even saw a cluster of bubbles shining with golden light in the center of the universe much further away, surrounded by bothrge and small bubbles emitting a sacred aura.


    That region of spacewas definitely the Heavenly Realm.


    After a few nces, Ev averted her gaze and focused her attention back on Seiges.


    She scrutinized it for a while, but to her confusion, the realm of Seigesshowed no abnormalities at all.


    On the contrary, beyond the protective crystalline walls, Eve could even sense the more potent vitality of Seiges.


    Unlike the decay she initially sensed when expanding her consciousness to epass the entire world beforehand, now Seiges was undeniably on its gradual path to recovery.


    Not only that, but even without performing special calctions, Ev could already roughly sense that Seiges current rate of energy absorption had further shortened the grace period before the realms dimensional passageway finally reopened once again


    Originally, she calcted that this grace period will likely took around twenty years, but now, it seemed that it would be further shortened by at least half.


    <em>My allocated time to strengthen myself had be even more pressing </em>


    Ev felt a slight tightness within her heart.


    But at the same time, she also breathed a sigh of relief.


    Based on her findings just now, there seemed to be no problem with the realm of Seiges.


    Sothis begs the question.


    <em>What exactly made the realm sink from its prior position? </em>


    Ev looked towards the bottom of Seiges.


    Therein lies a very deep darkness.


    A void wherein countless broken and deste realms, akin to phantasms in the universe, undte consistently within its cold embrace


    asionally, some indistinct amber-like bubbles gradually fell into them, before being engulfed and eroded by the surrounding darkness they plunged into


    This void was the endless abyssthe end of all realms.


    And when Ev sensed the faint attraction emanating from the endless abyss, her heart stirred with realization:


    So the problem lies not within the realm of Seiges, but rather, the attraction of the abyss has further strengthened


    Ev frowned slightly.


    Is it just a mere coincidence? Or does my recent promotion really have some sort of connection to this anomaly?


    There wasnt much information regarding the abyss in the inheritance of the World Tree, and as such, Ev still didnt have an answer nor solution for this anomaly.


    Fortunately, the realm of Seiges was still far from fully descending into the abyss, so even though its cosmic position had just sunk a bit, the impact was not all that significant in the short term.


    However, Ev didntpletely disregard this incident and vowed to remain vignt.


    In the future I should pay close attention to the changes in the abyss Whether its a coincidence or not, this incident clearly not a good sign.


    The strengthening of the power of the abyss will undoubtedly elerate the destruction of various realms.


    The same could be applied to Seiges.


    Perhaps I should ask H once more. The Netherworld is, after all, located on the edge of the abyss, acting as a barrier against its power. So she should know some secrets about it


    Ev briefly pondered while looking at a certain realm emitting a grayish light thats situated at the outer edge of the abyss.


    Suddenly, at that moment, she suddenly felt many other powerful aurasing from the direction of the heavenly realm


    It seems that the other gods have also been rmed by this recent incident.


    Eves heart stirred, quickly retracting her consciousness from wandering across cosmic space and returned back into Seiges.


    <strong>328</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>CHANGES IN THE ABYSS </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 329

    Chapter 329


    As her field of vision rapidly descended, Eves consciousness quickly returned to her body.


    They wouldnt be able to noticed my presence since I reined in my aura just now Ev muttered while shaking her head.


    Although in the future, I really do must refrain from conducting such reckless investigations like these. Given the recentmotion in Seiges, its probable that it will likely draw the attention of other gods.


    Thinking of the powerful auras she had just sensed mere moments ago, Ev fell into contemtion.


    Those auras were way stronger than mine, and I even caught a familiar scent, simrly like the one from a few days back in Maple Leaf Citywhich probably belong to Etriu.


    Moreover, they immediately turned their attention to the Abyss, which suggested that they must have also sensed Seiges sinking from its position tooWell, the fact that it managed to attract the attention of the gods in the first ce suggests that changes in the Abyss are indeed quite an umon urrence


    However, its probably fine since the cause of this incident didnt originate from Seiges. If the sky falls, theres someone tall to hold it up and right now, Im just a weak, pitiful, and helpless world tree in need of nourishment!


    I dont have the time to concern myself with the issue of the Abyss right now and Ill just address it once Ive be more stronger.


    Hmmprovided that these issues werent really caused by me Ev stated then btedly added,


    It shouldntbe me, right?


    After all, what I did was simply promote myself at most, the changes I made were just elevating the level of mana within Seiges, and this realm is just slightly above average, so the changes within Seiges probably wouldnt cause a drastic changes throughout the entire universeright?


    Ev tried to assure herself but thinking about the impable timing of Seiges sinking, she couldnt help but feel really apprehensive about it.


    <em>Its really too coincidental! </em>


    The odds of it happening right after her strength being promoted was simply just too absurd for her liking


    Ev pondered for a moment, then immediately returned to her Divine Kingdom and took out the Casket of the Dead to contact H.


    Firstly, lets consult H regardless of the real reason behind this incident, my n to restore my strength still remains unchanged as its a matter of my life and death.


    With a sigh, she wrote down the details of the recent incident as well as some of her doubts regarding the Abyss, before sending it as a message to the other party.


    Then afterpleting this task, Ev checked her current status as she manifested her own status screen.


    [<strong>Name</strong>: Eve Yggdrasill]


    [<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient Deity)]


    [<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Myth)]


    [<strong>Status</strong>: Weak Divine Power]


    [<strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind]


    [<strong>Titles</strong>: Mother of Nature, Goddess of Life, Matriarch of the Elves]


    [<strong>Divine Power</strong>: 4124/10000]


    [<strong>Number of Believers</strong>: 1421 (Saints 1, Fanatics 108, Devout Believers 453, Shallow Believers 859)]


    [<strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Bestowal, Enchantment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain]


    [ <strong>Divine Artifacts</strong>: Withering Heart (Iplete), Scepter of Life (Iplete)]


    After devouring Nidhogg, Eves divine power officially broke through the three thousand mark, reaching the threshold of weak divine power.


    To be honest, even after attaining weak divine power, Ev couldnt discern any significant change within her strength, despite her prior expectations.


    All in all, the only thing that changed was that her reservoir of divine power had expanded, giving her the ability to use more powerful divine spells. Her mastery of the fundamentalws and application of divinity grew more precise, while her influence over herwork of faith expounded.


    Of course, even though her strength has increased, Ev is still currently situated within Seiges, where the maximum power someone can output is only at the peak of demigod.


    Therefore, in the end, the only ce where she could unleash her full strength without reservation is outside there in the cosmic void.


    Nevertheless, it doesnt mean that her promotion was meaningless since it made her more durable.


    As time passed, Eves believers had be more numerous. Specifically, the number of elves that returned to the Elven Forest had surpassed a thousand, with the total number of believers among them reaching the number of 1421.


    As the Oakhand Resistance continues to convince more of their fellow brethren from various human territories to return back to their homnd, it is foreseeable that the number of her believers will further skyrocket in the future.


    However, what surprised Ev the most was the newly batch of Oak Guardians she inadvertently transformed during her promotion!


    A grand total of 104 Oak Guardians, all of which are fanatical believers!


    In addition, her further control over divinity andws had also led to improvements in some of Eves abilities.


    Firstly, the [Enchantment of Oak Guardians]


    After enchanting Berserker to life back when she first reincarnated, she briefly entertained the notion of creating additional Oak Guardians.


    However, she ultimately abandoned the idea due to the excessive divine power required for their enchantment.


    Subsequently, despite acquiring more divine powerter on, Ev still remained hesitant to pursue the creation of more Oak Guardians, given their significant association as the widely known envoys of her predecessor.


    Yet now, the idea seemed feasible enough after being promoted to weak divine power.


    Unlike before, Ev can now sensed that the consumption required to enchant an Oak Guardian had been greatly reduced.


    Not only that butshe could even enchant an Oak Guardian and directly raise its rank to golden-rank now!


    Of course, considering the sensitive identity of these Oak Guardians, she still wouldnt let them appear in front of other sentient beings


    Sigh, its regrettable that Ive gained so many believers, yet Im still unable to utilize them properlyAnd if I just keep them on the sidelines, then theydpletely lose their effectiveness Its somewhat frustrating!


    Ev shook her head.


    However, soon, an idea crossed her mind:


    <em>Wait a moment</em>


    Perhaps I could order these Oak Guardians to help me manage my Divine Kingdom instead.


    They are, in a sense, simr to angels after all. They can still provide me with faith even if theyre inside my Divine Kingdom. Not only that, but it will be beneficial for them too since they can absorb my energy if they stay within my Divine Kingdom for a long time!


    Thinking about this, Ev quickly came up with a n to relocate all the newly enchanted Oak Guardians inside her Divine Kingdom.


    Over time, as they umte power by absorbing her energy, these Oak Guardians will eventually be one of her hidden trump cards, and shell only deploy them when necessary.


    As for Berserker, Ev decided to elevate his strength to the golden-rank.


    Being the Oak Guardian who had been with her the longest, he deserved this kind of favor.


    These Oak Guardians can slowly umte their strength. Though they may not have much use now, one day, they will be a powerful force for me!


    Eves mind buzzed with a calcted scheme, as she imagined going to war with a Legion full of golden-rank Oak Guardians in the future.


    In addition to the improvement of her ability to enlighten Oak Guardians, Eves ability to give birth to the primordial elves has also been slightly modified.


    Now, she can give birth to a primordial elf every six months without expending any divine power.


    However, if she were to utilize some divine power, the birthing process would elerate to only half a month.


    The birthing of primordial elves must continue since this can be used to supplement the dwindling elven poption


    Additionally, this birthing process can synchronize with the use of the Scepter of Life to purify the half-elves into full-blooded elves. Unlike the yers, elves are the core strength of my current believers; thus, strengthening them is really necessary


    With this thought, Eve suddenly remembered a certain primordial elf she had forgotten.


    Ive been neglecting to keep up with how Thranduil is doingtely. Perhaps I should make an effort to check in on him soon.


    Then, Ev refocused her attention on Meryer.


    The little ck dragon had been teleported by Eve to the temple where her True Body resided and was still currently sleeping, seemingly undergoing some kind of change within his body.


    After observing for a while, Ev understood the reason:


    The part of the World Trees essence hidden deep within Meryers body has been activated


    Originally, her predecessors essence that Nidhogg devoured was split in two, with one part being digested by him, and the other part merging with the Dragon Crystal to give birth to Meryer.


    However, it seemed that the remaining part of the essence within Meryers body had long been drawn out once before, as there wasnt much left of it by now.


    Otherwise, Ev wouldnt have taken so long to sense it.


    And now, the portion of essence remaining within Meryers body had been awakened by Nidhoggs mental intrusion, and being absorbed by the little ck dragon.


    For Meryer, this was undoubtedly a rare heaven-sent opportunity; Meryers strength would likely greatly increase once he fully absorbed this portion of essence.


    Considering that there wasnt much of this essence left, Ev decided to refrained from extracting and devour it for herself.


    Instead, she decided to left it within the little ck dragon.


    As for why she did this


    Ev lightly beckoned, and a phantom hexahedron appeared in her hand secondster.


    The hexahedron emitted a deep radiance, whilst being apanied by vast pressure. Inside it, there seemed to be noises akin to roars of numerous ck dragons


    This hexahedron was one of the manifestations of Nidhoggs two major Divinities


    Particrly, the racial divinity which represents the bloodline of ck Dragons.


    <strong>329</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>OPPORTUNITY FOR MERYER</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 330

    Chapter 330


    Nidhogg wields two divinities:


    The Divinity of Despair and the Divinity of ck Dragons.


    Among these two, the Divinity of Despair was Nidhoggs primary divinity, which gave him the potential to advance into intermediate divine power, while the Divinity of ck Dragons on the other hand, was merely a secondary divinity with a much weaker potential.


    Ev had already extracted the Divinity of Despair and sealed it within her own Divine Kingdom.


    Although this divinity in particr currently has no use for her, simply discarding or destroying it would be quite imprudent, and bestowing it to someone else carries far too much of a risk.


    So, in the end, Ev simply opted to seal it away in case she might find use for it in the future.


    As for the Divinity of ck Dragons, Ev eventually ns to bestow it upon Meryer and promote him to be one of her Godwardens.


    Although the potential of the Divinity of ck Dragons can only elevate its wielder to a weaker divine power, it suits perfectly with Meryer, who came from the bloodline of ck dragons.


    Moreover, dragons who possessed specific dragon-type divinities have usually been hailed as Dragon Gods by other dragons since ancient times.


    For instance, Reinhart, the tinum Dragon King, wields the Silver Dragon divinity.


    As such, Dragon Gods with dragon-type divinities often surpassed those dragons who have mastered other non dragon-type divinities.


    Of course, Meryer is currently too inexperienced and weak to handle the power of the ck Dragon Divinity at the moment, so Ev ns to bide her time and wait for him to first strengthen himself before bestowing it upon him.


    Furthermore, before bestowing the Divinity, Meryer must also undergo training topletely embody what she envisioned for him or at the very leaste close to it.


    In any case, ughtering gods is still the best way to strengthen myself Not only can I quickly increase my divine power, but I can also acquire more divinities as well. Its a shame the Divinity of Despair wasnt suitable for me; otherwise, I could have just imed it for myself.


    Eve mused as she idly gazed at the materialized form of the divinity in her hand.


    <em>ughtering Gods and Arson for a golden belt </em>


    As this phrase rang through her mind, Ev conviction deepened, silently solidifying her resolve in her ns to eliminate other hostile gods.


    <em>A-Ahem </em>


    <em>Why does it feel like Im slowly turning into a Great Evil God? </em>


    After this brief self-deprecating remark, Ev refocused her attention on the Scepter of Life.


    With her promotion to a weaker divine power, she now have the opportunity once more search for the remaining fragments of the Scepter of Life.


    With this in mind, Ev promptly summoned the iplete divine artifact.


    Whilst perched upon her throne in the Supreme Temple of her Divine Kingdom, Ev channeled her divine power into the Scepter of Life and began searching for the remaining fragments.


    Momentster, Ev once more sensed the pull of the Scepters fragments in the distance, yet this time around, the feeling was even stronger and just like before, it still originated from the direction of northeast.


    Not only that, but the location seems way closer than before


    Ev swiftly perked up upon discovering this and quickly attempted to precisely locate its exact location.


    However, just as she was about to establish contact with the fragments, her tracing spell was once again severed.


    <em>Failed yet again</em>


    At that moment, Ev perceived the intervention of the other party, blocking her attempts.


    Also, the power she felt just nowits the same entity that thwarted her initial investigation previously. However, now she could perceive that this entity is significantly stronger than her initial estimation during her first attempt.


    After sensing the power thats clearly more higher than Legendary-rank, Ev furrowed her brow slightly.


    The entity possessing the remaining fragments is even more formidable than I imagined, and its continuously on the move, which is a bit troublesome


    Nheless, her attempt is not entirely fruitless.


    Although she failed to locate the other party, Ev had, in turn, still managed to established a certain connection between the parts of the Scepter of Life that she holds and those fragments from the northeast.


    And should these fragments appear within a thousand kilometers of where she is, then without a doubt, Ev will immediately sense them right away.


    Based on her rough estimates, Ev noticed that the entity holding the remaining fragments appeared to be traveling within the territory of the Holy Maniya Empire, which wasnt particrly far from the Elven Forest.


    So theres still a good chance she may encounter this entity if she tried to find it hard enough.


    Nevertheless, after realizing that the other partys strength far surpassed her initial estimates, Ev became more vignt and wary about facing this enigmatic fragment holder.


    For her current self, it would certainly be more ideal toplete the Scepter of Life, but if repairing this artifact proves to be impossible, then its current iplete state will suffice enough for her


    Forget it, its not a big deal Ill just try again when my strength is promoted to intermediate divine power. I refuse to believe that this entity can still block my attempts by then.


    Whilst shaking her head, Ev reluctantly sets aside the issue regarding the Scepter of Life.


    Shes not a coward by any means


    However right now, she has far more important matters to attend to.


    Mainly, its the issue regarding her True Body.


    Several months ago, Ev had already cast a divine spell on the World Tree, concealing it from everyone except her own followers and the yers, making it almost impossible for any external observers to perceive its true state.


    However, as time passes and her subsequent actions attract more and more attention, it will only be a matter of time before someone suspects something is amiss about the true state of the World Tree.


    Plus, even if they do not suspect it, many outside parties are already monitoring the status of the World Tree.


    Currently, only ordinary beings are monitoring the Elven Forest, so these mortal beings wouldnt be able to see through her concealment spell.


    However, if far more higher ranked mythical beings were toe


    Mere illusion may not suffice anymore.


    Although Ev has already established her Divine Kingdom and can manifest it through the divine spell, Celestial Domain near her True Body, thus making her nearly invincible, annihting others using this method still poses considerable risk since it has a high chance of revealing her real status.


    Unlike Uller, who doesnt really think much and has been easily duped by her and H due to his inherentck of intellect, other beings might not be so easily fooled.


    ThereforeEv is nning a new cover-up scheme!


    In particr, this new scheme of hers involves using her power to distort the space around her True Body, sort of like forming a separate isted space.


    Then, she will conceal her True Body within this distorted space, while at the same time, also leaving behind a fake withered body, crafted using the Scepter of Life, at the original spot of the World Tree.


    With help of the Scepter of Life, she can easily deceive others and made them think the fake one is real.


    This is a scheme Ev has long considered for a long time, but she only gained the confidence to implement it after being promoted to a weaker divine power.


    Mainly because distorting space as she intended consumes a really huge amount of divine power.


    However, despite this drawback, this n of hers is entirely worthwhile since by using this method, no other existence, even higher-ranked beings, can see through her trickery unless they are mythical beings or demigods specializing in spatialws ande in person using their True Bodies.


    Shes confident that mere incarnations wont see through her scheme at all.


    Not only that, but Ev also ns to include the Chosen City within this distorted space, as it serves as both protection and concealment for the city.


    Of course, she will notpletely iste it and ns to leave behind an entrance and exit thats closely monitored by her


    In her estimates, Ev ns to implement all these changes during the next round of beta testing.


    Indeed, Eve is already preparing for the next wave of beta testers, intending to attract more yers this time around.


    With the significant increase of mana all across Seiges recently, although the dimensional passageway has yet to be opened, theres no doubt within her mind that the entire realm is bound to descend further into chaos.


    Based from Nidhoggs memories, Ev knew very well that Ancient beings have been awakening all over Seiges in the past six months, including many evil gods hiding in various ces.


    And with the further increase in mana all across thend, its inevitable that the awakening of these Ancient Ones will be further expedited, and once these old monsters fully awakened, they will surely challenge the firmly established authority of the Gods of Faith within the realm of Seiges.


    This will definitely attract the attention of most of the gods, but Ev can also take this opportunity to personally get involved and fish in troubled waters.


    For her, the impending chaosessentially means more opportunities.


    s, for her to fully capitalize on these opportunities, she must first acquire moreborers and cannon fodder for herself


    In her estimation, the current ten thousand yers are no longer sufficient anymore, and to expand her influence even further she needs to recruit more pawns that are willing to do her bidding


    This time, she ns to put on a new suitable disguise for herself, introduce her army of yers out into the public, and officially debut with a legal pantheon-recognized identity!


    <strong>330</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>EVES AMBITION</strong>  <hr>


    <strong></strong>  This is a modified chinese proverb and the original phrase is <strong></strong> (Murder and Arson to get a gold belt.) but both conveys the same meaning which is that, in life, some individuals do all kinds of bad things, yet continue to enjoy glory and wealth. <hr><hr>

 Chapter 331

    Chapter 331


    In the early morning hours, golden strands of sunlight filtered through the forest canopy as they wove through the branches and leaves before gently caressing the dew-kissed grass beneath the ground.


    Soft tendrils of water vapor, exhaled by the trees, gently floated in the air like white veils, reflecting the golden sunlight with a misty ethereal glow.


    asionally, the melodious chirping of birds echoed from afar, which was then apanied by faint sounds of trickling springs, adding a touch of vividness to the serene and beautifulndscape of the Elven Forest.


    Transformer Ji Gang was just strolling through these mystical woods.


    He was wearing his newly acquired shiny legendary golden-grade Iron armor, whilst carrying freshly picked herbs on his back and hopping along the way as he followed the trail shown upon the minimap on his system navigation.


    As a child who had spent his entire life in the bustling embrace of a big urban metropolis since childhood, the verdant expanse, alive with the whispers of ancient trees and the vibrant hues of natures palette, captivated Ji Gang.


    The delicate fragrance of flowers mixed with the earthy aroma of pine needles as the grasses below softly caressed his legs, provides him a faint refreshing scent,pletely different from the exhaust fumes that never seemed to dissipate in the big city.


    Each time he ventured into the forest to fulfill a task, Ji Gang always found sce in the leisurely and cheerful tunes of the game system, as he marveled at the lush greenery around him and breathed in thr air fresher than anything reality could offer.


    In these tranquil moments, he always felt his very soul thoroughly rxed and immersed, as if all his troubles back in reality had been cast aside, rendering them inconsequential.


    In this virtual world of Elven Kingdom, it seemed his every worry dissolved, and an unprecedented calm settled upon him, soothing his mood like never before.


    Spring is here


    Watching the wildflowers sprouting on the grasnd and the beautiful butterflies frolicking among the flowers, a smile unconsciously appeared upon Ji Gangs face.


    Spring had arrived.


    Half a month had passed since thest questline that involved countering the invasion of mercenary groups.


    As usual, the yers sessfullypleted the quest with flying colors, wiping out all the attacking mercenaries with rtive ease


    No, to be more precise, it wasnt really that easy per se, since halfway through the battle some of those mercenaries were suddenly contaminated by a mysterious force.


    Later on, those corrupted mercenaries all turned into Scaled Monsters and the the yers found themselves fighting desperately against them, which were thenpounded by Meryers disappearance, deepening the turmoil on the yers side.


    Luckily, for some unknown reason, those transformed mercenaries suddenly panicked and became confused, giving the yers an opportunity to tip the scale of the battlefield in their favor.


    With help of Little Shota Al and Big Sister Zero, they eventually managed to defeat those Scaled Monsters one by one


    Ji Gang subsequently learned from some first-beta yers who somehow got wind of an inside story that it was the result of the Goddess defeating the Evil Dragon God, who was the real mastermind behind the scenes, leading to the mercenaries side falling apart just like that.


    After that Questline, like many yers that participated in the event, Ji Gang also gained a lot of experience and contribution points, and acquired plenty of valuable equipment for himself


    By now, he was already level 30, just a step away from advancing into Peak Iron-rank.


    ncing at his nearly full EXP bar, Ji Gangs mood became even more pleasant.


    He hummed along with the background music and quickened his pace.


    His shoes glimmered faintly as he activated the [eleration] special effect that came with the shoes.


    Immediately right after, Ji Gangs body became lighter, as he effortlessly glides through the dense forest canopy.


    As he pressed forward, the trees on either side gradually receded into the distance, their presence fading into the background as the wind whispered past his ears.


    Up ahead, the scenery slowly unfolded, revealing familiarndmarks.


    Ji Gangs eyes lit up upon seeing it.


    Im almost there.


    He quickened his pace yet again, skipping and hopping, as he continues to move forward at high speed.


    Soon, faint voices gradually came from up ahead, and through the gaps in the trees, the spires of a church gradually revealed themselves.


    Ji Gang began to slow down, transitioning from a gallop to a brisk walk.


    After passing several towering ancient trees, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a beautiful city constructed of pristine white giant stones.


    The infrastructure style of the city was reminiscent of archaic elven architecture, adorned with exquisite and intricate elvish patterns. Verdant grass and flowerbeds dotted every corner of the city, imbuing thendscape with a sea of green, brimming with vitality and vigor.


    This is Florence, the former holy city of the elves, now serving as the new homnd wherein most of the returning natives currently reside.


    Various Elves dressed in silk robes bustled about within the city, each of them appearing to work diligently.


    Radiant smiles illuminated their faces, as their eyes sparkle with hope for a brighter tomorrowa stark contrast to their once-numb and despairing expressions from just a few months prior.


    asionally, tall slender figures adorned in magnificent armor could also be spotted, either brandishing weapons like greatswords or donning elegant robes while wielding shy magic staffs as they walked through the city streets.


    Like the natives around them, they too were elves, but they appeared to be more like warriors and mages of the elven race.


    However, upon a closer inspection, besides theirbat-oriented clothing style and generally stylish appearance, the cadence of their walking seemed somewhat peculiar


    Some couldnt resist skipping and hopping a few steps, while also using spells like [eleration] or [Haste] to speed up their movements, and some even chose to take unconventional paths, specifically opting for rough and challenging terrain just to take a shortcut.


    Some passed through the city in hurried strides betraying a sense of urgency, while some also looked to be simply rxing as they eagerly surrounded a robed native with smiles andughter.


    Elsewhere, makeshift stalls sprung up along the sidewalks, as their owners enthusiastically showcased their wares to anyone who happened to pass by.


    Overall, it was quite a lively scenery as Ji Gang looked around and took a deep breath before entering the city.


    Along the way, he often saw elven natives stop in their tracks and smile at him, before bowing slightly, then drawing a tree-shaped symbol upon their chests.


    In response, Ji Gang would inadvertently smile back in return before resuming his journey through the bustling city streets.


    At times, the sound of cheerfulughter would reach his ears, and Ji Gang would spot several lively and adorable young elves ying among themselves.


    Some of these elven kids would then dashed forward, while others giggled and pursued them in what appeared to be a lively game of tag.


    One particr difference from the norm, though, was that the kids in front were wearing homemade mercenary paper armor, whereas those from behind were dressed as cute elven warriors, waving wooden toy swords.


    From time to time, their sweet and melodious voices would echo from afar saying things such as:


    Evil mercenaries, halt! I am the brave Chosen One! Come and fight me!


    As a Chosen One I wont let any of you to destroy our forest!


    Begone Scaled monsters!


    Listening to their crisp childish voices, Ji Gangs lips couldnt help but curl upwards.


    <em>This is probably what it feels like to be a legendary figure in a story, right?</em>


    Ji Gangs gaze softened, and for a moment, he even forgot that this world was just merely a virtual game, and his footsteps unconsciously slowed down.


    Suddenly, one particr elven kid at the front failed to notice a stone in their path and was on the verge of plummeting into the ground


    Ji Gang furrowed his brow slightly and swiftly activated the [eleration] special effect in his shoe, darting forward to catch and stabilize the child before they could tumblepletely.


    Startled, the young elf Ji Gang was holding blinked rapidly, his gaze lifting to meet the one who had caught him.


    Then, as his eyes locked with theirs, a luminous gleam ignited within the kids watery eyes, which reflected a myriad of wonder and gratitude.


    Ah! Its a Chosen One! Thank you, Lord Chosen One!


    The kids voice, filled with innocence and a hint of yearning, resonated with admiration.


    Be more careful when walking.


    Ji Gang murmured gently, his voice softening unexpectedly as the words left his lips, catching even himself off guard with their tenderness.


    <em>Yet</em>


    <em>Looking at those incredibly adorable face and those pure, innocent eyes, wouldnt anyone naturally feel a bit more soft and gentler, right?</em>


    Okay! Lord Chosen One!


    The young elf giggled, bowing to Ji Gang and clumsily drawing a tree-shaped symbol on their chest.


    Go on and keep ying.


    Ji Gang said gently.


    The little ones all nodded and then chattered away as they resumed ying.


    Watching their retreating figures, a hint of smile crossed Ji Gangs face.


    He felt


    He might never be able to quit this game, Elven Kingdom in his lifetime.


    <strong>331</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>THANK YOU LORD CHOSEN ONE</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 332

    Chapter 332


    Having felt the sense of aplishment and recognition are a wonderful thing.


    After ying Elven Kingdom for quite some time, Ji Gang unknowingly felt as though this ce had be his second home.


    He particrly liked being around those silly and mischievous yers who goofed around together, as well as the lively and kind-hearted NPCs


    His love for this virtual world extends so deeply that even the smallest detail, like every de of grasses in the Elven Forest, carries a cherished significance to him.


    Standing still for a moment, whilst watching the bustling scene of Florence and observing all the happy expressions within each of the elven NPCs and their sincere smiles when facing him, made him feel a myriad of inexplicable emotions


    Bathed in the gentle warmth of the morning sunlight, Ji Gangs mood further eased into a pleasant, rxed state.


    <em>How nice it would be if time could stop at this very moment</em>


    Ji Gang thought, as his eyes narrowed in contentment.


    Yet, as his eyes caught sight of the time disyed on the system in his peripheral vision, his smiling expression abruptly froze.


    Ji Gang pped his thigh, cursing under his breath:


    Gosh darn it, why is time passing so fast? Its already noon before I know it. I better finish my current tasks quickly and eat lunch back home, or else Mom will scold me again.


    Lately, due to his excessive gaming habits, his mother and some of the adults in his family have began voicing their disapproval.


    They let him indulge at other times, but one cardinal rule of his family was that mealtime should be entirely respected, or else his mom would start nagging about banning him from using the virtual pod once again.


    Thinking of this, Transformer Ji Gang quickened his pace and headed towards the Cathedral in Florence


    This cathedral was renovated and expanded by yers on the foundations of the old cathedral, and they incorporated some of the architectural styles from Earth into its new design.


    Its located in the busiest area of Florence, and from time to time, natives and yers can be seening in and out of the church. The former usually go to the church to pray and worship, while thetter mostly just enter to find the statue of the goddess to either try their luck on the lottery or gain ess to the exchange store interface.


    And just like in many online games, the vicinity wherein theres most traffic oftentimes also became a hotspot for which arge number of yers set up stalls and began selling things there.


    As a result, therge square in front of Florence cathedral eventually became the second most popr gathering spot, only following closely behind the central square of the Chosen City.


    Moreover, since Florence is home to many NPCs that can issue tasks, yers often stay around this Holy City and its surroundings for efficiency whenpleting their tasks, which in turn sometimes makes it even busier than the central square of the Chosen City during the day.


    Generally speaking, the individuals who congregate here are typically yers urgently seeking contribution points as well as those who have acquired equipment they dont have much use from the lottery, or yers urgently seeking specific quest key items.


    Ji Gang merely nced at them and quickly entered the cathedral.


    Earlier, he received a task from the resident Silver-ranked Priest to collect some herbs, and after toiling around the surrounding forest for hours, gathering the required items, now he just needed to deliver them to the cathedral.


    Different from the hustle and bustle outside, the cathedrals interior was particrly quiet, allegedly because the priests stationed here had specifically set up soundproofing magical arrays in ce.


    Feeling the unique tranquility and solemnity of the cathedral, Ji Gangs mood couldnt help but be affected and calmed down.


    The main hall of the cathedral hummed with activity as figures dotted the space, both NPCs and yers alike, as each partook in silent reverence.


    Their eyes were locked onto the sacred and majestic statue of the goddess in the center as they fervently prayed amongst themselves


    Of course, the yers were merely doing it superficially just for show, but in actuality, they were either browsing the exchange store or ying the lottery.


    <em>Hmmjust by looking at that persons silly smile, I could already guess that they probably won a good item from the lottery prize pool.</em>


    Ji Gang mused with a wry smile.


    As for those individuals with sorrowful expressionsthats another story.


    Transformer Ji Gang didnt linger much and followed the route from his memory where the missionary school was located.


    Although the yers called it the missionary school, it was actually just a side hall attached to the cathedral, wherein senior priests often preach to believers and trains novice priests.


    As soon as he arrived, Ji Gang immediately saw an elderly elf dressed in a silver priest robe.


    He stood on an elevated tform, clutching a thick book titled Natures Codex, while passionately delivering a lecture to a group of young elves d in novice priest attire gathered below.


    This particr elderly elf bore the name of Samuel Galewind, a figure revered as the highest-ranking clerical priest in Florence. Among the yerbase, he was also recognized as one of the rare blue-ss NPCs out there.


    This time, the task Ji Gang received earlier was issued by him.


    As for those novice priests listening to Old Samuels lecture, they were chosen by the elderly priest from the elves who had returned, many of whom were either rescued by the yers from Maple Leaf City or those who were trapped in the cocoons from the undergroundir some time ago.


    Over time, they melded seamlessly with the rhythm of life within the Elven Forest and adopted its local customs and lifestyle.


    Their every action exuded unwavering devotion to the goddess, as they harbored deep gratitude towards her for instructing the yers to rescue them.


    With the addition of these rescued individuals, the total number of elven natives living in Florence had long surpassed a thousand, with nearly half of them bing devout believers and gaining the ability to issue tasks to the yers.


    Naturally, as the poption grew, the workload of the current priests rtively small staffs became increasingly more cumbersome, making it logical to expand their ranks.


    Unfortunately, the devs of Elven Kingdom have never opened the priest job ss to yers as an option. Otherwise, the limited number of priests could probably balloon into a legion in no time.


    Transformer Ji Gang locked eyes with the elderly priest, and in return, old Samuels gaze also met his.


    With a warm smile, Samuel set aside the holy book in his hand and gestured to the novice priests to begin their homework, before walking towards Ji Gang.


    As a devout believer who has received the authority to issue tasks from the Divine Matriarch, resolving the concurrent tasks of the Chosen Ones takes precedence and must be done promptly before anything else


    This was a consensus among every elves who simrly also gained such authority.


    Seeing this, Transformer Ji Gang quickly approached and presented the herbs he had gathered with both hands to the elderly priest.


    Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Transformer Ji Gang.


    Samuels eyes shed with a hint of smile after receiving the herbs,


    He then gave Ji Gang a slight nod and traced a scepter-like symbol upon his chest.


    May nature be with you!


    With a chime-like notification sound from the system, Ji Gang promptly received 300 contribution points and 1000 EXP points, as his experience bar, which had been on the verge ofpletion, finally filled up.


    With this, a gleam of joy shed across Ji Gangs face.


    <em>At longst, I could finally advanced into Peak Iron-rank!</em>


    However, despite being jubnt, he also realized a small detail he had almost overlooked.


    Their interaction just now specifically the symbol the old priest drew upon his chest didnt seem to be the usual tree-shaped symbol he was familiar with.


    <em>Was it a system bug?</em>


    This left Ji Gang somewhat puzzled.


    As if he was able to sense his confusion, Old Samuel smiled knowingly.


    This is the new religious symbol the goddess has ordained for us to use, the elderly priest exined.


    You see, the goddess recently bestowed an oracle upon us, decreeing that the old tree-shaped emblem would be retired. Instead, we are to embrace the symbol of the Scepter of Life as her new chosen symbol of faith and this momentous change shall soon be proimed throughout the Elven Forest in the uing days.


    <em>So thats itwas this change a prelude to a new storyline?</em>


    Ji Gang pondered.


    Havingpleted his task and after bidding farewell to the old priest, Transformer Ji Gang left the cathedral.


    Then afterwards, with bated anticipation, he immediately chose to advance his level, finally bing the first one to reach Peak Iron-rank among the third beta-yers!


    Feeling the more powerful energy coursing through his body, and seeing arge increase in his overallbat stats in his status screen, Ji Gangs mood was elevated to its highest level.


    Now that my wish is finally granted, I can log off and eat back home with a peace of mind!


    However, just as he was about to head to Florences temporary morgue to log off and eat back home in reality, Ji Gang suddenly heard amotioning from the city square.


    <em>Whats going on now?</em>


    Ji Gang showed a look of confusion.


    With his curiosity getting the better of him, he grabbed a passing yer who looked visibly excited and asked politely,


    Whats happening? Has someone triggered a new quest again?


    Being suddenly grabbed out of the blue like that startled the passing yer, but upon noticing that it was actually Transformer Ji Gang, the yer immediatelyughed instead.


    Oh, so it turns out to be you Boss Ji Gang, the Guildmaster of Autobots!


    Well Boss, you should check the official website! A new announcement has been made! Its says a new round of beta testing is about to begin!


    <strong>332</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>BOSS CHECK THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 333

    Chapter 333


    Chosen City, Mansion of Moe Moe Committee.


    Little Salty Cat reclined on a specially crafted wooden chair, idly swinging her legs as she browsed through various videos on the inte using the systems built-in browser, pondering which movie to watch for the day.


    With summer vacation underway and no one at home to supervise her, Salty Cat spent nearly all her time engrossed ying the game and pausing only to eat meals.


    Thus, Salty Cat had practically be a Lazy Cat instead.


    As a result, after so many days of ying, she had finally reached level 40, bing the second yer to reach the maximum level besides Boxlunch.


    Of course, unlike Boxlunch, who is a hardcore gamer and follows the traditional leveling method, Little Salty Cats swift progress was solely achieved through the use of contribution points.


    Essentially, she enlisted other yers to grind monsters together with her in the underground dungeon, wherein they would kite and chip away at the mobs life while she on the other hand, will only deliver the finishing blow and took all the experience for herself.


    Wealth begets capriciousness.


    Of course, there were rumors that this renowned real estate tycoon in the Elven Kingdom had already earned back all the contribution points she spent by selling some of her houses in the Chosen City.


    Spending money isnt a skill per se, but being able to spend and earn it back is what makes it truly remarkable.


    After reaching the maximum level and equipping herself with the best legendary golden-ss set from the current catalog of the exchange store, Little Salty Cat became even more of a couch potato.


    s, the method employed by wealthy whales is so effortless yet equally just as dull.


    As such, now the only things that can pique her interest are either the main questline that mighte at any time or the various entertainment activities organized regrly by yers within the game, as well as interacting with the NPCs.


    Ah, I wonder how long Meryer will continue to sleep on the World Tree Its be much more boring without him, since I cant even fly up to the sky to y.


    Little Salty Cat sighed softly in the direction of the World Tree after choosing a movie to watch at random.


    All of a sudden, she heard a chiming sound, alerting her to a new message in her chat inbox.


    With one hand supporting her chin and the other stirring a cup of homemade milk tea, shezily brought up the chat interface.


    Immediately upon reading the message in the guild chat section, her mood quickly improved, prompting her to enthusiastically leap up from the recliner.


    What? Another round of closed beta? And this time theyre opening fifty thousand application spots?


    Tsk tsk, it looks like things are about to get livelier now Well, its a good thing cause it feels like,tely, there have been fewer people in the city ever since the map got bigger, and nowadays, only the bonfire parties can attract a crowd. Huh, I wonder what new storyline this next updates gonna bring.


    Little Salty Cat eagerly opened the official website and looked at the newly released update notice for the fourth closed beta, feeling excited.


    Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Salty Cat pped her thigh and stood up immediately, muttering to herself:


    Right! I should discuss the expansion of the residential district with Sister Hooty! When new yers arrive, the houses in the Chosen City will definitely not be sufficient enough. Hehe, we might earn ourselves some considerable contribution points if we n this properly!


    After finishing her milk tea in one gulp, Little Salty Cat immediately called out to HootyBird while excitedly rushing out of her mansion.


    Sister Hooty! A huge lucrative business ising!


    Southwestern part of the Elven Forest, within a dense forest:


    Several figures surrounded a massive triceratops, moving around it and attacking with fervor.


    The monsters body was already stained red with blood, and its speed was also gradually slowing down.


    Suddenly, one agile figure executed the skill [sh] above the triceratops head.


    It was Boxlunch.


    With a sh of his dagger, he executed [Serial Stab] skill, dealing devastating damage to his opponent.


    Apanied by a deafening cry that echoed through the vicinity, the triceratops sumbed to a sudden, violent strike to its neck. Crimson streams cascaded from the wound, painting the ground in a macabre scene as the massive creature copsed with a heavy, earth-shaking thud.


    Amazing! Captain, your stabbing speed is getting faster and faster! This is a lower silver-ranked defensive-type monster!


    Watching the fallen monster, Cbash, whose acting as a support looked visibly excited.


    Boxlunch nodded slightly and replied, Its not dead yet, you finish it off.


    Cbash was slightly stunned, then smiled brightly.


    Thank you, boss!


    Its a widely known fact that the individual whonds the final blow will gain the highest amount of experience points. Although Boxlunch had already reached the level cap of 40, Cbash had not yet attained the maximum level.


    Clearly, Boxlunch was giving him an enjoyable bus ride.


    Cbash cheerfully finished off the triceratops, but instead of maximizing the experience points gained, he kept the monsters body intact.


    ording to the merchants in Maple Leaf City, the leather of these triceratops is perfect for making armor and can be sold at a good price.


    In addition, some yers have also found that the meat of this creature is delicious, making it a good choice whether for personal consumption or selling it to other yers.


    It would be a huge loss if all of it was turned into experience points.


    Following the triceratopss demise, the four members of Boxlunchs team converged around the fallen creature.


    They then began to dissect the carcass with their knives and meticulously separated the valuable resources. Together, they stored the spoils in amunal storage ring they had collectively purchased with their pooled resources.


    Meanwhile, Boxlunch stood aside, quietly checking his mini-map.


    Their purpose for this exploration wasnt just to hunt monsters but to also scour the west of the Elven Forest for any ancient ruins.


    Quickly, the group packed up the spoils as each member showed a look of satisfaction.


    Captain, whats our next move?


    The teams tank, the warrior known as Optimist, asked.


    Boxlunch furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head.


    Well stop our exploration and head back.


    Are we really gonna stop?


    The others were taken aback.


    Boxlunch nodded, saying, Check the official website.


    Hearing this, his teammates quickly opened the official website of Elven Kingdom and saw the update announcement disyed prominently in bold font.


    Theyre actually having a fourth closed beta and this time, it looks like the update duration is gonna take a whole day!


    Looking at the websites noticeboard, Cbash appeared slightly surprised.


    Now he understood why Boxlunch ordered to halt their exploration.


    Drawing from past game updates, yers had already learned that in-game time within Elven Kingdom still continued to progress even during updates.


    In other words, even during the maintenance wherein all of the yers are offline, time within the world of Elven Kingdom will still continue to progress.


    Even if the update duration onlysts for ten minutes, forty minutes will pass inside the game.


    It was said that this was because the developers used an entirely new game engine thats totally different from other virtual MMORPGs


    Of course, some people also said that the developers intentionally designed it this way to create a truly immersive world, allowing yers to subconsciously ignore that its just a game


    In any case, it would be fine if the update duration only took ten minutes, but if itsted for a day, then Boxlunch and his team staying in the wilderness for the entirety of that duration would be very dangerous.


    Since being offline for a whole day also meant that they wouldnt be able to log in for four in-game days.


    Normally, when they conducted remote explorations, they usually took turns going offline to rest, ensuring that at least one person could stand guard until theye back but this time, obviously, that wouldnt work.


    Then lets head back for now. Since our location has been recorded in the minimap and our storage ring is almost full too, lets rest and recuperate for the time being. After the update, well go back in this spot while riding our own mounts.


    Optimist sighed regretfully.


    The other team members also nodded in agreement.


    Maple Leaf Territory, a small border town.


    Over a dozen figures d in hooded cloaks stood in a secluded hut.


    They faced a statue of a holy goddess, whilst continuously offering devout prayers.


    Through the slits of their hoods, one could see their delicate, fair skin and faintly visible pointed ears.


    They were all elves.


    Amongst them, a certain male elf with jet-ck hair and obsidian eyes, wearing a hood, stood at the back of the group.


    Silently, he observed Selena Galewind as she delivered her sermon, her golden locks flowing and her piercing blue eyes holding the crowds attention. Concurrently, he meticulously transcribed her words onto paper with a pen.


    Yet, if any local inhabitants were to caught a glimpse of what he was writing, they most likely wouldnt be able toprehend its contents.


    Since it was an entirely series of unknown set of characters, with each letter neatly arranged, with a peculiar beauty.


    The person thats transcribing was Li Mu, who followed Selena back to the Oakhand organization.


    During this period, Li Mu had been busy serving as Selenas personal assistant, participating in the rescue of elven ves, and the missionary work of the Natures Church within the vicinity of Maple Leaf City.


    At this moment, he looked at the various notes he had written during this time and fell into deep thought.


    So it turns out that us yers can convert NPCs into believers of the goddess by preaching to them


    Only the goddesss believers will have a chance to receive the authority to issue tasks, but s, most of them are just ordinary white-ss NPCs


    From what I discovered, any yers who can sessfully convert someone will also receive contribution points and experience rewards, and the more devout the individual they converted, the higher the rewards will be


    Not only that, but if the NPC you convert really has a high favorability towards you, then theres a good chance theyll give you better tasks.


    Moreover, its not just elves who can be converted; half-elves are also an option, and there have been sessful cases among humans too


    Yet, the prime candidates for conversion is still elves, with the half-elves as a close second.as for humans, while there have been sessful cases, they mostly involve human NPCs from the Oakhand organization who alreadycked faith or only held shallow beliefs in other deities


    In short, preaching and converting someone might also be an alternative viable leveling method!


    Of course, from my current perspective, the benefits of this method are still subparpared to grinding in dungeons and clearing field mobs, or even the chance of triggering the main questline


    As he wrote this, Li Mu let out a sigh of relief.


    Having abandoned a hidden quest, he finally gained something.


    Not only did he discover new gamey that lets a yer be like a missionary in the game, but he also recorded arge amount of new map data.


    He intended topile all his findings as well as experiences dealing with the Oakhand organization, and create a video to upload online to earn himself some additional ie.


    Just as he put down his pen, he suddenly saw a notification that says he received a voiced message from Demacia.


    Li Mu clicked the y button curiously, and Demacias highly recognizable loud voice immediately rang in his ears:


    Brother Mu! Bro! Check the official website! The fourth closed beta is here! This time theyre adding a whopping fifty thousand new yers! Shouldnt we take this opportunity to expand our guilds strength?


    Li Mu was slightly stunned.


    <em>A new round of closed beta? </em>


    He quickly opened the official website and indeed saw the new announcement.


    Fifty thousand new people joining all at once it seems like the quests involving widescale battles will be even livelier in the future!


    As Li Mus eyes scanned the announcement, a surge of excitement washed over him.


    <em>A new closed beta and the next update, who knows what new gamey will be added this time around?</em>


    He was looking forward to it.


    Demacias voice message continued, as Li Mu casually tapped on the next message, and Demacias voice echoed once more with a hint of mischief.


    Oh and also I think we can integrate my Amway Trading Company into our guildBro lemme tell ya, making money from these NPCs is way too easy! Cmon lets all make easy money together!


    Li Mu:


    <em>Is your MLM organization short of manpower?</em>


    A subtle twitch danced at the corner of his mouth, betraying the silent ridicule brewing within his heart.


    Demacia had recently struck it rich within Maple Leaf Citys ck market and its a fact known to almost everyone on the whole server.


    Closing his chat inbox, Li Mus desire to return back grew even stronger:


    Ive been away from the Elven Forest for so long, I think its time to finally go back.


    Little Salty Cat is already level 40, yet Im still only at level 34sigh, Im falling too far behind.


    With the next update, Im going to drop this Oakhand Questline and return to Chosen City.


    Taking a deep breath, Li Mu looked out of the window.


    The golden sun hung high in the sky, as its warm rays cascaded down upon him, enveloping him in a soft embrace offort.


    asionally, the distant chirping of birds graced the air with their cheerful and lively melodies.


    Li Mu sighed.


    Spring is here


    End of Volume Three


    <strong>333</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>FOURTH CLOSED BETA IS HERE</strong>  <hr>


    <strong></strong>  A Chinese Phrase that means having wealth can lead to a sense of entitlement or the ability to act without constraint. <hr><hr>

 Chapter 334

    Chapter 334


    <em>On August 31st, the massive virtual online game Elven Kingdom is having its fourth non-deletion closed beta test screening. </em>


    <em>You are weed to join!</em>


    The announcement rippled across the gamingmunity like a stone breaking the surface of a tranquilke, instantly captivating the attention of all sorts of yers far and wide.


    At the same time,izens who had been vigntly monitoring Elven Kingdoms official website immediately got thrilled upon discovering the announcement.


    Damn, this game is finally epting beta-participants again! Its been so popr that the game section of many video sharing websites has been dominated by ElvKing for months now.


    Looking around the inte, there are all kinds of videos being uploaded by concurrent beta testers everywhere, and some people even got creative and actually filmed a movie inside the game.


    With its incredibly realistic and beautifulndscape, boundless gamey, and most important of all, the otherworldly alien-like ck technology of thought eleration, which can practically almost extends ones game time as if they were given an extension of their life, how could such a game not drive people crazy?


    It can be said that from every aspect, Elven Kingdom has just be an unbeatable myth within the gaming sphere, leaving other online gamespletely behind


    It even got to a point wherein many professional content creators and streamers have reduced the frequency of their uploads after they started to y Elven Kingdom, which demonstrates the the games strong appeal and addictiveness.


    As such, there is no doubt that the news of Elven Kingdoms fourth round of beta testing will once again dominate the front pages of major gaming forums.


    Rted discussions concerning the game continued to be a hot topic to the point where it seemed to be turning into a gaming carnival, with even fake news like buying and selling Elven Kingdom ounts bing trending amongst various social media sites.


    Of course, by now, most closed beta yers already knew that each ount and beta slot cannot be bought nor sold to someone else, as they are exclusively tied to the individual that has been initially granted ess to it.


    In fact, manyizens have beenining, stating that with the massive poprity it already garnered, why do the developers of the game even bother persisting with the closed beta?


    <em>Wouldnt it make more sense to transition directly to the open beta instead?</em>


    <em>Surely, wouldnt this approach yield higher financial returns?</em>


    <em>Practically, there are limitlessizens who are willing and desperate enough to spend cash just to y the game!</em>


    Yet unfortunately, it seemed that the devs have still no ns in proceeding with the open beta


    However, it still excited everyone when the number of fourth beta slots was announced


    <em>Fifty thousand avable slots!</em>


    This time, the chances of being selected have been further expanded!


    The registration for the closed beta of the game followed in the same manner just like the previous rounds, wherein chosen applicants will be selected randomly.


    However, when the final number of users who registered was tallied, it once again shocked everyone.


    During the third closed beta, the number of people who signed up eventually reached over twenty million, but this time, it nearly doubled, reaching nearly fifty million!


    Its worth noting that since the invention of the virtual gaming pod, there have only been seventy million registered pods in China


    Which means that four out of seven owners of each virtual pods have actually decided to sign up for the Fourth beta!


    Well, the probability of being selected has indeed increased due to the increased slots, but for ordinary yers, a 0.04% chance versus a 0.001% chance still doesnt make much difference in the grand scheme of things.


    In the end, being chosen still boils down to whether one is lucky or not.


    At least thats how theizens see it.


    So am I considered one of these few lucky yers?


    Su Yuan tilted her head as she looked at the invitation code sent a few days ago on her smartphone.


    Of course! Dont you know how popr this game is? Many people are crying and shouting because they cant get a slot! Even big influencers on Weibo are saying theyd pay astronomical amounts for an ount if it could be traded!


    Yuanjuan, youre really lucky this time! Even I had to sign up twice before finally being selected, you know!


    Hehe, with this, we can finally y together! Hurry up and log in, Ill show you around! Im already level 31, and Ive even found a very powerful elven cksmith as my mentor. Ill be able to advance soon and be a high-level yer in this game!


    The excited voice of her best friend, Zhou Menghan, came through Su Yuans earphones.


    Her excited chatter made Su Yuan wonder if this overly excited person on the other side was still the very same gentle and quiet little fairy friend she knew from childhood


    Doesnt this sound too good to be true?


    Su Yuan murmured.


    Actually, her registering was done on a whim, and in fact, it waspletely Zhou Menghans insistence that made her do it.


    While theres a virtual pod at her home, Su Yuan leans more towards nurturing-type of virtual online games, like the kind of game where she can personally raise and customize characters to her own preferences


    As such, the games she usually y often involves either managing a restaurant, talent agency, or music idolsand she has little interest in this kind of MMORPG games.


    Although she had vaguely heard that this game has a high degree of freedom, Su Yuan firmly believes that any game, no matter how great or popr it is, still has its own limitations.


    Sure, it might excel in one aspect, but its impossible to cover everything and do everything well.


    Moreover, this game Elven Kingdom at its core still remains an MMORPG, with its primary objective inevitably shifting more towards leveling up and engaging in battles against monsters.


    <em>No matter how high the degree of freedom this game offers, can its character nurturing aspect really be executed well?</em>


    Su Yuan was entirely skeptical about this.


    Perhaps it surpassed online games of the past, but in the current era wherein many types of virtual online games keep popping up one after another, Su Yuan doesnt believe that this Elven Kingdom, which has taken half of the gaming world by storm, can surpass the highly acimed nurturing games she enjoys ying!


    Of courseher aversion tobat even if its done in virtual online games is also a factor contributing to her personal biases.


    Even though the videos rted to Elven Kingdom on various video-sharing sites usually garner astronomical views and are hailed as masterpieces by manyizens, since they mostly showcase bloody battles, its actually something Su Yuan is not interested in.


    <em>Ah well, forget itIll just go along with her since Menghan is so excited about it. Besides, Dream Idol happens to be undergoing maintenance updates at the moment. It wouldnt hurt to explore other games now and then for a change of pace.</em>


    Su Yuan thought to herself.


    Lately, she has been engrossed in ying Dream Idol, a highly popr virtual game centered around nurturing idols. The game requires significant dedication and also involves dipping into microtransactions.


    Nheless, Su Yuan is fascinated by the character designs and outfitbinations offered by this game, which suit her tastes quite well.


    Come to think of it didnt Menghan also mention that the designs of the NPCs in Elven Kingdom are pretty good too?


    She wasnt really sure if its actually true since her knowledge of the Elven Kingdom primarily stems from her friends rather than from watching videos directly about it.


    Yawning, she changed into her pajamas andy down in her own gaming pod.


    The timing of this beta-testing is really toxic They specifically chose the opening day right before school starts, which is crazy.


    She nced at the date and grumbled for a bit.


    Then, she put on her helmet and reluctantly opened the game Elven Kingdom under her friends repeated urging.


    Game connection sessful


    New update discovered, Elven Kingdom ver. 1.6


    Version updating1%2%3%.


    100%Update sessful


    Loading the game


    Loading sessful.


    With the systems soft notification chime-like sound, Su Yuans vision suddenly darkened.


    Secondster, a melodious and pleasant music gradually filled the air, its wonderful melody lifting some of Su Yuans skepticism.


    <em>Well, putting aside everything else, the music is pretty good I guess, at least its not inferior to the songs in the rhythm games I usually y!</em>


    <em>And</em>


    Su Yuan suddenly widened her eyes.


    Oh, isnt the tune ying in the background the song, Elven Wind?


    Recently, theres been a growing trend in mainstream music known as the Elven Style Genre.


    It seemed to be created by unfamiliar instruments but many have spected that it might be a result from using aputer synthesizer.


    Its distinctive style is primarily characterized by its melodious, ethereal, and captivating qualities, which can effortlessly draw any listener into its enchanting lull, making it ideal for rxation and sleep.


    In fact, Su Yuan herself has also collected a few songs of this style, but she didnt expect their source to be actually here in this virtual MMO.


    I guess theres something about this game, after all.


    She now felt a bit interested in ying it.


    Soon, her vision suddenly brightened once more, and a whirlwind sensation enveloped her.


    The initial sensation of lying down vanished and was reced by a palpable feeling of being sucked into a ck hole, as if she had traversed time and space in that instance.


    This otherworldly experience onlysted for a brief moment, and before she realized what had just happened, Su Yuan already found herself in the character creation interface.


    A vast expanse of endless white space surrounds her and there was only a huge mirror in front of her that could reflect her own image.


    Following that, a system interface appeared in front of her, presenting a variety of character creation settings typically found in first-time game logins in online games.


    In China, itsmonly referred to as the face-pinching system.


    As Su Yuan looked at the beautiful elf girl in the mirror, who seemed to have stepped out of a fairy tale, she couldnt help but be stunned.


    <em>In fairness, this character creation system is very well done. It offers customization for almost everything, ranging from hairstyle to facial features, skin tone to body typeits practically everything I could imagined! </em>


    <em>Moreover, this face and this figure</em>


    Su Yuans breath caught sharply.


    <em>Well done, Im actually impressed. </em>


    Hmm? Whats thistheres even a character creation score rating?


    <strong>334</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>I GUESS THERES SOMETHING ABOUT THIS GAME AFTER ALL</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 335

    Chapter 335


    In the central square of the Chosen City, Zhou Menghan, now in her druid character Meng Zhihan, watched the bustling crowd with curious eyes, whilst marveling at the lively scene before her.


    Arent there way too many people?


    She already knew that fifty thousand spots were allocated for the fourth closed beta, and she was well aware that most of the Chosen applicants would immediately rush into the game the very instant they were allowed to do so.


    Nevertheless, what she didnt expect was the shocking visual impact brought about by a gathering of fifty thousand people in one ce altogether


    Oh sure, there were also many who participated during the battle with the half-orcs, but at that time, there were only thirty thousand people, and they were sparsely distributed in various key locations within the ck Dragon Castle.


    In contrast, the central square was now densely packed, with people clustered together standing shoulder to shoulder, which gave a profound visual impactpared to back then.


    Seeing this scene made Meng Zhihan subconsciously think of the overcrowded subway situation in certain ind nations


    Moreover, this was all still happening with the premise of people continuously leaving the city square right after they logged in.


    Speaking of which, when the city square was initially nned, it was designed with a maximum capacity of only thirty thousand people.


    Back then, the urban nners didnt put much consideration into the fact that the Elven Kingdom actually had only one server, leading to the current situation.


    Nheless, despite the crowded conditions, each avatars still remained free from themon bug of ovepping characters that often urs in most MMOs when many yers gather in one location.


    This feat showed how great the game engine the developers of Elven Kingdom had created.


    Of course, having only one server also had its benefits, which made the whole game way more epic to y since the yerbase could expand to this unprecedented numbers!


    Meng Zhihan shook her head and nced at the built-in system clock.


    Three in-game hours have already passed but why hasnt Su Yuan logged in yet?


    She muttered somewhat strangely.


    During these few hours of waiting, God knows she has rejected countless people who approached her to strike up a conversation!


    Of course, her eye-catching and gorgeous high-leveled equipment was one factor that garnered lots of attention.


    Adding to that, being a female character in Elven Kingdom, wherein yers cant choose the opposite gender, will also naturally attract the interest of many yers, including these newbies desperate enough to find a powerful thigh to cling on.


    And Meng Zhihan checked all these boxes since she was a female yer who had yed the game for so long and was considered one of the high-leveled life-oriented yers.


    Although the lower-grade legendary Iron staff around her waist was obtained by sheer luck, the majority of her other equipment consisted of upper-grade sets of purple Iron-rank. The few remaining pieces, though less morous, were still transitional purple epic equipment.


    Additionally, despite not reaching the maximum level and not ranking among the top yers on the leaderboard, her strength was still valued and weed in various exploration campaigns.


    Not to mention, she was also a rare yer who was also an apprentice cksmith personally taught by the elven forging maestro, Carlos himself!


    After waiting for a while, she couldnt help it anymore and sent another message to her best friend:


    Hey, Su Yuan! How much longer are you going to be? Ive been waiting for you for three hours!


    Soon, she received a short reply from the other party:


    Almost there


    Meng Zhihan:


    This is the seventh time youve said almost you know! What the hell are you even doing anyway? Didnt I tell you to quickly log into the game?


    She sent a message once more and momentster, her best friend replied with a somewhat proud deration:


    Im still customizing my characters face. Dont worry, my score is at 83 points already!


    Meng Zhihan:


    <em>So, my dear sister, youve spent three hours just customizing your characters face?!</em>


    <em>Wait she got 83 points?</em>


    <em>Hissthis face-pinching fanatic!</em>


    Meng Zhihan herself had witnessed how difficult it was to increase ones overall score rating in Elven Kingdoms character creation screen


    Specifically, the beautiful preset faces provided by the system were only worth 50 points, and to score higher than that, one must personally customize it further themselves.


    Yet when Meng Zhihan tried it herself, not only the base score of 50 decrease, but it continued to lower further as she made modifications to the preset she had chosen.


    Eventually after spending so long in face-pinching her character, she began to doubted her own sense of anesthetics and finally reluctantly settled when she got a 60 score rating.


    <em>However, her best friend Su Yuan actually scored a 83 ratings?!</em>


    <em>Well, as expected of a hardcore character-development otaku gamer</em>


    Meng Zhihan silently muttered within her mind incredulously.


    How much longer do you need?


    She asked again.


    Well I need to at least achieve a score of 90 points. Youre right Menghan, this game is quite interesting.


    The other party replied cheerfully.


    Meng Zhihan:


    Right there, she was almost tempted to post her grievances on the official forums.


    <em>Urgent help needed, my friend has turned ElvKing into a character customization game and refuses to leave the starting customization screen. How do I guide her back to the right path? Please reply immediately.</em>


    At that moment, Meng Zhihan felt like she should had log off first.


    Hurry up


    She said weakly.


    Alright~


    The other party responded.


    Meng Zhihan:


    <em>Was this still the very same friend of mine who was initially reluctant to download Elven Kingdom?</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Now look at hershes clearly way more excited than me, and shes still at the character customization screen! </em>


    Meng Zhihanined silently within her heart.


    <em>Forget it, Im just gonna call her Su Jingze  from now on..</em>.


    As the sun set in the west and dusk gradually settled, the Chosen City weed its first night after thetest update.


    The lively atmosphere and cheers from the ongoing bonfire party in the central square drown out everything, filling everywhere with a festive, celebratory atmosphere.


    And finally, a certain neer thats been addicted to face-pinching this entire time finally decided to leave the character customization screen.


    Menghan! Look, look! Hows my character looks like?


    Finally, a graceful and lovely female yer appeared in the square.


    Username: Yuanjuan.


    She chuckled and twirled around a grumpy female druid half-lying on a bench, with a satisfied expression.


    Meng Zhihans eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of her best friends appearance.


    The light golden hair cascaded around her face, framing her light blue eyes and delicate features in a perfect harmony that evoked a strong sense of protectiveness from those who beheld her.


    Without a doubt, her friends appearance radiated an undeniable charm that can captivate all who saw her.


    However, when Meng Zhihans gaze moved onto her friends chest and thought back on RL, her mouth twitched involuntarily and she couldnt help but sneered:


    Hah, girl. It looks so unrealistic.


    Yuanjuan:


    Whats wrong with it? Its only a game and Im happy with it!


    A certain female newbie pouted.


    Then after speaking, she moved her body a bit and muttered softly:


    So it turns out that it really feels heavier when you get older


    Meng Zhihan:


    She sighed, checked the system clock, and retorted:


    Sister, it took you eight hours just to make it heavier. If this game didnt have mind eleration features, I would have logged out already.


    Eight hours?! Has it been that long?


    Su Yuan, no, Yuanjuan widened her eyes in surprise.


    WeirdI feel like I havent face-pinched for that long. If anything, I can only say that the character customization in this game is too fun and realistic.


    Meng Zhihan:


    <em>Its hopeless.</em>


    <em>I shouldnt have logged into the game before her, knowing that this girl is obsessed with appearances!</em>


    Su Yuan smiled somewhat embarrassingly and quickly apologized to her friend.


    Honestly although she hadnt officially started ying the game yet, the initial character creation and customization menu had already hooked her on.


    Just based on the character design and the extremely detailed customization system alone, it easily surpassed any other games she had yed before!


    Not to mention she was willing to continue ying just because of the cute appearance she had painstakingly created in the game!


    <em>Even if its just in the game, who doesnt want to be a beautiful little fairy? </em>


    However, Su Yuan also noticed that after her friend saw her appearance, although there was indeed a hint of amazement in her eyes, overall, there didnt seem to be as much of an impact as she initially expected.


    You dont seemed very impressed? I scored 99 points in character customization ratings, you know! The system even rated me as the top in the entire server!


    Su Yuan said in confusion.


    Meng Zhihan nced at her and said, Didnt you encounter the goddess when you chose your job ss? Would you still consider yourself beautiful after seeing that NPC, huh?


    The Goddess? Su Yuan was slightly stunned, then remembered the scene when she first logged in and created her character.


    At that time, it seemed like she heard a very pleasant female voice, and she was wondering who was the voice actor doing the voice-over.


    But at that time, her mind was all focused on her newly customized appearance, and she didnt pay much attention to anything else.


    Moreover, her old friend kept urging her to hurry up too, so she hastily chose a mage jobss and entered right after


    U-Uh, you see, I didnt paid much attention


    Meng Zhihan:


    She shook her head incredulously and casually found a screenshot of the goddess from her collection before sending it to her friend:


    Here, this is the peak of beauty in this game, youre still a bit offpared to her.


    Su Yuan curiously epted the file and opened it


    Then, Meng Zhihan noticed that the other partys eyes were almost visibly brightening at an astonishing speed.


    At this moment, she suddenly remembered that her friends love for idol nurturing games was simply because she enjoyed appreciating the various beautiful appearances of her beloved characters


    After all, this was someone who was obsessed with appearance to the core, and even liked collecting various cute dolls in real life, with a shelf full of SD dolls at home.


    Wow Is this an NPC in this game? She looks so beautiful! Where is she? I want to take a photo with her!


    Meng Zhihan:


    If youre looking for the goddess, you can go take a photo with her statue in the temple.


    Su Yuan:


    <strong></strong>  Im not really sure about this one but it might be referring to the Chinese meme, Jingzesw.


    <strong>RL</strong>  Abbreviation for Real Life or Reality.


    <strong>335</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>HAH GIRL </strong> <hr><hr>

 Chapter 336

    Chapter 336


    Chosen City, Central Temple.


    yers streamed in and out of the temple, with their presence subtly stirring the peace and solemnity of the sacred grounds.


    At the center of the temple stood a towering statue of a goddess. Carved with delicate precision, her effigy radiated an aura of divine beauty, silently beckoning those who entered the premises to pause and marvel upon it.


    Whilst bowing their heads with reverence the yers approach the statue, their whispered prayers filling the air with a touch of devotion.


    The majority of them are seasoned yers, each adorned with a distinct expression; some radiated excitement, while others exuded mncholy, anxiety, or anticipation


    Yuanjuan arrived here while being apanied by Meng Zhihan, with the former surveying everything in the vicinity with curious eyes.


    In this game, the temple is a ce that we the yers frequently used.


    This is thergest temple in the Chosen City. Typically, it serves as a hub for essing the exchange store or switching your jobss at level 11. Simply offer your prayers before the statue of the goddess Eve.


    Of course, you can also choose to pray directly while facing the World Tree outside, but we veteran yers believe that facing the goddess statue directly will give us a higher chance of sess in the lottery draws, although there is no concrete evidence to support this ims


    While standing beside her best friend, Meng Zhihan meticulously exined the temples core functions, articting each detail with care.


    In response, Yuanjuan simply nodded while listening, her eyes roving the temple with intrigue, and upon spotting the goddess statue at the center, her gaze swiftly became transfixed, as if drawn inexorably to its presence.


    After noticing her best friends sparkling eyes, Meng Zhihan showed a look of understanding and wryly said,


    That is the statue of the goddessshe is the most important NPC in the entire game and also our faction leader. Her actual name is Eve Yggdrasill.


    The huge World Tree outside is actually her real body, but she oftentimes appear in her humanoid incarnation form especially on cutscenes


    By the way, the goddesss incarnation sure is amazing. It feels like the devs spent half of their budget alone on creating the goddess character model. Ill let you see various recorded videos of her, as there are quite a few of them on the Inte.


    Youve seen the screenshot I sent you, but let me tell you, encountering the goddess incarnation in person is even more breathtaking. I cant quite exin it, but the video recordings of her always seemed tock that inherent sense of divinity she typically exudes


    Meng Zhihan showed a perplexed look before shrugging her shoulders.


    Its a really strange feeling, but youll understand what I mean if you somehow got lucky enough to meet her in person one day.


    Anyway, the main storyline of ElvKing is to assist the goddess, mainly by helping her regain her strength and rebuild the former glory of the elven civilization.


    Upon hearing this, Yuanjuans eyes sparkled with excitement. She turned her gaze towards the statue and eximed:


    So shes the leader of our faction? This character sure looks amazing, and that statue of hers really gives a very strange feeling too


    Yuanjuan knitted her brows and slightly tilted her head.


    I cant describe it, but it just feels veryforting to look at, like its really exuding a profound sense of holiness itspletely different from the screenshots you showed me just now.


    Then, a soft sigh escaped her lips.


    Ahh, I really want to take that statue home and disy it alongside my SD dolls!


    Meng Zhihan:


    Sister, that statues really important in this game you would have definitely been chased off by the NPCs if you tried moving it from its ce


    But if youre really interested, you can just go search online. There are quite a few figurines of the goddess being sold on various emerce sites Sadly, most of them can only replicate one-third of the goddesss charm.


    Meng Zhihan said.


    Is that so?


    Yuanjuans eyes lit up.


    Oh, you said there are videos, right? Wheres the link? Let me see! Lemme see!


    Seeing her best friends excited expression, reminiscent of a fan encountering their idol, Meng Zhihan sported a figurative sweat drop upon her face.


    <em>Sure enough, after seeing the goddess, this persons obsession with beauty and collecting dolls has red up again </em>


    <em>Thus, the Goddess had gained yet another hardcore fan.</em>


    <em>Well, theres no denying it; its purely because the visual depiction of the goddess is just wlessly perfect.</em>


    <em>Moreover, I even heard that in some adjacent 2D-centric forums, a group of diehard otakus engaged in verbal battles among each other to determine who the most moe character was, and the Goddess always yed herpetition and was crowned as t</em>he champion.


    Sighing softly, Meng Zhihan roughly selected a few of her favorite videos and sent them over.


    Without hesitation, Yuanjuan eagerly clicked to watch them.


    A few momentster


    Yuanjuan closed the built-in system web browser and gazed at the statue in the temple, with her eyes sparkling like stars.


    The Goddess Ev is so amazing, and the way the cinematic battle are shown in these videos are so awesome! Plus her voice is soo really nice too!


    Although its just as you said, these recordings dont really capture much of the Goddesss actual holiness


    In any case, Ive decided, Im gonna be a fan of Little Ev from now on!


    <em>L-Little Little Ev? </em>


    The corner of Meng Zhihans mouth twitched involuntarily.


    Hey, dont try to call the goddess like that in front of any NPCs, since almost all of them have a lot of respect for her. Youll definitely lose favorability if they hear it.


    Favorability? Oh, you mean like a likeness parameter? Would the NPCs really dislike me over something like this? Are the NPCs in this game really that smart?


    A flicker of surprise crossed Yuanjuans face.


    What do you think? This game is highly acimed for its sheer realism to the extent that some are even having conspiracy theories suggesting its actually transporting people to another world for a reason.


    Meng Zhihan retorted, giving her friend a sidelong nce.


    Yuanjuan chuckled upon hearing this and then observed the goddess statue once again, whilst deep in thought.


    Come to think of it why does the name Ev Yggdrasill sound so familiar? Plus, when I look more closely at the goddesss design, I had this feeling like Ive already seen her somewhere before


    Really? Maybe youvee across it on the inte. ElvKing is so popr nowadays, and the goddess is also quite well-known online. Theres even a dedicated fandom for her, along with quite a few memes and chat emotes depicting her as well.


    Meng Zhihan exined.


    Oh I seethats right! Its the emotes!


    Suddenly realizing something, Yuanjuan pped her forehead and quickly opened an app on the system browser, then pulled up a set of cute goddess-themed chat emotes after searching.


    It was a set of adorable goddess emotes, with all sorts of cute chibi depictions of her, like the goddess smiling, being angry, cheering, and all other sorts of cute expressions.


    This is it!


    She took a screenshot and sent it over to Meng Zhihan.


    Meng Zhihan took a look and smiled.


    Thats indeed the goddess! Actually, this chibi version is also used here in the game! Sometimes, when youplete a quest, you can see the chibi version of the goddess cheering on the system interface. Its super cute.


    Right? Its super cute! I fell in love with this set of chat emotes at first sight. Sigh, I didnt expect them to actually originate from here!


    Yuanjuan nodded repeatedly.


    After that, she stretchedzily, took a deep breath, and said cheerfully, Ive decided, from now on, Ill apany you to y this game if I have free time! Youre right, Menghan, this games really quite fun!


    <em>Hey hey hey!</em>


    <em>I still havent introduced you to the core gamey features of this game yet, and only introduced you to the goddess so far!</em>


    <em>Sigh, as expected of a hardcore beauty-aesthetic otaku!</em>


    Watching her overly enthusiastic best friend geek out like that, Meng Zhihan couldnt help but feel a blend of amusement and exasperation.


    Meanwhile, Yuanjuan continued her wander around the temple, asionally extending her hand to touch various surfaces or objects such as tables, whilst sighing softly as she did so.


    Seriously the touch sensation of this game is so great! I really cant imagine that were still in a virtual game at all Plus, the interior structure of this temple is also amazing.


    Of course, ElvKing being hailed as practically having a second life isnt just for show! And this temple took a lot of effort from us veteran yers to build!


    A subtle proud grin yed at the corners of Meng Zhihans lips.


    Hearing her words, Yuanjuan marily paused, looking somewhat surprised.


    You guys actually built this temple?


    Yes, or more urately, the entire Chosen City was built by us yers, from scratch, brick by brick.


    <em>T-TheThe entire city!?</em>


    Yuanjuan was left utterly stunned.


    She swallowed hard, then suddenly turned around and walked towards the entrance of the temple.


    Furrowing her brow, Meng Zhihan trailed behind, her expression showing a little bit of confusion.


    Yuanjuan walked straight out of the temple with her footsteps echoing against the stone floor, until she emerged onto the bustling za outside.


    The ongoing bonfire party was nearing its end, and aside from a few asional nocturnal yers loitering about, the majority had already exhausted their stamina and had gone to sleep.


    Yuanjuan looked around and spotted an elevated tform in the center of the square.


    It was where the yers usually held events.


    Without hesitation, she walked over and climbed onto the tform, then looked around her surroundings


    The entirety of Chosen Cityy sprawled before her, its grandeur overwhelming her with inexplicable sensations as she stood there in silent admiration.


    Under the natural lights, the entire ce shimmered in a hazy glow, casting a breathtakingly beautiful ambiance over the city expanse.


    Amidst the eclectic sprawl of architectural styles, lush gardens, and a myriad of twinkling lights shimmering inside each structure, the Chosen City appeared even more surreal under the cloak of nightfallpared to its daytime appearance.


    Is this all built by the yers themselves? My god, is this really just an MMORPG game?


    Yuanjuans eyes widened in shock, and without restraint, she inadvertently slip out a curse word.


    <strong>336</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>IS THIS REALLY JUST</strong><strong>AN MMORPG GAME? </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 337

    Chapter 337


    Yuanjuans impression of these so-called MMORPG games is that it usually involved ying a user created character and constantly doing quests on and on while endlessly battling monsters just to level up and acquire better equipment.


    Since MMOs in general cater more to arge yer demographic, their storylines and depth of NPC characters are typically rudimentary and somewhat crude for her liking.


    Thus, she developed an aversion to these types of games.


    As for its high degree of freedom, no matter how great a game Elven Kingdom is, in the end, its still an MMO and couldnt excel at everything, right?


    Yet, as she gradually learned more and more about this game, she realized she had been truly naive and prejudiced about her own biases.


    Clearly, this wasnt just a simple MMO game but rather, it was more of a simtion of the real world thats just masquerading itself under the pretext of an MMO game!


    Cities constructed by the yers themselves, furthermore, its main storyline isnt fixed and often also incorporates yers into its major plots, thereby allowing anyone to also be significant characters as well within the ever expanding lore of the game


    In addition, some NPCs were reportedly capable of being educated and sometimes even retained what they learned, applying it to their daily lives!


    Not to mention the replication of the five senses and gravity that felt so incredibly authentic that it leaves yers questioning whether theyre truly immersed in a virtual world or experiencing reality itself!


    <em>No wonder this game is so popr</em>


    At first, Yuanjuan just thought everyone must be ying this game mainly for the mind eleration benefits.


    After all, having ones time increased four times inside the game equated to extending ones life in a different sense, especially with the added perk of being able to surf the inte within the game!


    Just that mere fact alone lets anyone binge-watch shows more easily and indulge in countless other activities without the constraints of real-world time limitations.


    With these features, how can one still insist on using the inte in real life like some bored-to-death college student, the kind who stays holed up in their dorm all day and were toozy to even go downstairs for a meal and opts for food delivery, when they can just pop inside the game instead?


    However, when Yuanjuan delved further into the intricacies of Elven Kingdom, she finally understood that even without the mind eleration features, this game would still be a colossal hit!


    To quote a well-known streamer, Xiao Mu, who is one of the seasoned yers of the game<em>Elven Kingdom wasnt merely a game; it was a new world, a second life!</em>


    Of course, what attracted Yuanjuan the most were the meticulously detailed beautiful NPC characters, especially their faction leader, the goddess Ev.


    And as she kept chatting with her friend about Elven Kingdom and its various game mechanics all through the night, Yuanjuan found herself fully hooked on this virtual masterpiece of a game.


    <em>To hell with Dream Idol!</em>


    After seeing the incredibly realistic NPCs within Elven Kingdom, she could no longer tolerate the crude character models and game engines of her previous games!


    She now firmly believes that Elven Kingdom could better satisfy her interests, enabling her to engage in more immersive activities like managing businesses or building rtionships with and nurturing NPCs like never before


    The games emphasis on freedom and immersion makes it perfectly suited for such kind of gamey, and undoubtedly, Elven Kingdom meets all these conditions.


    Thus, with astonishment and admiration, Su Yuan was sessfully dragged down into the deep rabbit hole of Elven Kingdom by her best friend.


    <em>A critically acimed masterpiece! </em>


    Of course, Yuanjuan was not the only one left shocked on the first day of the fourth beta test as most of the neers shared the same sentiment as well.


    Although Elven Kingdom had been in closed beta for several months in the real world, within the game itself, seasoned yers all the way back to the first-beta had already spent almost a year immersed in this virtual world.


    As such, extensive information and video content regarding the game had been uploaded and spread widely across the inte by now.


    Nhelesssimply learning about the game from these various third-party materials beforehand offered apletely different experience than actually ying the game firsthand.


    And many things inside the game couldnt be properly conveyed until one has truly entered the game


    It feels so real,


    An epic masterpiece,


    Extremely high degree of freedom,


    Its just like another world,


    Super intelligent NPCs,


    Character modeling that outshines all other virtual games,


    For a moment, a sea of praises for Elven Kingdom flooded the inte.


    If there was anything toin about, it was that the map was just toorge, and running through it without the aid of teleportation was likely to break ones legs.


    Just imagining doing a quest, wherein one might have to run through the forest in the game for hours seems entirely too brutal.


    Fortunately, the developers allowed yers to ess the inte while ying, and the breathtakingndscape of the game can also serves as a wee distraction; otherwise, perhaps no one could endure such a boring ordeal.


    Moreover


    <em>When will the open beta be released to the public?! </em>


    (


    Of course, theseints mainly originate from those poor individuals who eagerly registered but, s, were not selected for the fourth beta.


    However, only Ev herself knew that when it came to selecting participants for the closed beta, there was no luck involved.


    In actuality, the whole selection process was just her sending out invitation codes one by one based on the criteria of each applicants online gaming time and their gamer proficiency.


    Essentially, only those with the potential to be efficient tools had the chance to catch her eye.


    As for those who were just joining in for fun or had some ulterior motives, these people probably wouldnt have been selected at all, even if there were another eight hundred rounds of closed beta tests.


    After all, it requires 0.003 divine power for her to create an avatar!


    Although her current divine power capacity was now quite abundant, she still had to be frugal or else she might deplete it too quickly if she got careless with its usage.


    Overall, Ev was quite satisfied with the results of the fourth beta test.


    The arrival of fifty thousand neers instantly brought a bustling activity to the Elven Forest.


    Additionally, due to her increased strength, the mana in the core area of the Elven Forest became much more abundant.


    It resulted in many magical beasts lingering within the peripheral area, to be gradually attracted, thereby filling the gap created by the overhunting tendencies of the previous closed beta yers.


    Of course, as the mana capacity of the entire Elven Forest increased, a considerable number of ordinary beasts also evolved into magical beasts.


    Moreover, under the influence of Divinity of Life, the strength and reproductive ability of these magical beasts were also significantly enhanced


    With these various effects in y, the number of magical beasts in the Elven Forest seemed to achieve a temporary bnce with the rate of consumption of the yers.


    At least in the short term, the fourth beta yers wouldnt encounter any leveling issues due to the shortage of mobs to hunt.


    But then again, even if the monster poption decreased once more, the yers could still do some tasks assigned by Ev, as well as venture into the underground dungeon where shadow monsters constantly spawn.


    Of course, in the long run, there still needed to be a stable source of experience for new yers.


    Veteran yers could obtain lots of experience through quests and such, but these new yers definitely needed more proper arrangements.


    <em>Nheless, this matter isnt that urgent. I can just make a mental note of it first and look for opportunities to perfect itter.</em>


    Thinking about her future ns, Ev couldnt help but sigh softly.


    There was just so much to do!


    Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly so far.


    Meanwhile, her other arrangements was also proceeding smoothly


    After the implementation of the recent update, all veteran yers were surprised to find a new barrier around the Chosen City.


    Nothing seemed different from the inside.


    But if one were to step outside, they would find that the entire Chosen City, along with the World Tree, hadpletely disappeared from view.


    No, it didnt actually disappear per se, but rather was sent to some kind of altered isted space, essible only by calling out the goddesss true name.


    The veteran yers quickly became curious about this changes and received relevant exnations by checking the games recent update logs.


    In general, this was implemented to protect the real identity of the Goddess and the Chosen Ones.


    In the devs exnation, it was stated that they decided to separate the existence of the World Tree and the Chosen City from the Elven Forest and relocate it to an isted dimensional space.


    The World Tree and the Chosen City are now located within this secured space, essible only to yers and believers of the goddess, as well as those who know the goddesss true name and have gained her approval.


    After the barrier is put into ce, any outside party will never be able to find the Chosen City, nor see the real body of the World Tree, and will only see a withered fake World Tree in its ce instead.


    The Chosen City would be a ce akin to Avalon from the legends of King Arthur or the Garden of Eden described in the Christian Bible.


    Of course, the real reason was just for Ev to conceal her true identity.


    Meanwhile, in the supreme temple of nature on the World Tree, Li Mu, who had returned from the Maple Leaf Territory via self-inflicted death and had just respawned, was having another conversation with the Saintess, Alice.


    The verse of the prayer will now be changed? And whats more, the Goddess will now be referred to as the Goddess of Life in the future?


    Observing the devout expression etched onto Alices face, Li Mu found himself somewhat surprised.


    <em>ThisWhat kind of plot twist is this?</em>


    <strong>337</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>WHAT KIND OF PLOT TWIST IS THIS? </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 338

    Chapter 338


    Yes, under the orders of the Divine Matriarch, she will reduce the significance of her other titles and shall be primarily known as the Goddess of Life from now on. In addition she will revise the Holy Codex of Nature and lessen the traces of the World Tree.


    Alice said with a reverent expression while observing Li Mus bewildered face.


    <em>Lessen the traces of the World Tree?</em>


    Upon hearing her exnation, a thought stirred within Li Mus mind, as he recalled the various tasks he undertook while performing the Oakhand Questline


    <em>Could these radical changes somehow be rted to the next plot of the main questline?</em>


    Li Mus heart raced with excitement at the thought of triggering the main questline once again.


    He had grounds for this belief because after having spent a considerable time ying the game, Li Mu had gained a deeper understanding of the mechanics behind the Elven Kingdoms questline system.


    Simply put, unlike other online games, the storyline of this game didnt seem entirely pre-designed but was instead procedurally generated and integrated along with the yers overall progression of the games overarching narrative.


    This became evident as yers werent merely participants in the plot but also its main catalysts, given that almost every questline was initiated by a fortunate yer


    It was for this reason that Elven Kingdom instilled a strong sense of immersion and realism within yers, cultivating arge number of loyal fans in just a few months after itsunch.


    Moreover, all the main questlines in the game so far were somehow connected to the Goddess, as her actions oftentimes is the inception of another major quest.


    <em>Main storyline quests! </em>


    <em>Could it be that he was about to hit the wall once again?</em>


    Li Mu suddenly felt a little excited.


    Hit the wall was a term ElvKing yers used in reference to the Chronicles of Elven Kingdom, which was also the highest honor among the yers.


    Unlike other games, Elven Kingdom had a unique feature called Chronicles, which served as the official canon recording of the overarching narrative plot of the game.


    Thisprehensive wall of text began with the appearance of the first batch of Chosen Ones from the very first beta-test, as it details the yers gradual development and the changes theyve made within the realm of Seiges in the form of chronicles


    The Chronicles epass all major events in which yers participated in, with the usernames of those who made remarkable contributions in these various events being immortalized for their achievements.


    At the start, the Chronicles didnt have such a high appeal amongst the yerbase.


    But as the poprity of Elven Kingdom grew more and more back on Earth, numerous fan circles also gradually emerged one after another, generating a plethora of fan works of various kinds, ranging from artwork and fan fiction to musicpositions and cosy and all other products


    Eventually, the initially ignored Chronicles slowly evolved into a guiding framework, akin to a official historical document, in which provided the foundation for these fan-made creations.


    Someizens even joked that in a few years, the Chronicles could potentiallypletely turn into a Western fantasy novel.


    Of course, the prerequisite was to ignore all the quirky and weird sounding usernames the yers had


    Who wouldnt want to be famous among yers while ying a game?


    Moreover, being included in the Chronicles alsoes with corresponding rewards, and NPCs also look upon those mentioned in it with much greater respect.


    And who knows, maybe one day they might even unexpectedly hear their username being talked about by an NPC.


    That feelingwould be quite satisfying.


    Of course, what the yers didnt know was that Ev had also included the Chronicles feature in the task system for her believers.


    In particr, any natives bestowed with the task system could also ess as well as read the Chronicles and naturally would hold a more special regard for those Chosen Ones who were written into it.


    Given the fame and benefits of hitting the wall, yers will naturally find themselves more motivated than ever to trigger the main and hidden questline.


    With these thoughts in mind, Li Mu began to specte on the possible content of the next main questline.


    The altered verse of the prayer, along with the new honorific title, and now the lessened significance of the World Tree


    <em>Could it be?</em>


    <em>Did the Goddess perhaps intend to adopt a new identity and make a formal appearance in the world of Seiges?</em>


    <em>Will their faction finally make its official public debut?</em>


    The fact that the Goddess is still hiding her true identity is well known amongst the yers.


    After all, the games lore is quite clear about it:


    <em>The Goddess was previously besieged by the gods and it led to her downfall. Although she has now been resurrected, she is still widely regarded publicly as an enemy of the world</em>


    And the most obvious aspect of ElvKings storyline to put it bluntly, is to fight against the gods and help the Goddess in regaining her strength, and restore the former glory of the Elven race.


    In the early stages of the game, it was only natural for their faction to be weak and cautious about revealing themselves to the public


    But now, it seems like their factions strategy of hiding itself is finally going to shift?


    For a moment, Li Mu felt a new understanding blossoming within him


    Thats because the storyline of this game is truly driven by the yers and NPCs, rather than being pre-set by the developers.


    At most, the devs will only provide the framework, and all the developments are based on the changes that yers make in the game.


    This is what true virtual gaming is all about!


    Compared to other games with rigid and fixed storylines, Elven Kingdom offers much more immersion.


    Sighing inwardly, Li Mu looked at Alice and asked solemnly:


    Sowhat exactly do you need me for Miss Alice?


    Seeing Li Mus serious expression, Alice felt very satisfied.


    She nodded to herself and beamed.


    Lord Li Mu, your reputation amongst the Chosen Ones is very high. I wish to task you with guiding your fellow Chosen Ones in modifying the temples across different locations. This involves recing the symbols of the World Tree with the Scepter of Life, and renaming the temple of Nature to Temples of Life


    Not only that, the honorific titles under the Divine Matriarch also needs to be updated. Additionally I would like you to select a group of Chosen Ones to assist us inpiling the Holy Codex of Life


    As soon as she finished speaking, a task prompt appeared in front of Li Mu.


    You were given the Task: <strong>Goddess of Life</strong>


    <strong>Task objectives</strong>: Modify all the temples within the Chosen City, Florence, Rivendell, ck Dragon Castle and assist in writing the new Holy Codex of Life


    <strong>Task requirements</strong>: The modified temples should maintain its solemnity while distinguishing themselves from the old Temples of Nature, and should embody the three major Divinities of Life, Nature, and Elvenkind


    <strong>Task requirement No. 2:</strong> The content of the new Holy Codex will be rated by the system, with a maximum score of 100 points, and this score will be directly linked to the task rewards


    <strong>Task time limit</strong>: Unlimited


    <strong>Allowed Number of participants</strong>: Unlimited


    <strong>Task level requirements</strong>: None


    <strong>Task rewards</strong>: Experience points (up to 30,000), Contribution points (up to 5,000), Lucky Lottery Tickets (up to 10)


    <em>Damn! </em>


    <em>These rewards are quite generous! </em>


    <em>But the content of this task is quite peculiar as well, as it even involveswriting a book?</em>


    Li Mus expression showed a hint of bewilderment.


    How about it? Can you handle it?


    Alice looked at Li Mus subtly nuanced expression and tilted her head slightly.


    Of course! I guarantee toplete this task!


    Li Mu subconsciously stood at attention and saluted.


    <em>An important task! </em>


    <em>Lets ept it first! </em>


    And this task can also expand the influence of his guild, Heart of Nature!


    Without hesitation, Li Mu selected to ept the task on the interface prompt. At the same time, relevant system announcements floated across the interfaces of all yers once again.


    Then Ill leave it to you.


    Alice drew a symbol of the Scepter of Life on her chest.


    May the Goddess be with you.


    May the Goddess be with you!


    Li Mu likewise imitated the new gesture as he replied.


    After receiving the task, Li Mu hurriedly left.


    His chat channel was already being flooded with various private messages.


    As she watched his departing figure, Alice muttered to herself with some confusion:


    Although I understand why Her Majesty wants to change her honorific title, why does she need the involvement of the Chosen Ones in writing the new holy codex?


    She distinctly remembered that these Chosen Ones although loyal to the Goddess, doesnt particrly believe in their religious faith


    <em>Can they really understand the teachings of the Goddess?</em>


    After thinking for a while, Alice still couldnt figure it out and eventually just gave up.


    Perhaps Her Majesty has her own considerations.


    Her Majesty is so wise and great; her decisions must have a deeper meanings. I still have a long way to go in my path as a Saint since Im still unable to fullyprehend Her Majestys intentions


    <strong>338</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>IS THE GODDESS CHANGING HER IDENTITY?</strong>  <hr><hr>


    <strong>TL Note</strong> : Sorry for not updating these past few days, got too addicted ying stardew valley, gonna release more chapters within the next hours. <hr>

 Chapter 339

    Chapter 339


    <em>Why does she want the yers to participate in rewriting the new holy book?</em>


    Well, there are actually several reasons for this.


    In fact, the Holy Codex is simr to the Bible of a certain religion back on earth.


    The holy scriptures of various faiths in Seiges document the true history of their respective Patron Deities, and while there may be some exaggeration and embellishment, theyrgely depict real events that transpired in the realm of the divine, providing invaluable insights into the mythology and religious culture of Seiges.


    These scriptures are not only used by the gods to promote their faith but also to spread their ideologies, serving as effective tools for preaching.


    The old Natures Codex of her predecessor mirrored this, with approximately four-fifths of its extensive volumes mostly dedicated to chronicling the illustrious history of the World Tree.


    However, when Ev thoroughly examined the content of the Natures Holy Codex, she found out that its writing style were somewhat crude and quite rough


    Well, it couldnt be helped since her predecessor didnt really ce much importance on spreading her own faith.


    In fact, most of her predecessors believers just formed a loosely organized religious group, and the Natures Codex was simply written by the believers themselves.


    With a loosely structured church and their Patron Deity herself not that interested in her own faith, the result was that the Holy Book they created was rudimentary and wasnt that effective in propagating their faith.


    Its more like a boring history book recording of the entire history of the World Tree


    Generally speaking, she can still somewhat use it, but when Ev decided to change her public persona, she also decided topletely rewrite the Natures Codex.


    With her donning a new public persona, everything must also be thoroughly rewritten to reflect her revised image and goals, and boundaries must be drawn between her and the old World Tree.


    However, at the same time, the native elves must still be able to ept the changes without feeling alienated or disconnected from their heritage.


    At this point, theres little the previous Codex can offer her, but theres much that needs to be rectified within its writings.


    At the very least, if Eve wants to use her new public persona as the Goddess of Life to spread her faith, she must first enhance the persuasiveness of her own Holy Book.


    And this is where the yerse in handy, since in her opinion, the task of rectifying the Natures Codex could be better handled by the yers instead.


    Sure, the elves may have longer lifespans, but to put it quite bluntlythey are rather simple-minded and didnt much excel in the art of fooliuh, evangelismpared to the yers, per se.


    Moreover, with them having ess to numerous simr Holy Books and knowledge from Earth, Ev firmly believes that the yers are better equipped to handle this task.


    Let the natives grasp the fundamental issues, and let the yers strategize on the side; with the twobining their knowledge its bound to yield good results.


    Of course, theoretically speaking, Ev could also do this herself.


    <em>But why should the leader perform tasks that the subordinates are capable of handling?</em>


    Even university mentors need graduate students to write their drafts.


    She just needs to oversee it and give a score in the end.


    Well, its definitely not because sheszy and finds it tedious or anything


    <em>Really. </em>


    The emergence of this new reconstruction task quickly caused a stir amongst the yerbase.


    As such, Li Mu quickly got in touch with Little Salty Cat and shared the task with Moe Moe Committee.


    The guilds, Heart of Nature and Moe Moe Committee, have always had a good rtionship, and the task of renovating all the temples is quiteprehensive, so its best left to Moe Moe, which is rather proficient with construction works.


    These guys, after all, have built over 80% of the buildings in the Chosen City, so its safe to say theyre all very experienced in this line of work.


    Although many of its members are currently busy building new residential areas to make money, they still managed to pull in some people to modify the temples.


    As for the task of writing the revised Natures Holy Codex, Li Mu gathered the major Guildmasters to brainstorm together.


    Initially, he had thought of monopolizing all these tasks and only letting the guild members of Heart of Nature handle them.


    But considering that revising their factions Holy Book might affect the overall interests of all the yers, doing so might provoke public outrage.


    After careful consideration, he eventually decided to share the cake with the rest of the guilds.


    In the future, all the major guilds will definitely need to cooperate with one another, especially during major battles.


    And with him being the most famous fieldmander on the whole server, Li Mu still has to consider the opinions of his other fellow Guildmasters.


    Of course, the lions share of the tasks still goes to Heart of Nature. They have the most number of participants, taking up almost half of the workload.


    s, once they delved into the task, they found it wasnt as simple as they had initially imagined


    The other reconstruction tasks might be pretty straightforward, but when ites to the task of rewriting the new Holy Book, they soon found out that its better not to take up porcin work without diamonds.


    Assigning tasks is one thing, but actually doing them is another thing altogether.


    Li Mu, along with a small group of college student yers, didnt take long to finish their preliminary draft of the revised Codex by applying the method they learned from university, which involved copying-and-pasting various content spliced from many already preexisting Holy Books from Earth.


    However, the system merely gave it an abysmal score of less than 30 points.


    <em>Not even a passing grade. </em>


    It was only then that they finally realized that this task wasnt easy at all, and it truly required them to write a decent holy scripture!


    Many yers who had the initial mentality of just going through the motions ended up giving up eventually one after another.


    Seeing that they couldnt haphazardly take on this task with a half-baked attitude, Li Mu and the other Guildmasters of various major guilds really thought about it and finally decided to publicly announce a recruitment notice within the entire server and even the inte back on earth.


    Specifically, they began looking for someone capable enough to handle the task of writing religious scriptures!


    Professional matters should be handled by professionals after all!


    In the core area of the Elven Forest, where yers often gather wood and materials.


    Here, two figures move with an effortless grace, engrossed in their tasks amid the tranquil surroundings.


    One of them is dressed as a druid and has gorgeous equipment, obviously a veteran yer, while the other appears to be a newbie, dressed in a shabby, low-level blue-ss mage outfit.


    Observing the pair from a distance, it was clear that thetter was leading the former, a female yer who had not yet reached level 11.


    They are none other than Meng Zhihan and her best friend Yuanjuan.


    At this moment, the two of them are chopping trees while chatting leisurely.


    Suddenly, as if the current topic of their conversation had sparked her interest, Yuanjuans eyes light up with excitement.


    She sets down her axe and asked eagerly:


    Revising the Holy Codex? Is it about the goddess Eve? And youre telling me the revised scriptures is going to be part of the main storyline?


    Yeah, and my Guildmaster is in charge of this whole ordeal. But unfortunately this task seems quiteplicated. I heard that they failed in their first attempt. They needed a score of 100, but the system only gave it 22 points. Now, hes reaching out to any yers who can help write the scriptures more properly.


    Meng Zhihan replied.


    Yuanjuans eyes lit up noticeably upon hearing her words.


    Is there a level restriction for this task?


    No.


    Meng Zhihan shook her head.


    Yuanjuans spirits further soared, and she asks expectantly.


    Hey, Menghan! Menghan! Do you think I could join? Im really interested in this! Helping the goddess write her Holy Book! If I do well, I should be able to get close to the goddess, right?


    Meng Zhihan:


    She rolled her eyes at her best friend and subtly twitches her mouth.


    Snap out of itthis task isnt easy. My Guildmaster mentioned in our group chat that only professionals are likely be able to handle it. And writing aprehensive holy book is quite troublesome, you know? God, who knows how long itll take


    Hehea professional, you say?


    Yuanjuan smirked, straightening her back.


    For something like this, can anyone be more professional than yours truly?


    Meng Zhihan paused and gave her friend a long sidelong nce.


    You?


    Meng Zhihan was about to say something when she suddenly remembered her best friends university major


    Speaking of which, although they grew up together, unlike her plebeian self, who only managed to get into an ordinary second-tier university, Yuanjuan, on the other hand, is a top student.


    Specifically, she is a top student at the Imperial University in the Capital.


    Moreover, her undergraduate major was in a rather obscure fieldphilosophy.


    But thats not all.


    This girl got into grad schoolst year, and the direction was


    Meng Zhihan widened her eyes.


    <em>Religious studies.</em>


    <strong>339</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>CAN ANYONE BE MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN YOURS TRULY</strong>?  <hr>


    <strong></strong>  This is a chinese saying wherein the general idea is to assess oneself before undertaking tasks. If ones abilities are limited, its best not to attempt things beyond ones capabilities<hr><hr>

 Chapter 340

    Chapter 340


    With the smoothunch of the fourth closed-beta, the new yers gradually became more familiar with the rhythm of Elven Kingdom.


    For these neers, Eve didnt directly grant them any strong powers at all and still had them start basically from level zero.


    Even though Eves divine power had be quite abundant by now, she still wanted these neers to naturally acquaint themselves with the rules of the Elven Forest and slowly integrate into it during this initial period of advancement from novice apprenticeship to Iron-rank.


    In a sense, the 0 -10 level range served as an preliminary test for these newly joined yers to test the waters, so to speak.


    Of course, with veteran yers sharing their game knowledge on the forums, such as the optimal way to reach Iron-rank, and the daily task system giving out more EXP points than before, the speed of advancement for these new yers ended up much fasterpared to the older beta testers.


    In just under a week, some neers have already advanced from apprentices to the low Iron-rank.


    Ev was quite satisfied with this.


    Nheless, due to the sudden expansion of so many yers, some minor issues inevitably arose.


    As the old saying goes, with the forest growing morerger andrger, all kinds of birds will naturally appear, so Ev wasnt really that much surprised to find many strange new yers this time around


    For example, some of the newbies ignored the reputation ratings and tried all kinds of deceitful schemes such as robbery, theft, abduction, and looting with the sole aim of acquiring their fifteen minutes of fame and bing somewhat of an ouw who broke the rules.


    Although the yers couldnt harm the NPCs with them having the systems protection, some set their sights on the possessions of the natives and veteran yers instead, resorting to burry and stealing any of the victims personal belongings they could get a hold of.


    Furthermore, some neers even showed no interest in leveling up at all but were instead entirely fascinated by the games realistic depiction of death.


    They avoided doing any tasks andmitted suicide in all sorts of ways and even started recording it into videos, bing content creators specializing in various ways of self-destructive acts


    Then there were those who discovered how intelligent the NPCs were and became highly enamored by the allure of the elves.


    They attempted to flirt with any NPCs in the game and constantly thinking about how to woo them over, thereby turning an MMORPG game into a visual novel love simtor-esque experience


    In addition, there were even those who simply wanted to cause trouble, such as malicious arsonists or those who simply enjoyed destroying things like the structures and establishments the veteran yers built within the Chosen City


    Compared to them, the much older troublemakers like Tomato and Demacia appeared almost excessively kind and too cute.


    To sum it all up, all sorts of weird situations and all kinds of oddballs emerged one after another, causing Ev some bit of a headache.


    Of course, in the end, all of thismotion was just a minor inconvenience.


    For her, all these troublemakers were nothing more than clowns simply wanting to have a taste of her ban hammer.


    Moreover, Ev was already well prepared for these kinds of incidents when she decided to expand the avable slots for the 4th beta.


    For those persistent troublemakers and repeat offenders, warnings, punishments, and even bans were immediately imposed upon based on how severe their infractions were.


    In fact, continuously opening up closed betas and recruiting new yers was also a continuous process of screening individuals that may match her preference as suitable tools.


    And those who didnt align with her preferences would naturally face her judgment.


    In any case, the most heinous of these troublemakers had already been dealt with harshly by the veteran yers themselves way before Eve could even intervene.


    For example, the neer who maliciously damaged buildings and set fires everywhere in Chosen City was targeted by the elite members of Moe Moe Committee and was blocked from entering the city at the respawn point


    And those newbies who attempted to deceive any natives were angrily captured and tied to a pole by members of Heart of Nature, then paraded all around to publicly shame them.


    Of course, after that, Ev naturally didnt forget those excessively troublesome yers and subjected them to the wrath of the game masters ban hammer.


    The reason for the bans was pretty straightforward:


    <em>Reported by other yers.</em>


    And thus, Ev unexpectedly banned over two hundred yers just within the span of a week after theunch of the 4th beta.


    This quantity far exceeded the number of yers Ev had punished in the previous three closed betas.


    Of course, at this moment, Ev no longer fretted about the shortage of potential manpower anymore, and those troublemaking newbies were ultimately just a minority among the entire yerbase, unable to significantly impact the overall state of the game.


    The veteran yers from the previous three closed betas evolved into unofficial moderators under Evs guidance, upholding the rules of the Elven Forest and willingly sacrificing themselves for Eve without hesitation, just as long as they received adequate rewards and increased their reputation.


    As for the avatars left behind by those yers who were permanently banned, Ev reimed them all and reverted their looks back to the base configuration to serve as backup bodies for potential yers in the future, thereby saving some divine power for herself.


    Even with the removal of these troublemakers and the yers who had quit the game for various reasons in the past few months, the total concurrent users still remained at above sixty thousand.


    However, the gradual increase of these weird and troublesome yers also made Ev realized once again that even if her divine power is sufficient enough, shifting the game into open-beta for the wider public would still be a serious matter requiring thorough consideration.


    Otherwise, a sudden influx ofrge number of uncontroble individuals could greatly undermine all that she had done so far.


    Ultimately, it was still necessary to proceed cautiously and steadily expand the yer base ording to her actual needs rather than rushing into open-beta prematurely.


    As it stands, the neers are gradually getting the hang of things, and the renovation of the church is progressing in an orderly manner.


    Even the revision of the new Holy Book, ording to reports from Alice during her prayers, had be much smoother after recruiting some neers for the task.


    Ev had anticipated this since she deliberately chose some individuals with special backgrounds when she was screening applicants for the fourth beta.


    For example, those who studied religious studies, or those who had simr writing experience, or were self-media personalities back on Earth


    Its also worth mentioning that even Demacia, this bold-eyed rascal, had enthusiastically joined the group thats rewriting the new Holy Codex of Life.


    However, considering that this punk could masterfully orchestrate sessful pyramid schemes and could easily deceive both dwarfs and humans, Ev thought his involvement might actually yield some surprising results


    In summary, the development within the Elven Forest was going well, and the yers strength was steadily increasing.


    The Chosen City had once more entered a period of rapid development, with new buildings being erected on the outskirts almost every day.


    In this regard, Ev is even considering whether to collect a contribution tax for opening up newnds.


    Speaking of which, the situation outside the Elven Forest is somewhat delicate.


    As the mercenary group assigned to track down the ck Dragon had not yet returned, and with over five thousand members vanishing without a trace, their fate unknown, this matter gradually caused panic throughout the Maple Leaf Territory.


    However, what was strange was that Otto von Cappadocia, the Borderlord of the Maple Leaf Territory, hadnte forward to exin anything.


    However, the entire Maple Leaf Territory appeared to have entered a state thats akin to martialw. Even the veteran yers who remained active in Maple Leaf City sensed the citys unusual atmosphere, with all the guards appearing serious and the number of patrols multiplying several times over.


    Ev understood their situation quite well.


    Perhaps the disappearance of his backer, the Ancient Dragon of Despair Nidhogg, has thoroughly frightened this human count


    However, for now, Ev had no intention of capitalizing on this chance and causing trouble for him.


    For her, this border count was just a minor character worth noting about.


    What truly mattered to her was the empire behind him and Etriu, the Patron Deity of this human empire.


    Having temporarily secured her factions external situation and with its internal development gradually progressing as nned, Ev finally remembered the primordial elf Thranduil, whom she had long forgotten about.


    <strong>340</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>WITH A LARGER FOREST, ALL KIND OF BIRDS WILL NATURALLY APPEAR</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 341

    Chapter 341


    I wonder how Thranduil is doing now?


    Eves thoughts drifted to the first primordial elf she had created herself.


    Although she had created several new primordial elves over the past few months, the significance of the royal elven bloodline was embodied in only the first one.


    Additionally, only Thranduil was entrusted to be educated by both the yers and the natives.


    Lets see what hes up to.


    With this thought in mind, Eves consciousness sank into her Divine Kingdom and began searching for the representation of Thranduils star within the celestial skies of her faithwork.


    Every yer and believer had their own respective star upon Eves celestial skies above her Divine Kingdom, but the distinction between the two was that the believers stars were colored green, while the yers were blue.


    Ev quickly found the star corresponding to Thranduil and discreetly focused her divine sense towards it


    As her visual perspective shifted, the scene unfolded before her eyes, revealing the whereabouts of this particr primordial elf in an instant.


    Looking around her surroundings, it seemed that Thranduil was currently in Chosen City.


    At the same time, a soft and melodious voice reverberated within Eves ears. The voice carried a gentle, deep, maic, and subtly seductive tone, as if beckoning its listeners into a dream, wherein every word dripped with allure and mystery.


    Fair maiden, you are like dew-kissed petals, filling this room with sweet fragranceyou are akin to the rainbow arching across the azure heavens, bestowing tranquility and purpose upon my weary soul.


    In the vast cosmic expanse, amidst the countless tapestry of stars and myriad maidens, there exists naught but one moon, and that is you, my beloved who is special within this world


    Eve: .


    <em>What the heck?</em>


    Expanding her field of vision, Ev finally gained an overall view of Thranduils situation, observing the details of his surroundings and the people he was interacting with.


    In particr, she saw this primordial elf d in a refined and dashing butlers attire, as his features lit up with a smile while he cradled a female elf in his arms.


    One of his hands embraced her waist, whilst the other held a flower simr to a rose, as Thranduil gently nibbled and whispered sweet nothings into the girls ear.


    Despite the fact that the words being spoken would normally sound awkward and cringe inducing, with Thranduils handsome appearance and graceful, practiced gestures, they appeared utterly natural and captivating instead.


    The female elfs face flushed red like an apple, as her head spun around with wisps of steam seemingly rising atop her head, while the irises of the girls misty eyes glimmered with heart-shaped reflections.


    If one were to ignore the green username hovering above the girls head, along with the sizable crowd of female yers watching and their apanying screams, this scene might indeed appear to involve a romantic escapade between lovers.


    Eve:


    <em>W-Whats going on?</em>


    Then, Ev saw all the female yers watching squealing as they began pushing away the female yer in Thranduils arms, while their shouts of Im next! No, Im next! and Its my turn! echoed through the air.


    Meanwhile, the female yer who was pushed away quickly recovered from her infatuated state, blushing as she patted her chest and began murmuring to herself:


    N-No its too lethal hes way too charming


    Ev then turned her attention back to Thranduil and noticed a new female yer squeezing into his arms.


    The female yer subsequently took out a pair of epic purple-ss shoes and handed them to the two elven loli girls standing on the other side.


    The two lolis then sweetly said to the female yer,


    Thank you, big sister!


    Ev:


    If she remembered it correctly, these two little girls seemed to be Als younger sisters.


    Her eyes followed the two girls as they walked and ced the shoes they had been given towards a huge pile of equipment, then grabbed something to nibble on at a table full of fruits and pastries


    Observing the table more closely, it had all sorts of foods, mostly sweets and confectioneries, but there was also some barbecued meat as well.


    Then she heard the female yer who had handed over the shoes look at Thranduil and said somewhat shyly:


    Um Id like to try roleying as a knight and princess, please


    As if on cue, Thranduils smile widened slightly as he gracefully knelt on one knee. He tenderly kissed the back of the girls hand and softly uttered,


    As you wish, my princess~


    Kyaa!


    Once again, the air filled with screams from the surrounding girls, as their eyes glued passionately upon the unfolding scene.


    Ev:


    After watching for a while, she finally knew what Thranduil was up to.


    <em>Why, this guy was actually acting as a gigolo, fulfilling the wild romantic fantasies of these female yers!</em>


    And in return, it looks like hes getting equipment and various supplies from them!


    For a moment, Ev felt a mixture of emotions, unsure whether to eitherugh or cry.


    <em>This guy </em>


    <em>How did hee up with this? </em>


    <em>Why does he need all this stuff for anyway</em>?


    She very well knew all along that Thranduils dashing appearance would inevitably attract a lot of attention from female yers, but she hadnt anticipated witnessing such a spectacle this time.


    And from the looks of it, this rascal was quite skilled at this, as if it wasnt his first rodeo and he had already often done these things beforehand


    Their role-ying sessionsted for quite a while, and by the time thest female yer was done, the two elven loli girls were already surrounded by various supplies.


    As thest female yer departed with a blush, Thranduil turned to the two lolis beside him, who were busy counting the supplies they had acquired for that day.


    With a smile, he remarked, You see? If you choose your words carefully, youll find a way to reap some huge rewards.


    These Chosen Ones arent as sophisticated as you guys think. Although they are the envoys of our Divine Matriarch, each of them also has their own respective weaknesses and desires


    We can befriend them without needing to lower our own status too much at the same time


    In the end, we are all just followers of Her Majesty, and theoretically speaking, our status is equal to that of the Chosen Ones.


    As you can see, we can take the initiative and cater appropriately to the desires of the Chosen Ones so that we too can also get what we want


    Especially with these female Chosen Ones, they are easily captivated just by being cute or improving your appearance to make yourself more outstanding, making it quite easy to capture their hearts and gain their favor


    You see, I just said a few words or made a few gestures, and these expensive items were in the palm of our hands. I didnt need to spend any contribution points nor issue any tasks at all.


    Thranduil then patted the heads of the two little girls.


    Of course, for you two, I think the male Chosen Ones might be easier targets to lure.


    Well, lets pack up this equipment and supplies, and deliver them to Florenceter on, um in my name. Although the Chosen Ones are powerful enough, we also need to build our own army, since we cant rely upon them for everything.


    You see, the downfall of our race in the past was partly due to our ancestors overreliance on the Legion of Nature of that time. The elves back then simply believed that the Legion could protect them all the time, leaving the overallbat power of each elf rtively weaker inparison.


    Anyway, lets set aside all these food for now. Im inviting a few Guildmasters of the Chosen Ones tonight for a barbecue party.


    Remember, its also necessary to cozy up with the top personnel of the Chosen Ones. If handled properly, these key individuals can be excellent tools thatll reap us some huge benefits.


    With a gesture oozing with cuteness, the two little girls saluted in response.


    Understood! Master!


    The two lolis eyes gleamed as they gazed at Thranduil, as if they were looking at an idol they worshipped.


    Ev:


    Clearly, through yers educating him, this rascal, Thranduil did indeed end up with values that are entirely different from those of traditional elves.


    swhy does it feel like his education somehow backfired and he ended up just a bit crooked instead?


    <strong>341</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>ISNT HE A BIT CROOKED?</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 342

    Chapter 342


    Sigh, what have the yers been teaching him? How did he end up like this?


    Observing Thranduil through his designated star within her cosmicwork of faith, Ev was left utterly dumbfounded.


    To think that this rascal learned how to hoodwink female yers using his charm and discreetly schemed how to make them do his chores without them even realizing it


    <em>This wasnt the kind of Elven royalty that I wanted!</em>


    Her original intention had been to utilize thebined knowledge of Alice and the yers to produce an elven royalty that would possess the integrity and nobility of traditional Elves, while also acquiring the out-of-the-box thinking and shrewdness of the yers, thereby giving Thranduil a much broader perspective in life


    However, clearly things turned out way differently than her original vision.


    Moreover, this wasnt the end yet.


    Eves divine sense remained fixed on Thranduil, even as he mingled with the yers until their barbecue party drew to a close.


    Through her observation, she ascertained that Primordial Elves do indeed possessed extremely high talents, and they also obviously had a higher capacity of intellect inparison to their other normal fellow elven brethren.


    It was evident in how Thranduil effortlessly tricked Alice when she checked up on him, describing the barbecue party as a fruit party instead, and making the Saintess thoroughly believe it without a shadow of a doubt.


    She also saw him mingling among the yers with a smile, holding a goblet full of fine wine as he made rounds with every yer present within the party.


    By the end of it, he had garnered a great deal of favor from everyone and freely obtained several sets of newly developed properties from Moe Moe Committee, alongside a premium pair of white gloves made of wolf skin.


    Then, he sold them to other yers who cameter to the party


    Furthermore, Ev also saw Thranduil rubbing shoulders with some veteran yers, whilst effortlessly pulling out all sorts of risqu jokes from earth, which in turn made themugh boisterously.


    These veterans then treated him like a brother, and as if capitalizing on this newly formed brotherhood, Thranduil shrewdly convinced them to willingly ept a special task from him that initially appeared to be really prestigious but in actuality, just grants very low rewards.


    Clearly, Thranduil was the one who organized the party, but from start to finish, he almost did nothing. All the party preparations and grunt work, including the final clean-up, were done by the yers themselves without them even realizing it.


    Thranduil aplished this by employing a range of cunning verbal tactics to subtly deceive the yers. Nheless, the yers themselves remained blissfully unaware that they had been invited to the party only to end up as his willing, cost-freeborers.


    Meanwhile, Thranduil was enjoying it all with a smile from beginning to end, and no one was the wiser.


    Along with Als two little sisters, who had been following the Primordial Elf, the three of them merrily enjoyed the party to its fullest, with thetter teaching the two girls even more peculiar things


    Sometime during thetter part of the party, a minor incident urred wherein Alice and Berserker were unexpectedly invited by some yers and stumbled upon the barbecue stall. There, they caught Thranduil and the two little girls eagerly drooling and waiting for the roasted meat to be cooked.


    In that instant, Alices expression swiftly changed.


    Although the natives had gradually be more ustomed to the Chosen Ones penchant for meat after interacting with them for some time, turning a blind eye to it was one thing, but seeing it firsthand was another experience entirely.


    Especially more so since this time, it was Thranduil, the Elvenkinds sole royalty, who was caught red-handed!


    However, Thranduil, this conniving rascal, still managed to appease Alice with just a few words, while at the same time also discreetly pinning the me onto the yers for the incident with the barbecue.


    He discreetly shifted the me to the two Northeastern yers he had invited to attend the barbecue party, who were actually the ones in charge of cooking the meat.


    These guys were greeted with a scolding from Alice, but in the end, they were still really grateful to Thranduil foring to mediate the situation and diffuse the Saintess ire.


    As an apology, Thranduil also assigned them the special task with low rewards, which the two happily epted.


    Everyone present at the party had seen themotion and how Thranduil handled it, which made everyone praise him even more and appreciate his social aptitude.


    Thranduil is really awesome.


    Yeah, not only is he handsome but hes really so cool too!


    Im really grateful he gave us this special task


    In response, Thranduil just merely smiled charmingly, waved his sleeves as they fluttered through the air, and left gracefully, his back exuding an aura thats practically oozing with my job here is done.


    Leaving everyone inplete awe as they watched his departing figure slowly disappear into the distance.


    Ev:


    Yep, hes thoroughly crooked


    She muttered, while shaking her head in sheer disbelief.


    At the same time, this whole ordeal left herpletely puzzled.


    If she remembered correctly, she had forewarned Alice in advance, when teaching Thranduil along with the yers, not to impart any strange knowledge or habits to him, lest he develop in a strange direction


    <em>So how did Thranduil end up like this?</em>


    <em>Apart from his appearance, he is no longer an elf on the inside, isnt it</em>?


    <em>Sure, he has the necessary skills as a leader, but what about his habit of drinking and eating meat, especially his ck-bellied personality that masks his shrewdness with a smile?</em>


    <em>Just who teach him all those dirty and lewd jokes?</em>


    Taking a deep breath, Ev quickly began to investigate what knowledge Thranduil had been taught this entire time


    When she first allowed the yers to be Thranduils teachers, she had specifically made a requirement that the yers must first record in a log all the knowledge they were imparting before teaching it.


    Therefore, she quickly dug up Li Mus record logs


    Lets seeComprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance? I can sort of understand why Thranduil needs to learn this, but what on earth is The Thick ck Theory ? And Im Not Teaching You to Cheat  whats that about? is Li Mu afraid that Thranduil wont be devious enough?


    Looking at Li Mus record logs, she was at a loss for words.


    However, upon seeing the anecdotes and personalmentary of Li Mu and the reasoning behind why he let Thranduil read these books, Ev in a way understood his intentions


    Essentially, Li Mu felt that the elves were simply too naive and needed to learn to be more cunning.


    Of course, thats just how Li Mu wrote it in his records, but Ev seriously doubted that was his only intention. If she were to guess, this guy probably did this with the ulterior motive of testing the full extent of the NPCs capability to learn things.


    However, even if it was him, Li Mu probably didnt expect that his student could learn these things so quickly, right?


    After all, among the yers who were unknowingly hoodwinked, Li Mu himself was included as well


    With just a paltry reward of 100 contribution points, Li Mu happily epted the task of helping Thranduil clean his house.


    Incidentally, Thranduils residence is also located in the Chosen City. Its a stunning three-story vi, constructed by the Moe Moe Committees Construction Division.


    Ev roughly estimated that the houses price was at the very least worth 200,000 contribution points


    Anyway, its definitely not something an ordinary native elf could acquire.


    As for where Thranduil learned all those dirty jokes, Ev also figured out the source.


    Because this rascal hangs out with the yers almost every day, he must have learned it from them


    Its sort of amazing in a weird sense Fortunately, as a primordial elf, his loyalty to me wont ever change, and despite his tendency to manipte yers to serve his personal purposes, he still maintains a moral boundary and refrains from engaging in truly reprehensible actions.


    Ev consoled herself within her mind, while also deciding from that moment on that the other primordial elves would absolutely not be allowed to be taught by yers anymore.


    And if, by any chance, they were to be taught, she would personally select the teaching materials herself!


    Speaking of whichthose two little girls have also been corrupted by Thranduil. Sigh, I wonder how Al would feel when he finds out.


    Thinking of the two adorable little girls following behind that ck-bellied rascal, Ev could do nothing but shake her head incredulously.


    This discovery made her curious as to whether this trio were the only elves that had undergone these peculiar changes.


    With slight apprehension, she began to inspect the other green stars within her faithwork one after another


    Momentster, upon further observation, Ev also found out that some of the other normal native elves had also undergone some significant changes under the influence of the yers.


    Some of them have indeed been influenced, learning various entertainment activities and lifestyle habits from yers such as ying poker and tabletop games like Warewolf  which is quite popr at bonfire parties.


    Without her realizing it, these things have slowly be popr among the native elves


    Ev even saw some elderly elves setting up tables on the streets of Florence, ying what appeared to be mahjong with four simrly aged individuals gathered together


    There was even a group of elderly people in the vicinity crowding around, watching.


    Watching these old elves excitedly p down wooden mahjong tiles, while joyfully shouting, H Le!


    Eve:


    To say that this scene was eye-catching would be an understatement.


    <strong>342</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>SIMPLY TOO EYE CATCHING </strong> <hr>


    <strong></strong>  <strong>The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government</strong> (Zizhi tongjian) is aprehensive historical text that covers Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD. Its purpose is to offer guidance to rulers based on historical precedents.


    <strong></strong>  <strong>Thick ck Theory</strong> is a philosophical treatise written by a disgruntled Chinese politician and schr born at the end of Qing dynasty.


    <strong></strong>  <strong>Im Not Teaching You to Cheat</strong> is a book published by Liu Yong . This book mainly teaches people how to behave better by telling some stories.


    <strong> </strong><strong></strong><strong>  Werewolf</strong> is a multiyer strategy tabletop game that usesnguage description to promote andpete in eloquence and analysis and judgment


    In Mahjong, <strong></strong> (<strong>h le</strong>) is often eximed when a yer wins the game. It means I won or Ive won. Its a colloquial phrase used to announce victory in the game.<hr><hr>

 Chapter 343

    Chapter 343


    Over time, the various habits and recreational activities of the yers from Earth have unwittingly influenced the native elves in Seiges.


    After observing these familiar scenes from her former world ying out in the otherworldly realm she had reincarnated into, Eve found it intriguing yet somewhat bewildering.


    <em>Well, theres no way around it</em>


    Nheless, witnessing the native elves that bear a striking resemnce to Western fantasy characters mimic various aspects of earths eastern culture was incredibly jarring!


    Heck, there are even some elderly elves who have somehow learned public square dancing!


    While the yers host bonfire parties every night, these elven senior citizens, on the other hand, can be seen collectively exercising, swaying their bodies to the rhythm of music, and enjoying themselves in various public ces like parks or the city square in Florence.


    And whats more surprisingly, despite their old age, these elderly elves move with a grace that belies their age as their bodies bends and sway with a fluidity that sets them apart from their senior counterparts from earth.


    Therefore, their style of square dancing somehow didnt really feel all that cringe inducing but rather brings out an entirely different aesthetic sense of beauty and elegance in them.


    Thankfully, they still to dance to traditional elven music. Otherwise, if she were to hear Horse Pole <strong></strong><strong></strong>in front of the cathedral in Florence, then she would likely feel herself losing control and plummeting into the abyss in an instant.


    As for how the elves even started public square dancing in the first ce


    Well she delved into this matter and found that it started off as a prank by some yers.


    Specifically, after the yers discovered that the NPCs were capable of learning various entertainment activities and even can adopt to their eating habits, they started teaching them all sorts of things from Earth.


    And public square dancing was one of them.


    Moreover, some ssical dances and even some popr catchphrases were passed onto the elves by them


    The yers pranks spread to such extent that she wouldnt be surprised anyone even if some natives started uttering Jesus Christ! in frustration or cheerfully shing a peace sign after winning an activity.


    Of course, while there may be some element of mischief involved, some of these earthly activities taught by yers have indeed brought more fun to the elves originally dull andckluster lives.


    After all, with years of constantly being on high alert and evading persecution, the native elves ended up focusing entirely on daily survival alone, and up until recently, the very notion of indulging in entertainment and rxation still remained a foreign idea to most of them.


    It was only after returning to the Elven Forest that they could finally take a breather and consider embracing some form of diversion in life besides working hard every day for the betterment of their race.


    For this reason, despite their initial intentions, the yers actions were still appreciated by the elves for introducing them to these otherworldly forms of entertainment.


    What started off as a prank ended up as a win-win situation for both parties!


    The collision of magic and technology has yet to yield some significant results, but the mingling of their respective cultures has flourished with remarkable brilliance within the Elven Forest.


    On this matter, Ev can only say she never expected it to develop in such a way.


    But its a weed development as through this exchange of cultures, she observed the gradual formation of friendships between both yers and elves.


    Such interactions often spark the mes of friendship and understanding. Perhaps initially, the yers may have only seen the elves merely as NPCs, virtual tools designed solely to cater to their whims and desires. Yet, as they engaged with each other in the game over the course of several months, a subtle transformation began to ur


    Like the budding friendship of Little Salty Cat and Meryer or the rumors of whatever that thing is going on about between Boxlunch and Nightingale that Ev had heard of


    Such examples are not isted cases, as many simr urrences are happening all around the Elven Forest as the older yers gradually form different bonds among the natives.


    When the fourth round just started, some bold and daring newbies tried targeting the NPCs property, but they ended up angering the yers who had befriended these elves and were severely dealt with by them as a result.


    Of course, in the end, these troublemakers also received punishments from Ev, as she let them have a taste her ban hammer.


    The bond between the elves and the yers has grown increasingly harmonious over time, with some elves now apanying the yers on their expeditions to explore the distantnds.


    And in somebat-oriented teams that focus mostly on leveling up by hunting monsters in dungeons, surprisingly, a few natives can asionally be spotted among them


    These younger generations of elves, unlike their older counterparts, are full of vitality. They find no contentment in remaining confined solely to Florence and often engage with the yers after being influenced by them.


    Their passion lies in venturing into the expansive forests outside their citys protective walls, in search of adventure and fresh new experiences.


    They eagerly acquire new skills and seamlessly integrate into regr yer squads, whilst also actively engaging in a variety of yer activities.


    Regarding this, Ev did not find the need to intervene.


    Although yers are her primary sword and shield, it does not mean that the native elves should be akin to delicate flowers in a greenhouse.


    She does not intend to babysit them, and if some of them are willing to take the initiative, then shell train them to be formidable warriors in their own right.


    Moreover, it can further strengthen yers sense of belongingness to Elven Kingdom.


    Of course, not babysitting them doesnt entail treating them in the same manner as the yers since, in the end, they are still far weaker and cannot infinitely resurrect themselves.


    Therefore, she still needs to impart some semnce of safekeeping for these brave young natives who have taken the initiative to join the yers.


    Specifically, Ev imposed a rule that any yer team that allows a native to join them should protect thetter diligently at all costs. And should any of them perish for various reasons, the yers ountable for their safety will face appropriate consequences.


    Maybe its due to this rule that the natives mostly ended up assuming the support role within the team, and whenever they participated in the yers excursions, the group made an effort to steer clear of dangerous ces as much as possible.


    Overall, after observing the various changes within the rtionship dynamics between the yers and elves, Ev is left feeling satisfied.


    The friendship between yers and elves symbolizes a further increase in the overall cohesion of her entire faction.


    And with the yers forming such strong bonds, they will naturally remain addicted ying Elven Kingdom for an extended period of time, thereby continuing to contribute to the reconstruction of a stronger elven civilization.


    However, just as Ev was secretly enjoying herself as she spied upon the elves and yers with relish, a familiar fluctuations of divine power suddenly came about from within her Divine Kingdom.


    With a simple thought, Ev instantly withdrew her divine sense from thework of faith and redirected her attention back towards the Supreme Temple located inside her Divine Kingdom.


    Upon returning her consciousness to her incarnation seated on the throne, Ev noticed the casket of the dead, which is the artifact she uses tomunicate with H, shining with a golden radiance.


    It seems like the Goddess of Death had finally replied to her earlier inquiry.


    Eves mind stirred, and she immediately used some of her divine power to open the Casket and trigger the message H imbued within it


    Shortly after, the frigid and lethargic tone of H reverberated within the temples walls.


    Come to my Shrine at ckrock City.


    Ev was somewhat surprised.


    She wanted me to visit ckrock City?


    But soon she realized that perhaps H needed to speak to her in person because the matter regarding the Abyss was even more serious than she had originally imagined.


    Does she need to speak to me in person? Could it be that the situation in the Abyss is even more serious than I thought?


    A slight furrow appeared on Eves brow, casting a shadow over her previously good mood.


    She promptly closed the casket and put it away, then transformed into Zero before leaving her Divine Kingdom.


    With the improvement of her overall strength and the expansion of her range of control, Eves ability to teleport has be more extensive.


    With just a thought, she appeared in front of the Deaths Shrine in ckrock City.


    However, immediately upon her arrival, Ev was enveloped by an overwhelming aura resonating within the shrinea blend of sanctity and grace, tinged with a chilling elegance.


    Taking a deep breath, Ev stepped into the shrines premises and saw a figure d in ck robes standing in front of the main holy statue.


    It was the Goddess of DeathH herself.


    <strong>343</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>FAREWELL HELA </strong><hr>


    <strong></strong>  <strong>Square Dancing</strong> is an exercise routine performed to music in city squares, zas or parks. It is quite popr with middle-aged and retired elderly people.


    <strong></strong>  <strong>Horse Pole Song</strong> by n Tuya<hr><hr>

 Chapter 344

    Chapter 344


    Sensing Evs arrival, the petite figure standing in front of the statue slowly turned around, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.


    Simr to their previous meeting, the Goddess of Death once again descended upon Seiges through divine possession, with the female dark dwarf Shrinelord of the Church of Death serving as the medium.


    However,pared to back then, Ev felt that the other partys aura had be much deeper this time around.


    This clearly indicated that the dimensional barrier between Seiges and the outside world had begun to loosened up, allowing gods to project more of their power within this realm.


    Hs shrine and its surrounding area had already set up a barrier to iste its interior from the outside.


    Seeing that the area they were in was rtively secure, Ev employed some of her divine powers and dispelled her disguise as Zero before revealing her true form.


    Then, following the etiquette of meeting other deities as per the inheritance of the World Tree, Ev offered a slight bow to H and greeted her with a smile.


    Good afternoon, H, Your Majesty,


    Raising an eyebrow, the Goddess turned her gaze towards the faint light filtering through the shrines entrance.


    Your Highness Ev, down here in the underground, theres no difference between day and night.


    Ev blinked.


    But isnt ckrock City also using the timekeeping method of the surface world?


    Hs eyes briefly flicked towards a wooden clock adorning a nearby wall, offering neither confirmation nor denying it.


    Then, her gaze paused upon Evs figure, as her face slightly shifting into a deadpan expression.


    Congrattions on advancing your strength,


    Hs remark had a lethargic intonation but was still pleasing nheless, as if it had been scripted in her mind ages ago.


    Well, Ev wasnt particrly surprised that the other party had discovered that her own strength had increased.


    Following the advancement of her strength to match that of a deity with weaker divine power, her incarnation also underwent some improvements.


    Therefore, although her incarnations maximum output was still limited to demigod level, its aura had be more robust and solid.


    Its all thanks to luck and your continuous support, Your Majesty.


    Ev replied with a smile.


    Then, Hs mouth twitched slightly, and she cast a sidelong nce in Evs direction, followed by a sigh.


    Theres no need for polite words. I just hope that in the future, you will inform me in advance before dealing with other gods, especially when borrowing my power


    Although I promised to cover for you, dont always think Im omnipotent dealing with Uller alone was enough, since hes just someone with weak divine power, but I have no intention of opposing the Eternal Lord even though I find Him quite unpleasant.


    As the Goddess of Death spoke, Ev grasped the implicationthat is, she was being cautioned against casually shifting me, and if she ever did it again, she should first consult with H herself beforehand.


    Most likely, her recent operation to take away the Scepter of Life in Maple Leaf City was discovered by the Eternal Lord, and He suspected that H was involved based on the power of Death that she had spread in Nidhoggsir before escaping.


    Thinking of this, Ev smiled apologetically and said to H,


    Sorry, Ill definitely remember to do so next time.


    Following that, a sh of light appeared in her hand, revealing dozens of shimmering divine blood crystals.


    Your Majesty, I offer this as a token of gratitude for your assistance in concealing my actions, Ev murmured, extending her hand as the divine blood crystals floated towards H.


    The Goddess of Deaths eyes lit up slightly as she epted them readily without hesitation, her expression revealing a subtle hint of satisfaction.


    Seeing the other party had epted her gift, Ev felt a wave of relief wash over her.


    Honestly, assigning me to others to avoid facing consequences felt quite satisfying when doing it, but personally encountering the person shed used of, left her with an unexpected twinge of guilt.


    H put away the divine blood crystals, pondered for a moment, and then remarked,


    This time, your actions have stirred quite a considerable attention. Let me remind you of the importance of your true identity. The surge in mana within the realm of Seiges will undoubtedly attract scrutiny from the heavenly gods, and they will certainly investigate this matter.


    Nheless, if you wish to be more active in this realm, its best to maintain a more reliable public persona, as simply shifting the me onto me would no longer suffice anymore.


    Listening to Hs words, Ev nodded.


    Thank you for your reminder. Actually Ive already considered the same thing and made some ns, including adopting an identity I wish to present to the public, which will require some support from you, Your Majesty


    As she spoke, Ev revealed her intention to masquerade herself as the newly appointed goddess of life.


    The new goddess of life?


    Upon hearing her words, Hs expression took on a slightly peculiar look.


    The other party bore a thoughtful look for a moment and nodded slightly.


    Indeed such a disguise might actually cause others to overlook your true identity. After all, you are different from your predecessor. I understand. Ill cooperate with you appropriately when you need it.


    With the Goddess of Death voicing her agreement, Ev breathed a sigh of relief.


    She pondered for a moment and then continued, Your Majesty, is there anything else you personally came to see me about? Is it rted to the changes in the Abyss? Do you have any knowledge of what is transpiring there?


    Upon hearing her words, H shook her head slightly.


    This time, I descended into this realm mainly because there are some other matters I need to attend to. Your message simply coincided with my visit, thus I decided to meet with you.


    Ive read your message. The changes in the Abyss this time have resonated throughout the entire universe


    In fact, the gravitational pull of the Abyss has indeed been slowly strengthening over time, although the rate is minimal, almost negligible. Significant shifts like those observed recently are umon throughout history.


    No one knows when the Abyss appeared, but ever since the gods first discovered it, they have been continuously observing it as the Abyss attracts numerous realms and devours them it can be said that the Abyss is the end of all realms and the nightmare of every living being.


    The current gravitational force of the Abyss has increased almost twice as much as when I first inherited my Divinity. There is spection that the reason the Abyss is gradually bing stronger is by continuously devouring realms to obtain the Provenance of those fallen realms


    And one of the original intentions of my predecessor, the Primordial God of Death who established the Netherworld, was to monitor the changes within the Abyss and seek ways to save the realms that fell into it and purify the corruption of the Abyss


    This is also one of the duties of being the God of Death.


    <em>So thats how it is.</em>..


    Ev pondered for a moment and remarked, So is the increase in the Abysss gravitational force this time just a mere coincidence?


    H shook her head.


    How can there be such many coincidences in this world?


    Eve, every change that urs in the Abyss is inevitably the result of fluctuations in therger realms. Its possible that the recent developments in Seiges had an indirect impact on the Abyss.


    But you dont need to worry too much about the issue regarding the Abyss. While it is indeed getting stronger, the entire universe is also slowly expanding. Although the expansion rate has slowed down over the course of millennia, it still maintains a delicate bnce and keeping up with the changes in the Abyss.


    H exined.


    Ev breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.


    Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, Ev added as an afterthought,


    H, Your Majesty, if theres anything I can do to help with the issue regarding the Abyss, I can lend a hand, such as dealing with the Abysss corruption and the like.


    Leaving aside other matters, Im currently quite interested in those Evil gods who have been corrupted by the Abyss.


    If I recall correctly, there are quite a few of them lurking within the Netherworld and here underground in Seiges, and you have your own domain in these areas If you require it, I can assist in dealing with them.


    Upon hearing her words, H raised an eyebrow.


    You possess the ability to Absorb the power of the Abyss, dont you? Perchance are you nning to restore your strength by devouring the power of the Abyss?


    Ev smiled without saying a word.


    Given that the Goddess of Death was acquainted with her predecessor, Ev wouldnt be surprised that H knew about certain abilities of the World Tree.


    Upon hearing Evs suggestion, H became somewhat interested.


    Indeed, if needed, perhaps I will.


    After saying that, the other party sighed softly, with a slightly wry grin.


    In any case, this Absorb skill of yours is truly an enviable ability. The corruption of the Abyss, which other gods avoid like the gue, can be converted into your nourishment instead.


    If I didnt know that your absorption ability also has its limits, then I would have already transnted your true self straight directly into the Abyss so that you could restore your strength much faster.


    Ev:


    H didnt dwell much on this topic for too long, and aftermenting for a while, she changed the subject as her lethargic demeanor bore a more serious look.


    In fact, the reason I came to see you this time is because I do in fact need your help.


    Ev showed a curious expression.


    Hmm? What do you need me to do?


    I want to borrow the use of your Chosen Ones for the time being,


    H replied.


    <strong>344</strong>


    <strong> BORROW YOUR CHOSEN ONE</strong>S  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 345

    Chapter 345


    World Tree, Divine Kingdom.


    Ev, who had just returned from ckrock City, sat upon her throne, as she pondered upon her recent conversation and agreement with H.


    I had foreseen that with Seiges increase in mana, the longstanding peace in various parts of the realm would inevitably be disrupted. However, I never couldve imagined that the first signs of war would erupt in the underground


    Indeed, the various forces living in the underground had began to prepare for war.


    This time, H had used divine possession to seek Eve, not for anything else, but precisely for the third use of their covenant when the two formed their initial oath:


    <em>She must assist Hs followers inbating the influence of the dark god, Hdur, in Seiges</em>


    Speaking of which this matter actually had something to do with her.


    In the chaotic world underground, the various factions were intertwined and despite the recurring cycles of war, conquest, decline, and copse among the diverse forces inhabiting Underdark, an intricate bnce has persisted between each factions for thousands of years.


    However, starting fromst year, as the mana across the entire realm suddenly began to rise up exponentially, the underground was inevitably impacted as well.


    The resurgence of mana caused a significant increase in the strength of the monsters and creatures living within Underdark. As a result, the power dynamics among various races had also underwent significant changes as well.


    Those races that had high potential but were limited by the scarcity of mana underground and thus were restricted in strength all began to ovee their limitations, evolving into much stronger beings


    This newfound strength triggered a shift in mindset and a surge in aspirations.


    Ambitions began to swell among the forces that benefitted greatly and naturallymes of war began to burn.


    Of course, warfare had always been the norm in Underdark, but with the increase in mana, everyones strength subtly grew stronger, and naturally, the intensity of war and the destructive power they could wield had also increased.


    However, it would have been fine if it were just a small-scale conflict between various factions underground. But everything changed when the gods finally got involved.


    The first to react was Hdur, the god of darkness and shadows. As an ancient deity and a true god worshipped in the underworld, his faction was already one of the most powerful forces in the Underdark even before the onset of mana resurgence.


    But with the increase in mana, his factions overall strength further increased, and the forces in the underground that worshipped him began to wage war against the dark dwarves and gnomes protected by H, making the conflict inevitable.


    Currently, some underground city-states had already erupted into mes, with a significant number of casualties on both sides piling up.


    It was evident that Hdur intended to drive Hs influence out of Underdark.


    Fortunately, two gods had not yet fully torn all semnces of reason and initiated a War of Faith or sent down their divine envoys.


    Nevertheless, if it truly came to that, then it would mean aplete fallout between two of the highest-ranking gods of the Netherworld, and a war between them would be unavoidable


    Moreover, considering the locations of the divine kingdoms of these two Ancient Gods, the final oue of this conflict might even involve the fall of either of them, or perhaps even more severely, the shattering of the Netherworld was not entirely impossible scenario either.


    Therefore even though their respective believers were already fired up and the city-states underground were already acting irrationally, warring amongst one another, the atmosphere in the Netherworld was still somewhat quite delicate.


    In the end it was because neither H nor Hdur were prepared to fullymit to a full-blown War for Faith for the time being.


    Furthermore, both of them are Ancient Ones and unlike the Gods of Faith, their believers are merelyplementary, serving as extensions of their power rather than their primary source.


    Hence, even though the conflict between their believers has captured their attention, it is still not enough for them to risk everything and dere a proper War of Faith.


    Yet the crux of the problem lies precisely in this


    H, the Goddess of death, established her influence in Underdark muchter than Hdur, the God of Darkness and Shadows.


    In the event of a war, while Hs army of heroic spirits could potentially defeat her opponent, it was clear that her underground forces alone were no match for the Dark Lords followers.


    The most crucial reason for this was that Hs underground forces simply had too few people, and their ranks only have mid-to-low-end strength.


    Facing this dilemma, the Goddess of Death naturally thought of Eves Chosen Ones.


    The strength they showed during the battle of ckrock City and the subsequent skirmish between the half-orcs, as well as their ever-increasing presence in the underground, had inevitably caught the attention of H.


    Although these otherworldly visitors were overall rtively weak individually, they were entirely not afraid of death.


    Moreover, they have formidablebat power collectively, most importantly, they are highly united and capable of endlessly resurrecting themselves, making them the ideal cannon fodder


    For wars merely involving mortal forces, having such an undying army would without a doubt tip the scales in their favor.


    Therefore, H intended to borrow them from Ev.


    One aspect that needs to be mentioned here is that theres a significant gap in strength between ordinary and extraordinary beings, and among thetter, the strength difference between each ranks was also huge.


    A weak Level 1 mage apprentice could only conjure a small fireball the size of a fingertip, while a 100th-level archmage at the pinnacle of golden rank could cast meteor showers capable of dealing lethal blows to an unprotected small town


    Not to mention those who had surpassed the secr ranks and ascended into mythical status, like beings who could casually unleash kilometer-wide forbidden curses, and demigods who could easily destroy a forest or a mountain range with just a flick of their hands


    As for true gods


    They could fight regardless of the consequences and could easily destroy an entire realms.


    However, although there was a huge difference in strength between extraordinary beings, when two factions with equal strength fought each other, armiesposed of mid-to-low-end experts and even ordinary people still yed a crucial role.


    This was because, while the strong were indeed powerful, they were also inherently scarce in quantity. Moreover, due to the abundance of divine artifacts in the universe, some weak entities whose armed with powerful artifacts, might even be able to defeat far more stronger opponents.


    Therefore, a weaker army, when faced with a strong individual, would still had the possibility of overturning thetter due to carelessness.


    Not to mention, if both sides in the conflict had true gods behind them, then caution was even more necessary.


    Generally speaking, there is an unspoken rule among the major factions in the Seiges, wherein during wars, soldiers fight soldiers, generals fight generals, and armies naturally deal with armies, while strong individuals deal with strong individuals.


    Of course, if one sidecked strong individuals, then there was no point in fighting to begin with and simply surrendering was the only choice.


    As for if one side only had strong individuals andcked an armyposed of mid-to-low-end strength


    Hmm, in that case, it was almost impossible to start a war as well.


    Because in the Seiges, there were no factions that consisted solely of strong individuals. Even if there were, their needs were different from those of ordinary factions, and the two sides were almost impossible to initiate a conflict.


    In shortH and Hdur, had begun their preliminary sh in the underground, with both hoping to uproot each others influence in some way before the full scale war urrs.


    And to achieve ultimate victory and reduce the casualties of her already small number of believers, H naturally turned her gaze to Eves Chosen Ones.


    To this, Ev naturally agreed.


    On the one hand, it was because the two sides had an agreement, and on the other hand, it was because the yers could also gain benefits from being involved in this conflict.


    Of course, in addition to this, there was also one point to consider:


    Hdur had close ties with some evil gods, and it was very likely that there were evil gods hiding within his forces.


    And to this, Ev naturally felt intrigued.


    Whilst sitting high on her throne, Ev already had a clear n for her next move.


    All right, its time to design a new major quest for the yers, maybe it can even turn into a dungeon. I hope they will like it and bring me some surprises.


    <strong>345</strong>


    <strong> WAR UNDERGROUND  </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 346

    Chapter 346


    The underground region is not smaller than the surface world. In fact, its divided into threeyers and if one were tobine all these threeyers, then perhaps it might even be broader than thend above it.


    However, the territory controlled by the believers of H is quite small, which is mainly located in the southwestern region of Underdark, near the Elven Forest.


    Coincidentally, this region also precisely aligns with the 500-kilometer activity range zone Ev has allowed yers to explore.


    Furthermore, like most underground city-states, the areas H have controlled over is situated in the firstyer of Underdark, which is also known as the upperyer.


    This upper region is close to the surface and often have interaction with surface dwellers. Water is abundant here, and food is rtively plentiful, making living conditions much better than the deeper twoyers, which is why many underground city states are located here.


    ckrock City is one of them.


    These underground cities, which worship H, are the primary source of her faith.


    Its evident that H takes her faith in the Seiges seriously, otherwise, she wouldnt personally meet with Ev.


    Of course, this is also because Eves True Body is located in this realm, and H knows that the Chosen Ones, in a sense are akin to divine envoys of Ev, albeit weak and without faith, thus wouldnt be able to arouse the vignce of other entities.


    As for what H needs the yers to do, its to assist in defending her underground cities and participate in the counterattack against the forces of Hdur.


    Well, given the intricate andplex nature of the terrain underground, with itsplex and winding paths, its highly unlikely that the yers could reach the designated battlefield within a month just by marching there on foot.


    Moreover, yers might give up before even arriving if they were to march. After all, theyre here to y games, and spending a month on a single boring task like marching would be too much for most yers.


    Perhaps some yers wouldnt mind, since they were able to walk so far when initially exploring Maple Leaf City, but these few minorities dont represent the vast majority, and it definitely wont work for forming an army


    This is also one of the limitations of yers.


    However, there is a solution to this, which is the use of teleportation arrays.


    <em>If marching on foot is slow and most yers are unwilling to do it, then why not just teleport directly?</em>


    So, after discussing with H, Ev decided to set up ultra-long-range teleportation arrays directly connecting each underground city states to ckrock City, allowing yers to teleport directly there when the timees.


    There is no doubt that the usage of such ultra-long-range teleportation arrays will consume a huge amount of mana stones.


    And considering the current state of the Elven Forest, this cost would be difficult to bear if Ev doesnt directly use some of her divine power.


    For H, however, its just a minor expense since the Goddess of Death is quite wealthy


    Thend underground is already rich in mineral resources, and with her Dark-Dwarven followers, skilled in mining and forging, amassing enormous amounts of mana stones is not an issue, thereby ensures the seamless operation of such teleportation arrays.


    Actually Rivendell also has many mineral resources, but unfortunately, most yers prefer to fight monsters and do tasks in the Elven Forest rather than engage in boring and tedious tasks like mining.


    Of course, some yers have considered whether they can use crypt spiders to mine in Rivendell, but the fact is these spiders are better at eating minerals than mining them.


    However, with the ever-increasing trade between the dark dwarves and the surface world, yers now not only have contribution points but have also umted somemon currency.


    So some people have set their sights on purchasing ves like dwarves or orcs to mine in Rivendell.


    Ev estimates that it wont be long before some yers buy ves to work as miners in Rivendell.


    Regarding this, she neither supports nor opposes it, but intends to let yers figure it out themselves.


    In the past, there were concerns about incorporating other races into her domain, which could potentially reveal her true identity. However, once she opted to adopt the public persona of the Goddess of Life, these concerns ceased to be an issue.


    In short, H has promised to bear all the teleportation costs and would even provide supplies for the Chosen Ones whock weapons and equipment, as her followers, the dark dwarves, have no shortage of those.


    Of course, for some reason, Ev also kindly reminded the other party that her so-called Chosen Ones are quite cunning and theres a chance that they might try something funny, like scam Hs followers so to speak.


    However, the Goddess of Death didnt care.


    Regarding this, Ev was nomittal but as long as H doesnt regret itter on, its fine in her book.


    After all, she has already given the other party a heads-up.


    As for the yers main objectives, all they need to do is to get on the battlefield.


    Hmm in a sense, its a bit like being mercenaries.


    Just kill the enemy and loot, as this is what yers love to do and are best suited for.


    Of course, setting up the ultra-long-range teleportation arrays will take some time, and Ev also ns to use this time to coordinate with the dark dwarves and devise a proper exnation for this uing endeavor.


    In games, necessary processes like these are still needed, which can somewhat enhance yers immersion and foster friendship between the two factions


    Regarding this, H naturally has no objections.


    So, not long after H ended her divine possession, a delegation of dark dwarves left the core area of the underground and rushed towards the Upper Cavern of Underdark.


    However, just before these delegation arrived, another matter had caught Eves attention.


    Specifically, the questline Goddess of Life that she had previously issued has finally beenpleted by the yers.


    The construction efficiency of the Moe Moe Committee exceeded Eves expectations, as they didnt spend too much time and have alreadypleted the reconstruction of every temple.


    At this moment, all the symbols representing the World Tree have been removed from the temples and are now reced with symbols of the Scepter of Life.


    Not only that, but the frescoes inside the temples of Florence, Rivendell, and nearby ruins, symbolizing the history of the World Tree, have all been hidden and reced by single murals symbolizing nature and life.


    Ev is quite satisfied with this.


    At the same time, the newly revised Holy Codex of Life had beenpleted.


    Unlike their initial attempt, this time, the quest organizers enlisted over three hundred individuals and sought online assistance for this iteration.


    Crafting this improved version of the Holy Codex involved extensive brainstorming over an extended period, resulting in a tome as thick as a brick.


    Of course, yers wrote it in Chinese, but the system can easily convert it into Elvish and Common Language.


    After the Codex waspleted, Alice also conducted an immediate inspection and expressed great satisfaction afterward and assigning it a perfect 100-point evaluation score via the system.


    Regarding this, Ev is also looking forward to it.


    Whilst sitting upon her throne, Ev flipped through the contents of the Holy Codex of Life, which primarily extols the virtues of the Goddess of Life and promotes faith in her.


    And after browsing through it, Eve was left feeling very satisfied.


    yers have finally maximized their advantages, borrowing certain knowledge and experiences from Earth and its preexisting holy books, and perfectly integrating them with the original Natures Codex.


    In the new Codex, Ev is depicted as the sessor of the Divinity of Nature and Life, thepanion of the Goddess of Death, and the savior of Elvenkind.


    As for the origin of the Goddess of Life although it is not explicitly stated, it subtly hints that she is originally an elf, making it easy for people to misunderstand that she is an elf who had somehow inherited the Divinity of nature and life with the help of the Goddess of Death.


    Moreover, the new Codex not only emphasizes the principles of life and nature but also possesses significant appeal, persuasiveness, or brainwashing capability.


    Eve estimates that taking this Scripture to preach will definitely elevate the effect several notches.


    However Ev also noticed some strange things


    Why does this whole book always praise my appearance? Those who dont know might think Im actually the Goddess of Beauty with the way it exaggeratedly extols my appearance


    Ev muttered to herself.


    <strong>346</strong>


    <strong> COMPLETION OF THE NEW HOLY CODEX OF LIFE  </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 347

    Chapter 347


    In the depths below the Underdark, to the southwest of the Deep Chasm, a massive earthwater lizard was currently gliding through an undergroundke


    Sitting atop its back were over a dozen individuals consisting of various races, with dark dwarves and gnomes being thergest contingent among them.


    And upon closer observation, one would notice that although the various races in this group were dressed differently, all of them bore the same sickle-shaped emblem on their chests.


    It was the symbol the Goddess of Death and is often used by her believers during formal asions.


    Here in the underground, however, this emblem held anotheryer of meaningthat is, it indicated that the wearer belonged to the Hermetic City-State Alliance, arge-scale city-state coalition force in the western region of the Underdark,prising of numerous underground denizens who worshipped the Goddess of Death.


    The Hermetic City-State Alliance was a well-known coalition force in the underground, and despite its loose structure and internal rivalries among its various member city-states, some of which were even sworn enemies, they tended to unite together when facing any external threats.


    The Hermetic Allianceprised many small to medium-sized city-states that primarily followed the Goddess of Death as their Patron Deity.


    The members of these coalition predominantly inhabited the western regions of the upper-to-midyers of the Underdark, wherein they often shed with the Dark City-State Alliance, a rival organization solely devoted to Hdur, the god of darkness and shadows, which resides in the same western territories.


    However, in contrast to the long-established Dark City-State Alliance, which boasted a history spanning generations and epassed nearly of fifty member states, the Hermetic Alliance was aparatively newer and smaller coalition force, consisting of only seventeen member cities in total.


    Its also worth mentioning that while ckrock City in the Deep Chasm now worships the Goddess of Death, it initially stood as a remote and modest settlement, independent of any city-state coalition forces due to its residents primarily being Dark-Dwarves refugees of diverse faiths.


    It was only recently that they joined the Hermetic City-State Alliance after the Church of Death finally gained full control of ckrock City after chasing away all of Hdurs believers.


    With its strategic location and ckrock City being close to the western entrance to the surface world, the Hermetic Alliance easily allowed them into their coalition force.


    The group riding the earthwater lizard is the delegation from the Hermetic Alliance, and their destination is ckrock City in the Deep Chasm.


    At the head of the earthwater lizard stood an elderly dark dwarf with a long grayish-red beard and a bald head, leaning on a staff, whilst silently assuming the leadership role of the group.


    Cloaked in a billowing ck mage robe, his expression remained solemn, revealing no trace of emotion. Yet, the deep wrinkles and weathered appearance on his face imparted a sense of mncholia to his overall demeanor, suggesting a heavy burden of worries weighing upon him.


    The elderly dwarfs name was Firebeard and he turned 141 years old this year.


    He chose this particr name because among their kind, a full beard was considered beautiful, and back when he was young, he had a fiery red beard that was a source of his pride and adoration from many female dark dwarves


    Of course, this was from a long ago.


    Even though Firebeard was a lower gold-ranked expert, with a lifespan nearly twice that of an average dwarf, he was now over 100 years of age, which is considered an elder among the dark dwarves.


    Generally speaking, someone of his age, no matter how strong they were, would normally choose to retire by this point, opting to spend their twilight years in peace, or at most, would only participate in the decision-making of some major affairs as a member of the Council of Elders.


    s war hade.


    The Dark City-State Alliance, who worshipped the god of darkness and shadows, initiated a war with the simple goal of defeating and destroying the Hermetic City-State Alliance.


    The Dark City-State Alliance has been hostile to and coveted the territories controlled by the Hermetic Alliance for a long time.


    However, due to constant internal conflicts among its member states, the Hermetic Alliance had somehow thwarted their previous attempts and even managed to maintain its existence for over a thousand years despite their overall strength being far superior than thetter.


    However, ever since the mana within the entire realm of Seiges recoveredst year, Perone, the Lich King who is the reigning Citylord of thergest underground city of the Dark Alliance, seized the opportunity to break through to the legendary-rank with the help of some hidden beings, and quickly consolidated the strength of the entire Dark Alliance in a very short period of time.


    Thus, the status quo within the underground was shattered.


    And this shattering immediately led to war, as tensions erupted between the two opposing coalition forces.


    Given his former role as the chief of de City, thergest underground city of the Hermetic Alliance, along with his position as one of the Godwardens of Death and leaders among the dark dwarves in the underground, Firebeard naturally bore the weight of his responsibilities.


    This time, he was tasked with leading their coalitions delegation to seek aid from ckrock City.


    Being a Dark-Dwarf himself, Firebeard had traveled all across the underground in his youth, and naturally, he had also once visited ckrock City.


    However, from his recollection, ckrock City appeared as nothing more than a remote, small settlement, housing a poption of just a few thousand residents, hardly deserving the title of a city


    A city of such feeble strength and meager foundation, aside from its resident Godwarden, could be deemed exceedingly weak in his opinion.


    Hell, one could even say that if ckrock City werent located in a remote region of the underground, such a city would have long been annexed by some other forces!


    However, to his surprise, ording to the divine oracle of their Patron Deity, this remote city was destined to be the beacon of hope in the war against the Dark Alliance, and that they should seek their help since thisnd held the key to victory.


    Moreover, the Goddess of Death even issued a decree to set up an ultra-long-distance teleportation array in this location and connect it to every other member city-states of Hermetic Alliance!


    In other words, the reinforcements they needed to defend their cities would be teleported directly from ckrock City. However, Firebeard couldntprehend why such a small city would have any reinforcements at all.


    Having once visited ckrock City himself, he knew there were only a few thousand inhabitants living there, and among them, very few had even reached the upper Iron-ranks.


    Given the grand and unprecedented scale of this ongoing war, what contribution could a mere few thousand dark dwarves,cking proficiency inbat, possibly even make?


    Of course, as a devout believer of the Goddess of Death, Firebeard had long been ustomed to his Patron Deity giving out oracles in cryptic ways


    Besides, he had indeed recently heard some rumors pertaining to this city.


    That is, half a year ago, its local inhabitants had been attacked by a Legion of Shadows and had somehow sessfully defeated them, even killing a Shadow Dragon!


    Although such a rumor was absurd, the oracle of their Patron Deity might have been connected to this


    Furthermore, considering all the strange phenomena that had been urring all over the realm in the past year, with all sorts of bizarre and absurd news spreading through the ck market, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, Firebeard didnt know whether this rumor was actually true or not.


    Nheless, despite his doubts, he still carried out their Patron Deitys orders.


    But others were different.


    In fact, most of the rest of the delegation wore heavy expressions, with traces of apprehension even visible between their brows.


    This situation persisted until they crossed the undergroundke and finally arrived at ckrock City.


    Is this ckrock City? The ce of hope mentioned in the divine oracle of Her Majesty? The very same city rumored to have defeated a Shadow Dragon?


    Someone in the group said as they frowned and looked at the low walls of the city, surrounded by rocks that could be seen from afar.


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    <strong>347</strong>


    <strong> ARRIVAL OF THE DELEGATION  </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 348

    Chapter 348


    Due to the harsh environment underground, the size of each city within it generally corrtes with the overall strength of the local inhabitants who reside within it.


    And in most cases, the stronger cities tend to attract more underground inhabitants to settle there, which naturally resulting in a muchrger settlement over time.


    However, the ckrock City that stood before them still remained a small city overall, despite showing signs of recent renovation and expansion.


    Seeing this scene, Firebeard couldnt help but mutter to himself:


    Are the rumors of them defeating the Shadow Legion and killing a Shadow Dragon really true?


    Naturally, despite harboring doubts, Firebeard, as the leader of the delegation, concealed his apprehension behind aposed demeanor.


    Furthermore, the oracle of their Patron Deity is infallible.


    If the Goddess of Death proimed ckrock City as the ce of hope, then perhaps they simply havent uncovered its true significance yet.


    Thinking of this, Firebeard cleared his throat twice before addressing hispanions:


    Rest assured, all will be clear once we step foot into ckrock City and meet Lady Enno.


    Lady Enno is the High Priestess stationed in ckrock City, and she is also a devout Godwarden of their Patron Deity who has been the recipient of Hs divine possession twice.


    Incidentally, the true form of the Goddess of Death isnt diminutive but rather, its the Dwarves stature that makes her appear small during divine possession.


    Upon hearing Firebeards words, the others suppressed their doubts. They straightened their appearances and prepared themselves to enter the city.


    However, just as they were about to enter, the delegation saw a group of unfamiliar figures approaching from the other side.


    These neers were dressed as mercenaries, each with different professions.


    This mercenary group seemedprised two spellcasters and three melee warriors and their equipment looked incredibly magnificent, with each person carrying arge backpack filled to the brim.


    They chatted andughed idly as they walked towards the city gate, but what captured the delegations attention the most were their elongated ears and gorgeous appearance.


    Death Almighty! Are those guys actually elves? Why, I never thought Id see wild elves here in the underground! And whats more, they appeared to be mercenaries!


    Seeing those mercenaries walk past them, a dwarf in the delegation couldnt help but look on with curiosity mixed with admiration, and a hint ofplexity and even a trace of greed in their eyes.


    Not only them, but the rest of the delegation also looked on with astonishment.


    To be honest, they were all council members of their own respective city-states, and naturally had seen these supposedly the most noble and beautiful long-lived beings as pitiful ves being sold on ve markets.


    However, in their memory, seeing free roaming elves thats not a ve was a first!


    Not to mention, these elven mercenaries were nothing like their enved counterparts, as each of them were full of life and possessed an entirely unique aura that was really hard to ignore.


    Well, how to put it, perhaps its true that clothes do indeed make the man.


    With them donning all those exquisite equipment, these elves were even more dazzling than the elves from their memories.


    Observing them from afar, those elves talked andughed among themselves, their radiant smiles reflecting off the fluorescent stones on the cavern ceiling like beams of light in the darkness, dissipating much of the gloom in the hearts of the delegation.


    For a moment, everyone in the group naturally developed a slight fondness for those unfamiliar elves, involuntarily associating them with words like sunshine, kindness, and nobility within their hearts.


    However unlike the other members of the delegation, Firebeards expression froze.


    Elvenmercenaries?


    Just now, he sensed a strong aura of death emanating from each of those elves


    <em>How could those elves exude a potent aura of death?</em>


    As a necromancer and a priest of death, Firebeards perception of death was extremely keen.


    These elves are evidently not part of, nor do they follow, the belief in death, so the only conceivable origin of their intense aura of death was killing!


    <em>Death Almighty!</em>


    <em>Those elveswere far from as sunny and kind as they initially appeared!</em>


    And just then, one of the elves backpacks seemed unable to bear the weight and suddenly burst open, revealing arge chunks of bloody meat


    Specifically, it was pieces of monster flesh


    At the same time, the elf who identally tore their backpack quickly eximed:


    Oh shit! My loots fell onto the ground!


    While the other elves stopped to help him tidy up the damaged backpack, one of them casually said:


    While the other elves stopped to help him tidy up the damaged backpack, one of them casually said:


    No worries, we can still eat these ingredients after washing them off.


    Everyone in the delegation:


    For a moment, the whole delegation couldnt help but shudder as they looked at each other, seeing absurdity and astonishment in each others eyes.


    Just now Did those elves mention ingredients? Are they eating meat? Are Elves now actually able to eat meat? Werent they supposed to only eat nts all along?


    One of the dwarfs in the delegation said with a peculiar tone.


    Firebeard also looked astonished.


    He pondered for a moment and replied:


    Perhaps they are a variant among the elves? Something rted to their kind that migrated here in the undergroundor something like that.


    After saying this, he then took a deep breath.


    In any case, weve finally arrived here at ckrock City. Lets all head inside the city together.


    The rest of the delegation nodded and continued forward and soon arrived at the gate entrance of ckrock City, and promptly informed the city guards of their purpose.


    Momentster, after their identities were confirmed, the city guards demeanor shifted, exuding an immediate air of respect towards them.


    The High Priestess has already instructed us in advance. Please follow me, esteemed guests.


    With that, a guard led the group towards the Deaths Shrine in ckrock City.


    Immediately upon entering the vicinity of the City, one member of the delegation was surprised to find that it was much more bustling than they had imagined.


    There was a constant flow of people and each of them were very lively, transforming the underground city into a bustling metropolis reminiscent of a thriving marketce rather than a remote settlement.


    Of course, what surprised them the most was the abundance of elves in the surroundings!


    <em>By the gods!</em>


    <em>Did a whole n of elves settled in ckrock City?!</em>


    Not only that, but all the elves in the city were adorned in gorgeous-looking equipment, as their particrly eye-catching appearance inadvertently brightening up the deep, gloomy underground.


    Looking around, it seemed as though there were elves in every corner of ckrock City, either conducting business or hurrying about, with many of them even riding fierce-looking giant spiders, while the surrounding dark dwarves seemed already ustomed to their presence.


    By the gods! Ive never seen so many elves in my life! If it werent for the dim surroundings, Id think I had arrived in the surface world!


    One of the dwarves in the delegation sighed softly.


    But another one in the group shook his head and retorted:


    The surface world? Im afraid you wouldnt see so many elves like these in thend above.


    As they walked forward, the air vibrated with the sound of enthusiastic cheering and apuse emanating from the sidelines.


    Firebeard and the others instinctively looked over and saw two fully armed elven warriors fighting.


    Duels like these were quite amon sight in the underground, and just as long as they didnt damage any of the citys infrastructure, the city guards tended to ignore them.


    Howeverthis particr duel felt somewhat out of ce when the actualbatants were actually elves.


    Moreover, when the passing delegation finally saw the condition of the twobatants, their expressions became even more astonished.


    Both elves were covered in blood, with gruesome wounds; one even had his stomach split open, with intestines spilling out, while the other had his shoulder severed


    Blood spattered the ground, and the air crackled with the intensity of violence.


    However, the two elvesughed heartily at each other, and continuied fighting, seemingly indifferent to their injuries.


    They even chatted with each other during the fight, as if old friendswhich Clearly indicated that, these two werent dueling out of personal grudges.


    Seeing this surreal scene, the members of the delegation were left utterly dumbfounded, as their longstanding image of elves copsing instantly


    Yet this situation was still difficult to understand:


    Have these elves finally gone mad?


    Firebeard was equally stunned, but at the same time, he suddenly remembered some recent rumors thats circting within the underground


    He then remembered one particr rumor about elves.


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    <strong>348</strong>


    <strong> ARE THESE ELVES CRAZY!?  </strong><hr>


    <strong>Authors Note:</strong> Sigh I had hoped to make the world-building as realistic andprehensive as possible, but I didnt expect it to turn out so mediocre, more like watered down<hr><hr>

 Chapter 349

    Chapter 349


    These rumors actually came from merchant caravans that have visited the Desert of Death and it is said thatst year, the half-orcs organized a full battalion to wage war against an evil god but suffered a devastating defeat.


    The oue of the battle was that tens of thousands of their troops were annihted, including the king of the half-orcs, and even the artifacts they inherited were lost.


    In addition, the rumors also stated that the orcs fought a group of elves who were actually the believers the evil god..


    However, these elves were well-equipped and abundant in numbers, with an insatiable thirst for blood and unmatched prowess inbat.


    Upon hearing these rumors, Firebeard initially dismissed them entirely, after all


    <em>A whole group of elves worshiping an evil god? </em>


    <em>Whats more, theyre said to be bloodthirsty and capable of annihting tens of thousands of troopsposed of battle hardened half-orcs?</em>


    <em>What a joke!</em>


    Even though Firebeard is a longtime resident of the underground, he still knew the inherent nature of elves very well.


    Although these pretty long-eared folks have decent strength, each one of them is as weak as amb, and they are widely known for their steadfast devotion to the World Tree.


    <em>How could these peaceful, nature loving creatures worship an evil god?</em>


    <em>Merciful H, they rarely even resort to violence against their own enemies, let alone being bloodthirsty in the battlefield! </em>


    <em>Moreoverwho doesnt know that the entire elven poption is gradually dwindling towards extinction?</em>


    <em>As such, how could they form an army capable enough to destroy the tens of thousands of orcs?</em>


    In Firebeards opinion, the rumors that the orcs suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle are most likely true.


    After all, they have endured many such defeats when they fought against the humans repeatedly for thousands of years. And this time around, they probably faced off against the Kingdom of Aries once again.


    But to say that they were defeated and their whole army was routed by the elves is simply too exaggerated!


    <em>Impossible. </em>


    <em>Absolutely Impossible! </em>


    Thus, he dismissed such absurd rumors as soon as he heard it, neither caring nor believing it, yet today, when he arrived at ckrock City and saw those strange elveshe remembered this rumor once more and a trace of doubt began to form within his mind.


    These elvesare so simr to the description in that absurd rumor!


    Moreover, if Firebeard remembers it correctly, the Deep Rift where ckrock City is located seems to be located under the Dark Mountains, which is very close to the Elven Forest, and even closer to the battlefield where the rumor imed the half-orcs were defeated!


    By the gods could it be that the rumors was actually true?


    Unknowingly, further doubt began to arose in Firebeards heart.


    Along the way to the shrine, he carefully observed these elves,paring them with the long-eared ones etched within his memory.


    But with eachparison, a growing sense of unease began to enveloped him, prompting Firebeard to heightened his vignce.


    He had to be cautious.


    For the Alliance of Hermetic City-States, any issue involving an evil god is very sensitive one, as they are always on guard against the corruption of these fallen deities


    Firebeards heart raced as he pondered of the potential threat posed by these weird looking elves. The possibility of their connection to an evil god lingered within his mind, casting a shadow of unease over his thoughts.


    However, as he watched these elves freely moving about ckrock City, and even saw the surrounding dwarves showing extra enthusiasm as if they were entirely ustomed to the presence of these elves, Firebeard felt that things might not have been as simple as he had thought.


    And as he pondered upon such matters, the delegation finally arrived in front of the Shrine of Death in the center of ckrock City.


    All the high-ranking personnel of ckrock City had long been awaiting them in front of the shrine, and Firebeard also saw from afar the high priestess of the Church of DeathLady Enno.


    He set aside his thoughts, put on a smile and greeted the ckrock city officials as each members of their delegation presented their gifts.


    Its been so many years, Lady Enno, you are still as beautiful as ever may Death forever protect you.


    Indeed its been many years, Lord Firebeard, may Death forever protect you.


    The dwarven high priestess returned the greeting.


    After that, she showed a friendly smile and said, I have received an oracle and knew of the purpose of your visit. You all have traveled a long way. We have arranged your amodation at the tavern, so please rest for a while, have lunch at the moment, and then we can proceed with further discussionster on.


    After hearing her words, Firebeards stomach rumbled with hunger.


    Their delegation had been rushing here in such a hurry, and they hadnt rested properly or eaten well for several days.


    After expressing gratitude to Lady Enno, the delegation was led by some dwarven guards to stay at a newly built tavern on the opposite the shrine, named Amway.


    The exterior of the tavern was quite unremarkable, but the interior decoration was surprisingly really exquisite and elegant.


    Several Dark-Dwarves dressed in refined maid and butler outfits moved back and forth in the tavern, and there were even dwarven minstrels ying rxing and melodious music on the side.


    From the looks of it, this ce stood in stark contrast to the usual rugged taverns typically found underground, and quite frankly, it resembled more an inn that solely catered to nobles from the surface world, much to the delegations surprise.


    And after freshening up and sitting at the dining table, the dishes prepared by the tavern personnel were even more eye-opening even for the members of the delegation.


    Each of them has a high-standing background and is quite ustomed to luxury. Nheless, unlike the usual food found in the underground, they were treated to fragrant white bread exuding a robust aroma of wheat, delectable and zesty grilled meats, an array of beautifully named dishes, aromatic fruits, and a transparent, potent, yet delightful wine.


    Oh Great Death! This tavern even has white bread? Thest time I had these things was at my city states celebration!


    Gulp fruits! So many fruits! Theyre so sweet and crisp! These must be fruits from the surface world!


    The grilled meat here smells so good! It also seems to have some spices added to it! My word, they actually extravagantly added spices to this grilled meat!


    And the wine! This is definitely the best grain-made wine Ive ever tasted! It carries a very unique aroma!


    ckrock City is it really this wealthy? No wonder its an underground city close to the surface


    The members of the delegation couldnt help but utter such words as they throughly enjoyed the delicious food served to them.


    The world underground is a harsh, barrennd where food options are rtively monotonous and scarcepared to the surface world. Therefore, having such delicacies is rare, even for the members of the delegation who hold powerful positions in their own respective city-states.


    Clearly, all these delicious foods came from the surface.


    However, contrary to the astonishment expressed by his fellowpatriots, Firebeards heart held not only surprise but also a touch of bewilderment.


    He had once visited ckrock City over a decade ago.


    Yet in his memory, the old ckrock City back then didnt have such good conditions like it does now.


    An underground city being close to the surface world does not necessarily mean that it will also bemercially prosperous and rich in goods, as one must also consider the location of the entrance to the surface world


    Generally speaking, only underground cities that are adjacent to a well-developed surface civilization, especially one belonging to humans, will have abundant surface specialties like these.


    But whats weird is that the corresponding exit of ckrock City to the surface world is the deste Dark Mountains, which are quite a remote, unpopted region in Seiges


    At most, its adjacent to the Elven Forest, which is almost just as deserted except for some monsters and nts.


    So, this begs the question


    <em>Where did this abundance of resources came from?</em>


    Firebeard just noticed that not only were they enjoying these tasteful delicacies, but the dwarves in the tavern hall were also enjoying the same delicacies from the surface world!


    Thinking of this, Firebeard couldnt help but stop a dwarven butler who was serving them and asked curiously,


    Friend, if I may ask, where do these foods in your tavernes from?


    The dark-dwarf who was stopped by Firebeard was a little embarrassed. He first bowed, then answered respectfully and proudly,


    Sir, our tavern is part of the Amway Trading Company, which is a business association founded by us and our enthusiastic elven partners. The food were offering is all traded with our elven partners on the surface.


    Firebeard was left slightly stunned.


    <em>Elves? </em>


    <em>It is rted to those Elves once again? </em>


    <strong>349</strong>


    <strong> IT IS RELATED TO THOSE ELVES ONCE AGAIN? </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 350

    Chapter 350


    The waiters response surprised Firebeard greatly.


    He initially thought it was a long-termmercial cooperation between ckrock City and some human kingdom on the surface, but to his surprise, it turned out to involved the elves instead!


    Firebeards curiosity propelled him into deeper conversation with the waiter, as thetter freely talked about the events that unfolded in ckrock City over the past year, revealing intricate details about the elves active presence within the city.


    And with each revtion, Firebeards sense of wonder grew more and more, painting a vivid picture of astonishment across his face.


    So ckrock City had indeed withstood the siege of tens of thousands of the Shadow Army, but the biggest contribution came not from the Dark Dwarves themselves, but rather, from those weird elves!


    In addition, from the waiters exnation, it seemed that these elves were actually mercenaries from the surface


    They were very resilient and tenacious inbat, with a passion for hunting monsters


    Moreover, they had settled in the Elven Forest and even reportedly established their own city within it!


    These elves werepletely different from elves in the traditional sense.


    Not only were they strong warriors, but they were also the shrewdest merchants, and furthermore the most enthusiastic allies.


    They began trading with ckrock City, bringing abundant food from the surface while also epting variousmissions from the Dark-Dwarves,unching campaigns against monsters in the Deep Rift Cavern, and even assisting inbating the remnants of the shadow army.


    Furthermore, they indeed followed a new patron deity, but its not an evil god, but rather a new deity that inherited the Divinity of life and nature!


    The Goddess of Life  Ev.


    Rumors circted that she might have ascended to godhood with the assistance of the Goddess of Death and maintained a positive rtionship with Her Majesty, H. Additionally, there were rumors suggesting that she was, in fact, a subordinate of the Goddess of Death.


    Moreover, the Orc War half a year ago did indeed ur, right at the border between the Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest, and the ones who defeated the orcs were these elves just as the rumors suggested!


    When Firebeard inquired with puzzlement about how many of these weird elves there were and where they came from, the waiter only sighed softly:


    No one knows how they arrived; its as if they appeared in an instant However, although they may seem strange at times, they are indeed elves without a doubt.


    I also dont know how many of them there are or where they came frombut its said that they appear to have their own elven legion, and it was precisely because of this that they were able to defeat the orc army


    <em>An elven legion fully capable of defeating an orc army!</em>


    Upon hearing this news, a spark of hope ignited within him, lifting his spirits.


    Perhaps this elven legion was much stronger than he had imagined, and their main force was likelyposed of silver-ranked experts!


    VaguelyFirebeard felt he already knew the reason why the Goddess of Death had ordered them toe to this small remote city on the outskirts of the underground


    After a hearty meal, the delegation once again arrived at Deaths shrine and met with the dwarven high priestess and the high-ranking officials of ckrock City in the shrines council chamber.


    Seeing Firebeards expression, which was now less mncholic and more nervously expectant, one of the elder clergymen smiled faintly:


    Lord Firebeard, it seems you already understand the intention behind Her Majestys oracle.


    Firebeard took a deep breath, asking with some hint of anticipation:


    Is it because of those elves operating here in ckrock City? They are mercenaries is it now? Perhaps we can hire them?


    Thats right.


    The elderly clergymen nodded.


    They will be our allies and shall also reinforce us in this uing war


    I have already informed them of our intentions, formally asking for their support, and I estimate that soon, their representatives will alsoe here to discuss the terms of our alliance.


    Back in the Chosen City, Li Mu, who had recentlypleted the Goddess of Life questline, was going about his daily tasks, when Little Salty Cat suddenly appeared and conveyed a message to him.


    Lady Alice asked me to go to ckrock City, and she even called you guys too?


    Thats right, its not just you, but the leaders of several major guilds have also been notified as well.


    Sitting on a nearby rock, the Little Salty Cat swung her legs, her expression somewhat excited.


    Did they say what its about?


    Li Mus curiosity piqued, carefully asking.


    It seems to be rted to the matters regarding the underground! There seems to be a brewing war between two underground factions, with one aligning with ckrock City. Theyve asked for help from ckrock City and now from us as well!


    The underground? Requesting aid from us and a brewing war?


    Li Mus eyes brightened upon hearing this.


    Is this a new questline?


    A new questline might be looming on the horizon!


    This news quickly spread among the yers as Alice, Zero, and other NPC leaders prepared to lead the high-ranking members of several major yer guilds to negotiate with ckrock City and the Dark-Dwarves.


    In no time, the Elven Forest, which had already be lively due to the recent addition of the neers from the fourth beta, became even more bustling.


    A war in the underground? Are they going to open a new map?


    Im not sure yet but I heard Brother Mu and the others are going to ckrock City for a meeting


    Oh cool! Its been a while since we had new questline that involved major battles. If its really a war, then that would be really great!


    Lets go! Lets follow them and see for ourselves!


    As the news spread, they found themselves being followed by a long string of yers eager to join in the excitement as Alice, Li Mu, and the others were about to set off.


    And when the delegation from the Hermetic Alliance, which had been staying in ckrock City, finally saw the massive elven procession, which crowded the streets to the point of congestion, they couldnt help but stare in sheer disbelief.


    Merciful Deathhowe theres so many elves? Lord Firebeard, are these the reinforcements you and Lady Enno mentioned?


    An underground dwarf widened his eyes, visibly astonished.


    Firebeard had already made some spections, so he wasnt as surprised as hispatriots, but what disappointed him somewhat was noticing that the overall strength of these elves wasnt particrly high


    Most of them were mostly at iron-rank, with the majority being mid-tier Iron-ranked experts.


    He had thought that since they were able to annihte the orc army, they must have had plenty of silver-ranked experts among them.


    <em>Unfortunately</em>


    The strength of these elves is rtively lowpared to their enemies. It would be alright if they could form arge army, but if their numbers were few, thenthe assistance of these elves might not be enough to win their side the war.


    Furthermore, realistically speakingjust how many reinforcements could these elves send anyways?


    <em>A few hundred? </em>


    <em>A few thousand?</em>


    <em>Surely not tens of thousands?</em>


    They were the aid that their Patron Deity had ordained, which might give their side the leverage to win this war, after all.


    However at most, these elves could only serve as mercenaries, plus with theirckluster strength, they might only just end up as mere cannon fodder in the end


    Moreover, it would be impossible to ask them to fight desperately for their sake


    Of course, although somewhat disappointed, Firebeard wouldnt voiced out these thoughts.


    Since their Patron Deity had directed their sides hopes towards these elves, then surely there must be another reason for Her Majestys beliefs towards them


    With this sentiment in mind, both sides began to negotiate in the council chamber of the death shrine.


    Surprisingly, the entire process of seeking support went smoothly, to the point where Firebeard was astonished to find that these elves were even more proactive about these matters than he had initially imagined.


    Upon learning that the Hermetic City-State Alliance needed reinforcements, these elves took the initiative to offer their support without even waiting for their side to request it.


    To Firebeard, it felt as if these elves couldnt wait to get into battle themselves.


    <em>What a strange group of battle fanatics </em>


    The elderly dwarf inwardly thought with slight amusement.


    However, when Firebeard inquired about how many reinforcements they could actually send, the response they gave him was somewhat peculiar.


    We can send out as many people depending on how much weaponry and equipment you guys can provide us!


    <em>Depending on the weaponry and equipment we can provide?</em>


    The world underground is in a constant state of war, and as such, the one thing theycked the least was weapons and equipment!


    Although these elves had different body typespared to them, this issue isnt really much of a problem. With the strength and efficiency of the Hermetic Alliance, their cksmiths could easily modify the equipment to suit their more bigger and slender figures.


    Although it was somewhat strange, Firebeard ultimately chose to ept this condition.


    ording to Lady Enno, providing such equipment was one of the oracles of the Goddess of Death.


    Thinking about it, Firebeard even felt that the this condition was too low.


    And so, as the news of the new questline continued to spread further in the Elven Forest, the two sides quickly reached an agreement regarding the Elven support for the underground war.


    <strong>350</strong>


    <strong> NEW QUESTLINE APPEARS </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 351

    Chapter 351


    A new questline is on the horizon!


    Upon the return of the yers who visited underground, the news of their agreement to support the Hermetic City-State Alliance quickly spread on the official forum, eliciting numerous trending posts such as War Underground, Members of Hermetic Alliance, and All Participants will be given equipment during the war, sparking fervent discussions among yers.


    The underground map is definitely going to be expanded in this uing war! I bet there will be new locations like mysticalbyrinths and more cities this time around! Dude, just thinking about it gets my adrenaline pumping!


    The devs are expanding it already? Lol, I havent even finished exploring the current map you knowdammit this games maps are just too vast.


    Thats why this game is being hailed as an epic masterpiece! Compared to ElvKing, the maps of other games are as small as a yhouse, and there is no sense of realism at all!


    What type of quest is it?


    Didnt you carefully read the description? It involves a war!


    What the!? A new war campaign? Are we participating in arge-scale battle once again? Who are we fighting this time?


    Its definitely one of the underground factions for sure, and from what I know, all participating yers will receive equipment provided by the Dark-Dwarves!


    Whoa! Anyone who participates will receive equipment crafted by Dark-Dwarves? Count me in! Most of the equipment from ckrock City is always exquisite, with high-grade value! A set could earn me a lot of contribution points! Im going! Im definitely going!


    After watching the video recording of the guild leaders meeting that they uploaded themselves, every yer who had previously participated in a war campaign was left visibly excited


    Everyone was eager to try, full of anticipation for the uing quest.


    Meanwhile, in the central za and various temples around Chosen City, the presence of veteran yers has significantly increased.


    Unanimously, they all chose to ess the exchange store, and despite their reluctance to spend their umted contribution points, each of them still bought skills or items to quickly enhance their strength in preparation for the uing quest.


    Most of them are seasoned veterans who have already experienced participating in a war campaign in the past. As such, they all knew that for this kind of quest, whoever is stronger and kills more enemies will definitely be the one to benefit the most!


    Therefore, its a no-brainer to optimize ones status to its highest capacity as soon as possible.


    Even the casual, life-oriented yers who usually leisurely operate around Chosen City have also begun making war preparations, as quests like these hold great allure for them. So much so, that even the ongoing expansion work being done in the Chosen City by the Moe Committee has slowed down for the time being.


    Consequently, due to these various circumstances, various low-quality magic potions sold among yers were almost instantly snapped up as the demand exceeded the current market supply.


    Even the alchemical products like gunpowder bags made by some yers were sold at sky-high prices


    Every yer interested in this quest was doing everything they can to prepare.


    Alternatively, as the seasoned yers carried out their activities with such fervor, the newbies from the fourth beta watched their odd behavior intently, their eyes filled with curiosity, with some of them even openly voicing out their bewilderment:


    Seniors, whats a war campaign? You all seem so excited about it.


    The clueless questioner soon received enthusiastic answers from the veterans:


    Oh! Judging by your question, you must not have watched any of ElvKings video online, right?


    Well to sum it up, war campaigns are the most exhrating and rewarding quests here in Elven Kingdom!


    Typically, it involves thousands of people participating inrge-scale battles! Such a spectacle I can guarantee that once you experience it, youll definitely be hooked! Its really different from other games; here, you can experience truly awe-inspiring warfare!


    And not only that, but in every war campaign, you can quickly earn a fortune as long as youre strong or cunning enough! With luck, you could umte tens of thousands of contribution points, even level up several times without a problem after just one battle!


    These exnation from the veteran yers naturally elicited admiration from the neers:


    Damn! Is it really that lucrative? Ive been grinding for half a month, and apart from buying my equipment, Ive only umted less than a thousand contribution points so far I want to join too!


    Of course, this newbies enthusiasm was soon dampened by the veteran yers.


    Hehe, dont get too excited. The quest is happening underground, and you need to be at least level 11 to enter this map. Too bad, but you should focus on leveling up first.


    What!? There are level restrictions? Why didnt you say so? Im off to grind my level. Hopefully, I could reach it before the campaign starts.


    Upon hearing the veteran yers advice, the fourth-beta neer hurriedly sought out NPCs to ept tasks.


    Hahaha! Dont be in such a rush, buddy From what we know, it is said this war campaign mightst for a long time and it might even be a long-term questline.


    Discussions like these among the yer base could be heard almost everywhere in the Chosen City, and after learning that level 11 was required to enter the Underground, the majority of fourth-beta neers redoubled their efforts in grinding levels by fighting monsters or doing tasks.


    They all hoped to reach the rudimentary Iron-rank as quickly as possible before the quest officially started, in hopes of joining the war campaign that all the veteran yers had long been praising about.


    Of course, more than ten in-game days had passed since the start of the fourth beta, and by now, the hardcore yers among this batch were already close to reaching this level.


    On a simr note, those with wealthy backgrounds or friends among veteran yers had also even reached the starting threshold of Iron-rank through financial means or their connections.


    And in just a few hours, the entire Elven Forest slowly awoke, akin to a massive war machine, gearing itself for war


    As Ev noticed veteran yers rapidly spending contribution points at the exchange store and neers grinding tasks at a faster pace, she couldnt help but inwardly muse:


    <em>Indeed, engaging in warfare truly seems to be a good way to stimte productivity and consumption capacity!</em>


    Following this yful thought, she finally issued the official quest prompt to everyone.


    <strong>War Campaign Questline</strong>: Battle of Underground City-States Initiated


    <strong>Quest Objective:</strong> Assist the Silent City-State Alliance, devoted to the death god H, in defeating the Dark City-State Alliance


    <strong>Quest Deadline</strong>: Unlimited


    <strong>Quest Participants</strong>: Unlimited


    <strong>Quest Level Requirements:</strong> Level 11


    <strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: All participating yers shall receive Iron-grade equipment crafted by the Dark-Dwarves; Upon sessfulpletion of the quest, every participants shall obtain the exclusive title Elven Veteran; Obtain three lucky tickets for the Lottery Prize Pool upon sessfulpletion of the campaign.


    To be honest, She didnt provide much of the rewards in this war campaign.


    The equipment will be provided by the followers of H, and the title was merely an honorary one with no actual stat bonus, whereas the only actual reward that has significant value was just the three lottery tickets.


    However, even so, within less than ten minutes of the official start of the questline, almost all veteran yers online had epted it.


    As time passed, the number of people who chose to participate continued to rise steadily as many users who were offline and back on Earth finally heard that the campaign was starting. They hurriedly came back online, fearing they would miss out on this questline.


    After participating in several war campaigns in the past, everyone knew that the most substantial rewards in suchrge-scale quests didnt actuallye from the quest rewards per se, but rather from the spoils of war during the duration of the event!


    So, even if Ev only offered three lottery tickets, the yers were still enthusiastic and was even at an all-time high.


    Meanwhile, while all this is happening in the Elven Forest, back in the underground, the delegation from the Hermetic City-State Alliance finallypleted their task of constructing a long-distance teleportation array within ckrock City and connecting it with the city-states of their members.


    <strong>351</strong>


    <strong></strong><strong>WAR CAMPAIGN QUESTLINE</strong>  <hr><hr>

 Chapter 352

    Chapter 352


    If there is any difference between the wars in the realm of Seiges and the Cold Weapon Era wars of Earth, its the involvement of extraordinary magical powers, making the direction and changes in this otherworldly warfare increasingly moreplex and unpredictable.


    Such discrepancies were especially extrapted with the existence of teleportation arrays, which are akin to a cheat-like device that canpletely alter the way siege warfare is being done in Seiges.


    Unlike back on earth wherein warfare often revolves around many months of attrition and prolonged campaigns, in Seiges wars could onlyst for a singlerge-scale battle for defending or capturing cities as these battles could determine the course of an entire war.


    The primary reason behind this is the existence of teleportation arrays, which have made long-distance support a reality.


    But of course, maintaining these arrays requires magical stones, and the consumption increases dramatically depending on the distance of the teleportation array itself and the strength of the object being teleported into


    The consumption is negligible in the initial stage, but as the number of teleportation targets increases and their strength grows, more magic stones will need to be consumed at an elerated pace.


    Therefore, for most factions on the surface, using teleportation arrays for military support is considered a rather extravagant endeavor, reserved only for dire circumstances.


    However, for the world underground, it is different since its extremely rich in mineral resources and has massive reserves of magical stones.


    Moreover, due to its close proximity to the realms provenance, the consumption of magical power during teleportation is much lowerpared to the world above.


    Thus for the denizens underground, using teleportation arrays to move their army is amon practice.


    If it werent for the Underdark region being rife with constant conflict alongside various city-states having a low level of trust even when they were in the same alliance, then teleportation arrays would have long be themon way to travel across the underground by now.


    In fact, they only agreed to install the teleportation arrays this time since the Hermetic Alliance encountered a real crisis, and the Patron Deity they believed in issued an oracle. Otherwise, they would never easily deploy such high-risk, high-reward ultra-long-distance teleportation arrays.


    And its precisely the existence of these teleportation arrays that exacerbates the wars in the underground, intensifying conflicts that either swiftly end after a single battle or escte into prolonged sieges, that may asionallyst for over a decade.


    At this moment, the City of des, thergest city-state in the Hermetic Alliance, renowned as the Forging Capital throughout the underground, is currently being besieged.


    Situated in the central-northern part of the western region of the underground, right at the border between the first and secondyers of the Underdark Region, about three hundred kilometers horizontally from the Deep Fissure Cavern, the City of des serves as the frontline base against the Dark City-State Alliance.


    The city is a cavern hollowed out from a massive stgmite, right next to the Underdark Sea.


    With a poption of approximately fifty thousands permanent residents, mainly consisting of Dark-Dwarves and subterranean Gnomes, they make up over eighty percent of the entire citys poption.


    Such numbers cannot be underestimated, as cities of this size in the underground are already quite rare.


    Moreover, unlike cities above ground inhabited by humans, nearly all residents in the underground have extraordinary powers. In many cases, a quarter of the poption is within the Iron-rank, while in certain underground cities, even half the poption surpasses that status.


    In other words, there are at least 10,000 residents in de City who have reached the Iron rank.


    In this vast underground city, the dark dwarves use stone pirs as the smelting center, build their own houses and workshops, mine and create alchemy workshops around them, while also constructing a magnificent outer wall made of solid iron ore outside the city.


    Under the luminescence of fluorescent stones in the Underdark, the outer wall gleams like a de, hence the name City of des.


    It boasts thergest-scale magic stone mine in the western region, along with astonishing reserves of mithril, fine steel, and iron ore.


    Thousands of years ago, Dark Dwarves turned it into a renowned forging city, with the equipment produced here rivaling even that of Elven craftsmanship from the surface


    The rich mineral resources in its surroundings have naturally garnered the city of des huge amounts of wealth, and this in turn naturally caused other forces to covet it.


    Hence, it is the reason why the Dark City-State Alliance chose this particr city as their first target to attack.


    At this moment, the chieftain of the City of des, a Subterranean Gnome named Brein, stood atop the city wall, gazing at the looming armyposed of Illithids, Shadow-Dwarves (Dark dwarves who believed in the god of darkness and shadows), undead, monsters, and goblins, with a grim expression.


    The enemys assault hase much earlier than they initially anticipated


    Brein had never imagined that his city would face the siege of the Dark Alliance even before the delegation he had sent to ask for reinforcements could return.


    As of today, de City has already repelled several enemy siege attempts.


    As a result, the outer walls have already been stained ck-red with the blood of dwarves and gnome soldiers, and under the dim and flickering firelight, such a scene looked particrly tragic.


    The air is thick with the scent of blood, and of the nearly twenty thousand Hermetic Alliance soldiers defending the city, five thousand of them have already returned to the Divine Kingdom of the goddess of death.


    Many fatigued soldiers rested along the city wall, their weariness evident in their weary postures and asionally, the silence was broken by the sounds of their woundedrades groaning in pain.


    Seeing this depressing sight, Breins mood grows even more heavier.


    The enemy had far surpassed his initial expectations in sheer numbers, and this time, it seemed the overall besieging forces of the Dark Alliance numbered well over a hundred thousand.


    In hindsight, the city would have already fallen ages ago if not for its inhabitants possessing strong strength, as well as the defensive core of the Church of Death being able to ward off any of the high-ranking enemy forces experts with its defensive barrier.


    But even so, without any sort of reinforcements, despite their fierce resistance, they might not hold out for much longer.


    Operating the defensive barrier requires quite a lot of manpower, and without the presence of Lord Firebeard, who can perform divine descent, the City of descks high-ranking experts to fill the role and needs to consume more power to maintain the operation of such a protective spell.


    In this situation, the soldiers on the walls could only be sacrificed as their numbers keeps dwindling more and more as the battle persisted on


    Whats even more rming and terrifying for Brein is that he noticed that there are quite a lot of high-level undead among the enemys alreadyrge army!


    Moreover, based on his observation of the battlefield, it seems the enemy also possessed some kind of artifact that could interfere with their goddesss power. It was evident since once a fellowrade of theirs is killed off by the enemy, they not long after turn into undead and join the enemys side


    Of course, this is also because the Lord of Darkness and Shadows has usurped some authority of the Goddess of Death otherwise how could these undead who betray the goddess be allowed to run rampant like this?


    Thinking of the delegation heading towards ckrock City, Brein couldnt help but sighed deeply.


    Lord Firebeard when will you return with the reinforcements?


    His already diminutive figure looks even more hunched at this moment.


    The delegation has been gone for many days


    Based on his estimates, Lord Firebeard should by now already be seeking reinforcements from the surface through ckrock City.


    After all, in the goddesss oracle, She instructed the personnel of the City of des to prepare arge quantity of humanoid equipment in advance as a mode of payment for the reinforcements to use.


    Most likelythe reinforcements will consist primarily of humans from the surface.


    Mercenary groupsposed of humans enjoy a notable reputation across Seiges, with some even reputed to harbor legendary ranked experts!


    If Lord Firebeard could return with such a powerful mercenary group, then perhapsthere might be hope for them!


    Just as Brein was lost in thought, suddenly, a dwarf warrior stumbled onto the city wall, shouting excitedly:


    Lord Firebeard is finally back! The Lord has returned with reinforcements!


    <em>Lord Firebeard is back? </em>


    <em>The reinforcements have finally arrived?</em>


    Upon hearing this news, Breins spirits immediately soared.


    He swiftly turned his body, looking up at the dwarven warrior who arrived before him, and asked eagerly:


    Did you say the reinforcements have finally arrived? Is it a human mercenary group?


    Upon hearing Breins words, the dwarf in question paused briefly with some look of hesitation painted across his face.


    Then, a peculiar expression settles over his face as the dwarven warrior replied,


    No its not actually humans, butelves instead.


    Upon hearing this unexpected answer, Breins expression shifted to one of utter bewilderment.


    E-Elves?


    <strong>352</strong>


    <strong> REINFORCEMENTS FROM THE SURFACE  </strong><hr><hr>

 Chapter 353

    Chapter 353


    <em>The reinforcements were elves?</em>


    Upon hearing this, Brein first paused, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind the words of the dwarven warrior that reported it¡­


    He then rubbed his ear and frowned before adding,


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t catch that clearly. Could you please repeat? Did you mean the reinforcements that came were mercenaries who specialized in hunting elves from the surface?¡±


    Surely he must have misheard the report just now.


    After all¡­it¡¯s impossible for their reinforcements to be those peace-loving elves, right?


    Especially in a war here in the underground!


    Those pitiful long-eared beings aren¡¯t capable of violence, and in most cases, it¡¯s the other way around. They need protection instead since, after all, most of the elves nowadays are just ves.


    There were even some elven ves here in the city of des, and most of them were being protected asmodities owned by some noble dwarves to be sold as servants, in order topete with the human caravans from the surface¡­ However, upon hearing Brein¡¯s inquiry, the dwarven warrior¡¯s expression showed an even more peculiar look.


    ¡°No, Chief, it¡¯s not a mercenary group hunting elves. It¡¯s actually the elves themselves, you know¡­ those kinds of elvesmonly depicted in troubadour stories! Those tall, beautiful, long-eared beings! They have truly arrived, and they havee in great numbers as reinforcements!¡±


    Brein¡¯s mouth hung open.


    <em>Really now¡­ are our reinforcements actually elves?</em>


    But soon, his expression changed¡­


    <em>Oh death almighty! </em>


    <em>Has Lord Firebeard gone mad?</em>


    Leaving aside where he found these elves and how he persuaded them toe as their reinforcements, what Brein foundpletely asinine was that Lord Firebeard¡­ actually dared to seek elves as their reinforcements?


    <em>Damn it! </em>


    Why in the zing hell did their lord choose these long-eared beings who can¡¯t even bear to kill a mole to participate in a bloody war that will decide the future of their city?


    <em>Ridiculous! </em>


    <em>Totally and utterly¡­ridiculous! </em>


    Although personally, he quite admired these elven folks. After all, who doesn¡¯t like kind-hearted beings? But he also knew that these nature and peace-loving folks aren¡¯t entirely suited for warfare!


    Elves and war are practically two words that are entirely worlds apart.


    Surely, there must be some kind of mistake!


    ¡°Take me to see them quickly,¡± Brein said urgently.


    As someone mentored by Firebeard himself, Brein still highly respects this Dark-Dwarven elder.


    Yet he couldn¡¯t fathom that Firebeard, this wise mentor of his didn¡¯t understand what kind of reinforcements their city needed at this very moment.


    There¡­must be a reason unbeknownst to him as to why things ended up like this.


    He just had to go and see what was going on¡­


    And so, whilst being apanied by some guards, Brein quickly arrived at the ce where the long-range teleportation array was set up in de City.


    The ce they arrived was the Church of Death in the center of de City and and also the core of the city¡¯s defense system.


    The teleportation array was set up here to utilize the power of the city¡¯s core and reduce the consumption of long-range teleportation.


    When Brein arrived, he immediately spotted Firebeard, the old dwarf, from afar.


    Seeing Brein approaching, Firebeard¡¯s mood perked up, and he hurriedly greeted him:


    ¡°Chief Brein, I¡¯m finally back, and I¡¯ve brought along with me the warriors that were foretold by the Oracle of Her Majesty.¡±


    <em>Warriors foretold by the Oracle of Her Majesty? </em>


    Brein was slightly taken aback and followed Firebeard¡¯s line of sight to the teleportation array.


    The area around the array was already crowded with local residents, curiously eyeing the tall figures stepping out of the teleportation array¡­


    Handsome and graceful looking beings came out of it one after another, solidifying the fact that their reinforcements were indeed elves.


    As the teleportation array continuously flickered with light, the elves that emerged from it looked around with curiosity.


    asionally, one could even hear exmations from them such as:


    ¡°Wow! This ce is much more magnificent than ckrock City! So de City was built inside hollowed caves¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much darker here than over at ckrock City¡­this ce must be deeper underground. But the city lights are really beautiful!¡±


    ¡°Look, guys, are those forges actually using fires andva drawn from the underground? I must say¡­this new map truly give the aesthetic of the mysterious underground worldmonly depicted in most fantasy games!¡±


    The elves were conversing in the universalnguage of Seig¨¹es, which was quite familiar to Brein.


    However, their visibly curious and excited expressions as well as joyful voices gives them the impression of sightseeing tourists rather than the reinforcements Lord Firebeard had invited.


    Not only that but Brein also noticed a stark contrast in the equipment of these elves¡­


    Some of them were well-equipped with splendid-looking gear, seemingly crafted by the most skilled elven artisans, that even shimmered with a faint light in this dim underground ce¡­


    It looks undoubtedly valuable; however, such eye-catching equipment also easily raised some suspicions within Brein¡­


    Did they wear these gorgeous equipment just to unt it?


    After all, to him, all this neat-looking gear without any visible marks of battle clearly showed that these equipments hadn¡¯t been worn nor experienced any kind of battle¡­


    However, such elves were few in number, and the strange thing is that the vast majority of them wore no equipment at all and only donning simple, revealing tunics¡­


    Brein felt entirely frustrated upon seeing this.


    <em>Sigh, why are most of these elves dressed as if they are out here for a swim instead of going to battle!?</em>


    <em>Merciful H! These exhibitionist are not even as good as their fully armed counterparts! </em>


    <em>Are these really the kind of reinforcements they¡¯re getting?</em>


    <em>Are this people really¡­ the promised warriors from their Patron Deity¡¯s oracle?</em>


    <em>What a joke!</em>


    While silently observing the unreliable elves¡¯ scanty attire, theirck of seriousness, as well as their rxed and cheerful demeanor, as they moved about without a care in the world, Brein found the entire situation absolutely absurd.


    With him having twenty years of mercenary experience in the underground, Brein could guarantee that these elves¡­ were definitely not professional mercenaries!


    Heck, they seemed more like a group of pampered human noble sons and daughters out on vacation!


    As for their overall strength¡­ it disappointed Brein even more!


    There¡¯s not even one Silver-ranked expert among them!


    If the reinforcements called by Lord Firebeard are like this, then¡­ Brein really doesn¡¯t know if their side has any chance of winning at all¡­


    ¡°Are they really¡­the warriors from the Oracle?¡±


    Brein couldn¡¯t help but ask with a tone full of skepticism.


    Seeing his junior¡¯s strange expression and forced smile, Firebeard surprisingly understood.


    The elderly dwarf nodded gently and sighed softly.


    ¡°Chief Brein, don¡¯t be surprised. In fact, my heart is also filled with the same confusion as yours. However, I have prayed to Her Majesty and received her response. You may find it hard to believe, but they are indeed truly the reinforcements foretold by our Patron Deity¡¯s Oracle!¡±


    Brein was stunned.


    <em>The Goddess of Death had actually responded and even gone so far as to confirm it?</em>


    <em>Their aloof and mysterious Patron Deity? </em>


    Well, if that was the case, then nothing was more convincing than such a response. But when Brein shifted his gaze to these carefree long-eared beings, he still couldn¡¯t connect them with the supposed heroic warriors promised by the oracle¡­


    Not to mention anything else, just theirck of discipline alone was enough to dismiss them as mere fresh greenhorns who still haven¡¯t experienced any kind of battle!


    Just a few minutes after these elves came out of the array, Brein saw an elf shout, ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead,¡± and happily slip away to who knows where into de City¡­


    If he personally didn¡¯t know these elves were brought back by Lord Firebeard himself, he would have almost suspected them of actually being spies from the enemy.


    ¡°Cough, Chief, are the equipment prepared by the city council for the reinforcements ready? If you remember, the reward we promised for participating in this war is providing those equipment.¡±


    Seeing Brein¡¯s less-than-pleased expression, Firebeard asked again.


    ¡°Huh, the equipment? Hmm¡­well, over eight thousand sets have been modified to suit a humanoid build, just like what the oracle asked for. Rest assured Lord Firebeard, the equipment is sufficient enough.¡±


    Brein answered somewhat absentmindedly.


    But as soon as he finished speaking, Brein blinked slightly as if he realized something.


    Now he understood why most of these elves weren¡¯t properly equipped and were only wearing skimpy outfits¡­


    If his guess is right, then these elves were probably waiting for their side to provide the equipment!


    ¡ª <strong>353</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>REST ASSURED THE EQUIPMENT IS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 354

    Chapter 354


    Since the other party is willingly providing them with equipment, the yers naturally are more inclined to participate in battle without using their own personal gear!


    After all, binding equipment requires contribution points, and the numerous previous war campaigns have well proven that these kinds of battles are the kind of quests that can easily lower the durability of their equipment the most.


    As such, most yers are naturally happy to forgo their own hard-earned personal equipment that they¡¯ve gotten after much difficulty in favor of being able to use dwarven equipment that¡¯s provided to them free of charge.


    Moreover, some individuals are even contemting the idea of not using their primary weapons and just using the ones they¡¯ll be provided. However, they ultimately abandoned this notion as it would proved to be too detrimental, given the significant effects of weapons purchased in the exchange store and the unfamiliarity of using an entirely new weapon.


    Of course, not everyone shared the same idea, and quite a few people still opted in using their own personal gear.


    However, most of these yers are fully armed tanks, equipped with gear that boasts ridiculously high durability or special properties like [Toughness], and thus, are not entirely afraid of incurring wear and tear during these huge battles.


    Nevertheless, Chief Brein naturally didn¡¯t know anything about these things, and at that moment, he just felt really disappointed by the reinforcements that they had been given.


    However, since things have ended up as they are, he surmised that nothing can be changed about it anymore, and sulking about it wouldn¡¯t aplish anything.


    At the very least¡­they¡¯ve gotten some sort of reinforcements. Moreover, since the Goddess of Death¡¯s oracle involves to these elves, then perhaps Her Majesty surely¡­must have some sort of hidden considerations that he¡¯s not aware of¡­


    Brein sighed,forting himself with various reasons, while instructing some of his subordinates to begin distributing the equipment they had long been prepared for the reinforcements.


    This is the promise made by their Patron Deity, so naturally, they won¡¯t break it.


    Looking over at the teleportation array, the number of elves that was sent over isn¡¯t that many, yet they still continue to arrive without interruption.


    However, based upon Brein¡¯s estimates, most likely there wouldn¡¯t be too many elves that are going to participate, and the eight thousand equipment sets that they have prepared are more than enough to supply the anticipated needs.


    What surprises him a bit, though, is that there are quite a few females among these participating elves, and many of them are warriors even.


    One thing that concerns him also is that the proportion of elven spellcasters seems to be even higher, ounting for almost one-third of the crowd.


    This left him feeling a bit awkward because most of the equipment they prepared is geared towards melee-based warriors rather than spellcasters¡­


    However, these elves didn¡¯t seem to mind much, seemingly content as long as they were adequately provided with equipment.


    He subtly asked one of the elven mages, who told him that they don¡¯t care about the type of equipment because they don¡¯tck it themselves.


    In addition, they n to treat the equipment they received aspensation and sell it after the war.


    Upon hearing this, Brein finally felt that these elves were a bit like the elves he had known.


    It¡¯s really silly¡­they are already thinking of what to do with the equipment afterwards when they don¡¯t even know whether they can survive the war in the first ce¡­


    He shook his head slightly.


    Just as his subordinates were distributing equipment to the elves, suddenly¡­ a deep roar echoed from outside the city.


    The echoing roar, resembling that of a water buffalo, held a bloodthirsty excitement that reverberated for quite a while.


    This was the roar of an underground monster, and this particr kind of monster ismonly used as a mount here in the underground. Additionally, because of their incredibly loud roar, the armies of various city-states often also use them as signals.


    And in the army of the Dark Alliance, this particr shouts serve asmands, one of which Brein ispletely familiar with.


    ¡ªThe enemy is preparing to attack once again.


    Just as the initial roar subsided, another burst of roars came from afar not long after, just as the ground of the entire de City began to shake¡­


    The enemy was finally on the move.


    The recent enemy signal echoed throughout de City, sending tremors through the ground. In response, the residents paled, and amidst the chaos, the dwarves and gnomes around the teleportation array scattered in panic, seeking cover one by one.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Dark Alliance¡¯s signal to attack. They¡¯re going tounch a new round of assault on our city!¡±


    Brein¡¯s expression turned grave.


    At the same time, he also noticed the surrounding elves suddenly collectively shudder in unison, as almost all of them stopped what they were doing at the same moment before instantly turning their gaze toward the direction outside the city.


    Unlike the visibly tense soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance, the elves underwent a noticeable transformation. Their previouslyid back demeanor shifted, as their eyes shimmered with newfound intensity, whilst each of their expressions alight with excitement.


    ¡°Haha! Is the battle about to start?¡±


    ¡°Guys, get your weapons ready! This time we¡¯ll be doing the same thing as we did before!¡±


    ¡°Quick, notify those who haven¡¯t logged in yet! Tell them to hurry up! We still don¡¯t have enough people at the moment!¡±


    ¡°All First Legion members, gathered up and form your teams!¡±


    ¡°Autobots Guild members ready your team!¡±


    ¡°Moe Moe¡¯s legion is weing any non affiliated yers! solo yers, you can temporarily join us for this campaign! We have lots of female druids that can heal you!¡±


    ¡°Dammit, you big shots! don¡¯t just focus on forming teams! Guys, get on the battlefield GC channel first! The field Commander is calling us to get on the battlefield GC to coordinate ourmands!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re here, they¡¯re here!¡±


    Whilst speaking words Brein couldn¡¯t understand, the elves quickly sprung into action, creating a hugemotion in front of the Church of Death.


    At the same time, in the midst of the chaos, Brein observed a subtle coordination underlying the elves¡¯ actions¡­


    These scattered elves seemed to be adjusting something, and after a moment of chaos, they suddenly became disciplined, even though no one wasmanding them at all, as if they all received some kind of unified order, as they all began to form their own respective teams.


    Although it was still not very professional, surprisingly, they managed to form some semnce of order within their ranks¡­


    Not only that, but Brein also noticed that each of these elves disyed high morale across their faces.


    Many of them were excitedly shouting, as if they were about to embark not on a battle where death was imminent, but rather, on a bloodthirsty festival instead¡­


    Witnessing the sudden change within these elves, Brein felt somewhat taken aback.


    Looking at them behaving like this¡­


    <em>Are these really the elves that he knew who hates war and love peace?</em>


    In the meantime, as he was observing them silently, four elves, whose obviously better equipped than those around them, approached where he stood.


    It consist of three men and one woman.


    Their strength stood out prominently among the other elves, and each of them are upper Iron-ranked experts.


    Except for that one warrior who seemed to have just recently broken through, the remaining individuals had powerful auras, clearly at the peak of Iron-rank.


    Of course, their strength was still not enough in the eyes of Brein, who was an intermediate Silver-ranked expert, but in war, an individuals strength is sometimes really not that important.


    Especially in siege battles here in the underground.


    Under the leadership of a druid, the four of elves advanced towards Brein. Their initial greeting came in the form of a respectful salute, followed by words delivered with seriousness.


    ¡°Greetings, I¡¯m Li Mu, the fieldmander of the Elven Legion that came as reinforcements. How do you need us to proceed in this war?¡±


    <em>Elven Legion?</em>


    Brein was momentarily stunned as his expression morphed into one of seriousness.


    He suddenly felt that maybe he had underestimated these elves¡­


    ¡°How many of you are going to participate in this war exactly?¡±


    He first asked the question he was very curious about.


    The elf who introduced himself as Li Mu grinned while his eyes flickered to the upper right corner, then smiled enigmatically.


    ¡°Currently, we have 1643 people who have been sessfully teleported here, but¡­ this is just our vanguard forces. I assure you, there are many, many more that willeter on. I can¡¯t give you an urate number, but I think we have enough people for this war.¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s answer didn¡¯t satisfy Brein very much, but seeing him and the elves behind him, who were brimming with excitement, the chief of de City thought for a moment and said:


    ¡°This time, we¡¯re fighting a defensive battle, which is centered around the city¡¯s outer perimeter walls. I hope you can cooperate with our warriors to resist the enemy¡¯s attacks and defend the city walls.¡±


    After hearing his words, Li Mu nodded in response.


    ¡°I understand. In addition, considering that more of our people will join the battleter on, I hope your side will ensure logistics in a timely manner. We¡­ may need arge amount of equipment for them.¡±


    Brein waved his hand nonchntly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I assure you the one thing we¡¯re notcking here in de City is equipment!¡±


    Li Mu smiled.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    Following his words, Li Mu saluted Brein once more before gesturing with a wave of his hand. Then, he took the lead, guiding the rest of excited elves toward the city walls like a rushing torrent.


    ¡ª <strong>35</strong>4 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ELVEN LEGION ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 355

    Chapter 355


    As the signal horn of the Dark Alliance¡¯s assault resounded, de City slowly transformed into a massive war machine, transitioning into a wartime state.


    The entire city was instantly enveloped in a tense atmosphere.


    Residents scattered about, with those below the rank of Iron retreating to their homes, while those with strength above it carried bags of supplies and spontaneously formed into various teams to support the war effort.


    Chief Brein, the current leader of the Council of Elders, while being apanied by soldiers, followed the flow of yers towards the outer city wall.


    As the current acting ruler of de City, he had to shoulder the responsibility ofmand, ensuring the city¡¯s defense and coordinating its forces against the impending attack.


    However, Firebeard, the dwarven elder, chose not to leave.


    Instead, he chose to return to the Death¡¯s church in de City, wherein under the watchful and relieved eyes of the surrounding clergymen activated the city¡¯s defense core¡­


    While others were capable of handling this task, past enemy assaults had well proven that Lord Firebeard, in his role as a Godwarden, was better suited to operate it.


    With Firebeard¡¯s at the helm, the power of faith stored within the shrine instantly activated the defense system.


    Streams of dark gray energy diverged in two directions from the shrine. One flowed along the ground, as it swiftly cloaked the city walls of de City, while the other ascended into the skies, forming a protective dome over the entire city like an inverted bowl, encasing de City within a translucent barrier.


    This was the same method used during the defense of ckrock City against the Shadow Legion, wherein arge-scale divine spell defense barrierparable to a banishing curse protected the entire city.


    However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that this divine spell barrier did notpletely sealed but instead left some gaps on the city walls.


    There is nothing that can be done about it¡­


    Should the barrier fully seal the city, the consumption of the power of faith would increase exponentially, depleting the remaining power within the shrine at a rapid rate.


    Therefore, the defensive barrier could only protect the most probable ambush points on the surface and underground, while keeping a portion of the city wall open forbat with the enemy in this zone.


    As such, this unprotected areas also became the most vulnerable zones where casualties urred the most.


    Here in thend underground, teeming with creatures proficient at climbing, the role of the city walls was far less significant than on the surface, and their value simplyy in directing the battle onto the top of the walls.


    At this moment, the Dark-Dwarven warriors and gnome mages stood atop the city walls, their tense demeanor betraying their anticipation as they readied various long-range mechanical contraptions to counter the approaching enemy army, with their eyes darting nervously to the scene below.


    Meanwhile, the Dark Alliance army,prised mostly of monsters, dark dwarves, illithids, undead, and goblins, slowly encircled de City¡­


    Looking at it from a bird¡¯s eye view, all that could be seen was a dense mass of ominous figures surrounding the city.


    Moreover, as the enemy army marches forward, the ground trembled, as the relentless monster roars and howls echoed with a primal fury through the vicinity.


    In the dim underground, such presence felt really oppressive and foreboding.


    A few defending soldiers in de City started to look concerned as they realized the enemy¡¯s army size this time was muchrger than before.


    After days of relentless siege, the Dark Alliance meticulously gauged de City¡¯s defenses. Guided by the strategic prowess of Lich King Perone, their forces stood ready this time to dismantle the stronghold of the Hermetic Alliance in one decisive strike.


    Leading the charge were goblin troops.


    They were poorly equipped but numerous, and under the threat of the death knights behind them, they carried alongdders and rushed toward the city walls¡­


    These goblins are clearly cannon fodder, yet they also serve as the vanguard force of the enemy.


    ¡°Goblins! Ready your bows!¡±


    Seeing a ¡®sea¡¯ of goblins rushing towards them, the dwarven soldiers on the walls bore grave expressions. They then raised their bows and awaited for the signal before firing their arrows in unison.


    With a swishing sound, thousands of arrows fell like rain into the sea of goblins from below, and in the blink of an eye, these weak creatures fell in droves.


    s¡­ there were just too many goblins.


    Driven by themander of the Dark Alliance army, the goblins, with bloodshot eyes, began brandishing their crudely crafted swords, bearing makeshiftdders, or firing short bows as they surged recklessly ahead.


    In response, the dwarven steam cannons installed on the walls resounded with thunderous roars, sending huge steel balls into the goblin army, smashing these unlucky fellows into meat paste.


    However, no matter how great the casualties they incurred, these goblins did not retreat, not even a single step.


    s, this was the fate of the weak.


    As one of the affiliated races of the Dark Alliance, the illithids and dark dwarves raised these goblins with the sole purpose of being cannon fodder.


    Their fate is doomed and would also endanger their own tribes if they didn¡¯t fight desperately.


    After suffering huge casualties, these goblins eventually reached the base of the city wall, hastily erectingdders andmencing their ascent amidst the magical bombardment from the gnome mages¡­


    Momentster, the tide of the battle began to shift from ranged to close-quarterbat.


    The dwarven warriors stationed atop the city walls roared, as they wield their axes and giant hammers to either chopped the goblins that managed to climb up in half or pounding them into a pulp.


    The goblins, in response, disyed varying degrees of panic, with some screaming madly. Yet, whether gripped by fear, panic, or adrenaline, all those who scaled the city wall opted not to retreat but instead wielded their weapons, shing at the dwarven warriors as if their very lives depended on it.


    Perhaps these goblins generallycked considerable strength, with the majority of them not even reaching level 10, but their locust-like numbers were enough to overwhelm any dwarven warrior with their reckless swarm tactics.


    Curses, screams, and groans filled the air, apanied by the whizzing of arrows and the crunch of des piercing bones, allbining into a macabre symphony that transformed the city wall into a nightmarishndscape.


    Due to the fact that the city walls was too long and there were just too many goblins, the defending soldiers quickly found themselves surrounded by a sea of green.


    Each defending soldier began to umte wounds one after another, as their axes gradually dulled with each swing, and their breaths became heavier and morebored.


    However, at this moment when the tide seemed to be turning against their favor, the defending soldiers suddenly heard shoutsing from behind them.


    ¡°Charge! Strike them down! For the elves! Wait, no, for our partnership with the Hermetic Alliance!¡±


    ¡°Forward, my fellowrades!¡±


    ¡°Urrah¡ª!¡±


    Apanied by excited shouts, tall long-eared figures rushed up the city walls one after another.


    Amidst the chaos, these figures emerged like a torrential storm, their ranks a blend of genders, adorned in resplendent armor or draped in modified de City gear.


    Their sudden appearance instantly plunged the chaotic battlefield into an even more frenzied state.


    ¡°Damn! So we¡¯re fighting goblins! There¡¯s so many of them!¡±


    ¡°Haha! No worries, this is what I¡¯m best at!¡±


    With wildughter and excited expressions, they hacked through the sea of goblins relentlessly, as though slicing melons and vegetables, purposefully driving them back down the walls.


    The sudden appearance of these new unfamiliar enemies startled the goblins as they quickly descended into chaos, each instinctively dodging and huddling together for protection.


    Yet, their attempts to huddle together offered no refuge, as they soon met their demise, either incinerated by fireballs or pierced like sieves by ice des in a rhythmic barrage of incantations.


    The elves¡¯ adept maneuvers, coupled with their precise strikes aimed at each goblin¡¯s vulnerabilities, and their seamless coordination, executing the ¡°ughter-intimidate-disperse-magic resolution¡± tacrics, gave the impression of seasoned professionals at work.


    Witnessing the yers abruptly storming the city walls seemingly out of nowhere andunching into a frenzy of killing left the defending dark dwarves and gnomes utterly stunned.


    ¡°El-Elves?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>355</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>URRAH¡ª! ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 356

    Chapter 356


    yers had long been ustomed to fighting goblins.


    After all, Goblins were among the first mobs that yers had encountered at the beginning. Moreover, the seeding second and third beta yers also often fought these creatures, as they can be seen using some ruins around the Elven Forest as their shelter.


    As such, the official forums were filled with relevant posts detailing strategies on how to swiftly deal with these cowardly and cunning creatures in a efficient manner.


    By this point, most of the veteran yers have umted enough experience through countless battles that they can anticipate enemy movements with precision. Even when facing creatures other than goblins, their tactical prowess shines through, enabling them to adapt swiftly and effectively to any foe.


    In this battlefield, there is no trace of fear among anyone, particrly since the enemy they¡¯re fighting against are weak.


    Hence, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the tide of the battle suddenly shifted as the elves charged up like madmen, relentlessly hacking at any goblins they came across, swiftly pushing them back down the walls¡­


    Throughout the vicinity of the city walls, simr events unfolded, with goblins mercilessly in in the sections where the Elves appeared.


    Even as the goblins tried to resist, the elves ignored their attacks, focusing only on eradicating them. Theypletely disregarded the iing sword and dagger attacks, except when aimed at their vital spots.


    Pain and fear of death seemed entirely nonexistent to any of them as every elf was singrly focused on their task of killing goblins with ruthless efficiency.Moreover, among the ranks of elves, there were some individuals donning magnificent heavy armor.


    They resembled hulking monsters masquerading as people, wielding their giant swords or steel axes as they rampaged among the goblins.


    Some weaker goblins were even knocked down by them, before being crushed under the weight of their armor¡­


    These yers d in full armor were the tanks, specializing in defense and meleebat, and the very sight of them massacring the goblins whilstughing hysterically with some even casually counting andparing kills is what greeted Chief Brein when he arrived at the city walls.


    Seeing such a surreal sight sent shivers down his spine¡­


    <em>T-This¡­</em>


    <em>This was just too brutal, wasn¡¯t it?!</em>


    <em>Were these fellows¡­ really elves?</em>


    Brein¡¯s mind was filled with shock at the absurdity of this scene.


    However, his initial feelings of shock came and went abruptly. After a brief moment of terror, Brein¡¯s mood was quickly reced by exhration.


    Thebat prowess of these elves far exceeded his expectations!


    Though they were weaker individually, their coordination was impable, indicating extensivebat experience.


    More importantly, they seemed entirely fearless, even relishing in the carnage of the battlefield!


    While they initially appearedx when he first saw them, they transformed into rabid wolves once the battle began, disying remarkable coordination and discipline.


    After observing for a while, Brein also noticed that these elves were not fighting chaotically like he initially thought. They understood the importance of teamwork and knew when to rest, as if guided by some unseen hand.


    However, the weird thing is that despite craning his neck for a while, Brein still couldn¡¯t find their supposed elfmander.


    In fact, Li Mu, who imed to be their fieldmander, was hiding behind the crowd, hurling vine spells at the goblins while shoutingmands, but his voice was easily drowned in the chaos of battle¡­


    Such a presence couldn¡¯t possiblymand all the elves currently active within the battlefield.


    Brein couldn¡¯t understand it all;


    Ultimately, he could only attribute this to the inherent nature of these elves as naturally born warriors!


    Of course, what Brein was unaware of is that every yer at that moment was connected to the GC channel, attentively listening to Li Mu¡¯s impassionedmands while am invigorating battle BGM yed in the background.


    For the yers, these goblins giving try amounts of experience were simply adorable, and this overwhelming one-sided battle was incredibly exhrating.


    Who wouldn¡¯t love such kind of easygoing situation!


    The more they fought, the more enjoyable it became, and the better they performed!


    In fact, this initial wave of elven reinforcements marked only the beginning. Over time, an increasing number of newer elves kept on arriving, as their shouts and howls echoed widely throughout the battlefield.


    These new arrivals surged towards the enemy like ravenous wolves, eager to partake in the feast of ughter, whilst the number of elves on the city walls kept increasing at a visible rate.


    Over time, even Brein also observed that certain areas had been entirely taken over by the elves, with the dwarves and gnomes who initially defended these areas now pushed to the sidelines, as if they¡¯ve been reduced to mere spectators.


    Their numbers keep on increasing, and despite some individuals perishing in battle, their fallenrades received little to no acknowledgment nor care from the rest of the elves.


    This tant disregard for life and death left Brein utterly stunned but at the same time, also filled him with incredulous awe¡­


    These elves¡­are actually quite suitable to be followers of their Patron Deity, the Goddess of Death!


    At this moment, he finally understood why Her Majesty¡¯s oracle had foretold that these elves were the key to their side¡¯s victory.


    If they all possessed such impable collective strength, and coupled with their cooperation of the Hermetic Alliance warriors, de City would definitely survive just as long as they persevered and prevented the stronger members of the Dark Alliance from breaking through the city¡¯s defensive barrier.


    Brein took a deep breath and joined the battlefield.


    While chanting some spells, he alsomanded the dwarven and gnome soldiers on the city walls.


    As if to confirm Brein¡¯s thoughts, the goblins finally sumbed amidst the elves¡¯ frenzied ughter not long after.


    In the end, these Goblins were not battle hardened warriors.


    When their casualties reached a terrifying number, these cannon fodders were frightened out of their courage as one by one, the Goblins either turned around and fled or knelt down and begged for mercy¡­


    s, the elves were utterly merciless and kept on the pursuit, attacking them regardless with wanton ughter.


    For yers, there was no mercy on the battlefield.


    And soon, all the goblins who managed to climb onto the city walls were either killed on the spot, pushed down by the disoriented crowd, or simply turned and jumped off the wall, their fate unknown.


    Outside the city walls, the number of goblins also dwindled as their casualties kept increasing.


    Eventually, the goblins fleeing soon triggered a chain reaction, causing the entire goblin army to copse¡­


    However, at that moment, when the entire Goblin forces seemed to bepletely routed, another loud roar echoed from the army of the Dark Alliance.


    The ground trembled once more as the dark army once again began to move.


    Countless skeletons, their armor glinting with spectral mes burning in their eye sockets, organized themselves into disciplined formations. Guided by the silent directives of theirmanding Death Knights, they surged forward in an ominous advance towards de city.


    One by one, they assaulted the fleeing goblins as the Undead Legion initiated its attack.


    With each step forward, the bodies of the fallen goblins unexpectedly revived one after another¡­


    These unfortunate souls that was in beyond the walls, secondster transformed into undead, bolstering the Dark Alliance¡¯s forces.


    ¡ª <strong>356</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ FEAST OF SLAUGHTER ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 357

    Chapter 357


    If the goblin army serves as the initial expendable force to test de City¡¯s defenses, then the undead legion of the Dark Alliance is the vanguard meant to formally initiate the siege.


    Whilst being apanied by newly revived undead goblins, numerous skeleton soldiers d in armor surged toward de City like a tide, rendering the already deste and frigid underground surroundings even more colder with the appearance of the undead legion.


    It was not the first time the undead had attacked de City, and the defending soldiers on the city walls had clearly dealt with them before. Nheless, seeing the marching tide of skeletons still elicited such dread within each dwarven and gnome soldier as their breaths grew heavier in an instant¡­


    As followers of the Goddess of Death, none understood the sheer terror that these undead could bring about more than they did.


    The undead couldn¡¯t feel pain nor any kinds of emotion, and instead solely obedient in following themands of their conductor, akin to a group of machines that only know how to kill and nothing else¡­


    Based on their past experiences, dealing with the undead requires the main conductor to be in otherwise the skeletons would keep reviving themselves¡­


    Facing an undying army is terrifying enough, yet the most chilling aspect ofbatting the undeady in the possibility of their own fallenrades joining the enemy¡¯s side upon their demise.


    To sh against the sword of an undead who was just recently your friend or fellowpatriot, fighting side by side, is a harrowing ordeal no one is willing to face.


    On the other hand, unlike the soldiers of de City, the elves¡¯ reactions became rather curious upon seeing the undead.¡°Undead?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we allies with the Goddess of Death?¡±


    Seeing the elves¡¯ confusion, Brein sighed deeply and exined:


    ¡°Those are fallen undead of the Dark Alliance¡­¡±


    ¡°They have betrayed Her Majesty and instead pledge their allegiance to the God of Darkness and Shadow. They have gained immense power from the realm of shadows and the abyss, bing wicked fallen ones!¡±


    ¡°They are more terrifying than an ordinary undead, even corrupting corpses and other undead, transforming them into their own kind¡­¡±


    After he finished exining, Brein nced deeply at the rear of the undead legion, tightening his grip on his staff.


    In fact, there was one thing he didn¡¯t mention¡­


    This is, under normal circumstances, as followers of the Goddess of Death, they should have been able to easily obliterate these fallen undead with the power of their Patron Deity.


    However, the Dark Alliance seemed to have some special means that could suppress their ability to control the undead.


    Not only did it affect these fallen undead, but even their very own Necromancers faced difficulty in summoning their own undead.


    And even if they somehow managed to summon their undead, their condition was oddly poor, easily tainted by the enemy¡¯s power¡­


    Listening to Brein¡¯s exnation, the yers were left slightly stunned.


    Yet, those yers who had prior experience battling the undead carefully observed and noticed that these fallen undead are different from the usual kind they encountered before.


    Specifically, unlike the typical undead, the mes flickering in the eye sockets of these fallen undead were not the usual blue but a dark red instead.


    In addition, they were also shrouded in a faint ck mist, resembling the shadow monsters they often encountered in the dungeon, while also carrying a hint of simrity with the Despair scaled monsters¡­


    Watching the undead army drawing nearer, Brein reminded sternly,


    ¡°We must not let them breach the city walls! Quickly remove the dead bodies on the walls! Otherwise, they will corrupt these corpses and transform them into new fallen undead!¡±


    However, contrary to what he expected, the elves sounded ecstatic upon hearing his reminder.


    ¡°¡±Hey, whether they¡¯re regr undead or fallen ones, thetter seems to be more stronger! Maybe they can give us more EXP points!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Sounds good! Is this going to a sh between two types of undying disaster?¡±


    ¡°There are so many of them! I wonder how many experience points killing them will provide us? In any case, I¡¯m going to kill them to my heart¡¯s content today!¡±


    ¡°Everyone! Change your weapons! The starter wooden weapons work best against the undead!¡±


    ¡°Oh fuck! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier! I didn¡¯t bring mine¡­¡±


    The elves appeared unconcerned about Brein¡¯s warning. On the contrary, they even chattered excitedly, clearly eager to engage with the fallen undead.


    Seeing the elves¡¯ excited demeanor, Brein wasn¡¯t sure whether tomend their fearless mindset or chastise their excessive optimism. It seemed his words hadn¡¯t dampened the excitement of these battle-crazed elves at all and had even further fueled it instead¡­


    Ultimately, Brein could only sigh as he gave up onmanding the elves and instead ordered the soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance to remove the dead bodies from the city walls so that the priests could purify and guide their souls towards Her Majesty¡¯s Divine Kingdom.


    However, after he issued his order, the soldiers did not take much action and just looked around awkwardly.


    Brein furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Why are you all still standing there?¡±


    The soldiers¡¯ expressions turned somewhat strange after hearing him.


    One dwarven soldier nearest to Brein scratched his head and replied, ¡°Chief¡­ um¡­ there don¡¯t seem to be that many dead bodies left around as they were taken care of earlier.¡±


    Brein was momentarily puzzled.


    <em>¡­The dead were already taken care of? </em>


    <em>How could that be?</em>


    The elves inflicted heavy casualties on the goblins, and they too faced some losses themselves.


    The battle just ended, so those dead bodies couldn¡¯t be moved quickly!


    Thinking of this, Brein carefully scanned the surroundings, but what he saw left him somewhat bewildered.


    Indeed, just as the dwarven soldier said, there weren¡¯t many dead bodies around, but the weird thing was there was plenty of tattered equipment left by the goblins.


    It was almost piled up like small hills in some areas and he even saw a few elves happily rummaging through them, like scavengers¡­


    Hmm¡­ seeing these gant-looking elves acting as scavengers is a bit eye-catching.


    Brein¡¯s mouth twitched inadvertently as he averted his gaze.


    <em>How peculiar¡­where were the dead bodies?</em>


    He was utterly baffled.


    At that moment, the young chief¡¯s peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of an elf chasing a stray goblin.


    It seemed to be a goblin who had wandered in the wrong direction.


    While the other goblins had either been killed or managed to escaped from the city walls, this one in particr had been cornered by the elves due to it running in the wrong direction.


    Then, momentster, Brein witnessed a scene that surprised him greatly¡ª


    The elf chasing it smirked wickedly and swiftly brought down the goblin with a single sword strike.


    Then, as the goblin died on the spot, its body turned into ashes as if it were withering away¡­


    Brein widened his eyes.


    <em>The goblin¡¯s body¡­disappeared? </em>


    He gestured to the death priest beside him, who immediately understood his meaning and closed their eyes before silently chanting something.


    After a few seconds, the priest reopened their eyes with a weird look.


    ¡°The goblin¡¯s soul is gone.¡±


    Brein was left dumbfounded.


    <em>¡­Gone? </em>


    Suddenly, a look of understanding sparked within him.


    <em>No¡­</em>


    It¡¯s not actually gone, but rather, these elves must have purified the goblin¡¯s soul!


    <em>Yes, that¡¯s it! </em>


    No wonder these elves weren¡¯t afraid of facing the Undead Army at all! They¡­ actually had a means to instantly purify the dead bodies!


    Wait¡­ if what he¡¯s thinking is true, then perhaps all those dead elves must have been purified too, right?


    Brein took a deep breath, believing he had discovered the truth behind the mystery of the disappearance of the dead bodies.


    At that moment, his opinion regarding these weird elves shifted once again¡­


    No wonder the Goddess of Death had chosen these elves as their reinforcements!


    It turns out they had such capabilities!


    All this time, what troubled the Hermetic Alliance the most were the shadow creatures and the fallen undead of the Dark Alliance.


    The fact that these elves can purify their enemies¡¯ deceased remains meant that they could directly cut off the fallen undead¡¯s method of replenishing their numbers!


    Coupled with their fearless mindset and reckless attitude in battle¡­


    Subtly, Brein began to look forward to the battle between the elves and the fallen undead.


    ¡ª <strong>357</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>WAIT¡­WHERE ARE THE BODIES? ¡¿</strong><hr>


    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong> Hmm¡­ Is the plot a little slow?<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 358

    Chapter 358


    In reality, the yers had no means to purify the corpses.


    Instead, it was through the use of the passive skill [War Sacrifice] which drains the lifeforce of its target, allowing the goblins¡¯ corpses and their faithless souls to return back to nature in a different manner¡­


    Of course, Brein werepletely unaware of this.


    This passive ability of War Sacrifice was well concealed by Ev¨¦, and it was normal for those unaware of it to perceive such ability as purification.


    Well, in a sense, it could be considered purification, although it¡¯s being done in a moreprehensive method.


    Discovering that the elves have such methods further energized Brein.


    Meanwhile, the undead army finally reached the city walls, scaling the stone barriers with ease by utilizing the abandoneddders left behind by the goblins.


    Brein noticed that during this process, some sections of the walls had elves stationed who clearly had the skill to destroy thedders while the undead still hadn¡¯t climbed up yet.


    However, no one did so and instead seemed very eager to fight the undead.


    There were even those who stood beside thedders, waiting for the undead to finallye up and fight.


    <em>What a bunch of battle-crazed lunatics¡­</em>


    Brein muttered to himself inwardly.


    At the same time, he had already made up his mind to never antagonize these reckless and brutal long-eared fellows in the future¡­


    The undead had wed their way up the towering city walls, their skeletal hands scraping against the stone wall. In a heartbeat, they shed with the defending elves, their swords shing like streaks of silver lightning against the darkened surroundings.


    The sh of steel echoed once more throughout the vicinity, interwoven with the fierce war cries and incantations of the elven mages.


    Amidst the tumult of battle, the air crackled with magic as the battlefield once again descended into chaos.


    Unlike with the goblins, the undead were clearly much stronger.


    Most of them had strength that ranged from low to intermediate Iron-rank and were quite disciplined, akin to an army without any sort of emotions¡­


    As such, the disparity between the two opposing forces became apparent as soon as they shed.


    Most of the elves clearlycked experience in fighting the undead, showing none of the calmness they had initially exhibited when they ughtered the goblins.


    While asionally an undead would have its head severed by the elves¡¯ attacks and copsed into a pile of bones, the vast majority of the undead had withstand the elves onught.


    Ultimately, the undead were just too resistant to be beaten.


    To them, losing a leg or an arm appears inconsequential, as a few missing bones merely slightly impact theirbat effectiveness and mobility, at most.


    Unless they are hit in their vital points, many of the elves¡¯ attacks were ineffective.


    So far, the best method the yers found would be for a priests to use light attribute spells to suppress the undead, then destroy their soul fire while their strength was being suppressed.


    But unfortunately, most clergymen belonging to the Church of Death didn¡¯t possess any light attribute spells, and the elves themselves didn¡¯t have any priests at all since that jobss is stillrgely unavable to the yers.


    As a result, except for some powerful individuals in the upper Iron-rank who could easily sh with the undead, the vast majority of the yers sumbed to disarray amidst the onught of the undead army.


    While the yers understood that cooperation was the key to winning the battle, the undead were just as equally disciplined.


    Moreover, this time, the assault of the undead army vastly exceeded any of their previous attacks.


    With their numerical superiority, the undead army quickly opened up a gap in the defense line on the city wall, gradually upying key positions on some sections of the area, while the elves and the Hermetic Alliance defense force were forced to slowly retreat, overwhelmed by the relentless advance of the undead.


    Amidst the cacophony of shing des, expletive curses, echoingughter as well as explosive bursts of magic, and the sickening shattering of bones, a relentless tide of undead surged up the city walls, escting the battle into a frenzied crescendo of chaos and carnage.


    By now, the outer perimeter walls of de City hadpletely turned into a hellishndscape.


    The ground was littered with broken bones, whilst the stone walls bore the grim stains of fallen elves¡¯ blood, emanating a nauseating scent that filled the air.


    Having faced them before, the terror of the undead was very clear to Brein, but the resilience shown by the elves had once again exceeded his imagination.


    In fact, during their earlier bout with the goblins, Brein noticed that these elves seemed to be unafraid of either death or pain.


    And now, as they courageously fought against the undead army, seeing them in action once again deepened Brein¡¯s understanding of these elves¡­


    In every passing moment, an elf would fall into battle, but every elf who died in battle fought tenaciously until thest second before their demise.


    They showed no fear in the face of the undead army¡¯s relentless advance.


    Even as their wounds multiplied and even as they suffered fatal injuries, these elves stillughed as if they couldn¡¯t feel pain whilst fighting against the undead.


    Moreover, as their injuries worsened, their determination to fight grew much stronger. Attempting any means of ¡®mutually assured destruction¡¯ to eliminate a group of skeletons before their demise, as though the very idea of failing to do so inflicted more agony than the prospect of death itself.


    At that moment, these elves seemed to be undead themselves, and as their numbers dwindled and their fallen brethren one by one were ¡®purified¡¯ and turned into ashes, the rest of the elves paid no heed to the sacrifice of theirrades, as if their eyes were only locked onto the enemy, whilst reveling in the wanton ughter of the battlefield.


    Watching such an intense battle, Brein¡¯s admiration for these weird elves grew even more stronger.


    Perhaps they may not have been highly skilled on an individual basis, they grasped the importance of cooperation and harbored a resilient mindset, along with an abundance of fighting spirit.


    Such individuals might have appeared weak in istion, they became a formidable force when united as an army.


    As time went on, although more and more undead have managed to climbed onto the city walls, the number of elves have also increased as well.


    Despite some elves dying, newer ones kept arriving from the teleportation array to join the fight against the undead.


    Amidst the shouts and cries, the city wall gradually became an arena of relentless, drawn-out tug-of-war of sorts as the sh between the elves and the undead by now evolved into a chaotic spectacle, with neither side yielding to the other.


    Meanwhile, the local soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance had long been pushed aside and relegated to support.


    It wasn¡¯t as though they didn¡¯t want to join the battle per se, but rather, these long-eared battle fanatics seemed afraid of someone else stealing their prey, thus they had no choice but to shift their focus in supporting the elves instead.


    Looking at the expanse of the city walls filled to the brim with elves, Brein began to wonder if all the elves from the surface had somehow been convinced by Lord Firebeard to participate here in the war underground¡­


    However, at the same time, while he was deeply impressed by the elves¡¯ fighting spirit and resilience, he also felt great pity as their numbers fell one by one¡­


    Elvenkind is essentially an immortal race, and their fertility rate was notoriously lowpared to other humanoid species.


    After this war, who knew how many of them would be left alive¡­


    This mere fact left Brein feeling as though these elves were a bit foolish¡­


    He¡¯s sure they themselves knew how hard it is to bolster their race¡¯s poption, but why in the great Goddess of Death¡¯s name were they still being reckless in their behavior?


    Like earlier, they could have destroyed thedders while the goblins were fleeing, thereby isting the undead army beneath the city walls.


    Had they pursued such an approach, then they could have made their lives much easier. In this instance, all they needed to do was to simplyunch long-range attacks from atop the wall and wait for the undead army¡¯s summoners to exhaust their magical energy.


    With the enemy side depleting their means of bolstering their numbers, they would naturally retreat on their own, and the elves could avoid heavy casualties¡­.


    Yet, they still insisted on fighting the undead head-on.


    Such a choice, although it killed more undead, also exacted a heavy price upon themselves.


    By now, Brein had lost count of how many elves he had seen die in battle.


    Yet the remaining elves persisted in charging towards the forefront of the battle, as if they were throwing their precious lives away.


    Brein mentally shook his head incredulously.


    <em>Madmen¡­</em>


    <em>Seriously, what a bunch of battle-crazed madmen! </em>


    Fearless of the repercussions, heedless of losses, and utterly indifferent to their own lives as well as the lives of their own fellow brethren!


    In fact, as time passed, Brein started to worry that these battle-crazed elves would inevitably bepletely annihted by the undead army due to incurring too many deaths¡­


    And this worry of his is starting to be a reality, as these elves only seem to care about killing the enemy and asionally picking up items the skeletons dropped and nothing else!


    Breinmentingly sighed.


    ¡°I wonder how many of them are still alive?¡±


    With a heavy heart, he began counting the surviving elves, but as time went on, to his surprise, their numbers¡­ seemed not to have dwindled as much as he thought?


    He knitted his brows.


    <em>¡­How weird.</em>


    Yet before he could try to make sense of it, Brein was greeted by a sweating local soldier that came from the city council with astonishing news.


    ¡°What did you say!? All the 8,000 sets of equipment we prepared have already been distributed?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>358</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ EQUIPMENT SHORTAGE ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 359

    Chapter 359


    Yuanjuan felt extremely lucky.


    First, by clinging to the thigh of her good friend, she managed to reach level 10 in just a span of few short days with Menghan helping her kill a lot of monsters and gaining lots of EXP points.


    Then not long after, she immediately got involved in a hidden quest that required her to revise a holy book which aligned well with her field of expertise.


    As expected, with her rich experience in religious studies, she easily joined the group that¡¯s undertaking the revision quest and not only did she participate in revising the holy scripture, but she also sneakily added a lot of personal touches into it¡­


    Ultimately, she ended up being responsible for writing the first draft and organizing the text of some of those textbooks from earth that her seniors in the group were involved in writing!


    After the quest waspleted, Yuanjuan was immediately granted 30,000 EXP points, just few short of reaching the jobss change requirements and she also received ten lottery tickets!


    Whilst brimming with excitement, she quickly used up all the lottery tickets at once, but the results left her feeling quite unsatisfied.


    Especially since all she got from those 10 lottery tickets were two sets of rare blue-ss equipment and¡­400 resurrection coins.


    In the words of her best friend, Meng Zhihan¡ª


    <em>Ehh, the equipment is</em><em>quite decent, and the resurrection coins serve as a constion prize. Obtaining 50 resurrection coins eight times in a row can be considered quite fortunate, you know. At least now you can die for the time being without ever worrying aboutcking resurrection coins for future use.</em>


    Well, Yuanjuan thought so too¡­


    She found sce that it wasn¡¯t really that much of an unlucky situation¡ªAt least until she saw her friend win three epic purple-ss items and an epic-ss meditation book.


    However, just when Yuanjuan was feeling sour about her unluckiness, suddenly a new questline appeared!


    The war campaign questline: ¡°War in the Underground¡±


    And what attracted her to participate in this event was one of the rewards:


    All yers who join can receive a set of Iron-rank equipment crafted by the Dark-Dwarves each time they participate in the battle¡­


    <em>Every time they participate in the battle?</em>


    <em>Every¡­time, you say?</em>


    In other words, if a yer dies during the event and respawn afterwards to join the battle yet again, then presumably¡­they can get another set of equipment?


    Yuanjuan asked about it, and a full set of Iron-rank equipment crafted by the dwarves, including the helmet, upper armor, lower garment, and weapon, was equivalent to four pieces out of the six in a full set.


    Moreover, it can be sent over to the goddess as an offering, and they would get 1200 contribution points for doing so, but asionally, some yers are even willing to buy it for 2000 CP!


    This means that this full set of equipment is at least worth 8000 contribution points!


    Participating in this quest for her is just a stroke of good luck, as she has just received 400 resurrection coins!


    <em>Wonderful!</em>


    After a quick mental calction, Yuanjuan immediately realized she was on the brink of making a huge fortune.


    Currently she¡¯s very close to advancing into level 11, so she¡¯d only lose eleven resurrection coins if she died once.


    However, with the 400 resurrection coins that she won from the lottery, she could technically die 36 times, respawn, and rejoin the battle repeatedly, potentially earning herself a staggering 36 sets of full dwarven equipment!


    Dying thirty-six times will cost her 396 resurrection coins, which is the limit and going beyond that wouldn¡¯t be worthwhile, as her level would begin to drop without any resurrection coins.


    Nevertheless, for a newbie like her to acquire 36 sets of equipment¡­


    <em>Goodness, that¡¯s like over 280,000 contribution points!</em>


    With that amount, she would be able to purchase two sets of legendary golden-ss equipment!


    Great! She has been drooling over that beautiful legendary golden-ss mage robe in the exchange store, and the prospect of her finally getting it made her very excited.


    As such, in preparation for the uing war campaign, Yuanjuanpleted several daily tasks in a hurry, smoothly obtaining thest bit of EXP she needed to level up. Then, she hurriedly went to the temple to change her jobss, finally advancing to level 11 and bing an elven mage.


    Afterwards, she didn¡¯t learn any new skills (mainly because she didn¡¯t have enough contribution points left), and quickly dragged her good friend so that they could trick some dwarves off their equipm¡ªerr, rather, to participate in the war underground.


    This was Yuanjuan¡¯s first time ying a virtual MMORPG, and it was also her first time participating in such arge-scale war campaigns.


    Although she initially came with the sole intention of acquiring equipment for herself, it wasn¡¯t until the war had truly began that she found herself utterly mesmerized by the incredibly realistic, breathtaking, and cinematic war scenes that¡¯s unfolding right before her eyes within the world of Elven Kingdom.


    ?The astonishing number of goblins as well as the the neatly arranged yet dread-inducing undead army, whilst they fight alongside the solemn dwarven warriors, and gnome mages¡­


    As she immersed herself in the unfolding siege, with battles raging on and fights erupting one after another around her, the brutal and chaotic battlefield left her utterly shocked.


    The pungent smell of blood and the heatwave stirred up by exploding magic made Yuanjuan question if this was all still happening in the virtual world and not actually part of reality¡­


    Well¡­she would definitely mistake it as such if not for the game interface floating within her field of vision as well as the invigorating BGM ying in background and the roaringmands of Brother Mu in the group chat channel.


    As someone who loves war themed movies, horror films, and blood-and-gore action thrillers, Yuanjuan quickly cast aside her initial thoughts and becamepletely immersed in this quest¡­


    Of course, due to her low level, she just ended up being a cannon fodder most of the time.


    For instance, her first death urred when a low-level goblin, jumped onto her and thrust a sword through her chest.


    Of course, being cannon fodder was one of her intentions in the first ce¡­ it¡¯s just that after witnessing the impressive and spectacr nature of this event, she decided to really get into it.


    <em>Hmm?</em>


    <em>Why is my friend looking at me as if she¡¯s questioning why a mage like me, who¡¯s supposed to be in the rear, was jumped on by a goblin on the front lines?</em>


    Watching her good friend once again recklessly charge straight into the undead with nothing else but a single staff left Meng Zhihan utterly dumbfounded.


    ¡°Yuanjuan! You¡¯re a mage! You¡¯re supposed to be stationed in the backline! Goddammit,e with me¡­you handle the CC while I do all the attacking! Don¡¯t rush forward like that anymore!¡±


    Then, she used one of her druid spells to entangle the undead that¡¯s attacking her friend while loudly adding:


    ¡°Just look at Little Salty Cat, she¡¯s been throwing fireballs into the undead while stationed in the rear. That¡¯s how mages are supposed to be! Why are you on the front lines anyway and not using your fireball spell?¡±


    After interrogating Yuanjuan with a barrage of questions, her friend could only awkwardly clear her throat twice before responding:


    ¡°Little Salty Cat has already mastered the third-circle Fireball spell, and all her equipment is golden-ss. Her magical prowess is so formidable that she can dispatch enemies effortlessly with just a flick of her wrist, while I haven¡¯t even learned a first-circle spell yet¡­¡±


    With that, her friend nodded towards a certain direction.


    ¡°Besides, meleebat is way more enjoyable! It feels more realistic to me. I wanna imitate the fighting style of senior Box!¡±


    Following her gaze, Meng Zhihan saw a figure darting effortlessly among the undead like a specter.


    That unique way of fighting was without a doubt, Boxlunch.


    This veteran yer, who had long since reached the maximum level cap, easily dodged Little Salt Cat¡¯s fireballs while asionally using a brilliant array of closebat skills as he destroyed skeleton soldiers one after another¡­


    Watching him in amazement, Meng Zhihan could only think of one word:


    <em>Unstoppable.</em>


    For a brief moment, she was stunned after seeing such skillfully spectacle, then Meng Zhihan quickly regained herposure and shed a teasing smile at Yuanjuan.


    ¡°Well, why didn¡¯t you choose to be a hunter if you wanted to fight in close quarters like that? Why did you end up as a mage instead?¡±


    Yuanjuan¡¯s clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Tch, isn¡¯t a melee mage supposed to be the most powerful jobss?¡±


    Meng Zhihan tilted her head.


    Hmm, her friend had died several times already, but Yuanjuan could now hold out for about half a minute against the undead, even using a staff imbued with [Frostbite] properties to knock out some skeletons.


    Speaking of which, this silly girl really did seem to have some talent for meleebat.


    Although Meng Zhihan had been assisting her friend, the mere fact that Yuanjuan could hold out for this long among the undead was already quite a feat, especially considering she was still a level 11 novice mage.


    Meng Zhihan silently watched as her best friend knocked out yet another skeleton soldier, but out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed a massive fireball descending from the sky.


    ¡°Hey, Yuanjuan look ou¡ª!¡±


    With a resounding boom, her friend whilst wearing a brilliant smile immediately perished alongside an undead soldier amidst a cascade of magical hellfire.


    From the rear of the crowd, Little Salty Cat¡¯s apologetic voice rang out from a distance.


    ¡°Oops! Sorry! I aimed the wrong way!¡±


    Meng Zhihan: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>359</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ MELEE COMBAT MAGES ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 360

    Chapter 360


    Her untimely death did not bothered Yuanjuan at all.


    In fact, her only regret was that she wasn¡¯t the one who had dealt the killing blow to the undead before they both perished¡­


    Besides, in the first ce, her main goal for joining this war is to take advantage of her low level and her surplus of resurrection coins to repeatedly kill herself to farm equipment.


    Although she intended to have some fun while doing it, she herself knew that at her current strength, the most she could do was to be a cannon fodder and simply experience fighting in such battles.


    As a mage, Yuanjuan knows that the normal strategy for her jobss is to position herself safely in the rear. However, she would be less likely to die if she did this, so she has to move toward the frontline to increase her chances of dying¡­


    This reckless strategy proved to be the most effective and quickest way to achieve her goals, especially considering she was already in her 11th cycle of resurrection.


    By now, she had already obtained ten sets of equipment and all of them had been stored within Heart of Nature¡¯smunal spatial storage ring.


    Almost everyrge guild had simrmunal rings, and in Yuanjuan¡¯s case, her Guildmaster Li Mu specially raised funds to purchase one so that every member of his guild can freely use it.


    In fact, after the quest was released, there were quite a lot of yers who thought of doing the same thing as her.


    She even heard that some yers who had reached the maximum level cap of 40 considered doing it, as the equipment, which is valued at around 4000 contribution points, could offset the penalty they would incur by dying.


    However, most yers had limited resurrection coins and couldn¡¯t afford to die too many times.


    Apart from those fortunate individuals like Yuanjuan who won their resurrection coins in the lottery, most yers who possessed a surplus of them were already wealthy enough. They didn¡¯tck contribution points and showed little interest in the rewards being offered by this quest.


    They just wanted to have a good time on the battlefield¡­


    After once again changing her outfit, hairstyle, and smudging her face with dirt to ensure that the dwarves wouldn¡¯t recognize her, Yuanjuan once more used the long-distance teleportation array to return back to the City of des¡­


    At this moment, the teleportation array was still bustling with crowds of yers.


    Among them, there were those who had returned after resurrecting, like Yuanjuan, but there were also some first-timers who had just received the news and rushed over to take on the quest.


    Most of them immediately after arriving queued up in a line, as they wait for the city officials to provide them with an equipment before heading towards the outer walls to join the battle.


    However, just as Yuanjuan was about to take her turn, a suddenmotion erupted among the people in front of her.


    ¡°What!? Are you saying there¡¯s no more equipment? They have all been distributed?¡±


    Yuanjuan was slightly stunned upon hearing this news.


    <em>The equipment have all been distributed?¡±</em>


    <em>Wait a minute¡­They actually ran out of equipment?</em>


    <em>Isn¡¯t this a game?</em>


    <em>Shouldn¡¯t this kinds of rewards be unlimited?</em>


    <em>Could it be that¡­someone reported what we were doing, and the game developers found that we were exploiting this loophole to farm equipment?</em>


    Yuanjuan frowned.


    At this moment, the dark dwarf in charge of distributing the equipment wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Um¡­we¡¯re truly sorry. We didn¡¯t expect that many of you would actively participate in this battle. Initially, we had prepared eight thousand sets of equipment, but we didn¡¯t expect them to quickly run out like this¡­¡±


    Upon hearing the dwarf¡¯s response, the yers in line exploded in an instant:


    ¡°Only eight thousand sets!? Isn¡¯t that too little?¡±


    ¡°Did the devs deliberately limit the supply? I know some people are farming the equipment, but it¡¯s our first time here!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! What can we do without an equipment? We can¡¯t just go fight the undead barehanded, can we?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Yeah! We still haven¡¯t got an equipment since it¡¯s our first time!¡±


    Yuanjuan also shouted among them.


    Looking at the crowd of angry elves in front of him, the dark dwarf in charge of distribution also felt a headache.


    s¡­they really didn¡¯t expect that so many elves would actually participate!


    Eight thousand sets of equipment were distributed so quickly just like that!


    Does it mean that tens of thousands of elves actually came as their reinforcements?


    Such a mere fact alone was quite an exciting news, but also it left them in a bit of an awkward situation when they couldn¡¯t provide these elves with their promised equipment.


    Nevertheless, just as the surrounding elves grew increasingly agitated, Chief Brein, who had been informed of the situation earlier, finally arrived.


    As his gaze swept over the huge gathering of elves, a sense of overwhelming sensation washed over Brein.


    <em>It turns out there are so many elves?!</em>


    <em>By the gods! </em>


    When he was overseeing the situation on the wall, the Elven casualties seemed too high, but little did he know, so many elves had actually participated in this war.


    Although Brein had indeed hoped for such arger number of elves to join the battle, when their numbers actually exceeded his imagination, Brein began to have some doubts about it.


    <em>When did elves be somon?</em>


    <em>Just where did all these guys really came from?</em>


    <em>Or perhaps, was the information that Elvenkind is teetering on the edge of extinction and their penchant for peace was, in fact, false all along?</em>


    <em>Was it all a ruse by those human merchants who sold elven ves to them at high prices?</em>


    Indeed¡­ after witnessing the crazy behavior of these elves in the battlefield, as a follower of the goddess of death, Brein¡¯s initial concern was not their true identity but rather, whether the legends he had previously known about them werergely inurate.


    After all, as inhabitants of the underground who almost have never gone to the surface, most of their source of information onlyes from those traveling human merchants.


    However, regardless of where these elves actually came from, being the subjects of the oracle by their Patron Deity made them the most dependable reinforcements on their side.


    And since the Goddess of Death¡¯s oracle actually promised to provide them with equipment, then Brein naturally would not dare to break the promise that his Patron Deity had proimed.


    Nevertheless, this puts him in a dilemma, and after pondering for a moment, Brein stated:


    ¡°The promised equipment¡­ will definitely be given to everyone. I have already arranged for people to collect them at the city wall.¡±


    With that, he sighed:


    ¡°Your fallenrades¡­ are truly courageous warriors!¡±


    And upon hearing Brein¡¯s statement, some yers gradually grasped the implications of his words¡­


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­is he asking us to use the¡­ um¡­ equipment left behind by the elves who died?!¡±


    Brein did not deny it:


    ¡°Our situation is urgent, leaving us no choice but to resort to this course of action.¡±


    However, as soon as he voiced out these words, the surrounding elves erupted intomotion once more.


    ¡°N-No! This is uneptable! The equipment of our fallenrades solely belongs to them! We cannot use it!¡±


    ¡°¡±Those personal belongings are sacred and invible! They belong to them and cannot be used as our rewards!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! This is a matter of principle!¡±


    Looking at the elves as they stood their ground with firm attitudes, Brein was left speechless.


    <em>Why are these guys so stubborn!</em>


    <em>Should hemend them for honoring their fallenrades, or should he criticize them for being too stubborn?</em>


    <em>Their owners were already dead, so what¡¯s the use of all that discarded equipment?</em>


    Unbeknownst to Brein, the people he ordered to reim the discarded equipment on the battlefield probably wouldn¡¯t be able to find more than a few sets¡­


    Brein thought for a moment and then said:


    ¡°Alright, everyone, let¡¯s put aside the issue of using your fallenrades¡¯ equipment for now. At the same time, how about we make a list for the time being. I promised that when the war is over, everyone on the list can return here to collect your equipment. As for your fallenrades¡¯ belongings, you can notify their rtives toe and reim them.¡±


    Brein has made up his mind to quickly contact other member city-states to produce more equipment as soon as possible!


    Although the financial strain of producing additional equipment at such a rush would hit de City hard, it paled inparison to the importance of winning the war.


    Of course, he also had another alternative n in mind:


    ¡°Additionally¡­for those who have already arrived with their own equipment, we can instead offer the equivalent value in gold coins aspensation for the equipment reward. If you agree, we¡¯ll reward you in gold coins rather than equipment. What do you guys think about that?¡±


    Immediately upon hearing Brein¡¯s proposition, the surrounding elves this time all universally agreed.


    ¡°Oh, this is actually quite a good idea!¡±


    ¡°Being rewarded in gold coins instead of equipment sounds good to me! Alternatively, if you prefer, you could also pay us with magical stones or any good quality forging materials! I definitely won¡¯t refuse!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Same here, same here!¡±


    Seeing the elves instantly change their minds, Brein finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Although de City would not be able to produce an additional set of equipment right away, his city was quite affluent and rich in forging materials!


    ¡ª <strong>360</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>WE RESPECT THE DECEASED AND NOT WEAR THEIR EQUIPMENT</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 361

    Chapter 361


    On scenarios wherein the upper-ranked experts are absent and those mid-to-low-rank experts are evenly matched, conflicts like wars, especially in the world underground, tend to drag on extensively.


    Perhaps before the elves came in as reinforcements, the possibility of the Hermetic Alliance sessfully defending de City remained uncertain.


    However, after the yers joined the war, the war¡¯s bnce which was initially leaning towards the Dark Alliance, quickly evened out with neither of the two sides gaining a significant advantage over the other.


    Of course, the yers¡¯ involvement alone is insufficient enough topletely turn the situation in favor of the Hermetic Alliance since their overall strength isn¡¯t particrly high, and currently there¡¯s still no individual on their side with silver-ranked strength participating in this battle.


    Nevertheless, despite the mana within Seig¨¹es recovering at an exponential rate, most forces from various racial faction still remained at the Iron-rank. Therefore, even though the yers strength are still at the bottom rank, they are more than capable enough to withstand the pressure of the undead army.


    <em>¡ªAt least¡­ for now.</em>


    As such, a long slew of back-and-forth battles ensued upon the stone walls of de City.


    The Dark Alliance, whom have been amassing undead soldiers for an unknown number of years, repeatedly rushed towards de City like a tide, aiming to slowly whittle down their opponent¡¯s strength, bit by bit.


    They mostly engaged in closebat, with each undead skeleton disying formidable strength and relentless mechanical-like aggression.Furthermore, observing the battlefield from an aerial perspective revealed an astonishing panorama¡­


    The undead army by this point had alreadypletely surrounded de City as the defensive barrier of the city shimmered incessantly.


    At the same time, countless skeleton soldiers under themand of Death Knights, relentlessly charged towards the magnificent stone walls in a neat orderly fashion.


    Each skeletal soldiers immediately upon reaching the base of the wall will climbed up using the leftoverdders, resembling a swarm of ants in their approach, as they shed with the defending forces stationed above.


    Meanwhile, atop the walls, two distinct groups confronted each other:


    The undead soldiers that managed to scale up thedders, and an unusual coalition of elves, dark-dwarves, and subterranean gnomes.


    Currently, a fierce confrontation ensued between the two opposing groups as the war grew more intense with each passing moment.


    As swords gleamed and arrows whizzed through the air, a cacophony of anger,ughter, and screams mingled amidst the sounds of shattering bones, forming a chaotic symphony that reverberated all across the battlefield¡­


    Yet despite the ferocity of the conflict, a strange bnce was maintained, with neither side managing to fully overpower the other from their positions, resulting in a stalemate.


    From time to time, undead skeletons would be dislodged from the walls, just as defending soldiers would asionally fall off from their positions¡­.


    But, upon closer look, it became apparent that the majority of those falling from the walls were elves.


    These warriors from the world above who initially came as reinforcements hadpletely reced the city¡¯s defending soldiers and had be Hermetic Alliance¡¯s main army in this battle.


    Although their numbers were not as plentiful as the defending dark dwarves and gnomes, they often were the first to rush into the frontlines¡­


    As a result, they also incurred the highest casualty rate.


    By this point, the vicinity atop the walls was already strewn with numerous bones, which were remnants of the vanquished undead soldiers.


    These scattered bones had already long lost their lifeforce after being absorbed by a certain great being through the hidden ability of the elves, hence they¡¯re mostly being disregarded and ignored by everyone.


    However some few elves for unknown reasons, have decided to collect quite a few of these bones, whilst muttering about them being excellent materials for something¡­


    But regardless of their weird and quirky behavior, the admiration of the defending soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance for these elves grew stronger as the war waged on.


    It can¡¯t be helped since they, as inhabitants of the chaotic world underground have always respected the strong due to their life of constant struggle and survival.


    Perhaps individually, these elves are not particrly strong , but collectively, their fearlessness and bravery, along with their willingness to sacrifice their very lives just to eliminate the enemy¡­all of these factors will inevitably greatly impress any local residents of the underground!


    After observing the erratic, mad-like behavior of these elves, the city¡¯s defenders all unanimously thought that it would be wise not to provoke them easily and that it would be more preferable to cultivate friendship rather than enmity with them in the future.


    However, what surprised the city defenders the most, moving from surprise to shock, from shock to horror, and finally from horror to numbness, was that no matter how many of these elves died, newer ones would quickly appear shortly thereafter to fill in the spot of their fallenrades.


    These mysterious reinforcements from the surface seemed to be entirely inexhaustible, much like rodents and cockroaches¡­


    Not only that, but as time goes by, rather than declining, their numbers seem to continuously increase instead¡­


    However, one noticeable difference was that this newer batch of elves appeared to be weaker than the previous ones.


    It was well obvious that theycked any sort of practicalbat experience and appeared to be mere novices.


    But even so, they still charged into the battlefield with fervor akin to their fallen predecessors, while also shouting excitedly and howling, just like them.


    Of course, their death rate was even higher.


    Under such strange circumstances, the soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance gradually found themselves relegated to the edge of the battlefield.


    Besides offering assistance to the elves, they had almost be mere spectators of their own war¡­


    By now, the battle has been raging on for three days and three nights.


    And Brein, the chieftain of de City who had earlier promised the elves bountiful rewards, was feeling a mixed feelings of pain and joy as the war continued on.


    He was happy because with the support of the elves, the City of des could clearly resist the siege of the Dark Alliance.


    But the painful thing was that Brein found that he seemed to have bitten off more than he could chew and was now paying the price for his earlier promise to the elves.


    ¡°¡­Tuck, have youpiled the statistics?¡±


    Brein stood by the teleportation array with an impassive expression as he talked with the gnome in charge of calcting the reward payments.


    Tuck, whilst holding a thick stack of documents, wiped the sweat off his forehead and replied:


    ¡°Chief, the statistics are in. After distributing the armors and weapons from our inventory, there are still many elves who have joined the war and asked to be paid with equipment. In the past three days, we have owed them a total of 13,184 sets of Iron equipment¡­¡±


    Brein: ¡°¡­¡±


    Hearing this exaggerated number, the chief of de City felt his vision blur and almost felt dizzy¡­


    He took a deep breath, calmed his mood a bit, and asked with a trembling voice:


    ¡°Then¡­ what about in gold coins?¡±


    Tuck swallowed hard.


    After hesitating for a moment, he said with much difficulty:


    ¡°A-A set of fine iron equipment can be reced with 300 gold coins, and over the past three days¡­ we have paid a total of 18,580,000 gold coins¡­¡±


    Brein: ¡°¡­¡±


    Upon hearing this absurdlyrge amount, the young chieftain felt an iron-like taste in his throat, before almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.


    Although he had personally witnessed the elves emerging out from the array like an endless tide over the past few days to the point that he had gradually be numb to it, hearing this sheer ridiculous number still caused a pang of pain in his heart.


    <em>E-Eighteen million gold coins!</em>


    <em>That¡¯s eighteen freaking million gold coins!</em>


    The annual fiscal revenue of de City is only three million gold coins!


    All of a sudden, their six years¡¯ worth of savings went down the drain in just these three days alone!


    Of course, for this number to umte to such a ridiculous degree, signifies that the elves have also sacrificed a terrifying chunk of their poption¡­


    If calcted, including the initial eight thousand sets of equipment at the beginning, the elves had actually mobilized nearly eighty thousand of their people in total!


    And now, the number of elves currently fighting on the battlefield is roughly around fifteen thousand, which means that about sixty-five thousand of them have actually perished within the past three days.


    They didn¡¯t even leave behind any dead bodies as these elves immediately turned to ashes right after dying¡­


    Brein was filled with doubts.


    <em>Just where did all these reckless suicidal elvese from? </em>


    <em>Even if they searched the entire realm of Seig¨¹es, he was sure that they wouldn¡¯t find so many elves, would they?</em>


    s¡­ all of this was real.


    At this moment, Brein simply wanted to travel back three days ago and beat his past self who made that damn promise so easily¡­


    <em>Regret¡­</em>


    He regretted it so much!


    Such arge sum of wealth, even for the prosperous city of des, would strain its resources just to pay those amount back.


    ¡ª <strong>361</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BREIN¡¯S REGRET ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 362

    Chapter 362


    <em>If only we didn¡¯t have topensate the dead¡­ </em>


    Such thought shed through Brein¡¯s mind.


    Of course, this was just a fleeting thought.


    The contract was already signed, and their Patron Deity¡¯s oracle had specifically chosen these elves as their allies.


    Moreover, the elves were far from reaching their limit, so betraying them was not an option he could consider.


    Besides, given the elves¡¯ contributions in the war so far, Brein wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to betray them merely just to cut costs.


    He wasn¡¯t like those deceitful humans!


    The reason why the City of des could be one of the renownedmercial hubs within the world underground was built upon the integrity and honesty of the dark dwarves and subterranean gnomes living within it.


    Furthermore, despite sustaining heavy casualties, the elves also inflicted significant damage upon the Dark Alliance.From atop the city walls, Brein observed that the undead army had dwindled by almost half.


    In this siege, the Dark Alliance deployed nearly 300,000 undead troops, of which 100,000 had strength above Iron-rank, not to mention the thousands of goblins that were resurrected into fallen undead after their initial assault.


    These reanimated corpses stood apart from shadow monsters and the most notable differences between the two was that they are controble, unlike thetter.


    In the past, the Dark Alliance have always invested substantial time and effort into preparing these fallen undead as a key military force for each war.


    As such, directly destroying the undead is far more effective than depleting the enemy¡¯s magical reserves used to control them because it means the enemy won¡¯t be able to deploy the undead army again soon after this war.


    Moreover, the purpose of the Dark Alliance¡¯s attack on de City is to upy it, not to destroy the city.


    Hence, they were unlikely to try summoning the shadow legion, as no one could predict what kind of horrific being they might identally unleash in the end.


    Therefore, once the undead army is vanquished, victory in this war front will be halfway aplished.


    Winning such a high-stakes battle could set the entire tone for the entirerity of the war.


    Taking a deep breath, Brein forced a smile and asked:


    ¡°Tuck, how much do we have left in our treasury?¡±


    Tuck, the gnome whose responsible for calcting the elves¡¯ remuneration and the city¡¯s finances, wiped his sweat and responded, ¡°Chief, to be precise, we have only ten million remaining, but we can only use a maximum of five million. Otherwise, it will start to impact our city¡¯s normal operations andmerce.¡±


    Hearing his financial adviser¡¯s opinion, Brein fell silent.


    <em>Only five million¡­</em>


    At this rate, such an amount will onlyst for just one more day.


    Although they could always earn it back in the future, this amount couldn¡¯t be squandered so carelessly.


    In hindsight, hiring local underground mercenaries to help defend the city might have been the wiser choice, as employing arge, experienced mercenary group of over 50,000 iron-rank soldiers would have cost them at most only 50,000 gold coins a day.


    Even considering the fact that hiring mercenaries typically involved a monthly contract, it would only amount to 1.5 million gold coins per month¡­


    However, by this point, this thought had be pretty much redundant.


    The Dark Alliance had already severed de¡¯s City¡¯s ess to underground mercenaries, and even if they could hire them, could these mercenaries perform better than the elves?


    Even the best mercenary groups would copse if they suffered 30-40% casualties.


    Yet these elves continued to fight fiercely despite losing over 80% of their troops.


    Without their relentless efforts, the undead army¡¯s losses wouldn¡¯t have been so severe.


    Recing them with ordinary mercenaries would likely turn the war into a prolonged conflict, potentiallysting years or even decades, resulting in astronomical costs and losses in the long run.


    Ultimately¡­war is an endeavor that greatly burns money.


    In fact, at the beginning, Brein was able to easily agree to provide equipment for the support of the elves because he considered that this war that the Dark Alliance had been preparing for a long time was likely to be a protracted war.


    And the prospect of hiring these elves to fight for years or even decades for just a set of equipment was a bargain he couldn¡¯t pass up.


    s, the initial idea was perfect, but the reality proved to be so much harsh instead.


    Who could have known¡­the elves would suffer such high casualties!


    They would easily perish in no time once they received their set of equipment.


    Although they did kill their fair share of enemies, their death rate turnover was far too quick!


    They were all caught off guard seeing such a rapid passing of elven lives.


    Of course, their sacrifice wasn¡¯t without benefits.


    Based on Brein¡¯s own experience, with the undead army nearly losing half of its troops in such a short period of time, it¡¯s likely that the Dark Alliance would retreat if this situation continued as it is for a few more days.


    Although the Dark Alliance still had other armiesposed of fallen dwarves and illithids, the significant losses incurred by its undead army made Brein certain that the enemy, by now, had realized that de City had be a tough nut to crack, so to speak.


    Under these circumstances, the enemy might even abandon their siege of de City.


    Brein took a deep breath and formted a n.


    He turned to his diplomatic chief responsible for negotiations with the elves and said,


    ¡°Inform the other city-states that this war is a conflict involving the entirety of the Hermetic Alliance! Everyone has agreed, as per the oracle of our Patron Deity, to hire these elves as reinforcements¡­¡±


    ¡°And so, if they desire victory and still respect the will of our Goddess, then the other city-states must also adhere to and share the burden ofpensating our elven allies!¡±


    ¡°Our City of des has already sacrificed enough, being the primary battlefield of this war, and I understand their hesitation to send substantial reinforcements due to their own safety concerns, but this is no longer just de City¡¯s war!¡±


    <em>s¡­</em>


    If de City cannot bear the weight alone, then the other city-states must also help carry the burden.


    As long as this war can be ended as soon as possible, it will be worthwhile in the long run to spend more money.


    After giving his instructions to his diplomatic chief advisor, Brein cast a somber gaze upon the city wall, wherein the battle still raged on unabated.


    <em>Sigh¡­</em>


    Clearly, they were in a favorable position¡­


    But the price to secure such an advantage was far too agonizing for his liking.


    <em>Perhaps, he should advise these elves to be less aggressive in their attacks and value their lives more?</em>


    At that moment, Brein noticed his financial chief advisor, Tuck, sporting a look of hesitation, as if he had something he wanted to say.


    Sensing this, Brein asked, ¡°Tuck, is there something you want to tell me?¡±


    Tuck hesitated for a moment before cautiously saying, ¡°Chief, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just my imagination, but I¡¯ve often felt like I¡¯ve seen some of these newer batch of elves before. H-How should I put it¡­some of them look very familiar to me. I think I¡¯ve seen them multiple times in the past.¡±


    ¡°In fact, I once asked them specifically about it, and most of them imed that they were simply rtives like brothers or sometimes sisters. Some even imed they were twins, but¡­¡±


    Tuck paused with a slight, bitter smile before continuing,


    ¡°It¡¯s not just one or two instances but rather, there are far too many of such simr cases for it to be mere coincidence.¡±


    Tuck had kept this suspicion to himself for a long time, but finally, he couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and brought it up with their chieftain.


    Brein¡¯s brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this.


    ¡°You mean to say¡­ some elves who participated in the battle beforehand havee back around once again to collect additionalpensation?¡±


    Tuck hesitated, then nodded.


    Brein¡¯s frown deepened.


    He gazed at the city walls, then at the teleportation array, and after a moment of contemtion, gently shook his head with an apprehensive look.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡±


    ¡°The elves who came to participate in the battle all arrived through the teleportation array, which directly connected to ckrock City. Very few of them ever returned once they began fighting on the city wall, and most were killed in action.¡±


    ¡°But if what you¡¯re saying is true, then how could they possibly transfer themselves hundreds of kilometers back to ckrock City and then teleport back here again?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>362</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ WAR IS EXPENSIVE! ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 363

    Chapter 363


    Although Brein had dismissed Tuck¡¯s spection with a rhetorical question, inwardly he couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy.


    The behavior of the elves on the battlefield was simply too strange.


    Unlike Goblins, who are treated as mere cannon fodders, Elves are essentially a race of long-lived beings.


    Although they were once hailed for their Silver lineage, one drawback of being a near-immortal existence is their low fertility and reproduction rate.


    Yet despite their rtively low poption, how could thousands of them suddenly appear just like that?


    And what¡¯s more, as a race with low poption, one would expect them to value their lives more¡­Yet, how could they regard their lives so lightly to the extent that most of them ended up dying on the battlefield easily just like that?


    If someone else had told Brein this, he would never believed it for a second.


    Unfortunately, he himself had personally witnessed the elves act weird to such a degree.


    The sheer disregard and calmness these elves exhibit upon facing death left Brein both astonished and deeply confused.As far as he knew, Devout believers can retain their memories and be sent to their respective Patron Deity¡¯s Divine Kingdom upon death, but apart from these faithful belivers, only crazy fanatics would willingly give up their lives without hesitation.


    However, after extensively observing these elves for some time, Brein learned that they seemed to worship a goddess named Ev¨¦.


    As a chieftain of a major city, he has plenty of experience meeting various people with strong faith, and based on these elves¡¯ actions, Brein was almost certain that most of them weren¡¯t believers nor had any faith in the first ce.


    Overall, everything about these elves seemed entirely too strange¡­


    <em>Something was definitely amiss!</em>


    s, despite his senses telling him that something was wrong, Brein couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint the issue, as if he were missing a crucial piece of a puzzle.


    ¡°Hmm, closely monitor the situation if any more of those oddly familiar-looking elves join the battle. Use a Memory Stone to secretly record their appearances.¡±


    Brein instructed Tuck after some thought.


    However, immediately after Brein had ryed his new orders, amotion suddenly erupted from the city walls, interrupting the discussion between the two.


    The sound surged like waves, with voices of dark dwarves, gnomes, and elves all cheering in unison.


    From where they stood within the city, both Brein and Tuck could see the local defending soldiers and elves standing together atop the thirty-meter-high walls, celebrating with their weapons raised.


    Looking more closely, they also realized that there were no longer any undead skeletons visible on the walls.


    At the same time, a distinct roar of underground monsters echoed once more in the distance¡­


    Brein, who was familiar with the signals of the Dark Alliance, quickly recognized it as a retreat order.


    The Dark Alliance was finally retreating.


    Brein¡¯s expression brightened instantly as he shared a nce with his financial advisor, Tuck, recognizing a shared sense of joy reflected within their eyes.


    They quickly stood up and whilst being apanied by their guards, hurried towards the city walls¡­


    By the time Brein reached the walls, he found that the invading skeleton soldiers had been entirely eradicated, and beyond them, the vast undead army was gradually withdrawing, led by death knights, like a receding tide.


    Feeling ted, Brein swiftly ascended the wall to gaze upon the scene outside.


    ¡°They¡¯re really retreating! The undead army is finally retreating! Praise the Goddess of Death! We¡¯ve won this battle!¡±


    Witnessing the retreating undead army, Tuck, along with his fellow Hermetic Alliance soldiers, also found themselves unable to contain their joy.


    Of course, half of the old financial advisor¡¯s tion stemmed from the relief that their city¡¯s treasury could finally catch a break.


    Nevertheless, while most people were out and about cheering their lungs out, there were also some dissenting voices expressing feelings of frustration.


    ¡°What!? They¡¯re retreating? I just got here! Hell, I haven¡¯t even killed a single monster yet!¡±


    ¡°Goddammit, I was just about to level up, but now they¡¯re retreating?¡±


    These were some of the elves who hadn¡¯t had their fill of the battle.


    Whilst standing on the wall, they waved their swords or staffs, looking at the retreating undead army with regret and dissatisfaction.


    Naturally, their outburst received strange looks from the Hermetic Alliance soldiers¡­


    <em>These elves¡­aren¡¯t they too keen on fighting?</em>


    However, these vocally dissatisfied individuals were actually the minority amongst them, as Brein had seen the majority of the elves impulsively climbing down the walls using thedders left behind by the enemy to chase the retreating undead army in the distance.


    Quite a lot of them hurriedly climbed down the wall before conversing with theirpanions and uttering words Brein couldn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°So who¡¯s going to be brave enough to poke the enemy¡¯s asses, huh?¡±


    ¡°Come on, go go go! Let¡¯s beat all these drowning dogs!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m in! I just need a thousand more experience points to level up!¡±


    In the blink of an eye, under the incredulous gaze of local city soldiers, nearly all of the elves hurried out beyond the wall.


    They then grouped themselves into small parties consisting of three or five people before chasing and hacking away at the straggling skeletons positioned at the rear of the retreating undead army¡­


    Naturally, these brazen individuals were soon noticed by the Death Knightsmanding the undead army.


    While the Dark Alliance was indeed retreating, it didn¡¯t mean they were entirely defenseless.


    Promptly, the Death Knights ordered the undead army to halt their retreat and encircle the elves.


    As expected, apart from a few quick elves who managed to escape in the nick of time, most were left surrounded, eximing things like¡ª


    ¡°Oh shit!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! We messed up!¡±


    ¡°Quick! Help me!¡±


    and even


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s it, we¡¯re dead haha.¡±


    ¡ªBefore being overwhelmed and dying in battle, leaving only bloodstains on the ground.


    Meanwhile, the remaining elves on the wall burst intoughter at the sight of their fellowrades dying in the distance.


    No one mourned, nor was anyone sorrowful.


    Moreover, the odd thing was that the remaining elves were still festive, almost as though they were watching aedic scene while witnessing their fellowrades¡¯ futile attempts to escape, before meeting an inevitable demise one after the other.


    Their behavior was so bizarre that Brein wouldn¡¯t be surprised anymore even if theseughing elves pull out some chairs and cooked some nuts to eat to further enjoy such morbid spectacle.


    He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.


    He felt that the various old impressions of elves in his memory had beenpletely overturned and needed to be updated after this whole battle.


    Clearly, these were a bunch of battle-crazy maniacs with a mindset thatpletely defied the norm.


    Of course, not all elves who went down the wall chased after the retreating undead army.


    Most of them ran around the battlefield frantically, picking up the used-up arrows and equipment strewn on the ground.


    Once the first few elves started scavenging, a chain reaction followed not long after:


    ¡°Hey! I think we can collect loots outside the walls!¡±


    ¡°Fuck, why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! It¡¯ll all be gone soon!¡±


    Hence, amidst the dumbfounded gaze of the local dark dwarves and gnomes, the elves quickly climbed down thedders as each of them began frantically looting the battlefield, picking up dropped arrows and equipment left by the undead and goblins.


    For a while, the battlefield that was emptied after the undead army retreated was swarmed by the scavenging elves.


    They were so focused on picking loot that they didn¡¯t even seem to care if the undead army would turn around and kill some of them.


    Observing them as they went about their scavenging business, Brein got the impression that this task seemed more important to these elves than their very lives.


    Wherever they went, not a single arrow nor piece of armor was left behind, and even the scattered skeleton bones were collected by these crazy elves¡­


    Brein: ¡°¡­¡±


    He no longer knew how to react to such bizarre behavior.


    ¡°¡­Have they finally retreated?¡±


    At this moment, an elderly voice spoke up behind him.


    Turning around, Brein saw that the speaker was their former chief, Firebeard, an elderly dark dwarf blessed by the Goddess of Death as one of her Godwardens.


    Brein observed as this illustrious Golden-rank expert, after having just finished controlling the city¡¯s defensive barrier, slowly ascended to the top of the city wall and stood beside him.


    However, he also noticed that unlike the rest of them, Lord Firebeard¡¯s expression was far from relieved as the old dwarf silently watched the retreating undead army in the distance with a look of apprehension.


    ¡ª <strong>363</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SCAVENGING THE BATTLEFIELD IS AN ELVEN TRADITION ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 364

    Chapter 364


    ¡°The Dark Alliance withdrew too quickly,¡±


    Whispered Firebeard as he gazed at the still terrifying number of Dark Alliance troops outside the city walls.


    As a dwarven veteran who had participated in numerous wars in the past, Firebeard¡¯s understanding of the Dark Alliance was far greater than that of others.


    The undead weremon vanguard forces employed by the Dark Alliance. Generally speaking, they wouldn¡¯t order them to retreat unless their intended target had been breached or the entire undead army had been annihted.


    But now, despite losing only half of their undead troops, the enemy had halted their assault on de City.


    This was abnormal.


    Such a situation could only signify one thing:


    That is, the enemy is determined to win this war.


    Therefore, upon realizing that de City was even more fortified than they had initially anticipated and seeing no hope of breaching it, the Dark Alliance¡¯s army withdrew.s, Firebeard was certain that their retreat does not mean that the Dark Alliance is abandoning their ns of taking over the city.


    It was akin to a wolf that had taken a bite of its prey, then lurked back into the darkness, conserving strength as it prepared for a better opportunity to deliver a more fatal blow.


    However, this also indirectly indicated that the enemy had recognized the strength of de City.


    Watching the retreating undead army, Firebeard sighed.


    ¡°It seems¡­ this war is really going tost a long time¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder when Her Majesty will fully grasp Her power that originally should rightfully belong to Her and make these traitors pay a painful price¡­¡±


    To think that the Dark Alliance would actually use the undead to attack a city that¡¯s under the jurisdiction of the Goddess of Death¡­


    To Firebeard, nothing was more frustrating than seeing the enemy use the undead, which normally should be controlled by their Goddess,e under the influence of the God of Darkness and Shadows.


    s¡­ this is the reality of the Church of Death in the world underground.


    In contrast to the older God of Darkness and Shadows, who had been slowly expanding his influence in the underground for ten thousand years, their Goddess, being the younger of the two, had rtively minimal influence inparison, unfortunately.


    Perhaps Her Majesty¡¯s divine authority was higher than that of the god of darkness and shadow, H?dur, but having a higher authority didn¡¯t necessarily mean that she could easily suppress thetter.


    The world underground, for the longest time, has be H?dur¡¯s home ground, and the mere fact that the Church of Death could tear open a gap under H?dur¡¯s nose and establish a city-state alliance capable of resisting the Dark Lord¡¯s influence was already remarkable enough.


    Nevertheless, even the most powerful gods could easily falter in worldly conflicts if they arecking the power of faith.


    Moreover, this ce is the underground, which is saturated with dark forces due to the machinations of H?dur, not to mention it¡¯s also much closer to the abyss!


    Firebeard narrowed his eyes as he turned to the younger chief who had seeded over his position.


    ¡°Brein, don¡¯t celebrate just yet. I get the feeling that the enemy will once again attack soon¡­¡±


    Unbeknownst to Firebeard, the high-ranking officers of the Dark Alliance were equally astonished by the strength disyed by the City of des.


    In particr, the key factor that led the high officers of the Dark Alliance to choose to withdraw was the appearance of those strange elves on the battlefield.


    Suddenly emerging out of nowhere, those elves showed formidable strength inbat, utterly disregarding their own lives, and seemingly possessing strange powers that could absorb the souls of the undead, thuspletely disrupting the undead army¡¯s reanimation capability to bolster their troops.


    Due to the unexpected defeat of their vanguard forces, some high-ranking officers of the Dark Alliance had began investigating the strange elves that had appeared on the battlefield.


    In the rear camp of the Dark Alliance¡¯s army, within a makeshift tent, a humanoid monster d in a ck cloak, with a body tinted in a faint purple hue, stood before a burning ck me, chanting something.


    His head resembles that of a giant octopus, with four constantly wriggling tentacles near his mouth, trailing down to his chest, faintly reflecting ayer of shiny translucent mucus.


    This ck-cloaked figure is an Illithid.


    Like the dark-dwarves and subterranean gnomes, Illithids were also a sentient humanoid species endemic to the underground.


    They are natural-born spellcasters, adept in mental and soul-based spells. As a race, most of them worship the God of darkness and shadow, H?dur, and the ck-cloaked Illithid is the lord of an underground city-state named Olyndor, a blood warlock with the strength of an intermediate golden-ranker.


    Olyndor is an underground city-state not far from de City. Over the years, the two city-states have experienced prolonged trade disputes, leading them to view each other as sworn enemies.


    The forces besieging de City this time are led by this Illithid citylord, who was subjugated by the Lich King Perone.


    Of course, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for a single city-state of Olyndor to gather such a massive powerful army.


    All of this was made possible only through Perone¡¯s consolidation of the Dark Alliance¡¯s strength and the centralized mobilization of armies from various nearby member city-states¡­


    At this moment, the citylord of Olyndor stood in the center of the tent, chanting obscure spells.


    As he chanted, the ck me floating in front of him quickly expanded, before eventually forming an eye made of deep coloured mes.


    The ominous eye emitted a terrifying pressure, causing the citylord of Olyndor to involuntarily lower his normally proud head and utter with a hint of respect, ¡°Great Lord of Menzuo city, Lich King, your loyal subject has important matters to report¡­¡±


    ¡°We have suffered setbacks in our ns of taking over de City. The city of des has sought help from the elves, who are very strange and numerous. Their weapons seemed to be blessed by the gods of the surface, causing great harm to our undead¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve dispatched some of my subordinates to investigate into these peculiar elves, and they¡¯ve uncovered their origins. Theye from the surface and seem to worship a deity named Ev¨¦¡­¡±


    ¡°I suspect¡­ this war has attracted the attention of other great beings¡­¡±


    Themander of the dark coalition forces recounted everything he learned.


    And upon hearing his words, the eye made of mes flickered slightly, as a majestic voice resounded:


    ¡°I am already aware of this matter.¡±


    ¡°I will inform the Dark Lord and await for His decision.¡±


    ¡°The forces of the Hermetic Alliance have always been dispersed and not united. Since de City had employed strong reinforcements, you shall withdraw from there for now and head north to support our siege of Shanathar¡­¡±


    Shanathar is another underground city-state that¡¯s a member of the Hermetic Alliance and stood as one of the Dark Alliance¡¯s primary targets in theirtest assault.


    However, while de City was Dark Alliance¡¯s primary target initially, Shanathar was considered their secondary objective.


    Shanathar is much closer to other Hermetic Alliance member city-states, making it easier to rally support and rendering it more defensible than de City.


    The citylord of Olyndor bowed deeply in respect.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    The Dark Alliance retreated!


    After the entire army of the Dark Alliance fully withdrew from de City, jubtion engulfed the streets, transforming the once somber atmosphere into a festive carnival of relief and joy.


    Merchants once again boldly entered the city to trade with the local dwarves and gnomes, and themercial activities of de City resumed as if it were business as usual.


    Seeing this, Brein also breathed a long sigh of relief.


    Finally, they were no longer on the verge of bankruptcy!


    However, although he felt somewhat relieved, Brein still remained vignt.


    Unlike themon folk, Lord Firebeard had already shared his concerns with him.


    As such, Brein knew that this war was far from over, and that the Dark Alliance had only temporarily abandoned its ambitions of taking over de City.


    And just as he was contemting how to fix the defenses of the city, Brein suddenly received a shocking news that was practically the missing piece of the puzzle that could potentially exin the series of very strange events that had happened recently¡­


    ¡°W-What!? You mean¡­all these elves who have been supporting us have resurrection abilities? Are you telling me that they will resurrect back in the surface world after they die?!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>364</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THESE ELVES CAN RESURRECT!? ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 365

    Chapter 365


    There are no walls in the world that arepletely airtight.


    In fact, many people from other races within Seig¨¹es are well aware that these strange elves have the ability to resurrect themselves.


    For example, the surviving half-orcs of the Caverock Tribe who fled to the Desert of Death or the Bordend Nobles from the Holy Maniya Empire, and the Dark-Dwarves of ckrock City who have be quite familiar with these elves¡­


    This astonishing revtion was brought to light to Brein by the ambassador who had just returned after visiting ckrock City.


    As the long-distance teleportation array linking de City and ckrock City remained operational, the two city-states naturally took advantage of the situation to negotiate and sign multiplemercial trade agreements, leading to the dispatch of their respective ambassadors to visit each other¡¯s cities and solidify the newly formed trade partnerships.


    And when the ambassador from de City arrived in ckrock City, they naturally delved into more in-depth discussions with the local popce and learned the secret of the elves from them.


    They can resurrect!


    In the realm of Seig¨¹es, wherein extraordinary power prevails, the concept of resurrection isn¡¯t entirely iprehensible.


    Of course, for most creatures in Seig¨¹es, the power of resurrection is perceived as part of the authority of the Goddess of Death, and individuals capable of resurrection are, to some extent, seen as those who have struck a deal with her. Therefore, upon learning this secret about the elves brought by the ambassador and recalling the oracle of their Patron Deity, along with some rumors about this supposed ¡®Goddess Ev¨¦¡¯ that these elves recently started to worship, Brein believed he had finally uncovered the truth.


    He finally understood now!


    It all made sense!


    No wonder these elves were not afraid of death¡­it turned out that they could never really die!


    <em>Goddess Ev¨¦? </em>


    <em>Strange elves who can infinitely resurrect and have drastically changed personalities? </em>


    <em>And the oracle which directly alludes to these elves?</em>


    <em>Could it be¡­!?</em>


    Just as the rumors the ambassador brought back suggested, maybe this new deity of the elves was actually a subordinate of their Goddess, or perhaps even an incarnation of Her Majesty, H herself?


    Brein¡¯s mind raced with endless possibilities¡­


    At this moment, he finally realized there was no such thing as an ¡®army of eighty thousand elves¡¯ or ¡®sixty thousand elves was killed in battle.¡¯


    Clearly, it was simply the very same group of elves that just repeatedly resurrected themselves!


    Although it cannot be denied that they were indeed earnestlymitted to eliminating their enemies, the reality remained that these elves had also attempted to deceive them¡­


    They hid the fact that they could resurrect and tried to scam them out of the equipment and gold coins that he had promised by repeatedly rejoining the battle, again and again!


    It¡¯s probable that the actual number of elves that participated was only around fifteen thousand at most!


    Of course, fifteen thousand is still nothing to scoff at.


    But considering the power of the Goddess of Death, coupled with the rumors that Her Majesty had somehow also gained the Divinity of Life and Nature¡­


    Brein could vaguely understand now.


    With their Patron Deity¡¯s capabilities, along with the inclusion of the Divinity of Life and Nature, achieving such a feat was indeed possible!


    Uponprehending this, Brein quickly considered the elves¡¯ remuneration.


    They had no issue with providing them with tens of millions of gold coins.


    Moreover, it would be difficult to get back the ones that have been given out, but the remaining 13,000 sets of equipment¡­


    He was pretty sure that such numbers were artificially inted due to the elves double dipping through the use of their resurrection ability!


    Brein¡¯s first thought was to restrict the elves from receiving the equipment, and they must be present in person before they can receive their promised rewards.


    After all, how could one person im several sets of equipment?


    No matter how rich the City of des is, they can¡¯t afford such an astronomical loss!


    <em>Who are they kidding? </em>


    If Brein let this slide and turn a blind eye to the elves¡¯ schemes, then they¡¯d really be bankrupt!


    However, after discussing the matter with his senior, Lord Firebeard, the two of them ultimately decided to change their approach.


    There were two reasons.


    One reason was that, although it seemed that the elves had tricked them, in the end, the initial agreement was mutually decided upon by both parties.


    Even if they had been deceived, de City was the one at fault for not gathering enough intelligence about the elves before signing the deal.


    With the agreement already in ce and considering the elves¡¯ significant strength, de Citycked the confidence of breaking the deal.


    Another reason was that, after witnessing the elves¡¯ weird fixation in acquiring equipment, Brein suspected that backing out on the deal would greatly anger them, potentially even worsening the previously amicable rtionship between both parties.


    The war is still far from over, and Brein understood that the City of des would likely still need the elves¡¯ assistance in the future.


    As such, maintaining their friendly rtionship was the best course of action for them.


    Besides, could they even refuse?


    As things stood, unless they shut down the long-distance teleportation array, the elves could easily use brute force to ¡°collect their due debts.¡±


    Imagining over ten thousand undying elves wreaking havoc through their city quite frankly terrified Brein.


    As long as the teleportation array remained operational, these elves were practically invincible!


    Furthermore, without the elves as reinforcements, de City likely wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the remaining Dark Alliance army.


    Understanding all this, the former and current chiefs quickly reached a consensus regarding their stance on the elves¡¯ scamming issue.


    Firstly, the things that Brein had promised should remain unchanged.


    After all, it was only a few years worth of fiscal revenue and could be viewed as an investment to prevent disaster and enhance their rtions with the elves.


    Firebeard is still quite interested in these elves, particrly in the various businesses they conducted in ckrock City, and he hoped to engage inmercial cooperation with them in the future.


    Secondly, they decided to send an ambassador to officially update their agreement with the elves.


    The gist was that they were now aware that the elves could resurrect themselves indefinitely.


    The City of des would honor the prior existing agreement, but moving forward, it needs to be updated.


    Until the war waspletely over, only genuine new participating elves would be eligible to receive one piece of equipment!


    Of course, neither of them actually expected more new elves to join.


    In both Brein and Firebeard¡¯s opinion, the current number of elves participating was already sufficient enough.


    Another purpose of updating the agreement is topletely tie the elves who have already participated in the war to de City¡¯s cause.


    Since these elves have already received their promised equipment, they have the responsibility to help the City of des not only survive this war but also achieve final victory, rather than just fighting a single battle.


    This new agreement also required both ambassadors of the respective parties to sign it.


    Considering the elves¡¯ special nature and to demonstrate de City¡¯s sincerity, Brein himself had decided to go personally, while his senior, Lord Firebeard would stay behind to guard the city.


    With ckrock City¡¯s mediation, the elves quickly responded by sending their own ambassadors, namely the Saintess of Nature Alice and a female elf named HootyBird.


    Ultimately, both parties agreed to update the agreement, and the renegotiation event will take ce in ckrock City.


    To Brein¡¯s surprise, the elves agreed quite straightforwardly, and he even saw a look of guilt on the face of their representative, the Saintess Alice.


    At that moment, Brein finally witnessed the gentle virtues for which the elves were widely renowned for and often depicted in legends, embodied by this elven saintess.


    Of course, what he didn¡¯t know was that even if de City stopped providing equipment to the elves after this battle, the yers would still rush to join the battle at the first opportunity after having tasted the benefits of war.


    This was the true reason for Alice¡¯s guilt, as she understood the yers all too well.


    Experience and contributions points, as well as the spoils of war from defeating enemies were immensely attractive to them.


    However, the elves also made a request:


    That is, they would not permanently station themselves in de City but would immediatelye to its aid whenever a crisis arose.


    Brein agreed to this as well.


    At the moment, the Dark Alliance is still a force to be reckoned with, and its high-endbat force is still leagues ahead of the Hermetic Alliance.


    Therefore, they can only hide within the safety of their city walls to defend themselves and cannot take the initiative to attack.


    However, just as the agreement was finally updated and Brein was about to leave ck Rock City, he suddenly encountered a familiar figure he hadn¡¯t expected to meet.


    ¡ª <strong>365</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ UPDATED AGREEMENT ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 366

    Chapter 366


    ¡°Dorulu¡­why is this guy here?¡±


    Brein muttered to himself after seeing a familiar figure in the distance.


    It was a gnome dressed in luxurious attire fashioned akin to the extravagant garb popr amongst human nobles.


    While the clothing was elegant, it didn¡¯t suit the gnome at all. Rather than appearing noble, the one wearing it looked more like a clown instead.


    At this moment, the gnome, whilst being apanied by several bodyguards quickened their pace through the bustling streets of ckrock City. Dorulu¡¯s eyes darted anxiously, and lines of tension creased the gnome¡¯s forehead as they rushed towards the direction of the Church of Death.


    It was undoubtedly Dorulu, who had been Brein¡¯s ssmate when he studied in the city-state of Shanathar back when he was young.


    Dorulu is the heir of the most powerful gnome household in Shanathar and also the grandson of the current acting chief of that city-state.


    As the current ambassador of Shanathar, Dorulu is also rumored to be next in line for the position of chieftain.


    However, despite them being ssmates in the past, their rtionship had always been strained, mirroring the tension between de City and Shanathar.Especially after Brein had became the chief of de City, Dorulu publicly stated, ¡°With Brein¡¯sckluster abilities, he will definitely lead de City to ruin,¡± further souring their already strained rtionship.


    In truth, Brein was pretty certain that Dorulu was simply jealous of his sess in bing a city chieftain first.


    s, when Brein saw Dorulu, thetter also noticed him.


    The gnome then immediately masked his expression, lifted his nose disdainfully, and sarcastically remarked:


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Brein from the City of des?¡±


    ¡°I heard that your city-state depleted years of savings shortly after the war began, even going into debt for nearly ten thousand sets of equipment from neighboring city-states. Moreover, the reinforcements you hired also suffered heavy casualties. Tsk, tsk¡­ it appears that the current chief of de City is not up to the task, eh?¡±


    Dorulu shook his head in a tant mocking gesture before adding:


    ¡°I wonder what Lord Firebeard was thinking, passing the chieftain¡¯s position to someone like you¡­¡±


    Hearing the ridiculeced within Dorulu¡¯s words, Brein¡¯s expression visibly darkened.


    Taking a deep breath to suppressed his anger, Brein responded,


    ¡°It¡¯s better than a trash who only talks about people behind their backs.¡±


    After speaking, he nced at Dorulu¡¯s weary and worried-looking guards. Considering the geographical positions of their respective city-states and his inside knowledge of the Dark Alliance¡¯s troop movements, Brein realized their purpose for visiting ckrock City at this critical time.


    With a slight smile, he said, ¡°Lord Dorulu, shouldn¡¯t you focus more on your own personal affairs? I heard that Shanathar is also being targeted by the Dark Alliance. Now that my city had sessfully repelled the enemy, they might shift their focus onto your city instead. If that happens, Shanathar will definitely be in danger.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity my city incurred some heavy losses in our recent battle, so please understand that de City cannot offer any support for you at the moment.¡±


    Dorulu¡¯s facade slipped as his face momentarily darkened at Brein¡¯s words.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    He then gave Brein a long, hard look before silently proceeding towards the Church of Death along with his retinue of guards.


    Watching Dorulu¡¯s retreating figure, Brein shook his head slightly.


    Judging by Dorulu¡¯s demeanor, the situation was developing just as Lord Firebeard had predicted. The Dark Alliance hadn¡¯t fully retreated but had changed their primary target to another city-state instead, specifically¡ªShanathar.


    Clearly, Dorulu hade to ckrock City seeking aid.


    Although the Elves and Hermetic Alliance have formed an alliance, many of its member city-states remain hesitant, particrly regarding their stance towards the Elves.


    On one hand, the other city-states are facing less pressure from the enemy and they are also very suspicious of the strength of these long eared folks from the surface.


    It was only when de City was besieged and urgently needed reinforcements did the Elves involved themselves, thereby fully demonstrating their formidablebat prowess in the battlefield.


    de City¡¯s recent victory has allowed other city-states to truly witness what these Elves are capable of.


    Nheless, the other members still didn¡¯t know the full details of what transpired, and all they knew was that de City managed to repel the enemy in just three days with the help of the Elves¡­


    And that de City seemed to have umted a significant amount of debt after the battle¡­


    Watching Dorulu enter the Church of Death, Brein¡¯s lips curled into a mocking sneer.


    <em>Heh.</em>


    <em>My city owes a huge debt?</em>


    <em>Well, that might be so, but I¡¯d like to see how much Shanathar will end up owing then!</em>


    Indeed, he did renegotiate the agreement with the elves on behalf of de City, but that was a unteral decision agreed upon by both parties.


    Plus, the world underground is inherently filled withpetition and chaos. Although de City and Shanathar are both members of Hermetic Alliance, there is still a great deal of rivalry between them.


    As such, with de City having recently suffered significant losses, naturally, they wouldn¡¯t consider the welfare of other city-states.


    ¡ªEven if they are allies.


    Speaking of which, it was these very same allies who took advantage of de City¡¯s dire situation to hike up prices and profit despite them being besieged.


    Even the equipment de City acquired from other member city-states came at significantly inted prices¡­


    Not to mention theck of additional reinforcements.


    No wonder Hermetic Alliance still struggles against the Dark Alliance even to this day. Without unity amongst them, even the strongest forces can¡¯t be effectively employed, especially when they¡¯re already weaker than the enemy.


    In fact, the agreement between Hermetic Alliance and the elves only vaguely stiptes that ¡°The Alliance must provide necessary equipment for the assisting elves.¡±


    The finer details would only be added by respective city-states during its implementation.


    Essentially, it means that the agreement de City made with the elves specifically only applies to them alone and doesn¡¯t extend to other city-states.


    And now, seeing that it¡¯s Shanathar¡¯s turn to seek aid, Brein naturally wouldn¡¯t offer any help nor suggestions.


    With the elves¡¯ involvement, Shanathar is likely to hold out, but how much debt they¡¯ll incur in the process is another matter entirely.


    <em>Well, Dorulu¡¯s city will probably go bankrupt.</em>


    <em>After all, the Dark Alliance had failed to take de City, and it¡¯s probable that the enemy will put a lot more effort into besieging Shanathar this time around¡­ </em>


    Brein thought to himself.


    Imagining Dorulu¡¯s possible expression after the battle ended brought a hint of satisfaction within Brein¡¯s heart.


    As a long-time underground resident, he had a long memory for grudges.


    Hmm¡­ when I return, I should probably prepare thoroughly and see if I can recoup our losses by taking advantage of Shanathar¡¯s eventual situation.


    Indeed, as a veteranmercial city-state chief, he was already considering how to exploit the information gap to shear Shanathar¡¯s proverbial wool, so to speak¡­


    Dorulu had indeede to seek help.


    After the Dark Alliance¡¯s forces abandoned their siege of de City, they quickly redirected their main offensive towards Shanathar, thereby exponentially increasing the pressure on the city.


    With de City¡¯s recent sess as a precedent, Dorulu naturally turned to the elves for assistance.


    Thankfully, the process of seeking reinforcements was very smooth.


    Having lost their opportunity to farm equipment through the resurrection exploit in de City, the yers, whilst feeling regretful, were thrilled when they received a new request for reinforcements from another city-state.


    Thus, Dorulu easily reached an agreement with the elves¡­


    ¡ªJust like de City once had.


    ¡ª <strong>366</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SHEARING WOOL ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 367

    Chapter 367


    ¡°It must be tough to be attacked by an undead army and unable to retaliate. To make matters worse, even H¡¯s own believers were unable to use the undead for a counterattack. In a sense, H¡¯s situation is quite miserable¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed whilst seated upon her throne within the World Tree¡¯s divine kingdom.


    At this moment, Ev¨¦ could somewhat understand why H, a deity with intermediate divine power, would choose to ally with her.


    Beyond the fact that H had a close rtionship with the former World Tree, the Goddess of Death did indeed need a strong ally that can operate outside the Netherworld, especially one that¡¯s active within the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    ¡°In the recent battle, I felt that H¡¯s power was being suppressed by something. Could it be the effect of a divine artifact? Hmm, it appears H has deeper motivations for continuing this war¡­¡±


    ¡°From the look of it, this war in the underground is likely tost a long time. Well¡­I¡¯ll just think of it as a training ground for the yers, just like a war scenario within a game!¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook her head, swinging her long legs gently.


    She was in a fairly good mood.


    It was fun to watch all this unfold without worrying about the big things. At this moment, the great ¡°new¡± Goddess of Life was holding a fruit simr to a watermelon from earth, as she enjoyed its sweet, juicy pulp while watching the gigantic sand table in front of her with great interest.


    After ascending to a meager divine power, Ev¨¦ had conjured this three-dimensional sand table through the use of her divine powers.


    It¡¯s main purpose was to better sp¡ª<em>cough</em> ¡®track¡¯ the movements of the yers.


    Inspecting it more closely, this sand table showed all the areas currently explored by the yers, with the World Tree at its center.


    It was like a miniature three-dimensional map of Seig¨¹es, and scattered around it, one could also see numerous tiny blue lights moving about ever so slowly across the sand table, representing each yer.


    Conviniently, whenever Ev¨¦ wanted to view a specific yer¡¯s perspective, she only needed a mere thought to bring up the corresponding blue light and focus into it.


    Through the use of this sand table, Ev¨¦ could effortlessly monitor all yer activities and could monitor on anyone of interest at any given time.


    If she desired, she could even project her avatar to the yer¡¯s precise location via the game system linked onto them.


    However, doing so would consume a significant amount of divine energy.


    All of this was possible due to her improved precision in controlling divine power after ascending to a meager divine status.


    Overall, this god-like overview feels quite entertaining, reminding Ev¨¦ of her time ying real-time strategy games, wherein the yers act as her vigers and soldiers.


    Currently, among the 60,000 tiny blue specks of lights, nearly a third of them congregated around the world underground.


    These were the yers that had taken on the underground war quest.


    The vast majority of them consisted of veteran yers from the first three beta-tests, but some fast-progressing new yers from the fourth beta-test have also joined.


    At the start, they mainly operated within the vicinity of de City.


    However, nowadays, except for some life-oriented yers interested in trading with the dark-dwarves or exploration-focused yers fond of uncovering new unknown locations, most of the yers have moved onto the nearby city-state, Shanathar.


    Ev¨¦ had already observed their perspectives and knew that the yers were once again battling the Dark Alliance¡¯s forces attacking Shanathar.


    However, unlike the previous battle, it was evident that after the three-day battle in de City, most participating yers had almost exhausted their stock of resurrection coins.


    Therefore, apart from the newly joined fourth-beta yers, the older yers were now much more cautious inbat.


    Furthermore, after learning what these elves are capable of from their unsessful invasion of de City, the Dark Alliance this time around grew more increasingly cautious.


    They have shifted their strategy away from relying solely on direct assaults and have instead opted to employ long-range tactics aimed at weakening the forces of the Hermetic Alliance at a distance.


    As a result, the casualties on the Dark Alliance¡¯s side significantly decreased.


    s, this shift in the enemy¡¯s strategy increased the likelihood of the war bing more and more of a long drawn-out prolonged conflict.


    On the yer¡¯s side, while the veteran yers were being overly cautious, striving to stay alive, knowing that even a single mistake could lead to a level drop. In contrast, the newbies from the fourth beta persisted on using their initial reckless strategy.


    Reviving without a resurrection coin doesn¡¯t incur severe penalties for them and by maintaining their level at lvl 11, they usually umte just enough resurrection coins within a day.


    Thus, these neers continued merrily abusing the resurrection exploit to farm equipment promised by the Shanathar officials.


    However, unlike before, they now mostly do it only once a day to avoid being discovered.


    If this trend continued, Ev¨¦ seriously doubted whether this particr city-state would go bankrupt from the yers¡¯ relentless farming once the remaining thousands of fourth-beta yers all reached the Iron-rank.


    Nevertheless, Ev¨¦ decided to let the yers keep the equipment they had farmed from Shanathar, unlike what she had done when they exploited the binding function in Maple Leaf City to ripped off the ckmarket Companies.


    The reason is that on one hand, the yers this time were only acquiring good-quality equipment, which didn¡¯t disrupt the game¡¯s bnce as much as the high-tier items they¡¯ve got from Maple Leaf City¡¯s ckmarket.


    Secondly, the tens of thousands of newly joined yers did indeed need substantial equipment to fully arm themselves.


    Moreover, when these additional pieces of equipment eventually got damaged, most yers would choose to send them to Ev¨¦ as an offering in exchange for contribution points.


    And after the yers sent over these damaged equipment as offerings, Ev¨¦ would then repair it and add some special properties or upgrade it to a higher-leveled gear before selling it back in the exchange store.


    Hence, a perfect cycle wherein both she and the yers would mutually benefit!


    Regarding the divine power consumed during the yers¡¯ resurrection, Ev¨¦ had amassed an abundance of divine power by now, so she really didn¡¯t mind it.


    Not to mention, in theory, each revival consumed resurrection coins that yers earned through their own efforts, effectively working for Ev¨¦ in the process.


    In summary, while the yers might profit significantly, Ev¨¦ herself never loses any profit whilst doing the bare minimum.


    Of course, this applied only to yers up to level 40 and below.


    The Silver-rank marked the first significant threshold of extraordinary power.


    So once a yer became a Silver-ranker, they transitioned from a mere low-ranker to mid-rank experts.


    Although the gap between mid-rank and low-rank experts wasn¡¯t as vast as that between mid-rank and high-rank experts, the lifeforce within their bodies was no longer on the same level.


    Therefore, once a yer ascended into the Silver-rank, the cost of resurrecting them would multiply several times over.


    It¡¯s precisely because of this that Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t nning to raise the level cap higher than 40 for yers yet.


    She intended to wait until her divine power was more ample enough or until she found a way to fully repair the ¡°Scepter of Life¡± before raising the maximum levels for the yers.


    Anyway, with the current exaggerated number of yers, once everyone became an Iron-ranker, merely resorting to human wave tactics alone will be enough to eliminate any threats below the Golden-rank¡­


    And any enemies above the Golden-rank will be handled by Eve¡¯s Godwardens.


    Of course, nothing in life is absolute.


    Before then, Ev¨¦ might set specific promotion slots to allow some outstanding yers to advance to Silver-rank sooner, topensate for her faction¡¯sck of intermediate-ranked experts.


    <em>Hmm, this could be another excellent incentive for the yers to work more harder¡­ </em>


    Ev¨¦ inwardly mused happily.


    Time continues on and as the war underground progresses further, the yers¡¯ strength, as well as the number and type of participants in the war, begin to subtly shift¡­


    ¡ª <strong>367</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ WHILE YOU PROFIT SIGNIFICANTLY, I, EV¨¦ NEVER LOSES! ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 368

    Chapter 368


    Driven by a natural desire for attaining higher levels and far more greater power, most fourth-beta yers worked even harder after witnessing the prowess of their veteran seniors on the battlefield.


    This made them franticallypleted tasks one after another or constantly hunted wild mobs in the Elven Forest to level up quickly.


    As a result, the fifty thousand fourth-beta yers gradually reached the minimum requirement to advanced into the rudimentary Iron-rank.


    In just a single day, as close as five thousand yers got promoted to Iron-ranked Experts!


    At that time, almost every ten seconds, a new fourth-beta yer would either enter the Temple of Life or arrive at the central square of Chosen City to pray to the World Tree.


    This action allowed them to ess the jobss interface and choose their desired starting ss.


    And as expected, among the various job sses avable, the melee-based job sses still remained the most popr.


    After being promoted to Iron-rank and undergoing their first job promotion, the majority of melee-based yers chose to be warriors, followed by hunters.


    On the other hand, archers were the leastmon, even fewer than half the number of mages.This result stems from the fact that melee-based sses are now widely regarded as the easiest ss among all the job sses.


    Compared to spellcasters, melee-based sses are more user-friendly, having higherbat effectiveness at lower levels and easier ess to a wider array of equipment.


    Moreover, unlike the equipment of spellcasters which can mostly only be bought from the in-game exchange store and is also far more expensive, melee-based equipment of the same level is more abundant and affordable.


    Scarcity makes things valuable¡­


    And Ev¨¦ understood this concept well.


    Which is why the avable stock inventory of spellcaster and archer equipment are much smallerpared to that of melee-based equipment.


    One reason for the scarcity of archer equipment is that, despite having even the assistance of skills, being an archer still requires a certain level ofbat proficiency.


    After all, there were simply too many yers who couldn¡¯t aim urately.


    More often than not, yers who couldn¡¯t shoot straight but still acquired archer damage skills often caused considerable havoc in battles.


    As such, many exploration parties or dungeon raid teams openly refused to include archer yers within their groups.


    However, some experienced archers found ways to address this problem.


    Some opted for relentless practice to improve their archery skills, while others sought to learn a zero-ring magic skill called [Heart Arrow] from Elven NPCs.


    [Heart Arrow] is an auxiliary archer skill that enables the user to enter a special state of mental calm and focus, greatly enhancing their aim.


    It¡¯s a must-have skill for seasoned archers.


    Additionally, some yers who were not fond of using bows opted to experiment with steam guns they had purchased from the dwarves instead.


    They intended to use their knowledge from earth to modify these steam guns, transforming them and figuring out how to integrate skills into them, all while enabling them to gainbat EXP at the same time.


    s, this experiment has yet to seed, but it was to be expected as these things tend to take time to yield substantial results.


    So for now, most yers are still focus on leveling up.


    Until they reach the current maximum level cap, yers may divert some attention to other less important things, but those won¡¯t be their main focus.


    This is why, despite being in the realm of Seig¨¹es for quite some time, the yers still haven¡¯t recreated things from earth aside from few simple gadgets.


    The more intricate and technically demanding inventions required full time and focus, but simply, most yers are still preupied with advancing levels and honing their skills.


    Nheless, Ev¨¦ anticipated that they would have more free time to explore different ¡°gameys¡± once the majority of yers reached the maximum level cap.


    At that point, perhaps technology from earth might actually start to proliferate in Seig¨¹es.


    But for now, yers are clearly more interested in leveling up and exploring ways to use magic, which doesn¡¯t exist on earth, rather than recreating earthly inventions in Seig¨¹es.


    After all, how many dedicated individuals are there willing to fully invest their time in high-tech endeavors?


    Most yers are here to have fun and rx.


    In fact, yers¡¯ enthusiasm for magic far exceeded Eve¡¯s expectations.


    If not for the fact that elves are inherently magical beings, capable of learning and casting simple spells even when choosing melee-based sses, the number of yers opting for magic-based job sses would likely be much higher, despite the scarcity of spellcaster equipment.


    Even now, nearly 40% of these fourth-beta yers have chosen to be spellcasters.


    One funny thing however is that many of them have be ¡°closebat mages¡± due to ack of equipment or the low damage output of their rudimentary spells.


    Among spellcasting sses, the mostmon jobss after being promoted to mage is the druid ss.


    This is because druids have very few offensive skills in the initial stages, focusing more on crowd control and healing magic, which are not conducive to gaining experience through enemy kills.


    Furthermore, Druids only acquire their truly powerful offensive skills at the intermediate Iron-rank, such as the [Transformation] skill.


    A druid with the [Transformation] skill can transform into a powerful beast and gain about 70% of its abilities, making them formidable inbat.


    Considering that druids are the only stable healers and the only jobss that excel in support and crowd control, their job prospects are quite favorable, making them highly sought after by variousbat-oriented teams.


    As for mages, well, they often rely on purchasing expensive equipment.


    Little Salty Cat has already proven that a mage fully decked out in golden gear can conjure a buffed-up Fireball that could solve almost any problem, and if not, two will do the trick.


    However to wield such a powerful AoE spell, a full set of high-quality magical equipment is essential, at least at the Iron-rank.


    Returning to the Present


    As more fourth-wave yers advance to Iron-rank, their interest in the free equipment being offered by the underground war quest has grown.


    As a result, more and more yers have joined the defense of Shanathar.


    However, it has be somewhat awkward situation as the Dark Alliance, unlike their previous attack on de City, has opted for a low-intensity and sustained long-range attack strategy against the city-state of Shanathar.


    While the massive presence of Shanathar army creates a visually overwhelming and intimidating scene, the actual pressure of war is not as significant.


    Due to this, even Li Mu eventually abandoned his role asmander and allowed everyone to act freely at their own discretion.


    Despite this, the number of yers participating in the battle continued to increase.


    And although some first and second-beta yers who had reached the maximum level cap left the battlefield, more and more fourth-beta yers joined in their stead.


    With minimal pressure in the defensive war and limited enemies to kill, the fourth-beta yers, who generallyck the strength to defeat enemies, found their few undead foes swiftly dealt with by the remaining veteran yers.


    This resulted in these fourth-beta yers primarily aiming to scavenge equipment.


    Never overestimate the integrity and ethics of these yers¡­


    ¡ªOr theck thereof.


    Regardless of the restrictions imposed or reminders given to them, when faced with substantial benefits, integrity bes an afterthought.


    <em>What is integrity? </em>


    <em>Can it be eaten? </em>


    Thus, all kinds of schemes and trickery started happening all over the battlefield.


    Some people even took the equipment and ran away when someone else died while others simplymitted suicide by jumping off the walls to escape.


    As a result, the unfortunate city-state of Shanathar found itself in a rather embarrassing situation¡­


    ¡ª <strong>368</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE JOB PROMOTION OF 4TH-BETA PLAYERS ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 369

    Chapter 369


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Underground, city-state of Shanathar.


    Located in the upper western region of Underdark, this ancient city-state is separated from de City by an undergroundke.


    Legend has it that Dark Dwarves first established this underground city during the early Silver Era. However, it was destroyed in the wars of the mid-tote Silver Era andter rebuilt upon its original ruins by the Subterranean Gnomes three thousand years ago.


    Much like the city of des which thrives onmerce, Shanathar is also amercial city-state, resembling ckrock City within the Deep Rift Cavern.


    However, unlike the Dark Dwarves of de City, who specialize in selling armor and swords, Shanathar is renowned for its mage robes, woven from the silk of cave spiders by its local Gnomes.


    This exins why, despite the Dark Alliance deploying only their low-ranked troops during sieges, which makes it harder for yers to gain levels, yers are still eager to participate just to obtain these robes, even if it means dying.


    Simply put, despite the lower EXP rate, obtaining these rare spellcaster equipment is too damn enticing!


    Nheless, while yers are thrilled at the prospect of getting these equipment, the high-ranking officials of Shanathar are far from pleased.


    At this moment, Catra, the incumbent chief elder gnome of the city-state,y expressionless on his bed, looking at several high-ranking officials of Shanathar.Present were the city¡¯s financial director, chief intelligence officer, Minister of Military Affairs and the ambassador who had enlisted the elves for support and the next chief-in-line, Dorulu.


    Although current state of the battle to protect their city was tilting in their favor, the atmosphere in the room was heavy with tension.


    Everyone faced their bedridden leader whilst anxiously listening to the financial director¡¯s report:


    ¡°C-Chief¡­¡±


    The financial director¡¯s voice carried a bitter undertone.


    ¡°After we employed those elves as our reinforcements, although the strain upon our city¡¯s defense has been reduced, our expenses instead have soared at an rming rate¡­¡±


    ¡°In the week since the elves joined us, we have depleted our entire stock of spider silk robes and armor, and have rued a debt of over twenty million gold coins, along with an additional unpaid five thousand spider silk robes¡­¡±


    ¡°T-This expense¡­is equivalent to our city¡¯s ie for nearly twenty years.¡±


    A deathly silence fell amongst the gathered city officials.


    Upon hearing this astronomical number, Catra¡¯s sickly pale face turned livid. After a few coughs, he then looked at the military minister and coldly asked:


    ¡°Tell me the status of our city¡¯s defense, especially the situation with the elves.¡±


    The military minister, a dwarf, nodded and said solemnly:


    ¡°Chief, currently the city¡¯s defense is holding up well. Ever since the elves joined, our soldiers have suffered fewer casualties, and the pressure on our troops has eased considerably. However, the number of casualties among the elves is somewhat concerning.¡±


    He then paused, before providing a more detailed report.


    ¡°ording to our statistics, the elves have sent nearly a hundred thousand of their troops within just the past week.¡±


    ¡°One hundred thousand?! That¡¯s impossible! There are at most only twenty thousand elves stationed at the wall!¡±


    Dorulu eximed.


    Only when Chief Catra gave Dorulu a cold nce did his sessor shiver and sheepishly shut his mouth.


    The military minister then further borated:


    ¡°Lord Dorulu, the reason you¡¯ve only seen twenty thousand elves is that these hundred thousand elven troops came individually one after another. Moreover, most of them were ¡®killed¡¯ shortly after joining the battle.¡±


    ¡°K-Killed?¡±


    Dorulu¡¯s eyebrows shot up, his mouth hanging slightly open in disbelief.


    He had not participated in the city¡¯s defense and was unaware of the elves¡¯ situation in battle.


    ¡°Yes, but not all of them died fighting the undead. Many also fell from the walls by ident¡­ although, I suspect those elves simplymitted suicide.¡±


    <em>Suicide? </em>


    <em>How could that be?</em>


    Dorulu was utterly baffled.


    Seeing Dorulu¡¯s stunned expression, the elderly chief snorted and turned to the city¡¯s female intelligence officer:


    ¡°Shana, tell him what you¡¯ve found out.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chief.¡±


    Shana bowed respectfully, then nced at Dorulu with a hint of disdain in her eyes, and said coolly:


    ¡°We have investigated these elves¡¯ backgrounds and uncovered the truth about how they defended de City.¡±


    ¡°These elves¡­e from the surface. They abandoned their prior faith within the World Tree and now worship a goddess of life named Ev¨¦, who is said to control the Divinity of Nature and Life.¡±


    ¡°It is said that this newly ascended deity was helped by Her Great Majesty H to acquire the Divinity of the Word Tree. There are even spections that this elven deity might be an incarnation of the Goddess of Death.¡±


    ¡°These elves have now chosen to follow this so-called ¡®Goddess of Life.¡¯ Not only are they plentiful, but they also have the power to resurrect themselves. Based on my findings, I have learned that they are immediately ressurected in another location on the surface upon their death¡­¡±


    ¡°With their change of faith, it seems their inherent nature have also changed as well.¡±


    ¡°During the defense of de City, it was reported that the number of elves involved reached eighty thousand, yet the maximum number defending the walls at any given time was no more than twenty thousand, simr to our situation¡­¡±


    ¡°After the battle, de City found itself heavily indebted in gold and equipment, all of which must be repaid to these elves.¡±


    ¡°¡±Additionally, numerous witnesses also reported seeing oddly familiar faces among the elves who returned to the battle, indicating they were somehow involved in a scheme to obtain equipment repeatedly by using their ability to resurrect.¡±


    <em>Goddess of Life? </em>


    <em>Immortality? </em>


    <em>Resurrection?</em>


    Dorulu was stunned.


    After delivering her report, the female gnome intelligence officer quietly stepped aside.


    The elderly chief¡¯s gaze then lingered on Dorulu, who stood there in a daze, a fleeting shadow of disappointment crossing his eyes.


    Whilst covering his mouth, Catra coughed a few times and sighed.


    ¡°Everyone else, leave. Dorulu, you stay behind.¡±


    The finance minister and others quickly exited, leaving only Chief Catra and his grandson Dorulu in the room.


    ¡°Dorulu, do you now understand what¡¯s going on?¡±


    The chief asked coldly.


    Dorulu¡¯s expression shifted, and he gritted his teeth:


    ¡°I understand now. We¡¯ve been duped by these elves! They used their ressurection abilities to deceive us and steal our wealth!¡±


    ¡°Foolish!¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the chief¡¯s face turned crimson with fury. Catra¡¯s hands shook as he struggled to contain his anger, a few coughs escaping him before he finally shouted:


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice anything suspicious about these elves from the start?! Did you not properlymunicate with our delegation that went to ckrock City?!¡±


    ¡°de City may have sessfully defended against the Dark Alliance, but why are you not aware of their situation? Even if you didn¡¯t know the specific details, why didn¡¯t you consider investigating their situation?!¡±


    The elderly chieftain shook his head in dismay.


    ¡°Without understanding the full situation, you hastily signed an agreement with the elves simr to the one that made with de City. Isn¡¯t this action of yours really foolish?!¡±


    ¡°These weird elves may be as cunning as humans, but it¡¯s your foolishness that has led our city-state to its current predicament!¡±


    The old chief fumed.


    Dorulu¡¯s heart raced, his eyes fixed on the ground, afraid to utter a word.


    Seemingly exhausted, the old chief took a deep breath and shook his head disappointingly.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    Fatigue weighed heavily in his voice.


    After a moment of silence, the sickly old chief looked at Dorulu once again but this time, his gaze was more serious and stern.


    ¡°Dorulu, I now ask you, what should we do next?¡±


    Upon hearing the chief¡¯s pointed question, Dorulu lifted his head. Confronted by his grandfather¡¯s stern gaze, he felt an instinctive urge to avoid it.


    However, he soon mustered his courage, gritted his teeth, and said:


    ¡°They are deceiving us!¡±


    ¡°That means¡­ these twenty thousand elves have been dying and resurrecting repeatedly!¡±


    ¡°In this situation, we have no obligation to pay the rewards we promised! Moreover, we should also reim the the money that was overpaid to them!¡±


    Hearing Dorulu¡¯s suggestion, the old chief¡¯s face turned even darker.


    Catra then picked up a cane from beside the bed and struck his grandson¡¯s face whilst roaring angrily.


    ¡°Utterly foolish!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>369</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ UTTERLY FOOLISH! ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 370

    Chapter 370


    ¡°Hmph! These elves possess the ability to repeatedly resurrect themselves. Don¡¯t you understand the reasoning behind this? In this world, who is the only great being capable of granting such an ability?¡±


    ¡°It is our great Patron Deity, the Goddess of Death!¡±


    ¡°Regardless of who this supposed Ev¨¦ the newly Goddess of Life is that the elves now worship, she must be significantly connected to Her Majesty, whom we believe in!¡±


    ¡°Remember, the divine oracle of our Goddess predicted that we must seek their help. Despite being deceived by the elves, the agreement is legitimate and safeguarded by our Goddess!¡±


    ¡°To break this contract is to defy the divine oracle made by Her Majesty!¡±


    The old chief¡¯s voice carried heavy disappointment as he gazed at Dorulu, who stood before him, head bowed in embarrassment.


    Catra then took a deep breath and angrily continued:


    ¡°Moreover, have you even considered the repercussions of withdrawing from our agreement with the elves?¡±


    ¡°These elves might have their ws, but theirbat abilities are undeniable. Have you thought about the consequences of angering them and the impact it could have on the defense of our city-state?¡±¡°Dorulu, these are twenty thousand elves who can continuously resurrect themselves! Even if we don¡¯t know the specific limitations of their resurrection ability, our city of merely fifty thousand inhabitants cannot withstand their retaliation if we anger them!¡±


    ¡°We are already under attack by the Dark Alliance as it is. If we even turn against our allies at this moment, do you think Shanathar wouldst much longer?!¡±


    The elderly chief roared, spitting saliva all over Dorulu¡¯s face but thetter didn¡¯t dare to argue back at all.


    After grilling his grandson and nearly exhausting himself, Catra paused momentarily, trembling and breathing heavily.


    Seeing this, Dorulu hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, ¡°Then¡­ what should we do?¡±


    Catra¡¯s eyes were filled with even more disappointment as he looked at him:


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    ¡°Failing to educate you properly was my mistake and choosing you as the next chieftain has been a grave error on my part.¡±


    ¡°You pale inparison to Brein, the chief of de City. If you persist in such foolishness, how can I entrust you with our city-state? You simply do not possess the qualifications and abilities needed to seed as chieftain¡­¡±


    Catra shook his head.


    ¡°It seems I need to reconsider my choice of sessor.¡±


    Hearing these words, Dorulu¡¯s face turned pale, and he bowed his head even lower.


    The bedridden leader sighed deeply and once more shook his head.


    ¡°I have already informed our chief financial director. The prior agreement we made with the elves will be honored, but any elves who newly join the battle from now on can only receive one set of equipment.¡±


    ¡°This aligns closely with de City¡¯s approach in their rectified agreement with the elves.¡±


    After speaking, Catra nced at Dorulu, his voice carrying a hint of resignation.


    ¡°You¡­ may leave now.¡±


    Dorulu bit his lip upon hearing this.


    After inhaling deeply and offering a slight bow to the old chief, he turned around to depart. However, moments after exiting the chieftain¡¯s residence, Dorulu¡¯s expression quickly turned dark.


    Immediately after returning home, he angrily drew his dagger and shed at every piece of furniture in sight, roaring:


    ¡°Foolish!? What¡¯s wrong with my idea? Am I not also doing this for the sake of Shanathar?!¡±


    ¡°So in the end, you¡¯re just telling me to endure such losses?! Bah, this is the underground, not the surface!¡±


    ¡°So what if those elves can resurrect? Even the Godwardens of the Goddess of Death can only resurrect a few times. Can these elves resurrect infinitely? Why should I fear them? Pssh, these long-eared swindlers won¡¯t be able toe over the moment I shut down the teleportation array!¡±


    Dorulu, in a fit of rage, smashed everything in his house, scaring the servants away.


    At the moment he looked like a crazed monster, as his face contorted with anger.


    ¡°Protected by the Goddess of Death? Tch, what does that matter when we¡¯re under siege by the Dark Lord?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! That damn old coot actually wants to revoke my session rights and evenpare me to that bastard Brein!¡±


    ¡°I knew it! That old man only cares for his outstanding disciples and never for his own grandson!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Since you want to treat me this way, then don¡¯t me me for what might happen next¡­¡±


    Having evidently resolved himself, Dorulu gradually began to calm down, yet his expression still remained menacing.


    He discarded his dagger, donned a ludicrous looking nobleman¡¯s robe, and left his house alone without any of his usual guards.


    He walked through the streets of Shanathar, following winding paths to themercial district.


    Momentster, he arrived at a nondescript tavern in the chaotic andwless part of the city and promptly went inside.


    Currently, the tavern had few patrons, and immediately after entering, Dorulu headed straight to a corner where a figure wearing a pointed hat was sitting.


    It was a dark-dwarf mage, and the other party did not seem entirely surprised by Dorulu¡¯s arrival.


    He merely smiled slyly and asked, ¡°Lord Dorulu, have you finally made your decision?¡±


    Dorulu narrowed his eyes, gazing at the dwarven mage intently.


    ¡°I can participate in your guys n, but I have one condition. After the n seeds, I must be appointed as co-chief of both Shanathar and de City.¡±


    Right after hearing Dorulu¡¯s condition, the dwarven mage¡¯s eyebrow arched slightly, as a soft chuckle escaped from his lips.


    ¡°Lord Dorulu, that¡¯s beyond our agreement. At most, we can support you in bing the chieftain of Shanathar City.¡±


    Dorulu wasn¡¯t surprised by the other party¡¯s refusal.


    He scoffed and replied, ¡°Hmph, does it matter who bes the chief? If I am in charge, I will vigorously promote faith conversion in both city-states, ensuring that all the citizens quickly convert back to the faith of the Dark Lord¡­¡±


    ¡°Additionally, I have a crucial piece of information as a gift for you. Aren¡¯t you curious about the origins of those elves who came to support us?¡±


    The defense of Shanathar had gradually entered a prolonged state of defensive battle.


    As time passed, the frequency of attacks from the Dark Alliance decreased significantly, leading the Hermetic Alliance to suspect that the enemy might want to end the war.


    Despite this, the besieging army still remained, maintaining immense pressure on Shanathar City, signaling that they had not yet fully abandoned the war.


    Nevertheless, for reasons unknown, the Dark Alliance paused all their assaults and chose to encamp outside the city while maintaining the siege.


    By this point, all that remained of the enemy forces were undead soldiers and it seemed these undead could maintain the siege indefinitely, provided theirmanders had enough magic reserves.


    However, while the Dark Alliance could maintain their position, the yers, on the other hand, grew more and more weary of the situation.


    They havee here to y a game, not to act as real soldiers.


    Defending the city day after day without significantbat or gaining experience eventually became a tedious task that tormented most of them.


    As a result, many yers decided to abandon the city defense quest after a few days. Instead, they returned to the surface or explored other areas of the underground to level up quickly.


    The number of yers defending the walls dwindled but remained rtively stable due to the constant turnover of newer batches of yers willing to try out the war campaign.


    This shift in lower yer activity did not sit well with the high officials of Shanathar City. However, given that the current defensive pressure was minimal and the yers who left had promised to return promptly if the war reignited, the leaders tolerated the situation.


    Under these circumstances, the war underground gradually transitioned from a major questline to a longstanding war scenario exclusive within the underground map.


    By now, any yers visiting the member city-states of the Hermetic Alliance were no longer primarily drawn to the ongoing war.


    And their focus had shifted to establishingmercial activities and exploring unknown areas, which became their main priorities instead.


    ¡ª <strong>370</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BETREYAL AND CHANGE ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 371

    Chapter 371


    With the assistance of long-range teleportation arrays, Amway Corporation, whilst backed by Heart of Nature and funded by the Moe Moe Committee, has forged vital connections with the indigenous peoples of de City and Shanathar through the mediation of some dark-dwarves in ckrock City.


    With the trade line in ce, the yers acted swiftly.


    Drawing upon their prior experience doing business in ckrock and Maple Leaf City, coupled with leveraging some ¡®scientific¡¯ fundraising methods to umte wealth like a snowball rolling downhill, they smoothly established a branch office within themercial districts of the two underground city-states.


    Unlike cities from the surface, the city-states underground are mostly multi-level, with expansivend areas avable for rtively affordable prices.


    The yers in charge of surveying the city acquired somend areas at minimal cost and, in just a few days, erected two buildings styled in elven architecture in both cities, proudly disying the sign of ¡°Amway Corporation.¡±


    The construction of the branch offices was carried out by the construction team of Moe Moe Committee, and the choice of using elven-style architecture was a deliberate move facilitated by Little Salty Cat.


    She believed that by using the ¡®elven style¡¯ to stand out, their establishment would easily pique the curiosity of the underground residents, thereby further benefiting theirmercial activities.


    Indeed, Little Salty Cat herself has joined Amway Corporation¡­or more precisely, she has be one of its major shareholders.


    Demacia personally developed Amway Corporation on his own. However, as its operations grew more and morerger, running it by himself became increasingly difficult. Therefore, he suggested to Li Mu to formally integrate Amway Corp into the management of Heart of Nature, which Li Mu epted.


    Meanwhile, the Guildmaster of Moe Moe Committee, Little Salty Cat, upon hearing of this news smelled a lucrative business opportunity.


    This rather infamous rich female yer, who is actually only just 15 years old back in reality, boldly decided to opened up her wallet to directly invest and be a major shareholder of Amway Corp¡­.


    Naturally, both Li Mu and Demacia weed her investment.


    Little Salty Cat is quite famous for being ridiculously rich, and her guild, Moe Moe Committee, is also widely recognized for their capacity to umte fortune from their real estate business in Chosen City.


    With these two major guilds joining forces, it might indeed be possible to create a corporate giant here in the virtual world of Elven Kingdom¡­


    And just as the Guildmasters of the two guilds had envisioned, Amway¡¯s development within both de City and Shanathar proceeded smoothly.


    Various goods from the surface quickly attracted the attention of numerous local residents.


    And upon the opening day of Amway Corp, a huge number of local Dwarves and Gnomes flocked in as customers, and the goods they had prepared were swiftly sold out in just less than a day.


    Moreover, they attracted some local high-ranking officials from the two city-states to invest in them, making Amway¡¯s production-line business model flourish.


    Speaking of which, the yers¡¯ scope ofmercial activities within Elven Kingdom were expanding rapidly in a manner that no one had anticipated¡­


    Initially, when Demacia started his pyramid schemes, the majority of the yers simply treated it as a joke.


    After all, everyone knew that this was merely a game, and despite Elven Kingdom being a groundbreaking game that offered a lot of freedom, pulling off an intricate scheme simr to real life was way beyond its capacity.


    Hence they assumed that the most Demacia could achieve was merely scamming some NPCs out of their money.


    In their minds, could a virtual game that primarily focuses on MMORPG elements really be yed like a business simtion game?


    Not to mention, what Demacia was trying to aplish was pulling off a realistic pyramid scheme¡­


    But who could have guessed that this punk had actually somehow managed to pull it off and make a name for himself!


    By deceiving and manipting the natives to get his initial funds, along with acquiring substantial materials from other yers, Demacia sessfully developed the pyramid scheme into a proper business corporation, albeit retaining some of its pyramid scheme-like traits.


    Not only that but he even managed to deceive the dark dwarves from ckrock City into giving him their support.


    So now, this punk has actually recruited quite a few Dark-Dwarves to work for him!


    Thinking about it, the progression of Moe Moe Committee¡¯s real estate projects followed a simr path.


    At the beginning, Moe Moe was merely just a small gathering of few yers from the first-beta who simrly enjoyed building things for their own amusement.


    That¡¯s how others saw it.


    However, Little Salty Cat used her financial acumen to bring these people together, forming a proper construction team andying out the foundation for the creation of Moe Moe Committee.


    After the guild was formally established, she leveraged various construction tasks from Chosen City to transform what was originally a group formed by yers for their own amusement into real estate developers¡­


    Even some native elves, upon returning to Elven Forest, were attracted to join her guild, taking up job positions such asndscapers or gardeners.


    Not to mention the ck Dragon, who was often conned into helping as a porter.


    All these developments Moe Moe has aplished have made other people suspect whether this ¡®golden-thighed¡¯ yer, who ims to be a mere high school student, is actually a disguised business tycoon in real life.


    And even if she¡¯s not, Little Salty Cat was definitely someone with rich social experience.


    Of course, it waster proven during an offline meet-up that Little Salty Cat was indeed just a 15-year-old girl!


    After this bombshell of a revtion, the official forum exploded instantly with Ev¨¦ herself joining in the gossip for days on end.


    Countless yers couldn¡¯t believe it and some even began to doubt their own life aplishments¡­


    All of them are ying the same game and started at level 1, yet while some are still striving to save contribution points little by little just to buy their next set of equipment, others like Little Salty Cat have already be sessful capitalists within the game!


    Truly, even inside a game, you still cannot escape the cruel nature of society and one¡¯s own inadequacies!


    Ultimately, to bepared with other people is really frustrating!


    However, despite experiencing a social beatdown simr to those they sought to escape from on Earth, the yers still continued to y Elven Kingdom with enthusiasm¡­


    It¡¯s a rather strange phenomenon.


    In this regard, Ev¨¦ believes that this is because the yers subconsciously think that ElvKing is still a game, not reality.


    No matter how badly they do in the game, in the end they still view it as entertainment, free from the pressures of real life.


    And the gap among the yers, whether through levels or financial or societal gains, does not lead them to genuinely believe they are inferior to others¡­


    At most, they will just call these high-leveled yers ¡°big boss¡± and think about currying favor with them and getting to know each other.


    However, the development ofmercial activities has provided more yers with a deeper understanding of the scope of freedom and diversity the Elven Kingdom is capable of.


    Remembering the game review from the streamer Li Mu which stated that, ¡°Here, there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t achieve, only things you haven¡¯t thought of. This is a whole new world!¡± truly struck a chord with them, not just empty words.


    Indeed, Elven Kingdom¡¯s a magical game, a very magical one!


    Of course, as time passes within the game, this groundbreaking game with seemingly way too advanced capabilities has also attracted the attention of powerful influential figures on Earth.


    However, with Ev¨¦¡¯s enhanced divine power and deeper influence on the inte, she has gained enough strength to erase this attention through various means like data maniption and psychological suggestion¡­


    In her view, unless there are unexpected circumstances, it¡¯s best for the people on Earth to never discover that this game of hers is actually real and happening in another otherworldly realm.


    Ignorance is bliss, as they say and that¡¯s the fundamental reason why yers can shine brightly in the world of Seig¨¹es.


    Although the yers can infinitely resurrect and this aspect is certainly important but it is not essential in grand scale of things.


    As for those powerful influential people on Earth who have vested interests in her game, Ev¨¦ ensures that she will never have anything to do with them.


    For the people on earth, Elven Kingdom is just an advanced dreamlike game.


    ¡ª <strong>371</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PLAYERS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    <strong>Authors Note</strong>: This chapter serves as a response to some readers¡¯ questions about official authorative figures in reality. Official authorities are indeed a sensitive topic to write about, as one might easily cross the line and face censorship. A single misstep could lead to the entire book being censored.<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 372

    Chapter 372


    ¡°Immortal Elves? The Goddess of Life?¡±


    In a certain grand temple, a tall figure d in ck armor and wearing a demon mask held a parchment letter, deep in thought.


    His eyes glowed a ghostly blue and his presence was so profound that the dim lights in the temple flickered along with each of his breath.


    This was Perone, the Lich King.


    He is the acting ruler of the Dark Alliance, a Godwarden of the Dark Lord H?dur, and the main instigator of the ongoing war happening underground.


    ¡°Heh, what an interesting piece of information.¡±


    After reading the letter, the Lich King chuckled and turned toward the ten-meter-tall statue at the center of the temple.


    It¡¯s a statue depicting an elderly figure with a hunched back, dressed in ck robes, holding a skeletal staff in one hand and a heavy book in the other.


    Perone knelt respectfully before the statue and prayed in a hoarse, deep voice, ¡°Praise be to the Dark Lord! Guardian of darkness, and ruler of shadows, the true master of the Netherworld¡ªthe Great H?dur!¡±


    ¡°Your humble believer, this lich king Perone, has important matters to report¡­¡±


    As he spoke, a dark glow began to gather around the statue, before a potent, malevolent power descended upon the whole temple.


    Netherworld, in a certain vast region shrouded in shadows.


    This region, which is closest to the Abyss, was filled with chaoticws and monsters with corrupted minds.


    Yet, unlike the Abyss below it, this region, although chaotic, still holds some semnce of order, presenting a bizarre form of distortion.


    This is thend of darkness, also known as the shadow region, which was created by the primordial Death God tobat the corruption of the Abyss.


    As such, it is also the homnd of many shadow monsters.


    At the center of this regiony a kingdom entirely enshrouded in shadows.


    A thickyer of divine power protected this ce, warding off countless shadow beings that dared not draw near, gripped by an instinctual dread and reverence.


    This was the Divine Kingdom of the Dark Lord, the realm of H?dur, the God of Darkness and Shadows.


    At this moment, this Ancient Deity, who had once been the right-hand man of the Goddess of Death, sat on top of a terrifying shadow dragon, stroking its head like a pet while listening to the report from one of his Godwardens.


    ¡°Immortal Elves? The Goddess of Life?¡±


    H?dur spoke with a trace of curiosity in his weathered voice.


    ¡°H, is it¡­¡±


    He murmured to himself.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, H?dur patted the shadow dragon beneath him, his authoritative voice echoing all throughout his divine kingdom, as he uttered:


    ¡°Darkness, go visit Underdark and meet those old friends of mine and ask them if they¡¯re interested in regaining their power¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell those friends of mine that I¡¯ve found a good opportunity for them on the surface of Seig¨¹es¡­¡±


    After saying that, the shadow dragon beneath him growled obediently, then left the Dark Lord¡¯s side, pping its bat-like wings as it emitted ck mist before departing H?dur¡¯s divine kingdom.


    After the shadow dragon left, H?dur took out a scroll made of animal hide and gently tore it apart.


    ¡°Uller, I ept your proposal for an alliance. However, before we proceed further, I first want to see more sincerity from you.¡±


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve found some certain ¡®things¡¯ you would enjoy doing¡­¡±


    The Land Underground.


    A month had passed since the battle to protect de City, but the war still raged on elsewhere as more intense sieges, like the initial battle for de City, unfolds in other areas of the underground.


    By now, both sides had reached a peculiar state simr to a stalemate, seemingly waiting for a better opportunity to break the deadlock.


    Although the dark army besieging Shanathar still hadn¡¯t retreated, by this point its local residents had grown more or less ustomed to the tense atmosphere surrounding their city.


    The same sentiment went for the yers.


    Currently, only a few yers are stationed on the city walls, gathering only when the dark army sends out some small groups of undead for their routine attacks.


    Most of the time, the yers either focused on doing business with the locals or exploring the surroundings, and asionally clearing out the shadow creatures and other powerful underground beasts released by the Dark Alliance outside the city.


    Outside the City of des, approximately thirty kilometers southeast.


    In this particr area, the World Tree¡¯s location on the surface is nearly 500 kilometers away in a straight line, which is almost the limit of the yers¡¯ permissible activity area.


    Currently, five elves, adorned in various kinds of equipment, stood before a giant dead monster lying on the ground, chatting enthusiastically as they dismembered its body.


    ¡°Phew¡­finally, I¡¯ve reached the max level cap once more. I didn¡¯t expect these monsters here in the underground to be so tough, but it¡¯s all worth it since their drops are all great materials.¡±


    The tank of the team with the username ¡®Optimist¡¯ stood by the crocodile-like mob, wiping his broadsword with satisfaction.


    ¡°Bah! If you hadn¡¯t gone too crazy during the city defense quest and wasted all your revival coins, then would we need to help you level up here? Geez, despite being one to the veterans, you always forget to save enough resurrection coins for emergencies!¡±


    The speaker, Cbash, red at his teammate disdainfully while cutting up the monster.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already saved up plenty of coins in the past few days.¡±


    Optimist replied.


    This was Boxlunch¡¯sbat squad.


    After participating in the defense of de City, they didn¡¯t immediately return back to the surface to continue exploring the western part of the Elven Forest.


    Instead, their team roamed around the underground and hunted monsters.


    The reason?


    Their tank, Optimist, had gotten too carried away during the quest and failed to notice that he ran out of resurrection coins.


    As a result, his level, which had already been maxed out, dropped seven levels below because hecked the seven resurrection coins needed to revive without penalty when he died.


    So, after the battle, their team had decided to stay here in the underground to help Optimist regain his levels.


    Being hardcore yers themselves who had simrly already maxed out their levels, the whole squad didn¡¯t mind helping a fellow teammate.


    With them having yed this game together for so long, everyone on the team had be good friends both in-game and outside of it.


    They had even met up in real life several times, except for their captain, Boxlunch.


    Naturally, when one of them is in trouble, everyone in the squad wille to their aid.


    In addition, they were also curious about the area surrounding de City.


    Currently, Optimist had finally reached level 40 once more.


    After finishing theirst fight, the squad then decided to return to the surface and resume their previous exploration.


    ¡°Guys, hurry up and only collect the important drops. I can¡¯t wait to head back to the surface. I miss Nightingale¡¯s breakfasts,¡± said the mage whose username is ¡®IamInvincible¡¯, whilst winking at Boxlunch.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, captain~?¡±


    ¡°Get back to work.¡±


    Their stoic captain replied, kicking the mage in his butt as thetter stumbled and face nted into the dead monster, which ended up him being covered in blood.


    IAmInvincible: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± His other teammates immediately burst outughing at the mage¡¯s bewildered expression.


    After a while, Cbash seemed to remember something and said,


    ¡°By the way, I heard from Salty Cat that a few guilds are nning an offline ¡®ElvKing¡¯ meetup in Yaodu during the October holiday. Hooty, Tomato, Mu Bro, Dema, and the Guildmaster of Autobots are all going. Are you guys up for it as well?¡±


    IAmInvincible pondered for a moment, stroking his chin.


    ¡°Hmm, I might consider it. Well, I don¡¯t have anything important to do on October 1st anyway.¡±


    The squad¡¯s druid, Chopin, shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. Yaodu is too far from my home, but I¡¯ll video call you guys in the venue.¡±


    Cbash sighed, shaking his head with a dramatic ir.


    ¡°Too bad. The host will be Salty Cat this time and she said that she¡¯ll cover the food and lodging expenses for all the high-level members of Moe Moe that will attend.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! Really? That¡¯s quite generous of her¡­ even if she¡¯s filthy rich, shouldering all that expenses must have cost a lot, right?¡±


    Optimist widened his eyes.


    ¡°¡­It seems her family owns the hotel that¡¯s being used for the venue.¡±


    Cbash replied with a hint of incredulity in his tone.


    The whole squad: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­.Poverty limits my imagination.¡± 1


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Me too as well.¡±


    ¡°Captain, are you going?¡± Cbash turned to Boxlunch.


    Their captain shook his head.


    Seeing his response, Cbash showed a look of disappointment.


    ¡°Aw¡­I was hoping to get a photo with you. It¡¯s a shame you nevere to these events.¡±


    Chopin chimed in, ¡°Yeah, if you were to go captain, then I¡¯d definitely make the trip no matter the distance.¡±


    Boxlunch remained silent.


    ¡°I bet our captain is a total introvert in real life,¡±


    IAmInvincible said, shrugging.


    Yet Boxlunch remained quiet.


    Seeing their captain¡¯s firm refusal, the others didn¡¯t push further.


    Instead, they continued chatting, moving from the topic of ElvKing to other games, then from games to topics rting to their real life, while sharing various jokes and silly stories.


    Their conversation flowed effortlessly, punctuated byughter and animated gestures, illustrating their genuine enjoyment.


    However, amidst their cheerful banter, Boxlunch, whose standing on the outer edge, suddenly furrowed his brows.


    He then made a gesture for silence and whispered, ¡°Quiet¡­¡±


    The other four yers instinctively stopped talking and looked at their captain, as each of them promptly reached for their respective weapons.


    As a hunter, their captain, Boxlunch had the highest perception among them.


    Silence prevailed for a couple of seconds as Boxlunch gazed into the distance, his expression growing serious.


    ¡°Something¡­ ising.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>372</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BOXLUNCH¡¯S TEAM ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    1 <strong>ƶÇîÏÞÖÆÁËÎÒµÄÏëÏóÁ¦</strong> ¨C A chinese inte catchphrase that basically means, the lives of wealthy people are beyond the imagination of ordinary citizens. It mostly used in a self-deprecating manner.<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 373

    Chapter 373


    As soon as Boxlunch finished speaking, the group felt an overwhelming presence soaring from above them.


    Startled, they all looked up and saw a massive figure, nearly a hundred meters long, flying overhead as it let out a deafening roar.


    Its bat-like wings nearly obscured the sky, and each p produced frightening gusts of wind. The creature¡¯s body, resembling a desated corpse, waspletely pitch ck, emitting a shadowy aura that transformed into ashen-ck miasma as lingered in the air like a smoke trail.


    <em>A Shadow Dragon!</em>


    Everyone on the team immediately recognized it, having participated in the defense of ckrock City Quest in the past.


    It¡¯s uncanny appearance as well as the cold, terrifying aura it exudes were undoubtedly simr to the Shadow Dragon they had seen before in that particr quest.


    It fact, that dragon boss monster was one of the few well known epic-ss creatures listed in the official forum¡¯s monster guide.


    However, this Shadow Dragon was even morerger in size than its previous counterpart previously in by Godwarden Zero.


    In particr, the aura this dragon exudes was far more intense and sinister than that of the first Shadow Dragon they¡¯ve encountered beforehand. The very moment it appeared, almost everyone on the team couldn¡¯t muster any thoughts of hunting it down. Moreover, it passive dragon aura almost pinned them down into the ground.


    Thest time they felt such oppression was in Maple Leaf City during that time wherein the Eternal Lord¡¯s will had manifested. The the sh between Despair Dragon Nidhogg and the will incarnation of the Eternal Lord had brought the same feeling to the yers¡­


    There was no doubt about it!


    <em>This Shadow Dragon was also a demigod!</em>


    The faces of the five yers, including Boxlunch, turned pale upon realizing this.


    Under its apocalyptic pressure, they even tried to halt their breathing, fearing that any movement they made might draw the dragon¡¯s attention towards them.


    However, even as their bodiesy motionless and their breaths held tightly, they all still couldn¡¯t help but instinctively activated the game¡¯s recording feature.


    They discreetly recorded the Shadow Dragon¡¯s appearance and whereabouts.


    Documenting new or unknown boss-level monsters is an ingrained habit among the yers, as organizing and uploading such data to the game system¡¯s monster guide can earn them some contribution points.


    Fortunately, their actions went unnoticed by the dragon.


    The Shadow Dragon seemed unaware of them, or if it did notice their team, then it simply ignored them, flying past with a deafening roar.


    It was not until the dragon¡¯s figure and its dreadful aura faded into the distance that all the yers within Boxlunch¡¯s team finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Whew¡­ That was terrifying! This game is great in every way, except for how overwhelmingly powerful these boss monsters feel. I can¡¯t fathom how the devs managed to achieve it¡­¡±


    Cbash shuddered, looking in the direction the Shadow Dragon had flown with his heart still pounding.


    The feeling that monster gave him just now was really frightening.


    Despite knowing it was just merely a game, he still couldn¡¯t shake the inexplicable dread it evoked.


    Unbeknownst to him and his teammates, this was the innate suppression of a higher existence over a lower one. This passive oppression stemmed from the vast difference in power, something someone from Earth could not experience.


    ¡°Is that a Demigod monster? It feels far more terrifying than Spider Queen Rose. Do wild Shadow Dragons spawn here in the underground? I heard from an NPC that such powerful shadow creatures only exist in the Netherworld.¡±


    Optimist pondered aloud.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but it was truly terrifying. I almost thought we were going to die. Even though we¡¯re all at level 40, encountering something like that makes me feel so insignificant. Man, the upper-ranked brings in this game sure is just too scary.¡±


    Chopin chimed in whilst patting his chest to calm himself.


    His face was still a little pale, as if he was still in shock.


    Simrly, the expressions of the others mirrored his.


    The light-hearted atmosphere from their prior conversation was gone, reced by a heavy mood.


    They realized that even at max level, they were just small fry in Elven Kingdom as there were still many powerful entities out there.


    In fact, the higher their level rose, the more they realized the immense power of their Patron Goddess, Ev¨¦.


    Behind her sacred and beautiful facade was a being of terrifying strength.


    ¡°I wonder when we¡¯ll attain such power.¡±


    IAmInvincible sighed.


    ¡°Who knows¡­perhaps we¡¯ll get it when higher levels are unlocked in the future. In any case, defeating boss monsters like this probably require either a whole raid group or the intervention of a powerful being like the Goddess, or maybe are just part of a storyline event since we¡¯re merely weak adventurers at the moment.¡±


    Cbash said, shaking his head.


    After finishing his words, he turned to Boxlunch:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Captain?¡±


    But Boxlunch didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, their captain was seemingly lost in thought, staring in the direction the Shadow Dragon had gone.


    ¡°Captain?¡±


    Cbash called out again.


    This time, Boxlunch finally reacted.


    He slung his backpack over his shoulder and said concisely,


    ¡°Upload the data. We¡¯re following it.¡±


    The rest of the yers were taken aback.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna follow it?!¡±


    Boxlunch nodded and said in a serious tone, ¡°Let¡¯s try to trigger a quest.¡±


    <em>A quest?</em>


    Hearing this, their eyes lit up, instantly understanding their captain¡¯s intention.


    In the Elven Kingdom, hidden quests and main storylines could be triggered in various ways. However, yers eventually realized that the two mostmon methods to trigger these events were either exploring new maps or encountering powerful, unknown bosses.


    In this instance, there was no doubt it was thetter.


    As the saying goes¡ª<em>Fortune favors the bold! </em>


    Following the dragon would undoubtedly be filled with peril, but at worst, they could simply die. Fortunately, they had already saved up enough resurrection coins.


    But if they somehow got lucky, they could end up on the leaderboard and earn a massive reward!


    Everyone on the team quickly formted a decisive n as they uploaded their recorded data into the system database,beling it as ¡°Unknown Suspicious Demigod Shadow Dragon.¡±


    Then, they cautiously followed in the direction the Shadow Dragon had flown¡­


    In the divine kingdom of the World Tree.


    ¡°Hmm? A suspicious Demigod Shadow Dragon?¡±


    Ev¨¦, who was currently engrossed in watching the yers¡¯ antics within the sandbox surveince table she had recently built, raised an eyebrow at the new entry in the system¡¯s monster database.


    The game system was under Eve¡¯s control, and any information about legendary or stronger entities uploaded into it would be immediately reported to her.


    Thus, when Boxlunch and his group uploaded their data, Ev¨¦ was also promptly notified of the Shadow Dragon¡¯s appearance in the underground.


    Curiously, Eve opened the recorded video and saw the monster.


    A flicker of surprise crossed her face right away.


    ¡°Oh? A Shadow Dragon showing clear signs of intelligence?¡±


    Shadow creatures like these were typically violent in nature, and they have the power capable of corrupting the material world.


    As such, the more powerful a shadow creature is, the stronger its corrosive power bes.


    However, this particr Demigod Shadow Dragon had flown without spreading its shadow power.


    This behavior indicated that its mind was somehow clear and this dragon can control its powers.


    A shadow creature having such a state could only mean one thing:


    ¡ª<em>It had been tamed by a great being.</em>


    ¡°Could it be¡­ a servant of the God of Darkness and Shadows?¡±


    Ev¨¦ pondered.


    Thinking for a moment, she quickly located Boxlunch and his group¡¯s position on the sandbox table and focused her mind on the stars representing them.


    Upon observing the yers¡¯ actions and overhearing their conversation, Ev¨¦ was momentarily stunned.


    ¡°Hmm? Are they following it? Do they actually dare to chase the Shadow Dragon?¡±


    But soon, she understood why they did so.


    ¡°Ah I see, so it was because they think they might trigger a hidden quest in doing so.¡±


    Seeing this, Ev¨¦ rubbed her chin thoughtfully:


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s strange for a Demigod Shadow Dragon to appear there all by itself. Surely this supposed servant of the God of Darkness and Shadows must have a purpose for visiting the underground.¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ since these five yers want to trigger a hidden quest, then I¡¯ll grant them one. Moreover, I¡¯m also curious about the purpose of this Shadow Dragon as well.¡±


    After some contemtion, Ev¨¦ adjusted the activity range of Boxlunch and his squad, temporarily removing their 500-kilometer movement range limit.


    Then, she used her divine power to assigned them a tracking quest¡­


    ¡ª <strong>373</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ A DEMIGOD SHADOW DRAGON? ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 374

    Chapter 374


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    <strong>¡¾You have triggered the Hidden Quest</strong>: ¡®Tracking the Mysterious Shadow Dragon¡¯¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong> : While exploring the underground, you encountered a suspicious Shadow Dragon and decided to track its movements. ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong> : Follow the traces left by the Shadow Dragon and report any findings to Godwarden Zero. ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Time limit</strong>: None ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of Participants</strong>: 05 ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Minimum Level Requirements</strong> : Level 40 ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong> : 3000 Contribution Points, Advanced Jobss Slot (reservation) ¡¿


    Whilst being apanied by a soft system notification, a new message appeared in the view of Boxlunch and his teammates.¡°Finally, we triggered a quest!¡±


    ¡°Haha, our captain really is capable! And it¡¯s a hidden Quest!¡±


    Looking at the quest scroll icon in the game system¡¯s task menu, the five yers¡¯ eyes lit up with excitement.


    However, after reading the Quest reward portion, they felt a slight disappointment¡­


    ¡°Huh¡­we¡¯d only get only 3000 contribution points¡­That¡¯s not even enough to buy one resurrection coin, which costs 40 coins totaling 4000 contribution points.¡±


    They weren¡¯t particrly concerned about getting EXP anymore, as reaching level 40 meant their experience points wouldn¡¯t increase further.


    Even tasks that offered EXP were of little use to them at this point.


    <em>But¡­isn¡¯t the reward of mere 3000 contribution points a bit too little?</em>


    Everyone felt a bit disappointed.


    However, their disappointmentsted only a moment, as they soon noticed another reward besides the contribution points¡­


    ¡°Huh? Wait¡­look, there¡¯s another reward?¡±


    ¡°Advanced Jobss Slot? What¡¯s that?¡±


    Everyone in the team were puzzled at this new, unfamiliar term.


    Boxlunch furrowed his brows slightly, then focused his attention on the reward named ¡°Advanced Jobss Slot¡±.


    And as his attention focused onto it, a detailed information box about this particr reward immediately popped up in his view:


    ¡¾<strong>Advanced Jobss Slot</strong>: For the next game update, any yers who obtain the Advanced Jobss Slot will have the opportunity to transition into Advanced Jobss, potentially gaining stronger abilities under certain conditions¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Prerequisites for transitioning into Advanced Jobss</strong> ¡¿


    1. Advanced Job feature enabled.


    2. yer must at least reach level 40.


    3. Transition cost: 30,000 contribution points.


    The five yers exchanged excited nces, their eyes lighting up with curiosity as they pored over the description.


    ¡°Advanced Jobss? Stronger abilities?¡±


    They were already at the maximum level cap, and their equipment could be considered the best set at the server.


    All that was left for them to do was to umte more contribution points in order to rece all their equipment with the recently released high-ss superior legendary gear.


    At this moment, this unfamiliar reward before their eyes sparked their wildest imagination¡­


    ¡°A second job transition¡­when we first transitioned, we advanced from apprentices to Iron-rank. Could this be an opportunity to reach Silver-rank?! Is the devs finally going to increase the level cap and allowed us to be Silver-rank experts?¡±


    Cbash spoke with a voice tinged with excitement.


    Although he still hadn¡¯t experienced the thrill of being at the maximum level for long, after encountering various powerful monsters in the game, Cbash still hoped to advance to higher levels.


    He wasn¡¯t the only yer with such thoughts as his other teammates also thought the same thing.


    Unlike other long-standing MMORPGs that increase the level cap by ten with each major update, Elven Kingdom seemed to have already perfected its leveling system.


    Under these circumstances, most yers will naturally have a stronger desire to reach higher levels.


    ¡°It¡¯s very likely! But¡­ it says ¡®reservation¡¯ in the reward description, and it mentions waiting for the next update. This is probably a feature that will be implemented in the game¡¯s next update!¡±


    Optimist remarked and the others nodded in agreement with his spection.


    ¡°Guys, we mustplete this quest at all cost!¡±


    Determination could be seen within everyone¡¯s eyes.


    Boxlunch drew his dagger and spoke solemnly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, chase after it.¡±


    The other members of his team nodded vigorously, then elerated in the direction where the smoke trail of miasma was left behind by the Shadow Dragon¡­


    The Shadow Dragon named Darkness, soared through the vast expanse of the underground.


    Along the way, every creature that saw him panicked and hid. Monsters, beasts, and other sentient races on the ground trembled all in fear, while other smaller flying creatures in the air fled in terror upon encountering him.


    Some even go to the extent of deliberately falling to the ground before pretending to be dead¡­


    The higher the intelligence and strength of beings are, the more frightened they be, as they can keenly sense Darkness¡¯ might¡­


    And the Shadow Dragon from the Netherworld sensed all this.


    ¡°Hmph, what a bunch of pitiful weaklings.¡±


    A hint of disdain and faint pride flickered in the eyes of this mythical demigod creature.


    After flying for a couple of miles, he gradually slowed down and hovered in the air before advancing towards a certain direction.


    With each beat of his wings, thendscape transformed beneath him¡­


    After flying over an underground water system, he arrived at a massiveke ofva burning with mes.


    A vast volcanicke sprawled before him, its edges encircled by underground water systems. Hotva churned within its crater, sending up waves of heated smoke into the sky.


    The sharp, acrid scent of sulfur filled the air, making every breath a struggle. The harsh and terrifyingndscape resembled a scene from purgatory.


    After encircling the skies for a little while, Darkness revealed his terrifying aura and respectfully shouted towards the crater of the volcanicke:


    ¡°I, Devouring Dragon Darkness, a Shadow Apostle under the throne of the Lord of Darkness and Shadow,e to pay respects to His Lordship Asazel!¡±


    His deep voice resonated far above the volcanicke¡­


    Shortly after Darkness¡¯s voice fell, the crater of the volcanicke suddenly began to boil, and bubbles burst into blossoms of bright flower-like redva, as thick magma constantly rose to its surface.


    A huge vortex then appeared in the center of the volcanicke.


    As soon as the vortex emerged, the entire volcanicke started to tremble, releasing an ancient, malevolent, chaotic aura from its depths.


    The vortex in the center of the crater then began swirling up, before morphing into a face resembling a me demon with a goat head, as a majestic voice filled with indifference echoed from within the very depths of the volcano¡¯s caldera.


    ¡°One of H?dur¡¯s Shadow Apostles? What does that guy H?dur want from this old man?¡±


    Darkness seemed indifferent to the disrespect shown by the other party towards his master as he simply bowed his head and replied:


    ¡°Your Lordship Asazel, my master has ordered me toe here to your dominion to ask this question¡­¡±


    ¡°The mana within Seig¨¹es is beginning to recover. Would you like to quickly regain your power?¡±


    After listening to his words, the gigantic face of the goat demon in the center of the volcanicke fell into silence.


    But after a moment, a powerful aura began spread out.


    The pressure was so terrifying that even Darkness, whose hovering in the sky, was forced to lower himself to a solitary ind on the edge of the volcanicke, and bow toward the direction of the me demon¡­


    ¡°What message do your master wish to convey?¡±


    The voice from the volcanicke carried a subtle, indifferent tone.


    Darkness buried his head deeper.


    Facing the direction of the volcanicke, he respectfully responded:


    ¡°Your Lordship Asazel, I have brought a few interesting little critters with me. You¡¯ll know everything once you take a look at them¡­¡±


    With that, the Shadow Dragon turned swiftly around and unleashed a billowing smoke of ashen-ck miasma towards the vast water system adjacent to the volcanicke.


    His smoke breath then turned into a huge cage, ensnaring five startled elves who had concealed themselves underneath the water.


    They were then swiftly propelled towards the colossal visage of the goat demon in the crater of the volcano.


    ¡°Fuck! When did it discovered us?!¡±


    Every members of Boxlunch¡¯s team, who were captured in that moment, had horrified expressions.


    ¡ª <strong>374</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ADVANCED JOBCLASS REWARD ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 375

    Chapter 375


    The scorchingva seared their bodies, making the five members of Boxlunch¡¯s team drenched in sweat, as if they were ced inside a furnace.


    Fortunately, they were able to adjust their sensory perception via the system settings. Otherwise, each of them believed that the extreme heat would have already rendered them unconscious from the searing pain.


    As a matter of fact, their health bar have been rapidly decreasing ever since the Shadow Dragon they¡¯ve been tracking had discovered and captured them.


    However, at this moment, they had little time to worry about their diminishing HP as they were more stunned by the sudden attack of the Shadow Dragon and the monstrous demonic figure right before them.


    Judging by what the dragon had said, it seems it had already discovered their presence right from the start!


    In hindsight, it sort of made sense.


    After all, how could the five of them whose merely at the upper Iron-rank be able to track a demigod without being noticed?


    The fact that they had managed to follow their target all this way was already a telltale sign that the Shadow Dragon had intentionally let them follow behind it.


    Thinking about it, their target¡¯s intermittent stops along the way clearly indicated it had been baiting them!Otherwise, with the Shadow Dragon¡¯s flying speed, how could they have caught up so easily?


    In an instant, the veteran yers from the first-beta understood everything.


    Yet despite this realization, they still felt little fear.


    They knew deep down that this was just a game, and this encounter was likely rted to the quest they had received, or possibly a part of the hidden questline.


    Even so, when they saw the fiery demonic face resembling a goat¡¯s in the volcanicke, their hearts pounded wildly, and they couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of fear and dread within them.


    ¡°W-What the hell is that? A demon?!¡±


    Cbash eximed.


    Seeing the Shadow Dragon present them to the demonic goat, they noticed a hint of interest appear on its fiery face.


    ¡°Hmm? Elves?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting that they haven¡¯t been affected by my power¡­ Moreover, I seem to sense a trace of thews of life and nature within them.¡±


    The fire demon muttered to itself.


    Afterward, its fiery face focused more closely at the five of them, with curiosity evident upon its expression.


    ¡°What is your rtion with Yggdrasill?¡±


    <em>¡­Yggdrasill?</em>


    All the five of them were slightly taken aback, feeling that this particr name sounded quite familiar.


    ? Oh I remember now¡­it¡¯s the Goddess! Isn¡¯t that the Goddess¡¯sst name? It¡¯s clearly asking about the Goddess Eve!


    Optimist mentally typed in their team¡¯s chatroom.


    <em>The Goddess?!</em>


    The others instantly cheered up.


    ? We can¡¯t reveal the Goddess¡¯s secret! Otherwise, this quest will surely fail!


    Cbash also typed in response.


    All of the five of them exchanged nces, seeing determination within each other¡¯s eyes.


    They nodded secretly, preparing to bluff their way through and try to get some information from the other party, only to realize they had lost the ability to speak¡­


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    Cbash: ¡°¡­¡±


    Chopin: ¡°¡­¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    IAmInvincible: ¡°¡­¡±


    Great, the system had automatically muted them again.


    It seemed this was another fixed cutscene.


    Their expressions quickly rxed, switching to spectator mode.


    This was the yers¡¯ natural attitude during story events.


    However, at this moment, it all felt a bit eerie.


    After all, they had been captured and were clearly in a disadvantageous situation. Under normal circumstances, no one could remain calm, let alone look around curiously and excitedly at the demonic monster in front of them as if nothing was wrong.


    Seeing the five elves¡¯ silence and their incongruous expressions, the demonic fiery face seemed even more intrigued.


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    A beam of light then shot from the me giant¡¯s pupils, which enveloped the whole group. Mere secondster, they suddenly felt a vast mental force surge right into their minds.


    However, the very moment this force entered their minds, their vision immediately turned dark in response, before the system disyed its usual death message:


    ¡°You are dead. Be more careful next time.¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    Cbash: ¡°¡­¡±


    Chopin: ¡°¡­¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    IAmInvincible: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>What the hell¡­ </em>


    <em>They all suddenly died just like that!? </em>


    Meanwhile¡ª


    As the terrifying presence within the volcanicke tried to break into the minds of the five elves and control their souls with his powerful force, Azazel abruptly encountered an unbreakable ¡°wall.¡±


    In that instant, the Demon, Azazel felt as if he had seen a giantwork shimmering with countless stars.


    It resembled thework of faith by the Gods of faith in his memory, but at the same time, it was also quite different from it.


    Just as Azazel was analyzing thework, a familiar yet strange divine force suddenly surged forth, blocking his probing mental attack and nearly causing a bacsh.


    Azazel, whose unprepared for such a situation, quickly withdrew his probe out of the elves¡¯ mindscape.


    ¡°Are these elves¡­believers of Yggdrasill? No¡­that divine force just now felt different from Yggdrasill¡­it¡¯s far more weaker and less potent¡­¡±


    Azazel muttered to itself whilst reflecting upon the divine force he had just encountered.


    When he looked at the five elves once again, their bodies had already died and turned to ashes.


    In that moment, Azazel fell silent.


    Theva in the volcanicke churned as the fiery demonic face resembling a goat turned to the Shadow Dragon.


    This time, his voice carried a hint of displeasure:


    ¡°Little one, why have you brought a god¡¯s believers here in my domain?¡±


    Azazel, whose been an enemy to nearly all gods, had beenying dormant here for thousands of years.


    To be drawn into a conflict with a god¡¯s believer upon his awakening made this ancient being both wary and furious.


    Yet the Shadow Dragon remained unflustered, continuing to prostrate respectfully as it replied:


    ¡°Great Demon Azazel, I brought these elves here to make you believe what I am about to say.¡± Darkness briefly paused before continuing:


    ¡°You surely must have noticed the power within those elves. It¡¯s definitely thew of nature and life, which belongs to the Divinity of the Mother of All Gods.¡±


    ¡°However, Your Lordship must have also sensed that the existence that protected those elves aren¡¯t as powerful.¡±


    this is a being inheriting nature and life, and this being is not powerful.¡±


    ¡°Your Lordship, the being that inherited the Divinity of Nature and Life in this era is a newly born god!¡±


    ¡°As such, my master is wondering if such power may ¡®interests¡¯ you¡­¡±


    After hearing the Shadow Dragon¡¯s words, the me demon briefly fell into silence.


    After a brief pause, he then asked in a deep voice;


    ¡°¡­What does H?dur want?¡±


    Instantly, Azazel eased the pressure that¡¯s pressing down upon the Shadow Dragon.


    In response Darkness raised his head and faced the center of the volcanicke, showing what it believed to be a friendly expression as the dragon said:


    ¡°This¡­ is merely a proposal from my divine master, an offer of trade¡­ and friendship.¡±


    At the same time, in the central area of the Elven Forest.


    Within the divine kingdom of the World Tree hidden within an isted space, Ev¨¦ sat upon her throne, whilst deep in thought:


    ¡°¡­.Azazel?¡±


    ¡°The Demon God Azazel, one of the Seven Godly Demons of Hell?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>375</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DEMON GOD AZAZEL ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 376

    Chapter 376


    The Gods are the supreme beings that rule over the universe.


    And normally speaking, they are divided into two distinct camps in which one camp consists of the newer Gods of Faith, while the other consists of the older Ancient Gods.


    Though they asionally sh and some are even longtime enemies, these Gods belong to the same lofty existence that jointly governs the order of the entire universe¡­


    The Pantheon is nominally the supreme council of the gods.


    However, where there is good, evil must also exist.


    Amongst the gods, there are always some entities who have been corrupted by the Abyss for various reasons or who have chosen to fall from grace.


    As a result, their powers be uncontroble due to the Abyss¡¯ corruption, with their minds bing too muddled with extreme thoughts or even goingpletely insane¡­


    Some Fallen Gods even be ¡®servants¡¯ of the Abyss, seeking to drag other realms into its depths and bring about the ¡®end of the universe¡¯ as their ultimate objective¡­


    These abyssal servants are also collectively referred to by another widely known title¡ªDemonic Gods.Just like how the Gods of Faith opened up the heavenly realm in order to better unify their power, the Demonic Gods also have their own core realm.


    That ce lies within the endless abyss, a three-dimensionalposite realmposed of the seven most powerful abyssal realms strung together, which is also known by its more popr name¡ª


    Hell.


    And reigning over Hell are the seven most powerful Demonic Gods, known as the Seven Demon Lords, or the Masters of the Abyss, the Seven Lords of Hell.


    Azazel is one among them.


    He rules the firstyer of Hell and ranks as the seventh Demon Lord,manding the Divinity of Lust, (Harmony) goat-horned demons, and the elemental fire.


    He possessed the strength of a peak intermediate divine power back in his prime.


    Azazel is simply a malevolent god who delights himself in leading sentient beings astray.


    And ten thousand years ago, this demon lord once waged a war against the gods in order to gain control of the undergroundnd in the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    Nheless, despite using his True Body, Azazel was still eventually defeated by the gods and was sealed somewhere in the underground¡­


    However, even while sealed, this demon lord never gave up.


    He always sought ways to escape and has quietly developed his own believers in the underground to help him escape by utilizing the power that inadvertently leaked out from his sealed prison.


    This information rted to the Demon Lords was discovered by Ev¨¦ through the inheritance her predecessor left behind.


    Additionally, Eve¡¯s predecessor was also one of the gods who participated in sealing Azazel.


    Eve pondered about this matter as she recalled the scenes she had witnessed through the eyes of those five yers.


    ¡°Has Demon Lord Azazel escaped from his sealed prison?¡±


    In hindsight, it¡¯s really not that surprising he could escape from it.


    After all, the war of the gods a thousand years ago shattered the provenance of the entire realm of Seig¨¹es, and all the seals linked to Seig¨¹es provenance must have surely loosened up in some way or another.


    One of the important reasons why the gods decided to protect the provenance of Seig¨¹es was based on this fact.


    With Seig¨¹es being the oldest realm in the universe, it naturally bes the ce wherein many terrifying beings are sealed the most.


    Therefore, in the off chance that these sealed beings have all been released from their prison, it will undoubtedly be a chaotic scenario of apocalyptic proportions.


    s, even as the gods have been busy repairing Seig¨¹es¡¯ provenance all this time, the seals binding these terrifying beings have inevitably weakened throughout the years.


    And add in the fact that Ev¨¦¡¯s appearance inadvertently caused the mana within Seig¨¹es to surge once more, which offered these sealed beings opportunities to gather their strength and devise ways to escape their confinement.


    This was one of the reasons why the surfacend of Seig¨¹es have be so livelytely, overwhelming various orthodox churches, but also providing Ev¨¦ with plenty of opportunities to fish in troubled waters.


    ¡°So¡­the Dark Lord H?dur is colluding with the seventh demon lord of Hell?¡±


    H once told her about the ambiguous rtionship between the God of Darkness and some evil gods, so Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t all that surprised when she discovered their connection.


    At most, what she hadn¡¯t expected was for H?dur to stoop so low as to actually collude with a Demon Lord.


    It can¡¯t be stressed enough that the Gods absolutely loathe the existence of these Demon Lords. So for one to actually collude with one of the strongest Demon Lords sealed underground is tantamount to the ultimate act of betrayal.


    ¡°I see. No wonder Boxlunch¡¯s team could secretly record that Demigod Shadow Dragon from behind without thetter noticing them. It turned out that Dragon was actually deliberately ignoring and leading them all along right from the start so that those five yers would eventually follow it to that volcanicke¡­¡± Ev¨¦ spected as she analyzed the behavior shown by the Shadow Dragon.


    ¡°Is it perhaps leading those five yers directly to Azazel to inform him of my existence? Have they already figured out that I¡¯m operating behind the yers and are nning to take action against me?¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused as she pondered and anticipated what the Dark Lord¡¯s next move might be.


    After the creation of her public persona as the Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦ was determined to spread it all across thend in preparation for her eventual formal public appearance.


    By now, most of the dark dwarves living in ckrock City were aware of this matter, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the information about her leaked to the Dark Alliance, which would then certainly be reported to their Patron Deity, H?dur.


    Although the situation progressed faster than she initially expected, it was still within the margins of her calctions.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the Dark Lord either considers me as a new god supported by H, or as an incarnation of the Goddess of Death herself but regardless of his assumptions, I knew for a fact that he¡¯s trying to recruit Azazel, since that shadow dragon envoy of his are purposely leading the yers to that Demon Lord.¡±


    ¡°And the target¡­is probably me, right? It seems that the Dark Lord is determined to win this war underground.¡±


    Obviously, some of the yer¡¯s characteristics must have been known to the Dark Lord, such as¡­ the yer¡¯s ability to resurrect and the fact that the elves are her subordinates, different from ordinary beings.


    In fact, Azazel¡¯s mental intrusion into the yer¡¯s mind had already revealed certain things to Ev¨¦.


    Her divinity of Life and Nature had been definitively exposed, along with Eve¡¯s divine soul aura and even her game systemwork, which was nearly exposed.


    Of course, for thetter, Ev¨¦ believed that the other party would more likely regard it as a God¡¯swork of faith, thereby firmly establishing the yer¡¯s false identity as her believers.


    As for the aura of her divine soul¡­


    She always been different from her predecessor.


    However, although much had been exposed to her enemies, Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t too worried, as she had already anticipated that it would be revealed sooner orter, even since the first day she summoned the yers to Seig¨¹es.


    This time, she nned to make her public debut being the Goddess of Life and had long prepared to reveal some of her trump cards.


    As long as any of the crucial matters like the yer¡¯s true identity and her own real entity were not exposed, Ev¨¦ was certain that she would remain rtively safe.


    Moreover, while Azazel was busy trying to gain information from the yer¡¯s mind, she attempted to trick him back by merely disying a weak divine power aura.


    It was an intentional move by Ev¨¦ and something she had nned for a long time.


    It was always advantageous to demonstrate weakness and hide one¡¯s true strength.


    While Azazel was probing her, she also incidentally figured out the other party¡¯s scope of strength¡ª


    Most likely, the current Seventh Demon Lord does not even possess weak divine power.


    It was somewhat understandable, as Azazel had just revived, so attaining this power was already good enough, and it couldn¡¯t be higher, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been expelled by Eve while within the yers minds immediately.


    This discovery also made Eve¡¯s mind raced with thoughts.


    ¡°Hmm¡ª¡±


    ¡°I wonder how much power can this recently awakened Seventh Demon Lord could provide me?¡±


    ¡°I need to find a way to lure him over and then devour him!¡±


    ¡°Ah, this must also be a scheme of H?dur¡¯s¡­to make me confront Azazel, causing both of us to suffer losses during our fight, while he swoops in at the end to reap all the benefits.¡±


    ¡°However, he wouldn¡¯t have expected that facing these Demon Lords is exactly what I¡¯ve been expecting all along.¡±


    ¡°Well, before that, let¡¯s consult H first. The Dark Lord may have been recruiting not only Azazel but also some other evil gods. As H?dur¡¯s old rival, H should know which other evil gods he¡¯s been involved with.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to be fully prepared and see if I can get something extra from H by reporting this matter to her. After all, dealing with Azazel is also technically helping her!¡±


    With that in mind, Ev¨¦ decisively took out the Casket of the Dead and used some of her divine powers to send another message to the Goddess of Death while also including the new intelligence she had gathered along with her questions.


    ¡ª <strong>376</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>FIND A WAY TO DEVOUR HIM! ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 377

    Chapter 377


    After sending the message to H, Eve refocused her attention back to Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    The five members had already respawned on the World Tree and were automatically transported to the za of the Chosen City.


    Ev¨¦ checked upon their statuses through the game systemwork and found that, aside fromining about how odd the questline ended and the seemingly rushed cutscene, their mental states were mostly unaffected.


    This made Ev¨¦ sigh in relief.


    Although protections had been added to the game systemwork to safeguard yers¡¯ consciousness after the Night Wanderer incident, dealing with mental intrusion from an evil god was still perilous endeavor.


    Fortunately, Ev¨¦ was well-prepared and decisively severed their connections, even going as far as to destroy their in-game bodiespletely.


    While Boxlunch team¡¯s found the whole plot of the questline quite bizarre, they had overheard some crucial information from the conversation between the Shadow Dragon and Azazel.


    So after discussing it among themselves, they decided to seek out the elusive Godwarden Zero to report their findings.


    Ev¨¦ did not make things difficult for them.She sent an avatar to the temple in Chosen City, informing the team of her location through system notifications, and epted their report.


    Though Ev¨¦ was already aware of the contents of their report from observing them, she still listened attentively as if she just heard about it for the first time.


    ¡°I already know about the situation. The war in the underground likely involves an evil god. I will report this to the Goddess. You did well.¡±


    Whilst maintaining her aloof appearances, Zero nodded slightly after hearing the report and concluded their meeting.


    At the same time, the Boxlunch¡¯s team received a system notification of their questlinepletion.


    Each of them earned 3,000 contribution points, and a silver scroll item, named ¡°Advanced ss Slot (Reserved),¡± which appeared in their personal system inventory.


    Despite the odd way it ended, they had stillpleted their quest, so Ev¨¦ kept her word.


    The five members of Boxlunch¡¯s team were elite yers from the very first beta-test, and Ev¨¦ had always intended to grant them advanced ss slots.


    Hence, this quest is simply a convenient pretext to hand it to them.


    In fact, Ev¨¦ not only intends to hand out these advanced ss slots to Boxlunch¡¯s team but also to the leaders of major guilds like Li Mu, Demacia, Little Salty Cat, HootyBird, Tomato, and Transformer Ji Gang, who are all ted for these reservation slots.


    The reason?


    These yers represented the high-end strength of the entire yerbase and were leaders of the yer-driven management system. Henceforth, the stronger they were, the more stable the yer system would be.


    Their significant contributions to the game and extensive online ytime justified such kind of privileges.


    In a sense, it can be considered as an internal decision.


    These silver slots were an investment for Ev¨¦, so naturally she prioritized yers who brought the most benefits to her.


    Ev¨¦ nned to release the advanced silver slots gradually through various means like quest rewards.


    However, these slots would be limited.


    Ev¨¦ decided to release no more than 100 advanced silver slots initially based on current needs, as any more than that would be too taxing for her, mainly due to the cost of resurrecting them.


    As for fully opening the path for Silver-rank promotions, that would entirely depend on the restoration of mana in Seig¨¹es and the strength of her enemies.


    In the following years, the strength of various creatures living within Seig¨¹es will inevitably experience exponential growth.


    Previously, silver-rankers were considered powerful experts, but in the future, this level of strength will likely be merely average.


    Ev¨¦ ns to adapt to this change in a gradual, step-by-step manner.


    Instead of quickly boosting the yers¡¯ strength to an excessive degree, Ev¨¦ aims to keep the overall strength of the yers just slightly above the world¡¯s average, whilst still maintaining a certain advantage.


    This approach not only prevents excessive consumption of her divine power but also avoids attracting undue attention from other powerful beings.


    The saying ¡°the first bird to stick its head out will be shot¡± applies in this situation.


    Ev¨¦¡¯s regaining of her powers was mainly possible due to the resurgence of mana and the revival of various mythological beings all across the continent, thereby allowing her rise to go mostly unnoticed.


    By gradually growing stronger in this secretive manner, Ev¨¦ has be fully prepared and no longer unafraid of any attacks when others finally take notice of her.


    Nheless, she still has to form a long-term strategy to ensure her safety and maintain her advantage.


    As for the few fortunate yers who acquired the advanced slots, they were simply excited:


    ¡°Haha, we finally got the rewards!¡±


    ¡°This quest was pretty easy. It¡¯s just disappointing there¡¯s no follow-up to it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it hasn¡¯t been triggered yet.¡±


    ¡°An advanced ss slot! I¡¯ve never been this excited for a game update!¡±


    ¡°Me too! Me too!¡±


    ¡°Haha, we have to brag about this on the forums!¡±


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    As expected, the five yers were satisfied with their rewards.


    While Ev¨¦ was watching them, the casket of the dead suddenly let out a ringing tune.


    The Goddess of Death, who rarely left the Netherworld, responded way faster than Ev¨¦ had expected, indicating that H took this war more seriously than Ev¨¦ had anticipated.


    Reflecting on this, Ev¨¦ promptly opened the Casket of the Dead, and H¡¯s familiar voice echoed within her High Temple:


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of the situation, Your Excellency Ev¨¦. Thank you for the warning.¡±


    ¡°H?dur indeed has connections with some evil gods hiding underground, namely the gue Lord, the Queen of Pain, and the Fallen Angel.¡±


    ¡°Among these three, the most powerful is the Fallen Angel, who once served as the Eternal Lord¡¯s deputy and possesses weak divine power. The other two have only minor divine power.¡±


    ¡°Although these three evil gods are mythical beings, they have their own enemies and can only hide themselves underground¡­¡±


    ¡°However, Your Excellency Ev¨¦, you don¡¯t need to worry about these three evil gods; I will take care of them.¡±


    ¡°What remains troubling is the inclusion of demon lord Azazel.¡±


    ¡°Although I had suspicions about their connections in the past, I did not expect H?dur to actually be in contact with one of the Seven Lords of Hell. It seems H?dur has truly forgotten the honor of the gods of the Netherworld¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency Eve, based on your description, H?dur will likely have Azazel deal with you. I know you possess the power of [Absorption] and are interested in Azazel¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡°But let me remind you, don¡¯t underestimate Azazel just because he currently has only weak divine power. He is not easy to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency Ev¨¦, do you know why, despite several gods joining forces against Azazel a thousand years ago, they still couldn¡¯t kill him and only managed to seal him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simply because¡­ the Seven Demon Lords of Hell are inherently unkible beings.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>377</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾</strong><strong>UNKILLABLE EXISTANCE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 378

    Chapter 378


    ¡°Throughout history, there have been attempts by the gods to kill them, but each time they managed to do so, they eventually revive in Hell¡­¡±


    ¡°The Seven Demon Lords of Hell are different from other evil gods; they control the sevenyers of Hell and have fused with the provenance of Hell.¡±


    ¡°This fusion limits their power from further strengthening but at the same time also grants them the ability to infinitely resurrect.¡±


    ¡°As long as the corresponding realms of Hell are not destroyed, they will never truly be killed.¡±


    ¡°The realms of Hell are hidden deep within the depths of the abyss, where no true god can withstand the corruption of the abyss and sneak in there intact. Even if they do manage to infiltrate it, they would lose the power to destroy Hell due to the resistance against abyssal forces¡­¡±


    ¡°In history, gods who attempted such feats either sumbed to the corruption of the abyss, degenerating into evil gods, or were thwarted by the Seven Lords of Hell, due to their power being suppressed¡­¡±


    ¡°Therefore, against the Seven Lords of Hell, all the gods can do is to lure out their true bodies and find a way to seal them, since they cannot outright kill them offpletely.¡±


    ¡°So, Your Excellency Ev¨¦, if your true intention is to eliminate Azazel, pursuing this course of action is unlikely to seed and more likely to reveal your true identity¡­¡±


    ¡°The best option is to lure him into your divine kingdom, absorb his power, and seal his true body once again.¡±¡°However, because I need to focus on dealing with several other evil gods, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t provide much assistance in dealing with Azazel¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, helping you conceal your identity is still possible.¡±


    ¡°If I judge it correctly, Azazel should now have two suspicions about your identity: either you an incarnation of mine or a newly born god I support.¡±


    ¡°I will use my connections to subtly hint that your identity leans towards being a newly born god.¡±


    ¡°Newly born gods are generally weak, which might tempt Azazel to lower his guard and seek out your true body to absorb your powers¡­¡±


    ¡°And that is your opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency Ev¨¦, I wish you sess and look forward to our pleasant cooperation!¡±


    H¡¯s message ended here.


    Having listened to the message transmitted, Ev¨¦ fell into contemtion.


    ¡°So, H?dur has connections with three other evil gods, and H was already prepared for it a long time ago¡­¡±


    ¡°The Lord of gue? If I remember correctly, H has a divinity rted to ¡®diseases¡¯. Could it be¡­this is one of the reasons why she ce much importance in this war? Judging by the looks of it, ¡®gue¡¯ seems to be a sub-divinew separated from ¡®diseases¡¯.¡±


    ¡°And the Fallen Angel, I don¡¯t believe that H, as the true master of the undead, would tolerate other beings to manipte them against herself.¡±


    ¡°But H seems to have already made ns early on, and I wonder what she intends to do.¡±


    ¡°It would be good if H can cause a stir in the underground, as it could also alleviate the impact of my battle against the Seventh Demon Lord.¡±


    ¡°However, the fact that the Seven Lords of Hell can infinitely resurrect¡­ this was not mentioned in my World Tree inheritance.¡±


    ¡°It seems impossible topletely eradicate them¡­¡±


    ¡°But from another perspective, perhaps an immortal demon could be more useful to me.¡±


    ¡°Of course, the prerequisite is that I can sessfully seal him off.¡±


    ¡°H¡¯s proposal aligns with my thoughts, but waiting for them toe to me seems a bit too passive and unrealistic.¡±


    ¡°The news of the yers¡¯ overwhelming victory against the Orc army must have already spread throughout the underground, including the destruction of Uller¡¯s demigod incarnation, which will definitely arouse their vignce.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I can change my approach and take the initiative.¡±


    Ev¨¦ took a deep breath, gradually forming a clear n within her mind.


    Meanwhile, as Ev¨¦ was nning how to gain the power of the Demon lord Azazel, the advanced ss slot distributed by her to Boxlunch¡¯s team caused a huge stir among the yermunity¡­


    In the Chosen City,


    ¡°Brother Mu, Bro! Have you checked the official forums? It seems like Cbash and the others got an incredible reward!¡±


    Demacia excitedly ran to the Heart of Nature headquarters and found Li Mu, who was currently studying magical artifact forging with Meng Zhihan.


    Demacia and Li Mu had already reached level 40 after participating in the underground war days ago.


    With no pressure to level up anymore, they spent most of their time either umting contribution points to exchange for their final ultimate equipment in their own ways or simply having fun.


    Li Mu blinked slightly.


    ¡°A reward? What reward?¡±


    He had been immersed in crafting magical artifacts these days, trying to improve the silver robe he had gotten from the Orc High Priest Jushan.


    Thus, he hadn¡¯t really paid attention to the forums as a result.


    ¡°It¡¯s a promotion to Silver-rank! Those dogshit devs are finally going to open up the Silver-rank! But¡­ it seems like it¡¯s not going to bepletely avable to everyone. We still need a specific item called the Advanced ss Slot to be eligible, and Cbash and the others got theirs bypleting a quest!¡±


    Demacia said.


    As he spoke, a tinge of envy colored his voice.


    ¡°So I¡¯m jealous bro¡­ that¡¯s Silver-rank! Ah, I just reached level 40 not too long ago, and it looks like I¡¯m about to fall behind once again. Isn¡¯t this game still in closed beta? Howe they¡¯re opening up new levels so quickly? Shouldn¡¯t they save such features for the public release to make money?¡±


    Promotion to the Silver rank?


    Li Mu raised an eyebrow.


    He immediately opened the game system, logged into the official forum, and found the post Demacia had mentioned.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t need to look for it at all, because this post had already been pushed to the trending topics. Despite being posted less than 24 hours ago, it had already garnered over a hundred thousandments!


    The title of the post was also very eye-catching:


    ¡°We obtained Advanced ss Slot Reservation from a Hidden Questline! Silver-Rank to Be Opened!¡±


    Li Mu calmly clicked on the post and began reading.


    Cbash made a post detailing the plot of the Hidden Quest they experienced as Boxlunch¡¯s Team and listed the rewards, among which the most attractive one was the silver-patterned scroll named the Advanced ss Slot (Reservation).


    ¡°Hmm? Advanced ss slot? To be implemented after the next update? They really are going to open up the Silver rank? But it seems like it¡¯s not going to be avable to everyone.¡±


    Li Mu was somewhat surprised.


    He scrolled through thements and found that opinions were prized.


    Some expressed strong anticipation for the new higher level cap, while othersined that raising the level cap too quickly was unfair.


    However, the biggest controversy was about the method of being promoted to Silver-rank.


    So we need these reservation slots to upgrade? Not everyone can advance?


    Isn¡¯t this too unfair? Or, is it too disruptive to game bnce?


    After ying the game for so long, yers were well aware of the difference between Silver and Iron rankers, and making that gap evenrger wasn¡¯t desirable!


    It could be said that thements section was exploding with various voices arguing on this issue, making the forums quite lively.


    ¡ª <strong>378</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE FORUM EXPLODED ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 379

    Chapter 379


    Li Mupletely understands the yers¡¯ dissatisfaction.


    In fact, he himself felt a bit annoyed upon learning that the Silver-rank was going to be unlocked yet there is seemingly a catch that it would be limited in number based on the slots avable.


    After all, he had just recently reached level 40 not too long ago.


    It¡¯s frustrating to reach max level cap and barely have time to enjoy it before a new level cap is introduced.


    Anyone would be upset by that, right?


    Moreover, the new level doesn¡¯t appear to be fairly essible to everyone; and it seems to have an element of luck involved.


    Essentially, if you¡¯re unlucky, then you might fall behind¡­


    This kind of scenario naturally breeds feelings of insecurity and unfairness among yers.


    However, despite his own difort, when Li Mu thought about the unique storyline and ecosystem mechanics of Elven Kingdom, he began to have some theories about why the developers chose to introduce the new level in this manner. ¡­.<em>It¡¯s likely an attempt to maintain the game¡¯s ecological bnce. </em>


    Li Mu thought.


    It would be a problem if yers are too weak, but if everyone reaches the Silver-rank one after another, then it could destabilize the game¡¯splex simted ecosystem.


    A yer at the Silver-rank has far greater destructive power than one at the Iron-rank.


    Li Mu still remembered how, in the beginning, yers nearly drove the magical beasts inhabiting the Elven Forest¡¯s core area to extinction.


    After some thought, he decided to create a new post to share his opinions on the matter and tagged the almost never active official ount of Elven Kingdom developers.


    <em>Recently, some yers have obtained advanced slots for a jobss promotion whilepleting a hidden quests. As such, It¡¯s highly foreseeable that Elven Kingdom is preparing to unlock new levels.</em>


    <em>This topic has sparked significant debate on the forums. </em>


    <em>I have some personal, albeit immature, thoughts on this matter, which I¡¯d like to share¡­</em>


    <em>The reasons for opposition and dissatisfaction have been thoroughly discussed already, mainly: the new levels are opening far too quickly, and there are concerns about fairness and bnce within the game. </em>


    <em>I won¡¯t dwell on these points. </em>


    <em>Instead, I¡¯d like to try and analyze why the new levels are being unlocked in this particr manner from the developers¡¯ perspective. </em>


    <em>As we all know, ElvKing is different from other online games. </em>


    <em>In this game, apart from specific dungeons, monsters don¡¯t respawn. Instead, the game replicates an ecological system simr to reality. </em>


    <em>From this angle, limiting the number of yers who can advance to Silver-rank makes some sense.</em>


    <em>Simply put, it¡¯s probably to stabilize the game¡¯s ecological environment. </em>


    <em>Giving everyone the ess to Silver-rank immediately could likely impact the carefully constructed ecosystem within the game. </em>


    <em>Although the solution might seem straightforward¡ªjust spawn more monsters and create new dungeons¡ªwe¡¯ve all noticed that ElvKing isn¡¯t like those other games that constantly add new storylines and dungeons, willy nilly. </em>


    <em>In this game, everything is pre-determined, and we the yers are merely participating in the progression of the overarching storyline</em>.


    <em>Given this situation, I believe the ElvKing developers prioritizes creating a sense of realism, and any actions that could disrupt this realism are likely being avoided. </em>


    <em>In fact, the developers have done an excellent job so far. </em>


    <em>The realism has be one of the game¡¯s major attractions. </em>


    <em>Many yers often find themselves wondering if they have truly been transported to another world while ying. </em>


    <em>For a virtual online game, this is an enormous sess.</em>


    <em>Simrly, if factor in these aspects then we can finally understand why they impose a restriction on the number of yers that could advanced to Silver-rank. </em>


    <em>Beyond maintaining the game¡¯s ecological bnce, the developers also need to consider its sense of realism. </em>


    <em>In the real world, not everyone has the same strength. </em>


    <em>It¡¯s normal for high-ranking individual to be rare and for there to be arge number of</em><em>mid-to-low-level yers.</em>


    <em>From this perspective, allowing a small group to be high-level yers is quite realistic.</em>


    <em>However, this brings up another issue: </em>


    <em>¡ªFairness and Bnce. </em>


    <em>But really, is there even an absolute fairness in any game? </em>


    <em>Instead of fairness, I think what most yers hope for is to be part of that small group of high-level yers and their real concern is ending up among the majority of mid-to-low-level yers.</em>


    <em>However, I believe there¡¯s no need for concern if you¡¯re thinking about such things</em>.


    <em>Even if only a few yers can advance to Silver-rank in the next update, this will likely just be a transitional phase.</em>


    <em>As we know from the game¡¯s lore, as the goddess¡¯s power recovers, the world¡¯s magic level will also rise. This means that the strength of monsters and enemies will also increase over time.</em>


    <em>I think this is the developers¡¯ way of bncing the power between yers and NPCs.</em>


    <em>Given this assumption of mine, it¡¯s foreseeable that the number of Silver-rank slots will gradually increase, and it¡¯s only a matter of time before higher levels are fully essible to everyone.</em>


    <em>Initially, only a few lucky yers will reach higher levels and enjoy the benefits of greater power ahead of others.</em>


    <em>In contrast to other online games that open up levels all at once, ElvKing is gradually unlocking them from the top down.</em>


    <em>From another perspective, isn¡¯t this approach quite interesting?</em>


    <em>The premise, of course, is that we all have a chance to be among that small group of high-level yers.</em>


    <em>Therefore, I hope the developers will soon reveal a stable and reliable method for obtaining these slots, giving everyone a clear direction to strive andpete for, rather than simply relying on the unreliable parameter called</em>¡ª<em>luck</em>.


    <em>Additionally, I hope the developers will also address the gap between Silver and Iron ranked yers.</em>


    <em>We can already see hints of this bnce in the game, wherein strength alone isn¡¯t solely determined by pure level and stats</em>.


    <em> yers can use strategies, tactics, equipment, and other methods to defeat stronger opponents.</em>


    <em>Overall, ElvKing differs greatly from traditional online games in many aspects. I believe the developers are trying to create an unprecedented path.</em>


    <em>The realism that blurs the line between reality and game, the high degree of freedom, and the growth alongside the story are all part of Elven Kingdom¡¯s charm¡­</em>


    <em>I think it will be one of the most engaging games in history, especially for early yers who develop a deep attachment to it.</em>


    <em>I love this game.</em>


    <em>I hope Elven Kingdom continues to excel and doesn¡¯t disappoint us.</em>


    <em>Keep up the good work!</em><strong>@ElvenKingdomOfficialount</strong>


    ¡ª <strong>379</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ LI MU¡¯S</strong><strong>ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 380

    Chapter 380


    Li Mu¡¯s post once again sparked another heated round of discussions amongst the yerbase.


    Yet this time however, the focus shifted from the perceived unfairness of the advanced ss promotion slots to how one might obtain such slots.


    For a while, the forum was filled with all kinds of spections, with some yers even tagging the game developer¡¯s official ount to offer their suggestions.


    Initially, Eve¡¯s attention was mainly focused on how to deal with Demon Lord Azazel and did not pay much attention to themotion happening on the official forum.


    However, after discussing her ns with H several times and finalizing the strategy against the mythical powerhouses of the Dark Alliance, Ev¨¦ finally noticed it.


    ¡°Hmm? Are the yers really that excited about the advanced ss promotions?¡±


    Ev¨¦ was a bit surprised to see tens of thousands ofments flooding in the forums in real-time.


    But after some thought, she understood why things ended up this way.


    For most yers, reaching the silver-rank is a significant milestone, and who wouldn¡¯t want to be stronger and stand above the rest?After reading Li Mu¡¯s post, Ev¨¦ had a slight realization:


    ¡°Indeed, while I had nned to reserve some slots for certain yers that piqued my interest, it is still necessary to leave some hope for the majority of yers topete for.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ let¡¯s set the rules in advance.¡±


    Ev¨¦ then logged into the official ount and posted the conditions for obtaining the ¡°advanced ss slots¡± on the official website.


    ¡¾<strong>ANNOUNCEMENT</strong>¡¿


    Elven Kingdom will open levels ¡®<strong>41-50</strong>¡® which is the Silver-rank for yers who obtained ¡®<strong>advanced ss slots</strong>¡® after the next update.


    The methods to obtain these slots are as follows:


    <strong>1</strong>. Complete certain hidden quest or main storyline rewards to obtain ¡®advanced ss slots.¡¯


    <strong>2</strong>. By October 1, any yers who are included in the top five of the<strong> Contribution, Combat Power, Task, and Reputation</strong> leaderboards will automatically receive ¡®advanced ss slots.¡¯


    If a leaderboard yer already has a prior slot, then it will be passed down on the yer below their ranking list.


    <strong>3</strong>. By October 1, any yers who reach level 40 will have a chance to win ¡®advanced ss slots¡¯ in the lucky lottery, with higher-ranking yers having a better chance.


    <strong>4</strong>. By October 1, the top 200 yers with the fastest level progression will be highlighted in the level leaderboard and will have a chance to win ¡®advanced ss slots¡¯ in the lucky lottery.


    The longer the highlight duration, the higher the chance of winning.


    <strong>5</strong>. yers who have already obtained ¡®advanced ss slots¡¯ will have their in-game usernames disyed in color silver on the leaderboards.


    Ev¨¦ did not specify the exact total number of slots.


    Of course, the initial number of slots in her mind was one hundred, and other yers would have to wait until after the update for her to gradually release more slots based upon how the situation eventually unfolds.


    Then, right after the announcement was posted, the yers on the forum once again exploded into a frenzy.


    After reading the content of the announcement, the initialints and dissatisfaction quickly turned into excited discussions:


    ¡°Guys, the devs finally released it! The methods to obtain the slots are out!¡±


    ¡°Whoa! The top five yers in the four major leaderboards will automatically get a slot? Are they forcing us topete for the top spots?!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s time to prove your worth my fellowrades! Although the level leaderboard doesn¡¯t give slots directly, it says any yers who reach level 40 can enter the lottery for a chance to win one!¡±


    ¡°How many slots are there in total?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t say, but I think there are already nearly 200 yers at level 40, and there¡¯s still quite some time until October 1. By then, there will likely be more, meaning the probability might decrease.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­ for those with bad luck, it¡¯s still better to aim for the top spots in the leaderboards!¡±


    ¡°Hidden Quest! I need find a hidden quest fast! Don¡¯t you dare try to stop me!¡±


    ¡°Forget it, finding a hidden quest is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Trying your luck in the lottery is far more reliable!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, there are too many hardcore yers in this game. Competing for the top spots in the leaderboards is too tough. I¡¯ll just focus on tasks, umte contribution points, and try my luck in the lottery.¡±


    ¡°As a fourth-test yer, I have only one option left¡­I need to level up quickly!¡±


    ¡°Bless me, Goddess Ev¨¦, please let me win a slot!¡±


    ¡°Bless me, Goddess Ev¨¦ +1!¡±


    ¡°Bless me, Goddess Ev¨¦ +2!¡±


    ¡°Bless me, Goddess Ev¨¦ +10086!¡±


    <em>They¡¯ve gone crazy.</em>


    <em>Everyone has gone mad!</em>


    The yers were abuzz on the forums, and simrly those who are inside the game were also suddenly energized, working diligently in their own sorts of ways¡­


    The data from Eve¡¯s system backend showed that after the announcement was released, the average daily online time, which had dropped due to the influx of fourth-test yers, began to rapidly increase once again.


    yers who were previously leisurely leveling up now turned into relentless grinders, furiously farming EXP andpleting tasks in hopes of reaching level 40 before the update, just to get a few lottery tickets.


    And for those who have already maxed out their levels, they focus mainly on battling andpleting daily tasks, either to umte contribution points for more lottery tickets or to climb the leaderboards and reach the top.


    The atmosphere in the entire Elven Forest suddenly became noticeably tense, with everyone striving for the ¡°advanced ss slots¡± that could determine their fate in the next update.


    The chance to advance to Silver-rank was truly a fate-changing opportunity¡ªa sure path to attain higher-level strength in the next update!


    Thus, the entire Elven Forest descended into madness.


    The materials and equipment stored within Eve¡¯s divine kingdom increased exponentially, with new sacrifices arriving almost every minute.


    Moreover, the offerings were incredibly diverse, ranging from discarded equipment and magical beast materials to metal ores and even gold pounds¡­


    All these were from the yers.


    Their goal was to gain contribution points to exchange for lucky tickets in the lottery or to climb the contribution leaderboard.


    Meanwhile, while all of these were happening, the native elves living in Florence noticed that these chosen ones, who were already quite enthusiastic enough in their normal state, became even more fervent during these past few days¡­


    They flocked around any natives, transforming into bootlickers, ttering and currying favor in every way possible.


    It was to the extent that the native elves even believed that if they were to ask them to die, then these yers would do it willingly without even batting an eye¡­


    Unbeknownst to the natives, these crowd of bootlickers were simply aiming for the reputation leaderboard.


    Additionally, the expansion work in Chosen City and the reconstruction of Florence saw a surge in efficiency.


    Even the previously underpopted rebuilding efforts in Rivendell saw a significant influx of yers.


    Furthermore, unpopr tasks like feeding the livestock and poultry or cleaning up the toilets in Chosen City, that¡¯s typically ignored, became highly sought after¡­


    These tasks were targeted by yers aiming for the task leaderboard, where the more tasks theypleted, the better their position in the leaderboard became.


    In summary, except for the trulyid-back life-oriented yers¡ªlike a certain first-beta Druid with maxed-out reputation¡ªanyone with ambition started grinding or climbing up the leaderboards.


    As a result, the monsters and magical beasts in the Elven Forest and underground were having a tough time as they became the prime targets for yers seeking to level up and gather offering materials.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Dark Alliance¡¯s armies huddled together on the battlefield, some yers might have even gone looking for trouble there.


    Overall, Ev¨¦ felt a mix of surprise and satisfaction at the yers¡¯ enthusiasm.


    Indeed, just like she expected the advanced ss slots were highly motivating rewards!


    And as time gradually passed, the date on earth drew closer to October 1¡­


    But before the new update was implemented, a sudden incident urred in the underground.


    The City-State of Shanathar, which had withstood low-intensity sieges from the Dark Alliance for months, was suddenly breached.


    ¡ª <strong>380</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PLAYERS ON A FRENZY</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 381

    Chapter 381


    No one expected Shanathar, a city rich in resources and well-defended, would be breached.


    But the truth is, this city-state wasn¡¯t forcibly breached by the Dark Alliance¡¯s army from the outside but rather, it¡¯s defenses werepromised from within.


    No one had anticipated that Doluru, the grandson of the current chief and an ambassador of Shanathar, would collude with the forces of the Dark Alliance.


    Seizing the opportunity while the ailing elderly chief was resting, he stole the key to gain ess to the city¡¯s defensive core, which allowed him to bypass Shanathar¡¯s defensive magic barrier and secretly establish a teleportation array connecting the inside of the city to the outside¡­


    As a result of his betrayal, arge number of enemy undead suddenly appeared within the city¡¯s vicinity, catching everyone off guard.


    Immediately, they destroyed the long-range teleportation array and desecrated the Goddess of Death¡¯s divine statue in the Church of Death.


    The Death Goddess statue was the core that powered the city¡¯s defensive barrier, so once it was destroyed, Shanathar¡¯s defenses quickly copsed.


    Moreover, with the long-range teleportation array destroyed, reinforcements from the elves were unable to arrive¡­


    Therefore, the city¡¯s defenders and the remaining elven forces were left isted and helpless.The Dark Alliance¡¯s army, which had been stationed outside Shanathar, coborated with the infiltrators and their assault troops inside the city, easily opening the gates that had withstood months of attacks.


    The expected grand siege never urred.


    Instead, the Dark Alliance swiftly took control of Shanathar¡¯s walls, while the original defenders, caught in a pincer attack, left behind a trail of corpses as they retreated back into the city. The subsequent battle quickly devolved into brutal street fighting, with the city¡¯s defenders battling the Dark Alliance forces that had breached the city.


    However, the Dark Alliance was well-prepared.


    They had amassed 150,000 undead soldiers and 80,000 regr troops, the strongest force in the western region of the underground.


    In contrast, Shanathar¡¯s coalition forces were far too weak.


    The city¡¯s defenders numbered less than 20,000, and the remaining elves in the city were fewer than 3,000.


    Under the Dark Alliance¡¯s concentrated assault, the army of dark dwarves and subterranean gnomes suffered heavy losses, and the elves fell one after another, staining the city streets with blood.


    Eventually, the remaining forces of the coalition were driven deeper into the city¡¯s mines, struggling to hold their ground behind makeshift fortifications¡­


    In less than two days, the Dark Alliance had taken over most of Shanathar, with only a few mine pits in the city¡¯s depths still held by dark dwarves, underground gnomes, and few elven mercenaries.


    These areas were easy to defend butcked the resources to sustain prolonged resistance.


    And so, the Dark Alliance only needed to besiege them, leaving the defenders with the options of either surrendering or starving themselves to death¡­


    By this point, the Dark Alliance had effectively conquered Shanathar already.


    The original city residents were forcibly confined to their homes, and any dissenters were wantonly ughtered, with their old Chief Katra killed by the traitor Doluru.


    This traitorous grandson then appointed himself as the new chief under the authority of the Dark Alliance and dered that the Church of Darkness and Shadows would be the new official religion of Shanathar.


    Additionally, the Dark Alliance installed the statue of the Dark Lord in the temple and reactivated the city¡¯s defensive barrier, but this time the barrier¡¯s purpose was reversed.


    With this, Shanathar was dered fallen.


    The news of the city-state of Shanathar¡¯s sudden downfall spread throughout the coalition of underground city-states, causing an uproar amongst its members.


    No one had anticipated Shanathar¡¯s abrupt and unexpected downfall¡­


    After the initial shock, panic quickly set in.


    Doluru¡¯s betrayal directly led to Shanathar¡¯s fall and his traitorous actions raised a terrifying question:


    ¡ªHave other cities also been infiltrated by the Dark Alliance?


    Furthermore, Shanathar and de City serve as the gateways from the Hermetic Alliance to the Dark Alliance, making their geographic positions extremely sensitive.


    From the map of the western underground territory, the entirendscape resembles a gourd with its head pointing north.


    The gourd¡¯s neck is the only passage to the Deep Rift Cavern, with the Hermetic Alliance upying the upper half while the Dark Alliance holds the lower half.


    Both underground city-states are located at the center and serve as the entry point to the second level of Underdark¡­


    In this context, the defenses of Shanathar and de City are crucial and the oue of the battles here could determine the course of the entire underground war.


    Everyone realized by now that a decisive battle is likely to ur in this area.


    If they defend well and hold out, the Hermetic Alliance is likely to win this war of attrition.


    But if either city falls, the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s gates will be wide open, allowing the Dark Alliance¡¯s army to advance unimpeded, causing the situation to deteriorate rapidly¡­


    And now, one of the city has already fallen!


    In a way, the Dark Alliance has already achieved a decisive victory in this war.


    Given theparative strengths of both sides, the Hermetic Alliance might have been capable of defending a single city with elven support. However, if multiple cities are attacked simultaneously, then it¡¯s a perilous situation that stretches their resources thin and risks overwhelming their defenses.


    After all, not every member city-state of theirs has tens of thousands of defenders like these two, and most of the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s member states only have armies of fewer than 10,000.


    Moreover, the Dark Alliance possesses special means to corrupt the undead, preventing the Hermetic Alliance from using their own undead armies effectively in the war against them.


    In this case, the Dark Alliance¡¯s forces, with their numerical superiority, can easily besiege at least five cities simultaneously and are likely to breach them with ease¡­


    It¡¯s also worth noting that due to the high cost of establishing long-distance teleportation arrays, the Hermetic Alliance initially nned to set them up in all cities for support.


    However, this was not feasible, and only de City, as well as Shanathar, being strategically significant and wealthy enough, had established long-distance teleportation arrays connected to ckrock City.


    Other cities, despite their proximity to the gourd¡¯s neck and thus ckrock City,cked the financial means to establish or maintain such expensive teleportation arrays.


    And so instead, they settled for ordinary teleportation arrays between themselves.


    This is also because the Hermetic Alliance is a loose coalition of city-states that¡¯s unable to effectively distribute and utilize resources amongst themselves.


    Even yers find it challenging to provide effective support in this situation.


    Theoretically, yers could teleport to the two key cities and then use ordinary teleportation arrays to reach other cities.


    However, the crux of the issue lies here.


    de City and Shanathar have teleportation arrays connecting to other underground cities, but these arrays are primarily concentrated in Shanathar.


    de City only has one array connecting to Shanathar.


    As a result, if Shanathar falls, de City loses contact with the rest of the Hermetic Alliance.


    The reason for this setup is that despite both cities being strategically important, de City is closer to the Dark Alliance¡¯s territory and surrounded by enemies on three sides, making it too risky to establish extensive teleportation arrays there¡­


    Everyone assumed that if one of the two cities were to fall, it would be de City. Therefore, establishing support arrays in Shanathar was deemed sufficient.


    But unexpectedly, it was Shanathar that fell first.


    After all that has been said, in essence, if one were to summarize the situation, then it boils down to one thing:


    The fall of Shanathar has already signaled the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s strategic defeat. And to turn things around, they cannot rely solely on conventional forces alone in the end.


    ¡ª <strong>381</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BETRAYAL! A STRATEGIC FAILURE </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 382

    Chapter 382


    Fifty kilometers north of Shanathar, lies the underground city-state of Itkazar.


    This is a small city with only twenty thousand inhabitants, but despite modest size, Itkazar holds significant prestige throughout the Hermetic Alliance.


    This is because Itkazar serves as the headquarters of the Church of Death in the underground, and the highest leader of the church, High Priest Niel, who is a Godwarden with legendary-rank strength, has also resided in this city for a long time.


    And it is rumored that among those who spread the faith of the Goddess of Death in the underground, the Evangelist, the Guardian of the Netherworld, once a demonic pet of their Patron Deity and now amander of the Heroic Spirit Legion, the Demon Wolf Fenrir is also slumbering here.


    For sentient beings in the underground who worship the Goddess of Death, this ce is their sacred holynd.


    At this moment, inside the towering obsidian-built structure within the city, known as the renowned Cathedral of Itkazar, a gathering of ethereal figures is gathered around a shimmering and deep-glowing orb, discussing something.


    These illusory figures are the spiritual projections of chieftains from different city-states within the Hermetic Alliance.


    Through the soul-storing orbs in the temples of various city-states, they project their spiritual powers into the Council Chamber of the Church¡¯s headquarters to discuss important matters of the alliance.


    The chamber exudes a heavy atmosphere.One chief of a city-state looked at the ethereal figures lined up on both sides, then nced at the vacant position in the upper left corner, and sighed softly.


    ¡°Shanathar¡­ has fallen. Even with the support of the elves, this war may be difficult to continue, as the forces of Dark Alliance have advanced too aggressively. The Holy City of Itkazar may be the next one toe under siege.¡±


    As his voice falls, the dozen or so figures around him begin to murmur and whisper among themselves.


    At this moment, Firebeard, the first among them in the upper right corner, promptly stood up.


    ¡°Your Excellency, do not underestimate the power of the elves. They are our allies under the divine oracle of Her Majesty and, like the heroic spirits serving under the Goddess, possess undying abilities. As long as our alliance can provide them with sufficient rewards and secure the path through the de City to connect Itkazar, this war can still proceed and turn things around¡­¡± He reasoned as his ethereal voice resonated throughout the cathedral.


    Upon hearing this, the sixteen city-state chiefs once again engage in heated debate.


    The governing chieftains have clearly been divided into two factions;


    One has bepletely pessimistic, while the other, led by Firebeard, believes the war can still be won.


    For a while, the entire Council Chamber buzzes with heavy discussions, albeit with no consensus reached among the participants.


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    At that moment, Niel, the Grand High Priest seated at the head of the round table, spoke up.


    His words instantly silenced the arguing chiefs seated below.


    Grand High Priest Niel is a dark dwarf with an all-white beard.


    He wears arge ck robe adorned with intricate patterns, embellished with the scythe-shaped symbol of the Goddess of Death.


    He maintained a calm expression, with his gaze clear and bright, showing no signs of nervousness or anger despite the shocking news of Shanathar¡¯s downfall.


    His eyes sweep fully across the chamber, before finally resting on Firebeard.


    ¡°Convey to our elven allies that this war has only just begun. Urge them to swiftlye to the aid of Itkazar. The Church will naturally bear all costs.¡±


    Firebeard showed a relieved expression upon hearing it, whilst nodding in agreement.


    The other city-state chiefs opened their mouths as if to say something, but seeing the firm and serious expression on Grand High Priest Niel¡¯s face, they ultimately refrained from speaking out.


    After giving themand, Grand High Priest Niel then turned around and faced the ancient mural in front of the Council Chamber.


    The mural depicted the story of the arrival of the demonic wolf Fenrir in the underground, as he spread the faith of the Goddess of Death under the divine oracle of Her Majesty¡­


    Following the gaze of Grand High Priest Niel, Firebeard¡¯s heart stirred, and he formed a certain conjecture.


    Looking at the majestic figure of the demonic wolf in the mural, Grand High Priest Niel said with a clear gaze:


    ¡°I bring good news. The elves had bought us considerable time for our war. Lord Fenrir was on the brink of awakening.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the spiritual projections of the more than a dozen chiefs in attendance were instantly invigorated, finally understanding the n of Grand High Priest Niel.


    They showed joyful expressions:


    ¡°Lord Fenrir was about to awaken? Had his injuries already been healed? Then¡­ d-does this mean¡­¡±


    Grand High Priest Niel nodded slightly:


    ¡°Indeed, Lord Fenrir is our true trump card.¡±


    ¡°The armies of the Dark Alliance may have been vast, but they are nothing more than a forced amalgamation of the Lich King¡¯s forces, each unwilling to yield to the other.¡±


    ¡°After capturing Shanathar City-State, they would inevitably divide their forces. As long as Itkazar could hold on for a while longer, with Lord Fenrir¡¯s awakening, everything would be reversed in due time¡­¡±


    ¡°Under the true gods, no one could match against Lord Fenrir¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Shanathar had fallen? Their city defenses were even stronger than de City¡¯s. How could it have fall that easily?¡±


    In themercial district of Itkazar, Demacia looked surprised as he watched the lively discussion unfolding within his guild chat.


    He hade to Itkazar to explore new business opportunities.


    Ever since the conditions for advancing to a higher jobss were announced, Demacia had been thinking about how to secure a spot for himself.


    And after deliberating upon it, aiming to reach the top five in any of the leaderboards seemed entirely too difficult for him. So, in the end, he decided that his best bet was still the lottery tickets.


    And to get those lottery tickets, he needed to spend a massive amount of contribution points. To this end, the quickest way Demacia could think of was to do business, then offer the gold coins as sacrifices to the goddess in exchange for lots of contribution points.


    ¡°Big Bro Dema, should we still set up the Amway headquarters here? Shouldn¡¯t we relocate somewhere else? It feels like this city is about to be engulfed in war!¡±


    Another member of the Natural Heart Guild, who hade with him, stated pessimistically.


    Demacia shook his head in response:


    ¡°It¡¯s already toote. Shanathar has fallen, and the teleportation array was destroyed. We had no way to teleport back, and no one else could teleport here either. Our only option left was to travel on foot¡­¡±


    ¡°We received information in the intelligence sharing group that after capturing the Shanathar city-state, the Dark Alliance had split into five groups, each attacking one of the five city-states of the Silent Alliance. One of these armies was marching towards here in Itkazar.¡±


    The intelligence sharing group was a private chatroom among the leaders of several major guilds, specifically for exchanging information.


    ¡°Even if Brother Mu organizes his troops well, it will be difficult to win without the teleportation array. Moreover, with our current strength, we can only reinforce one city at most.¡±


    ¡°Reinforcement was definitely necessary. Otherwise, thisrge-scale war campaign would surely fail. Moreover, Brother Mu and the others had already agreed. The target needing of our reinforcement the most was Itkazar, the holy city of the Church of Death. If this city fell, nowhere else would be safe!¡±


    ¡°So, all we have to do is to wait there¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Demacia scratched his head again:


    ¡°Speaking of which, the reaction of the Hermetic Alliance was a bit strange. ording to Brother Mu, Firebeard, the chief of de City, didn¡¯t seem worried at all about the fall of Shanathar. I couldn¡¯t help but feel¡­ they must have had some contingency n we don¡¯t know about.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­we just had to wait there.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, up until now, neither side¡¯s legends nor demigods have made any move yet! When we fought the half-orcs before, legendary figures intervened. With such arge-scale underground war, these high-ranking individuals still hadn¡¯t acted yet.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there is still a chance to turn things around¡­¡±


    The yers acted swiftly.


    After the fall of Shanathar, the three major guilds urgently assembled their teams once again, preparing to reinforce the other city-states of the Hermetic Alliance.


    After discussions among the major guilds, their first choice was the Holy City of Itkazar, which was rtively close to them and of significant importance.


    At the same time, as yers were mobilizing their troops, they also received a request from the Hermetic Alliance.


    As they had predicted, the Hermetic Alliance requested their reinforcement for none other than the Holy City of Itkazar!


    Simultaneously, a new main questline appeared within the sight of yers who epted the ¡°Large-Scale War Campaign¡±:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Main Storyline Quest:</strong> ¡°Support for the Holy City of Death¡± initiated¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Support Itkazar, the Holy City, until the appearance of strong figures from the Hermetic Alliance.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Deadline:</strong> None¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of Participants</strong>: Unlimited¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Level Requirements</strong>: Level 11¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: 20,000 experience points; 5,000 contribution points; 3 lottery tickets for the Lucky Pool¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Special Storyline Quest Reward:</strong> The top 5 yers with the highest number of enemy kills would receive an Advanced ss slot (yers who already had a prior slot will not be included in the kill ranking)¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>382</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ MAIN QUEST</strong>: <strong>SUPPORT THE HOLY CITY OF DEATH ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 383

    Chapter 383


    Undoubtedly, when the new main storyline quest dropped, the yers couldn¡¯t contain their excitement, with each of them brimming in anticipation and fervor.


    The other rewards were already enticing enough, but the addition of thest special storyline quest reward, marked in silver in the quest description, hadpletely ignited the yers¡¯ enthusiasm.


    An advanced job slot!


    They could get an advanced job slot!


    All yers participating in therge-scale war campaign were as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, entering a state of high excitement.


    Elven Kingdom differs from other online games in that, while there is a notable power gap between different ranks, the gap is not insurmountable.


    This means that this special storyline quest reward isn¡¯t only for yers who are level 40.


    While those at level 40 might have a higher chance of killing more enemies, other yers also have opportunities!


    The battlefield is chaotic and unpredictable.If you¡¯re lucky, a single spell might take out a few unfortunate enemies, and conversely, even a level 40 yer might be taken out by an arrow just as they charge if they¡¯re unlucky enough.


    Therefore, even without needing any major guilds to mobilize, the yers themselves began logging into the war chatroom channel and assembling at de City spontaneously.


    This time, the army assembly was still centered around the four major guilds.


    No, they can¡¯t be called the four major guilds anymore.


    Guilds in Elven Kingdom have no member limits, and after absorbing yers from the fourth test, the number of members in the four major guilds has reached a staggering amount.


    Even the guild with the shallowest foundation, the Autobots, has over 5,000 members, while thergest guild, Heart of Nature, has already surpassed 10,000 members.


    The total number of yers in these four guilds alone ounts for more than half of the 60,000 beta yers.


    They can now be called super guilds.


    Of course, while the four major guilds are growing more formidable, the small and medium-sized guilds have also be a force to be reckoned with.


    With the influx of fourth-beta yers, various new guilds have sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. While none have reached the scale of the four major guilds, there are quite a fewrge guilds with over 1,000 yers.


    Guilds with over 1,000 members can activate the legion feature, so this time, there are not just four participating yer legions but more than twenty. These twenty-plus legions are still divided into four parts, each centered around the guilds First Legion, Moe Moe Committee, Heart of Nature, and Autobots.


    yers refer to them as the four army groups, with themanders being Tomato Stir-Fry, Boxlunch, Li Mu, and Transformer Ji Gang.


    Li Mu still serves as the overallmander of the Elven Expeditionary Force.


    With themand structure in ce, each guild began rallying members to join the battle.


    Every second, yers emerged from the long-distance teleportation arrays and gathered outside de City.


    Meanwhile, outside the city, yers who arrived early started to gather.


    They congregated under the north wall of de City in a densely packed manner as their numbers quickly grew.


    Soon, the total surpassed 10,000, then 20,000, and finally 30,000!


    The continuous arrival of elves, in ever-increasing numbers, left the elderly dark dwarf Firebeard, who was watching from the city walls, dumbfounded.


    He initially thought the elves would number no more than 20,000 but soon realized he had underestimated them.


    The local defenders of de City went from excitement to surprise, then shock, and finally fell silent as the number of elves exponentially increased.


    So when the assembly deadline finally arrived, even themanders of the yer guilds were left speechless.


    The fourth beta had been open for so long that most newbies had already be Iron-rankers.


    As a result, the number of yers joining the battle far exceeded their expectations!


    When the agreed half-day assembly time finally concluded, a full army of 50,000 elves had gathered under the city walls!


    <em>An army of 50,000!</em>


    <em>What does an army of 50,000 mean?</em>


    In past quests, battles involving thousands were enough to evoke an epic sense of awe. The previous army of 30,000 half-orcs already felt like an unstoppable, overwhelming force to the yers¡­


    And now, the yers have reached this scale and more!


    Theypletely upied the northern region of de City, resembling a sea of people that both awed and sent chills down one¡¯s spine to anyone who beheld their sheer numbers.


    Standing atop the city wall, Li Mu looked down at the vast army below, his expression brimming with excitement and heroism.


    ¡°Epic! This is our story! Our legend! This is our Elven Kingdom!¡±


    Never in his life had he imaginedmanding a battle of such scale. Excitement surged within him, mingled with anxiety that tingled with anticipation.


    <em>Who could stop them now?</em>


    <em>Who indeed?!</em>


    His heart surged with emotion.


    He took screenshots in the system while instructing the yer in charge of battle music to y the most exhrating BGM. Then, he raised his ornatemand sword high and shouted to the yers waiting outside the city walls:


    ¡°For the glory of the Elven race! For the final victory!¡±


    His voice quivered with a hoarse, slightly theatrical timbre.


    However, his excited voice echoed all over de City and through the battlefield chat channel, and no one felt it was out of ce.


    Facing such a grand scene, everyone found themselves swept up in the moment, unable to stayposed.


    At that moment, the yers¡¯ unity reached its peak.


    Then, someone started it¡­


    A yer raised their weapon high, and soon, others followed suit.


    <em>Swish, swish, swish!</em>


    Tens of thousands of yers drew their weapons and raised them to the sky, as their overwhelming voices all resounded altogether:


    ¡°For the glory of the Elven race! For the final victory!¡±


    The voices echoed out of sync, creating a chaotic yet stirring effect as tens of thousands shouted together, evoking a deeply moving atmosphere.


    Their tsunami-like cheers made the ground tremble, with their echoes reverberating throughout de City.


    Witnessing such spectacle, no one could remain unmoved.


    Meanwhile, Firebeard looked at the formidable elven army with aplicated expression.


    ¡°The times¡­ are changing.¡±


    Li Mu swung his sword and shouted again.


    ¡°Charge¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Hurrah¡ª!¡±


    The cheers rolled like thunder.


    Amidst the swirling dust, tens of thousands of soldiers began to move slowly, like a terrifying giant beast¡­


    At the highest tower on de City¡¯s wall.


    Eve¡¯s incarnation stood there, hidden by divine magic.


    She looked down at the slowly moving yer army, feeling gratified.


    Sighing lightly, Ev¨¦ said:


    ¡°The Chosen Ones are on the move. They may be vast in number, but they stillck high-endbat experts.¡±


    ¡°Since you have just awakened, go with them. Show me your strength.¡±


    She turned slightly, looking at a figure behind her.


    It was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, with ck hair and red eyes, d in ck dragon-scale armor.


    Hearing her words, the boy bowed slightly and responded respectfully in a clear voice:


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>383</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ FOR THE GLORY OF THE ELVES! ATTACK! ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 384

    Chapter 384


    There is no day or night in the world underground, only eternal darkness.


    This perpetual gloom makes the underground more oppressive and eeriepared to the surface, and for the holy city of Itkazar, this oppressive atmosphere has reached its peak at this moment.


    This rtively small holy city is now surrounded by a vast, dark army.


    The army of the Dark Alliance, personally led by the Lich King, Perone, which consists of 50,000 undead, 20,000 goblins, monsters, and beasts forming the cannon fodder units, and 15,000 soldiersposed of illithids and dark dwarves.


    They are besieging Itkazar, which has a defending force of less than 8,000.


    In addition to the main force of mostly iron-rank troops, the Dark Alliance boasts nearly 200 silver-ranked experts and seven golden rankers, which include four death knights, two illithid warlocks, and one dwarf warrior.


    Nearly half of these silver and gold experts were promoted in the past six months.


    This surge in strength gave the Lich King the confidence to challenge the Hermetic Alliance and the force besieging Itkazar represents more than a third of the entire strength of the Dark Alliance.


    The Lich King is entirely determined to capture this holy city at all cost.The Dark Alliance army has besieged the city for three days.


    During these three days, they haveunched four major assaults.


    Although they still haven¡¯t breached Itkazar, they¡¯ve put tremendous pressure on the city¡¯s defenses and its garrison.


    Anyone with basic military knowledge can see that, while the city¡¯s defensive barrier still has plenty of energy left, the garrison inside has already suffered heavy casualties.


    Under repeated attacks from the Dark Alliance, Itkazar have already lost more than half of its defending troops, and their morale has plummeted to a dangerous level.


    If not for the locals steadfast faith within the Goddess of Death, and if not for the fact that most of Itkazar¡¯s soldiers are devout believers, many would have already considered fleeing through the teleportation array.


    Moreover, there were no more supporting reinforcements.


    Apart from de City, the remaining ten city-states that were not besieged were rtively small in size.


    Not only were they not strong enough to provide significant support, but they also had limited capabilities in aiding the five member states currently besieged by the Dark Alliance armies.


    Itkazar has received the most support, but against the overwhelming and more powerful Dark Alliance army, these reinforcements have been exhausted with each sessive attacks.


    The Dark Alliance,prising of fifty unified underground city-states, far surpasses the strength of the loosely structured Hermetic Alliance, which has only seventeen cities.


    Around the city walls, discarded equipmenty strewn across the ground, while blood stained the earth in shades of ck and red. Corpses, purified to prevent them from bing undead,y scattered outside the city or were stacked on the walls and incinerated by the local defenders.


    The stench is nauseating.


    s, there was no way around it¡­


    No one knows if these purified corpses might rise again with the next attack from the Dark Alliance, transforming into undead and rejoining the battle.


    Meanwhile, in the Dark Alliance¡¯s camp.


    The Lich King Perone is polishing a heavy, gold-embellished ck tome, whilst waiting quietly for something.


    The book¡¯s cover is adorned with bone patterns and symbols of death, with a faint divine power flowing over it.


    However, upon closer inspection, one can also see an inappropriately fitted dark gray shadow gem embedded in the book.


    The Lich King channeled his power into the shadow gem, causing the entire book to emit a faint glow.


    Then, as the glow spreads out, for a moment, the entire undead army of the Dark Alliance bowed their heads in reverence.


    This is a genuine divine artifact, the Book of Death.


    And it is precisely because of this artifact, the Lich King can fully control the undead, making the Hermetic Alliance hesitant to use their own undead army.


    As the Lich King maniptes the Book of Death, a death knight suddenly approaches him.


    The Death knight knelt on one knee and solemnly reported:


    ¡°Your Majesty, the envoy we sent to Itkazar to negotiate their surrender has been executed by the High Priest of the Death Church. They disyed his body on the city wall and publicly cremated it¡­¡±


    Hearing this, the Lich King Perone paused momentarily.


    After a few seconds of silence, he sneered and said,


    ¡°Understood. Since they refuse to surrender, we will proceed with the final assault.¡±


    ¡°Pass the order: the entire army is to attack the city! After the city falls, soldiers are allowed to plunder for three days!¡±


    At the Lich King¡¯smand, the roars of the underground monsters echoed across the battlefield, and the entire Dark Alliance army mobilized.


    However, unlike the previous staggered assaults, this time around, the tens of thousands of troops surrounding Itkazarunched a full-scale attack.


    The goblins led the charge, driven by the undead. Wielding crude weapons and carrying makeshiftdders, they rushed towards the city walls with fierce cries.


    Behind them, 50,000 well-armed and fully-equipped undead soldiers marched in organized formation¡­


    The ground trembled as the gathered fallen undead exuded an aura of evil and cold, forming a vast, ominous fog that permeate through the air.


    Then, as this ominous fog further spread within the battlefield, the corpses that were previously purified by the priests to prevent reanimation, all began to rise once again under some sinister power, before joining the undead army.


    In an instant, the already massive undead army swelled even further!


    The goblins, monsters, and beasts that had died in previous attacks were now transformed into stronger fallen undead, joining the ranks of the undead horde.


    Witnessing such a terrifying spectacle, the local defenders stationed on the Itkazar¡¯s walls were visibly shaken, as their already low morale further plummeted.


    Whereas, the Dark Alliance¡¯s vanguard quickly reached the base of the city walls.


    Their movements echoed with the determination inspired by the Lich King, manifesting in heightened morale. They unleashed a newfound ferocity in battle, driven by an insatiable hunger for the souls of the living.


    The defenders of the Holy City, exhausted by the repeated assaults, found their resistance as futile like eggs thrown against a rock.


    After killing a few goblins, they were quickly overwhelmed by the ever-increasing waves of monsters and undead¡­


    The dark army, like a tide of ants, surged to the base of the walls, raisingdders and climbing to engage in a lopsided battle with the remnants of the Hermetic Alliance.


    Seeing this, the chief of Itkazar, standing on the wall, turned pale. He looked at Neil, the High Priest, who was simultaneously controlling the city¡¯s defensive barrier and praying with closed eyes, and said anxiously:


    ¡°Master Neil! The Dark Alliance isunching their final assault. Even with reinforcements from other cities, we have fewer than 5,000 soldiers left! Master Neil, we cannot hold out any further if no more reinforcements arrive!¡±


    Yet High Priest Neil remained calm.


    He slowly opened his pure eyes, his clear gaze meeting the eyes of the Lich King Perone across the battlefield.


    Seeing the look from the wall, the Lich King¡¯s eyes, burning with ghostly mes beneath his demon mask, flickered.


    He raised his right hand and made a thumbs-down gesture.


    Nheless, High Priest Neil ignored the Lich King¡¯s taunt as his gaze passed over Perone and his dark army, focusing on a distant point¡­ and a certain emotion washed over his face.


    ¡°Our reinforcements have arrived.¡±


    He said gently.


    Following the High Priest¡¯s gaze, the chief of the Holy City looked southeast.


    There, a rising cloud of smoke appeared on the horizon¡­


    A peculiar cavalry,posed of elves and crypt spiders, had entered his sight.


    ¡ª <strong>384</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 385

    Chapter 385


    The rhythmic ¡®swishing¡¯ sound echoing from afar steadily grew louder as it got closer.


    It was the noise of metal scraping against stone, a synchronized sound that grew louder, akin to thunder, and soon it quickly drew the attention of both sides on the battlefield.


    Creatures inhabiting the Underdark were familiar with this noise, as it was the sound of crypt spiders moving swiftly, their metallic legs striking the ground.


    ¡°A-Are those¡­ Crypt Spiders?!¡±


    Looking at the eight-legged figures appearing on the edge of the border, the chief of the Holy City of Itkazar opened his mouth wide.


    Crypt Spiders are colonial creatures, dwelling deep underground all year-round, and Dark-Dwarves often encounter them in the mines.


    These beasts, which usually feed on minerals and asionally prey on sentient beings, are nearly impossible to tame.


    Moreover, as collective creatures, Crypt Spiders usually have a queen that controls all the lesser spider broods. This queen typically hides deep underground, making her hard to find and even harder to tame due to her proud nature.


    Those powerful enough to subdue them did not want them, and those who desired themcked the strength to capture them.As such, within the world underground, no one had ever heard of anyone using Crypt Spiders as mounts.


    <em>Yet now, he was witnessing a group of elves riding Crypt Spiders?!</em>


    <em>By the gods!</em>


    <em>How did these elves manage to do that?</em>


    At this moment, the leader of Itkazar furrowed his brow, his eyes darting in disbelief as he struggled toprehend the absurdity of the situation before him.


    However, leaving his confusion aside, seeing the elvesing as support quickly lifted his spirits.


    <em>Elves!</em>


    Undoubtedly, these were the reinforcements foretold by their Patron Deity¡¯s divine oracle!


    With reinforcements also came hope.


    Itkazar¡¯s chieftain scanned his surroundings, then bit his lip and shouted:


    ¡°Our reinforcements have arrived! Hold on, everyone!¡±


    With it being enhanced by magic, the chieftain¡¯s voice quickly spread to every corner of the city wall. And upon hearing his words, the soldiers of the Hermetic Alliance felt a renewed surge of energy as their dwindling morale was bolstered by his encouraging call.


    The noise of the crypt spider cavalry steadily marching grew louder and louder to the point that even in the fiercest parts of the battlefield, some soldiers noticed the sudden sound.


    When the soldiers saw the rising dust and the immense number of crypt spiders, they were first stunned, then erupted into cheers as the morale of the Hermetic Alliance soared further, and their previously precarious situation began to stabilize with the knowledge that reinforcements had finally arrived.


    With their newfound vigor, the defending soldiers roared andunched counterattacks in some areas.


    In war, momentum is very crucial.


    The sudden arrival of reinforcements acted as a tonic for the Hermetic Alliance, bolstering their morale and strengthening their resolve on the battlefield. However, in contrast, the Dark Alliance was thrown into disarray by the unexpected turn of events.


    In some areas where there were fewer stationed undead and goblins, the dark army was even pushed back by the Hermetic Alliance, being driven off the walls.


    Whilst watching the dust rising in the southeast, the Lich King stood in his camp on the hill, seemingly unsurprised.


    ¡°Elves? So they¡¯ve finally arrived. This must be the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s trump card.¡±


    Perone then turned to face Dorulu, who was gazing dazedly at the spider cavalry in the distance, and said indifferently,


    ¡°Dorulu, I recall you telling me that those elves supporting the Hermetic Alliance were all infantry mercenaries.¡±


    Hearing the Lich King¡¯s words, Dorulu shuddered.


    Forcing out an awkward smile, the traitorous gnome answered nervously:


    ¡°W-Well¡­ Lord Perone, I didn¡¯t expect those elves to use Crypt Spiders as their trump card¡­¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, Your Majesty! There are norge crypt spider colonies in the western region, so their spider cavalry must be limited in number!¡±


    ¡°Moreover, although these elves can resurrect, there are only twenty thousand of them, and they¡¯re all only at the mid to low Iron-rank! Without a teleportation array, it won¡¯t matter once we defeat them, even if they can resurrect!¡±


    After hearing Dorulu¡¯s exnation, the Lich King merely turned his gaze away.


    He then looked at a gray-robed mage standing nearby, who respectfully stated:


    ¡°Your Majesty, what Dorulu said is indeed true.¡±


    This particr grey-hooded mage was the one Dorulu had met in the tavern beforehand and the key figure who infiltrated Shanathar and swayed Dorulu to turn to their side.


    After listening to his words, the Lich King finally nodded slightly as he raised his head andmanded:


    ¡°Form a defensive formation and block those charging elves!¡±


    Following his order, the rear ranks of the Dark Alliance army immediately sprang into action. The soldiers at the back erected long shield walls, while the spearmen thrust their spears through the gaps in the shields, forming a defense line against the approaching spider cavalry.


    Seeing his soldiers¡¯ orderly movements, the Lich King, Perone, was left feeling quite satisfied.


    In truth, Perone wanted to personally engage in battle, but the presence of High Priest Niel stationed on the wall made him wary, causing him to reconsider.


    A formation of fifteen thousand soldiers should be enough to halt the charge of a thousand elven cavalry.


    With this thought, Perone looked back at the rapidly approaching elves.


    Initially, only a little over a thousand elves came into his view.


    They wore splendid armor and rode fearsome Crypt Spiders, running and shouting like wolves spotting prey, as if the mere sight of the Dark Alliance army have thoroughly excited them.


    But as they got closer and closer, their numbers too continued to increase¡­


    From the initial one thousand¡­


    To two thousand¡­


    Then at three thousand¡­


    Finally, as the dust settled, more and more elven cavalry appeared, making Dorulu¡¯s eyelids twitch, while Perone¡¯s gaze flickered with slight surprise.


    The Lich King¡¯s camp fell silent as the full might of the elven army was revealed.


    Twenty thousand elven cavalry emerged, their silhouettes stark against the horizon. They were mounted on Crypt Spiders, their eight-legged steeds moving with eerie grace, or on other monstrous beasts bred for war.


    Dorulu was utterly stunned.


    ¡°H-How¡­ how is this possible?¡±


    He stared wide-eyed, mumbling incoherently.


    <em>Crack¡­</em>


    The ground beneath Perone¡¯s feet fractured, as his aura surged, a palpable menace that sent a shiver through the air.


    The high-ranking members of the Dark Alliance felt a chill, recognizing this as a sign of their leader¡¯s fury.


    However, they understoodpletely.


    No one had expected that the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s reinforcements would consist entirely of cavalry!


    Twenty thousand spider cavalry, in fact!


    These elves, who came as reinforcements of the city-state of Shanathar, all had their own mounted beasts!


    Considering thebat enhancements provided by those beasts, this force¡¯s battle capability was far greater than its numbers suggested, elevating it by several levels.


    The thunderous sound of the twenty thousand-strong cavalry marching echoed through the immediate vicinity, hitting everyone¡¯s hearts like a boulder.


    Leading the charge were the crypt spider knights, d in heavy armor, making them heavy cavalry. These were the yers who had chosen the tank warrior ss.


    They formed a wedge-shaped formation at the front of the cavalry corps.


    Meanwhile, behind them were ordinary warriors, brandishing swords and spears, shouting fiercely.


    Finally, there were archers, mages, and druids.


    Some nocked arrows on their bows, while others chanted spells one after another¡­


    With their actions, arrows rained down in a dazzling disy of skills, striking the Dark Alliance army first.


    Then, under the enhancement of colorful magical buffs, the entire cavalry corps, like a sharp de, finally pierced through the shield wall formed by the Dark Alliance army.


    ¡ª <strong>385</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ UNSTOPPABLE</strong><strong>FORCE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 386

    Chapter 386


    Themand center of the Dark Alliance¡¯s army was situated atop a hill and from this vantage point, everything around could be seen clearly.


    At this moment, the high-ranking officers of the dark army witnessed an unforgettable scene.


    That is, an army of over ten thousand cavalry,posed of elves, crypt spiders, and various magical beasts, glittered with magical light, as they all surged forward like a prismatic torrent into the ranks of the dark army¡­


    The military formation organized by the Dark Alliance was easily torn apart like paper by the cavalry¡¯s charge.


    Amidst screams, wails, the sh of weapons, and the cracking of bones, the dark dwarven warriors at the forefront were easily trampled into pulp by the spider cavalry.


    The Dark Alliance¡¯s forces managed to hinder the elves¡¯ advance, but it was only for a moment as the immense strength of the adult crypt spiders, with their hard shells and rapid speed, sent everything they encountered flying away¡­


    The elven tanks at the forefront quickly pierced through the Dark Alliance¡¯s ranks.


    Whereas, the elves following behind attacked the demoralized soldiers of the Dark Alliance, simultaneously shooting at distant enemies or unleashing pre-chanted offensive spells one after another¡­


    Across the battlefield, numerous arrows flew, and explosive magic blossomed in the Dark Alliance¡¯s army with colorful brilliance. The chaotic magical waves could be faintly sensed even on the walls of the holy city of Itkazar.The arrows and magical attacks prevented the Dark Alliance¡¯s troops from encircling the elven army that had slowed down due to the charge, and not only that but it also caused them even greater casualties as a result¡­


    In just this one engagement, at least three thousand Dark Alliance warriors fell under the cavalry¡¯s metal hooves, with many more sumbing to the apanying arrows and spells¡­


    Looking at the battlefield, it was filled with wails and heavy casualties.


    Yet, the elves easily broke through the Dark Army¡¯s formation.


    They maintained their wedge-shaped formation, leaving behind only a few scattered beast corpses in their wake¡­


    At that moment, an eerie stillness settled over the entire battlefield for a few seconds.


    The soldiers defending the city walls of Itkazar watched the shocking scene with their mouths agape.


    Then, a deafening cheer erupted within the city walls.


    However, in contrast to the Hermetic Alliance forces, whose morale had been rekindled, the high-ranking officers of the Dark Alliance atop the hill fell into a deathly silence.


    In particr, the Lich King cast a cold nce at Dorulu, after witnessing the heavy losses inflicted by the charge of the Elven cavalry.


    Sensing the palpable killing intent emanating from the Lich King, Dorulu almost fainted in fright¡­


    ¡°Twenty thousand infantry mercenaries, huh.¡±


    The Lich King sneered.


    The grey-hooded mage who had previously supported Dorulu tried to opened his mouth but ultimately lowered his head in shame.


    Watching the nearly shattered formation of the Dark Alliance¡¯s army, which had been routed by twenty thousand elven cavalry, and seeing the elven forces regrouping for a second charge, the Lich King Perone finally adopted a serious expression.


    Even at this moment, he did not show any panic at all.


    He only sighed lightly and said,


    ¡°I underestimated these elves.¡±


    ¡°Pass the order down. Since their reinforcements have finally arrived, there¡¯s no need to wait any longer.¡±


    ¡°Proceed with the original n and ensure these elves are trapped here.¡±


    ¡°Even if these elves can resurrect, I will make sure they die here today¡­¡±


    ¡°As for their mounted beasts, not a single one is allowed to leave the battlefield alive!¡±


    Perone had already noticed that only the dead elves¡¯ bodies disappeared, which meant that their mounted beasts couldn¡¯t resurrect, unlike the elves themselves.


    Following the Lich King¡¯smand, two enormous magic arrays suddenly appeared on the nks of the Dark Alliance¡¯s army.


    They were actually two teleportation magic circles that had been pre-drawn long ago!


    Then, as the teleportation arrays was activated, two new armies emerged from them¡­


    They formed a well-organized formation, including well-equipped undead knights, creating a dark mass of no less than ten thousand of them!


    Moreover, the teleportation array still continued to flicker nonstop, with an endless stream of Dark Alliance soldiers emerging from it.


    These were the dark soldiers from other army units that had been besieging other underground city-states!


    The two armies appeared in such a way that they surrounded the Dark Alliance Army and the elves¡¯ cavalry unit, as if they had been prepared in advance.


    Clearly, the Dark Alliance hadid out an ambush specifically for the elves!


    On the hill, none of the Dark Alliance highmand seemed surprised by this development, except for Dorulu, who, upon seeing the arrival of their own reinforcements, gaped in shock and looked at the Lich King with even more reverence.


    It was obvious that the higher-ups of the Dark Alliance had anticipated the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s reinforcements right from the beginning!


    They nned to entrap and annihte all the reinforcements from the beginning!


    Although the strength of the elven cavalry had caught them off guard, the arrival of their two ambushing armies allowed them to encircle the elven army effectively.


    This time, with their retreat cut off and no room for a long-distance charge, the elven cavalry wouldn¡¯t be able to execute another piercing strike like before¡­


    Their previous tactics seemed futile now, as the encircling grip of the Dark Alliance army closed in methodically, their ranks spreading like a tightening noose around the outnumbered elves.


    ¡°Encircle and kill them!¡±


    Peronemanded coldly.


    With the roars of underground beasts, the vast Dark Alliance army moved again,unching an assault on the somewhat panicked elven forces.


    However, the situation took another unexpected turn.


    The elven army seemed to be guided by an invisible hand.


    Nearly twenty thousand elves moved in unison, quickly shaking off their panic.


    They turned without hesitation, charging towards the encircling forces¡­


    Their efficientmand and coordinated movements made the Lich King pause in surprise.


    This level of organization, efficiency, and response capability exceeded his understanding of military tactics!


    Even the undead army would take considerable time to achieve such rapid response and perfect execution of orders.


    Inrge-scale battles, sessful encirclement depended on position, terrain, strength, and exploiting the enemymand system¡¯s sluggishness.


    Yet, these elves acted as if they were one entity, without the usual dys and clumsiness ofrge armies!


    They roared, shouted with excitement, and focused in a single direction, tearing through the encircling Dark Alliance forces and sessfully breaking out!


    Thus, the Dark Alliance¡¯s ambush n failed in a bizarre manner.


    It wasn¡¯t due to ack of strength or poor positioning, but simply because the elven response and actions defied conventional logic.


    It was as if every individual received directmands from the same source.


    ¡°How is this possible? How are they beingmanded?! Have all the elves mastered telepathic magic?!¡±


    The high-ranking Dark Alliancemander couldn¡¯t help but exim incredulously.


    <em>Telepathic magic? </em>


    <em>No¡­ Telepathic magic could only work one-on-one and suchrge-scale coordination was unimaginable</em>.


    But the Dark Alliance highmand had no time to ponder upon this mystery.


    At that moment, clouds of dust rose on the horizon¡­


    Apanied by a wave of battle cries, new figures suddenly appeared on the southwestern border.


    Tens of thousands of abined force of elves, dark dwarves, and subterranean gnomes emerged in the Dark Alliance¡¯s view¡­


    They glow with polychromatic eleration magic, moving swiftly despite being mostlyposed of infantry units.


    Then, as soon as they appeared, they charged towards the Dark Alliance in well-ordered formations.


    Despite being far from the battlefield, the elven cavalry, which had just broken out of the encirclement, immediately turned as if receiving a signal¡­


    They quickly reformed their ranks andunched a second charge against the Dark Alliance forces!


    Hence, with apanying troops charging from two different directions, the Dark Alliance army, whose originally the besieging party, found itself surrounded instead!


    In an instant, the tide of battle reversed against the Dark Alliance¡¯s favor.


    ¡ª <strong>386</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE BATTLE IS REVERSED </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 387

    Chapter 387


    Perone had never seen an army that coordinated so seamlessly and moved so swiftly.


    It was as if they had a prearranged n all along.


    The newly arrived allied elven army and the reformed beast cavalry charged into the dark alliance¡¯s forces almost simultaneously in a spearhead formation¡­


    The dark army, which was already in a state of disarray due to their hasty formation, was torn apart once again by the elven cavalry¡­


    However, this time was different.


    As the elven cavalry pierced through the dark army¡¯s formation, another elven battalion seized the opportunity to attack from another direction.


    Apanied by loud roars of battle cries akin to tidal waves, they nked them from the south,pletely dividing the dark alliance¡¯s forces apart.


    What followed was an unforgettable sight the dark alliance higher-ups situated on the hills would never forget.


    Despite their numerical superiority and overall strength, the dark alliance¡¯s army was effortlessly torn to pieces by thebined elven battalions¡¯ rapid pration maneuvers and incisive attacks.Then, shortly afterward, the second wave of elven and Hermetic Alliance reinforcements surrounded and overwhelmed the disorganized dark army.


    If one were to use an analogy, at that moment, the dark alliance¡¯s army resembled a delectable feast, with the elven cavalry serving as the knives and forks as they repeatedly pierced and sliced, dividing the dark army into pieces¡­


    Then, these fragmented dark forces were swallowed by the mixed elven battalions like a ravenous maw.


    The primary reason this devastating situation was achieved was mainly due to the impable coordination of the elves¡­


    Individually, each elf might be weak.


    But at this moment, they fought together as one united force.


    Despite the chaotic state of the battlefield, the tens of thousands of elven participants moved about with precise coordination, their actions perfectly synchronized, executing attacks and withdrawals in almost perfect unison¡­


    In that moment, each elves seemed to have be one, single entity.


    To the Lich King, it felt as though these were not tens of thousands of elves with their own individual minds, but a synchronous collection of countless people under a unifying collective hivemind¡­


    Such power of unity was quite frankly, terrifying.


    The difference between Iron and Silver ranks wasn¡¯t insurmountable.


    And a single Iron-rank mage¡¯s magic may not be enough to pose a threat to a Silver-ranked expert¡­


    But if one thousand or ten thousand Iron-rankers simultaneously cast spells all at the same ce at the same time, then¡ªtheirbined power could easily shred any silver-rank experts into pieces!


    Quantity transforming into quality¡ªthis was the essence employed by the elves and exactly what they were currently doing.


    This seemingly simple coordination was incredibly difficult to execute, yet these elves performed it as effortlessly as if they were merely doing a mundane task like drinking water.


    Even the Silver-ranked experts of the dark alliance couldn¡¯t help but turn pale at the chilling sight of such a fearsome elven army.


    Thus, under the elves¡¯ precise coordination, the massive dark alliance army found itself at a disadvantage due to its own bloated formation.


    They couldn¡¯t effectively counterattack against the elves¡¯ efficient coordination and had to rely on their experience to resist.


    At this moment, with the elves¡¯ relentless assault, themand system of the dark alliance¡¯s army had nearly almost been paralyzed.


    It¡¯s not that the dark army¡¯smanders were killed, but rather that they could no longer precisely control their troops effectively.


    In fact, this characteristic is seen in mostrge-scale battles involving cold weapons, including those fought on Earth.


    Essentially, when the number of soldiers reaches a certain point and the armies are fully engaged in a full-scale battle, precisemand will be ineffective.


    At that point,manders can only issue rudimentary orders like ¡°retreat¡± or ¡°charge,¡± as fine-tuned micromands are almost impossible to bemunicated effectively amidst the chaos of battle.


    Even then, these broadmands may not be fully conveyed and reach every units at all.


    Nheless, who could have expected such a battlefield anomaly to happen right before his eyes?


    The Lich King still couldn¡¯t figure out how themanders of these elves managed to convey theirmands to every unit within their battalions with such precision.


    In the first ce, even after carefully observing their ranks, Perone was left bewildered as he couldn¡¯t even identify where this supposed elvenmander was amidst their intricate formation.


    It made no sense at all!


    To him, it seemed as if no one was visibly giving orders, yet these elves¡¯ movements and actions unmistakably indicated the presence of a well-organizedmand structure!


    However, the situation on the battlefield did not allow him to ponder such a mystery, as the dark alliance¡¯s army would surely be devoured bit by bit by these elves if this downward trend continued.


    Taking a deep breath, the Lich King gave a solemnmand:


    ¡°All high-ranking warriors, gather and eliminate those heavily armored knights at the forefront of the elven cavalry!¡±


    After observing for so long, he realized that the crux of the elves¡¯ sessyrgely in their nearly twenty thousand cavalry units.


    The reason why the elven cavalry can be lethal as swords was because of the heavily armored elven knights in the front row!


    The defensive capability of those heavily armored knights was too high, and they could also charge at the enemy, crushing everything in their path one after another, yet remaining unscathed in the aftermath¡­


    It was utterly astonishing.


    The Lich King believed that if the few golden-ranked experts on his side could unite to eliminate those strange heavy cavalry at the vanguard, their situation would definitely change in their favor!


    While a silver-rank warrior might need to avoid the elves¡¯ sharp offensive, a golden-ranked expert were an entirely different story.


    The gap between high-rank and mid-low rank warriors was vast, and theck of high-ranking experts was the most fatal w on the elves¡¯ side!


    The turning point of this battle would likely hinge on how the high-ranking experts is strategically deployed.


    Following Perone¡¯smand, seven golden-ranked experts from the dark alliance army immediately sprang into action one after another¡­


    A Death knight and dwarf warriors coborated impably and charged straight into the elven cavalry. Meanwhile, two blood warlocks chanted spells to support their attack.


    The cooperation among these golden-rank experts was highly effective.


    In an instant, they used their formidable power to tear through the elves like ughtering chickens, causing the elven formation to falter for the first time¡­


    Seeing the elves¡¯ formation disrupted and his own troops regainingposure, the Lich King felt a moment of relief.


    s, the relief he felt was short-lived.


    Just as the Dark Alliance¡¯s golden-rank experts engaged and the elves¡¯ assault slowed, a resounding dragon roar echoed through the vicinity.


    Whilst emitting an awe-inspiring dragon aura, a menacing ck dragon with a wingspan of over sixty meters abruptly appeared on the battlefield.


    It hovered above the elven army for a bit, before puffing up its cheeks, and unleashed a thick stream of dragon breath towards the several golden-rank experts of the dark alliance¡­


    ¡ª <strong>387</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BLACK DRAGON¡¯S</strong><strong>SUPPORT</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 388

    Chapter 388


    <em>A ck dragon! </em>


    The elves actually have an adult ck dragon on their side!


    Seeing the ferocious figure suddenly appear on the battlefield, the Lich King¡¯s pupils contracted sharply.


    He was certain there were no ck dragons residing near the city-states of Hermetic Alliance, so this one must have been brought along by the elves.


    To think they could tame a ck dragon, whose been known for its ruthless savagery and extreme pride¡­


    <em>Is there anything that these elves cannot do?</em>


    <em>Who exactly are they?</em>


    At this moment, the Lich King felt that the background of these mysterious elves were bing more and more enigmatic.


    The sudden appearance of the ck dragon disrupted the Dark Alliance army¡¯sbat rhythm once again. Under its breath attack, the seven gold-ranked experts of the dark alliance scrambled about to respond, only to be swiftly suppressed by the ck dragon.


    An adult ck dragon possesses the strength of a golden-ranker.


    As such, this dragon, too, exhibited an aura around the intermediate golden-rank.


    However, with ck dragon¡¯s being a golden-rank species with ancient god bloodlines, a dragon¡¯s power far surpasses that of other creatures of the same rank.


    Simply put, they are invincible within the same corresponding rank.


    The ck dragon spread its bat-like wings, before swooping down while letting out an excited roar, as it attacked the high-ranking experts of the Dark Alliance.


    One against seven¡­


    With the ck dragon¡¯s inclusion, the battlefield¡¯s tide turned in favor of the elves once more.


    A deafening cheer then suddenly rose from the elven army, and it soon swelled, growing louder and more rhythmic, until it transformed into a synchronous chant that echoed across the battlefield:


    ¡°Meryer! Meryer!¡±


    Meanwhile, back on the hill where the higher-ups of the Dark Alliance stood, the Lich King Peronne watched the ferocious dragon overpower the seven gold-ranked experts, his gaze flickering.


    His fists clenched slightly, revealing his inner turmoil.


    ¡°Meryer¡­ Is that the ck dragon¡¯s name?¡±


    The ck dragon¡¯s appearance not only thwarted the Dark Alliance¡¯s counterattack but also made the situation worse for them.


    Under the tangible dragon¡¯s mighty aura, the dark dwarves and illithids trembled, theirbat effectiveness plummeting.


    Even the undead were affected, as their movements became more sluggish.


    The elves, on the other hand, were invigorated.


    Whilst cheering, they followed the ck dragon¡¯s lead,unching another assault on the Dark Alliance¡¯s army.


    Witnessing this scene, the Lich King Perone could no longer remain idle.


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer,¡± he muttered with a resolve voice, while looking back at the walls of the Holy City of Itkazar.


    Then, he suddenly extended his hand, before chanting a spell that summoned a giant bone that enveloped the circling dragon in the skies.


    At this moment, Perone couldn¡¯t help but finally involved himself and attacked the ck dragon with his legendary strength!


    No one expected the Lich King to suddenly take action.


    Only the Grand Priest Neil, who had been constantly monitoring him from the Itkazar¡¯s walls, noticed his actions.


    However, just as Neil, who was also possessing legendary strength, was about to rx the magical defense barrier to intercept the Lich King, he abruptly halted his actions.


    It was because the battlefield underwent another sudden change the moment the Lich King attacked.


    The ground suddenly trembled, and a silver thread burst forth, striking the bone summoned by the Lich King, before wrapping it into a ball.


    Then, a massive ck figure emerged from the earth only a few seconds afterwards.


    Suddenly, a giant spider over thirty meters tall, d in ck insect armor that shimmered with a metallic sheen, stood in an imposing stance as the golden patterns on its carapace shimmered, adding a touch of majesty and nobility in the dim light of the surroundings.


    The collosal spider then gently retracted its thread, before pulling the ensnared bone to its mouth and swallowing it whole like a snack.


    ¡°A legendary-rank spider queen!¡±


    The Lich King¡¯s pupils contracted sharply.


    At that moment, he finally understood why the elves can employ crypt spiders as mounts.


    They had actually tamed a legendary crypt spider queen!


    As the Crypt Spider Queen appeared on the battlefield, the elves erupted into even more enthusiastic cheers.


    Their morale further soared, as theyunched a fearless charge!


    The Dark Alliance, however, was the opposite.


    The sudden appearance of this terrifying creature was the final straw that broke their spirits.


    Their disorganized formation, which had barely held on under the ck dragon¡¯s intimidating aura, finally copsed!


    The goblins were the first to break out.


    These pitiful creatures, whose role originally were just expendable cannon fodders, finally lost their resolve the moment the Gargantuan Spider Queen appeared.


    And despite threats of death from theirmanding officers, these goblins simply refused to face the elven army and began to flee in droves.


    Next were the dark dwarves and illithids.


    Positioned directly opposite thebined elven forces, they were also the first to confront the ck dragon and the Colossal Spider Queen.


    Following the goblin¡¯s copse, they too eventually lost their will to fight.


    Luckily for the Lich King, his undead army, did not copse.


    s, they faced a new enemy.


    Large crypt spiders, with each individuals the size of a basin, emerged from the ground one after another, entangling each undead soldiers before attempting to devour their metal armor.


    With the appearance of theserger crypt spiders, the elves¡¯ fervor only increased even more.


    They charged at the Dark Alliance¡¯s army with near-mad enthusiasm.


    And this time, there was no suspense at all.


    The Dark Alliance simply could not withstand the assault and fell intoplete disarray!


    On the hill, the Dark Alliance senior officers fell silent as they watched their army crumble.


    They then turned to the Lich King Perone, only to find him standing quietly, watching his army being decimated by the elves, the Spider Queen, and the ck dragon, as their seven Golden-ranked experts fell one after another under thebined assault of the other party.


    After a moment of silence, the legendary Lich King, who had unified the Dark Alliance, let out a deep sigh:


    ¡°We have lost.¡±


    He then turned and bowed slightly toward a distant direction, whilst respectfully saying,


    ¡°Master, I have failed. I have disappointed you, our Patron Deity¡­¡±


    The Dark Alliance officers around him were left stunned and bewildered by his actions.


    But before they could ask anything, a profound, chilling pressure suddenly descended upon the entire battlefield.


    Everyone felt as if they heard an antiquated sigh, echoing in their minds, before drawing them toward despair.


    Those who heard it felt a wave of despondency and even suicidal urges.


    Moreover, many began to cough violently, their bodies weakening as if stricken by a sudden illness.


    Some even spat out ck blood, with their lifeforce visibly draining away at an rming rate.


    At the same time, the undead on the battlefield were suddenly enveloped in dense, gray-ck smoke.


    Their aura rapidly expanded, freeing themselves from the ck dragon¡¯s intimidating pressure.


    Momentster, numerous scattered bone fragments began to fly and coalesce into a grotesque giant face made of bones.


    Then this giant face, once it fully materialized, looked toward the City of Itkazar.


    A majestic and ancient voice echoed through the whole underground region:


    ¡°Fenrir¡­ stop pretending to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve sensed your presence all along. Now that you¡¯re awake, how long do you intend to maintain this futile charade?¡±


    As soon as these words fell, a deep, eerie beam of light shot up from the direction of the City of Itkazar.


    Secondster, a resonant wolf¡¯s howl reverberated from deep underground.


    ¡ª <strong>388</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ARRIVAL</strong><strong>OF LEGENDARY FORCES</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 389

    Chapter 389


    Whilst being apanied by a loud piercing howl, the deep pir of light rising in the Holy City of Itkazar suddenly changed as it continuously coalesced within the air, before eventually transforming into a form akin to a majestic giant wolf.


    This gigantic wolf stood over a hundred meters tall, hovering in mid-air with ghostly blue mes burning beneath its feet.


    Its fur was a deep shade of ck, and its eyes glowed a cold, crimson reddish hue.


    The very moment this giant wolf appeared, an overwhelming pressure no less than that of the skeletal giant face emanated from it, instantly dispelling the eerie, gue-like power that had spread across the battlefield with the skeletal face¡¯s sigh.


    With the strange energy gone, everyone on the battlefield quickly recovered from their weakened state.


    However, although they had regained their strength, they still found their abilities were now significantly suppressed.


    Even Meryer, the ck dragon flying in the sky was forced tond due to the pressure of this powerful force, and Rose, the legendary spider queen was also seen crouching on the ground.


    Everyone felt the raw mana in the air be sluggish and heavy, while their bodies felt like rusty machines, making even the smallest movements incredibly difficult.


    This was the inevitable result of being suppressed by a powerful presence.Thus the battle on the field hade to a halt.


    At this point, no one could continue fighting under such immense pressure.


    Meanwhile, the yers struggled to lift their heads, staring in shock at the giant skeletal face and the ck giant wolf confronting each other within the air.


    ¡°A Boss monster! This is definitely this quest¡¯s Boss!¡±


    Various exmations of such kind erupted from the crowd.


    ¡°Damn! Even Rose is suppressed! Is this a demigod or a true god?!¡±


    ¡°How are we supposed to fight this? What do we do next?¡±


    Within the elven allied forces fieldmander, Li Mu, who had been hiding in the ranks tomand the army, also widened his eyes, staring at the giant wolf above the Holy City whilst muttering:


    ¡°My goodness! So, the Hermetic Alliance has such a powerful hidden entity?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lord Fenrir! It¡¯s the Demon Wolf Lord Fenrir! He has finally awakened!¡±


    Beside him, Firebeard, the elderly dark dwarf who had beem apanying him all this time, was visibly excited.


    Li Mu showed a looks of puzzlement.


    ¡°Demon Wolf Fenrir?¡±


    ¡°He is the guardian of our Hermetic Alliance, an apostle of the Death Church and a peak demigod just one step away from attaining his own godhood! He has been sleeping beneath the Holy City for over a thousand years, and just now has finally awakened!¡±


    Firebeard exined excitedly as it drew a slow nod from Li Mu, whose eyes lighted up with newfoundprehension.


    He then painfully turned his head towards the Dark Alliance, looking at the terrifying gigantic skeletal face in the sky, and asked:


    ¡°And¡­ what about that one?¡±


    Firebeard hesitated for a moment before replying:


    ¡°That energy¡­ i-it seems to be the gue Lord mentioned in the ancient scriptures. It¡¯s another ancient being sleeping here in the underground, but¡­ that one is a true evil god!¡±


    <em>gue Lord? </em>


    <em>A true evil god? </em>


    <em>So¡­ a real bona-fide god?</em>


    Li Mu¡¯s brows furrowed, and his jaw tightened.


    At this moment, the giant wolf hovering in mid-air suddenly spoke as Fenrir raised his massive head, whilst gazing at the gigantic skeletal face.


    ¡°gue Lord Ares, have you decided to stand with H?dur and oppose my master?¡±


    His voice was deep and majestic, sounding like a young man who had experienced many vicissitudes of life.


    After the huge wolf spoke, the gigantic skeletal face sneered:


    ¡°Fenrir, after a thousand years, you are still so disrespectful to us, true gods.¡±


    However, the giant wolf immediately responded with disdain.


    ¡°Hmph, I respect all true gods, except for traitors and the fallen like your kind!¡±


    With a cold gleam shing within his eyes, the Demon Wolf Fenrir continued:


    ¡°Ares, you despicable traitor, today I will act on behalf of my master to punish you as you deserve! Leave this incarnation of yours behind!¡±


    With that, Fenrir¡¯s body shone brightly, as he suddenly pounced towards the giant skeletal face.


    As the giant wolf lunged forward, the skeletal giant¡¯s face tightened, its hollow eyes narrowing with a look of seriousness.


    A grey-ck mist suddenly rose around it, forming a humanoid body beneath the giant face, transforming into a grey-ck giant roughly the same size as the giant wolf.


    It then swung its fists, attacking the oing wolf.


    With a thunderous crash, the two demigod beings finally collided.


    At the moment of impact, a deep divine light erupted amidst their positions, creating a massive energy storm that shredded everything around them to pieces.


    The entire underground space trembled with their sh.


    Cracks suddenly appeared in the ceiling, and the ground was dramatically fissured. Even the Holy City, suffered partial copse despite being protected by a divine barrier.


    Elsewhere, the battlefield fared even worse.


    The Dark Alliance army beneath the gigantic skeletal face was almost instantly obliterated, with only the Lich King of legendary strength barely escaping in the aftermath.


    Even so, Perone was still left in a sorry state, with his soul fire being significantly weakened, clearly injured in the sh between the two opposing demigods.


    Meanwhile, the elves were somewhat better off.


    With them being ced much farther from the center of the conflict, only the few stationed in the front row were caught in the chaos being too close and thus, unfortunately returned to nature¡¯s embrace in this untimely manner.


    For a moment, the entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence.


    Everyone was stunned by the sheer power disyed by those two demigods.


    Fortunately, both had only exchanged a single blow.


    However, even with just one strike, the oue was clear.


    The gigantic skeletal face was half-shattered by Fenrir¡¯s attack, while Fenrir himself remained unscathed.


    After this exchange, they both retreated, standing at a significant distance, staring at each other from inside and outside the city.


    After the initial sh, Fenrir looked at the half-shattered skeletal face and spoke with even greater disdain:


    ¡°Ares¡­¡±


    ¡°Despite being once a true god, is this all the power you have left?¡±


    ¡°If your true form were here, I might take you more seriously, but with just an incarnation¡­hmph.¡±


    Hearing Fenrir¡¯s insulting words, gue Lord Ares sighed deeply.


    As he reformed his skeletal face, Ares gently shook his head:


    ¡°Fenrir¡­¡±


    ¡°I admit, you are the strongest demigod I have ever encountered.¡±


    ¡°And I also admit that, having just awakened, my power has not fully recovered yet, and I cannot defeat you at this moment.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ when did I ever say I would face you alone?¡±


    Immediately as soon as he finished speaking, two more powerful auras suddenly erupted from another direction of the Holy City!


    With a sharp dragon roar, a shadow dragon shrouded in grey mist soared into the sky¡­


    Then, the ground shook continuously, and hot magma emerged from the cracks, before a ram-headed demon,posed entirely of mes andva, slowly appeared¡­


    <em>It was Darkness, the Shadow Dragon! </em>


    <em>And the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel! </em>


    The former in his true form, while thetter in his demigod incarnation.


    In an instant, two more demigod beings appeared on the battlefield,pletely surrounding Fenrir!


    The overwhelming pressure they exude made the mana within the underground even more chaotic, giving a faint sense of ruination.


    However, Fenrir showed no surprise at the arrival of the two new enemy demigods.


    A hint of mockery even shed within his eyes as Fenrir¡¯s deep voice rang out once again:


    ¡°Ares, did you think¡­ you were the only one with allies?¡±


    With that, he turned slightly towards the elven army, nodding respectfully:


    ¡°Your Grace Ev¨¦, This Demon Wolf Fenrir seeks your help.¡±


    As his words fell, a green light suddenly burst forth from behind the yers¡­


    ¡ª <strong>389</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ YOUR GRACE EV¨¦ I NEED YOUR HELP ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    <strong>TL Notes</strong> : Sorry for not updating these past two weeks, I unfortunately had gotten covid and wasn¡¯t that feeling well. I¡¯m mostly recovered now tho so updates will resume in my usual schedule. <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 390

    Chapter 390


    Suddenly, an ethereal hymn yed softly, filling the air with a serene, haunting melody.


    At the same time, countless small green orbs of light appeared one after another, illuminating the dark underground world as traces of life blossomed in vibrant splendor wherever these orbs touched.


    Every injured soldier of the Hermetic Alliance on the battlefield was astonished to find their wounds rapidly healing.


    Meanwhile on the ground, countless flowers and green grasses, which usually only grew aboveground, all began to flourish rapidly.


    These flora and fauna kept continuing to grow as their petals fluttered and vines intertwined, before eventually coalescing into a graceful figure hovering in mid-air.


    This neer has the body outline reminiscent of an elf.


    Whilst dressed in a sacred gown made of flowers and vines, she held a scepter that glowed with boundless lifeforce in her right hand.


    A golden, holy light wholly enveloped her entire body, casting a radiant glow throughout the whole underground.


    She stood there, with her face obscured and only her waist-length tinum hair gently swaying with the divine power.Compared to the other demigod beings present, her body was the size of a normal elf, appearing small.


    Yet, make no mistake: she contained terrifying power.


    The moment she appeared, everyone felt the chaotic mana in the air, caused by the presence of several demigods, suddenly calm down.


    ¡ª<em>This only meant one thing.</em>


    Her rank and power directly suppressed all other beings present!


    But this was only the beginning.


    The elven deity suddenly raised her left hand, and a crimson light swiftly appeared as this crimson light transformed into a particle beam, shooting directly at the shadow dragon.


    Darkness¡¯s expression changed dramatically.


    He roared, hastily using his divine power to resist, and pped his massive bat-like wings to try and evade.


    However, the beam moved even faster.


    It seemed to target Darkness specifically, persistently pursuing him regardless of his efforts, piercing his defenses almost instantly and entering his body.


    Then, as this crimson beam entered his body, the shadow dragon¡¯s aura quickly began to plummet.


    His strength fell from the peak of demigod rank, to intermediate, then further down to legendary-rank, before finally stopping when it reached the golden-rank.


    In an instant, this seasoned veteran demigod shadow dragon was instantly reduced in rank!


    As Darkness fell from the sky, several vines suddenly burst from the ground, imprisoning him and dragging him deep down into the earth below amidst his desperate roars¡­


    And just like that, the battlefield quickly lost one demigod.


    Silence.


    An eerie silence permeated the whole underground.


    For a moment, both gue Lord Ares and the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel showed a look of solemnity at the same time, as if facing a formidable enemy.


    However in response to their apprehension, the elven figure merely smiled slightly at them, as if having done something trivial.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s two against two.¡±


    She said softly as her voice resonated like a gentle melody, wrapping around listeners with an otherworldly charm that stirred a deep sense of affection within them.


    But to the two evil gods, it sent a chill down their spines.


    At that moment, a thought urred to both of them:


    ¡ª<em>If the crimson beam had been aimed at them, could they have avoided it?</em>


    The answer is probably uncertain, and it is even likely to be negative!


    ¡°Withering Heart! That¡¯s a real divine artifact¡­Withering Heart!¡±


    Azazel said in a serious voice.


    He stared intently at the mythical figure who had been called Ev¨¦ by the demon wolf Fenrir, his eyes filled with fear.


    It was only then that the elves and the two opposing alliances on the ground, who had witnessed the entire process, realized what had happened.


    ¡°E-Eve? The Goddess of Life, Eve?¡±


    The Dark Dwarf Firebeard stood frozen, as his gaze locked on the female holy figure hovering in the sky.


    He tried opening his mouth as if to say something, but then simply turned to look at the elvenmander Li Mu beside him, finding him equally shocked as he gazed at their elven goddess in the sky¡­


    Sensing the gaze of others, Li Mu slightly turned his head.


    At this moment, he finally noticed the elderly dwarf¡¯s gaze upon him.


    Immediately, Li Mu tried to clear his throat and, whilst mimicking the reverence shown by the Elven NPCs in his memory when facing the goddess, uttered with respect,


    ¡°It¡¯s actually the goddess herself! I never expected her to intervene personally! Praise the goddess!¡±


    Firebeard: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Goddess of Life¡­ Ev¨¦!</em>


    Suddenly, those who heard of certain rumors about the elves realized the identity of this elven mythical being in the sky.


    At the same time, cheers rang out from the elves.


    Apanied by a tsunami-like roar, endless praises erupted in waves, as chants of ¡°Long live the goddess!¡± and ¡°Praise the goddess!¡± echoed through the air one after another.


    Themotion caught gue Lord Ares¡¯s attention, as his expression shifted into one of utmost seriousness.


    ¡°Goddess of Life? The sessor to the divinity of the World Tree, Yggdrasil?¡±


    Then, he scrutinized Ev¨¦ from head to toe, with his gaze particrly lingering on the Scepter of Life in her hand before speaking in a deep voice:


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect¡­ someone would actually obtain the Divinity of life and nature ahead of time, and even find the Scepter of Life!¡±


    ¡°Was it the workings of H, perhaps? In this world, if anyone could strip the World Tree of its divinity, then it would only be her¡­ It seems you are her real trump card.¡±


    ¡°A substantial form, with a pure aura¡­I didn¡¯t expect you to be here in person with your true body!¡±


    <em>A true god! </em>


    <em>This was the true body of a deity!</em>


    <em>Only a deity in their true body could bring forth such a profound feeling!</em>


    Of course, upon seeing the Scepter of Life in her hand, Ares considered the possibility that she might have also used it to create a substitute body, perhaps just an incarnation.


    But then he reconsidered, thinking it unnecessary for her to do so¡­


    The power she disyed far exceeded that of ordinary demigods, matching Ares¡¯s understanding:


    This was a newly ascended deity, not yet fully in control of her power!


    This also aligned with everyone¡¯s knowledge.


    If this level of power were merely an incarnation, then her true form would need to be at least of minor divine power.


    For a newly ascended god, even with a high potential divinity, it was impossible to ascend that quickly.


    Of course, if he had spoken with a deity recently defeated in a war of faith, then perhaps he might have thought differently.


    s, there are no what-ifs in this world.


    After confirming Eve¡¯s identity, gue Lord Ares suppressed his apprehension.


    Instead, he looked at the Seventh Demon Azazel, who was staring intently at the Scepter of Life, and asked gravely:


    ¡°Azazel, can you handle it?¡±


    Hearing this, Azazel¡¯s burning goat¡¯s head twisted into a sinister smile:


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°After using the Withering Heart, she¡¯s just a novice god yet to master her full powers.¡±


    With that, as soon as he finished speaking, a far more intense me suddenly burned upon his body, as the aura of his body continued to rapidly expand!


    Instantly, a more formidable presence dominated the battlefield, overshadowing Eve¡¯s.


    It was Azazel¡¯s true form!


    He had also arrived in his true body!


    After revealing his true power, Azazel looked at the gue Lord Ares with a sly smile:


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the Goddess of Life, but I won¡¯t care about anything else.¡±


    However, Ares seemed unconcerned as he simply nodded slightly, before calmly saying:


    ¡°You need not worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Since H has already yed all her cards, my old friends are naturally willing toe out as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve long desired the life of that wicked wolf Fenrir.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, two more immense auras descended upon the battlefield.


    ¡ª <strong>390</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ GODDESS OF LIFE </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 391

    Chapter 391


    In that instance, a new, grand presence descended upon the battlefield.


    In particr on Fenrir¡¯s left, countless ck feathers began to drift down from the void.


    These ck feathers swirled and gathered continuously, before eventually forming a tall, flickering figure within the air, exuding an eerie glow.


    This figure was vague and indistinguishable in gender, d in silver armor, and bearing six pairs ofrge ck wings upon its back.


    This was the Fallen Angel, Luria.


    At the same time on Fenrir¡¯s right, an eerie melody suddenly began to echo.


    The song seemed to have a power that can disturbed the mind, causing everyone who heard it to feel a deep sense of pain and despair, as memories of all the hardships and sorrows they had experienced in life involuntarily surfaced within their minds.


    Apanying the haunting melody, a purple aura gradually spread out, sketching an illusory figure of a seductive banshee with long hair and revealing attire in the air.


    This was the Queen of Pain, Alyssa.Two more mythical beings had arrived!


    Although they, like gue Lord Ares, have only descended themselves as incarnations, the mere presence of three powerful evil gods was more than enough to deal with a peak demigod who had yet to attain full godhood.


    Of course, like many evil gods, they had only recently awakened due to Seig¨¹es resurgence of mana.


    As such, their powers were still recovering, and unlike the Seventh Demon God Azazel, they were not fearless of death.


    Hence naturally, they chose to participate in the battle as mere incarnations.


    The three of them formed a triangr formation, encircling the demonic wolf Fenrir at the center.


    as the three evil gods surrounded him, gue Lord Ares¡¯s gigantic skeletal face twisted into a sinister smile.


    ¡°Fenrir, today you must fall!¡±


    He was once a god of the Netherworld.


    However, as the prior Death God overseeing the Divinity of Death changed and the Netherworld weed a new ruler, this mythical being shed with the sessor of the previous God of Death, H, and was subsequently defeated, choosing to fall.


    Thus as a result of this previous incident, H and her loyal follower, the demonic wolf Fenrir, were beings Ares deeply despised.


    It was for this reason that Ares epted the invitation of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows to stage this borate trap against Fenrir, using the war of faith between the twoher gods as a pretext to enact his vengeance!


    For the Goddess of Death, H and the Lord of Darkness and Shadows H?dur, this war was a struggle for their sphere of influence over the world of Seig¨¹es.


    But for the gue Lord Ares, it was an opportunity for revenge against H and Fenrir!


    As a matter of fact, the other two evil gods also shared simr motivations.


    Having hidden themselves here in the underground, they too had all experienced violent conflicts with the Church of Death, which were represented by Fenrir.


    This time, they reached an agreement with H?dur to seize this chance andpletely eliminate the Goddess of Death¡¯s most formidable subordinate in Seig¨¹es, the demonic wolf Fenrir!


    In that moment, Fenrir was once again in an extremely grave situation.


    However, even while beingpletely surrounded on all sides, Fenrir¡¯s expression showed little fear.


    He simply nced coldly at the mythical beings surrounding him and then looked back at the gue Lord, whilst saying in a deep voice:


    ¡°Ares, is this the n you and H?dur devised?¡±


    Hearing Fenrir¡¯s words, gue Lord Ares smiled slightly.


    His grotesque skeletal face creaked, and his heavy voice echoed in the vicinity once more:


    ¡°Fenrir, without the protection of your master H, today is the day you shall fall!¡±


    It was a widely known fact that the Goddess of Death could not leave the Netherworld, and even summoning a powerful demigod incarnation of herself was beyond her capability.


    Otherwise, if she could, the Church of Death would have already grown and flourished here within the underground.


    This was why these evil gods were confident in facing Fenrir while only employing their demigod incarnations!


    Meanwhile on the other side, Ev¨¦, who was confronting the Seventh Demon Lord, overheard their conversation and sighed deeply:


    ¡°Your Majesty H¡­¡±


    ¡°You promised to handle the gue Lord and those three evil gods yourself¡­¡±


    She whispered in a soft faint tone.


    Yet, all the mythical beings currently present heard it clearly.


    gue Lord Ares¡¯s expression froze immediately upon hearing it, as a flicker of suspicion and surprise etched upon in his eyes.


    Whilst being surrounded by the incarnation of the evil gods, the demonic wolf Fenrir, who had been bowing his head, suddenly raised it.


    He nced coldly at the gue Lord, as a mocking smile yed upon his mouth, and with a fervent expression, he dered:


    ¡°Of course, my master would never brake her promise!¡±


    With that, he let out a long howl, and a deep radiance burst forth from his body once more!


    Mere secondster, a huge magical array suddenly appeared beside Fenrir.


    Then as the array activated, a gray portal slowly manifested from its center¡­


    Apanied by an overwhelming pressure, a chilling and foreboding aura descended upon the battlefield, quickly enveloping the incarnations of the three evil gods.


    To their horror, they found themselvespletely immobilized!


    ¡°D-Death Domain! This is the Domain of Death! H-How is this possible?!¡±


    <em>H¡¯s Domain of Death!</em>


    A divine power that only true god¡¯s could wield had manifested in the world of Seig¨¹es!


    The three evil gods wore solemn expressions and, almost simultaneously, tried to distance themselves from the portal to escape the domain¡¯s suppression.


    At that moment, a cold and lethargic voice suddenly echoed through the entire world underground:


    ¡°My demonic wolf has not fallen so low that anyone can easily bully him.¡±


    The voice seemed toe from the portal, both real yet illusory, as if it echoed from another world.


    Upon hearing it, gue Lord Ares¡¯s pupils immediately contracted:


    ¡°H!¡±


    <em>The Goddess of Death, H!</em>


    <em>It was definitely her voice!</em>


    As soon as she spoke, the gray portal shed with a profound light, and an awe-inspiring pressure descended upon the underground¡­


    Through the portal, everyone seemed to glimpse a sinister scythe.


    With a slight motion, the scythe emitted a ghostly glow that leaped across the void, through the portal, as it headed straight for the gue Lord!


    Upon seeing the ghostly glow, the gigantic skeletal face of Ares changed dramatically.


    He couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°T-The Death Scythe! You actually can now control the Death Scythe!¡±


    The Death Scythe, a divine artifact of great magnitude left behind by the prior original Death God after his demise.


    It is an artifact that could kill any enemy touched by it as long as the user¡¯s divine rank was higher than that of their opponent!


    This meant that even if an incarnation was in by it, the original body of that incarnation would also be affected, leading to their eternal slumber!


    However, the usage of this artifact was heavily restricted, as it was bound to the Netherworld and only those who had fully controlled the Netherworld could wield it.


    Yet now, H had used it from a distance!


    Realizing this, Ares turned and struggled to escape.


    However, the power of the Death Domain restricted his movements.


    To his further shock and anger, numerous vines also suddenly sprouted at his feet,pletely binding him in ce.


    Ares: ¡°¡­¡±


    Within Ares¡¯s terrified gaze, a ghostly glow struck the center of his forehead.


    Silence.


    There was no explosion of divine power.


    Nor there were any energy fluctuations either.


    The very moment the ghostly light passed through his body, the entire world seemed to fall dead silent.


    Then, a couple of secondster, the eyes of the giant skeletal face gradually lost their luster before suddenly crumbling into dust.


    Seeing this, the Fallen Angel Luria and the Queen of Pain Alyssa fell into silence.


    Then, without hesitation, they both chose to self-destruct their bodies on the spot, before fleeing the scene at the cost of their incarnations¡­


    Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>391</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DEATH SYTCHE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 392

    Chapter 392


    While mythical beings are a powerful existence, they too also cherish their lives.


    For them with evesting time and immortality, they can continue to exist as rulers of the naturalws in perpetuity just as long as they remain careful and avoid reckless actions.


    And this has been proven by countless fallen gods.


    Therefore, when both Fallen Angel Luria and the Queen of Pain Alyssa noticed that H had covertly deepened her control over the Netherworld to the extent that she could not only project part of her power by exploiting the rising tide of mana in Seig¨¹es along with the loosening of dimensional channels, but also take control of the Death¡¯s Scythe, a divine artifact that causes all gods below her rank to be wary¡ªthey made a decisive decision to quickly retreat.


    Of course, this was also because, despite being mythical beings, they were still currently at their weakest state, having just been recently awakened.


    During the thousand years when the mana reserves of Seig¨¹es had declined, the strength of these evil gods whilst hiding in the underground, all had their powers greatly diminished, with many even forced into deep slumber.


    However, even after being awakened by the recent resurgence of mana in Seig¨¹es, their strength is still far from being fully restored.


    Take the Fallen Angel Luria, for example.


    Although he was an evil god of meager divine power in his prime, his current strength might not even reach a quarter of what it once was, given that he has just awakened and still needs considerable time to fully recover.In such a situation, taking a hit from the Death¡¯s Scythe would inevitably greatly affect his true form, which would certainly spell disaster for the Fallen Angel.


    As such, these two evil gods decisively cut off their tails, so to speak for the sake of survival and chose to swiftly run away.


    In an instant, the mythical forces opposing the Demonic Wolf Fenrir and the Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦, were reduced to only the Seventh Demon God, Azazel, who had arrived in his true body.


    Seeing this sudden turn of events, Azazel showed a grim expression.


    His massive goat-like face, which were entirely made of mes, was filled with shock, suspicion, and fear.


    Though he possessed the ability to resurrect infinitely, it did not mean he was unafraid of death.


    Moreover, the entire process of resurrecting himself also requires some time.


    He had already been in slumber within his seal for so long, and now, just as the mana in the realm of Seig¨¹es was having a resurgence and various ancient beings were awakening one after another, the Seventh Demon Lord didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity by falling into slumber yet again!


    ¡ªThat¡¯s right, an opportunity.


    For mythical beings like him, the resurgence of mana in Seig¨¹es and the loosening of seals presented a chance for those who were sealed to regain their freedom.


    But it was also the most dangerous time for them as this was the period wherein recently awakened mythical beings like him were at their weakest and most prone to being befallen.


    For those with ambition, this time period was their chance to seize divine power and strength.


    Such as a certain World Tree, unwilling to reveal their identity.


    Thus, after witnessing the gue Lord being killed instantly and those two evil gods fleeing without hesitation, Azazel quickly retracted his magma and decided to retreat back underground, choosing to leave the battlefield.


    Luckily, he was fortunate enough that H did not obstruct his escape.


    The only one who reacted was the Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦.


    Seeing the situation, she used the Scepter of Life held in her hand to cast an iplete [Life Deprivation] spell, summoning a golden light that struck Azazel¡¯s head as it drained parts of his lifeforce while he retreated.


    With a muffled groan, Azazel gradually vanished from everyone¡¯s sight.


    He was injured.


    But he also managed to escape.


    No new attack emerged from the deep, grayish portal.


    After instantly killing gue Lord Ares, H did not pursue the other fleeing evil gods but instead focused her attention on the battlefield.


    The deep, gray portal flickered once more, and at the spot where the gue Lord¡¯s incarnation had died, a heavy book suddenly rose.


    It was the Book of the Dead that the Lich King used to control the undead army¡ªthe very source of his power that gave him the ability tomand the fallen undead and suppress the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s necromancy magic.


    The ominous book floated slowly into the air before finally being drawn into the gray portal, before disappearing from everyone¡¯s view.


    As for Lich King Perone, with him being absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the Goddess of Death, he could only watch helplessly as H effortlessly reimed the divine artifact given to him by the Lord of Darkness and Shadows.


    Yes, reimed.


    The Book of the Dead was originally one of the divine artifacts left behind by the former Primordial Death God, and reiming it was one of H¡¯s main objectives in this battle.


    So after the book was sefully recovered by her, the gray portal slowly vanished, and a sense of calmness finally returned to the battlefield.


    The only powerful beings left on the battlefield were the demonic wolf Fenrir and the goddess of life Ev¨¦, who did only a tiny bit of work and spent most of her time merely spectating and enjoying the show.


    As H¡¯s lingering power fully dissipated, Fenrir bowed respectfully to Ev¨¦.


    ¡°Your Grace, Eve, I thank thee for your assistance. s, I must quickly go reim the gue Lord¡¯s divinity before any other mythical beings get it, so I won¡¯t involved myself in whates next.¡±


    Ev¨¦ nodded slightly.


    Seeing her response, Fenrir let out a long howl and swiftly disappeared from the battlefield, heading toward the location where the gue Lord¡¯s true body resided.


    Just now, H¡¯s death scythe attack had crossed through the void of space, and not only did it directly killed the gue Lord¡¯s true form, but it also revealed his location.


    And naturally, the remains of gue Lord Ares was another of H¡¯s targets in this entire operation.


    With the death of Ares, his true body would inevitably leave behind his governing divinity, the Divinity of [gue] whichplemented H¡¯s own [Disease] divinity, thereby presenting her with an opportunity to perfect her iplete divinity.


    In fact, Ev¨¦ strongly suspected that the other two evil gods fled so quickly not just to escape the Goddess of Death¡¯s wrath but also to seize the gue Lord¡¯s divinity for themselves.


    As for why the Goddess of Death did not pursue Azazel¡­


    Ev¨¦ believed that, on one hand, there was no real need for H to do so, and on the other hand, she suspected that H, was likely too exhausted to continue after killing the gue Lord.


    It was evident that H had still not fully became the sole master of the Netherworld.


    Otherwise, the first to suffer would have been H?dur, the God of Darkness and Shadows.


    Hence, it was likely that the divine blood crystals Ev¨¦ had been supplying her all this time had partially empowered H, enabling her to wield the Death Scythe artifact and even project her divine power by exploiting the connections between the Netherworld and other realms.


    Such a feat was probably too difficult to perform more than once.


    And even if H could manage to perform such an attack once again, the God of Darkness and Shadows, H?dur, who also still dwelled within the Netherworld, would certainly not allow her to repeat such act once he realized what was happening.


    Therefore, ording to their previous agreement, dealing with the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel was still Ev¨¦¡¯s responsibility.


    And indeed, although Azazel had already fled, Ev¨¦ had no intention of letting him escape sessfully just like that.


    Her battle was just beginning.


    With a sweeping nce over the battlefield, Ev¨¦ then pursued Azazel, following the mark left by her earlier [Life Deprivation] attack upon his body.


    The battles between mythical beings started quickly and end just as fast.


    In the blink of an eye, the only forces left on the battlefield were thend armies of the two opposing alliances.


    Of course, by this time, the Dark Alliance¡¯s forces had suffered a crushing defeat due to the shes between the mythical beings, and they were now inplete disarray.


    As the various mythical gods departed and the overwhelming pressure they exuded had finally been lifted, the yers finally snapped out of their daze and began to react.


    Excitedly, they raised their weapons andunched attacks on the remaining Dark Alliance¡¯s forces.


    After all¡­ this was the perfect opportunity to kick someone when they¡¯re down and rack up some experience points!


    Their relentless, no-mercy approach to ughter the enemies left the soldiers of the Hermetic Alliancepletely stunned.


    ¡ª <strong>392</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ FOLLOW YOUR HEART</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 393

    Chapter 393


    Azazel fled swiftly.


    Whilst transforming into a pool of magma, he seeped through a fissure beneath the ground and descended into the secondyer of the underground, before continuing to escape towards even deeper regions.


    The reason he¡¯s escaping below is that the deeper he goes underground, the more hees into close proximity with the Abyss, and therefore, the nearer he is to the realm of Hell.


    Simply put, the closer he is to Hell, the more powerful Azazel bes.


    However, perhaps due to the urgency of his escape, Azazel still hadn¡¯t had time to cleanse off the Scepter of Life¡¯s tracing mark upon his body, which is why Ev¨¦ was able to quickly caught up to him by following this mark.


    Two mythical beings¡ªone in pursuit and the other on the run¡ªwreaked havoc throughout the underground, attracting the attention of countless mysterious entities.


    Their deadly game of cat and mouse continued until they passed through the secondyer and reached the deepest part of the thirdyer of the underground, where Azazel finally began showing signs of slowing down.


    By now, they were in the deepest part of Underdark.


    And because of this ce¡¯s close proximity with the Abyss, the mana essence here was far more chaotic than in other regions. Given the pervasiveva flow in the surroundings and the scarcity of food and water, it was nearly impossible for any ordinary creatures to survive in this environment.


    Only mad aberrations and a few magical beasts could exist here.


    But for Azazel, this ce sonewhat felt almostforting as if he was back in his home.


    He could feel a stronger than usual pull of the Abyss here, which, in turn, made his power gradually return.


    With a slight shake, he finally dispelled the tracing mark from his body with little effort before turning around to face Eve, who had caught up to him.


    The tension in Azazel¡¯s features eased, with his brow unfurrowing whilst his lips rxed into a calm expression.


    With a sneer, his huge ming goat head twisted into a mocking grin as he uttered,


    ¡°As expected of a newly ascended novice god, you actually dared to chase me all the way here.¡±


    At this moment, he didn¡¯t look injured at all!


    Clearly, this evil god had feigned being wounded, boring down into the ground when the Scepter of Life struck him earlier, all in order to lure his opponent here!


    In truth, Azazel hadn¡¯t expected his n to work so smoothly.


    Yet he understood why the other party had still followed him.


    For any true god rooted in the realm of Seig¨¹es, the appearance of one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell in their domain would be a total nightmare.


    Thus, given the chance to seal one, no god would refuse such an opportunity.


    Sealing one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell would not only protect the realm of Seig¨¹es from the corruption of the Abyss but would also bring immense prestige to a newly ascended god such as herself, thereby gaining the recognition of other deities!


    Azazel fully understood this, which is why he was confident that Ev¨¦ would pursue him.


    As for why the Goddess of Death hadn¡¯t joined her¡­


    To be honest, when the other party didn¡¯tunch a second attack, Azazel realized that perhaps a single strike from her Death Scythe was H¡¯s limit.


    Now, his only opponent left was the Goddess of Life.


    As he looked at Ev¨¦, a barely noticeable glint of greed shed within Azazel¡¯s fiery eyes.


    A novice god who have the Divinity of Life and Nature!


    Moreover, she even wields the divine artifact, Scepter of Life!


    Although Azazel had no direct need for the Divinity of Life and Nature, devouring the inherentws contained within it would greatly expedite his own recovery.


    After all¡­ even though his race was that of a me demon with the body of a goat-headed beast, it was still a form of life.


    And also getting the Scepter of Life would be an unexpected bonus.


    If he could consume the Goddess of Life¡¯s power, Azazel was confident he could instantly restore his strength back to its peak!


    In addition, if he could seize control of the Divinity of Life and Nature, he could then use itsws to corrupt other intelligent beings within realm of Seig¨¹es, making them more susceptible into falling into the Abyss!


    Thinking of this, Azazel¡¯s mood brightened.


    <em>What does the failure of the God of Darkness and Shadows¡¯ n have to do with him?</em>


    From the beginning, his only goal had been to fully restore his power all along.


    Azazel raised his hands high, andva in the entire area suddenly erupted as burning magma surged forth at hismand, quickly engulfing the region and transforming it into a sea of fire.


    At the same time, the power of corruption and evil force continue to emerge and begin to distort everything in its path¡­


    This was Azazel¡¯s Celestial Domain¡ªThe Corrupted Sea of Fire.


    As a fallen mythical being, Azazel possessed his own Celestial domain.


    However, just as a true god¡¯s power would significantly weaken in the Abyss, an evil god¡¯s domain is simrly suppressed outside the Abyss.


    While he is in Seig¨¹es, the domain Azazel could wield is a weaker version of itself.


    Still, against a newly ascended novice god who has yet to fully master their own Divinity, this level of strength was more than sufficient enough.


    Azazel might not be able to bind his opponent through divinews, but he could entrapped her here within the thirdyer of the underground.


    And then, eventually he could take his time dealing with her.


    Azazel¡¯s Domain Corrupted Sea of Fire quickly sealed the exit leading to the secondyer as malevolent and evil power continuously assaulted Eve¡¯s mind and drained her divine power, causing her to frown slightly.


    Yet despite this, she felt neither fear nor anger.


    To Azazel¡¯s surprise, though not entirely unexpected, Ev¨¦ performed an action that many other gods trapped in another¡¯s Celestial Domain would do¡ª


    She turned and ran.


    In an instant, their prior roles of cat and mouse reversed!


    Watching Ev¨¦ flee, Azazel¡¯s lips curled into a fiendish grin.


    Like a cat toying with a mouse, he blocked her escape route back to the surface world and chased after her¡­


    Ev¨¦ continued to flee towards the northeast direction.


    Meanwhile, Azazel followed closely behind her with a grin upon his face.


    He didn¡¯t directly attack but instead used the power of his Celestial Domain to relentlessly corrupt her.


    His n was to directly contaminate the other party¡¯s divinity with corruption, and then devour it in one fell swoop!


    Once again, the two engaged in a game of cat and mouse across the thirdyer of the underground.


    However, after fleeing for several hundred kilometers, the Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦, began to slow down.


    She suddenly stopped, turning to calmly face the approaching Azazel.


    The Domain, Corrupted Sea of Fire, still zed around Ev¨¦, with half of her body already turning ck, indicating a clear sign of the corruption taking hold.


    Seeing her in a weakened state, Azazel smiled faintly.


    ¡°Oh, why have you stopped? Weren¡¯t you enjoying our game of chase? Perhaps, have you finally run out of strength and decided to give up?¡±


    For the first time, Ev¨¦ spoke.


    ¡°No.¡±


    With a slight smile, she gently shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve simply arrived home.¡±


    With those words, and under Azazel¡¯s astonished gaze, her body suddenly radiated a green light, before transforming into a shower of luminous particles.


    In that exact moment, a powerful surge of lifeforce erupted all across their surroundings, instantly suppressing Azazel¡¯s Celestial Domain.


    At the same time, the surrounding area began to warp and distort, revealing a previously hidden region of space.


    In that instant, Azazel saw thick, gnarled roots winding through the ground one after another¡­


    Looking at it more closely, he eventually realized that it were the roots of the World Tree!


    With her true body being the World Tree, Eve¡¯s roots had long since reached the thirdyer of the underground.


    And as such, this particr area felt no different from the core region of the Elven Forest back at the surface.


    ¡ª <strong>393</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ROOTS OF THE WORLD TREE ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 394

    Chapter 394


    Sensing the overwhelming pressure around him, Azazel¡¯s me-imbued body wavered slightly.


    ¡°This is¡­a Celestial Domain!¡±


    A trace of astonishment flickered within his eyes.


    However, when Azazel realized that the source of this Domain actually came from the grotesque-looking roots before him, his astonishment quickly turned into shock:


    ¡°The World Tree!?¡±


    In the entire realm of Seig¨¹es, only the World Tree could possess roots of such vast scale, capable enough of prating even to such deep regions underground.


    Henceforth¡­


    Whilst feeling the potent lifeforce contained in those roots and sensing the ever-strengthening divine power within the surrounding area, as well as the omnipresent aura of life and nature infused within that divine power¡­


    Even someone as dull as Azazel finally understood who this existence he had encountered was.<em>The World Tree! </em>


    This is without a doubt, the power of the World Tree!


    Upon realizing who he was actually facing, Azazel didn¡¯t hesitate and he immediately decided to escape.


    <em>Are you kidding me?</em>


    He had only just awakened and barely regained the strength of a meager divine power.


    As such, facing a great ancient being of this magnitude at this moment would entirely be asinine and tantamount to courting death!


    Back when the gods had sealed him in the past, the most crucial step was actually performed by this very entity!


    Therefore, there was no doubt in his mind that the World Tree, which was naturally skilled in performing sealing magic, could imprison him once more right at this very moment!


    However, at the same time, a hint of doubt arose within Azazel¡¯s mind.


    Wasn¡¯t it said that during his time of imprisonment, the World Tree was attacked by the heavenly gods and eventually fell under their siege?


    If he remembered correctly, this news had actuallye from the Pantheon itself, so it couldn¡¯t have been false.


    <em>So¡­ what¡¯s the deal with the current situation?</em>


    <em>The World Tree actually did not fell like the news had proimed?</em>


    Azazel felt a bit confused.


    But soon, he noticed some strange things about this ¡®World Tree¡¯ he was currently facing.


    For one thing, its power seemed to have been greatly weakened, and if he were to make an rough estimate, its current strength was not even at the level of intermediate divine power.


    No¡­something about it is not adding up!


    He had encountered the World Tree in the past and personally witnessed how powerful it was. So from his understanding of its strength, this great entity would have been more than capable of handling all of them on its own and would not have needed the help of the Goddess of Death to deal with them back when they shed in the upperyers of the underground.


    Hence, it¡¯s very likely that the World Tree, like him, has only just recently awakened as well!


    Realizing this, Azazel¡¯s eyes considerably brightened.


    However, despite discovering that the World Tree was not as powerful as it was beforehand, Azazel still had no intention of directlypeting against it.


    <em>This was the World Tree!</em>


    <em>Even in its weakened state, it was still far stronger than he was!</em>


    <em>His only option would be to escape! </em>


    <em>Run!</em>


    As long as the World Tree¡¯s strength is not at its peak, there is still a chance he can get out of here!


    In an instant, Azazel transformed his body into moltenva and blended with the abundant magma in the surroundings of the third undergroundyer to slip away.


    s, the World Tree moved even quicker.


    A vast surge of divine power erupted from its coiled roots, which instantly enveloped the fleeing Azazel.


    With his escape being intercepted, the seventh demon lord was horrified to find that his Corrupted Sea of Fire Domain was utterly crushed by the World Tree in an instant¡­


    This was the difference between their respective Celestial Domains.


    As an evil god, although Azazel had tried his best to reach the bottomyer of the underground to be in close proximity to the abyss, his domain would always be suppressed and iplete as long as he did not enter the area that was fully eroded by the power of the Abyss.


    The World Tree, however, seemed to be different.


    Back when Azazel wasst sealed, he noticed that the World Tree seemed to have a strong resistance to the corruption of the Abyss.


    Not only that, but the closer they reach the bottom of the underground, the stronger the power of the World Tree actually bes.


    This is because the Provenance of Seig¨¹es is also hidden deep underground.


    So, in a sense, the World Tree, which is rooted deep in the realm of Seig¨¹es, bears some resemnce to the Seven Demon Lords that have merged with the Provenance of Hell, since just like them, the closer the World Tree is to the Provenance of Seig¨¹es, the more powerful it bes!


    <em>No good! </em>


    <em>Must escape! </em>


    <em>I have to escape at all cost! </em>


    <em>Otherwise, I¡¯ll be sealed again!</em>


    With a furious roar, Azazel decisively detonated his own divine power in an attempt to disrupt the other party¡¯s Celestial Domain.


    However, it seemed the World Tree had anticipated this action of his.


    The very instance Azazel detonated his divine power, the surrounding space suddenly distorted, and he was horrified to find himself trapped in an alternate sealed dimension¡­


    This was the alternate space Ev¨¦ used to hide her true form.


    At this moment, she repurposed it to imprisoned Azazel.


    From the very beginning, Ev¨¦ had never intended to capture Azazel using the power of her Celestial Domain alone.


    Instead, her real n was to use her domain to suppress him just long enough to transfer him into this alternate dimension!


    After all¡­ even demigod Volker almost managed to escape her Celestial Domain in a desperate attempt. With Azazel being a true mythical being, Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t willing to gamble on whether he possessed a simr escape method in his arsenal.


    Nheless, now that Azazel was sealed here, any chance of him escaping would be nearly impossible.


    This alternate space was entirely filled with Ev¨¦¡¯s own divine power, and once anyone was trapped inside, the only way out was to either kill Ev¨¦ or wait for the spatial portal to open; otherwise, escape was practically impossible.


    And since Ev¨¦ had regained her strength to the level of meager divine power, she didn¡¯t believe that a recently awakened and suppressed evil god could do anything to her.


    To put it bluntly, the method she employed was like sealing both herself and her opponent together, which a method far more crude but way easier to execute than a typical sealing spell.


    Azazel also figured this out rather quickly, as it was evident from his expression, which had turned grim.


    He attempted to teleport himself out, but under the suppression of the other party¡¯s domain, all his efforts inevitably failed¡­


    He then tried to use his divine power to forcefully break through the confined space, but it didn¡¯t have any slightest effect¡­


    ¡°Yggdrasill! It was like this thousands of years ago, and it¡¯s still like this now! Do you really enjoy sealing me so much?! Even to the extent of sealing yourself along with me?¡±


    Azazel roared in frustration.


    However, Ev¨¦ hadpletely ignored him.


    <em>Sealing herself as well? </em>


    <em>¡ªNo.</em>


    She was simply creating an opportunity.


    The World Tree¡¯s roots suddenly began to wriggle, and a couple of secondster, they brought back another figure from the ground.


    It was the shadow dragon, Darkness, who was tightly bound by numerous vines, whilst his face disyed a mixture of confusion and terror.


    At that moment, Darkness, this unfortunate fellow, had his power suppressed all the way down to the golden-rank.


    After being imprisoned within Eve¡¯s Celestial domain, he was entirely cut off from his connection with his master, H?dur.


    And the very moment Azazelid eyes upon the unfortunate dragon, he soon witnessed a horrifying scene¡ª


    The thick roots of the World Tree seemed toe to life on their own as they rapidly grew like tentacles, writhing and extending toward Darkness, who was sealed by the artifact, Withering Heart¡­


    Then, in a manner akin to burrowing into soil, these numerous roots pierced through Darkness¡¯s body as if they were part of the natural order, merging with him in a sort of grotesque embrace.


    Amidst the shadow dragon¡¯s agonizing roars, Azazel horrifyingly saw the power contained within Darkness being rapidly drained by the World Tree¡¯s roots.


    In just a matter of seconds, the unfortunate shadow dragon was reduced to a mere withered husk of his former self as his entire being crumbled before turning into ashes.


    As Azazel witnessed the horrific scene unfold, terror washed over his face, only to give way to a growing sense of bewilderment.


    <em>The World Tree¡­ is actually devouring Darkness¡¯s power?</em>


    <em>W-Who exactly is the evil god here?</em>


    ¡ª <strong>394</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 395

    Chapter 395


    The World Tree, which is known for its love of life, nature, and advocacy for peace, was actually devouring the powers of other beings?


    And it wasn¡¯t just some run-of-the-mill evil god it was devouring, but actually a high ranking malevolent shadow creature serving under H?dur, the God of Darkness and Shadows!


    At that moment, Azazel thought back to those peculiar elves¡ªthose merciless killers of the battlefield who reveled in the thrill of ughter and were even more crazier than his own worshippers.


    The World Tree that devours the powers of others¡­


    As well as, it¡¯s elven followers that revel in the profane act of murder¡­


    Azazel was left throughly bewildered.


    ¡­<em>What happened while I was slumbering? </em>


    Though he was lost in his confusion, the World Tree didn¡¯t stop its actions.


    After devouring the power of Darkness, its grotesque tentacle-like roots now turned towards him.Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    At that moment, he finally realized the World Tree¡¯s real purpose was for ensnaring him in this sealed alternate space.


    It wasn¡¯t actually nning to seal him but rather, it intended to consume his power instead!


    The World Tree had only just recently reawakened, and it likely wanted to quickly regain its strength by devouring the power of other beings.


    Realizing this, Azazel¡¯s expression grew grim.


    Although he wasn¡¯t afraid of death, he certainly didn¡¯t want to fall in such a humiliating and miserable manner!


    With a furious roar, he tried to implode all the divine power left within his body in one final explosion, with the intention of dragging down the World Tree along with him.


    Yet before he could act upon it, a crimson light swiftly shot towards him.


    <em>The Withering Heart!</em>


    Azazel was horrified.


    Afterpletely devouring the Shadow Dragon, this divine artifact was once again able to seal new targets. It needed plenty of lifeforce to be used, but with the World Tree controlling the Divinity of Life, infusing this ominous artifact with lifeforce was a trivial task.


    The artifact¡¯s crimson light reached Azazel in an instant.


    And with him being suppressed by the World Tree¡¯s Celestial Domain, Azazel was unable to escape its attack range effectively.


    Thus, the Seventh Demon Lord could only watch as the ominous light directly pierced into his body, causing his power to plummet almost immediately.


    In just a span of seconds, Azazel¡¯s strength fell from meager divine power to demigod, and then from demigod to the peak of the legendary-rank¡­


    Although his divine essence still remained within him and his strength had not fully weakened yet, it felt as though a shackle had been ced upon him, rendering Azazel unable to use any kind of spells.


    At the same time, the roots of the World Tree began to move once more as they pierced Azazel¡¯s body in the same manner as they had done with Darkness.


    The mind-crushing pain that seemed to reach deeply into his very own soul made Azazel let out a low grunt.


    Then, as each roots prated more into his body, Azazel felt his stored power rapidly draining away, with his divine power being sucked out at an rming rate.


    His aura dropped at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.


    In just a few minutes, almost all of Azazel¡¯s divine power had been devoured, leaving him on the brink of death¡­


    For a moment, the face of the unfortunate Seventh Demon Lord turned utterly pale.


    He was finished.


    This time, he was definitely finished.


    As he took a deep breath, Azazel¡¯s expression gradually turned nk and numb.


    With the little strength he had left, he merely gazed at the thick roots around him as the mes on his body gradually faded.


    ¡°Just kill me.¡±


    Azazel said tly.


    Yet the World Tree¡¯s roots did not react at all.


    ¡°Kill me¡­¡±


    He repeated.


    Nothing happened for a couple of minutes, but then a soft sigh reverberated through the surroundings as a cluster of radiant particles began to gather and coalesce before him.


    Azazel squinted his eyes, and soon the light particles transformed into a graceful feminine figure right before him.


    The figure possessed silvery hair, amethyst eyes, and an astonishingly beautiful appearance.


    It was the very same figure that Azazel had been chasing earlier¡ªEv¨¦, the so-called new goddess of life, who was supposedly a subordinate of the Goddess of Death, H.


    Of course, by now he already realized that it was all a facade.


    This entity was clearly an incarnation of the World Tree, Yggdrasill!


    And that old ancient being, who had lived for several epochs, had probably already allied with H for a long time!


    Azazel lifted his head and met her deep gaze.


    Her violet eyes held a hint of amusement as she spoke,


    ¡°Kill you? So that when you ressurect, you can spread the news of the World Tree¡¯s revival to everyone?¡±


    Eve¡¯s clear and melodious voice carried a touch of mockery within her tone.


    Ev¨¦ had no intention of killing this Seventh Demon Lord.


    Although these so-called Seven Lords of Hell could revive themselves infinitely, its overall process takes some considerable time.


    Moreover, the more thorough the death they suffered, the longer the revival process would be.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean their consciousness wouldpletely slumber before they couldplete their full revival.


    For a mythical being like Azazel, sending a message was not difficult at all.


    Ev¨¦ believed that if she truly devoured Azazel here, everyone would definitely know about the World Tree¡¯s return in the next instant.


    Therefore, this Seventh Demon Lord couldn¡¯t be allowed to die at all!


    In fact, using the Withering Heart to seal his power wasn¡¯t just about imprisoning him; it was also a measure to stop Azazel from taking his own life.


    In addition, fully devouring Azazel was a one-time deal, something Ev¨¦ wasn¡¯t interested in.


    Instead, a slow but consistent steady gains were far more appealing for her.


    As a matter of fact, even before imprisoning Azazel, Ev¨¦ had already been contemting on how to effectively utilize his power once she had captured him.


    After all, his ability to infinitely revive himself was indeed a kind of broken, cheat-like skill.


    In a way, Azazel was like a living, breathing, demonic perpetual motion machine.


    s, he could only be ressurected in Hell and couldn¡¯t be controlled by Ev¨¦.


    However, over these past few days, Ev¨¦ had obtained a considerable amount of information about the Seven Demon Lords of Hell through H, and after studying the inheritance left by the previous World Tree, she had made a new discovery.


    Based on her findings, it turns out that when these Seven Demon Lords of Hell were sealed, the usual protocol was to beat them halfway to death first to prevent them from escaping.


    But no matter how badly they were beaten, they seemed to always remained conscious during the whole sealing process, unlike other mythical beings, who would usually fall into slumber once their power weakened to a certain extent.


    And this observation¡­ gave Ev¨¦ a vague idea.


    She suspected that the rtionship between the Seven Demon Lords and the realm of Hell was much more intricate than simply enabling them to revive endlessly.


    Perhaps this whole infinite revival mechanism they have would passively activate when their power had diminished to the point of near-death.


    In other words, while other mythical beings might fall into slumber due to their power being insufficient enough to sustain their consciousness, these Seven Demon Lords of Hell seemed to have the passive ability to draw power from Hell to replenish the minimal energy they need to maintain their consciousness once they are on the brink of dying.


    This meant that they could, in theory, continuously acquire power from hell while they were in a stable state of near-death.


    Henceforth, from this understanding¡­


    If she sealed most of Azazel¡¯s power, beat him close to the brink of death without actually killing him, and then keeps absorbing the power of Hell he keeps passively acquiring while being in this continuous near death-state, then wouldn¡¯t she be able to essentially create a perpetual power ¡°generator¡± free of charge?


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    Hmm, this is definitely a great idea and is certainly worth looking into.


    Moreover, even if this perpetual power generator idea of hers isn¡¯t really feasible in the end, a stripped-down version of it would still be sufficient enough for her!


    ¡ª <strong>3</strong>95 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ JUST KILL ME</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 396

    Chapter 396


    Ev¨¦ quickly put her n into action.


    She began to continually absorb Azazel¡¯s divine power, carefully controlling the amount siphoned to avoid draining himpletely while closely monitoring his condition.


    So as Ev¨¦ siphoned more of Azazel¡¯s power, his divine energy rapidly declined to a dangerously low level.


    However, just as his power was about to drop below the threshold needed to sustain his consciousness, something unexpected happened that brought Ev¨¦ a spark of delight.


    She clearly sensed an extraneous energy bursting forth from within Azazel, which had never been there before. Ev¨¦ then carefully observed as this energy replenished the Seventh Demon Lord¡¯s divine power reserves to the minimum level required to maintain his consciousness.


    After examining this external energy, she was certain that this deep, frenzied, chaotic, and malevolent force was undeniably the power of the Abyss.


    Eve¡¯s eyes lit up in jubtion.


    <em>Her idea really worked! </em>


    However, she also noticed that although the rate at which this energy was being replenished was stable, it wasn¡¯t really that fast.She then performed a few experiments, but regardless of whether Ev¨¦ slowed down or sped up her absorption, Azazel¡¯s recovery rate constantly remained unchanged.


    Moreover, once his power reserves reached the bare minimum level needed to sustain his consciousness, his passive replenishment ability would immediately stop.


    Hence, after conducting these experiments, Ev¨¦ finally gained a rough understanding of the mechanism behind Azazel¡¯s passive energy restoration.


    To summarize her findings, Azazel does indeed have the passive ability to get external power from Hell to stabilize his dying condition, but it isn¡¯t perfect and had its own set of limitations.


    If Ev¨¦ absorbed too much of it too quickly, even a slight misstep could potentially result in his death.


    In other words, if she wanted to continually draw power from Hell in this manner, she had to control the rate of absorption and avoid going too fast.


    s, this brings some unfortunate news for Azazel, as it would mean that he would be forced to hover on the brink of death continously for her whole idea to be feasible.


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ began to devise a n for dealing with Azazel from this point forward.


    <em>¡°Using his passive ability to augment my divine power is a slow but steady long-term endeavor. But as long as I suppress his strength, I¡¯m confident that I can continue this whole operation for almost an indefinite amount of time¡­¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Nheless, my devouring ability is just too powerful. If I do it myself, that means I¡¯ll have to constantly monitor Azazel¡¯s condition to ensure that I don¡¯t identally kill him¡­¡±</em>


    <em>¡°However, I really don¡¯t want to devote much of my time to this whole operation, considering his recovery rate is very slow. It just isn¡¯t worth it, and I might as well focus on finding more evil gods instead.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Additionally, directly absorbing Azazel¡¯s power myself feels like an overall waste of my time. Furthermore, simply treating him as a mere perpetual power generator seems like not using him effectively.¡±</em>


    Ev¨¦ eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms and rhythmically tapped her fingers.


    <em>¡°Hmm, perhaps I don¡¯t need to do it myself and I could just delegate this task to the yers instead¡­¡±</em>


    Her fingers then paused, before resting it thoughtfully beneath her chin, while a glimmer of inspiration danced upon her eyes.


    <em>¡°Maybe I could use Azazel as a conduit to create a dungeon for the yers to grind their levels on!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Each of these yers have the skill [War Sacrifice] which is essentially an extension of my absorption ability.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°And with the yers¡¯ limited strength, they are unlikely to fully bring Azazel to his death.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°In this manner, I no longer had to do all the work of directly absorbing his power myself since I could delegate it through the yers instead. At the same time, it could boost their strength and improve their teamwork andbat skills, while also enhancing their overall gaming experience!¡±</em>


    With this sudden brilliant idea of hers, which was like hitting three birds with one stone, Ev¨¦ happily nced at Azazel.


    Seeing how her lips curved in a sinister fashion, Azazel shuddered under her subtly glowing gaze and angrily eximed:


    ¡°Y-Yggdrasill! If you¡¯re going to seal me, then just do it! I¡¯ll wholeheartedly ept it, just give me a quick death!¡±


    Looking at the enraged Seventh Demon Lord and sensing the humiliation and despair within his emotions, Ev¨¦ fell into further contemtion:


    <em>¡°Hmm¡­¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I need to find a way to prevent him frommitting suicide.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Hmm, maybe I should use the Withering Heart to apply a deep seal on him.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Come to think of it¡­ While the World Tree¡¯s inheritance contains plenty of sealing techniques, I don¡¯t have much hands-on experience with any of them.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Perfect! This is the best opportunity to hone my sealing spells!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Hmm, oh right. To make Azazel the perfect dungeon boss, I need to silence himpletely. I can¡¯t be too cautious since his ability to corrupt minds makes him far too dangerous otherwise.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Alright, now that¡¯s settled. I¡¯ll carefully n this out and create a new dungeon!¡±</em>


    It didn¡¯t take long for Ev¨¦ to envision a bright future for Azazel, as the final boss of her new dungeon.


    With a wave of her hand, she put the imprisoned Azazel away and turned her attention to checking her own status screen:


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient God)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Status</strong>: Meager Divine Power¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Titles</strong>: Goddess of Life, Mother of Nature, Matriarch of Elves¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Power</strong>: 6532/10000¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of Followers</strong>: 2175 (1 Saint, 108 Zealots, 649 Devout Believers, 1387 Shallow Believers)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Bestowal, Enlighten, Heal, Summon, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Artifacts</strong>: Withering Heart (Iplete), Scepter of Life (Iplete)¡¿


    Using her [Absorption] ability to devour the power of other mythical beings is indeed the fastest way to umte divine power.


    Absorbing both the powers of the Shadow Dragon, Darkness, and the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel, brought Ev¨¦ quite a few surprises.


    The former provided nearly 300 points of divine power, while thetter gave her over 2,000 points in one go!


    Surely, considering he had just awoken, attaining such strength was no easy feat for Azazel to recover to this level of power.


    Who knows how many blood sacrifices he had secretly epted from his believers over the years to gain such a thing.


    Now, it will be the other way around, as the yers will gradually harvest his power from now on.


    Feeling the abundant divine power within her, Ev¨¦ felt quite pleased with herself.


    In addition to the sudden increase of nearly one-third of her overall divine power, the number of believers she has now also changed significantly.


    Thanks to the activities the Oakhand Group have been doing all around the Holy Maniya Empire, Ev¨¦ had been constantly receiving new power of faith for almost every day over the past few months.


    Among them, most, as expected, came from elves, while a few were from half-elves. However, what surprised Ev¨¦ the most was that even some humans that¡¯s supporting the Oakhand organization held some semnce of faith towards her.


    Of course, it was partly due to the fact that Ev¨¦ had now created a new public persona for herself.


    Nowadays, people no longer think of the World Tree when they think of her, but rather the Goddess of Life instead.


    Only those believers who return to the Elven Forest will have a chance to learn the actual truth.


    While this is overall a good thing, Ev¨¦ also sees a new potential downside to it:


    ¡°The sudden increase in my believers is certainly a good thing, but it also means that the chances of my real identity being exposed are now much higher than it was before¡­¡±


    ¡°Especially now that I¡¯ve made quite a stir here in the Underground under the persona of the Goddess of Life. Chances are, my name will likely spread throughout thend of Seig¨¹es.¡±


    ¡°With the steady increase in my new believerstely, it¡¯s only a matter of time before many other mythical beings be curious about me. Sigh, I¡¯ll need to be even more cautious in keeping my secrets from now on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided, only the elves who decided to return to the Elven Forest and settle there for a considerable amount of time shall be granted the chance to learn about the real truth regarding the World Tree from now on.¡±


    ¡°As for the elves who n to leave after returning, they must first swear a soul-binding oath to keep the secret of the World Tree before I let them.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll leave this task to Alice. Given the elves¡¯ devotion, they¡¯ll surely cooperate without question.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>396</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ AZAZEL THE PERPETUAL</strong><strong>POWER</strong><strong>GENERATOR</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 397

    Chapter 397


    In the realm of Seig¨¹es wherein Deities essentially control everything, warfare is often serves as an extension of conflicts of interest, typically grounded in matters of each God¡¯s respective faith.


    The war fought underground was no exception.


    When Darkness, the Shadow Dragon representing the God of Darkness and Shadows, was defeated, and Ares, the gue Lord backing the Dark Alliance, was in, the war was effectively over.


    Nevertheless, H?dur and H did notpletely sever their ties or engage in a full-scale war since, although H?dur had suffered some setbacks, he still retained the ability to summon new envoy demigods.


    Whereas, H, who had been secluded in the Netherworld, disyed formidable power, but it was evident that her strength held some significant limitations.


    Moreover, the Goddess of Death needed time to absorb the divinity she had received from the gue Lord through Fenrir, the demonic wolf, and to further develop her control over the Law of Diseases.


    As such, given these circumstances, neither side had the confidence topletely crush the other, and both unterally decided that continuing the war seemed rather moot and pointless.


    Thus, the Dark Alliance and Hermetic Alliance subsequently reached a rather peculiar form of peace treaty.


    Of course, it cannot be denied that the Dark Alliance was on the losing end of the war¡ªor more urately, their Patron Deity, the God of Darkness and Shadows, H?dur.He lost one of his demigod-ss followers, along with the divine artifact¡ªthe Book of the Dead, which can control the undead.


    And to add insult to injury, H?dur had even witnessed the death of one of his evil god allies, while another demon lord friend of his was also re-sealed by some novice deity.


    In short, for the God of Darkness and Shadows, it was aplete defeat.


    His believers, the Dark Alliance, also paid a steep price.


    Theirnd army was nearly annihted, with only the Lich King Peronne barely managing to escape alongside a few remaining troops.


    Not only that but to secure a ceasefire, they ultimately had to relinquish their control over the city-state of Shanathar and pay a substantial war reparations to the Hermetic Alliance and their allies, the elven mercenaries.


    Additionally, the two sides finally agreed to officially divide their territories, with the Dark Alliance formally recognizing the Hermetic Alliance¡¯s authority over the northern part of the western underground region.


    Indeed, formally recognizing it.


    Although the Hermetic Alliance had existed for many years, the Dark Alliance had never acknowledged their authority even once beforehand.


    This was simply because the Hermetic Alliance was originally a part of the Dark Alliance, and it was only when Fenrir, the demonic wolf, and a small group of worshippers of the Goddess of Death decided to part ways and poached some of the Dark Alliance¡¯s members that the Hermetic Alliance eventually emerged as a separate entity.


    Therefore, after their betrayal, the higher-ups of the Dark Alliance did not even dare to openly acknowledge them.


    At this stage in the war, not everyone in the Hermetic Alliance wanted to cease fighting; some were even contemtingunching a counterattack operation against the Dark Alliance to expand their territory further.


    However, each respective Patron God on both sides simultaneously issued oracles that mandated the cessation of the war.


    Some high-ranking members of the Hermetic Alliance were naturally disappointed by this, but they understood that this was not just a simple war of mortals but also a conflict of faith between Gods.


    s, since the oracles had already been issued, they had no choice but to ept the oue, despite their inherent regret.


    Nevertheless, while the Hermetic members had somehow epted the decision of their Deities, many yers were left dissatisfied with this oue.


    In their minds, although the war had ended, many yers are still unsatisfied and felt caught off guard by such an abrupt conclusion of the war.


    After all, they had been eagerly anticipating the eventual retaking of the city-state of Shanathar, which, in their minds, could possibly have been an event wherein a massive battle involving tens of thousands of participants would happen!


    Just thinking about such a massive event thrilled lots of people!


    Hell, some content creators had already nned their next video around this supposed uing siege.


    Furthermore, the guilds Moe Moe Committee and Heart of Nature had even already begun preparing siege equipment in preparation for this anticipated battle, ensuring they would be ready for the uing conflict.


    But in the end, the enemy simply surrendered just like that¡­


    To say that the yers were left disappointed would be an understatement.


    However, with her being allied with the Goddess of Death, Ev¨¦ was naturally privy to some confidential information not known by the general public.


    In truth, H wasn¡¯t entirely opposed to continuing the war and expanding her influence in the underground region, but the current timing of events wasn¡¯t the right time for her topletely sever her ties with H?dur.


    And although Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know the specifics details, it was rather clear that using the artifact, Scythe of Death had cost H something¡­


    Hence at the moment, she needed time to recover.


    As for H?dur¡­


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t believe that a seasoned Ancient God like him, who had lived through several eras, would sit idly by waiting for his demise.


    Surely, despite suffering such considerable losses, he still must have had a few aces up his sleeve.


    Both sides were essentially wary of each other that they still hadn¡¯t revealed the full scope of their powers and had their own concerns as well.


    Therefore, the war that had raged in the underground for several months came to such an abrupt end.


    However, everyone there knew that this wasn¡¯t true peace¡ªjust merely a temporary ceasefire for the time being.


    This war of faith had fully exposed the conflict between the two opposing Gods of the Netherworld.


    One was the nominal ruler of the Netherworld, holding the rightful title and authority that came with it, whereas the other harbored ambitions to rece her and im that position of power for himself.


    True peace could only be achieved if one side was defeated or chose to surrender, as the conflict had escted to a point wherepromise was no longer possible.


    However, H had already aplished one of her objectives.


    She had solidified her power, intimidated other entities lurking within the underground, and reimed the Book of the Death along with the Divinity of gues.


    It was a resounding victory for the Goddess of Death.


    And as Ev¨¦ was her ally, she also naturally reaped significant rewards. Her own strength had increased, and the yers¡¯bat power and cohesion had further improved.


    However, despite gaining such rewards, Ev¨¦ was still somewhat disappointed because she hadn¡¯t managed to seize any divine artifact from either the Shadow Dragon, Darkness, or the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel.


    But in hindsight, it wasn¡¯t really surprising.


    As a shadow creature and a dragon, Darkness had no need for such external tools.


    But as for Azazel¡­


    Ev¨¦ pondered over it and concluded that either this Seventh Demon Lord had left his artifacts in Hell, or he had died so many times at this point that his umted possessions were already been plundered by other mythical beings that managed to kill him.


    What a truly unfortunate fellow¡­


    And now this poor guy even has fallen into her hands.


    Ev¨¦ silently lit a candle for him within her heart.


    The underground war had finally ended.


    In the aftermath, news of the battle involving numerous divine beings in the Holy City of Itkazar soon spread across thend of Seig¨¹es.


    Evidently, the conflict between the two high-ranking gods of the Netherworld had further escted, with H seizing control of the Scythe of Death and using it to kill the Lord of uges, Ares.


    This revtion shook nearly all the gods, with many mythical beings turning their attention to the Netherworld and the underground.


    Even Ev¨¦, the new Goddess of Life, drew considerable attention.


    But this was actually a good thing.


    With this kind of exposure, Ev¨¦¡¯s public persona as the Goddess of Life was now being firmly established.


    This turn of events even provided her with a reasonable excuse that could exin the yers¡¯ identities.


    After all, a deity that¡¯s allied with the Goddess of Death and wielding the Scepter of Life would naturally have the power to create some rather strange elves, right?


    In any case, Ev¨¦ felt very satisfied with this oue.


    She distributed the promised rewards for the underground war to the yers through the system.


    After receiving their rewards, the yers dispersed, eager to gain more experience, contributions, and climb the leaderboards¡ªall in pursuit of the coveted advancement promotion slots atst.


    Then as time went on, October 1st finally arrived back on Earth.


    While this day might just be a normal holiday for most people, for the yers, it marked the eagerly awaited release date of the new version update of Elven Kingdom.


    ¡ª <strong>397</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ END OF THE WAR</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 398

    Chapter 398


    Morning of September 30th, Imperial Capital Airport.


    A young woman, carrying several bags, walked into the airport¡¯s departure lounge.


    She appeared to be in her early twenties, with fair skin and a tall, slender figure, entuated by a pair of strikingly long legs.


    As she hurriedly jogged along forward, she called then out over her shoulder:


    ¡°Su Yuan, hurry up! we¡¯ll miss our flight if we¡¯re anyter!¡±


    Following behind her was another young woman of a simr age.


    The girl, who was on the shorter side, had a bob haircut, a sweet and adorable face, and a small tuft of hair sticking up atop her head.


    Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she panted as she ran whilstining in a yful, whining tone,


    ¡°Haah, s-slow down¡­ I don¡¯t have long legs like you, I can¡¯t run that fast you know¡­¡±Hearing this, Zhou Menghan turned her head and shot her friend an annoyed re.


    ¡°Who told you to stay up sote ying gamesst night, anyways? And if you did, why didn¡¯t you just sleep within the game? You knew we had to leave today! Good thing I came to the capital to find you, or else would you have kept grinding until tomorrow and skipped our meetup altogether?¡±


    Su Yuan merely yawned in response.


    ¡°Haah¡­ Didn¡¯t they say that recently, there¡¯s this superstition that if you y games while sleeping, it¡¯s harder to draw a spot for the job advancement? So I figured I¡¯d just drink more coffee and stay awake to try it out myself¡­¡±


    Hearing this, Zhou Menghan was left speechless.


    It was a surprisingly convincing reason, especially since Su Yuan was one of the lucky few yers who had actually managed to secure a spot for the job advancement promotion early on.


    ¡°So, did you get it?¡±


    Zhou Menghan asked.


    Su Yuan perked up and shed a victorious smile, all the while holding up two fingers in a peace sign.


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    Zhou Menghan gave her friend a surprised look and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Not bad. Not many yers from the fourth-beta managed to get it.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, of course! Who do you think I am? I¡¯m a devoted follower of the Goddess! She¡¯s definitely watching over me, making sure I got the advanced job promotion! Hehehe, now I won¡¯t fall behind you! Just give it some time, and I¡¯ll be a high-level yer too just like you!¡±


    Su Yuan replied, her hands firmly on her hips and chest thrust forward, with a proud gleam in her eyes.


    Seeing her friend¡¯s antics, Zhou Menghan couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes.


    ¡°Come on, enough showing off, or we¡¯re actually going to miss the flight!¡±


    ¡°Well, if we miss it¡­then we can just book another one¡­you know?¡±


    ¡°Get lost! I¡¯m not as rich as you!¡±


    Zhou Menghan retorted.


    Later that afternoon, at Yaodu Southern Station.


    The standard, melodious announcements flowed through the air, echoing lightly above the constant hum of voices.


    Every so often, a sharp train whistle would cut through the noise, punctuating the atmosphere with a sense of urgency.


    The myriad of sounds¡ªchatter, footsteps, whistles¡ªcreated a lively symphony that filled the station, making it feel like a living, breathing entity pulsing with the anticipation of countless journeys.


    As the economic hub of the southern region, Yaodu¡¯s train station were always bustling, full of energy and vibrancy.


    Meanwhile, at tform 8, a young man in his early twenties, wearing a denim jacket, walked out of the train car.


    He had a sturdy build, a fresh haircut, and an average-looking face with a slightly round chin.


    He stood still for a couple of seconds to check his surroundings before moving forward as he pulled along a medium-sized roller suitcase.


    Although he looked a bit tired, with red-rimmed eyes, his spirits seemed high, and he appeared to be in a good mood.


    Whilst ncing at therge sign that read ¡°Wee to Yaodu,¡± he let out a long yawn before breaking into a bright smile.


    ¡°Whew, I¡¯ve finally arrived,¡±


    He murmured in a voice filled with joy and a hint of nervous anticipation.


    He nced around once more before deciding to head toward a nearby restroom, dragging his suitcase behind him.


    After a brief stop at the aisle, he stood before the mirror at the sink, carefully tidying up his appearance.


    <em>Hair style, perfect.</em>


    <em>Smile, perfect.</em>


    <em>Clothes¡­.ehh, seems fine enough.</em>


    The only thing that bothered him was his slightly bulging stomach, which he couldn¡¯t quite hide despite wearing a loose sweatshirt.


    ¡°This should still be presentable enough, right?¡±


    He rhetorically mumbled to himself.


    ¡°But the weather is a bit too hot for my liking. I didn¡¯t expect Yaodu to be this scorching¡ªsigh, I definitely dressed too warmly.¡±


    He tugged at his denim jacket, recalling the sudden wave of heat that hit him as soon as he got off the train.


    He really wanted to take it off but ultimately decided against it. Shaking his head in resignation, he knew that this jacket was the only item in his wardrobe that made him look slimmer.


    Whilst touching his protruding belly, the man sighed with a tinge of regret.


    ¡°I need to lose weight. I¡¯ve only been in college for a short time, and my once six-pack abs have now be just one big piece¡­¡±


    ¡°Li Mu, you bastard,¡± he muttered to his reflection in the mirror, ¡°once this trip is over, you better start running and working out, you hear me? Even your usually apathetic dad noticed you¡¯ve gained some weight when you went home for the Mid-Autumn Festival yesterday. You¡¯ll definitely never gonna find a girlfriend if you don¡¯t lose some pounds soon¡­¡±


    He then let out a deep sigh and turned on the faucet, letting the cold water ssh over his face.


    ¡°Ugh, even though I¡¯ve made plenty of videos online, actually meeting people in real life like this still makes me nervous. Especially when there are supposed to be quite a few female yersing this time¡­¡±


    He murmured to himself, trying to boost his spirits by pinching his thigh as he attempted to snap out of it.


    ¡°Focus! You¡¯re here to meet the people you¡¯re acquainted with, not to flirt and pick up girls!¡± he reminded himself with a rueful chuckle.


    With a renewed sense of purpose, he picked up his suitcase, opened his phone, and spoke directly close into it:


    ¡°Xiao E, Xiao E, navigate me to Tianchen Grand Hotel.¡±


    In Yaodu¡¯s Xinghe District, inside a three-story vi with a Western design¡­


    ¡°Aunt Liu! Aunt Liu! How does this outfit look on me?¡±


    In front of a luxurious full-length mirror, a girl who appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen held up a purple dress, eagerly looking at the middle-aged woman behind her.


    The woman, known as Aunt Liu, furrowed her brows slightly.


    ¡°Guoguo, don¡¯t you think this dress makes you look a bit too mature?¡±


    Hearing this, the girl pouted, then grinned,


    ¡°That¡¯s the whole point! With me being the president, I need to look like I¡¯m in charge!¡±


    Aunt Liu hesitated for a moment, then sighed.


    ¡°If you want to appear more mature, you might want to change your hairstyle and put on a little makeup.¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and she quickly sat down at the vanity table.


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Please, Auntie Liu, help me fix up my look! I need to at least look like an adult!¡±


    Seeing her niece¡¯s eagerness, Aunt Liu nodded with a resigned smile and began working on the girl¡¯s hair.


    ¡°By the way, have the preparations at the hotel been finished? There are a lot of peopleing this time,¡± the girl asked.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve heard no problem so far.¡±


    Aunt Liu nodded.


    After a brief pause, she added, ¡°One more thing¡­ Guoguo, I need to remind you that while it¡¯s fine to host events at the hotel since it¡¯s part of our household¡¯spany, you still need to be mindful of the expenses¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Auntie Liu. This offline event for our game only covers part of the attendees¡¯ costs. Most people are just getting a small discount,¡± the girl exined, counting on her fingers.


    She then squinted slightly and added, ¡°Besides, if you really think about it, with the number of people attending, I¡¯ve already calcted that the hotel will still make a profit overall! I¡¯m even considering making these meetups a regr thing. Don¡¯t worry, the hotel won¡¯t lose money, I promise.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not some spoiled rich brat who can¡¯t budget. I know how to manage my finances. Even in the game, while I spent a lot of pocket money at first, I¡¯ve cut back on asking for money, you know?¡±


    Aunt Liu finally nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.


    ¡°Well, as long as you know what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    Just then, a melodious ringtone filled the room¡ªa tune the girl had set as her favorite piece of background music from the game.


    She picked up her phone from the table, with her eyes immediately lighting up upon seeing the caller ID.


    Excitedly answering the call, she sweetly said, ¡°Hello, Sister Birdy, it¡¯s Miao Miao!¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re already here? Where are you? I¡¯lle get you right away!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>398</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ OFFLINE</strong><strong>MEETUP</strong> (PART ONE) ¡¿ <hr>


    The Chinese word ¡°<strong>¹û¹û</strong>¡± (gu¨¯ gu¨¯) is often used as a nickname or term of endearment, and it can mean ¡°fruit¡± or ¡°sweet¡± in a yful or affectionate context. It doesn¡¯t have a specific, widely recognized meaning on its own but is used more for its sound and charm in names or informal settings.<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 399

    Chapter 399


    Recently, the yers of Elven Kingdom have been enamored by two major events.


    The first is the announcement that the Elven Kingdom will implement a new version update precisely at noon on October 1st, during which a select group of lucky yers will have the opportunity to advance their jobss to Silver-rank.


    The second one is an offline meetup event organized by Little Salty Cat from Moe Moe Committee, featuring the participation of many high-ranking yers from various major guilds.


    This meetup will take ce at the Tianchen Grand Hotel in Yaodu City, marking it as the very firstrge-scale Elven Kingdom offline gathering back in the real world.


    Rumor has it that Salty Cat has booked the entire hotel for the meetup, with over 500 yers already signed up to attend, as nearly all the high rankers of various guilds are expected to appear and be there.


    This offline event will run from the evening of September 30th through to the evening of October 1st,sting a full day and night.


    On the evening of the first day, all yers are expected to gather for a banquet, followed by karaoke and entertainment, which could provide an opportunity for everyone to interact and connect with one another.


    And on the second day, after the Elven Kingdom¡¯s new update finally goes live, every participant will enter the game using the VR pods provided by the hotel so that everyone can experience the new version altogether.


    Then, a second celebration will be held within the game, on the city square of Chosen City!Li Mu swallowed nervously as he looked at the opulent European-style hotel right before him, while also noting the parking lot beside it, which was filled to the brim with high-end luxury cars.


    Looking at each one of them, any average person like him would involuntarily ponder how much they cost.


    ¡°¡­So this is Tianchen Hotel? The only five-star hotel in Yaodu that¡¯s supposed to have a VR pod in every room?¡±


    After taking a deep breath to psych himself up, Li Mu straightened his appearance and finally walked into the hotel entrance.


    Inside the hotel lobby, banners and signs announcing the Elven Kingdomrge-scale meetup were prominently disyed, and there were even some hotel staff avable to guide any confused attendees.


    After signing in at the registration desk, Li Mu was promptly handed a gift bag containing his room key, a pamphlet with the event schedule, amemorative illustration album of some sort and an Elven Kingdom cute chibi goddess figurine.


    Thememorative album is actually a coborative works made by several top artists within the game, which featured stunning fan-made art illustrations and iconic in-game screenshots.


    As for the goddess figurine, it was an exact replica of the interactive chibi goddess that¡¯s disyed within the game menu, which is also quite adorable and charming.


    It seemed the event organizers had speciallymissioned it, ensuring that every participant would receive one, which, in Li Mu¡¯s opinion, is quite a thoughtful gesture indeed.


    After securing his gift bag, Li Mu handed his luggage to a bellboy and was then guided by a young, attractive female staff member to the event venue.


    The even venue was brightly lit, and many attendees were already there by the time Li Mu arrived.


    As he surveyed his surroundings, he noticed that the banquet was set up in a buffet style, resembling a high-end cocktail party.


    Seeing such a luxurious ballroom, Li Mu suddenly felt a bit self-conscious as he inwardly began to wonder if his casual jeans were not the best choice to wear for this asion.


    However, upon noticing that most of the other yers were also dressed simrly like him, he eventually breathed a sigh of relief.


    It seemed everyone was on the same page.


    After all, most yers were just regr people like him and are simply there to have some fun, not to attend some formal event.


    Though, admittedly, the scale of this meetup went far beyond his initial expectations¡­


    A delectable aroma filled the air, mingling with the sound ofughter and conversation as yers gathered in small groups here and there, with many already having found their respective cliques.


    Li Mu began to feel a bit nervous.


    Despite being a seasoned streamer, he¡¯d never shown his face nor attended an offline event like this before.


    In fact, this was actually his first very time participating in such a gathering.


    Just then, when he was feeling out of ce, a familiar, excited voice called out from behind him:


    ¡°Bro, is that you? A guy wearing blue denim jacket and a white hoodie, just like you mentioned in the guild chat! Surely it must be you, Brother Mu!¡±


    Hearing this, Li Mu immediately perked up as a strange sense of relief welled up inside him.


    <em>That familiar tone¡­</em>


    <em>And that slightly yful voice¡­</em>


    <em>Demacia!</em>


    He quickly turned around in surprise and was met with the sight of a tall, at least 1.8 meters, handsome young man with neatlybed-back hair, fair skin, a bright smile, and dressed in a casual suit.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­.?¡±


    <em>T-This¡­ </em>


    <em>W-Wait a minute¡­</em>


    <em>Did I perhaps mistook a wrong person?</em>


    ¡°D-Demacia?¡±


    Li Mu tentatively asked in a voice tinged with uncertainty.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s me! Haha! Bro, after all this time ying together, we finally meet in person!¡±


    Demaciaughed heartily.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    He took a deep breath, pinched his temples for a moment, and then chuckled as he said, ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect this. You look so different from what I imagined. You¡¯re actually quite handsome in person.¡±


    <em>What the hell, you look so handsome, yet why did you tailor your game character to have an explosive red afro and make its appearance the least attractive avatar in the entire yerbase!?</em>


    ¡°Haha, Bro, you¡¯re the one to talk! Your in-game avatar looks so delicate and feminine¡ªI always thought you were also frail in real life too. Who knew you¡¯d be so buff! Haha, what a surprising contrast!¡±


    Demaciaughed heartily.


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    This conversational style¡­there¡¯s no doubt about it.


    It¡¯s definitely Demacia.


    He suddenly had the urge to punch him, or maybe just find a hole to crawl into.


    <em>What should I do?</em>


    Whilst letting out an awkwardugh, Li Mu decided to change the subject:


    ¡°Who else from our guild is already here?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­dunno, I just got here myself, so I¡¯m not sure yet. But I did take a quick nce at the sign-in sheet at the entrance, and it looks like most of the regrs are here,¡± Demacia replied.


    Just as the two were chatting, another excited voice called out from behind them.


    ¡°Brother Mu! Is that really you?!¡±


    This time, it was a female voice.


    Li Mu turned around to see who had called him and noticed two girls, one tall and the other short, approaching him.


    They appeared to be about the same age as him¡ªlikely college students as well.


    The tall girl had a slender figure and a delicate appearance, while the shorter one was rather cute and gave off a mischievous vibe.


    ¡°And you are?¡± Li Mu asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Brother Mu, I¡¯m Meng Zhihan! My real name is Zhou Menghan! Haha, I¡¯m so excited to finally meet you in person! I love watching your videos!¡± the tall girl said happily.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you! Miss cksmith!¡±


    Li Mu suddenly realized.


    He then looked at Zhou Menghan and politely smiled.


    ¡°You look just like how you are in the game.¡±


    ¡°Is that apliment?¡±


    Zhou Menghan asked, her eyes curving into a smile.


    Li Muughed heartily.


    Then, he nced at the shorter girl beside her, whilst also recalling a certain yer who was always by Meng Zhihan¡¯s side, whose known for her skill in creating the most beautiful avatar in the game.


    ¡°And you must be¡­ Yuanjuan?¡±


    He tentatively asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s her! Doesn¡¯t she look totally different from her in-game avatar? Like a little bean sprout?¡±


    Zhou Menghan teased.


    Su Yuan gave her friend a yful re, then turned to Li Mu with a cheerful smile and properly greeted him.


    ¡°Hello, Brother Mu! I¡¯m Su Yuan, and my username is Yuanjuan.¡±


    Li Mu smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Nice to meet you!¡±


    After greeting Li Mu, Su Yuan¡¯s gaze quickly shifted to the strikingly handsome guy standing beside him.


    Her eyes brightened slightly, and with a blush on her cheeks, she asked excitedly, ¡°And this is¡­?¡±


    Demacia grinned.


    ¡°Haha, hey there my beautifuldy, don¡¯t you recognize me? I¡¯m actually Demacia!¡±


    The two girls blinked in surprise.


    <em>Demacia? </em>


    At that moment, Demacia noticed the excited look Su Yuan had given him just moments before quickly turn to indifference.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    She nodded lightly.


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>399</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ OFFLINE</strong><strong>MEETUP</strong> (PART TWO) ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 400

    Chapter 400


    <em>Such a good looking kid, but it¡¯s a pity that his manner of speech is way too crude. </em>


    Watching Demacia get shut down by the two female yers, his face full of frustration, Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but smile ruefully as he shook his head.


    He rejoined their conversation and exchanged a few words to ease the awkward air brewing within them, then walked with a few guildmates towards the ce where the most members of Heart of Nature have gathered¡­


    Quite a few members of the Heart of Nature had decided to participate, and as expected, Li Mu¡¯s arrival naturally caused a bit of a stir at the scene.


    Being the Guildmaster of Heart of Nature, he quickly mingled with his fellow guild members he¡¯s familiar with, filling their gathering spot withughter from time to time¡­


    Then, just as Li Mu was bing more acquainted with the members of his guild and sharing camaraderie with them, a surprised feminine voice rang out from behind him.


    ¡°Brother Mu! Is that you?!¡±


    Li Mu turned his head to see a young girl in a purple evening dress, surrounded by a group of yers, walking towards him.


    She appeared to be in her teens, standing out like the star of the event. Her delicate, doll-like features carried a touch of youthful innocence within them, making her seemed both elegant and childishly adorable.Her side-parted curls added a hint of maturity to her features, and this blend of subtle innocence and sophistication she exudedbined seamlessly, making her appear not only more lively and vibrant but also an exceptionally beautiful youngdy.


    <em>A girl of this age with such an aura¡­</em>


    <em>Moreover, those obviously expensive-looking clothes¡­</em>


    <em>And that highly recognizable high-pitched voice¡­</em>


    <em>Could she possibly be¡ª</em>


    ¡°Little Salty Cat?¡±


    Li Mu raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Bingo! You got it! My real name is Chen Guoguo, but you knew me better as Little Salty Cat~! Haha, after working together for so many times within the game, I finally get to meet you in person, Brother Mu!¡±


    The girl looks visibly excited to meet him, which made Li Mu inadvertently smile back in response.


    ¡°Yeah! I didn¡¯t expect to be ying a game with someone so young¡­ haha, it makes me feel a bit old.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m not that young anymore!¡±


    The girl pouted with her cheeks puffing out adorably.


    Then, she pped her hands happily and linked arms with another girl who appeared to be around twenty years old.


    This second girl was about 1.7 meters tall, with a fresh and clean appearance.


    Her hair was tied in a sleek ponytail, and she wore a thick eye sses which gave off an impression of bothpetence and an intellectual beauty.


    ¡°Brother Mu, can you guess who this is?¡±


    Little Salty Cat asked with a grin.


    Li Mu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and replied,


    ¡°Could it be HootyBird?¡±


    There are only a few female yers who get along so well with Little Salty Cat, and the most likely one would definitely be HootyBird.


    <em>¡­Or it could also be Feng.</em>


    However, Li Mu felt that this intellectual-looking girl in front of him had a temperament that really reminded him more of HootyBird.


    Feng, on the other hand, despite always seem to be cordial and smiling about, have always struck him more as a mysterious person, especially in the way she keeps hiding her strength even though she¡¯s probably the strongest druid yer on the entire server.


    Quite frankly, Li Mu could never quite figure that woman out and sometimes, he even found himself feeling a bit uneasy around her¡­


    It¡¯s kind of odd, really.


    To be able to exude such a profound presence, most likely she hold some important position in real life.


    Which makes him wonder what Feng does for a living to have such an aura within the game¡­


    Hearing Li Mu¡¯s guess, the girl in the sses gently nodded politely.


    ¡°Gu Qing, username: HootyBird.¡±


    So it was indeed her.


    Even though her introduction was somewhat brief and her voice revealed a bit of nervousness, Li Mu could still sense a trace of joy in her tone.


    Well, after all, she was an old friend of his within the game.


    In fact, the two of them had often teamed up to take on Saint Alice¡¯s daily tasks like caring for the children¡­


    Uh¡­or more precisely, the elven children.


    Even though they had never met in real life, they were very familiar with each other¡¯s voices.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s nice to finally meet you in person, the top schr of ElvKing!¡±


    Li Mu joked with a smile.


    After chatting for a bit, his gaze briefly lingered upon the remaining members of the Moe Moe Committee, who were standing behind Little Salty Cat as a sudden thought entered his mind.


    ¡°So, did Boxlunch not make it this time? And what about Feng? Didn¡¯t you say she put a lot of effort into helping you organized this meetup?¡±


    ¡°Feng sadly couldn¡¯t make it due to some personal matters,¡±


    Little Salty Cat pouted.


    ¡°Captain couldn¡¯te either because something apparently came up at his home,¡± chimed in by another voice.


    Li Mu looked over and saw that the one who responded was a tall, slender young man.


    He seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen, with a refined, schrly air as he gave Li Mu a warm smile that radiated a unique, bookish charm.


    Whilst smiling shyly at him, this person briefly introduced himself.


    ¡°Hello, Brother Mu. I¡¯m Cbash, but real name is Hu Lu.1 Ummm..yeah¡­ it¡¯s a y on words. My hobbies are gaming and reading, although¡­ ever since ElvKing came out, it seems like gaming is all I do now¡­¡±


    ¡°Cbash?¡±


    Li Mu¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°So it¡¯s actually you! One of Boxlunch¡¯s fellow teammates, and the strongest mage in the entire server!¡±


    ¡°Oi, hey! The strongest mage is obviously me! My magic power output is over a thousand points higher than his! Plus, I have the highest kill count on the battlefield!¡±


    Little Salty Cat interjected, clearly dissatisfied.


    ¡°Come on, Cat, that¡¯s only because you¡¯re relying on your pay-to-win gear too much.¡±


    Demacia teased with a grin.


    But his remark earned him an eye roll from Little Salty Cat.


    ¡°Demacia, your discount is revoked for the next two days.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! Cat, really? I¡¯m sorry, it was a joke!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡±


    Laughter filled the room, growing louder as more yers approached the group, introduced themselves, and offered their greetings.


    Li Mu, being one of the most renowned yers in Elven Kingdom, basked in a steady stream of adoring attention, as he enjoyed their every bow andpliments.


    During all this, he also met with some several old acquaintances he had fought alongside with inside the game¡ªmost were male, but there¡¯s quite a few females as well, some are outgoing while others were more reserved on their greetings.


    Nheless, they were all equally excited and enthusiastic to meet him.


    He even encountered Transformer Ji Gang, the Guildmaster of Autobots, who was actually a bright, sunny boy of about eighteen or neen in real life, just shy of starting his first year of college soon.


    Of course, he also ran into Tomato StirFry, with whom he had never really gotten along with.


    Thisbat-focused yer, who always seemed a bit gloomy inside the game, turned out to be a baby-faced young man in real life!


    The two of them even had a drink together, finally putting their past differences to rest.


    After all, Elven Kingdom was unlike any other game.


    While there are certainlypetition brewing among the yerbase, the need for cooperation stood out more as the importance of teamwork became crucial elements for oveing the game¡¯s challenges and achieving objectives.


    Moreover, the influx of new yers during the fourth beta had made the older yers instinctively band together.


    In this context, any past conflicts they have against each other gradually faded away after sharing a drink, bing nothing more than a distant memory.


    And as the two of them savored their drinks, time continously flowed on, as more and more yers began to fill the venue¡­


    Myriad of people arrived one after another as young students, some barely in their teens, mingled with much older participants, including impably dressed men in their forties.


    People of every gender, age, and profession hade together, united by their shared passion for a single game.


    It was a truly remarkable sight.


    Most notably, when a yer first arrived, typically they often felt nervous, hesitant, and even slightly out of ce.


    Yet, as they began to meet their in-game friends and started calling each other with their usernames instead of their real names¡­


    A sense of familiarity and closeness began to blossom in each person, bridging the gap between everyone.


    As a result, the entire venue was soon enveloped inughter and joy.


    Speaking of which, although most of the people here had never met in real life, they might actually know each other better than some of their real-world friends.


    After all, to be friends in a virtual world, you need a certain level ofpatibility.


    And given the right opportunity, it¡¯s only natural for such friendships to extend even into the real world.


    Whilst silently observing everyone mingle and bustle about, Li Mu sat on a sofa at the venue, sipping a slightly sweet fruit wine.


    He looked out at the lively scenery before him, listening to the constantughter and the excited shouts of people ying board games and other such fun activities.


    Inadvertently, the smile upon his face grew increasingly gentle.


    <em>Being part of this game¡­ </em>


    <em>Is such a wonderful thing.</em>


    ¡ª <strong>400</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ OFFLINE</strong><strong>MEETUP</strong> (PART THREE) ¡¿ <hr>


    1 ¡®<strong>ºù«</strong>¡® (Cbash) and ¡®<strong>ºú½</strong>¡® (Hu Lu) pretty much sounds the same thing. <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 401

    Chapter 401


    The whole eventsted up until two in the morning.


    And throughout the entire evening, the yers enjoyed a delectable banquet, exchanged real-life contact information with one another, sang various karaoke songs on stage at the front of the venue, and even participated in some popr games typically yed at parties.


    Of course, not everyone enjoyed such lively atmosphere.


    Some yers preferred a quieter setting and chose to sit on the couches with their friends as they either chatted or simply yed games on their phones.


    However, this didn¡¯tst long.


    Someone, though it¡¯s unclear who, had the idea to ask Little Salty Cat whether each rooms in this hotel were truly equipped with VR pods and whether they could be used anytime¡­


    Upon receiving Little Salty Cat¡¯s affirmative response, one yer immediately became excited:


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great! The game is about to update soon, and there¡¯s still a day left within the game. I need to earn some contribution points before the update rolls out. Perhaps I can even get the jobss advancement slot!¡±


    And so, this yer left the event early to log into the game¡­¡ªTo grind.


    This person¡¯s early departure quickly triggered a chain reaction.


    After all, everyone there is a fan of Elven Kingdom.


    Moreover, while many attendees were lucky enough to have already secured job ss advancement slots, most of the yerbase still hadn¡¯t.


    Henceforth¡­


    ¡°Damn! Maybe I should try again too, just in case I get lucky!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m heading out too¡­¡±


    ¡°Yawn¡­I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep.¡±


    Once the first yer left to grind inside the game, many others subsequently followed suit.


    Gradually, the number of people at the event dwindled to nearly half as some participants took out their room keys and returned to their respective rooms to log into the game.


    Of course, considering the fact that they could still log into the game while sleeping, many decided it was the ideal time to get some rest and logged in just as a habit.


    Seeing the crowd thinning out and noticing even the remaining yers looking exhausted, the energetic Little Salty Cat and a few others decided to suggest moving the rest of the event online.


    This way, they could rest while extending the celebration.


    Everyone quickly agreed, and instead of following the original n, they returned to their rooms and logged into Elven Kingdom.


    It was nighttime on earth.


    However, in Seig¨¹es, it was still daytime.


    The meetup attendees have decided to gather in the central square of Chosen City and started a second party there.


    This time, even more yers joined in.


    Although many of those who came to the meet up in person couldn¡¯t resist grinding after logging in, hoping for thatst chance to get a jobss advancement slot¡­


    yers who hadn¡¯t attended the meet-up and hadn¡¯t earned the advancement rewards were very interested in the party at the central square.


    Such organizedrge-scale gatherings were notmon after all.


    Not to mention that several major guilds organized the event, offering free food and drinks!


    It¡¯s also worth noting that the major guilds had evolved significantlypared to beforehand.


    After developing trade agreements with some locals and creating a variety of new dishes, their banquets had seen a significant enhancement.


    Nowadays, their cuisine was much more refinedpared to their parties with only basic meat barbecues and fruit of their earlier days.


    As a result, what started as a second party for yers who logged into the game quickly turned into a server-wide celebration.


    Even some NPCs joined in.


    Including a certain ck dragon that had recently ascended to the peak of Gold-rank (level 90).


    Naturally, as a member of the dragon race with a golden lineage, the great ck dragon Meryer had now acquired the ability to shapeshift and transform into a humanoid form.


    Since having a smaller human form allowed him to eat more food servings, Meryer chose to transform into a ck-haired, red-eyed young man.


    He moved through the banquet with relish, whilst indulging himself eagerly to the fullest extent of his capacity.


    ¡°Meryer, you rascal! Mind your manners while eating! You¡¯ve already taken a human form, so stop acting like a wild monkey! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a noble dragon?!¡±


    Little Salty Cat, who was maintaining order at the event, was exasperated as she watched Meryer with his face smeared in meat oil.


    But she was met with his childish yet proud rebuttal:


    ¡°Ruah~! You wouldn¡¯t understand, this is the great Meryer¡¯s unique way of eating. Ahh~ this dessert is truly amazing! It¡¯s just as good as roasted barbecue meat!¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>I feel tired. </em>


    After managing the meetup event in real life, she still had to keep an eye on this glutton online!


    Moreover, as soon as she looked away, Meryer had already scarfed down the most challenging cake to make.


    Many people hadn¡¯t even had a chance to try it!


    As Little Salty Cat sighed helplessly, a clear and melodious female voice sounded beside her.


    ¡°Let him eat to his heart¡¯s content. He¡¯s only recently awakened, so he must be really starving.¡±


    She turned to look at the ever-so smiling Feng beside her and pouted:


    ¡°Sister Feng, you have no idea. This guy is getting more and more out of hand, especially after his recent promotion.¡±


    Feng simply chuckled softly in response.


    After venting her frustrations, Little Salty Cat decided to stop worrying about the increasingly mischievous antics of the ck dragon as she looked at Feng with a bit of regret.


    ¡°Sister Feng, it¡¯s such a shame you didn¡¯te to the meetup back in the real world.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe it! we actually had 518 yers show up in the venue!¡±


    ¡°Even Sister Birdy, Brother Mu, and the others came, along with Cbash, Optimist, and Chopin.¡±


    ¡°Look, look! I even took a bunch of photos and videos with some of them! Here, let me show you!¡±


    With that, she sat down next to Feng and opened the online album on her game system to show her.


    yers could see each other¡¯s system interfaces, as long as the angle was right.


    So, Little Salty Cat eagerly showed Feng the photos and videos she had taken during the earlier event:


    ¡°Haha, look at Brother Mu! I always thought he would be a skinny and frail guy, but he¡¯s actually so tall and strong looking¡­¡±


    ¡°And guess who this handsome guy is? Sister Feng, you¡¯ll never guess but it¡¯s actually Demacia! Oh my gosh¡­ I can hardly believe it¡­ It¡¯s such a pity you missed it¡­¡±


    ¡°And then there¡¯s Sister Yuanjuan. Look, she¡¯s not even taller than me in real life! I always imagined her to be like her in-game avatar, with a fantastic model-like figure. But she¡¯s actually pretty fun! And a die-hard fan of the Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and did you know? Back when we were rewriting the sacred codex on an earlier quest, she snuck in so much of her own personal stuff. If Brother Mu hadn¡¯t been watching her, she would have turned the Life Codex into the Codex of the Goddess of Beauty, hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°And then there¡¯s¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat continously chattered on happily.


    Meanwhile, Ev¨¦, who was in disguise as Feng, mostly just smiled in response as she listened quietly.


    Although she hadn¡¯t attended the offline meetup in person, she had actually monitored it online by hacking through the hotel¡¯s surveince cameras.


    Nevertheless, watching through a screen was entirely different from sitting next to Little Salty Cat and hearing her personal recounting of everything that had transpired.


    As Ev¨¦ continued to silently listened¡­


    <em>Her feelings¡­</em>


    Felt ratherplicated.


    There was a strange sense of aplishment.


    At the same time, she also felt a touch of envy.


    And perhaps, even just a little hint of regret¡­


    ¡°Looks like, you had a great time.¡±


    She murmured whilst sighing lightly.


    ¡ª <strong>401</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ </strong>L<strong>OOKS LIKE YOU HAD A </strong>GREAT <strong>TIME</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 402

    Chapter 402


    Happy times always seem to pass by rather quickly.


    Before they knew it, the yers were dancing and celebrating until midnight in the central square of Chosen City, theirughter echoing throughout the night.


    What finally brought their revelry to a stop wasn¡¯t fatigue or boredom, but rather a sudden forced logout announcement from the system, which abruptly ended the festivities.


    The new version update is finally being rolled out!


    To maintain the cleanliness of the city and avoid displeasing the local NPCs, the yers hurriedly cleaned up the mess they had left behind from their celebrations and then promptly returned to their usual logout spots just before the scheduled update maintenance.


    Most of the top veteran yers with luxurious vis in the Chosen City returned to their homes, while the longtimeid-back casual yers who had umted enough contribution points from their extended ytime were able to afford modest yet still expensive private courtyards.


    As for the neers from the fourth beta, most of them either still lived in taverns or in thosemunal ¡®morgues,¡¯ with only the most dedicated grinders and wealthy whales amongst them having been able to secure private ces for themselves.


    It is in moments like these that the wealth disparity within the game bes ringly evident.


    Nevertheless, despite the differences in their financial status, there is surprisingly little resentment among the yers.Part of this was mainly due to the yers¡¯ inherent understanding of the game, which made them less sensitive to wealth gaps within Elven Kingdom.


    In addition, ElvKing wasn¡¯t purely a pay-to-win oriented game.


    While the rich whales could use their real-life money to gain contribution points and be stronger within the game, the path to reaching the top is not restricted to this method alone.


    There are many other opportunities avable to everyone, and just as long as you are willing to work hard, have some luck, and stay sharp, being a top yer is not just a distant dream.


    Take Meng Zhihan, for example.


    As an ordinary yer from the third-beta, she diligentlypleted a lot of daily tasks and had just the right amount of luck to get where she currently is.


    Then, after the requirements for jobss advancement were announced, she intensely farmed mobs nonstop.


    As a result, not only did she reach level 40 before the scheduled update, but she also secured a spot for the jobss advancement promotion.


    After bidding farewell to Li Mu and her other guild members, she and her best friend, Yuanjuan, returned to her home in Chosen City.


    It was a private courtyard built by Moe Moe Committee¡¯s real estate development team during the third-beta.


    Although it wasn¡¯t asrge as the mansions built during the first two betas, it was still well-equipped with all the facilities she needed despite its rtively small size.


    However, make no mistake: despite its smaller scale, it still cost her a hefty 20,000 contribution points when she bought it.


    Of course, after the fourth-beta yers joined, her house¡¯s property value skyrocketed several times over.


    In a sense, with her property included, she was now considered quite a wealthy yer within the game.


    Still, despite this, she never considered selling her current house in Chosen City to buy a new one.


    The reason was simple: it was situated in a great location, surrounded by top yers as her neighbors.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t as grand as some of the newly built houses on the outskirts, it was a symbol of status in its own right.


    Not to mention, it was just a ten-minute walk to the teleportation array which is connected to various maps, or even quicker if she rode her little unicorn that she had recently ¡®acquired¡¯ from the forest.


    Meng Zhihan returned home and locked the door.


    After feeding her magical familiar some fruits and shooing away a vain battle mage who wanted to sleep with her in the guest room, she took off her gear andy down upon her bed.


    After such a hectic day within the game, nightfall had gently descended upon thend of Seig¨¹es.


    Chosen City was no different in this regard, with its surroundings slowly slipping into silence as each yers logged off one by one.


    This bustling metropolis, which had nearly be a city that never slept since the arrival of the fourth-beta yers, began to drift into a deep, peaceful slumber.


    Meng Zhihan gazed out the wooden window at the sky while lying in bed under the silky soft quilt woven from crypt spider silk, which had be quite popr among the yers recently.


    Unlike back on Earth wherein light and air pollution often obscured the skies to the point of hiding every single star, the night sky here was stunningly clear.


    The vast array of stars sparkled like a celestial tapestry, far more breathtaking and magical than the Milky Way she had glimpsed online.


    As Meng Zhihan gazed at the stunning starry sky through her window, whilst listening to the faint chirping of insects outside and savoring the fresh, earthy scent of her elven abode, her heart, which had been restless from a day of intense grinding, gradually calm down.


    ¡°Master once said that every star in the skies represents a different realm. I wonder¡­ could there be another world like Seig¨¹es up there?¡±


    As Meng Zhihan gazed at the twinkling stars, she couldn¡¯t help but recall the various legends she¡¯d heard from her mentor, Carlos, the elven cksmith.


    Even though she knew it was just a game, her mind still couldn¡¯t help but fantasized about it.


    ¡°I really hope that one day I can explore every corner of this game world and experience the unique cultures and customs of each race out there¡­¡± she thought wistfully.


    After attending the meetup event, Meng Zhihan felt an even more deeper fondness for this game.


    She truly loved this world and its lifelike NPCs, as well as the countless yers she met along the way.


    This ce was, in essence, their dream paradise.


    As she gazed at the shimmering sea of stars on the horizon, a soft smile gracefully touched her lips.


    ¡°See youter, Elven Kingdom¡­¡±


    She softly whispered before clicking the ¡°Log Out¡± button on the system menu as her avatar gradually fell into slumber.


    Meanwhile, back in reality¡ª


    Unlike in Elven Kingdom, where it was still deep into the night, Earth was bathed in bright daylight.


    Meng Zhihan slowly climbed out of her VR pod and promptly checked the time, finding that it was already past ten o¡¯clock in the morning.


    No matter how many times she experienced it, witnessing the difference in the flow of time between the two worlds always felt surreal to her.


    Whilst yawningzily, she dragged her much heavier and slower real-world body to freshen up before stepping out of her hotel room.


    By this point, many yers had already risen, and Meng Zhihan decided to first wake her best friend next door so that they could head to the dining hall together to eat.


    Taking the yers¡¯ varied schedules into consideration, the lunch provided by Tianchen Hotel is still served in a buffet style, with the dishes being excellent and mouthwatering.


    s, Meng Zhihan and many of the other yers seemed too preupied and didn¡¯t pay much attention to the food as around eighty or ny yers hurriedly finished their meals and, after resting briefly in the hotel lobby, rushed back to their respective rooms just before noon.


    These were the yers who had secured a spot for the jobss advancement promotion.


    Compared to other yers, they were far more excited about the new update of Elven Kingdom to care about anything else and Meng Zhihan was among them.


    After using the restroom and making sure everything was ready, she quickly climbed back into her VR pod as soon the time reached exactly 12:00 p.m on October 1st.


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    Meng Zhihan silently muttered to herself.


    While putting on the helmet, she swiftly pressed the icon of Elven Kingdom in the virtual interface.


    ¡°Start the game ¡ª Elven Kingdom!¡±


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Connection Status</strong>: Sess ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>New Version Detected</strong>: Elven Kingdom ver 1.70¡¿


    ¡¾Updating version¡­01%..02%¡­¡¿


    ¡¾99%¡­100%¡ªUpdate sessful!¡¿


    ¡¾Logging in¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Username</strong>: Meng Zhihan¡¿


    ¡¾O¡¯ Chosen One, wee back to Elven Kingdom!¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>402</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ VERSION</strong><strong>UPDATE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 403

    Chapter 403


    Whilst feeling the familiar sensation of weightlessness, Meng Zhihan found herself back in the game once more.


    However unlike before when she was immediately immersed within the game world, a new cutscene appeared before her view this time around.


    The intro animation began with same old cutscene which depicted how all first-beta yers¡¯ was summoned into the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    However,pared to its previous iterations, this particr cutscene yed out much faster.


    As usual, the scene depicted yers being summoned one by one as they gradually built their cities from the ground up and expanded their forces. This was shown in just a few frames as the narrative quickly moved to recent events, highlighting the arrival of the fourth-beta yers.


    Next came the expansion of the Chosen City, followed by the exploration efforts of the fourth-beta yers and the onset of the underground war¡­


    Various cutscenes of certain noteworthy yers in action were once again turned into beautifully crafted cinematic scenes, apanied by a stirring music soundtrack that filled Meng Zhihan¡¯s view.


    Then, as these scenes unfolded, a deep voiceden with ancient vicissitudes began narrating alongside the advancing cinematic intro:


    ¡°With the help of the Chosen Ones, the Elvenkind finally regained their foothold in the realm of Seig¨¹es¡­¡±¡°As their goddess¡¯s power steadily recovers, the civilization of the elves began to thrive anew, with the name of the Goddess of Life rapidly spreading across thend of Seig¨¹es¡­¡±


    ¡°¡ªYet, a new crisis is brewing across the continent.¡±


    ¡°With the resurgence of mana, a myriad of mysterious existences are awakening one after another, heralding the onset of a tumultuous age¡­¡±


    ¡°In this uing new era, only those with considerable strength can truly forge a legend for themselves.¡±


    The cinematic scene then focused on inside the goddess¡¯s temple, wherein a male and a female yer knelt before the statue of the Goddess Ev¨¦ in devout prayer.


    Their reverent voices echoed within Meng Zhihan¡¯s ears:


    ¡°Praise be thy nature, praise be thy life, praise be thy great Goddess Eve!¡±


    ¡°We are willing to be the sharpest sword and the strongest shield, to faithfully protect thee! To protect¡­ our homnd!¡±


    ¡°Please oh merciful goddess¡­ grant us even greater strength!¡±


    Then, as their prayers concluded, a brilliant light enveloped them, making them both radiate with a dazzling glow.


    When the light eventually faded, the two were adorned in magnificent, stylish gear and exuded a much more prominent appearance.


    One wore an impressive mage robe, whilst the other were adorned in an imposing warrior equipment.


    What followed was a highlighted line of golden text appearing across the center of the screen:


    ¡°Silver Jobss Advancement, now officiallyunched!¡±


    The cutscene finally ended there as Meng Zhihan promptly returned to her room inside her abode in Chosen City.


    However, she remained still in her bed as her mind drifted back to the scene where the impressive appearance of the two elves, after advancing their job ss, continued to linger within her mind.


    ¡°Those two were wearing an equipment I haven¡¯t seen before¡­and their craftsmanship looks to be even more intricate and beautiful! Could this be the new set of ¡®uniforms¡¯ only avable to Silver-ranks?¡±


    She murmured excitedly to herself, with her eyes brightening considerably.


    In the game, the term ¡°uniform¡± usually referred to the epic purple-grade equipment sold in the exchange store.


    These items were not only beautifully crafted and cost-effective but also came in a coordinated unified appearance.


    They weremonly seen as the standard top-level equipment for yers at their peak, hence the nickname ¡°graduation uniforms.¡±


    ¡°Those definitely must be for the Silver-rank¡­¡±


    Meng Zhihan spected.


    With that, she finally jumped out of bed, quickly put on her equipment, and, without waiting for her friend Yuanjuan, who seemed to have not logged in yet, rushed out of her house and headed straight for the Temple of Life.


    Nearly two hours had passed back on earth, and dawn had already arrived in thend of Seig¨¹es.


    The update had only been implemented moments ago, yet many yers had already awakened in Chosen City.


    As Meng Zhihan approached the vicinity of the temple, she immediately noticed a crowd gathering at its entrance, looking around with curious and expectant expressions.


    There was no doubt within Meng Zhihan¡¯s mind that these people were likely waiting to see the yers who had alreadypleted their job ss advancement.


    Thinking of this, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight sense of superiority, as a small smile appeared upon her lips.


    With her head held high and each step radiating grace, she entered the Temple of Life.


    She had long prepared for her job ss advancement and had already saved up the 30,000 contribution points needed in her ount.


    After walking deeper into the Temple, she knelt on one knee before the goddess¡¯s statue, as Meng Zhihan took a deep breath and began to pray earnestly:


    Praise be thy nature, praise be thy life and praise be thy great Goddess Eve!


    This new verse was a slightly modified one from before, designed to conceal the goddess¡¯s true identity as the World Tree.


    As Meng Zhihan inwardly prayed, a soft light emanated from the goddess¡¯s statue, enveloping her body.


    Her consciousness then blurred momentarily, and she found herself in the character creation scene as the system¡¯s melodious voice resonated within her mind:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Congrattions! You are eligible for Jobss Advancement!</strong> Now Initiating Secondary Advancement Ceremony.¡¿


    ¡¾Your current Jobss is ¡°<strong>Druid</strong>.¡± Please choose your secondary advancement path.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Cost for this advancement:</strong> 30,000 Contribution Points.¡¿


    ¡¾Avable secondary advancement paths for Druid are:¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Magic Specialization, Feral Specialization, Healing Specialization, Control Specialization</strong>.¡¿


    ¡¾Please select your specialization path.¡¿


    <em>Secondary advancement? </em>


    <em>Specialization paths? </em>


    Meng Zhihan was a bit surprised.


    Although the users on the forums had previously spected that the new update might involve further specialization of each jobss, Meng Zhihan found herself hesitating now that it was her turn to choose.


    Quite frankly, she wasn¡¯t quite sure which one to pick.


    After a moment of thought, she began to carefully examine the descriptions of the specializations avable for secondary advancement.


    ¡¾<strong>Specialization Path</strong>: This allows you to focus on a particr development direction within your jobss. All skills in this direction shall receive a significant enhancement percentage (<strong>30%</strong>) and skill proficiency gains would be doubled, and you may also randomly acquire a unique talent skill.¡¿


    ¡¾Talent skills can be cast instantly and consume half the usual MP cost.¡¿


    <em>Skills that can be Insta-cast ? </em>


    <em>Moreover, it will only consume half MP? </em>


    <em>Why, this¡­ sounds really powerful! </em>


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes lit up.


    <em>But wait¡­ a talent skill chosen at random? </em>


    <em>Ugh, why does it have to involve luck again¡­ </em>


    Meng Zhihan sighed.


    She continued thoroughly reading the details, scrolling down through the descriptions of each specialization path:


    ¡¾<strong>Magic Specialization</strong>: Enhances the druid¡¯s ranged magic skills, while boosting your spell effectiveness. This path is ideal for ranged magical DPS.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Feral Specialization</strong>: Enhances the druid¡¯s shapeshifting abilities, while boosting one¡¯s meleebat skills. Ideal for yers who value melee DPS and tanking.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Healing Specialization</strong>: Enhances the druid¡¯s healing skills, while improving its effectiveness. Ideal for ranged healing.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Control Specialization</strong>: Enhances the druid¡¯s crowd control abilities, while improving one¡¯s control skills. This path is ideal for support roles.¡¿


    They¡¯re all quite tempting¡­


    Meng Zhihan felt a bit conflicted.


    However, all her time spent ying the game hadn¡¯t been for nothing.


    After some thought, she first ruled out Magic Specialization.


    With the presence of mages, she felt that druids, no matter how strong they became, still wouldn¡¯t be able topete with mages in terms of magic ranged DPS.


    Next, she eliminated Control Specialization.


    This path seemed to be purely for support, and since Meng Zhihan rarely joined any teams, choosing this would not be very cost-effective for her.


    That left her with either Feral Specialization or Healing Specialization.


    After a moment of indecision, Meng Zhihan ultimately chose the path, Feral Specialization.


    She chose this simply because half of her current skills were rted to shapeshifting, such as the skills [Nature¡¯s Whisper] and [Cat¡¯s Grace.]


    These skills would definitely be enhanced if she chose this particr specialization path.


    As for the healing specialization path¡­


    Unfortunately, even at level 40, she hadn¡¯t learned any healing spells at all so this one was obvious a no for her.


    Additionally, if she excelled in shapeshifting, it would also benefit her forging abilities, as many elven cksmithing techniques required a certain level of physical strength.


    Finally, after much deliberation, Meng Zhihan made her decision with determination.


    ¡°I choose Feral Specialization!¡±


    After she selected her path, her ount¡¯s contribution points, which totaled over 50,000, instantly decreased by 30,000.


    Then, a mystical light enveloped her body once again.


    Meng Zhihan felt a gentle, sacred power entering her body, flowing through every part of her being.


    As this warm energy circted, her entire body began to heat up, and her strength began to surged forth in an instant¡­


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Jobss Advancement Sessful</strong>.¡¿


    ¡¾Congrattions, Chosen One Meng Zhihan, for bing an Archdruid specializing in the Feral Path!¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>403</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SILVER JOBCLASS ADVANCEMENT</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    <strong>Authors Note</strong>: The term ¡°Archdruid¡± is an honorary title for Silver-ranked Druids.<hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 404

    Chapter 404


    As the system notifications ended, Meng Zhihan promptly returned to the game from the character creation screen.


    She finally changed her ss sessfully!


    Her breathing quickened with excitement as she felt the powerful new strength coursing through her body.


    Such feeling is quite profound because Elven Kingdom has an exceptional sense of realism and immersion, making your in-game character¡¯s promotion feel more pronounced and impactful.


    Although Meng Zhihan hadn¡¯t yet tested the abilities she gained after her promotion, she could already feel the palpable instinct to shapeshift that came with the elevation of her lifeforce.


    ¡ª<em>Addictive.</em>


    This sensation is truly addictive!


    Meng Zhihan believed that even without all the various quests avable within the game, many yers would still grind tirelessly just to experience this exhrating feeling of growing stronger.


    The sense of aplishment from gaining more power and the heightened awareness of one¡¯s strength thates with it are incredibly intoxicating!<em>I must have gotten a huge boost in mybat power by now, right?</em>


    Meng Zhihan thought excitedly before opening the system interface and checking the server-widebat power leaderboard.


    Sure enough, she saw her name at the top section.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ Mybat power rating has increased fivefold in one go? That¡¯s insane!¡±


    On the leaderboard, Meng Zhihan noticed that herbat power rating had exceeded the 30,000 mark, ranking her 11th on the entire server.


    Looking at the names above her, she noticed that the top ten on thebat list were also silver-ranked yers like herself.


    This was evident because their usernames were disyed in silver text with a subtly shimmering metallic glow, which stood out quite prominently on the leaderboard like VIP members amidst the rows of typical ck-hued usernames.


    So far at this moment, there were only 27 usernames with silver text on the leaderboard, but they upied the top 27 spots, which meant that these 27 users had already been promoted to silver-rank.


    Moreover, this number was bound to increase further.


    <em>I recall that someone recently did a head count and found that there were only about 90 people across the entire server who had earned a slot for Jobss Advancement, </em>


    Meng Zhihan thought.


    Privileges!


    In a way, they can be considered the select few privileged yers in the game!


    And let¡¯s be real, despite everyone moring for more game bnce and fairness, when such privilege befalls someone, they would most likely feel¡­ absolutely fantastic about getting it!


    Meng Zhihan could clearly sense that the crowd of onlookers in the temple, who had previously been merely curiously watching her, now looked at her rather differently now that she had obviously changed her jobss.


    Even without looking too closely, she could easily see the myriad of emotions in their eyes.


    Envy, longing, jealousy, curiosity¡­


    She felt incredibly satisfied!


    Her mood radiated with joy as she struggled to keep her lips from curving into a grin.


    Focusing her attention elsewhere, Meng Zhihan turned to her newly gained skills for a distraction.


    As expected, after sessfully changing her jobss, she had gained a new skill¡ª


    [ Shapeshift : Pterodactyl Mode ]


    This was an advanced version of [Transformation Magic], and far more powerful than the original transformation spell.


    Although [Transformation Magic] allows one to change into different creatures, has its own set of limitations.


    In particr, the highest form you can transform into is limited to only creatures with Iron-rank strength, and each transformation usuallysts only up to 20 minutes at maximum, after which you must rest for nearly half a day to recuperate.


    Moreover, the transformation spell can only copy 70% of the overall strength of the creature you¡¯re transforming into.


    In contrast, the [Shapeshift] skill, though limited to transforming into only one type of creature, offers a more powerful and longersting duration with greater growth potential.


    [Shapeshift]: Allows the user to transform into a fixed type of creature but, in return, enables the user to copy 90% of the creature¡¯s strength (excluding magical abilities).


    The skill¡¯s durationsts for an hour with a two-hour cooldown, but the effectiveness of the shapeshifting skill can also increase as the yer levels up.


    As a side note, the range of creatures a druid can shapeshift into differs from one druid to another, and for Meng Zhihan, the creature the system has assigned her to is a Pterodactyl.


    This prehistoric aerial creature is a subspecies of the dragon archetype beasts, with strength potential ranging from lower to upper Silver-rank.


    In other words, the skill Meng Zhihan acquired can be used all the way up to upper Silver-rank!


    <em>I can shapeshift into a Pterodactyl? </em>


    This skill is amazing!


    Meng Zhihan was thrilled.


    In Seig¨¹es, magical beasts linked to dragons are extremely powerful creatures, and this form also has the added advantage of being able to fly!


    Whilst feeling excited, Meng Zhihan couldn¡¯t wait anymore to test her newly gained power.


    She quickly spent 200 contribution points to ess the virtual training ground and opted for the room that simted the Elven Forest environment.


    The yers usually used this virtual space for PvP battles and testing various spells and skills since constantly messing around in the actual forest could potentially annoy the local NPCs and even lose favorability with them.


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s heart raced as she entered her designated room.


    She the quickly activated the shapeshifting skill, as her body briefly glowed before transforming into a huge Pterodactyl with a wingspan of over six to seven meters!


    The immediate sensation she felt upon transforming was rather peculiar; all at once, her vision and perception changed, giving Meng Zhihan an experience unlike any she ever had before.


    With cautious determination, she attempted to p her wings for the very first time and awkwardly lifted her unfamiliar body into the sky.


    Initially, her movements was unsteady, and she tumbled a few times. However, with persistence, she gradually mastered the art of flying and soon began to glide confidently around the training room.


    The novelty of such experience was incredibly wonderful.


    ¡°Haha, I can actually fly!¡±


    Meng Zhihan felt ecstatic.


    As a child, she once dreamt of sprouting wings and flying, but she never imagined it would actuallye true here in this game.


    After blissfully flying around for a while, Meng Zhihan began to explore the Pterodactyl¡¯s other abilities.


    She concentrated for a moment and then suddenly opened her mouth, releasing a burst of frost ray.


    The ray then hit a section of the forest within the virtual training room, instantly turning the area into a frozen space with the trees bing ice sculptures!


    ¡°So powerful! This skill must be at least at the fourth tier!¡±


    Meng Zhihan was delighted.


    A fourth-tier skill corresponds to a fourth-circle spell, which is typically essible only at the lower Silver-rank.


    Of course, this frost ray isn¡¯t a magical spell per se, but rather the Pterodactyl¡¯s innate dragon breath, though it has its own magical effects.


    After getting familiar with her new abilities in the training room, Meng Zhihan decided to return to the real world.


    Now, she felt even more assured in her strength.


    If she were to engage in a PK battle, she is confident that with her current abilities, she could single-handedly challenge a squad of fully armed level 40 yers with her shapeshifter skills, even without any equipment.


    That¡¯s right¡ª even without any equipment at all.


    At this point, Meng Zhihan realized that the biggest advantage of being an Archdruid specializing in the Feral Path is the reduced dependence on one¡¯s equipment after changing their form.


    This truly is a jobss for themon yer!


    It¡¯s really perfect for someone like her, whose cksmithing skills aren¡¯t fully maxed out yet!


    Not only that, but with her current strength vastly improved, hunting magical beasts would be much easier, and the rate at which she earns contribution points would likely increase significantly as well.


    And who knows, she might even start earning money several times faster too!


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve advanced to Silver-rank, I probably won¡¯t have to worry about contribution points anymore. It feels like I¡¯ve reached the peak of my gaming career at this point.¡±


    Meng Zhihan thought happily.


    Whilst imagining the wonderful gaming life that lies ahead of her, Meng Zhihan opened the exchange store.


    She was still eyeing those shy outfits from the introductory cutscene.


    It was clear that this new update had put a lot of effort into the appearance of these new gears and even though Meng Zhihan had chosen the Feral Path, she still wanted to get a cool looking outfit for herself!


    And just like she expected, several new items have already been added to the exchange store.


    Moreover, they were also lower Epic purple-ss gear for Silver-ranks!


    The appearance of each of these pieces of equipment is clearly much better than that of the older items, and perhaps even the golden legendary gears for the lower levels might not look just as good.


    At a nce, Meng Zhihan was immediately captivated by the shy and stunning new set of druid gear being sold in the store.


    However, when she looked at the contribution points needed to buy these items¡­


    ¡°¡­Ten thousand, t-twenty thousand¡­¡±


    ¡°The cheapest piece costs 100,000 CP!? And the most expensive robe is 200,000 CP? So that means¡­T-To collect all six pieces, it would take over 700,000 contribution points?!¡±


    ¡°And this¡­T-This amount is only for epic purple-ss gear? Are you sure these items are not a legendary golden equipment? Why don¡¯t they just rob us blind?!¡±


    To say that she was stunned would be an understatement.


    At that moment, Meng Zhihan felt her future might be destined for poverty once more.


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m really sick of grinding at this point.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>404</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ I¡¯M SICK OF GRINDING ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 405

    Chapter 405


    Whilst seated within the temple of her divine kingdom, Ev¨¦ quietly watched the newly promoted Silver-ranked yers through her monitoring sand table.


    These yers had gathered in different temples across the Elven Forest, with their emotions swinging between excitement and despair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you all can just sit back and rx after you¡¯ve been promoted to Silver-rank. Greater poweres with greater responsibility and better equipment means a higher contribution cost. Henceforth, you all must work hard to attain the equipment that you desire!¡±


    Overall, she had released a total of one hundred promotion slots, including one for a certain individual¡¯s alternate ount.


    Among them, ny-three yers had reached the maximum level cap and just within an hour after the new update went live, these ny-three yers had all immediately advanced themselves to Silver-rank.


    Of these yers, two-thirds were meleebat specialist, while the remaining one-third were spellcasters.


    This oue is also roughly consistent with the proportion of the yerbase¡¯s jobss specification in the entire server.


    Actually, Ev¨¦ had based this second job ss advancement simrly to how the local inhabitants of Seig¨¹es had structured their own strength promotion.


    However, to help the yers level up their strength more quickly, she had added an extra talent skill for each individual.In particr, each jobss have four path specializations, totaling twenty-four paths across the current six job sses.


    Of course, with the priest jobss not yet officially avable, in practice, there were only twenty specializations the yers can choose from.


    And interestingly enough, while at least one yer had chosen each specialization paths, most yers showed a preference for certain paths, withbat-offensive specializations being particrly popr.


    For example, the Elemental Path for Mages, the Burst Path for Archers, the Weapon specialization for Warriors, and the Assassin specialization for Hunters were all hugely popr.


    Meanwhile, Druids were an exception, with the majority of them opting for the Healing specialization.


    But in hindsight, it¡¯s really not surprising since, after all, it¡¯s currently the only jobss with the potential to use healing abilities.


    As for certain noteworthy yers Ev¨¦ had frequently kept an eye on, their chosen paths were pretty much in line with her expectations.


    For instance, Little Salty Cat, who has a propensity for using wide-area spells and long-rangebat, unsurprisingly this little richdy chose the Elemental specialization.


    Under the goddess¡¯s favor, she ¡®luckily¡¯ acquired the innate spell [Explosive mes].


    This is an elemental spell from the fourth circle that has the widest attack range and highest output damage but also the greatest mana consumption.


    As the wealthiest yer in the game, this little richdy fully equipped herself with the top-ss ¡®graduation¡¯ gear for the Silver-rank on the first day it was made avable.


    Yet, despite this, she was still murmuring about when the legendary golden equipment for the Silver-rank would be released.


    Ev¨¦ shook her head with slight amusement.


    <em>I¡¯m afraid her behavior would likely infuriate the other newly promoted Silver-ranked yers.</em>


    Well, having wealth certainly has its privileges.


    Turning her attention to HootyBird, who was also a mage like her friend, Ev¨¦ noticed that she had chosen the Magic Array specialization path instead.


    It seemed she had learned a lot about magical arrays from Alice and became very interested in them.


    Amongst all yers, this intellectualdy was probably the only one capable enough of independently drawing teleportation arrays by herself.


    In addition, during the recent celebratory party they held, Ev¨¦ heard from Little Salty Cat that HootyBird had apparently been tinkering with steam guns alongside a few other life-oriented yers, wherein they kept trying to imbue these items with skills.


    It was even rumored that they were very close to making a breakthrough with their experiments and now only needed a more stable and intricate magical array to sessfully implement their ideas.


    Well, now that HootyBird had advanced to the Silver rank, resolving the issues that had been holding them back might just be a matter of time.


    Ev¨¦ was quite interested to see how their experiments would unfold.


    Personally, she didn¡¯t believe that yers would be able to develop something as advanced like airnes, artillery or anything of such sort here in Seig¨¹es, as that would entail having expertise in such items, and most yers were just ordinary people from Earth.


    Nheless, she was confident that they would be able toe up with rtively simple inventions instead.


    Boxlunch chose the Assassin specialization, which further enhanced his stealth capabilities and granted him the ability to deliver more deadlier, precision attacks.


    In one-on-onebat, Ev¨¦ believed this guy might be the strongest one amongst the entire server.


    Even for Ev¨¦, she wasn¡¯t confident she could win a fight on equal terms with Boxlunch if she were topletely seal off her divine powers during their battle.


    This yer is truly a top-tier powerhouse.


    Of course, the reason Boxlunch is so formidable inbat is mainly because he spends an extraordinary amount of time online and has umted extensive battle experience.


    Out of the 60,000 yers on the whole server, no one is more dedicated to fighting than this reclusive guy.


    Tomato Stir-fry chose the Weapon specialization, ranking him just below Boxlunch and Little Salty Cat in terms of overallbat power on the entire server.


    However, Demacia, whose also has the warrior jobss, chose the guardian specialization.


    Well¡­the term ¡®Guardian¡¯ is just a polite and fancy way of saying that they can take heavy beatings like tanks.


    Yet despite this, Ev¨¦ thought that if Demacia continued progressing this manner, then this punk might truly be able to firmly secure himself the throne as the number one tank in the entire server.


    At that point, no one would be able to take him down¡­


    And coupled with his knack for taunting everyone he encounters¡­


    He might just be the most annoying yer, one that no one else wants to challenge in a PK battle.


    As for Li Mu, the de factomander-in-chief of the yers, he is still very straightforward and methodical in choosing his advanced job ss.


    He went for a Control specialization, aiming to fully embrace the support role of a Druid.


    Even his innate skill is a fourth-circle crowd control spell called, [Bloodvine Tentacles].


    But then again, for amander like him, having healing and support job sses is the most suitable, as these roles are rtively safe in team battles.


    Then there¡¯s Transformer Ji Gang, the only yer from the third beta to reach level 40.


    He chose the Burst specialization.


    He is one of the few Archers out there.


    Moreover, even among the pool of Archer yers, he stands out in terms of skills.


    It¡¯s said that this is because Ji Gang learned archery from his uncle during middle school and joined an archery club.


    Unexpectedly, these real life skills of his came in handy here within the game.


    Aside from these few yers, Ev¨¦ doesn¡¯t pay much attention to the others.


    ¡ªWell.


    That female cksmith named Meng Zhihan, who was the only yer who chose the feral path, also somewhat caught her attention, just like her close friend Yuanjuan, who also barely made the cut.


    She mostly paid attention to thetter since it was the person who almost led the ¡°Codex of Life¡± astray, or at least she was the main culprit based on what she heard from her conversations with Little Salty Cat.


    However, even though Yuanjuan managed to get the advanced jobss slot due to her good luck, her level is still far from what is required, so it will probably be quite some time before she can actually be promoted.


    As for this particr yer who seemed to have some tendencies of a female bootlicker and had good social abilities, Ev¨¦ had other ns in mind.


    Of course, those are matters for the future.


    Right now, she has another n that she wanted to try out.


    Whilst gently standing up from her divine throne, Eve¡¯s body shimmered with radiant light as she left her divine kingdom in her incarnation form.


    When she reappeared, she found herself deep underground once more.


    However this area was not the Deepfissure cavern nor the western region of the Underdark.


    But rather, she had arrived at the deeper undergroundyer nestled within the roots of the World Tree.


    Here, a mysteriousbyrinth had suddenly appeared at some point.


    The entire maze is made of massive stones and dark bricks, adorned with demonic reliefs, which gave off an eerie and terrifying vibe.


    This was actually Eve¡¯s own personal creation.


    She designed it in her divine kingdom based onbyrinth models from Earth and then used a portion of her divine power to project it into reality, making it tangible.


    From the outside, it might look like a forebodingbyrinth, but it is actually the sealing ground of the seventh demon lord, Azazel.


    Of course, thisbyrinth is also the new dungeon she created for the yers.


    And just like the Shadow Dungeon she made beforehand, this one can also be endlessly reyed.


    ¡ª <strong>405</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE PLAYERS</strong><strong>NEW TOYS </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 406

    Chapter 406


    Ev¨¦ in her incarnation form, strolled casually through thebyrinth she had recently created.


    Being situated deep beneath the surface, one could easily noticed that the temperature within it was somewhat higherpared to that of the outside world.


    Furthermore, the heat grew even more intense as one approached the core area where the seventh demon lord, Azazel, was currently sealed.


    This was mainly due to Azazel possessing the Divinity of Magma, causing the area where he was sealed to be naturally influenced by this element.


    As such, it also wouldn¡¯t be unexpected if a sea ofva were to eventually form in thisbyrinth.


    What¡¯s more, the mana in this ce differed greatly from that of the outside world¡ªchaotic and turbulent, with a tinged of malevolence alongside it.


    This was also due to Azazel¡¯s inherent powers.


    With his demonic powers being fundamentally tied to the Abyss, it essentially possessed a strong corrupting nature that could continuously erode anything, including the very seal confining him.


    Therefore, no matter how securely a demon lord is sealed, such pervasive corruption will inevitably persist.For this reason, historically speaking, all locations where evil gods were sealed had guardians that are tasked to regrly deal with the sealed beings corruption that erode the material world.


    The reason why chaos reigned over Seig¨¹es after the resurgence of mana was that, over the span of more than a thousand years, many of the guardians of these sealed evil beings had gradually perished.


    The same applied in regards to Azazel and his recent awakening.


    s, luck was not on his side for shortly after attaining his freedom, he fell into Eve¡¯s grasp.


    Whilst thinking of such things, Ev¨¦ continued her stroll through thebyrinth.


    From time to time, she would hear various monster-like roars echoing within it.


    As she moved forward, she became acutely aware of pairs of eyes lurking in the darkness, silently watching her every movement.


    Such gazes were filled with greed and malevolence, with a hint of fear as well.


    However, as soon as Ev¨¦ focused her gaze toward it, those eyes would quickly disperse.


    With a thought, Ev¨¦ gestured with her hands in a specific direction as several vines materialized at hermand and shot into the darkness.


    Momentster, the air was quickly filled with terrified growls and agonized screams.


    The vines then quickly returned to Ev¨¦, each coiling around a ferocious-looking creature.


    These creatures she captured were unlike any of the beings seen here in the underground.


    Instead, each of them had a grotesque appearance of varying kinds, but one noticeable distinct characteristic of these monsters was that they all had horns, tails, and scales, as they all exude a very thick aura of the Abyss.


    These were low-level demons, also known as lesser demons or imps, ranking just above the lowest form of Abyssal creatures¡ªthe abyssal worms.


    Their strength ranged from lower to upper Iron-rank.


    However, further beyond these lesser demons, Ev¨¦ could also perceived a far more powerful auras lurking deeper within thebyrinth.


    Those were greater demons, which were mostly at the Silver-rank.


    These demons were the minions of the seventh demon lord, Azazel.


    Being a god who had merged his essence with the realm of Hell, each demon lord possessed a power akin to the Abyss itself¡ªthe ability to create forth demons.


    However, unlike the Abyss itself, which can directly spawn demons with its essence alone, demon lords must primarily corrupt other creatures first and entice them into absorbing the corrupted power of the Abyss before they can transform them into demons.


    The weak ones were usually transformed into lesser demons, while stronger ones have the potential to turn into greater demons.


    Demon lords can still do this despite being sealed, and as soon as an opportunity arose, they would always find ways to create minions for themselves, enve them, and use these minions to seek their own liberation.


    And although Ev¨¦ had sealed Azazel within thisbyrinth, she had not actually fully restrained his power.


    As a result, this evil god had lured many such underground creatures into wandering into thebyrinth before corrupting and transforming them into demons.


    Not only that but by using his Divinity of Lust (harmony), Azazel even manipted certain demons in thebyrinth to breed and mutate, which then eventually evolved thebyrinth into an Abyssal Brood Nest.


    An Abyssal Brood Nest is a demonic breeding ground, capable of producing Abyssal Worms continously.


    These worms would eventually start to devour each other and grow into lesser demons, which could supply the demon lord with near endless amounts of new minions.


    Essentially, this method is how demon lords build up their forces, and it is also the primary method they employed to break out of their sealed prisons.


    Just as long as the seal isn¡¯tpletely wless, and they manage to create their very first demon minion, such process can easily begin.


    Given enough time and plenty of subordinates, the sealed demon lord will attempt to escape from their prison and if they somehow managed to escape, these minions could also be used as an immediate sustenance to quickly regain their strength.


    Azazel had actually escaped his prison in this manner thest time.


    Immediately after breaking free, he quickly consumed his followers and demon minions before he joined the war against the Hermetic Alliance.


    Had he been given more time to gather new cultists and create fresh demon underlings, the Hermetic Alliance would have faced not just Azazel, but a full battalion onlyposed of demon army.


    But now, after being sealed once again in thisbyrinth, Azazel was repeating the same process all over again.


    However, Ev¨¦ was well aware that this was actually Azazel¡¯s way of saving himself and that she could easily stop his attempts.


    Just by clearing out all the demons in thebyrinth and regrly purging them to maintain the integrity of the seal, she could thwart any of the Demon Lord¡¯s escape ns.


    However, this method is quite tedious, and for mythical beings like Azazel, time is hardly a concern.


    Even if all his minions arepletely purged, he could start over and over again, just as long as the prison he¡¯s been sealed isn¡¯tpletely imprable.


    It¡¯s definitely a slow method, but it can be quite effective on the long run.


    After all, in all of history, nearly no prison is entirely airtight.


    Sealed prisons essentially require mana to function, and this energy is usually drawn from external sources.


    As such, the moment a prison connects to the outside world for energy, there is a chance a w in its defenses will appear.


    And once such w is found, the sealed demon lord inside it, can slowly rebuild their power by leveraging their connection to Hell.


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t have extensive experience in making seals, so thebyrinth she created had even more weaknesses since it was her first time making one.


    And even though she had managed to sessfully sealed Azazel in thisbyrinth, the very mere fact that this demon lord had already converted so many demons in such a short amount of time was a defining proof that the prison she made was quite imperfect.


    Yet of course, Ev¨¦ had never intended to create such a perfect prison from the beginning.


    After all, a dungeon without any kind of enemies wouldn¡¯t be much of a dungeon, now would it?


    Henceforth, naturally speaking, there had to be both enemies and rewards for it to full function like the dungeon she intended.


    Ev¨¦ would ce a teleportation array in a corner of thebyrinth every few steps, disguising them to look like treasure chests by using more intricate arrays.


    These ¡°treasure chests¡± could only be opened by beings personally marked by Eve and they were connected to her storage space, or more precisely, to the various supplies she had stored within her divine kingdom.


    As she continued her stroll, Ev¨¦ would also asionallyy down these arrays, continuing forth until she reached the central hall of thebyrinth¡ªthe Demon God¡¯s Pce.


    After pausing for a moment to inspect the exterior of the Pce, Ev¨¦ gently pushed open its grand doors.


    Inside this enormous pce, the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel, sat expressionless upon a throne.


    His terrifying form¡ªa demon with the head of a goat¡ªfitted quite perfectly with the imposing, crude, and mysterious architecture of the demon god¡¯s pce.


    It was truly a magnificent sight.


    Very domineering indeed.


    Nheless, invisible to the naked mortal eye, a divine being would be able to perceive the invisible chains that bind Azazel within this Pce.


    These chains were the central core of Ev¨¦¡¯s seal.


    This chained seal not only restricted Azazel¡¯s power below the Legendary-rank, but also confined him to this very pce itself.


    And whether Azazel¡¯s strength was at the Iron, Silver, or Gold rank solely depended on Eve¡¯s whims.


    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve been quite busytely. It¡¯s only been a few days, and you¡¯ve already converted so many creatures into demons,¡±


    Eve casually remarked, tossing the lesser demon she had just captured onto the floor before turning her gaze to the demon lord.


    Azazel in turn, looked back at Ev¨¦, as his eyes which were made of entirely mes, narrowed slightly.


    ¡°Yggdrasill..¡±


    He let out a coldugh.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that your sealing abilities would be so pathetic after your revival.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can maintain it and how many times you cane to clean it up again and again. You better don¡¯t give me a chance to escape!¡±


    Hearing Azazel¡¯s provocative words, Ev¨¦ merely raised an eyebrow and smiled in response.


    ¡°Oh these creatures you keep on creating? Don¡¯t worry, I personally won¡¯t be the one cleaning them up.¡±


    She then took a moment to scan Azazel thoroughly and then added with a smirk:


    ¡°Though I must say, your appearance is quite fitting. Truly a perfect role to be a boss character.¡±


    ¡°However, there¡¯s no need to talk too much. Uttering three lines would suffice enough.¡±


    With that, Ev¨¦ casually waved her hand.


    Azazel, both shocked and enraged, immediately felt the chains that¡¯s binding him activate once again.


    However this time, the seal hadpletely suppressed his ability to speak.


    Eve then looked at Azazel and smiled mischievously.


    ¡°Well what do you think of these three sentences: ¡®How dare you, a lowly ant, step into my territory!¡¯, ¡®Tremble, and die!¡¯, ¡®Damn it, I will definitelye back!¡¯?¡±


    Azazel: ¡°¡­?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>406</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BOSSES ONLY NEED TO SAY THREE LINES ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 407

    Chapter 407


    After spending an entire afternoon fighting monsters underground, Meng Zhihan decided to return back to Chosen City.


    ¡°Sigh, the speed at which I¡¯m earning contribution points has indeed increased, but now, the amount needed to buy skills and equipment at my level is bing more and more ridiculous¡­¡±


    Looking at her pitiful ount bnce, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a faint sense of mncholy.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯m a silver ranker, should I also start exploring deeper into the Elven Forest like Brother Mu and the others to seek out more stronger magical beasts to fight?¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯m now killing monsters much faster, hunting these weaker mobs as a Silver ranker gives me a penalty, so the rewards I get actually decreased instead.¡±


    This level penalty, of course, was implemented by Ev¨¦.


    It was designed to prevent yers from endlessly grinding low-level mobs after bing stronger and to further encourage them to seek far new monsters to challenge.


    Under this penalty system, the greater the level difference between the yer and the monster (with the yer being the one higher), the less experience and contribution points are rewarded from the kill.


    ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s pretty much the same with tasks. The current daily tasks have be less and less rewarding for me. The only thing that still somewhat interests me is raising my favorability with the NPCs. Sigh, I wonder when there will be daily tasks suited for Silver-rankers¡­¡±The young woman thought out loud helplessly.


    Once she reached her home, Meng Zhihan immediately sorted the various materials she had gathered from killing monsters for that day.


    Many of these materials would be resources for her cksmithing practice, while the ones she couldn¡¯t use would be offered to the Goddess in exchange for some contribution points.


    However, as she was busy organizing her materials, one strange item suddenly caught her eye.


    It was a horn, somewhat like a goat¡¯s, but it emitted an unpleasant aura.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    Meng Zhihan was a little confused.


    After a moment of recollection, she remembered that she had acquired it as a reward during one of her battles in the underground.


    At the time, she was busy fighting monsters when suddenly, a hideous creature had jumped out from the side out of nowhere which startled her.


    Fortunately enough, that creature wasn¡¯t actually very powerful, and Meng Zhihan, in her Pterodactyl form, easily killed it with a single ice breath.


    This horn was then left behind by that monster.


    Thinking for a moment, Meng Zhihan casted an appraisal spell upon it and the horn¡¯s information shortly appeared in her field of vision:


    ¡¾<strong>Demon¡¯s Horn:</strong> This is a horn from a Lesser me Demon, a forging material imbued with fire-elemental properties.¡¿


    <em>A Demon¡¯s Horn?</em>


    Meng Zhihan was slightly taken aback.


    That hideous monster that appeared so abruptly¡­ was actually a demon?


    Just as Meng Zhihan was processing her surprise, a new system notification popped up within her view:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Hidden Quest Activated</strong>: Demon¡¯s Horn¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: You encountered a mysterious creature in the underground, a demon that shouldn¡¯t normally have existed there, and obtained one of its horns. What could this mean?¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Uncover the origin of the demon¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Duration</strong>: 1 day¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Reward</strong>: 1000 contribution points¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Hint</strong>: Godwarden Zero possesses the most extensive knowledge regarding any mystical matters in the entire Elven Forest. Perhaps she knows something about it.¡¿


    Staring at the new system message she got, Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    <em>A hidden quest?! </em>


    Then, pure joy coursed through her entire body after it finally sank in.


    ¡°A hidden quest! It¡¯s really a hidden questline! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve finally triggered one!¡±


    Rare hidden quests and main storyline quest like these were the most coveted types of tasks in Elven Kingdom for they were either usually part of a secret quest chain or directly linked to the overarching progression of the main storyline.


    As such, getting any of these usually meant extremely lucrative rewards!


    Excitement filled Meng Zhihan¡¯s heart as she hurriedly grabbed the Demon¡¯s Horn and left her home, heading straight for the Temple of Life in Chosen City.


    ¡°Godwarden Zero¡­ If I remember correctly, while this NPC is so elusive and not often seen around, she mostly stays inside the temple. Maybe I should try looking there¡­ well, if I can¡¯t find her, I¡¯ll just ask Alice where she might be!¡±


    After a light jog, Meng Zhihan quickly arrived at the Temple of Life.


    And from the looks of it, luck was on her side once again, as soon as she entered the Temple of Life, she immediately spotted a figure standing in the side chamber, albeit one rarely seen in the temple.


    Silver-grayed hair and red eyes, as well as that iconic ck armored dress radiating an aura of cold authority¡­


    It was definitely none other than Godwarden Zero!


    Meng Zhihan took a deep breath and hurried over, putting on the signature fawning smile that yers always often use when approaching NPCs.


    She greeted the high-ranking elf with respect.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Lady Zero~!¡±


    Upon hearing her greeting, Zero turned her head towards Meng Zhihan.


    Upon hearing her greeting, Zero turned her head towards Meng Zhihan.


    The other person then nced at her silently before nodding slightly, as the corners of Zero¡¯s curved ever so faintly into a barely noticeable smile.


    ¡°Good afternoon, brave Chosen One.¡±


    Of course, Meng Zhihan, being the observant yer that she was, quickly caught the other party¡¯s subtle expression.


    <em>She smiled!</em>


    <em>Lady Zero actually smiled!</em>


    <em>This ice-cold beauty within the game can actually do in fact, smile!</em>


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes widened, as her heart swelled with emotion.


    It was all worth it!


    Raising her personal reputation to 90 points had even made this icy NPC smile at her!


    ¡°¡­Is there something you need?¡±


    Zero¡¯s cool voice rang out once more.


    ¡°Oh¡­Yes, yes, there is!¡±


    Meng Zhihan nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking at grains, as she pulled out the Demon¡¯s Horn:


    ¡°I actually obtained this item after fighting a mysterious monster in the underground. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re very knowledgeable regarding this stuff, Lady Zero, so I wanted to inquire about this item¡¯s origin.¡±


    Upon seeing the horn, Zero¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.


    ¡°A me Demon¡¯s horn?¡±


    She then took the horn from Meng Zhihan, examined it briefly, as her expression quickly turned serious.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect¡­ that a demon had escaped from that ce so soon. It seems the seal there isn¡¯t asplete as we thought. Looks like we¡¯ll need to send new personnel to clean that ce up.¡±


    <em>What ce? </em>


    <em>A seal? </em>


    <em>New personnel?</em>


    Hearing Zero¡¯s words, Meng Zhihan¡¯s heart began to race.


    <em>A hidden quest!</em>


    <em>There really is more to this hidden quest!</em>


    <em>And it looks like a new map area is involved as well!</em>


    <em>Could it be a new storyline quest? </em>


    <em>Or maybe even a new dungeon?</em>


    Meng Zhihan couldn¡¯t help but let her imagination run wild¡­


    Of course, she didn¡¯t forget to continue asking questions, hoping to trigger the next part of the questline.


    ¡°Lady Zero, what is this seal you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the prison where the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel is currently sealed. The very same evil god that the Goddess hunted recently during the underground war.¡±


    Godwarden Zero¡¯s expression grew even more serious as she further borated.


    ¡°After that war, the Divine Matriarch ultimately defeated that Demon Lord and sealed him deep in the underground, within a vast andplexbyrinth¡­¡±


    ¡°Yet it seems that this demon lord has still not fully given up and still seeking ways to break free. The owner of this demon horn was likely one of the Demon Lord¡¯s servants who somehow managed to escape.¡±


    ¡°Most likely, they are finding ways to free Demon Lord Azazel¡­¡±


    After finishing, Zero turned to Meng Zhihan and spoke solemnly:


    ¡°Chosen One, I have a task for you.¡±


    ¡°Are you willing to venture forth to the underground where thisbyrinth stands and purge the demons lurking there, to reinforce the seal of the Seventh Demon Lord?¡±


    Immediately as soon as Zero finished speaking, a new system message promptly appeared within Meng Zhihan¡¯s field of view¡­


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You have triggered a dungeon quest</strong>: Labyrinth of the Demon Lord¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>407</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ LABYRINTH OF THE DEMON LORD </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 : Daily Repeatable Dungeon

    : Daily Repeatable Dungeon


    ¡¾<strong>Daily Repeatable Dungeon</strong>: Labyrinth of the Demon Lord¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Objective</strong>: Eliminate the demons within the Labyrinth, find the pce that currently seals the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel and defeat him.¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Time Limit</strong>: 1 day¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Suggested</strong><strong>Level</strong>: 40+¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Potential Drop Rewards</strong>: Advanced ss Change Slot, Lucky Treasure Chest¡¿


    <em>A daily repeatable dungeon?</em>


    After reading the details of the quest in her view, Meng Zhihan was momentarily taken aback.


    This task seemed different from the usual ones.


    <em>Moreover, there¡¯s a time limit?</em><em>And the rewards are drop rewards, not task rewards?</em>


    It sounded like another repeatable dungeon simr to the Shadow Dungeon, but with a higher threshold.


    As Meng Zhihan pondered over the system message, she turned to Godwarden Zero and asked:


    ¡°So, Lady Zero, how many people are required for this task? Also¡­ how can we actually reach this Labyrinth?¡±


    Hearing Meng Zhihan¡¯s questions, Zero¡¯s expression showed a look of seriousness as she replied:


    ¡°This task does not have a specific required number of participants as all the chosen ones who enter thebyrinth will automatically undertake this task altogether. However, considering therge numbers of demons lurking inside it, I advised that you chosen ones should at the very least form a team.¡±


    ¡°In addition, the location of the demon pce will constantly change, and not everyone may find it within thebyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Only those who locate the pce will have the opportunity to enter and defeat the Seventh Demon Lord, thus obtaining the most lucrative drop rewards it contains. Furthermore, the strength of the Seventh Demon Lord will also vary based upon the number of chosen ones entering the pce¡­¡±


    ¡°After sessfully defeating the Seventh Demon God, the pce will disappear for that day, and the seal which chains Azazel will be strengthened.¡±


    ¡°However, the pce refreshes at midnight and on the following day, the Demon God¡¯s Pce will reappear in thebyrinth once more, and chosen ones can search for and defeat the Seventh Demon Lord yet again. This process will need to be repeated continuously to strengthen the seal.¡±


    ¡°As for how to reach the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord¡­¡±


    The Lady Zero paused before continuing:


    ¡°It is located deep under the roots of the World Tree, but I have set up a direct teleportation array next to the Temple on the World Tree, which can transport you directly to the entrance of the Demon God¡¯s Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Be prepared however, for there are no directions inside thebyrinth. Once inside, all maps will be ineffective. However, if you wish to leave, you can simply pray silently and call upon the name of the Goddess to return back to the surface.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, since the power of the abyss exists in this Labyrinth, only the Chosen Ones blessed by Her Majesty can be immune to the corruption of the Demon Lord, so no one other than the Chosen Ones is allowed to enter thebyrinth.¡±


    After finishing this exnation, Godwarden Zero drew a symbol of the Scepter of Life upon her chest and gave a slight nod:


    ¡°Chosen ones, I wish you sess.¡±


    After receiving the information regarding the [Labyrinth of the Demon Lord] from Lady Zero, Meng Zhihan immediately decided to visit its supposed location.


    She opted not to announce this news publicly right away but instead nned to explore it alone first.


    With her being promoted to a Silver-ranker, Meng Zhihan felt more confident in her abilities.


    Nheless, she wasn¡¯t aiming toplete it entirely, but she was confident in scouting ahead and retreating safely should things turns south.


    Following the Lady Zero¡¯s directions, Meng Zhihan easily found the teleportation array near the Life Temple on the World Tree.


    After taking a deep breath, she finally stepped into the array.


    Whilst being apanied by a faint green glow, Meng Zhihan felt the world spin around her as her vision shift abruptly.


    Itsted for a few seconds, and when the scenery gradually settled, Meng Zhihan found that she had been transported to a hollowed-out area underground at the base of the World Tree.


    Amidst a myriad of twisting and ancient-looking roots, Meng Zhihan stood before a massive ck and red stone gate.


    The gate, which looks to be made up of towering minerals, was decorated with intricate demon statues.


    Inside, it waspletely pitch dark, as if leading to another realm.


    Faint, monstrous growls also echoed from within it from time to time.


    This definitely looks to be the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord.


    With a mix of anticipation and vignce, Meng Zhihan adjusted her state and walked through the gate.


    And as soon she stepped inside, her vision swiftly changed once more.


    She found herself in a sprawlingbyrinth, its wallsposed of ck and red stones. Candles flickered at intervals, casting eerie shadows that danced across the walls and filled the air with an ominous sense of dread.


    Looking back, she saw that the entrance which she hade through had actually vanished, as if she had been transported directly into thebyrinth itself.


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Muttering to herself, the girl cast the spell [Light] and began to explore thebyrinth.


    Yet after only taking a few steps, she immediately spotted a figure that looks to be a monster.


    They were small, grotesque humanoid creatures, slightlyrger than goblins, with sharp horns and slender, red tails.


    When Meng Zhihan spotted them, recognition hit her like a jolt.


    ¡°Fire Demons!¡±


    These creatures were exactly the same one like that monster where she got that demon horn from.


    They look easy to deal with.


    Their strength also looks to be not very high, at most only at the Iron-rank.


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes lit up as she immediately activated her [Shapeshifter] skill, transforming into a majestic Pterodactyl.


    Then she took off, dove, and let out her ice breath¡­


    In no time, the fire demons that hadn¡¯t managed to escape her range of attack were frozen into ice statues.


    After deactivating her skill, Meng Zhihan returned to her human form and lightly touched the ice statues.


    With a crisp ¡°crack,¡± the ice quickly shattered, turning the fire demons into ashes.


    At the same time, she received a notification that she had gained over 5,000 experience points.


    ¡°So much experience!¡±


    Meng Zhihan was delighted.


    However, seeing that her experience requirements had multiplied several times over after reaching Silver-rank, with each level requiring at least a million points and increasing exponentially as further strengthens herself, Meng Zhihan quickly regained herposure.


    ¡°Leveling up is bing more and more harder.¡±


    She shook her head lightly.


    Feeling a sense of urgency, Meng Zhihan decided to continue her exploration.


    However, just as she was about to leave, she noticed a shimmering, multi-colored glow emanating from the corner where the fire demons had stood moments ago.


    The light then coalesced into a shimmering, illusory chest not long after.


    ¡°Is that¡­ a Lucky Treasure Chest?¡±


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s excitement grew.


    She hurried over and reached out to the chest.


    The instant she touched it, the chest burst into brilliant light and opened itself automatically.


    A subtle spatial ripple then passed over it, as the chest vanished, leaving behind only a beautifully crafted longsword.


    Seeing the sword, Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes widened:


    ¡°Is this¡­ an Epic Purple-ss weapon for Iron-rankers!¡±


    It was a Epic Purple-ss weapon!


    Although Meng Zhihan had already advanced to Silver rank and no longer needed a longsword as an Archdruid, such a high-level weapon was still rare among yers and could be sold for 20,000 contribution points!


    ¡°This is amazing! This dungeon gave off such a generous drop reward?!¡±


    Meng Zhihan was overjoyed.


    This dungeon was incredible!


    In just a short time after her arrival, she had already gained over 5,000 experience points and a weapon worth 20,000 contribution points!


    Moreover, unlike items obtained from ruins or purchased from NPCs, equipment from the exchange store and Lucky Chests, were refined further by Ev¨¦, which could also be directly bound to a yer immediately without ever needing to visit the temple.


    Thus, Meng Zhihan immediately bound the longsword to herself and happily stored it away.


    She then nned to delve deeper into thebyrinth.


    However, just as Meng Zhihan took a few steps forward, she suddenly heard a fierce wind blowing behind her.


    <em>An enemy!</em>


    Her instincts red with rm.


    Meng Zhihan quickly tried to transform again, but s, the presence behind her moved even faster.


    Before she could fully change herself, she felt a massive force m into her body.


    In that instant, Meng Zhihan staggered as a sharp, unsettling crack echoed through her bones.


    She copsed mere secondster, her vision spinning as a relentless ache began to seep into every part of her body.


    Meng Zhihan had reduced her pain sensitivity to ten percent, and even so, she still felt such intense pain, indicating the enemy¡¯s attack was extremely fierce.


    And indeed, the attack was quite brutal.


    With just one strike, Meng Zhihan saw her health bar plummet almost to zero, leaving her nearly incapacitated and spewing blood and internal organs¡­


    Turning around, Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes strained through the haze, as the source of such an attack emerged from the shadows.


    A towering demon, encased in dark armor and wreathed in mes, loomed before her, its spiked mace dripping with menace and raw immense power.


    Thisrger demon was definitely at the very least Silver-rank!


    Just a single ambush strike, and she was immediately gravely wounded and on the brink of death!


    ¡°Is there really such a strong monster in this dungeon?¡±


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s mouth opened in disbelief.


    Seeing Meng Zhihan fall and unable to stand back on her feet, the demon grinned wickedly and advanced towards her.


    Seeing this, Meng Zhihan hurriedly invoked the Goddess¡¯s name:


    ¡°Praise life, praise nature, praise the great Goddess Eve!¡±


    As she quickly prayed, a radiant beam of light surged around her, whisking Meng Zhihan away just as the demon¡¯s strike aimed for her once more.


    ¡ª <strong>408</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ LUCRATIVE</strong><strong>REWARDS </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 : TL/N

    : TL/N


    <strong>TL/N</strong> : Changed ¡®<strong>Yuanjuan</strong>¡® to ¡®<strong>Dongdong</strong>¡® to be more urate.


    The Chosen City, Meng Zhihan¡¯s house¡­


    ¡°So¡­ you got beaten half to death by a demon monster?¡±


    Dongdong teasingly asked with a grin while applying low-grade herbs she got from an elven NPC onto her friend


    Meng Zhihan whose currently pale-faced and lying prone on the bed coughed up some blood and weakly replied,


    ¡°You¡­ *cough cough*¡­hey be a bit more gentler. I¡¯ll die if you applied it any harder.¡±


    ¡°Psh just revive yourself if you actually died. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re short on revival coins anyway.¡±


    ¡°Get lost¡­ *cough cough*¡­ I¡¯m already at level 41. Reviving at my level costs around 41 revival coins¡­ That¡¯s¡­ *cough cough*¡­ 4,100 contribution points! Even I¡­ *cough*¡­ would feel the pain. Not to mention there¡¯s now a resurrection cooldown after reaching Silver-rank¡­¡±


    Meng Zhihan coughed as she red at her best friend.Dongdong chuckled, softening her movements as she continued applying the herbs.


    At the same time, while treating her friend, she took a nce at the new intricately designed sword leaning against the bed and couldn¡¯t helped but clicked her tongue.


    ¡°You managed to brought back such a purple epic-ss weapon in just under ten minutes? This new dungeon looks really profitable, huh? That¡¯s worth 20,000 contribution points, right? Despite dying, you¡¯d still profited in the end.¡±


    ¡°I traded¡­my life for it in return¡­and as a result, Ick the time to grind for more revival coins.¡±


    Meng Zhihan muttered, her words interrupted by bouts of coughing.


    After speaking, she then nced toward the door.


    ¡°Has the healer the guild hired not arrived yet?¡±


    ¡°I already called him. Brother Mu said he¡¯d personallye over soon, but your injuries are pretty severe. If you want to heal quickly, I reckon we¡¯ll have to wait for Alice.¡±


    As if on cue, as soon as Dongdong finished speaking, a soft knock came from outside the door.


    ¡°Come in, the door¡¯s open!¡±


    Dongdong called out loudly.


    The door swiftly opened, and Li Mu walked in alongside the Saintess, Alice, by his side.


    The very moment Alice stepped in, she anxiously looked around and asked, ¡°Where is Miss Meng Zhihan? I¡¯m here to treat her injuries.¡±


    <em>Whoa! </em>


    <em>Brother Mu actually managed to get Alice toe here personally? </em>


    <em>Just how much favorability does he have to be able to directly ask a purple-ss NPC to heal someone?</em>


    <em>No wonder he¡¯s the only yer with max reputation in the entire server! </em>


    Dongdong eyes widened in admiration.


    Still, she didn¡¯t slow down, quickly waving her hand and calling them out over,


    ¡°Here! Over here!¡±


    Being a Silver-rank Priest, Alice naturally was adept at healing all kinds of injuries.


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s injuries slowly began to heal under the gentle glow of the holy maiden¡¯s divine healing magic.


    As she watched her health bar steadily fill up and felt the pain gradually fade away, Meng Zhihan finally let out a sigh of relief.


    A short whileter, Alice finally withdrew her hands, which had been radiating healing magic, and said, ¡°That should do it for now. The divine magic should continue to take effect for a while, and you should be fully healed within a few hours.¡±


    After standing up, she nodded slightly toward Meng Zhihan and added, ¡°Miss Meng Zhihan, I¡¯ll return to the temple now, please only rest for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, Lady Alice,¡±


    Meng Zhihan quickly expressed her gratitude.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Dongdong and Li Mu also chimed in.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me, for it¡¯s my sworn duty. Although if you truly wish to express your gratitude, then pleaseplete Lord Zero¡¯s task as soon as possible,¡±


    Alice replied with a gentle smile, waving her hand lightly.


    With that, she drew a symbol of the Scepter of Life across her chest and took her leave.


    ¡°May the Goddess be with you!¡±


    With those words, the holy maiden left Meng Zhihan¡¯s abode.


    Right after Alice¡¯s departure, the three yers finally started discussing the hidden quest Meng Zhihan had encountered.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you found a new hidden quest that triggered a new dungeon? And it¡¯s a daily repeatable dungeon?¡± Li Mu asked, both expectant and curious.


    ¡°Exactly. This dungeon is called the ¡®Labyrinth of the Demon Lord,¡¯ and it resets once a day. The rewards are incredibly rich. Here¡¯s a screenshot of the quest I received. Take a look, Brother Mu.¡±


    As Meng Zhihan spoke, she privately sent the screenshot she took to Li Mu.


    ¡°And here are some more screenshots I took inside thebyrinth¡­¡±


    ¡°This maze seems pretty huge, and the monsters are really tough. It¡¯ll definitely require team cooperation and cannot be solo¡¯d¡­¡±


    ¡°Guildleader, I think we should put together a raid team of just Silver-rankers to clear this dungeon. Remember, the main reward we can get is an advanced jobss slot!¡±


    ¡°I suspect this reward would drop after defeating thebyrinth¡¯s boss.¡±


    Hearing Meng Zhihan¡¯s words, Li Mu couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.


    Never mind the enticing monster drops and huge amounts of experience points¡ªthe mere jobss advancement slot alone outshined any other gains they could potentially get!


    Even though they had already advanced into Silver-rank, the majority of yers were still stuck in the Iron-ranks primarily due to the scarcity of such promotional slots.


    Hence for most yers, attaining these rare slots was their ultimate dream right now.


    If there was a chance to obtain that reward, then there was no doubt people would go crazy for it!


    Moreover, if it were transferable as well, then it could sell for a hefty fortune.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t, Heart of Nature could still benefit greatly, as they could form raid teamspromised of only high-ranking elite individuals.


    With these thoughts in mind, Li Mu turned to Meng Zhihan and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t told anyone else about this, right?¡±


    Meng Zhihan nodded, ¡°Not yet. I teleported back to the central square and was immediately dragged home by Dongdong for treatment.¡±


    Li Mu grinned.


    ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll reach out to each of our Silver-ranked guild members right away. Let¡¯s form a team and explore this new dungeon together!¡±


    ¡°This time, we¡¯ll be the first guild to sessfully clear this dungeon and write up a strategy guide afterwards!¡±


    Although Heart of Nature and the other major guilds cooperated frequently, there was also fiercepetition between them.


    Discovering a new dungeon, being the first to clear it, and releasing the first ever strategy guide¡ªall these things heavily boosted a guild¡¯s influence.


    Nevertheless, Li Mu wasn¡¯t aiming to monopolize the dungeon.


    In fact, monopolizing it was most likely impossible.


    However, being the first guild to seed and releasing the strategy guide would significantly boost Heart of Nature¡¯s influence in Elven Kingdom.


    And despite him usually preferring to take things slow and steady, Li Mu also cared deeply about the growth of his guild.


    However, just as Li Mu was about to mobilize the team, a loud, excited message came through his private channel from Demacia:


    ¡°Brother Mu! Bro! Big news! I got a really big news for you! a member of Moe Moe Committee had discovered a new dungeon!¡±


    <em>A new¡­ dungeon?</em>


    Li Mu froze for a moment.


    <em>This¡­</em>


    <em>It couldn¡¯t be, right?</em>


    He quickly reached out to confirm, ¡°What dungeon?¡±


    Demacia responded swiftly, his voice brimming with excitement, ¡°I think it¡¯s called the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord! And it supposedly drops a jobss advancement slot!¡±


    ¡°Bro, listen! I heard they¡¯re already organizing a raid team. Should we follow suit too?¡±


    Li Mu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Well, it seems Meng Zhihan wasn¡¯t the only one who triggered the hidden quest for this new dungeon.


    <strong>TL/N</strong> : Sorry for the inconsistent uploadstely, I¡¯m currently moving to a new apartment atm so my schedule is quite busy for the time being. I¡¯ll still try to upload whenever I can tho!


    ¡ª <strong>409</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ LET¡¯S GO EXPLORE THE NEW LANDS TOGETHER!</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 410

    Chapter 410


    A new dungeon has appeared!


    Moreover, there¡¯s a chance that a jobss advancement slot would drop as a reward!


    When this news spread amongst the yerbase, almost everyone as expected, became excited.


    This was especially true for those who had already reached level 40 but still hadn¡¯t yet obtained a promotion slot.


    If fact, ever since the emergence of Silver-rankers in Elven Kingdom, a yer¡¯s level has essentially be the primary measure for identifying top-rank elite yers, rather than the old criteria like donning legendary golden equipment.


    Henceforth, once a yer got promoted to Silver-rank, he or she will be at the top of the yerbase and without it, even wearing a full set of golden legendary gear of Iron-rank would still feel insufficient without it.


    As a result, most of therge and some mid-sized guilds with level 40 members began mobilizing immediately in preparation of raiding this new dungeon.


    And these groups have be the pioneering explorers of the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord.


    Each of them stocked up on resurrection tokens and brought the best gear and health potions before eagerly entering thebyrinth through the designated teleportation array.The race to be the first group to conquer thisbyrinth became so intense that in less than half a day, the number of yers entering the new dungeon exceeded four digits.


    Nevertheless, due to the recent server-wide Underground War questline and several continuous days of grinding to earn promotion slots, out of the 60,000 yers, just over a thousand had reached the level cap of 40.


    In other words, nearly all max-level Iron-rank yers had joined the dungeon raid.


    This clearly showed the allure of Silver-rank promotion slots.


    Additionally, yers who have already been promoted to silver-rank have also decided to participate in the raid.


    On one hand, this was mainly because the demons inside thebyrinth gave out a lot of experience, and ording to yers who had already ventured inside, killing a single Iron-rank demon could yield up to two or three thousand experience points.


    Even more so, if you managed to defeat a Silver-rank demon, as it would likely give you even more experience.


    Thus, for newly promoted Silver-rank yers, the demons in thisbyrinth are highly appealing targets.


    After advancing to Silver-rank, the experience required to level up further had increased rather exponentially.


    For instance, going from level 41 to 42 alone required over a million EXP points.


    And if it is structured in the same way as the EXP requirements for Iron-rank, then the experience points needed for future levels will likely continue to increase exponentially with each level.


    In most cases, reaching the level cap (lvl 50) for low Silver-rank would likely require an astronomical amount of EXP.


    Although it was possible to find monsters that gave more experience in the deeper parts of the Northern Elven Forest or the lower levels of the Underground, why go so far when there was a dungeon with a teleportation array right nearby?


    On the other hand, although Silver-rank yers no longer needed these promotion slots themselves, it did not mean that their guilds did not.


    By now, the number of Silver-rank members a guild had also became a major indicator of the guild¡¯s strength.


    If the promotion slot that drops upon defeating the dungeon boss could be traded, it would be worth a substantial fortune!


    Naturally, the appearance of this newbyrinth dungeon sparked a frenzy among the yers once more.


    However, this excitement was limited to only max-level Iron-rank yers and Silver-rank yers.


    Regr Iron-rank yers could only look on enviously as the top yers teamed up to enter the dungeon, while they continued grinding quests and farming monsters, hoping to reach level 40 and qualify for entry into this newbyrinth.


    With the influx of yers scurrying about in every corner of the new dungeon, the intricate details of the Demon Lord Labyrinth gradually became much clearer.


    As expected, it was an enormous andplex map.


    Even yers with a strong sense of direction had easily got lost once they ventured deep inside.


    The eerie, sinister background music, the grotesque and wicked demon reliefs, the faint torchlight flickering in the shadows, and the maze¡¯s winding paths, along with the asional monster roars, unexpected traps, and ambushes by demons, and of course, the glowing, rainbow-hued treasure chests tucked away in the maze¡¯s corners after defeating demons or dismantling traps¡­


    Without a doubt, thisbyrinth seemed to fulfill and embody every fantasy yers had about dungeons in typical MMORPGs!


    Naturally, they had no idea that this was all designed by Ev¨¦, who had drawn inspiration from countless dungeons in various games from Earth and incorporated their best aspects and fused them all together.


    She even went so far as to distort the space within thebyrinth.


    In her divine kingdom, Ev¨¦ could practically do anything she wished for, so creating such abyrinth was no challenge for her at all.


    The only downside was that physically materializing it into Seig¨¹es consumed a significant amount of her divine power.


    However, it was all worth it.


    In the end, it was a necessary initial investment that could potentially reap her great returns in the future!


    Moreover, it wasrgely due to the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel, who eagerly provided the monster NPCs and even took on the role of being the dungeon boss himself¡­


    As yers ventured more into thebyrinth, the types of monsters and various rewards gradually became more clearer for everyone.


    Based on their findings, there were only demons inside thebyrinth.


    Yet, the variety of such demons differed greatly with most of them being low-rank demons with Iron-rank strength.


    But despite their strength not being particrly high, they fought with reckless abandon, were highly cunning, and had a penchant for setting up traps.


    Amongst these low-ranked demons, the low and intermediate Iron-rank demons didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to yers.


    However, they often acted in groups, and if a party was too small orcked a Silver-rank yer to support them, it was rtively easy for such small teams to be wiped out.


    As for the peak Iron-rank demons, they were significantly more formidable.


    Even level 40 yers needed to approach them with caution.


    Of course, the rewards for defeating such a foe are also quite substantial.


    For ordinary creatures that were corrupted by the Abyss and eventually mutated into demons, the scales they grew became excellent materials for forging weapons.


    As long as the corruption was purified, these materials could then be used for crafting high-quality items¡ªor simply used as-is.


    And even if yers chose not to purify these materials, by simply offering them to the Goddess can still grant them considerable amount of contribution points.


    Additionally, the areas where demons frequently appeared were coincidentally also the ces where lucky treasure chests could be found.


    However, the contents of these treasure chests were really unpredictable.


    Sometimes, they might yield epic purple-ss equipment, or it could be, gold coins or rare magical materials.


    But of course, if a yer was unlucky, chances are, they might only get a lowly white-grade item¡­


    The low-rank demons were perfect for farming EXP, and the lucky treasure chests were highly sought after by the yers.


    However¡­ if yers encountered a Silver-rank greater demon, their only options were to either flee or call upon the Goddess to teleport them out of the dungeon.


    Within thisbyrinth, these silver-rank demons were considered mid-bosses, and unless a party had at least three silver-rank yers, they stood no chance against fighting such foes.


    To make matters worse, these greater demons had a penchant forunching sneak attacks, making them extremely hard to defend against.


    Not only that, but these silver-rank demons were also highly cunning. They would immediately escape if they sensed they were losing.


    As a result, every raid team that has entered thebyrinth so far has suffered losses to these silver-rank demons, and none has managed to defeat one yet.


    Fortunately, it¡¯s quite rare to encounter these silver-rank demons within thebyrinth and yers typically wouldn¡¯te across them often unless they were especially unlucky.


    As yers delved even deeper into thebyrinth, numerous guides and videos about the it began flooding the official forums and other numerous video-sharing tforms.


    This was one of the best features of Elven Kingdom.


    yers could directly ess the inte in-game, and even run certain softwares without ever needing to log out of the game.


    Thus, while exploring a new dungeon, yers could multitask and share their new discoveries amongst each other in real time.


    Unfortunately, on the first day after the new dungeon¡¯s discovery, despite more than a thousand yers and hundreds of raid teams exploring thebyrinth, none had yet managed to locate the legendary Demon Lord¡¯s Pce.


    ¡ª <strong>410</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ EXPLORING THE NEW DUNGEON</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 411

    Chapter 411


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? At the roots of the World Tree, within the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord.


    A well-equipped group of yers was clearing the area after having just finished a battle with a group of low-ranking demons, whose average strength barely reached the lower Iron-rank.


    ¡°Just where on earth is this Demon Pce? We¡¯ve been wandering around thisbyrinth for a whole day now yet we still don¡¯t have a clue where to find it. At this rate, we¡¯d be better off hunting monsters underground instead.¡±


    Comined a female yer dressed as a mage, whilst picking up a piece of demonic armor left behind by a in demon imp.


    She¡¯s a silver-ranked yer who had chosen elemental path as her specialization and was part of the Autobots guild.


    With it being one of the four major guilds, Autobots had naturally also sent out their own raiding team, made up of 25 yers.


    Led by their guildmaster, Transformer Ji Gang, the raid team consisted of 10 Silver-ranked yers, with the other 15 members being max-level Iron-rank yers at level 40, which represented the Autobots¡¯ strongest force.


    As a guild that had only been formed during the third beta, the Autobots were somewhat disadvantaged from the start and had lower overall strengthpared to the other three major guilds.


    Fortunately, Ji Gang had a knack for gathering yers. Besides him, the other nine Silver-ranked members were actually much older yers from the first and second beta, whom Ji Gang had worked hard to recruit into his guild.


    ¡°Yeah, and we haven¡¯t run into any greater demons this whole time either¡­ Aren¡¯t they supposed to like ambushing yers? I saw on the forums that a bunch of other raid exploration parties got caught off guard and was attacked by them,¡± said another silver-ranked warrior.


    As a silver-ranker, he was no longer satisfied with just fighting low ranking demons and was eager to test himself against a greater demon.


    All greater demons were of Silver-rank, and monsters of that level would definitely drop better rewards!


    Hearing this, Transformer Ji Gang said with a hint of uncertainty, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because our raid team is just too strong. From what I¡¯ve heard, a lot of the parties that got ambushed didn¡¯t even have any silver-ranked yers. The greater demons in thisbyrinth are pretty cunning¡ªthey apparently only go after weaker targets.¡±


    At this, the other silver-ranked yers could only sigh in frustration.


    Indeed.


    These greater demons are incredibly devious in nature, with a penchant for specifically targeting only teams with weaker members.


    Moreover, theplexyout of thebyrinth has also allowed them to set traps in advance that often seed time and time again.


    Luckily enough, teleporting back to the Chosen City from thebyrinth was really easy since the yers only needed to silently recite the goddess¡¯s name within their hearts, and they would be instantly transported back, which highly mitigates the risk of dying.


    And while many raid parties had indeed been ambushed, very few yers had actually died, as most managed to teleport out in time.


    This feature pleased the yers, who appreciated the mechanic for significantly reducing their death rate.


    Of course, they naturally had no idea that a certain divine being had implemented these features simply because she didn¡¯t want to waste her precious divine power on resurrecting yers in vain.


    After all, most of these yers exploring thebyrinth are high ranking silver-rankers which is far more costly to revivepared to their ordinary counterparts.


    Hence, saving a bit of divine power where possible was a priority, especially since teleporting yers from the roots of the World Tree back to the surface didn¡¯t take much effort on Eve¡¯s part anyway.


    By now, the Autobots raid team¡¯s enthusiasm had mostly waned after their extended exploration, which still yielded no tangible results.


    Sensing that his party¡¯s morale getting more lower and lower, Transformer Ji Gang quickly tried to boost their spirits:


    ¡°Don¡¯t get discouraged! It¡¯s only the first day after all. We can still snag ourselves a promotion slot, even if it¡¯s tough to find! Plus, none of the other raid parties have also found the pce yet, so we still have a shot at being the first!¡±


    The glory of being the first to find the Demon Pce wasn¡¯t just for the sake of honor¡ªit also meant having your name etched upon the illustrious wall that chronicles all the major events that transpired in Elven Kingdom.


    Therefore, having one¡¯s username etched into the game¡¯s history was a massive draw for most yers.


    After all, what¡¯s more satisfying than attaining fame and recognition?


    Just as Ji Gang was busy encouraging his team, he suddenly sensed a familiar magical fluctuation nearby.


    The others quickly noticed it as well, turning toward the source of the fluctuations.


    There, in the corner of thebyrinth, light flickered and danced for a brief moment, before gradually taking form of a radiant, glowing treasure chest.


    A Lucky Chest!


    After defeating a few low ranking demons, they had encountered another Lucky Chest!


    Each yer within the team had their eyes light up, and the entire group¡¯s morale instantly soared.


    ¡°Haha! Another treasure chest!¡±


    ¡°I wonder what we¡¯ll get this time!¡±


    ¡°So, how should we do this? Who will open it this time?¡±


    ¡°Same rule as usual. If you¡¯ve already opened one before, then you¡¯re out. Only those who haven¡¯t will get a chance to roll the dice and whateveres out is theirs!¡±


    The items from the Lucky Chest weren¡¯t bound to whoever opened it. Therefore, whenever they found one, the team would usually roll a dice to decide who would open it and try their luck. Naturally, any items the chest produced would belong to the person who opened it.


    So far, they had opened twelve treasure chests in total.


    The luckiest yer had scored a pair of Epic purple-ss boots for Iron-rank, while the unluckiest had walked away with a mere 50 gold coins.


    Of course,pared to some truly unlucky yers on the forums, getting 50 gold coins was already a decent haul to say the least.


    Rumor had it that Demacia from Heart of Nature had opened two chests in a row and, in both cases, had received only two pairs of in white apprentice boots in session.


    Such results were so unlucky that he was practically questioning his existence at this point¡­


    Talk about bad luck.


    On the flip side, the luckiest reward a yer received from a treasure chest reportedly contained a legendary golden item.


    So far, only one person had managed to do that, and this golden equipment that they won was actually an auxiliary weapon for intermediate Iron-rank.


    Even so, it was enough to make others green with envy, since such a weapon could be exchanged for tens of thousands of contribution points.


    In short, these Lucky Chests were the most exciting loot one could stumble upon in thebyrinth.


    And another one in front of them, the group buzzed with excitement and started rolling dice in the group chat to see who would open it.


    This time around, Ji Gang had rolled the highest number on the dice.


    A broad grin swiftly spread across their Guildmaster¡¯s face, reflecting the team¡¯s palpable excitement.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s finally my turn!¡±


    Rubbing his hands eagerly, Transformer Ji Gang whispered to himself, ¡°Goddess Ev¨¦, please bless this chest with a golden shine!¡±


    A chest that glowed with a ¡°golden shine¡± upon being opened signified that it contained top-tier loot.


    And the ElvKingmunity had discussed and summarized the signs associated with opening a lucky treasure chest on the forums.


    ording to these discussions, if the emitted light was white, then it indicated that the chest held the worst kind of loot¡ªitems of minimal value and utility.


    Blue light was the next tier, representing the mostmon type of loot. Chests with blue light typically contained decent but modest rewards that were useful but not extraordinary.


    Purple light indicated a higher quality of loot, often associated with epic gear items that were more powerful and desirable than themon rewards.


    However, the pinnacle of loot was represented by the golden light, which yers humorously referred to as the ¡°golden shine.¡±


    This type of chest contained the very best items avable, offering the most valuable and sought-after rewards in thebyrinth.


    After a brief prayer, Ji Gang slowly approached the shimmering Treasure Chest, feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation.


    He took a deep breath, steadying himself against the gravity of the moment, and reached out with his hand, fingers trembling with anticipation.


    As his fingertips brushed against the cool, metal surface, a sudden surge of energy coursed through the chest, causing it to burst into a radiant, brilliant light that illuminated the entire room.


    The dazzling brilliance was so intense that it temporarily blinded Ji Gang and his team. When the light finally began to subside and the color of the glow became clear, the awe-struck members of his raid team stared in disbelief.


    ¡°R-rainbow-colored?!¡±


    Transformer Ji Gang froze.


    <em>The chest can actually glow a seven-color light?</em>


    The prismatic brilliance came and went quickly.


    However, just as the treasure chest gradually disappeared out of existence, a ghostly key suddenly materialized in one of Ji Gang¡¯s hand.


    At the same time, a new information window about the key had promptly appeared within his field of vision:


    ¡¾ <strong>Demon Pce Key</strong>: This key can summon the Demon Lord¡¯s Pce. Hold the key and call upon the pce to summon it ¡¿


    ¡°Whoa!? A key to summon the Demon Pce?!¡±


    Ji Gang¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief and joy.


    <em>So¡­ this was how you locate the Demon Pce?</em>


    The other members of his team quickly gathered around him, fascinated by what their leader had obtained.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°The Demon Pce¡¯s Key?¡±


    ¡°Wait, so we can summon the pce with this item? No wonder we couldn¡¯t find its location all this time!¡±


    ¡°Quick, Guildmaster! Summon it!¡±


    The team buzzed with excitement.


    Simrly, Transformer Ji Gang could hardly contain his own.


    The Demon Lord Pce can only appear once a day, which meant their guild was on track of being the one who could clear it out first!


    Taking a deep breath, Ji Gang clutched the ghostly key and called upon the Demon Lord¡¯s Pce out loud.


    Then as he invoked it, the key suddenly emitted a dark red glow before slowly fading away.


    In that moment, a massive pce gate suddenly appeared before the group.


    At the same time, a new system notification popped up in each members field of vision:


    ¡¾Congrattions to yer ¡®<strong>Transformer Ji Gang</strong>¡® for finding the entrance to the Demon Lord¡¯s Pce!¡¿


    ¡°Hahaha! So this is how you enter the pce!¡±


    ¡°Hurry! Guildmaster, let¡¯s go inside before anyone else does!¡±


    The team was ecstatic, and so was Ji Gang.


    Whilst suppressing his excitement, he rallied his raid team and shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re now gonna enter the pce!¡±


    In response, all members of the Autobots raid team nodded eagerly, their faces illuminated by the glimmer of excitement and determination.


    They moved forward together, stepping through the massive pce gate with synchronized precision.


    Beyond the gate was an imprable wall of pure darkness, a void that seemed to swallow every trace of light.


    As the team ventured further into the unknown, the massive gate behind them vanished as if it had never been there, leaving no trace of their entry.


    Suddenly, the silence was shattered by a thunderous and enraged roar that reverberated through the entire surroundings.


    ¡°You pitiful ants! How dare you trespass in my territory!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>411</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HOW DARE YOU TRESPASS IN MY TERRITORY </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 412

    Chapter 412


    A furious voice echoed through the air like a thunderp that shook everyone to their core, sending shivers down their spines.


    All the yers who had entered the pce gate immediately froze upon hearing it, clearly startled by the sudden outburst.


    Momentster, the sound of torches being lit one after another in quick session echoed through the vicinity, as the deep darkness which fully epassed the whole area was abruptly pierced by their zing mes.


    With their sight finally restored, the yers found themselves standing before a massive structure.


    Whaty in front of them was an imposing pce, brightly lit and marked by rugged, sinister-looking architectural style.


    Its edifice was covered in fierce stone carvings, and two rows of towering stone pirs lined up on either side, each reaching about 20 to 30 meters in height.


    Each pir stretched to the farthest reaches of the pce, leading to the highest part of the hall¡ªa series of steps that ascended to a grand tform.


    And atop this high tform stood an eye-striking ck statue of a demon.


    This particr statue stood over 20 meters tall, featuring a goat¡¯s head over a humanoid body d in imposing armor, which evoked the image of a sovereign king who dominated the world.¡°Did that voice just now came from that statue?¡±


    A yer in the team rubbed their pointed ears, still buzzing from the thunderous voice, and looked curiously at the statue in the deepest part of the hall.


    ¡°Wait¡­? Doesn¡¯t this statue look really simr to that Demon Lord that appeared near the end of the Underground War?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! It¡¯s probably the main boss of this dungeon¡ªDemon Lord Azazel!¡±


    Ji Gang eximed energetically whilst brimming with excitement.


    As if on cue, the statue began to transform.


    Its original smooth ck surface soon became marred with numerous blood-red streaks that glowed rather ominously.


    Seconds passed and these crisscrossing crimson veins immediately began to spread across the entire figure, crackling as they burst into roaring mes.


    Soon, the statue waspletely engulfed in an infernal ze and a chilling aura began to emanate from it.


    Then, as its ckened surface gradually faded away, the once lifeless statue grew increasingly animated, with its form shifting as though it were awakening from a long slumber.


    Amidst the yers¡¯ anxious, eager, excited, and tense gazes, the demonic statue finally opened its eyes.


    ¡ªNo.


    At this moment, it was no longer just a mere statue.


    By now, it had transformed into the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel.


    Seeing the dungeon boss finally awakening, Ji Gang¡¯s expression grew stern as he raised his bow and shouted,


    ¡°That statue actually came to life! Everyone, get ready for battle!¡±


    At their guildmaster¡¯smand, everyone in the team swiftly unsheathed their respective weapons, each bracing themselves for the impending fight.


    The hunters began to stealthily positioned themselves into advantageous positions, while the archers readied their bows.


    Meanwhile, the druids and mages at the rear chanted spell after spell, casting buffs upon their teammates.


    At the forefront, the tanks activated their skills one after another as they formed a defensive line at the front of the group.


    Through countless battles they had fought beforehand, each member of the team by now had already honed theirbat skills to a proficient degree and developed solid coordination habits.


    And even though the raid team was muchrger than how they usually operate, with more members than they were ustomed to coordinating, their synergy still remained intact.


    At the same time, a new system notification appeared within every yers¡¯ field of view:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>WARNING! WARNING!¡¿</strong>


    ¡¾The Seventh Demon Lord Azazel has awakened!¡¿


    ¡¾The Seventh Demon Lord Azazel has awakened!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Battle Quest</strong>: ¡°Seal the Demon Lord¡± has begun!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Description</strong>: Demon Lord Azazel has sensed the presence of the living in his territory and has awakened from his slumber¡­¡¿


    ¡¾To prevent him from breaking free of his seal and wreaking havoc upon the world of the living, you must defeat him and return him back to his prison!¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Defeat the Demon Lord Azazel!¡¿


    The yers¡¯ eyes lit up.


    The formal dungeon quest had finally arrived!


    Suddenly, as if responding to the system, the torches around the pce red up even more intensely, casting flickering shadows throughout the grand hall.


    At that moment, the towering figure of the Demon Lord appeared even more imposing amidst the glow of the ominous torchlight.


    The yers looked up at Azazel, the Demon Lord, who returned their gaze with an intensity that was almost palpable.


    A gleam of cold light then shed across the crimson eyes of the ferocious goat face, adding to the aura of malevolence that surrounded him.


    At the same time, the yers clearly saw a red health bar materialized right above Azazel¡¯s head.


    It was¡­ his health bar!


    At the same time, new background music suddenly red in their ears.


    The passionate and rhythmic music seemed to possess a strange power, making the yers¡¯ blood surge with excitement, as if they were about to step onto a battlefield and be heroes tasked with saving the world.


    In an instant, each yers within the Autobots raid team felt their adrenaline skyrocket like never before.


    Their breathing grew heavier, and a faint red gleam appeared within their eyes.


    At that moment, they felt like Popeye after eating a spinach, capable of crushing the entire world with ease.


    Ji Gang gasped with excitement, his eyes fixed on the Demon Lord.


    At this point, his heart was only filled with nothing but the burning desire for battle.


    He aimed his bow at the Demon Lord, fired an arrow, and shouted at the top of his lungs:


    ¡°Brothers and sisters, Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Kill him!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this!¡±


    At hismand, everyone in the team roared and charged toward the Demon Lord.


    <em>Is this lot what Yggdrasill sent to reinforce the seal?</em>


    Azazel¡¯s heart burned with rage as he watched the pitiful ants charge at him.


    Humiliation.


    This was nothing short of tant humiliation!


    <em>She actually only sent mere ten newly ascended silver-ranked elves, and fifteen rookies who hadn¡¯t even reached silver-rank? </em>


    <em>He, the mighty King of Hell, the Seventh Demon Lord, was being challenged by such pitiful trash? </em>


    <em>Did she really think this was enough to defeat him?</em>


    Azazel let out a cold, mockingugh.


    He opened his mouth to shout curses at them, only to realize with shock that he could do nothing but growl and snarl.


    To his bewilderment, he couldn¡¯t get any of his words toe out, no matter how hard he tried to vocalize himself.


    <em>The seal! </em>


    His heart sank.


    But at that very moment, a voice echoed through the hall¡ªa voice all too familiar to Azazel.


    The tone and cadence were very eerily identical to his own:


    ¡°Tremble! Prepare to die!¡±


    The voice was lofty and grand, with an air of ancient arrogance.


    But to Azazel, it was truly baffling.


    Azazel: ¡°???¡±


    <em>That¡­ wasn¡¯t me! </em>


    <em>I didn¡¯t said those words! </em>


    He opened his mouth yet again, only to recall a certain phrase left by that damned ancient god before departing:


    ¡°Three lines are all you need.¡±


    Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Yggdrasill! </em>


    It was definitely the work of that wretched bitch!


    She had actually dared to toy with him like this!


    Once he broke free from this prison, he would definitely show her no mercy!


    Azazel trembled with rage, his entire body shaking.


    He cast a vicious re at the elves charging toward him, his expression dark and foreboding.


    No matter what, those who dared to defy the wrath of divine beings like him would pay a heavy price!


    With a furious roar, he summoned his ming greatsword as he brought it down upon the yers with devastating force.


    The sheer intensity of the attack was almost palpable, and the yers¡¯ faces turned pale in the face of such overwhelming power.


    Nevertheless, one of the tank at the front steeled his expression. He let out a long shout, activating both [Unyielding] and [Guard] skills.


    Raising his sword high, he braced himself to block the iing assault, determined to protect his teammates.


    At the same time, the druids and mages at the back cast a flurry of protective spells, enveloping the tank inyers of magical shields.


    Azazel¡¯s ming greatsword came crashing down, its fiery edge mming into the warrior¡¯s de with a resounding sh.


    The force of the impact reverberated through the battlefield, sending shockwaves through the air as the protective spells flickered and strained against the tremendous power of the demon lord¡¯s weapon.


    The tank coughed up blood and was instantly injured severely, as numerous cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet¡­


    Yet, despite this, Azazel¡¯s expression darkened even further.


    It was only now that he realized his power had been restricted down to roughly that of an intermediate silver-rank.


    <em>Yggdrasill!</em>


    He roared in fury and frustration within his mind.


    ¡ª <strong>412</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE FURIOUS DEMON LORD </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 413

    Chapter 413


    Within the divine kingdom of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ was surveying the unfolding battle with a mix of intrigue and amusement.


    ¡°As expected of a legendary Demon Lord. He¡¯s still able to exert such strength even with his power sealed down to intermediate silver-rank!¡±


    Ev¨¦ sat idly upon her divine throne, one long leg crossed over the other. In her left hand, she casually held a bag of popcorn, asionally tossing a few pieces into her mouth. Meanwhile, her right hand grasped a chalice filled with a drink that shimmered with an otherworldly hue. She then took a slow, deliberate sips, savoring the taste with a satisfied hum.


    Before her was a massive projection screen formed from raw divine power.


    On it, the scene of Autobot¡¯s raid team fighting against the Seventh Demon Lord, Azazel, was currently ying¡­


    Meanwhile, Azazel, the star of this ¡°movie¡± was feeling really aggrieved.


    He felt humiliated and mocked.


    His mythical power had been sealed, while his mind-control magic that could lead beings into debauchery and corruption was also being suppressed¡­


    Yggdrasill¡¯s sealing were so pervasive that even his basic transformation abilities and powers of intimidation were sealed!At this moment, the mighty Seventh Demon Lord could do nothing but swing his ming greatsword, crudely fighting like the most ipetent of warriors!


    It was stifling¡­


    Utterly humiliating!


    Yet, what bothered him the most wasn¡¯t just this.


    What truly infuriated Azazel beyond measure was the attitude these elves were showing.


    When he disyed his formidable strength, not only were they not afraid of him at all, but they grew more excited and thrilled instead.


    Seeing such gazes made Azazel both incredulous and furious.


    Excitement, curiosity, greed, and anticipation¡­


    Those eyes¡­were the same as someone looking at a prey or a toy!


    <em>They actually dared to regard me, a great Demon Lord of Hell as mere prey and a yth</em>ing?!


    <em>Who did they think they were?!</em>


    Perhaps, he could let Yggdrasill get away with having such attitude.


    <em>But these wretched ants dared to think they could trample upon him too?!</em>


    <em>They would pay dearly for this!</em>


    Nheless, despite his rage and his powers being restricted to intermediate silver-rank, Azazel still didn¡¯t take these lowly ants seriously.


    As an ancient mythical being and a master of universalws that defines reality, he possessed skills and vision far beyond other creatures, even with his power being restricted.


    To him, these ridiculous, greedy, and arrogant elves were nothing more than clowns, like the ones in the humannds.


    With another furious roar, Azazel charged at the elves once again as their battle further intensified.


    mes erupted and light azed whilst every strike from Azazel unleashed a violent storm of magical fluctuations.


    In an instant,va and mes engulfed the entire demon pce.


    Apanied by cries of ¡°Oh crap!¡± and screams of agony, one yer after another was effortlessly sent flying by Azazel.


    Clearly no one could stand directly against the power of the Demon Lord Azazel.


    By the time the yers realized this, five amongst their team were already severely injured.


    Those were the ones who had taken direct hits from the Demon Lord.


    Theyy on the ground, barely alive, with pixted wounds and crimson bloodstains everywhere.


    Had it not been for the constant barrage of defensive and healing spells cast on each yer whenever Azazel attacked, the whole raid team would have already long since died and respawned back to the World Tree.


    Watching the elves he had easily knocked down, Azazel sneered coldly to himself.


    ¡°Hmph, weaklings.¡±


    He raised his weapon once more, aiming for the gravely injured yers¡­


    Seeing this, Ji Gang¡¯s expression changed:


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold on any longer! You guys, quickly chant the Goddess¡¯s name and return back to the city!¡±


    <em>¡­Chant the Goddess¡¯s name and return to the city?</em>


    Hearing the elf¡¯s words, Azazel paused for a moment.


    However, his hand did not stop moving.


    His ming greatsword came crashing down with terrifying force, aiming directly at the injured yers.


    With a loud bang, the greatsword mmed directly into the ground, leaving a deep crater over ten meters wide.


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Seeing such devastating attack, the remaining yers turned pale, unable to hold back their exmations.


    However, Azazel¡¯s expression darkened.


    His attack just now had missed those critically injured elves.


    More specifically, just as he was about to tear those ants apart, a spatial energy wave out of nowhere suddenly formed around them and teleported them away in the nick of time.


    As a matter of fact, that very familiar aura within those spatial waves made Azazel grit his teeth in fury.


    <em>It was Yggdrasill!</em>


    <em>It was her doing again! </em>


    That obnoxious ancient god who had sealed him here had just saved those ants right as he was about to kill them!


    <em>Yggdrasill!</em>


    Azazel roared furiously within his heart.


    While he seethed with anger, the yers quickly regrouped themselves.


    ¡°His attack damage is really high! But luckily for us, he¡¯s also really slow. Guys, let¡¯s switch tactics and kite him, while looking for his weak points!¡±


    Ji Gang shouted before adding,


    ¡°And if you¡¯ve received a critical injury, don¡¯t hesitate and immediately return to the city! Avoid dying as much as possible!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    The other yers nodded in agreement.


    Soon, the twenty yers that¡¯s raiding the demon pce shifted their main strategy, circling around Azazel instead.


    Seeing these pesky elves change their tactics and start running around him like annoying flies, while asionally striking him, Azazel grew increasingly agitated.


    <em>These damnable elves!</em>


    He cursed angrily to himself, swinging his ming greatsword at them once again.


    But this time, the elves actually managed to dodged his attacks, thus he didn¡¯t achieve much.


    It was really frustrating.


    Azazel felt utterly frustrated.


    He still had considerable strength left within him, and none of these elves could withstand his attacks, but this damned seal had greatly restricted his speed!


    Moreover, these long-eared pesky creatures, whom he had once dismissed as mere garbage, were actually far more agile than he had initially expected!


    After several attempts to chase them down, he only managed to seriously injure one slower elf with the residual mes of his sword.


    Meanwhile, the elves¡¯ attacks continued on.


    Circling around Azazel, they unleashed their skills one after another when he couldn¡¯t respond fast enough.


    Brilliant array of colorful spells and elegant sword techniques intertwined,nding upon Azazel.


    Although their attacks were weak and couldn¡¯t harm a being of mythical stature like him, Azazel was shocked to realize that, were pretty useless, his innate demonic power was slowly being drained away!


    <em>No¡­</em>


    <em>It was being absorbed!</em>


    Somehow, these elves¡¯ skills are imbued with the passive ability to devour his demonic power!


    Azazel¡¯s eyes narrowed as he suddenly understood everything¡­


    That Ancient God, Yggdrasill¡¯s n all along was to use these elves to weaken and drain the demonic power he¡¯s painstakingly umting to himself!


    On the other side, the yers began to notice changes in the boss¡¯s health bar with each strike theynded.


    Ji Gang¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°He¡¯s finally losing health! We can do it guys! keep attacking him!¡±


    Emboldened by their progress, the raid team became even more persistent in their kiting strategy.


    Seeing the irritating elves circling him like flies, Azazel let out a stifled roar within his heart.


    <em>Yggdrasill! </em>


    ¡ª <strong>413</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE AGGRIEVED DEMON LORD</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 414

    Chapter 414


    The sound of thunderous explosions echoed throughout the pce, as roaring mes engulfed the grand hall, turning it into a sea of fire.


    Nevertheless, despite their surroundings turning into such hellfirendscape, the yers still persisted on circling around the hulking demon, constantly dodging and moving about nimbly as they bombarded him with arrays of brilliant spells and dazzling sword skills which made Azazel roar in fury.


    To counter their persistent attacks, he swung his massive ming greatsword, chasing after the slippery yers like swatting at flies within the pce.


    Their battle grew more intense.


    Truly, Azazel, the seventh demon lord, lived up to his fearsome reputation.


    Even when his powers is being greatly restricted, none of the yers dared to face him head-on.


    Although the yers had shifted their strategy to guerri tactics, the rookies on the team continued to fall one after another after being gravely wounded by Azazel¡¯s relentless counterattacks.


    Even the mere shockwaves of Azazel¡¯s strikes as he sumbed into a state of fury, were enough to destroy everything within their path.


    Except for the warriors serving as the parties¡¯ tanks, none could withstand his attacks.However, despite the raid team members being cut down like flies or swatted away akin to crushed watermelons one after another, Azazel¡¯s mood didn¡¯t improve at all.


    Not a single yer had died.


    These damned pests¡ªnone of them had actually died at all!


    Every time he was about to deal a fatal blow to a critically injured elf, they would unhesitatingly pray and teleport away.


    The one responsible for sealing him was teleporting them out so quickly that Azazel never got a chance to finish them off.


    This feeling of hitting nothing but air deeply frustrated and aggrieved Azazel to no end.


    Moreover, as the battle dragged on and the number of raid team members still capable of fighting in the pce dwindled further and further, Azazel noticed something else:


    These cursed long-eared elves were bing increasingly more crafty and harder to catch.


    Not only that, but his power was also steadily being drained by their attacks¡­


    Azazel could clearly feel it:


    His strength was rapidly waning, while his movements were bing slower and slower, and even his attacks were weakening at an exponential rate.


    This realization filled him with shock, rage and fear.


    He knew that once his demonic power waspletely exhausted, the seal ced upon him would strengthen once more, and he would fall back into a state of slumber.


    Although he had no idea when he would inevitably be awoken once again, the thought of being manipted and not being the master of his own fate felt deeply humiliating.


    This, to Azazel, was even more infuriating than simply being forced back into a deep slumber under a stronger seal.


    At this moment, he finally realized that these long-eared nuisances really did have the capacity to seal him!


    <em>No¡­</em>


    <em>It wasn¡¯t just the strength of these elves, per se, but rather¡­</em>


    When another elf barely escaped Azazel¡¯s de and safely teleported away, he finally understood everything.


    <em>Yggdrasill! </em>


    <em>You actually treated me as a mere whetstone for these insects!</em>


    <em>You¡¯ve also made me into a power source to draw power from!</em>


    Azazel roared angrily within his heart.


    Indeed.


    It was most likely her n all along!


    <em>Since the other party already had the power to outright seal him into a near-perfect prison, then why hadn¡¯t she done so in the first ce?</em>


    Instead, she used a roundabout method of requiring these elves to reinforce the seal¡­


    <em>And if these elves were the ones tasked with reinforcing the seal, then why did she restrict his power to a rank only slightly stronger than theirs?</em>


    Not to mention those perfectly timed spatial teleportations thatpletely mitigated these elves¡¯ chances of dying!


    Sure, these ants kept calling for her name in prayer, but as a god himself, Azazel knew that divine beings like them rarely respond to such things.


    The very fact that Yggdrasill kept shamelessly answering their prayers each and every time meant there was more to it than her wanting to save these elves¡­


    With these clues he pieced together, Azazel had already figured it all out.


    Simply put, the Mother of All Gods had somehow decided to use him as an unwilling tool to train her believers and siphon his power to restore her own!


    However, despite knowing all this, Azazel also realized that there was nothing he could do about it¡­


    By this point, with his powers sealed and every facet of his life under the other party¡¯s control, he was simply nothing more than a puppet at the mercy of Yggdrasill.


    Realizing this, Azazel¡¯s expression grew even darker.


    Everything had been set in motion from the very beginning.


    No matter how much he struggle, he still probably wouldn¡¯t be able to change the course of this battle.


    Sooner orter, he would either be sealed again by these long-eared elves, or he would somehow critically injure them one by one, thereby forcing them all to eventually teleport away.


    Azazel could already predict it:


    Even if this first wave of elves failed, another would soon probably follow not long after¡­and they will continue on, at least until he couldn¡¯t resist no more and was sealed once again.


    <em>¡ªMy fate had been decided from the very start.</em>


    Azazel roared in anguish and fury within his mind.


    <em>Yggdrasill! </em>


    s, due to both his ability to vocalize and his mental power being bound, all of his rage and curses were trapped inside and could not be heard by anyone else.


    The battle raged on as the number of yers in the raid team dwindled down to single digits, but at the same time, Azazel¡¯s strength also continued to weaken further and further in return.


    Their fight seemed as if it had no end, but at longst, with only three wounded yers left from the original twenty-five, the demon lord Azazel finally reached his breaking point¡­


    With a deafening crash, his body was suddenly engulfed in a radiant light.


    It was the power of the seal.


    Azazel¡¯s strength had finally fallen to a critical point, thus triggering the self-preservation mechanism inside him which inevitably pulled him back to the high tform deep within the demon pce and transformed him into a statue once more.


    <em>It¡¯s finally over¡­</em>


    For some reason, this very thought shed through Azazel¡¯s mind at that moment.


    The seal had enveloped him once more.


    But just before he was fully sealed, that familiar voice imitating him echoed through the hall once more:


    ¡°Damn it! I¡¯ll definitely be back!¡±


    Of course, this time the tone shifted from its initial condescending attitude to one of frustration instead.


    Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Yggdrasill! </em>


    He roared in his heart as he was sealed once more¡­


    With the dungeon boss finally contained, the mes around the pce also began to gradually died out.


    In the grand hall, only three yers remained, copsed on the ground, panting heavily.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s finally over¡­¡±


    Transformer Ji Gang gasped, looking at the demon lord that now reverted back into being a statue.


    He panted for a moments before grinning through his exhaustion.


    ¡°Hahaha! We won! We actually won!¡±


    The other two surviving yers also burst into excitedughter.


    Soon, the dim pce was illuminated by a soft glow, and a new system notification appeared in their field of vision¡ª


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Congrattions to yers ¡®<strong>Transformer Ji Gang</strong>¡® ¡®<strong>Advancing Leghair</strong>¡® and ¡®<strong>Come Fight Me If You Dare</strong>¡® for sessfully clearing the Labyrinth of the Demon Lord and bing the first yers to defeat the Seventh Demon Lord ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Defeat the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel (Completed)¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Rating</strong>: Barely Satisfactory¡¿


    ¡¾Based on each participants contributions, all yers that participated have been awarded with EXP points. Experience for teleported yers has been reduced by 50%¡­¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾Generating loot rewards¡­¡¿


    As the sweet sound of the system rang out, a dazzling light began to gather at the base of the tform.


    <em>Their rewards! </em>


    <em>The promised loot was finally here!</em>


    The three remaining yers, now reinvigorated, were overjoyed.


    Dragging over their tired bodies, they made their way up to the tform.


    As the light slowly faded, three familiar chests appeared before them.


    They were three lucky treasure chests.


    The three yers stared down at it, utterly dumbfounded.


    <em>¡­That¡¯s it?</em>


    ¡ª <strong>414</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THAT¡¯S</strong><strong>IT? ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 415

    Chapter 415


    Looking at the chest in front of them, one of the surviving three yers, a tank named ¡°Advancing Leghair,¡± frowned.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the reward supposed to be a Silver-rank promotion slot? How did we end up with just a treasure chest instead?¡±


    Even though he had already advanced to Silver-rank, it didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t expecting the promotion slot as part of the loot.


    Moreover, although it was still uncertain whether the slot could be traded, the value of the Silver promotion slot had already surged significantly among the yerbase.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just open the chest first and take a look. Maybe it¡¯s inside!¡± suggested ¡°Fight Me If You Dare,¡± a Level 41 Silver-rank mage.


    The three of them stepped forward, each picking a chest and opening it all on the spot.


    With a sh of dazzling purple light, an item appeared in each of their respective hands.


    Specifically, they received two pieces of upper epic purple-ss equipment for Iron-rank, along with a pouch containing 800 gold coins.


    Honestly speaking, such rewards wasn¡¯t a bad haul.But the three all immediately felt disappointed upon seeing what they¡¯ve got.


    Compared to the rewards they had initially hoped for, these items felt like mere constion, to say the least.


    ¡°What a rip-off! It¡¯s not even a silver-ss item nor a promotion slot¡­¡± Leghair said with frustration.


    ¡°Exactly¡­More than 20 of us have fought for such a long time, but in the end, this is the only reward we¡¯ll get? This dungeon seemed easy enough, but these rewards are seriously underwhelming¡­ Where¡¯s the supposed promotion slot reward?¡±


    Fight Me chimed in, also clearly dissatisfied.


    Ji Gang remained silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: ¡°Maybe there are more rewards hidden somewhere in this ce. Let¡¯s keep searching around!¡±


    The other two¡¯s eyes lit up at his suggestion.


    <em>Right! </em>


    <em>They hadn¡¯t searched the whole area yet!</em>


    Without hesitation, the trio swiftly sprang into action, scouring every corner of the pce.


    However, even after inspecting the entire ce, they still hadn¡¯t found anything aside from ruins and debris.


    In the end, there are no extra rewards, much to their further disappointment.


    The initial three chests were truly the only loot dropped after defeating the demon lord.


    ¡°Dammit, this¡­ is so stingy!¡±


    Leghair cursed.


    Ji Gang also frowned slightly but then thought for a moment and said in uncertain tone,


    ¡°Could it be¡­because wepleted the dungeon, but our performance rating was too low?¡±


    His words made the other two pause and think.


    Perhaps, their Guildleader was right.


    While they had indeed cleared the dungeon, thinking back, they also remembered that the system notification also included a part wherein it states that their performance rating was just ¡°barely satisfactory.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a really good chance that the quality of loot we got was somehow rted to that¡­Now that I think about it, it would be pretty boring if this new dungeon could be easily cleared on our first try, right? I mean, back when I yed traditional online games, no one ever seeded in clearing a new dungeon without dying multiple times first¡­¡±


    Fight Me nodded in agreement.


    Just then, a new system message appeared within their field of view:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾The Quest has beenpleted¡­¡¿


    ¡¾ All yers shall now be teleported out of the pce in 3 seconds¡­ ¡¿


    Seeing the message, Ji Gang shook his head ruefully.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This was just our first attempt¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll try again tomorrow¡­¡±


    Three seconds passed in an instant as a soft glow enveloped the three of them, and a gentle force teleported them away.


    Then, once the trio was sessfully transported away, the ruined pce began to repair itself, as everything returned to its prior original state.


    Within the Divine Kingdom of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ shook her head lightly as she closed her monitoring screen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not easy to obtain the silver-ss reward. Challengers are only eligible to receive it if they achieve a perfect performance rating.¡±


    Their leader, Ji Gang, was correct in his assumptions.


    The reason their team only received three lucky chests as rewards was that, although they had managed to clear the dungeon, their performance rating wascking.


    After all, their raid team wasposed of 25 yers, yet only three survived by the end.


    On top of that, it took them a full two hours just to whittle down Azazel¡¯s HP to near-death.


    Quite frankly, if she hadn¡¯t ced those several limitations on Azazel, their team would have already been wiped out shortly after the battle began.


    Luckily for them, she had never really intended for any yers to face a full wipe when fighting Azazel.


    After all, while Elven Kingdom is just a game for the yers, and their deaths are a regr urrence, but for Ev¨¦, it¡¯s different.


    It would¡¯ve cost her unnecessary resources if the yers had been ughtered by Azazel.


    The primary objective of thisbyrinth was to utilize Azazel and absorb his power, while training the yers served merely as a secondary benefit.


    That¡¯s why, for each team that entered the Demon Pce, Ev¨¦ restricted Azazel¡¯s strength to align with what the team could theoretically manage, even if only one member was left.


    What¡¯s she¡¯s doing is othing more than maximizing efficiency.


    Nheless, not all victories are graded equal.


    A wless victory wherein a 25 yer team can clear the dungeon unscathed is one thing; but barely surviving with just three severely injured yers as the sole survivors is apletely different matter.


    Ev¨¦ understood that making the dungeon far too easy or allowing rewards to be obtained without much effort would detract from the experience for these yers.


    After all, part of the fun of dungeon raiding is learning the mechanics through numerous trial and error, often dying multiple times before finally seeding.


    In this manner, the process of exploration would be inherently more enjoyable for the yers.


    However, this primarily applies to general games, and Elven Kingdom not like any other typical game.


    For Ev¨¦, deliberately making things difficult just to enhance gamey could actually contradict her own vested interests.


    Also, resurrecting yers, especially those who have advanced to Silver rank, can really put a strain upon her divine power.


    Though yers needing resurrection coins had offset what divine power she lost, why should such unnecessary consumption be added in the first ce?


    Therefore, Ev¨¦ chose to adjust how the rewards are given instead.


    Indeed, the dungeon boss fight is designed to be a battle where yers can avoid death and have a high chance of sess as long as they exercise enough caution and patience.


    But at the same time, the rewards are also divided into different ssification.


    Simply put, to get the best rewards, they must first achieve a perfect victory!


    And that¡¯s where the real challenge of this new dungeon lies.


    Ev¨¦ set the rewards based on their overall performance, not merely on the fact that they cleared the dungeon.


    Of course, if an elite yer at Level 40 could solo the entire dungeon by themselves, then Ev¨¦ would certainly grant them the highest reward.


    Such talents would definitely need to be nurtured, after all.


    The news of Autobots raid team sessfully clearing the new dungeon quickly spread among the yerbase after the system announcement.


    The way they seeded in their first attempt surprised the entire server, catching many off guard.


    <em>They cleared it with just one attempt? </em>


    <em>In that case, isn¡¯t this dungeon far too easy?</em>


    But when people heard about their performance rating and the rewards they received, everything started to make sense.


    So that¡¯s why¡ªthey barely scraped by with the lowest possible performance rating!


    ¡°This new dungeon¡­ its difficulty likely isn¡¯t about whether we can defeat the boss per se, but rather, how we can do it in a perfect manner. It seems impossible to get the best rewards unless someone get the highest performance rating first.¡±


    After hearing about Ji Gang¡¯s experience, Li Mu made this assessment.


    ¡ª <strong>415</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE DUNGEON¡¯S DIFFICULTY</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 416

    Chapter 416


    The raid team of Transformer Ji Gang was the first one to have seed in clearing the new dungeon.


    Immediately afterwards, they uploaded online a recording of their expedition process and shared a detailed, first-hand strategy guide on how to seed in clearing it on the forums.


    Out of the 25 Autobots members who participated in the boss fight, only three had survived.


    Nevertheless, their sacrifices weren¡¯t in vain.


    At the very least, now, the wider public has gained valuable insights into several key aspects, such as the boss¡¯s behavioral mechanics, including attack patterns, phase transitions, and weaknesses that were previously unknown.


    For example, the dungeon boss wasn¡¯t particrly fast, so a kiting strategy could significantly reduce the damage the yers would incur.


    In addition, although this boss mainly had fire attributes, using water or ice-based abilities did not seem to deal extra damage at all.


    Surprisingly, however, natural or light-attribute skills were more effective in draining the boss¡¯s health instead.


    Of course, what the yers didn¡¯t realize was that this was partly due to the fact that their natural skills were imbued with [War Sacrifice], a hidden passive ability left by Ev¨¦ within them, and partly because skills with light attributes could naturally suppress the power of the abyss up to a certain extent.The recording Ji Gang uploaded immediately gained poprity and excitement, quickly circting among yers and sparking lively discussions across the forum and other social media.


    Various yers also eagerly shared their thoughts, specting about the strategies used during the boss fight and the significance of the events captured in the video.


    However, as the initial thrill of the fight wore off, many viewers felt disappointment when the loot drop was revealed.


    Seeing suchckluster rewards left many yers feeling underwhelmed, as they had anticipated something more significant given the challenge of thebyrinth. However, a wave of analysis from some experts began to shift the waning narrative.


    Of course, they would only get such trash rewards!


    After all, their performance rating was just ¡°Barely Satisfactory.¡±


    One expert concluded that if the team had achieved a higher performance rating, then perhaps the loot they received would undoubtedly have been better.


    And so, with the first team having sessfully cleared thebyrinth, the floodgates seemed to have opened as more and more groups of yers began finding the Pce Key in treasure chests during their exploration of thebyrinth in the following days.


    However, as the quest description indicated, only one key would be generated per day, which meant only one team could potentially clear the dungeon each day.


    And once the key was sessfully located, an automated mechanism within the pce would trigger its opening.


    This would ur promptly within one minute, allowing the chosen team to rush toward the entrance.


    However, the urgency of this situation was amplified by the fact that the entrance would remain open for only that brief window of time and should any member of the team failed to make it inside within that minute, they would miss the chance to participate in the boss fight.


    The drop rate of the Pce Key was random and can only be obtained from a lucky treasure chest, relying purely on luck.


    However, some yers believed that the treasure chests that appeared after defeating a Silver-rank Demon had a higher chance of being ¡®rainbow-colored¡¯ chests that essentially held the key.


    As for the subsequent teams that had luckily managed to obtain the key, their sizes and strengths varied greatly.


    There are many teams like the Autobot raid team, which is arge team consisting of more than 20 yers.


    Others were much smaller, typically adhering to the standard five-person party format.


    The strength of the yers also ranged from groups full of Silver-rank yers to teams of only lvl 40 Iron-rank yers, with all kinds ofbinations in between.


    And interestingly enough, yers also eventually discovered that the strength of the dungeon boss, the Seventh Demon Lord, wasn¡¯t fixed.


    Instead, the boss¡¯s strength would scale ording to the power of the respective team that challenged the pce for that day.


    Essentially, this means that the stronger the chosen team is, the stronger the boss also bes.


    On the flip side, it also means that the boss would be correspondingly weaker if the team was weaker.


    Theoretically speaking, almost every team had a chance of clearing this new dungeon.


    Of course, it was not as if there were no failed attempts at all, as some teams werepletely wiped out and thus have been collectively teleported out.


    And if such a team failed, a new group of yers could potentially obtain the Pce Key once more and attempt to challenge the boss on the same day.


    In regards for the yers who died during the boss battle, there were not many in actuality.


    Except for those who are particrly suicidal, most yers, even those who are iron-rankers at level 40, could safely teleport out themselves in time if they remained cautious enough.


    And with more and more teams being able to clear the dungeon, the full scope of the dungeon reward mechanics gradually also became much clearer to all yers.


    As the experts had earlier assumed, the quality of the loot provided by the Demon Pce was indeed corrted to the performance rating assigned to the challenging team.


    The system evaluated performance based on several factors, with the primary considerations being the number of survivors and the time taken to clear the dungeon.


    After assessing these elements, the system rated their performance as either ¡°Failure,¡± ¡°Barely Satisfactory,¡± ¡°Satisfactory,¡± ¡°Good,¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± or ¡°Perfect.¡±


    Each of these ratings came with distinct implications for the rewards the team would receive.


    A rating of ¡°Failure¡± resulted in no rewards whatsoever, but for those teams that managed to achieve a ¡°Barely Satisfactory¡± rating, the reward was modest with only the surviving yers receiving a single treasure chest each.


    A ¡°Satisfactory¡± rating offered a slightly better reward, granting treasure chests to the survivors as well as contribution points for yers who had been teleported out during the challenge.


    The rewards became significantly more appealing at a ¡°Good¡± rating, which doubled the potential loots.


    Each survivors who received this rating can get two treasure chests each, while even those who had teleported out were still rewarded with 2x contribution points.


    However, achieving a ¡°Good¡± rating was no easy feat as it required careful management of team survivability.


    Simply put, to attain this rating, at least 80% of the team needed to survive the whole challenge.


    Once yers reached an ¡°Excellent¡± rating, the nature of the rewards shifted yet again.


    Each survivors still received two treasure chests, but one was a standard lucky chest, while the other was an enhanced lucky chest.


    This enhanced treasure chest came with a tantalizing chance of containing high-quality rewards or even a chance to gain jobss promotion slot!


    That said, it still relies heavily on luck.


    Furthermore, only Iron-rank yers at level 40 have a chance to get the promotion reward.


    There were also indications that lvl 40 Iron-rank yers who contributed significantly during the battle had a higher probability of triggering the promotion reward.


    Once the promotion reward was given, it became immediately bound to the yer who received it.


    This binding meant that the reward could not be traded or shared, which led to the disappointment of some Silver-rank yers who were hoping to profit from getting such rewards.


    Nheless, the chance of obtaining silver-ss equipment from the enhanced treasure chest is still highly enticing for them.


    While the rewards for an ¡°Excellent¡± rating are undeniably attractive, achieving this rating is no easy feat.


    The first and foremost requirement for an ¡°Excellent¡± rating is to ensure that all yers survive until the end.


    However, to attain the highest ¡°Perfect¡± rating, the stakes are raised even higher.


    Not only must all yers survive the whole ordeal, but the dungeon must also be cleared within a tight time frame.


    This feat is extremely difficult as achieving a ¡°Perfect¡± rating requires impable teamwork, with every yer performing at their peak.


    There can be no cking off or moments of hesitation; each member must contribute effectively and decisively to maintain the pace necessary for a swift clear.


    Anypse in focus or execution can jeopardize the entire run, leading to frustration and much lower rating.


    Given that the boss¡¯s strength scales with the team¡¯s power, a ¡°Perfect¡± clear serves as a testament to the skill and dedication of every yer involved.


    It proves that each member of the team is a top-tier expert, capable of executing their roles with precision under intense pressure.


    Less than two weeks after thebyrinth dungeon first opened, a team finally managed to achieve the very first ¡°Perfect¡± performance rating.


    It was the five-yer team led by Boxlunch.


    yers across the whole server were not surprised by this achievement.


    After all, this particr team included five of the top yers within the game!


    Even the weakest one among them, Chopin, whose role is a support druid, was ranked among the best Druids in the entire server.


    Hisbat power was second only to Meng Zhihan, who chose the Feral path specialization and ranked second in their jobss and possibly the most powerful yet low-key Druid yer named F¨¦ng, who had hidden her specialization from public eyes.


    The rewards for attaining a perfect rating were quite enviable.


    Each member of Boxlunch¡¯s five-man team received three enhanced treasure chests, which would definitely show a higher ¡®colored¡¯ glow.


    This also meant each of them were guaranteed to receive at least one piece of Silver-ss purple epic equipment.


    In other words, if an Iron-rank yer achieved a perfect clear, they would essentially receive a guaranteed promotion slot and can finally advance to Silver-rank.


    Naturally, other yers are extremely envious of this.


    Thus for the time being, thebyrinth quickly became the dream destination for all max-level (lvl 40) Iron-rank yers.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that only one team could challenge the demon pce key per day, then every high-level yer would be camping inside thebyrinth.


    As time went by, more and more teams seeded in clearing the dungeon, each one contributing to the growing body of knowledge surrounding its challenges.


    With each sessful run, yers began to share their experiences and insights, leading to an explosion of diverse strategies and tactics.


    Discussions about how to clear the dungeon more efficiently, achieving higher ratings, and defeating the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel without taking damage quickly became a popr topic amongst max-level Iron-rankers and Silver-rank yers.


    However, while the yers were fully enjoying themselves, Azazel, the Seventh Demon Lord and the unwilling new ¡¯employee¡¯ of thebyrinth who was so hardworking and busy fighting against the yers, was starting to have deep doubts about his life as a demon.


    ¡ª <strong>416</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DOUBTS ABOUT HIS LIFE AS A DEMON ¡¿</strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 417

    Chapter 417


    Throughout the long ages of him being an ancient demon lord whose activity even dates back to the Titan Era, Azazel has been sealed countless of times.


    By now, he already experienced being imprisoned in all kinds of seals¡­


    Some pulled him into an endless dream of some sort, sealing him within an imaginary dream world.


    At other times, they directly shackled his divine power and even his soul, causing his body to fall into deep slumber while only a faint trace of his consciousness remained awake.


    There were even times when he was sealed yet remained fully conscious, whilst subjected to daily torture and punishment that would be unbearable for most ordinary beings.


    He had experienced far too many of such circumstances.


    However, Azazel felt that none of those previous seals he had encountered in the past had ever disgusted him more than the one he was currently at.


    ¡ªDeafeated.


    He had been utterly defeated.Defeated by a group of insignificant ants who hadn¡¯t even reached the golden-rank!


    Although his defeat was mainly due to his powers being sealed, such disgrace was still uneptable to him.


    Even though he¡¯s a demon, he himself is still technically a God.


    And regardless of his ties to the Abyss, his power was no different from that of ordinary deities.


    As such, for divine beings like them, their dignity shall not be desecrated at any cost, and this applies to Demon Lords as well.


    Yet now, despite being the illustrious and mighty Seventh Demon Lord and one of the rulers of a hell, Azazel had been reduced to nothing more than a stepping stone for these insignificant ants!


    To say that he was furious, would be an understatement.


    But what infuriated him even more was what happened afterwards, once these long-eared cretins had managed to sessfully sealed him once again.


    Just when he thought that he would finally have some peace and quiet for a while¡­


    He was forcefully ¡°awakened¡± once more!


    To make matters worse, Azazel realized he had been rudely awakened only just a few hours after being forcefully put into slumber!


    In front of him stood another group of elves.


    And just like the ones before them, these group were also fully armed with their faces brimming in excitement, whilst sporting those aggravating, shit-eating grins of theirs.


    Seeing the way they gazed at him made Azazel¡¯s heart burn with utmost fury.


    It was that look once again!


    The look one gave to a mere toy or prey.


    The excitement in their eyes and the glee they exuded¡ªit was all too familiar to Azazel, for it was the very same expression he had when he watched those fools, whose been bewitched by him, tear each other apart.


    He couldn¡¯t understand it.


    Not at all.


    Even though he was a demon, he knew a bit about these elves and how they had been portrayed throughout the ages.


    <em>So when did these gentle, rabbit-like long-eared creatures be like this?</em>


    <em>Why did they have such expressions, such looks?</em>


    <em>Were these really the peaceful and nature-loving elves, or perhaps it is their true nature, akin to that of devils, and they¡¯ve been merely masquerading it all along?</em>


    <em>Moreover, weren¡¯t beings of the material world supposed to inherently fear demons like himself?</em>


    <em>Even if his strength was restricted, and even if they were here to reinforce the seal, as mortal beings, shouldn¡¯t they still approach him with trembling reverence?</em>


    <em>What¡¯s wrong with these elves?</em>


    <em>How can they keepughing and have such a carefree attitude while fighting him?</em>


    These elves didn¡¯t seem to have any of the reverence that lower beings should normally have toward higher beings like him.


    On the contrary, Azazel could even sense a different emotion from their expressions and gazes¡­


    Beneath the surface of their carefree demeanory an air of superiority, a subtle belligerence for his presence that was palpable during the prior battle.


    And this realization only further deepened the humiliation that he felt deep inside.


    <em>What were they so proud of?</em>


    <em>What gave them the right to be so arrogant?</em>


    <em>Did they think they were the center of the world?</em>


    These elves were nothing more than overconfident insects, akin to maggots sitting in their nest, imagining within their puny minds that they ruled the world!


    That wretched Yggdrasill¡ª<em>was she constantly sending these pests to torment him?</em>


    Azazel would never forget the very moment these elves had somehow managed to sessfully sealed him.


    Their excitement and smug satisfaction¡­


    The joy they derived from stepping on him filled Azazel with indescribable rage.


    It was like a regal king being pissed on and mocked by wretched beggars¡ªa truly sickening feeling.


    Humiliation.


    This was by far, the utmost humiliation he has ever felt in his long span of existence!


    He couldn¡¯t let them seed.


    He absolutely couldn¡¯t let them gain another victory over him at all cost!


    Even with the restrictions imposed on his power and these damned elves under Yggdrasill¡¯s protection, Azazel would never let them win so easily!


    Azazel¡¯s pride would never allow it!


    And so¡­


    The mighty Seventh Demon Lord finally began to take these new batch of elves more seriously.


    He started observing their movements, while also constantly adapting his tactics in response.


    His ultimate goal was only one thing:


    ¡ªThat is, to defeat everyst one of these damned pests who dared challenge him, wave after wave!


    He would show these cursed long-eared cretins that, despite being sealed and restrained, the dignity of the Seventh Demon Lord was not to be trifled with!


    However, as Azazel put in the work and adjusted his tactics with each wave, the elves¡¯ subsequent reactions left him feeling even more perplexed.


    Instead of panicking, they seemed even more excited as he began to study theirbat habits and alter his strategies¡­


    ¡°Whoa! This dungeon boss¡¯s AI is really advanced! It has high memory schematics and can formte and adapt to our tactics!¡±


    ¡°Now this is a real challenge! Don¡¯t be scared! Everyone, charge! Take him down!¡±


    Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    Despite his intentions, Azazel¡¯s efforts were not entirely in vain.


    His increased diligence in countering the yers¡¯ strategies created noticeable troubles for the subsequent challengers.


    Thus, for a significant period, each wave of challengers¡¯ sess rate plummeted, and their performance ratings reflected a stark decline.


    Yet, this status quo didn¡¯tst long.


    What left Azazel utterly exasperated was that no matter how fast he adapted, these lowly ants adapted even faster.


    These fearless long-eared creatures seemed inherently born for battle.


    And every time Azazel adjusted his strategy to counteract their tactics, they developed new methods at an even faster pace!


    And it didn¡¯t stop there.


    Even though he had fought one group of elves today, the next day brought apletely different set of adversaries.


    These new elves, however, seemed eerily familiar with the tactics and strategies employed by their predecessors.


    It was as if they had absorbed all the knowledge and experience from the previous group, anticipating his every move and countering it with precision as though they had been there themselves.


    And no matter how hard he fought, the oue remained always the same:


    ¡ªHe would be re-sealed, time and time again.


    Whether he defeated a few waves of elves first, or held out for a day or two, the result was always the same.


    Experiencing such an endless cycle of defeat day after day, was far more mentally exhausting and frustrating than any prison he had experienced in the past.


    Over time, as he observed these elves repeatedly, Azazel finally understood how they saw him as¡­


    ¡°So¡­ to them, I¡¯m nothing more than a mere figure to be toyed with!¡±


    ¡°Wretched Yggdrasill! She created this entirebyrinth just to entertain these pathetic ants with me as the central piece, to be toyed with and manipted at her whim!¡±


    Realizing this almost made him explode with rage.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t keep going like this. I won¡¯t let them win anymore!¡±


    He was tired.


    Truly exhausted, physically drained and humiliated beyond measure¡­


    Thus, Azazel finally made a bold decision:


    ¡°Fine, do as you will. I¡¯m not ying along anymore!¡±


    Thus, he gave up.


    He simply refused to fight.


    He even let them seal him easily if they wanted.


    It wasn¡¯t like he could escape anyway¡­


    At least in this way, he wouldn¡¯t be giving these despicable creatures any more fun at his expense!


    However, when Azazel decided to ¡°went on a strike,¡± the elves¡¯ reactions were entirely unexpected.


    ¡°Whoa! The boss isn¡¯t moving! Is it a bug?!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! What a great opportunity! Everyone, charge! Take advantage of this bug and finish him off! We¡¯ll definitely gonna get a perfect rating!¡±


    ¡°Wait! Wait up guys! Let me get a selfie with the boss first!¡±


    With excited cheers, the elves became even more thrilled, attacking the ¡°currently-on-strike¡± Azazel with greater violence and enthusiasm than ever before.


    They jumped around him, poking and prodding, while also posing for pictures.


    As Azazel sank into slumber yet again for that day, thest thing he saw was those elves¡¯ faces, filled with even more glee like never before¡­


    Those smug, satisfied look of theirs felt as if they had scored a massive victory.


    Azazel: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Why did it feel like¡­ </em>


    <em>They were even happier now?! </em>


    At that moment, Azazel was left utterly confused.


    ¡ª <strong>41</strong>7 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THEY WERE EVEN HAPPIER NOW? </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 418

    Chapter 418


    Azazel ultimately chose to fight again.


    There was no other way.


    No matter how aggrieved he felt, it was still better than outright giving up and seeing those long-eared creatures win with their smug, victorious expressions.


    Of course, only he knew just how much frustration and bitterness he harbored deep inside.


    Time has a way of numbing people.


    And the same could be said for demons like him.


    After fighting one losing battle after another and being prematurely awakened again and again, Azazel felt like he was slowly bing an emotionless puppet.


    The only small constion he had was the fact that he still maintained a faint connection with the demonic minions within thebyrinth, and he could use them to outwit and torment the elves, making life miserable for the yers who dared enter the dungeon.


    Ironically enough, unbeknownst to Azazel, his efforts to disrupt the elves and interfere with their actions only added more challenge and excitement into thebyrinth.In any case, as time went on, the Demon Lord¡¯s Labyrinth began to function smoothly.


    Under thebined pressure of the wave of yers wanting to challenge him, as well as the inherent restrictive function of the seal, the seventh demon lord unknowingly became apetent dungeon boss, something Ev¨¦ was quite satisfied with.


    ¡°Not bad¡­It seems Azazel has adapted well into thebyrinth and fully embraced his role as the dungeon boss. As expected of a demon lord who¡¯s been sealed countless times in the past, his adaptability is really quite impressive.¡±


    Ev¨¦ slightly nodded in satisfaction.


    At first, she had been concerned that Azazel might not be able to handle the relentless wave of yers and would just eventually give up.


    But reality proved that the yers were even more formidable than she had anticipated.


    Just like how Azazel¡¯s pride was stronger than she had imagined.


    When these two collided, it created a perfect, dynamic chemistry.


    And no matter how aggrieved Azazel felt, he couldn¡¯t stop anymore.


    With the opening of the Demon Lord¡¯s Labyrinth, yers found a new goal, and as a result, more and more Iron-rank yers have reached the max level cap.


    Of course, there are also some who have secured the chance for a promotion and advanced into Silver-rank.


    But those are rare instances.


    After all, achieving an ¡°excellent¡± or higher performance rating proved to be extremely difficult, with numerous factors influencing a yer¡¯s ability to consistently meet such high standards.


    Many yers may put in countless hours of effort, yet still fall short of the benchmark necessary to earn these coveted rewards. Moreover, even for those who do achieve a high rating, receiving the associated rewards is still not guaranteed, adding an additionalyer of challenge and uncertainty.


    Overall, the number of silver-rank yers in the entire server still remained scarce.


    This situation aligns perfectly with Eve¡¯s strategic n.


    For she understood that it¡¯s not about merely having arge number of high-level yers; but rather, it¡¯s about cultivating the best among them.


    Achieving the greatest results with the least amount of divine power expenditure¡ªthat was her ultimate goal.


    Even those newly promoted yers were carefully selected by her after they proved themselves to be truly exceptional through the Demon Lord¡¯s Labyrinth.


    They were diligent, decicated, and possessed strongbat instincts.


    The creme of the crop, so to speak.


    In this regard, the Demon Lord¡¯s Labyrinth has be a paradise for yers at the max level of Iron and Silver rank to test their mettle.


    However, not all Iron-rank yers rushed to challenge the new dungeon.


    Most yers, upon reaching the maximum level cap of 40, did not believe they could challenge the Labyrinth and secure one of the coveted promotion slots.


    At the same time, many also believed that simr rewards might be offered in new hidden quests that were still not uncovered.


    Thus, as more Iron-rank yers reached the maximum level cap, a significant wave of exploration aimed at venturing into new uncharted maps surged among the yerbase.


    After all, it ismon knowledge among yers that Exploring the new maps holds the highest chance of discovering some hidden quests.


    And despite Ev¨¦ limiting the yers¡¯ activities to a 500-kilometer radius, with the exception of the territory of the Hermetic Alliance, not one of the 60,000 yers had fully explored the entire map that¡¯s currently avable to them.


    Well there¡¯s no helping it.


    This whole area simply was just too vast¡ªand also three-dimensional at that.


    Moreover, theplex and intricate undergroundnd had further expanded the game¡¯s actual map size far beyond anyone¡¯s expectations.


    In the past, aside from the few yers who had apletionist attitude and feltpelled to explore every corner of the game, the vast majority of yers did not devote much of their attention into exploring these uncharted areas, and opted to focus on leveling up instead.


    Now, however, a significant number of yers have begun to consider exploring these unknown areas.


    Hence, for a while, as yers ventured further north and west of the Elven Forest, various new data regarding new and never-before-seen magical beasts continued to be added to the monster database.


    All in all, the yers¡¯ side was steadily progressing, developing at a consistent pace.


    Meanwhile, Eve¡¯s native believers were notgging behind either.


    Especially after the war underground, word quickly spread about the Goddess of Life and her provision of shelter and protection for elvenkind, thereby attracting new elves and half-elves one after another to migrate into the Elven Forest.


    Upon arriving, most of these half-elves tend to choose to undergo bloodline purification, standing before the goddess¡¯s statue within the Temple of Life to revert themselves into pure-blooded elves.


    In addition, the Hermetic Alliance, which formally signed an alliance treaty with the Elves, also sent back arge number of their elven vesmodities after the war as a gesture of goodwill.


    Thus, in just a short amount of time, the native elven poption within the Elven Forest more than doubled, reaching nearly 5,000 in numbers.


    At the same time, the elves¡¯ strength also been significantly improved.


    Saintess Alice, A¨¦l, and the elderly priest Samuel, all of whom were already at Silver-rank, grew even stronger as Eve¡¯s influence further increased.


    However, it was not only them but other elves too also advanced in rank after breaking free from their bloodline shackles, allowing their magical powers to gradually recover.


    As a result, being at upper Iron-rank had be the new standard for most elves.


    Some had even progressed rtively quickly at the same pace as the yers and regained their strength to the peak of Iron-rank.


    Based on her estimates, it is only a matter of time before an elf with silver strength organically appears amongst the natives.


    Nheless, despite the yers¡¯ influence, the elves¡¯ inherent peaceful nature still remained difficult to change.


    Except for the younger elves who had grown close to the yers, most older elves remained gentle and kept to themselves.


    Because of this, the Chosen Ones, who were bing more and more active, have overshadowed the native elves within the Elven Forest.


    Of course, no one dared to underestimate the native elves¡¯ power¡ªespecially the task-focused yers¡­


    Overall, Ev¨¦ felt very satisfied with her faction¡¯s development.


    Like a snowball gaining momentum, the Elven Forest is rapidly progressing faster and faster.


    As Eve watched Chosen City with contentment, something suddenly caught her attention, swiftly shifting her focus toward Florence in the distance.


    Florence.


    Once regarded as the holy city of the elves, it had once more came back to life along with the return of its elven native poption.


    The once-ruined buildings had now been fully restored, and new gardens were blooming one after another where debris had previously stood.


    This legendary city, once renowned for its elven architectural charm and natural beauty, had been reborn anew after a thousand years.


    Currently, native elves and yers alike of all shapes and sizes were busy moving about around the city.


    Every elf¡¯s face radiated a look of happiness.


    Yet amongst the crowd, a tall, graceful elf strolled leisurely.


    With brilliant golden hair that shimmered in the sunlight and sparkling star-like eyes that seemed to hold the very cosmos itself within them, he was without a doubt, strikingly handsome¡ªeven by elven standards, rivaling the beauty of the elven royalty, Thranduil.


    But the strange thing was that, despite his prominent and dashing appearance, neither the natives nor the yers in the vicinity seemed to notice him.


    ¡ªAs if he wasn¡¯t there at all.


    As he wandered around while casually observing his surroundings, a hint of nostalgia and emotion showed within his face.


    ¡°Florence¡­ It¡¯s been a thousand years since Ist set foot in here.¡±


    ¡°I never thought that I would see the day when this once beautiful city would be reborn again.¡±


    After speaking, he then turned his gaze toward the city¡¯s main temple.


    His eyes lingered upon the symbol of the Scepter of Life engraved above the temple¡¯s entrance.


    A slight smile appeared on his lips as he spoke, his voice filled with curiosity:


    ¡°¡­The Goddess of Life?¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ are you, really?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>418</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ UNEXPECTED VISITOR </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 419

    Chapter 419


    A golden-haired elf walked through the streets of Florence, a faint, almost imperceptible smile gracing his face, much like a traveler enjoying his journey.


    His gaze swept across the newly restored structures, their towering beauty entuated by the vibrant flowers and vines which surrounded them.


    ¡°Truly perfect restorations.¡±


    The golden-haired elf murmured with a hint of admiration.


    His eyes shifted again,nding upon the elves bustling about within the vicinity in their traditional elven attire.


    Their faces brimming with life and joy.


    Seeing the elves around him, a trace of wistfulness shed through the eyes of the blond elf.


    As the traveler silently observed the crowd around him, he then noticed a group of elves, hurrying along whilst donning various ornate armors and robes.


    Compared to the former group whose demeanor were more conservative and subdued, these peculiar group of well-equipped elves seemed more lively and uninhibited.Not only that, but the golden-haired elf could also feel a subtle, almost hidden pressure emanating from them.


    It was the kind of aura that only came from beings who had experienced countless battles¡ªa killing intent often found in adventurers who danced on the edge of death.


    The golden-haired elf slightly raised an eyebrow, intrigued by these peculiarities.


    These elves had likely seen their share of bloodshed.


    Yet, unlike the typical ruthless, arrogant adventurers he had encountered in the past, these elves radiated apletely different kind of energy.


    It was bright, full of life and vigor kind of aura.


    Moreover, they seemed quite amiable as well, even deferential toward the traditionally robed elves, to the point of being almost ingratiating.


    These elves walked briskly through the city, with many of them carrying bulging bags upon their backs, while some even ridingrge magical beasts.


    One thing to note too was that the types of creatures they rode were quite varied¡ªsome were familiar to him, like forest bears and wind wolves, while others were more rare and majestic, like unicorns.


    To his surprise, he even spotted a crypt spider, a creature normally found only deep underground.


    Their auras also ranged across a wide spectrum, with the more powerful elves¡¯ donning more gorgeous equipment.


    Simrly, the magical beasts beneath them also grew increasingly majestic.


    And naturally, the more killing intent they exude too.


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡±


    The golden-haired elf smiled faintly.


    ¡°So these are the so-called ¡®Chosen Ones¡¯¡ªthe immortal beings created by the Goddess of Life, whose quite simr to the heroic spirits of H? The ones who fought in the underground wars?¡±


    The blond traveler continued his stroll, weaving through the crowd until he finally arrived at the vicinity of the Temple of Life.


    Standing outside for a moment, he nodded slightly.


    ¡°I see that it¡¯s been remodeled from the temple of Yggdrasill. But¡­ it seems to incorporate other architectural styles as well. Sharp angles and domes¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen this particr style before¡­Although it somehow reminds me of the structures of the Eternal Church, but this looks even more solemn, more dignified.¡±


    ¡°And these reliefs¡­ they don¡¯t quite follow the traditional elven design, but they¡¯re not styled like what the humans use either. Still, they¡¯re more realistic¡ªa new artistic style altogether¡­¡±


    ¡°The one who renovated this temple must been a true master architect.¡±


    The golden-haired elf remarked, slightly impressed.


    With that, he gave a light tap on the ground and stepped into the temple.


    Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the interior was much quieter. The inner temple was vast, its decorations solemn and imposing, with murals adorning the walls, praising the Goddess of Life.


    Inside, many elves knelt in prayer, facing forward with deep reverence etched upon their faces.


    In front of them stood a life-sized statue which depicts the goddess of life.


    The golden-haired elf¡¯s gaze lingered on the praying elves for a moment before shifting his eyes towards the object they were worshipping.


    Before him stood a statue that transcended mere artistry, embodying the very essence of life and creation.


    The statue depicted a divine and beautiful goddess, crowned with a supreme diadem that sparkled with a myriad of gemstones, each representing an element of nature under her dominion.


    Her serene expression radiated wisdom andpassion, instilling a sense of peace in all who gazed upon her.


    She wore a luxurious gown adorned with intricate floral patterns, and in her hand, she held a delicate scepter.


    As the golden-haired elf looked upon the statue¡¯s wless, smiling face, a hint of emotion shed across his eyes.


    ¡°So alike¡­¡±


    ¡°They look so very alike¡­¡±


    He murmured softly, sighing before turning around to leave.


    With just a single step, it felt as though he had crossed countless miles.


    In the next moment, the golden-haired elf found himself on the southwestern outskirts of Florence City.


    There, a road stretched far into the distance, seemingly leading deeper into the Elven Forest.


    Many of the Chosen Ones could often be seen traversing this path.


    Without stopping, the elf continued his journey southwest, walking until he crossed a series of rolling hills.


    Only then did he finally halt.


    Standing atop the final hill, the golden-haired elf gazed southwest. In the distance stood a towering, ancient tree, dwarfing everything around it.


    Yet the tree¡¯s branches were bare with its leaves fallen.


    Its once-vibrant form now clearly withered and decayed¡ªas if it had long been dead to the world.


    This was the World Tree.


    Even after a millennia had passed, it remained a legendary existence within the world of Seig¨¹es.


    ¡°The World Tree¡­¡±


    The blond elf whispered, his eyes filled with a trace of mncholy.


    At that moment, his eyes caught sight of a fully armed group, likely Chosen Ones, approaching from the other side of the Elven Forest, heading towards the World Tree.


    Each one of them was mounted onto a magical beast, and their mounts wereden with heavy, bulging bags.


    Faintly, a whiff of blood could be detected from the bags they carried.


    ¡°Are they returning after hunting magical beasts? It seems the elves nowadays have truly changed,¡± the golden-haired elf mused aloud.


    ¡°¡ªIt was inevitable. Only through change can elvenkind carve out a new future,¡± a clear, melodious female voice suddenly interjected from behind him.


    His eyes flickered slightly.


    The golden-haired elf let out a deep sigh, as a faint smile reappeared upon his face.


    Nodding gently, he said, ¡°Indeed¡­the mana across Seig¨¹es is starting to recover, and various seals across thend are weakening. Ancient beings are awakening one after another, and this realm is about to descend into unprecedented chaos¡­¡±


    ¡°If one don¡¯t seize this small window of opportunity to grow stronger, then mayhaps even the gods themselves might fall in theing storm.¡±


    After speaking, the golden-haired elf turned around to face the figure behind him.


    It was a beautiful elf with silver hair and blue eyes, though a subtle hint of violet shimmered within her icy blue gaze.


    She stood there, blending seamlessly with thend around her, radiating a warmth that naturally drew people in.


    A faint, almost imperceptible smile graced across her lips.


    The figure was Ev¨¦, who had slightly altered the color of her eyes.


    Seeing her, a trace of awe flickered within the golden-haired elf¡¯s eyes.


    He then raised his eyebrows slightly.


    With a gentle smile, the golden-haired elf ced his right hand over his chest, nodding respectfully to the radiant elven maiden in front of him.


    ¡°Your Grace, Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦. You are far more beautiful in person than the statue enshrined in your temple.¡±


    His voice was filled with warmth and kindness as he praised her.


    Eve¡¯s lips twitched slightly.


    She smiled softly and replied, ¡°Thank you for your praise¡­¡±


    Then, her gaze shifted slightly.


    ¡°tinum Dragon King¡ªYour Majesty Reinhardt.¡±


    Upon hearing this title, the golden-haired elf¡¯s smile froze for a moment.


    ¡ª <strong>41</strong>9 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAISE YOUR MAJESTY</strong><strong>REINHARDT</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 420

    Chapter 420


    The blond elf¡ªno, tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt¡ªraised his eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Have you¡¯ve met me before? I¡¯m certain this should¡¯ve been our first meeting, and I¡¯m quite proud of my transformation magic.¡±


    He seems to had deliberately transformed into an elf and even concealed his aura, yet Ev¨¦ had still easily seen through the disguise of the other party.


    Seeing the surprised look upon his face, Eve¡¯s lips curved into a slight smile.


    Actually, although Reinhardt had changed his appearance and hidden his aura, there are some things that still couldn¡¯t be fully concealed.


    Especially for someone like Ev¨¦.


    But what gave him away the most in her opinion was the fragment of the Scepter of Life he¡¯s carrying along with him.


    Reinhardt¡¯s fragment had instantly resonated with the Scepter of Life causing it to vibrate the moment he step foot within the Elven Forest.


    Upon noticing this, she quickly checked who had caused this resonance was and after seeing his appearance, Ev¨¦ immediately identified his identity.This was because during the operation to devour Nidhogg, the Dragon of Despair, Ev¨¦ had also glimpsed from Meryer¡¯s mental world some of his fragmented memories regarding these fragments.


    Specifically in one of those fragmented memories, the very image of tinum Dragon King Reinhardt had clearly transformed into an elf.


    Moreover, silver dragon¡¯s like him also had a tendency to shapeshift and take humanoid forms to mingle around mortals.


    So Ev¨¦ quickly recognized him upon seeing him this time.


    ¡ªBut of course, she don¡¯t had the intention to exin any of this.


    Instead, she simply smiled and said nothing.


    Upon realizing that she won¡¯t provide any exnation, Reinhardt could only touch his nose ruefully.


    At that moment, a loud roar suddenly echoed from the sky.


    Then a massive ck dragon, with a wingspan of nearly seventy meters, appeared on the horizon.


    Meryer circled leisurely in the air, letting out long and loud roars, of which he typically does during his casual ¡°strolls.¡±


    Reinhardt¡¯s gaze was quickly drawn towards the ck dragon. His eyebrows rose slightly, as a soft gleam flickered within his eyes, before his expression turned somewhat dazed.


    Nodding lightly, he muttered, ¡°I see¡­so you¡¯ve taken him in.¡±


    ¡°I suppose, the ck dragon rumored to have appeared underground must have been him too.¡±


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t gave an answer and merely nced at Meryer, flying above, knowing that he was out for his usual post-meal flight routine.


    Seeing Reinhardt¡¯s thoughtful expression, Ev¨¦ figured he had likely by now already pieced together how she recognized him.


    Perhaps the details of his assumptions were somewhat fuzzy, but the main source is basically the same.


    Naturally, Eve wasn¡¯t going to exin further.


    She simply smiled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go see him?¡±


    A look of affection shed across Reinhardt¡¯s eyes at Eve¡¯s suggestion.


    But in the end, he still shook his head.


    ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s now a strong individual who can stand on his own. And he looks quite happy too. It seems¡­that child had already found his own path in life and no longer needs outside forces to interfere with it.¡±


    After his exnation, Reinhardt then turned towards her and smiled.


    ¡°I must say, you, have truly surprised me for I have seen so many unexpected sights within thisnd of yours.¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred.


    ¡°You came specifically to find me?¡±


    Reinhardt nodded first, before gently shaking his head.


    ¡°Yes, and no.¡±


    ¡°You see, I became curious about you, Lady Ev¨¦, after your reputation has spread following the war that happened underground.¡±


    ¡°Especially moreso after I heard that you somehow recaptured and sessfully sealed Azazel, the Seventh Demon Lord. I must say, that¡¯s truly remarkable feats.¡±


    He then looked towards her again, sporting that mysterious smile of his.


    ¡°Lady Ev¨¦, you¡¯re far more powerful than I had imagined, and your growth is much faster as well. It really reminded me of an old friend of mine, you see.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, your endeavor to gather all the scattered elves and even rebuilt Florence has truly astounded me.¡±


    ¡°I also heard that you have built a miraculous city called the Chosen City, which is now the official designated holy city of the Church of Life? I wonder if I might have the chance to visit it¡­¡±


    At this, Ev¨¦ smiled faintly in response.


    ¡°Would you like to be my guest then? It¡¯s just up ahead.¡±


    At her suggestion, Reinhardt took a brief pause.


    A couple of seconds passed but he eventually shook his head with a wry smile.


    ¡°Thank you for the invitation, but I don¡¯t particrly enjoy entering the divine realms of other gods, so I¡¯ll have to pass.¡±


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow upon hearing his response, surprised that Reinhardt could sense her divine realm.


    Seeing Eve¡¯s expression, Reinhardt smiled slightly and exined, ¡°You see, I also investigated the war that happened between you and the orcs.¡±


    Ev¨¦ suddenly understood his underlying meaning.


    For those who were privy about certain details about that war, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to surmise that she had the ability to manifest her divine realm within the vicinity of the Elven Forest.


    Therefore, since they were not allies per se, it would be natural for him to be cautious of entering Chosen City.


    After a brief lull within their conversation, Reinhardt broached another topic.


    ¡°In truth, the main purpose of my visit this time is regarding to an old adversary of mine. Surely, you must have heard of the name¡ªNidhogg, the Dragon of Despair.¡±


    ¡°I sensed the seal that¡¯s imprisoning him had loosened and I¡¯m positive that he has already awakened by now¡­¡±


    ¡°Nidhogg is an malevolent dragon deity with destructive power rivaling that of the demon lords. I fear his revival will bring chaos within this realm¡­¡±


    After finishing, Reinhardt looked at Eve once more and asked gently, ¡°Lady Eve, since you possess the Scepter of Life, can you perchance tell me where Nidhogg is currently right now?¡±


    His expression showed a totally serious look.


    As Nidhogg¡¯s long-time enemy, Reinhardt had always hoped to kill this evil dragon for good.


    s, time and time again this cunning and elusive archenemy of his had always somehow managed to escape in some way or another¡­


    Ev¨¦ sighed softly upon hearing this.


    She gazed into the distance and quietly said, ¡°There is no longer a Dragon of Despair named Nidhogg in existence.¡±


    Reinhardt was stunned.


    ¡°¡­Nidhogg¡¯s no longer in existence?¡±


    Reinhardt abruptly turned towards Eve, as though trying to see through her, his eyes filled with doubt and shock.


    Ev¨¦ equally met his gaze, sporting a serene smile.


    After a moment of silence, Reinhardt averted his eyes.


    His expression then grew somber and solemn.


    Letting out a deep sigh, his eyes shed with a myriad ofplex emotions before settling into a sense of relief.


    With a soft sigh, he smiled wryly once more.


    ¡°It seems you are truly even stronger than I initially imagined¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me how he fell?¡±


    Ev¨¦ nodded.


    ¡°He tried to take over Meryer¡¯s body, but eventually was defeated by me, leaving his soulpletely destroyed.¡±


    Technically she didn¡¯t destroy but actually devoured Nidhogg¡¯s soul but saying she ¡°devoured¡± him might lead to some misunderstandings, so Ev¨¦ chose her words more carefully.


    Reinhardt only let out a sigh after hearing her response.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    After a brief silence, he seemed toe to a decision.


    He reached into his cloak and retrieved a small pouch which contained several shimmering fragments.


    These fragments glowed softly under the light and trembled as if drawn towards something unseen.


    Seeing these fragments, Eve¡¯s expression grew serious.


    These were the remaining fragments of the Scepter of Life.


    She then looked at Reinhardt, who also met her gaze.


    The other party smiled slightly and said, ¡°Lady Eve, would you be willing to make a deal with me?¡±


    Eve raised an eyebrow, though she already had some guesses.


    ¡°What kind of deal?¡±


    After a moment of thought, Reinhardt said, ¡°You see, these fragments are of no real use to me. Honestly¡­ the only reason I kept them with me was to prevent Nidhogg¡¯s resurrection.¡±


    ¡°But they hold no further value for me now that Nidhogg¡¯s been eliminated by you.¡±


    ¡°For someone like you, who controls the Divinity of Life, I imagine these fragments would be far more useful.¡±


    ¡°And I believe you would be quite eager to acquire them as well.¡±


    Hearing this, Eve¡¯s heart stirred.


    ¡°What is the price?¡±


    Reinhardt smiled.


    ¡°¡ªA promise.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>420</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ YOU¡¯RE</strong><strong>FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN I HAD IMAGINED</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 421

    Chapter 421


    Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t fully believe Reinhardt¡¯s im that he had no interest in acquiring the Scepter of Life.


    Because as far as she knew, the dragon¡¯s poption had been in decline even dating back over the Twilight Era.


    This didn¡¯t mean they were any less powerful per se, but over time, the dragon race had suffered from a significant drop in poption.


    Not only that but nowadays, more and more dragon eggs were being born without any draconic markings at all, resulting in the birth of ¡®dragon beasts¡¯ which are sub-dragon species with low intelligence and mixed bloodlines.


    It was a shame, really, since during their peak the dragons numbered in the millions, with their elite forces dominating half of the realms across the universe.


    s nowadays, it is estimated that pureblooded dragons across the universe likely numbered less than ten thousand, and that figure was still decreasing.


    For this reason, dragons began interbreeding with other races, hoping that some of their sub-species offsprings would exhibit atavism and possibly restore dragonkinds¡¯ dwindling poption.


    As one of the most well-known and oldest dragon gods, Reinhardt had been tirelessly working to preserve the dragon species.


    And one of his endeavors involved adopting abandoned dragon hatchlings from various ces.Therefore, given the Scepter of Life¡¯s ability to evolve and purify one¡¯s bloodlines, Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t believe that Reinhardt wasn¡¯t tempted by it.


    So, Ev¨¦ already had a good idea of what he was really after when Reinhardt offered to hand over his portion of the fragments in exchange for a promise of some sort¡­


    ¡°Sure, if it¡¯s within my power.¡±


    Ev¨¦ said with a soft smile, looking directly at him.


    Hearing her response, the elven form of Reinhardt showed apletely serious expression.


    He didn¡¯t state his request right away, but instead began telling a story from his time sightseeing in Florence.


    ¡°While visiting Florence, I entered your temple¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Reinhardt nced at Ev¨¦ with a hint of apology and added, ¡°I apologize for not asking your permission and concealing myself. However, I suspect that you were already aware of my presence the moment I stepped foot into the temple.¡±


    Ev¨¦ simply smiled in response, neither confirming nor denying his assumptions.


    Reinhardt wasn¡¯t bothered by it and continued his tale.


    ¡°The moment I entered and saw your divine insignia, I immediately recognized it as the legendary Scepter of Life.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, during my visit to your temple, I also witnessed several half-elves undergoing a bloodline purification ceremony, as they transformed themselves into pureblooded elves.¡±


    He sighed softly.


    ¡°At that moment, I realized you must have gained considerable control over the Divinity of Life and be the true Goddess of Life¡­¡±


    With those words, Reinhardt directly stared at Ev¨¦, with his expression growing solemn.


    ¡°Lady Eve, the promise I ask of you is that once you have fully restored the Scepter of Life to itsplete state, you will help purify the bloodlines of the dragon race.¡±


    <em>So that was it!</em>


    Eve wasn¡¯t surprised by his request.


    In fact, it was almost exactly what she had anticipated.


    If her guess was correct, Reinhardt¡¯s original intention ining here in her territory was to confront Nidhogg and repair the Scepter of Life.


    But after discovering that the Scepter was already in Eve¡¯s hands and that she already gained control over the Divinity of Life, he likely had changed his mind.


    After all, only a deity who has authority over the Divinity of life, could truly unleash the Scepter¡¯s full potential.


    Furthermore, Eve¡¯s recent disy of strength was an undeniable proof that she¡¯s quite proficient in controlling her divinity.


    Her ability to seal the Seventh Demon Lord all by herself was alreadymon knowledge amongst the public.


    As for defeating Nidhogg¡­


    While no one had witnessed the event, Ev¨¦ had informed Reinhardt while using an ancientnguage, passed down from the inheritance of the World Tree.


    This particr ancientnguage originated from a mix of draconic, titan, and elvennguages, which in turn imbued magical power within every words it¡¯s spoken.


    As a result, it would trigger a corresponding reaction when one spoke while uttering the name of a God while using this ancientnguage.


    So when Ev¨¦ uttered the name of Nidhogg yet it didn¡¯t elicit any kind of response, Reinhardt instantly knew that his old adversary had indeed truly fallen.


    As such, with her being capable of both defeating and sealing two mythical beings in session was a definite good proof that she had sufficient control over her powers.


    For someone like tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt, who advocates justice and valued cooperation, it made perfect sense for him to give up acquiring the Scepter of Life and instead seek an alliance with her instead.


    Not to mention Reinhardt was currently not even in his true form, but merely using a demigod incarnation.


    So if a fight were to break out between them right now, odds are, he probably wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    In fact, if Ev¨¦ really wanted trouble, then she could easily keep entrap him within the confines of the Elven Forest.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Reinhardt asked with a slight smile.


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Helping the dragon race purify their bloodline? Such promise¡­ seems a bit vague.¡±


    Reinhardt nodded lightly.


    ¡°Of course, there are more detailed aspects to my proposal, and it¡¯s not withoutpensation either. Rather than a mere promise, I would call it a long-term deal with the dragon race, or more like¡ª¡±


    He deliberately paused, raised his head, and stared directly at Ev¨¦, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, before continuing,


    ¡°¡ªA Covenant between gods.¡±


    <em>A covenant?</em>


    <em>So he intends to have a divine binding oath? </em>


    Ev¨¦ felt a bit surprised.


    Reinhardt was clearly showing her some goodwill.


    Typically speaking, a covenant between gods often led to an alliance should it persist in the long run.


    This proposal caught Ev¨¦ off guard, as she had only expected Reinhardt to merely ask her to purify the bloodline of his rtives or something along those lines.


    She hadn¡¯t anticipated that he was going to to propose a long-term coboration between them, possibly even an alliance.


    <em>Did he trust her that much? </em>


    <em>Or¡­ had he sensed something?</em>


    For a moment, Ev¨¦ grew wary.


    <em>Had she somehow revealed her true identity?</em>


    <em>Hmm¡­he mentioned an old friend of his. </em>


    <em>Could it be that Reinhardt knew the former World Tree as well?</em>


    Eve¡¯s mind raced with myriad of spection.


    However, despite Reinhardt¡¯s expression of goodwill, Ev¨¦ was no longer the inexperienced novice she once was.


    She remained cautious for this deal seemed entirely too good to be true.


    Meanwhile, Reinhardt whilst still smiling, patiently waited for her response.


    After a moment of contemtion, Ev¨¦ sighed ruefully.


    ¡°Alright, tell me the details¡­¡±


    After considering her options, she decided to hear him out first.


    Regardless of his true intent, she herself knew that tinum Dragon was offering her an olive branch.


    So as long as she could keep her real identity a secret, forging a friendship with the dragon race didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea at all.


    Furthermore, despite the dragonkind¡¯s poption being in decline, there were still some powerful individuals amongst them.


    Hearing Eve¡¯s response, Reinhardt¡¯s smile grew even warmer.


    ¡°First off, I will give you all these fragments I¡¯ve collected, and in return, I will send five dragon beasts or dragonkin, or bring five dragon eggs that have lost their draconic markings, to the Elven Forest each month. Once they arrive, I hope you can purify their bloodlines.¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought for a moment..


    <em>Five dragons per month? </em>


    That wasn¡¯t too much of a burden.


    Eventually, she nodded in agreement.


    Reinhardt paused briefly before continuing,


    ¡°As for the reward¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides giving you these fragments, I am also willing to let the dragons that have sessfully undergone bloodline purification to choose for themselves whether to form apanion pact with your chosen ones.¡±


    ¡°In addition, I also won¡¯t interfere with their beliefs as well, as long as they properly grow into fine adult dragons.¡±


    Ev¨¦ was taken aback.


    <em>A Companion Pact? </em>


    This time, she was genuinely surprised.


    ¡ª <strong>421</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PLATINUM DRAGON KING¡¯S PROPOSAL </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 422

    Chapter 422


    Dragons in general are inherently proud creatures.


    However, despite their inherent nature, they are not entirely unwilling to form pacts with mortals.


    This bonding ceremony is known as the Companion Pact.


    And unlike the typicalpanionship pact done by people with magical beasts, forming a pact with a dragon is an entirely different kind of bond altogether.


    It usuallysts for 500 years and grants the contract partner a portion of the dragon¡¯s bloodline power while also elerating the dragon¡¯s own growth rate.


    One downside to this however is that during the entirerity of the pact, the dragon¡¯s lifespan is gonna be consumed at double the normal rate.


    As a result, most dragons only allowed themselves to enter into these kinds ofpanion pact during their juvenile or adolescent stages, with the pact ending once they reach adulthood.


    Generally speaking, the juvenile and adolescent phases of a dragon¡¯s life is roughly around 150 years.


    Yet, if they formed a Companion Pact, then this developmental timeframe can be drastically shortened. The rate at which their lifespan is reduced entirely depends on the dragon partner¡¯s growth speed and innate talent.


    And it¡¯s said that growth spurts can sometimes even be elerated by more than tenfold in certain cases¡­


    Some historical anecdotes stated that some dragons have chosen to form pacts with exceptionally talented humans, and they uphold the pact until their partner¡¯s death.


    Humans have rtively short lifespans and unless they achieve the status of a demigod, even a legendary-rank human can only live for a maximum of 300 years.


    For dragons, sacrificing an additional hundred, or at most 300 years worth of their lifespan, allows them to condense a millennia¡¯s worth of growth development into a mere century.


    Thus, for dragons eager to gain power in a rtively quick manner, forming apanionship pact with someone is a tempting option.


    Ev¨¦, after consulting the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, quickly understood the real intention behind the tinum Dragon King¡¯s proposal.


    If her guess is correct then, this ancient dragon god, with millions of years of wisdom, actually had a n far more borate than merely showing goodwill or offering assistance to Ev¨¦.


    What he truly intend is to leverage Eve¡¯s artificially gifted Chosen Ones to help elerate the growth of those dragon¡¯s whom had sessfully experienced a bloodline purification ceremony.


    Typically under normal circumstances, dragons have a much slower growth rate.


    However, with the resurgence of mana across the realm of Seig¨¹es, the natural bnce of things would surely be broken, plunging the world into chaos never been seen in a thousand years.


    During such turbulent times, one can only rely upon their own strength and without enough power, these blood-purified dragons would find it difficult to protect themselves and would likely easily fall prey to stronger beings who might either enve or even consume them.


    Dragons are known for their hands-off approach to raising their young and once a young dragon learns to fly and hunt, its mother usually drives it out of their nest.


    In this regard, Reinhardt, who enjoys raising children, is an anomaly among dragons.


    In essence, he intended to use the Chosen Ones to help raise the dragonlings.


    Ev¨¦ was also certain that Reinhardt had recognized the potential of the yers.


    After all, their avatars were created by Ev¨¦ based on the primordial elves, so each of them definitely possessed extraordinary genius-like talents.


    Moreover, the [War Sacrifice] skill have also allowed yers to ascend in power rapidly, which in turn, could provide even greater benefits for their dragonpanions.


    Quite frankly, the tinum Dragon King¡¯s proposal was a masterstroke, killing two birds with one stone.


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit impressed herself.


    <em>Should she ept? </em>


    <em>Of course she would!</em>


    To make the deal even sweeter, this Ancient Dragon God even promised to not interfere with the beliefs of any young dragon¡¯s she purified!


    In other words, Ev¨¦ could potentially easily sway them into bing her own believers.


    Ev¨¦ understood why Reinhardt let her do this.


    Dragons have never ced much importance on the aspect of faith.


    To them, belief is merely something they give little thought to¡ªjust enough, since it costs them nothing.


    The same applies to Dragon Gods.


    Most of them also don¡¯t care much for gaining believers, but rather preferred hoarding glittering treasures instead.


    That being said, when a dragon fall under the control of a God, their fates tend to be quite grim.


    Well¡­ at least their status is, anyway.


    Most captive dragons are treated as either pets, or guard dogs.


    However, Reinhardt likely gained the confidence to make his proposal after witnessing her treatment of Meryer and how free-spirited his life is here in the Elven Forest.


    With that thought, Ev¨¦ lifted her head and looked at tinum Dragon King.


    The other party smiled at her, but his expression quickly turned serious and sincere:


    ¡°For the continuation of the dragon race, forging this covenant is all worth it.¡±


    <em>The continuation of the dragon race?</em>


    Hearing such words, Ev¨¦ sighed softly within her heart.


    After speaking, Reinhardt looked at Ev¨¦ once more, his gaze clear and bright.


    ¡°¡ªAnd besides, I trust your character, Your Grace, the Goddess of Life.¡±


    Ev¨¦: ¡°¡­¡±


    She raised her head and met tinum Dragon King¡¯s eyes.


    In his amber eyes, there was nothing but sincerity and kindness.


    After a moment of silence, Ev¨¦ slightly smiled.


    ¡°Well then¡­ I wish us a sessful cooperation.¡±


    Seeing that she finally agreed, Reinhardt¡¯s smile grew even brighter.


    With their discussions finallyplete, the two gods quickly formalized their covenant.


    Reinhardt returned his fragments to Ev¨¦, and thetter agreed to his terms.


    However, Ev¨¦ also made it clear that she wouldn¡¯t guarantee that none of the young dragons chosen by the yers would die prematurely.


    tinum Dragon King also expressed his understanding of this:


    ¡°Of course, for every dragon, growthes with risk, especially for those who wish to be truly powerful.¡±


    His tone was full of pride.


    Dragons have always been a proud race, revering strength and advocating greatness. So they themselves know how growth oftenes with a price.


    After formalizing their covenant, the tinum Dragon King immediately chose to leave.


    However before departing, he smiled at Ev¨¦ once more and solemnly reminded her:


    ¡°Lady Ev¨¦, Your Grace¡­¡±


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve ascended into godhood, and your name have spread across the continent, it won¡¯t be long before the gods send emissaries to invite you to leave your mark upon the Pantheon.¡±


    ¡°For us gods, the Pantheon is indeed an excellent tform for uniting various divine factions and almost all deities have a designated seat there, myself included.¡±


    ¡°However, due to certain reasons, the heavenly gods whom currently preside over the Pantheon are deeply wary of your chosen race, the elvenkind, and the source of your divinity¡­¡±


    ¡°So, I hope you¡¯ll be mentally prepared for any challenges that might target you soon in the near future.¡±


    Hearing Reinhardt¡¯s warning, Eve¡¯s expression turned serious.


    She bowed slightly to Reinhardt and replied:


    ¡°I see, thank you for the reminder.¡±


    Reinhardt nodded gently.


    ¡°In that case, a half month from now, I will send an emissary from the dragon race to deliver the first batch of dragons to be blood-purified.¡±


    With those words, he gave a small bow of his own.


    Then, tinum Dragon King Reinhardt transformed into a beam of silver light, took flight before disappearing from Eve¡¯s sight.


    She, on the other hand, put away the newly scepter fragments that she had gained, which are still glowing faintly.


    Then her form gradually faded until she melded into thend around her.


    At the edge of the Elven Forest.


    A beam silver light shimmered, revealing a tall figure.


    Silver hair and mercury-colored eyes.


    It was tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt, now in his humanoid form.


    He turned his head around and cast a deep nce back at the Elven Forest behind him, before softly sighing:


    ¡°The gears of history have started to turn once again. Now every mythical being must make their choice¡­¡±


    ¡°To be destroyed in the uing turmoil, or to be reborn anew from theing destruction¡ªthere is only one oue¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done all that I can.¡±


    With another deep sigh, his body shimmered with silvery light once more before vanishingpletely.


    ¡ª <strong>422</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE CHOICE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 423

    Chapter 423


    Ev¨¦ returned to her divine kingdom after reaching an agreement with tinum Dragon King Reinhardt¡­


    After seating upon her throne, she began to ponder about the covenant she had made with Reinhardt and the potential implications behind his behavior during their meeting.


    ¡°¡­Although Reinhardt is an Ancient Dragon God who upholds justice and goodness, isn¡¯t his attitude towards me a little too good?¡±


    ¡°ording to tinum Dragon King, he only wishes for me to use the Scepter of Life to purify the bloodline of the dragons.¡±


    ¡°But by working along with me and also aiding in restoring the Scepter, it basically means that the purification of the dragon bloodline will be inherently tied to my influence¡­¡±


    ¡°Logically speaking, a proud race like the dragons wouldn¡¯t allow such a crucial matter like their bloodline¡¯s purification to be controlled by an external entity.¡±


    ¡°If I were ced into a position of being a Dragon God striving to save my race, then I would go to any lengths just to acquire the Scepter of Life and wield its power myself. After all, having power is most dependable when it is held within one¡¯s own hands.¡±


    ¡°So this begs the question¡­ why is Reinhardt doing all this?¡±


    Ev¨¦ idly tapped the armrest of her throne, as she mulled over the whole situation.She had to think carefully.


    While she had readily agreed to their covenant, it didn¡¯t mean that she could fully trust Reinhardt yet.


    There¡¯s no helping it.


    Her real identity was just far too sensitive.


    If it were to be publicly revealed, then she would likely be targeted and be enemies with countless gods.


    Sighing softly, Ev¨¦ summoned Reinhardt¡¯s fragments of the Scepter of Life.


    The shimmering fragmentsy within her palm, glowing a soft light whilst radiating vibrant energy of life.


    As she gazed at these fragments, a flicker of realization crossed upon her face.


    ¡°¡­.It seems as if Reinhardt is sending me a signal, which I think indicates the dragon races overall stance.¡±


    ¡°He is indeed showing some goodwill towards me, but beneath all that, there also seems to be a deeper meaning behind it.¡±


    As the thought struck her, Ev¨¦ suddenly had an idea.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    ¡°What if Reinhardt already guessed my true identity?¡±


    This idea hit her like a brick, and she, who had been lounging songuishly just now, suddenly sat up straight, her expression turning serious.


    ¡°It is indeed a possibility!¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, why would he mention that I resemble an old friend of his?¡±


    ¡°Especially when standing in the Elven Forest, while gazing at the World Tree. It¡¯s clearly obvious whom he was referring to.¡±


    ¡°And then there¡¯s also hisst reminder¡­¡±


    Eve¡¯s expression grew even more somber.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, his reminder was more like a hint ¡ª a warning that the Pantheon might send people to investigate the Elven Forest soon, urging me to prepare in advance.¡±


    Though it was merely a spection, by following this line of thought, many of Reinhardt¡¯s confusing actions suddenly now made some sense.


    ¡°Was he somehow¡­ investing upon me?¡±


    Ev¨¦ pondered deeply.


    But even as she followed this trail of thought, something still didn¡¯t add up.


    ¡°If he has truly realized my real identity, then¡­how did he figured it out? I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ve covered all my tracks¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be that he had somehow read the thoughts of one of my believers?¡ªNo, that would¡¯ve alerted me right away¡­this is my territory, after all.¡±


    With her being unable to make sense of it, Ev¨¦ reinspected all the measures she had taken to conceal her identity, but still couldn¡¯t find any w at all.


    In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.


    ¡°Haah¡­I didn¡¯t find any problems with my measures at all.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the mere fact that my predecessor¡¯s throne in the Parthenon is still inactive to this day is the greatest proof that I¡¯ve got in tricking the gods that the world tree has still not revived yet.¡±


    ¡°After all¡­ who would ever suspect that a soul from another world would merge with the World Tree and be reborn as its sessor? Something like this has never happened in the entire history of Seig¨¹es.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps I should consult H regarding this. She was after all close to the former World Tree and being an ancient deity herself, she probably knows more about Reinhardt too.¡±


    With her decision made, Ev¨¦ nned to discreetly gather some information about Reinhardt from the Goddess of Death.


    And even though Reinhardt had shown her his goodwill, it was still prudent to understand the underlying source of this goodwill.


    Acting on her thought, she skillfully retrieved the Casket of the Dead and sent H a message.


    Then after sending a ¡°mail,¡± Ev¨¦ refocused her attention on the fragments of the Scepter of Life in her hand.


    With a slight smile, she took out the Scepter of Life.


    As soon as the Scepter appeared, the fragments held within her hand immediately began to glow even more brightly.


    Without Ev¨¦ even needing to intervene herself, the fragments automatically flew towards the Scepter, whilst emitting an even more dazzling light as they merged along with it.


    The broken divine artifact instinctively absorbed the fragments once they were closely reunited, beginning the overall process of self-repair.


    At that moment, the Scepter of Life triggered this built-in mechanism on its own.


    Secondster, Reinhardt¡¯s fragments reattached itself to the end of the Scepter,pleting a missing section of the artifact.


    They fused seamlessly, before forming a new and evenrger Scepter.


    Unlike before, this Scepter of Life was now two-thirds bigger than its previous form.


    It now had a deep green shaft that¡¯s as tall as a person, entwined with vibrant green vines.


    Whereas at the top of the Scepter was a cup-like holder, adorned with radiant gemstones that sparkled brilliantly, covered in intricate and beautiful carvings.


    This was the almostpleted form of the Scepter of Life.


    However, it still bore numerous cracks, and the gemstone at the top was slightly damaged.


    This was because Reinhardt¡¯s fragments had still not yet fully fused with the scepter¡¯s main body.


    If left to merge naturally on its own, Ev¨¦ estimated that it would probably take a long time before the Scepter fully recovered itself.


    But Ev¨¦ had ways to speed up this process.


    Whilst reaching out her hand, she sent a surge of pure divine power towards it, which enveloped the entire Scepter.


    ¡°Fuse.¡±


    She murmured softly.


    After she spoke, the Scepter in her hand began to glow intensely, and the cracks on its surface started to heal at a much faster rate.


    During the entire process, the lifeforce emanating from the Scepter of Life grew ever stronger.


    Meanwhile, around the Scepter, several flowers, vines, and green grass sprouted, forming a beautiful pedestal that held the Scepter of Life in ce.


    ¡°Roughly¡­ half a month should do it.¡±


    Estimating the Scepter¡¯s repair speed, Ev¨¦ made a mental note before leaving the Scepter of Life in her temple.


    She then stood up and finally departed her divine kingdom.


    While the restoration would take time, there were other matters demanding her attention.


    The first of which was preparing for the arrival of the dragons in half a month.


    ¡°Five dragons per month, huh? Looks like¡­ it¡¯s finally time to introduce Dragon Knights among the yers.¡±


    Eve¡¯s lips curled into a smile.


    Although the dragons in Seig¨¹es were quite simr to the giant lizards of Western fantasy rather than anything resembling the eastern dragons in china, there was no shortage of yers interested in dragons.


    Especially with the arrival of ck Dragon Meryer.


    Countless yers had tried to either charm or grovel before him, all with the same goal: to tame the little ck dragon and possibly be a Dragon Knight.


    After all, being a Dragon Knight¡­


    ¡ªHow cool would that be?


    Of course, they all ultimately failed in the end.


    The only one whom Meryer allowed to ride him was Little Salty Cat.


    And that was only because the young ck dragon considered Little Salty Cat a friend rather than forming a proper dragon rider bond with her.


    After all, to be a bona-fide dragon rider, one would need to establish apanion pact first.


    s, since Meryer had already signed a master-servant contract with her, then Little Salty Cat could no longer form thatpanion bond with the little ck dragon.


    But that wouldn¡¯t be a problem with those dragons that¡¯s going to arrive soon in the future.


    Realizing this, Eve¡¯s mind wandered, and she delved into the game system she had created.


    She then used some of her divine power to turn her meeting with tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt, into a cinematic movie, with the intention of adding it to the game¡¯s opening animation.


    Indeed, Ev¨¦ had no intention of hiding her meeting with Reinhardt. She nned to present the covenant between them as part of the game¡¯s overarching narrative, and use it to build some anticipation for the uing dragons.


    Of course, any sensitive information would be removed, such as the secrets of the gods or the matters regarding the Pantheon.


    For the yers, it would suffice to know that tinum Dragon King visited the Goddess of Life and requested her assistance in purifying the dragon bloodlines in exchange for the Chosen Ones to be able to form apanionship pack with the dragons.


    However, after preparing the new cinematic movie, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t release it immediately. With there being still some time left before the dragons¡¯ arrival, she nned to release it just a day or two in advance.


    Shortly after finishing her preparations, Ev¨¦ suddenly felt a familiar stirring within her divine soul.


    Energized, she immediately returned back to her divine kingdom.


    After taking a seat upon her throne, she then took out the Casket of the Dead, which was now glowing with a faint, eerie light.


    It was H.


    The Goddess of Death finally responded.


    Eve¡¯s eyes lit up with anticipation.


    She swiftly opened the casket and opened H¡¯s message.


    Soon, H¡¯szy voice echoed throughout the temple¡¯s grand hall:


    ¡°Ev¨¦, Your Grace, as you may have suspected, tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt, did indeed have some connection with your predecessor. In fact, almost every non-evil deity in the universe has interacted with him in some way or another.¡±


    ¡°After all, he is an ancient god with many friends and one of the most powerful dragon deities, second only to the Ancestral Dragon.¡±


    ¡°As for whether you can trust him, I believe you can.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Reinhardt was furious and even condemned them when the gods of the heavens attacked the World Tree.¡±


    ¡°In fact, some rumors suggest that if the Ancestral Dragon hadn¡¯t forbidden him from intervening with the conflict, then Reinhardt might have even joined that war¡ªon the side of the World Tree of course.¡±


    ¡°And since he¡¯s shown you such goodwill, I think he may have already guessed your real identity but simply chose not to expose it.¡±


    ¡°As for how he realized it, I¡¯m not actually sure about that. But I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s due to any w in your end.¡±


    ¡°However, I do have a theory. It might be rted to an ancient prophecy¡­ but due to certain restrictions, I can¡¯t tell you more about that right now.¡±


    ¡°So, to be safe, I suggest you further reinforce your measures to hide your real identity.¡±


    ¡°Being cautious is always wise.¡±


    ¡°As for the Pantheon, just dy them in some capacity if they send an envoy. As your ally, I¡¯ll shall assist you in maintaining your identity hidden from any outside parties.¡±


    ¡°I hope you ascend to being a Great Old One soon.¡±


    With that, H¡¯s message ended, leaving Ev¨¦ deep in thought.


    ¡°¡­An ancient prophecy?¡±


    Her brows furrowed as she pondered over this new information.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t she tell me? Is it perhaps somehow rted to me?¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt a hint of frustration and sighed.


    It seemed there was still much she didn¡¯t know.


    Although she had inherited the legacy of the World Tree, she had retained very little of her predecessor¡¯s memories, leaving her in the dark about many of the hidden secrets of history and mythos.


    Of course, it was also possible that even her predecessor was unaware of this supposed prophecy.


    Shaking her head, Ev¨¦ set aside these thoughts.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ I can find an opportunity to ask the dragons for clues, or maybe even enlist the help of the yers to dig up some information regarding it.¡±


    She tapped the armrest of her throne, murmuring to herself.


    Although she hadn¡¯t fully figured out whether Reinhardt had truly uncovered her identity, or how he might have done so, his goodwill seemed genuine enough.


    This brought her some peace of mind.


    ¡°I wonder when this life of living under a disguise will finally end,¡± she sighed and began to think of more ways to conceal her real identity.


    One approach that she thought involved making the alternate space that hides her true body even more secretive, while simultaneously also enhancing the illusion of the fake World Tree with additional divine power, making it even more look convincing as if it¡¯s real.


    Day after day passed in the blink of an eye.


    Fourteen days after Reinhardt¡¯s departure, the Scepter finallypleted its restoration process.


    The moment it sessfully repaired itself, Eve, although she wasn¡¯t in her divine kingdom at the time, sensed an astonishing surge of life force emanating from it.


    Whilst brimming with excitement, she quickly returned to her divine kingdom and quickly made her way to the temple.


    By now, the interior of the temple was alreadypletely flooded with potent energy of life.


    In the center of the grand hall, the tower-like pedestal that had once supported the Scepter had vanished.


    Instead, the Scepter hovered in mid-air, glowing with a soft, ethereal light, like a perfect piece of art, quietly floating.


    Uponying her eyes on it, Ev¨¦ immediately felt an intimate connection, like the bond between fingers and heart¡ªan indescribable feeling of unity with the Scepter.


    This was the highest form of connection between an artifact and a god¡ªaplete alignment of will and intent.


    Being a divine artifact crafted from the core of the World Tree, Ev¨¦ could now fully control the Scepter, having finished its repair.


    Overjoyed, Ev¨¦ gently beckoned her hand, and the Scepter swiftly flew into it.


    However, as she grasped it, she noticed something strange.


    The scepter¡¯s gem at the top was still missing a small fragment.


    Looks like Scepter of Life still wasn¡¯tplete.


    At that moment, Eve suddenly felt a mysterious resonance.


    It was as if something in the distant west was calling out to her¡­


    ¡ª <strong>423</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ RESTORATION</strong><strong>OF THE SCEPTER OF LIFE</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 424

    Chapter 424


    This feeling was not unfamiliar to Ev¨¦.


    She had experienced something simr after acquiring the fragments of the Scepter from Nidhogg and restoring it.


    Back then, the resonance came from the remaining fragments, which was in the possession of tinum Dragon King, Reinhardt, who had visited Ev¨¦ just a few days prior.


    As for this time¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s thest fragment of the Scepter of Life!¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart stirred slightly.


    Previously, she hadn¡¯t sensed thisst fragment, likely due to it being just a single fragment, so it¡¯s weak resonance had been overwhelmed by the resonance that came from the collection of fragments held by Reinhardt.


    But now, with most of the Scepter having been sessfully restored, only this smallst piece was missing.


    Therefore, nothing else could obscure the resonance of this final fragment anymore.Moreover, as the restoration of the Scepter further progressed, its ability to sense its own fragments became much stronger.


    In such a situation, it was only natural for Ev¨¦ to perceive the resonance of thisst piece.


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦, while holding the Life Scepter, left her divine kingdom.


    Whilst still in her incarnation form, Ev¨¦ raised the scepter high, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed the direction of the resonance.


    Soon, the general location became clear within her mind.


    ¡°About 500 kilometers southwest.¡±


    This distance was still within the boundaries of the Elven Forest, reachable even by the yers.


    Ev¨¦ opened her eyes, a glimmer of delight shing across her face.


    It could be said that this final fragment had practically fallen at her feet¡ªthough it was so small that she only noticed it now.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be this close!¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed in relief.


    Truth be told, although she could repair the missingst piece of the Scepter using other methods, it would likely take years toplete unless she was willing to harm her own core once again.


    However, Eve had no intention of doing that.


    Since damaging her core would likely affect her recovery speed.


    ¡°Hmm, this fragment¡¯s resonance somehow fades in and out¡­as if its been sealed in some capacity, which exins why I hadn¡¯t noticed it beforehand.¡±


    After trying to sense it for a moment longer, Ev¨¦ made the decision to head out immediately.


    She was eager toplete the Scepter with this final fragment.


    Only with the fully restored Scepter of Life could she wield its full potential!


    With this thought, Ev¨¦ transformed into a streak of light, flying swiftly toward the source of the resonance.


    The speed of her demigod incarnation was incredibly fast, covering a 500-kilometer distance in less than ten minutes.


    In fact, if Eve¡¯s divine kingdom extended that far, then she could have teleported directly to it already.


    As she descended from the sky in a sh of light, Ev¨¦ found herself in the midst of a beautiful forest.


    It was still part of the Elven Forest, butpared to the towering ancient trees of the Central Zone, the trees here were much smaller and more sparsely scattered instead.


    Nevertheless, although the number of trees here was fewer, numerous vines and shrubs abundantly thrived in this region, as colorful flowers bloomed all around, forming a vivid sea of blossoms.


    It was practically a zone full of flowers.


    However, Ev¨¦ paid these captivating, vibrant, and diverse flowers no mind as her gaze was wholly fixed on the ruins thaty amidst the floral sea.


    These ruins were vast, farrger than the scattered remnants found near the Central Zone of the Elven Forest, and evenparable in scale to the Elven Holy City of Florence.


    On the fallen white stones of the ruins, one could faintly make out elven-style decorative architecture, which silently foretold the story of this ce¡¯s former glory.


    And upon closer inspection, many of the copsed buildings bore traces of spellcasting likely due to a battle, and even the ground showed the scars of magical explosions.


    Without a doubt, this was yet another lost elven city.


    Eve¡¯s gaze rested on the most prominent stone pir among the ruins, where she spotted elven inscriptions carved into its surface.


    Though the text had blurred over the course of a thousand years, some of it still remained legible enough to be read.


    She extended her hand, gently brushing the pir as she murmured to herself:


    ¡°Kenond¡­¡±


    The Beautiful City of Kenond.


    This was one of the sevenrgest and most renowned cities of the Old Elven Kingdom, which had once ruled thend of Seig¨¹es for a hundred thousand years.


    Kenond was also once widely regarded as the ¡°City of Flowers¡± and ¡°Dream City,¡± with it arguably being the most beautiful of all the seven major elven cities in the past.


    s, this once beautiful city had now sadly turned into nothing more than a pile of ruins, long forgotten in time.


    Eve¡¯s gaze swept across the destendscape, and she sighed softly.


    ¡°It seems a fierce battle took ce here.¡±


    Now that she had arrived, that strange resonance that she had been feelinging from thest fragment had grew even stronger.


    There was no doubt that the final fragment of the Scepter was located somewhere within these ruins.


    Letting out a sigh, Ev¨¦ stepped into the ruins.


    She didn¡¯t bother concealing her presence, and as she ventured deeper, arge number of goblins immediately began fleeing in panic from all directions.


    Like Florence, clearly this ce had also be a goblin safehaven.


    However, Ev¨¦ merely nced at them without taking any actions.


    These creatures showed no sign of Uller¡¯s aura, indicating that these goblins were not part of those Uller had recruited.


    For such weaklings, Eve couldn¡¯t be bothered to take action, preferring to leave them for the yers to deal with instead.


    Following the resonance, Ev¨¦ soon arrived at a copsed temple within the ruins.


    Eventually, she came to a stop in front of a dust-covered mirror.


    It was a full-length mirror, its frame adorned with beautiful patterns depicting flowers and nts.


    Eve paused, visibly surprised.


    ¡°¡­A mirror?¡±


    She hadn¡¯t expected the resonance to originate from this object.


    Ev¨¦ wondered, a thought shing through her mind.


    <em>Could this mirror perhaps be a long-forgotten artifact?</em>


    But she quickly dismissed the idea, as she could feel no energy emanating from the mirror at all.


    It was nothing more than an ordinary mirror¡ªat best, a relic of the past.


    ¡°No, wait. It¡¯s behind the mirror,¡±


    Eve realized, her gaze shifting.


    With a gentle gesture, the mirror, which had been hanging on the wall, floated into the air and was moved aside.


    What she saw next was not a wall like she expected but rather, a deep, dark rift.


    This rift didn¡¯t seem to be part of the wall; but rather, it hovered in mid-air, as if the very fabric of reality itself had been torn apart.


    This clearly was a spatial rift.


    A portal of some sort.


    Inside the portal, everything was shrouded in a misty glow, making it impossible to see whaty within.


    At the same time, the moment Ev¨¦id her eyes upon the portal, the resonance which she had been sensing intensified further.


    Thest fragment of the Scepter was definitely inside this spatial rift.


    <em>So, it¡¯s a portal to a demi-realm¡­</em>


    Eve thought, recalling some descriptions from the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, feeling a tinge of surprise.


    ¡ª <strong>42</strong>4 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF KENORLAND </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 425

    Chapter 425


    The universe that surrounds Seig¨¹es isposed of countless realms, each of which has its own various respective demi-realms that are connected to it, bothrge and small.


    These demi-realms may have been created by some mythical beings that are native from that realm, or in some cases, by beings who came from outside and justter on connected a specific demi-realm to the one they inhabit.


    Typically, the connection of these demi-realms to the main realm is through portals known as dimensional passageways.


    And the one Ev¨¦ found was an example of such a portal.


    This discovery went beyond her expectations, though in hindsight, it also made some sense in a way.


    It was surprising because for over a thousand years, the dimensional passage of Seig¨¹es to the outside world had almost beenpletely sealed off.


    In this situation, aside from the gods who possess immense divine power and a vast collection of faith to forcefully perform cross-dimensional channeling, the realm of Seig¨¹es was almost entirely isted from the rest of the universe.


    Thus, under such circumstances, there should normally have been no active passageways within Seig¨¹es that could connect to any external demi-realms, let alone to other independent realms outside of it.


    However, it also made sense because, with Eve¡¯s revival, the mana reserves of Seig¨¹es have gradually started to recover, which makes it natural for previously closed passageways to loosen and be active once more.In addition, the dimensional passage she discovered appeared to connect to a lower-tier demi-realm, making it normal to be one of the first amongst the demi-realms to reopen.


    ¡°No wonder I couldn¡¯t sense this particr fragment before, unlike now. Most likely, it¡¯s not just due to the interference from Reinhardt¡¯s fragment but also because this demi-realm¡¯s passageway hadn¡¯t been opened much earlier.¡±


    ¡°But now that I¡¯ve almost restored the Scepter of Life and the passageway to this demi-realm has been reopened, I¡¯m now able to sense thest fragment of the Scepter on the other side of the portal¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Yet why did this particr fragment ended up inside this demi-realm in the first ce? Moreover, which demi-realm is this, anyway?¡±


    This is what perplexed her.


    It¡¯s widely known that the number of demi-realms connected to Seig¨¹es is rather limited in number, and their rtive positions are fixated as well.


    In other words, if there had been a portal to a demi-realm here beforehand, then she should have already been aware of it, given that she had acquired the World Tree¡¯s inheritance.


    Furthermore, even if the inheritance has no records of this particr demi-realm, the mere fact that it is situated deep within the territory of the Elven Forest should have alerted the native elves about it. However, the mysterious thing is that even the elves have no idea of its existence nor have even written about it in their legends or history books.


    Moreover, ording to the knowledge contained in the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, there should not have been any active passageways within the Elven Forest that are connected to any demi-realm in this location.


    Quite frankly, this demi-realm should have not existed at all¡­


    ¡ªUnless it was only created after the World Tree had already fallen.


    ¡°Strange.¡±


    Ev¨¦ became cautious.


    After a moment of contemtion, she tentatively reached out her hand inside the portal to sense out the stability of this dimensional passageway.


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems rtively stable enough and can be entered.¡±


    Regardless of this demi-realm¡¯s mysterious origins, thest fragment of the Scepter of Life is inside it, so at the end of the day, she still have to enter it in some way or another.


    Besides, Ev¨¦ herself was somewhat curious about the details regarding this demi-realm.


    After considering her options, she ultimately chose to enter the portal and investigate for herself.


    And while the other side might contain some potential danger or even a trap, it wouldn¡¯t matter much since she was currently in her incarnation form.


    However, just as Ev¨¦ was about to step forward, she suddenly sensed the portal begin to tremble violently.


    Apanied by creaking sounds, the entire portal shook and became unstable the moment she took a step into the passageway.


    Then, the misty light within the portal began to churn like fog, which partly revealed thendscape inside the demi-realm.


    It was a lush forest, and there was a faint smoke rising from the sky that seemed toe from a town visible in the distance.


    However, at the precise moment she attempted to enter, the other side of the portal was suddenly hit by a massive earthquake.


    The entire forest trembled, as cracks appeared on the ground, and countless trees copsed one after another, startling flocks of birds and beasts.


    Seeing this, Ev¨¦ quickly halted her attempt to pass through the portal.


    As if on cue, the tremors subsided and mist once again obscured thendscape inside the demi-realm.


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems this demi-realm can¡¯t amodate my power, and judging by how badly it reacted to my presence, it¡¯s most likely a lower-tier one like I initially suspected.¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured to herself.


    Generally speaking, demi-realms like these vary in strength and each one has a certain limit to the power it could amodate.


    Much like how the realm of Seig¨¹es can only amodate beings with demigod-level power¡ªif a god were to forcibly enter Seig¨¹es, just like she did in this demi-realm, it would almost certainly cause the entire realm to copse onto itself.


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ reached out her hand over the portal again, closed her eyes, and used her divine power to sense the full extent of the maximum threshold of this particr demi-realm¡­


    Momentster, she slowly reopened her eyes.


    ¡°It is indeed a lower-tier demi-realm, or at most, a mid-tier one¡­¡±


    In this universe, the myriad of realms and demi-realms across the cosmos can be categorized into various tiers.


    Generally speaking, realms are either divided into low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier realms as well as legendary and mythical tier in ordance to the strength they could amodate.


    So in short, each realm has a certain threshold depending on the corresponding levels of strength, which are iron, silver, gold, legendary, and above demigod.


    These thresholds define the upper limits of power that the realm can support, and could potentially break down if one were to intrude upon a realm that cannot amodate their strength.


    ¡°Hmm, this demi-realm can at most, only amodate people with silver-rank strength?¡±


    With this realization, Ev¨¦ suddenly had an idea.


    The current incarnation she is using has the strength of a demigod, which clearly exceeds the threshold of what the demi-realm could amodate.


    But she immediately thought of a workaround to this dilemma, as Ev¨¦ quickly decided to create a new incarnation of herself but limit its strength to the peak of silver-rank.


    Without hesitation, she summoned one of the spare avatars from the stockpile that she had stored back at the World Tree.


    Although the original purpose of this avatar was to serve as a spare body for the yers, she could also use it as a base to speed up the process of creating an incarnation.


    After summoning the avatar, Ev¨¦ then took out a leaf from her robes¡ªone that came from the World Tree.


    By using her divine power, she fused the leaf from the World Tree with the avatar, and soon its physical features transformed into a something that resembled her own.


    Then, she took out the Scepter of Life and gently tapped the modified avatar with it, thereby enhancing its innate ability to contain a divine soul.


    At the same time, she also used some of her divine power to elevate its strength to the peak of the silver-rank.


    Next, Ev¨¦ separated a piece of her soul and transferred it over into the modified avatar.


    Thus, a new incarnation of herself was formed.


    Normally, creating an incarnation is a reallyplicated process, but with the assistance of the Scepter of Life, Ev¨¦ found it much easier to create one.


    While using her new incarnation, she remotely controlled it and attempted to enter the passageway leading to the demi-realm once more.


    At first, everything seemed to have went smoothly.


    However, just as Eve¡¯s new incarnation was about to pass through to the other side, she suddenly sensed a strange, somewhat familiar fluctuation from deep within the demi-realm.


    It instantly swept over her.


    Then immediately afterwards, the previously calm demi-realm began to tremble yet again, with even signs of an impending copse.


    Startled, Ev¨¦ quickly halted her movement.


    The tremors ceased as soon as she stopped. Yet, Eve also noticed that the demi-realm¡¯s portal had be highly unstable after being affected twice.


    A third disturbance might cause it to copse entirely.


    Seeing this, she frowned in dismay.


    ncing around the vicinity, she soon spotted a goblin sneaking along a nearby ruins, attempting to flee.


    With a slight gesture, Ev¨¦ summoned vines from the ground as it lunges forward and ensnared the fleeing goblin, before pulling the creature towards her.


    Terrified, the goblin trembled uncontrobly.


    Ev¨¦ gave the creature a brief look, before casually tossing it over into the portal.


    This time, the transmission went smoothly.


    The goblin sessfully crossed over into the demi-realm with no further tremors happening.


    Seeing this, Ev¨¦ had an epiphany:


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just one¡¯s own power that was affecting the demi-realm, but the quality of a person¡¯s soul was also being factored in¡­¡±


    ¡°That familiar fluctuation just now was the result of the demi-realm sensing that my soul is of divine quality, which triggered the spatial disturbance¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it feels like the demi-realm itself is preventing any mythical existence from entering. So as soon as a divine being tries to forcefully enter, it immediately copses upon its own.¡±


    With this realization, Eve¡¯s curiosity about the demi-realm deepened even further.


    ¡°¡­What is it hiding?¡±


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Ev¨¦ smiled as she slightly shrugged her shoulders:


    ¡°So what? if it¡¯s so adamant on preventing me from entering then I can just send someone else to do my bidding instead. In this manner, I can still get the information that I need.¡±


    As such, Ev¨¦ once again turned her thoughts to the yers.


    Since her forced intrusion would lead to the demi-realm¡¯s copse, then, why not let the yers enter as her proxy in her stead?


    Besides, the first batch of dragons are going to arrive soon and selecting a potential dragon knight amongst the yerbase was an issue she needed to address.


    She couldbine these two and issue a quest to explore this demi-realm in exchange for being a Dragon Knight as a reward.


    In any case, Ev¨¦ had a feeling.


    This demi-realm likely contained some deep hidden secrets within it¡­


    ¡ª <strong>425</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PORTAL TO THE DEMI-REALM </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 426

    Chapter 426


    After confirming that she couldn¡¯t personally enter the demi-realm herself, Ev¨¦ stopped trying to force her way and decided to relegate the task of exploring the demi-realm to the yers instead.


    When the timees, she could just simply tap into their perspective and direct the whole exploration by issuing tasks for them to follow.


    Of course, given that she wanted this endeavor to seed, Ev¨¦ decided that only those yers that advanced to Silver-rank would be selected as potential candidates for this exploration task.


    This demi-realm¡¯ was of low to mid-tier category.


    As such, the strongest existence inside it would likely only possess the strength of a peak silver-ranker, making it easier for the yers that will venture forth inside.


    With their current strength, there is little that can oppose them, thereby maximizing the chances of a sessful exploration.


    Keeping this in mind, Ev¨¦ started to develop a n for the exploration questline of the demi-realm:


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to send too many people. After all, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the situation inside. Simply sending a few yers to conduct reconnaissance and somehow find a way to obtain thest fragment of the Scepter of Life should be sufficient enough.¡±


    ¡°For this task, the most optimal method would be to assign it solely to a team made up entirely of Silver-rankers.¡±¡°Hmm¡­ with that in mind, it seems ¡®Boxlunch¡¯s Team¡¯ would be the most suitable one to undertake this quest. They¡¯re strong, reliable, and conveniently also the closest team to the portal¡¯s location.¡±


    Indeed, when she tried to approximate every yer¡¯s whereabouts, Ev¨¦ found that Boxlunch¡¯s party current location was actually quite close to Kenond.


    Specifically, they were exploring an area less than thirty kilometers away, and even without Ev¨¦ sensing the fragment of the Scepter in this location, their team would probably eventually stumble upon the ruins of Kenond in theing days.


    The truth was, Boxlunch¡¯s team had already made ns to explore the western part of the Elven Forest even way back since the fourth beta.


    However, their ns had repeatedly been dyed due to the war that happened underground as well as the introduction of the demonbyrinth dungeon.


    However, now that things have mostly settled down, it seems like the most suitable time for them to uncover what is inside the demi-realm, as they are both the closest and the strongest team for this task.


    ¡°Uh¡­ but wouldn¡¯t this feel a bit too preferential?¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered to herself.


    Boxlunch¡¯s squad had already garnered fame and recognition bypleting important quests before, so by assigning them this task, other yers mightin that they are receiving too much preferential treatment.


    ¡°Oh well, preferential or not, it¡¯s my game and I make the rules. It¡¯s not the first time anyway, and who can me them for being so capable?¡±


    She chuckled to herself.


    ¡°As for the reward, I¡¯ll just grant them the chance to be the first one to perform apanion pact to those dragons that¡¯ll being.¡±


    That¡¯s what Ev¨¦ had decided.


    Speaking of which, when she signed the covenant with tinum Dragon, Reinhardt, the other party promised to let the dragon themselves decide on who to pick amongst the Chosen Ones as their partner, as long as they were willing to sign apanionship pact.


    The reason behind thisy in the special nature of thepanion pact.


    Typically, a dragon would subconsciously choose someone who suited its taste. This would result in a highlypatible bond, which could significantly shorten the adjustment period and allow both parties to gain strength more efficiently.


    Thus, a synergy could be achieved wherein the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.


    However, this manner of choosing a partner is not the only absolute method.


    Reinhardt had also mentioned that if Ev¨¦ had someone in mind, then she could directly designate a yer to form the pact.


    This was a gesture of trust from Reinhardt.


    In his view, anyone personally chosen by her would already possess potential worthy of such divine attention. So even if it took longer for them to adjust to each other, the Chosen One¡¯s potential would be more than enough topensate for the extended bonding period between the dragon and the yer.


    Nevertheless, Ev¨¦ does not intend to intervene in every subsequentpanion pact in the future.


    While Reinhardt might not know it, she was well aware that all yers, regardless of their strength, possessed the same inherent potential since their avatars were artificially altered by her and boosted their talents to a genius level. So, in the end, it didn¡¯t really matter whom the dragon chose as their partner as all yers fundamentally have the very same potential.


    The only differences between them are probably that each person spends varying amounts of time online and has different personalities and preferences.


    So, given that every Chosen One¡¯s inherent potential was essentially equal, it would be better to let the dragons choose their ownpanions whom they felt mostpatible with.


    That way, their pact couldst much further.


    Nheless, Eve hadn¡¯tpletely abandoned the idea of intervening herself. However, she would personally designate only one or two yers as a quest reward for every batch of five dragons each month, while letting the others freely choose their own partners.


    With her ns set, Ev¨¦ closed her eyes and sensed the location of the Boxlunch¡¯s party.


    ¡°About thirty kilometers northeast¡­¡±


    After pondering for a moment, her figure shimmered, transforming into a streak of light as she flew in their direction.


    In the western section of the Elven Forest, the canopy swayed gently, concealing the figures of five elves. Their armor glinted in the dappled light as they moved about with deliberate care, every footsteps measured, whilst their eyes scan the dense underbrush.


    Far behind them, around thirty kilometer northeast, the distant shadow of the Kenond ruins lingered on the horizon.


    They were none other than Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    After perfectly clearing the Demon Labyrinth Dungeon, they had decided to stop grinding monsters for EXP in the dungeon and instead resumed their long-postponed exploration ns.


    After perfectly clearing the Demon Labyrinth Dungeon, they had decided to stop grinding monsters for EXP in the dungeon and instead resumed their long-postponed exploration ns. Originally, they wanted to explore the western section of the Elven Forest, but due to being dyed multiple times by recentrge-scale events, this n was put on hold.


    However, with things settling downtely, they finally found the opportunity to venture forth into this uncharted territory.


    ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve been walking for days now, and it doesn¡¯t seem like there are any strong monsters in this direction. Also¡­ is this supposed ruin that HootyBird talked about even real?¡±


    A yer with the username ¡®Optimist¡¯ who serves as the tank of the party asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.


    ¡°Yeah, every monster we¡¯ve fought in this area so far have been pretty weak. I¡¯ve heard that if we went farther north, we would¡¯ve encountered Silver-rank mobs long ago. Yet, we haven¡¯t even seen a high Iron-rank monster in half a day,¡± added Cbash, another yer on the team.


    He idly fiddled with his newly acquired epic purple Silver-ss staff and almost used it as a walking stick out of boredom.


    Indeed, their exploration had proven to be quite a boring excursion so far.


    Before setting off, they had fantasized about encountering stronger monsters and even hoped to discover the ancient ruined elven city that HootyBird had read about in some old native historical texts.


    However, as they progressed through their exploration, both the number and strength of the monsters in the area gradually diminished little by little, and they found no indication of any ruins of some sort either.


    Quite frankly, if it weren¡¯t for Boxlunch¡¯s persistence, then their group would have already given up exploring this area long ago.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re probably close,¡± Boxlunch reassured his teammates, ncing at the small map in the upper right corner of his vision.


    The map showed that they had already ventured over 470 kilometers away from the central zone of the Elven Forest.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just hang in there a bit longer. Hopefully, HootyBird¡¯s guess is right. However, if those texts written in those native books are just for lore settings and don¡¯t actually exist, then these past few days would have been a total waste,¡± muttered Chopin, the support Druid of the party.


    Hearing this, Boxlunch shook his head.


    ¡°They¡¯re not. Look, thendscape had changed.¡±


    The others were momentarily puzzled.


    ¡°¡­Thendscape had changed?¡±


    They looked around and suddenly realized, ¡°You¡¯re right! The trees are thinning out, and the number of flowers have increased¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±


    With their spirits rekindled, the entire team forged ahead, yet, after only just a few steps, Boxlunch whose leading the way, suddenly came to an abrupt halt.


    A shadow crossed his face, his posture shifting to one of tense vignce.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Captain?¡± one of the yers asked, sensing the change in their Captain¡¯s attitude.


    Boxlunch drew his weapon and looked towards a specific direction, speaking in a low voice:


    ¡°There¡¯s something up ahead.¡±


    At his words, the others immediately snapped out of their earlier lethargy, bing fully alert.


    Their captain, Boxlunch, had his [Keen Ears] skill active at all times while scouting, making him the first to notice any unusual sounds or movements.


    The rest of the team also drew their weapons and turned their focus to the direction he had indicated.


    Gripping the hilt of his sword, Boxlunch moved forward with a measured steps, his actions barely making a sound.


    The others also trailed behind him, mirroring his caution as they navigated the unfamiliar terrain.


    All five yers remained on high alert, advancing in silence. Soon, they came upon a thick patch of bushes.


    After gently parting the foliage, they peeked through to the other side and what met their eyes was a small, green figure.


    ¡°A goblin! It¡¯s a goblin!¡±


    Some members of the team¡¯s faces lit up with excitement.


    They had be all too familiar with the behavior of these little green-skinned creatures after ying the game for so long.


    These weak beings had low intelligence and preferred to live in groups, but one aspect of these goblins was that whenever they were found within the vicinity of the Elven Forest, it always meant one thing¡ª


    There must be a ruins nearby!


    As everyone immediately spotted the goblin, thetter also noticed them.


    Startled, the little creature let out a panicked screech and swiftly bolted in the opposite direction.


    Seeing this, the yers¡¯ eyes gleamed.


    ¡°Chase it! It¡¯s definitely running towards its home! There must be ruins up ahead!¡±


    With a cheer, they excitedly pursued the fleeing green monster.


    The goblin wasn¡¯t very fast¡ªcertainly much slower than the sprinting yers. However, they purposefully held themselves back, maintaining a steady distance behind the creature.


    Their goal wasn¡¯t to kill it anyway but to let it lead them to its home, which was most likely a ruin or something simr to an ancient structure.


    So, for the next hour or so, they continued their measured chase, one fleeing while the other deliberately pursued the former just a few steps behind.


    When the system¡¯s mini-map indicated that they were approaching the 500-kilometer boundary, the goblin finally came to a halt.


    ¡ª <strong>42</strong>6 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ IT FELT TOO PREFERENTIAL</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 427

    Chapter 427


    ¡°T-This is¡­¡±


    ¡°Holy crap! Ruins! There really are ruins around here!¡±


    The faces of all the party members in Boxlunch¡¯s team lit up with excitement as they gazed upon the spot where the goblin had ran into.


    What stood before them was a vast sea of flowers, an endless expanse that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.


    Amidst this floweryndscape, what looks to be remnants of ancient elven structuresy scattered about¡ªdpidated and weathered by time, as their once-grand architecture now overtaken by nature.


    There was no doubt within their minds that what they discovered here was a newly undiscovered elven ruins.


    And although these ruins were now nketed in wildflowers and tangled vines, the distinct elven craftsmanship and towering stone structures still hinted at their former glory.


    The intricately carved sculptures and grand white stone buildings, even in their dpidated and weathered state, still retained a sense of beauty and charm.


    Moreover, the deteriorated state of these ancient elven-style structures only entuates their overall impression, evoking a deep sense of history and allowing one to feel the passing and vicissitudes of time as they gaze upon the remnants of this once-majestic civilization.These ruins must have once been a thriving elven city, and given their scale, they were likely on par with the Holy City of Florence and the cksmithing Capital of Rivendell!


    ¡°A city¡­in a sea of flowers¡­it has to be! This has to be the elven city that HootyBird talked about in the literature book that she read! What was its name again?¡±


    Cbash said excitedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Kenond,¡±


    Chopin added.


    With his teammate¡¯s reminder, Cbash nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Right, Kenond! Which was one of the seven major cities of the ancient elven kingdom!¡±


    ¡°This is fantastic! There must be plenty of treasures inside! Haha! we¡¯d strike it rich if we could find a few epic or silver-grade meditation techniques!¡±


    Optimist voice rang out, bubbling with excitement.


    A wave of joy washed over the whole team, their eyes shining with exhration as they exchanged eager nces and anticipation.


    By now, all five of them were seasoned veterans after ying the game for so long, and usually, whenever someone discovered ruins while exploring new maps, they often found valuable items within them.


    Or perhaps they would only find some worn-out equipment or ancient tomes¡­


    But regardless, these items could all still be offered to the goddess in exchange for a considerable amount of contribution points.


    Not to mention, if luck were on their side, they could also potentially stumble upon some rare artifacts!


    They could truly strike gold if that were to happen!


    It was a well-known fact that the epic purple-grade meditation technique that Li Mu and Demacia discovered in Florence back while they were still newbies has continued to provide them with benefits to this day, making countless yers envious.


    Seeing his teammates so excited, Boxlunch warned in a low voice,


    ¡°Hold steady, don¡¯t rush.¡±


    Upon hearing their Captain¡¯s warning, the rest quickly realized their folly and immediately fell silent.


    This was a new unexplored map.


    Even in their excitement, they still needed to be cautious to avoid any potential dangers that could lead into failure.


    Not to mention, these kinds of ruins often served as habitat forrge numbers of goblins.


    And although goblins were no longer a concern for their current strength and offered only a small amount of experience points, every little bit of EXP still added up andpounded over time.


    Observing that his teammates had calmed themselves down, Boxlunch made a gesture and whispered:


    ¡°Let¡¯s explore together and watch our surroundings.¡±


    The rest nodded in agreement.


    Each tightened their grip upon their respective weapons and, with heightened awareness, decided to delved deeper into the ruins together¡­


    To their surprise, their whole exploration was remarkably calm.


    As they ventured deeper into the ruins, the monsters and traps they had initially anticipated failed to materialize at all.


    Everyone in the team were astonished to find that the ruins were eerily quiet, seemingly devoid of any life.


    Even the goblin they had been chasing beforehand had vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too quiet here? Where are the goblins? With such arge ruin, there should be goblin nests around here, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ take a closer look. There are signs that goblins used to live here, but it¡¯s strange we haven¡¯t run into a single one yet.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s the one we were chasing earlier?¡±


    ¡°Not sure, seems like we lost track of it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Each member of the team whispered to one another as they explored the ruins.


    However, they soon pushed aside the thought of the missing monsters the moment they discovered arge number of damaged weapons and equipment buried beneath the ground.


    Form their preliminary inspection, it seemed that a fierce battle had once taken ce here in the past.


    All it took was digging through a thinyer of soil to uncover deceased bones and various types of gear hidden beneath the sea of flowers.


    Of course, most of the equipment they uncovered consisted of armor and swords.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯te across any robes or bows, but after a thousand years, those items had long been deteriorated beyond recognition, leaving only these metal armor and swords intact.


    As for the skeletal remains they found, most appeared to be from a humanoid creature.


    In particr, it was highly probable that these remains were those of Elvenkind.


    Strangely, however, aside from the elves, they found no bone specimens from any other races, which the team found somewhat curious.


    Still, they didn¡¯t care too much about it.


    Happily, the team gathered any centuries-old equipment they could unearth before stuffing it into theirmunal storage ring like a group of scavengers.


    The storage ring, which everyone in team had pooled their resources to purchase from the exchange store, had a capacity of nearly 30 cubic meters and such space was more than enough for all the loot they could find.


    s, apart from those equipment left over from the war, the ancient tomes they had hoped to find for were nowhere to be found.


    There seemed to be quite a lot of equipment buried in these ruins, so the five yers didn¡¯t spend all their time digging and gathering after scavenging the same loot for a while.


    Instead, they decided to move on and explore the rest of the ruins first to ensure they didn¡¯t miss out on any more valuable treasures.


    Of course, another reason was that they also knew from experience that exploring new maps like these often led to the possibility of stumbling upon some new quests.


    The team nned to scout another area, hoping to find a clue or perhaps even trigger a hidden quest.


    Plus, given the size of these ruins, it was hard to believe that there wouldn¡¯t be any hidden quests waiting to be discovered around here.


    They passed through one copsed ruin after another, picking up whatever loot they spotted along the way, until they finally arrived in front of a solemn-looking temple.


    Most of its structure had already copsed, but the architecture it was built with mirrored that of the style often seen in Florence.


    Even in its dpidated state, the ruined roof of the temple still bore the tree-shaped emblem of the World Tree.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s a temple! Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything good inside!¡±


    Their eyes lit up, as each member of the team eagerly rushed inside.


    However, once they entered inside, each of them immediately froze in their tracks.


    In front of a half-broken statue, stood a figure every yer was familiar with.


    Dressed in ck skirt armor, with flowing silver hair and a strikingly beautiful yet cold expression, stood Godwarden Zero, the rare purple-ss NPC.


    She was the only character within their faction that had reached the gold-rank, and most yers affectionately referred to her as ¡°Big Sister.¡±


    All five yers stood dumbfounded uponying their eyes at her back.


    Some even instinctively hid the equipment they hadn¡¯t yet stashed in their storage ring, while others identally dropped their loot on the ground¡­


    Boxlunch looked surprised, but the rest couldn¡¯t help blurting out:


    ¡°Fuck! Is that Big Sister Zero?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be in Chosen City? What¡¯s she doing here?¡±


    ¡°Please tell me she didn¡¯t see us digging up those dead bones and stripping their equipment. We¡¯ll lose favorability again if she did¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­ keep it down¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡ªguys, think about it¡­ what are the odds of us running into a purple-ss NPC on a new map? Could we have somehow triggered another hidden quest?!¡±


    They spoke in hushed tones, but in the stillness of the temple, their voices echoed loud and clear.


    The next second, they found themselves being stared at by a pair of crimson eyes, tinged with a hint of purple looking over at their direction.


    Her gaze was calm and curious, yet it held a prating power, as though it could see straight through them.


    There was also an aura of authority within her that made them feel as though they were in the presence of someone far superior, as if her very beingmanded respect and admiration.


    All five members of the team, including Boxlunch, shuddered involuntarily, feeling as though their entire beings wereid bare before the other party.


    Each of them swallowed nervously as a cool, melodic voice, tinged with surprise, resonated through the ruins of the temple:


    ¡°Chosen Ones? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>42</strong>7 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ CHOSEN</strong><strong>ONES? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 428

    Chapter 428


    In that moment, all five of them automatically shifted their conversation to chat mode as they talk on their designated team chatroom.


    ? She isn¡¯t angry!


    ? She probably didn¡¯t notice us digging up those bodies.


    ? Okay, thank goodness. We would be in huge trouble if she had somehow seen us¡­


    Each one of them sighed in relief, exchanged nces, and quickly turned their eyes towards their captain as though waiting for his decision.


    A moment of silence passed, and Boxlunch nced at Cbash with a knowing look, which made thetter swallowed hard.


    It was a familiar look their captain always seem to use whenever he wanted someone to do something for him.


    Taking a deep breath, Cbash hesitantly stepped forward, imitating the NPC¡¯s actions as he skillfully drew the symbol of a scepter upon his chest.


    ¡°Greetings, Lady Zero. Uh¡­ you see, we have been searching for any signs of a ruin in the forest for the past few days, and we stumbled upon this ce after chasing a goblin.¡± He spoke in an awkward yet still respectable manner.¡°I see.¡±


    Zero nodded lightly.


    Seeing that the esteemed, Godwarden Zero had epted his exnation, Cbash¡¯s shoulders rxed as a wave of relief washed over him.


    Then, after a moment of thought, he took a deep breath, his heart racing with a mix of expectation as well as unease, and boldly asked,


    ¡°Lady Zero, may I ask what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°¡­Me?¡±


    In response to Cbash¡¯s question, Zero, spoke in tone filled with reverence:


    ¡°I came here at themand of the Divine Matriarch as she bestowed upon me a mandate to find thest fragment of the Scepter of Life.¡±


    <em>Find thest fragment of the Scepter of Life? </em>


    All five of them immediately perked up in excitement as soon as they heard those words.


    Zero¡¯s response was clearly a sign for a potential quest!


    Moreover, whenever an NPC brings up something of this significance to the yers, it typically indicates only one thing¡ª


    The issue they are alluding about is likely intended for them, the yers to resolve!


    Each one of them couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that they were about to trigger yet another major hidden quest!


    In an instant, their experience being seasoned yers allowed them to immediately catch the implications behind the other party¡¯s words.


    Their eyes brightened, and their breaths grew more slightly heavier as the five of them thoroughly examined the exact wording of Zero¡¯s statement.


    A divine mandate from the goddess herself, which required even the direct involvement of an esteemed Godwarden like Lady Zero¡­.


    Surely this situation could very well result in a major opportunity for them if it really turned out to be a hidden quest!


    ¡°Lady Zero¡­ have you alreadypleted your task? Or do you perhaps, require our assistance?¡±


    Cbash asked respectfully once more.


    ? Good job!


    ? Bash, well done dude!


    The rest of the yers chimed in, praising Cbash in their team¡¯s chatroom.


    The way he phrased his question and steered the conversation to potentially trigger the hidden quest was a brilliant move on Cbash¡¯s part.


    Upon hearing his inquiry, Godwarden Zero, shook her head slightly:


    ¡°Not yet¡­ I¡¯ve encountered a difficulty.¡±


    After saying this, Zero gently turned her head whilst looking towards a specific direction within the temple.


    They followed her gaze and were met with a peculiar and rather surprising sight.


    More specifically, not far from where they stood, there appeared to be some sort of spatial rift as tall as a person, hovering in mid-air, as if the very fabric of reality had been torn apart.


    And inside this rift, thick fog swirled, shrouding everything within its depths.


    <em>What could it be? </em>


    The yers exchanged nces, their curiosity piqued.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    Cbash asked on behalf of the group.


    ¡°This is a spatial passageway to a demi-realm,¡±


    Zero replied softly.


    <em>Demi-realm? </em>


    <em>A spatial passagewa</em>y?


    The yers¡¯ minds began to race.


    The term ¡°demi-realm¡± was familiar to them, as it had been referenced in the background settings of Elven Kingdom.


    In fact, ording to the game¡¯s lore, the universe was made up of countless realms, with Seig¨¹es being one of them and each realm had various demi-realms of varying sizes that are attached to it.


    In other words, a demi-realm is a semi-independent closed space that is attached to the main realm.


    ? This¡­ could actually lead to a new map, right?


    ? Definitely! If that¡¯s the case, we must have found a clue to a potential hidden quest!


    ? Bash! Keep asking! Ask for more details!


    The rest of the team excitedly discussed in their chatroom.


    Cbash, being a veteran yer, nodded and respectfully inquired:


    ¡°Lady Zero, does the difficulty you encountered somehow rted to this spatial passageway?¡±


    Zero nodded slightly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Then, with a gentle sigh, she borated:


    ¡°ording to the Divine Matriarch¡¯s oracle, thest fragment of the Scepter of Life is located inside this demi-realm. However, this particr passageway has certain limitations and can only amodate someone with the strength around Silver-rank. In other words, my power exceeds its allowable threshold, which forbids me from entering and retrieving the fragment inside it¡­¡±


    <em>So realms can also be divided depending on the strength it could amodate? </em>


    <em>¡ªWait! </em>


    <em>Does that mean only those with Silver-rank strength could enter this sp</em>ace?


    Upon hearing this exnation from Godwarden Zero, all five yers felt a bolt of shock.


    In that moment, they all understood that the situation inside this demi-realm seemed to be really specifically designed with the yers¡¯ intervention in mind.


    ? Isn¡¯t this a perfect quest for us?!


    ? Absolutely! Everyone in our team are silver-rankers. Lady Zero also said that she can¡¯t personally enter, but we sure definitely can!


    ? Hurry! Quick! Bash, trigger the quest!


    Cbash had thought of this as well as he suppressed his excitement.


    ¡°So¡­ Lady Zero, what do you think of us?¡± he eagerly asked.


    ¡°You?¡±


    Zero, raised an eyebrow slightly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We are also the goddess¡¯s most loyal followers. Since you can¡¯t enter yourself, then we are willing to step in on your behalf and search inside this demi-realm for thest fragment of the Scepter of Life!¡±


    Cbash said in a ttering manner.


    ? Haha! Bash my dude! you¡¯re so damn clever!¡±


    The other yers chimed in the chatroom.


    After Cbash finished speaking, Zero turned her body and carefully scrutinized each of them:


    ¡°You are willing to assist me?¡±


    ¡°Indeed! Yes!¡±


    The group nodded eagerly, like chicks pecking at a speck of grain.


    This was the ideal moment to establish a connection and earn favorability points with this esteemed NPC!


    After all, she was one of the most coolest NPCs in the entire game, second only to the goddess herself, and there was also a strong likelihood that she could hand out important hidden quest like the one at this very moment!


    They all held their breath in anticipation until Zero finally smiled, a gentle curve forming at the corners of her mouth, instantly transforming her previously aloof demeanor into one of warm friendliness, akin to a breeze in spring.


    ¡°Thank you, brave chosen ones.¡±


    Zero nodded slightly, her once-cool voice now carrying a hint of softness into it:


    ¡°In that case, you may go and infiltrate this demi-realm on my behalf.¡±


    With that, she waved her hand gently, and a stream of green light floated out from between her fingers before entering the bodies of the five yers.


    ¡°I have set up a long-rangemunication spell in your bodies. Once you enter the demi-realm, I will be able to see everything you see andmunicate with you.¡±


    ¡°Let us all work together to retrieve thest fragment of the Scepter of Life for Her Majesty, the Divine Matriarch!¡±


    Zero said passionately.


    As her words resonated in the area, a new series of system messages appeared simultaneously within the vision of all five yers, whilst being apanied by the familiar female voice of the system:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ Zero¡¯s favorability toward you has increased by ¡®<strong>20</strong>¡® points. Your rtionship can now be considered ¡®<strong>Friendly</strong>.¡¯ ¡¿


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ You have triggered the hidden questline<strong>: The Last Fragment.</strong> ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Description</strong>: Godwarden Zero has been assigned the task of locating thest fragment of the Scepter of Life by the Goddess. To aid her in this mission, you choose to infiltrate the demi-realm that houses the fragment¡­ ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Find thest fragment of the Scepter of Life and deliver it safely back to Godwarden Zero. ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Timelimit</strong>: None. ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Number of yers</strong>: 5-person team ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Minimum Level Requirement</strong> : 41 ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Individual Quest Rewards</strong>:100,000 experience points, 10,000 contribution points, 50 resurrection coins. ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Team Rewards</strong>: Companion Pact Allocation ¡Á1 (This mysterious pact is said to be rted to dragons.) ¡¿


    As these system messages materialized before their eyes, each yers exchanged excited nces, their faces lighting up with exhration.


    ¡°Shit! We really did triggered a hidden quest!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! And our favorability with Lady Zero had also increased by 20 points! What a huge profit!¡±


    ¡°Looks like the reward we¡¯ll receive for this quest is quite generous!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­Team quest rewards? Companion pact? And it¡¯s somehow rted to dragons?¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­another reward I¡¯ve never seen before! Does it mean that we could form a pact with a dragon?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then, we definitely hit the jackpot!¡±


    As they scanned the list of rewards for the quest, all five of them inhaled sharply, their hearts racing with anticipation and excitement.


    ¡°Brave chosen ones, the passageway to this demi-realm is quite unstable. To avoid any idents, please set off as soon as possible. Once your task ispleted, our Divine Matriarch will surely reward each of you generously,¡± Zero continued.


    After hearing her words, their expressions grew even more eager.


    They all nodded, and with Boxlunch leading the way, the entire team finally walked towards the spatial rift.


    Each five yers formed an orderly line as they neared the rift, then without hesitation, jumped straight into it one after the other.


    In an instant, their figures vanished into the spatial passageway.


    Viscous and slow-moving.


    That was the first sensation they experienced upon entering the nk white space inside the passageway.


    It was as if they were entirely submerged in an area surrounded by nothing but glue.


    However, they only felt this ufortable sensation for a fleeting moment.


    Once the whole team sensed that they had somehow crossed an invisible barrier, all five of them instinctively closed their eyes as the surrounding white mist that obscured their vision suddenly burst forth with blinding light.


    For a brief moment, each yer felt their consciousness wavered, as a wave of dizziness washed over them.


    However, their rity returned just as quickly, and when the blinding light finally dissipated, they tentatively opened their eyes to the sight of a lush green forest right beneath them.


    Yet before all five yers could even rejoice, they were suddenly hit by a strong feeling of weightlessness.


    With a loud ¡®ssh,¡¯ the five of them swiftly fell from midair, before plunging down into a shimmeringke on the ground¡­


    Faintly, the yers heard a crisp shouting from the shoreline:


    ¡°Oh no, someone fell into the water!¡±


    It was spoken in elvennguage.


    ¡ª <strong>428</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ANOTHER</strong> ¡®<strong>WORLD</strong>¡® ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 429

    Chapter 429


    ¡°They seeded!¡±


    Ev¨¦ felt delighted as she sensed that the lifeforce of Boxlunch and his team still remained strong, even after they had leaped into the spatial rift.


    At this moment, while her incarnation was still within the temple in Kenond, her main consciousness had returned back to her Divine Kingdom and was already connected to the game¡¯s system, pinpointing their exact location.


    Through herwork and she easily located the blue star representing Boxlunch, and directed her focus onto it.


    Immediately, her perception shifted and a couple of secondster, she began to finally see through Boxlunch¡¯s perspective.


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    The first thing that came into her view was an endless expanse of liquid.


    ¡°¡­Water?¡±


    Ev¨¦ was slightly taken aback as Boxlunch¡¯s visual perception continued to shake and struggle until he finally managed to swim to the water¡¯s surface.As his head surfaced through, what greeted him was the sight of a shimmeringke.


    In that instant, Ev¨¦ quickly understood what had transpired after these five yers entered the spatial rift.


    Indeed, they had sessfully infiltrated the mysterious demi-realm. However, it seemed that luck wasn¡¯t on their side, as the exit of the portal had opened in mid-air, possibly above ake, which inevitably caused all of them to fall straight down into it.


    Fortunately, Boxlunch appeared to be a good swimmer, as his vision quickly stabilized, his body rising and falling along with the movement of theke.


    Boxlunch remained still for a couple of moments, catching his breath and regaining hisposure, before he began making his way towards the shore.


    Meanwhile, Ev¨¦ could also hear the voices of the others from Boxlunch¡¯s perspective, as they let out a string of curses.


    ¡°What the hell?! This is ridiculous! Is that portal cursed or something? It dropped us right into ake?!¡±


    ¡°That really scared the life out of me¡­good thing I know how to swim.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ where¡¯s Optimist?¡±


    ¡°Shit! That guy¡¯s in a full set of heavy armor. Do you think he sank to the bottom?¡±


    ¡°Haha, this is too funny! That guy just picked up the heaviest armor from the shop a few days ago. Is he really going to be the first yer to drown?¡±


    Cbash, Chopin, and I-Am-Invincible sshed yfully in the water, theirughter ringing out as they reveled in the misfortune of their fellow friend. Yet it wasn¡¯t spoken in a malicious manner but rather, the typical banter and yful teasing between close friends.


    Soon, their team¡¯s chatroom crackled with the panicked voice of Optimist:


    ¡°LaughUrsistah! (What are youughing at, you idiot!) HurryHalpme! (Hurry up and Help me!) Glug glug¡­¡±<strong> 1</strong>


    His voice came out garbled, likely due to swallowing up a lot of water.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    The three burst intoughter once more.


    Ev¨¦ observed them in silence, her gaze fixed on the scene, when Boxlunch¡¯s raspy voice suddenly rang out, stating:


    ¡°Bash, help him.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Out of Boxlunch¡¯s view, she heard Cbash chanting an incantation with a rhythmic cadence before casting a three-ring magic spell called [Feather Wings] on Optimist, who was quickly sinking to the bottom of theke.


    [Feather Wings] as its name implies, was a mage spell that could make its target light as a feather.


    With his weight greatly reduced, Optimist was finally able to swim back up and quickly float to the surface.


    Whilst coughing up some water, he swiftly swam towards the shore with the help of hispanions, before gasping in sheer relief.


    ¡°Fuck! I really thought I was going to die! Thanks, Bash. I¡¯ll definitely treat you to a barbecue once we get back.¡±


    ¡°Heh, no need to thank me, we¡¯re teammates, after all. But since you¡¯re offering to treat me, then I¡¯ll take a whole roastedmb.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You sure don¡¯t hold back at all, do you?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    The whole team shared anotherugh as they swam together towards the shoreline.


    Fortunately, they hadn¡¯t fallen into the middle of theke, so it took them less than three minutes to reach theke¡¯s edge.


    Once they reached the shore, the entire team copsed like drenched dogs, whilst exchanging nces at each other¡¯s soaked faces before erupting intoughter once more.


    Afterward, they then began to survey their surroundings.


    From the looks of it, they were currently situated on the edge of a smallke which is surrounded by a dense, lush forest that was just as verdant as the Elven Forest.


    However, unlike the ancient towering trees found in Elven Forest, the trees in this demi-realm appeared to be much younger instead.


    In addition, the forest floor underneath was nketed with a thickyer of dead wood and fallen leaves, creating a richyer ofpost.


    ¡°By the way, did any of you hear it? I thought I heard someone shouting from the shore when we fell into the water earlier.¡± one of the yers asked while observing their surroundings.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice anything. All I heard was you guys sshing around. Maybe you just imagined it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s pretty safe around here. I don¡¯t sense any strong presences at all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. I remember Big Sister mentioned that this demi-realm¡¯s energy capacity is only about Upper Silver-rank at most. So, chances are we¡¯re probably the strongest beings in this ce, right?¡±


    Meanwhile, Ev¨¦, whose currently monitoring their actions, couldn¡¯t help but twitched her lips upon hearing how they refer to her as.


    ¡­<em>Big Sister? </em>


    Regardless, the yers continued their conversation:


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect thend beyond the portal to be a forest¡­ I thought it would either be a maze or some sort of special space.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, same here. If it weren¡¯t for the weird sky above us, I¡¯d think we were still in Elven Forest.¡±


    The yers idly chatted as they looked around the vicinity.


    Ev¨¦, whose watching through Boxlunch¡¯s perspective, also saw him nced up at the sky.


    Unlike the sky in Seig¨¹es, which is highly simr to that of Earth, the sky of this demi-realm is mostly made-up of a nk white expanse.


    Not only that, but you can also see some ck cracks crisscrossing this sky like electric snakes, which is rather creepy.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little scary that the sky above us looks like shattered ss.¡±


    Cbashmented, clicking his tongue in amazement.


    However, Ev¨¦ immediately recognized what those ck cracks were.


    ¡°Spatial fissures¡­ It seems this demi-realm really is quite unstable. I wonder if it¡¯s because I tried to force my way in twice before,¡± she mused thoughtfully.


    As Ev¨¦ mulled over the issue of the spatial fissures in the sky, the five yers, on the other hand, have gradually familiarized themselves with their surroundings as they began wringing out their drenched clothes.


    At the same time, they continued to chat intermittently, whilst also sharing any findings they had discovered.


    ¡°The amount of mana around this demi-realm really does seem low. When I cast Feather Wings earlier, the spell mostly just used my own magic power and didn¡¯t gather much resonance with the ambient mana in the surroundings. Moreover, my current MP regeneration rate feels incredibly slow,¡± Cbash remarked.


    ¡°I kind of felt the same¡­Also, while the scenery here is just as stunning as the Elven Forest, I¡¯ve been feeling this odd, indescribable feeling ever since we arrived. It¡¯s like something is constantly sapping my strength, sort of like I¡¯m being suppressed as if I¡¯ve gotten a debuff on me¡­but the strange part is, my status screen doesn¡¯t show anything at all.¡±


    The Druid, Chopin added, frowning as he rubbed his nose.


    He then nced at the others. ¡°What about you guys?¡±


    The rest closed their eyes and tried sensing it, but after a moment, they all shook their heads.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Same here, but I definitely feel that strange sense of suppression you¡¯re talking about. Honestly, this ce feels really¡­ deste, even though it¡¯s surrounded by such a lush forest.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s rted to our goal? Who knows, it could be the influence of the Scepter¡¯s fragment. I mean, it¡¯s part of a divine artifact, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for it to have some unique effects, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s indeed quite a possibility¡­¡±


    The whole team brainstormed as they spected amongst themselves.


    They conversed like that for awhile, but having unable to reach a conclusion, they quickly shifted their focus on their next course of action instead:


    ¡°So, where do we go from here? I couldn¡¯t find any quest marker in this whole area at all¡­¡±


    ¡°Should we explore the forest then?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to pick a direction first, right?¡±


    ¡°Captain, any ideas?¡±


    As they spoke, the group turned to their captain, Boxlunch.


    After thinking for a moment, Boxlunch said,


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask Zero.¡±


    ¡°¡­Ask Zero?¡±


    At his suggestion, the others were momentarily stunned, before their eyes lit up as each of them pped their thighs in realization.


    ¡°Of course! How could we forget? Big Sis¡ªuh, Lady Zero had cast that spell on us before we left so that she could stillmunicate with us even after we entered this realm!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask her quick! It¡¯s like having a built-in ¡®Grandfather¡¯!¡±<strong> 2</strong>


    ¡°Idiot! Call her ¡®Miss¡¯ not Grandfather! your favorability will surely drop if Lady Zero hears you!¡±


    ¡°A-Ahem¡­¡±


    After their brief humorous exchange, the yers began calling out to Ev¨¦:


    ¡°Lady Zero, are you there?¡±


    ¡°Lady Zero, can you see through our eyes?¡±


    ¡°Lady Zero, where should we go next?¡±


    After hearing their ¡®calls,¡¯ Ev¨¦, who was already watching their progress through Boxlunch¡¯s perspective, pondered for a moment, cleared her throat, and was about to speak to give them the instructions they needed¡­


    However, just as she was about to do so, the sudden rustling of low bushes that echoed from the nearby forest, made Ev¨¦ stop as she closed her mouth to assess the situation.


    Whilst being apanied by a crisp female voice, a group of individuals suddenly emerged into the yers¡¯ field of vision.


    ¡°Brother Nissia! Those people that I saw fall through theke are still probably there up ahead! Hurry,e and help them!¡±


    The whole team were left stunned as they watched seven or eight figures step out of the brush in front of them.


    ¡°Humans?¡±


    At the same time, the other party also responded with surprise, their voices tinged with both confusion and shock as they shouted:


    ¡°D-Divine¡­ Divine n?!¡±<hr>


    <strong>1 </strong><strong>ЦÄãÃÃѽ</strong> ¨C This is a colloquial expression which could be tranted roughly as ¡°<em>Laughing at your younger sister</em>!¡± or ¡°<em>What are youughing at, you idiot</em>!¡±


    It¡¯s typically used to express disbelief, mockery, or light-hearted teasing in response to something that seems absurd or silly. Overall, it¡¯s often used informally among friends or peers, and the tone can vary depending on the context.


    The raw sentence is:


    ¡°ÇÌÀïÀàѽ£¨Ð¦ÄãÃÃѽ) £¡¹Õ¾ÆÎÑ£¨¿ì¾ÈÎÒ£©£¡¹¾à½¹¾à½¡­¡­¡±


    ¡®<strong>ÇÌÀïÀàѽ</strong>¡® and ¡®<strong>¹Õ¾ÆÎÑ</strong>¡® being an intentional misspelling (to convey that Optimist was drowning) of the words thats in the bracket. ¡®<strong>¹¾à½</strong>¡® is just the sfx for drowning.


    <strong>2</strong> The context is that ¡®<strong>Grandfather</strong>¡® being a wise elder that could guide or offer suggestions.


    ¡ª <strong>429</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DIVINE CLAN ¡¿ </strong><hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 430

    Chapter 430


    <em>Divine n?!</em>


    <em>Wait¡­are they talking about us?</em>


    All five yers bore looks of confusion.


    However, as the other group approached closer, the yers got a clearer view of the neers.


    The group consisted of five men and two women, all of whom appeared to be human.


    They wore simple leather armor, carried crude longbows on their backs, and held dull longswords in their hands, which gave off the distinct appearance of low-tier adventurers.


    Their attire looks quite unremarkable, but what stood out from the norm was their striking appearance¡­


    Compared to the humans they had encountered in Holy Maniya Empire, these NPCs have much more refined appearance.


    They were not as beautiful as elves per se, but they easily surpassed half-elves in that regard.Moreover, their skin wasn¡¯t rough and uneven like that of ordinary humans, which is dotted with small pits, blemishes, or hair.


    Instead, it was smooth and fair, resembling that of elvenkind.


    And upon closer inspection, one would also notice that, although these humanscked the prominent elongated, pointed ears of elves, or the half-pointed ears of half-elves, the tips of their ears still stood slightly upright.


    Amidst their bewilderment, the yers heard a familiar, cool female voice echo within their minds.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t ordinary humans and most likely carry a trace of elven blood.¡± Zero casually said.


    Instantly, the whole team breathed a collective sigh of relief, as if they had found their support.


    Everything will be fine just as long as Lady Zero is here to guide them!


    With her at the helm, they wouldn¡¯t have to wander around aimlessly like headless chickens.


    ¡°Divine n? Why are they calling us the Divine n? Is it because we look like elves?¡±


    Ev¨¦ showed a thoughtful expression as she pondered about this specific term these humans had just used.


    <em>Humans exist in this demi-realm?</em>


    <em>Moreover¡­ they even have signs of having elven blood? </em>


    Noticing the unique traits of these humans, Ev¨¦ grew increasingly curious about this demi-realm.


    After a brief silence, Ev¨¦ once more spoke into each yers¡¯ minds:


    ¡°Go properly greet them and learn more about this demi-realm. Ask them what they mean by ¡®Divine n.¡¯ There¡¯s no need to hide your identity aside from the secrets of the Divine Matriarch.¡±


    After hearing Eve¡¯s instructions, the whole team exchanged pointed nces.


    Finally, Cbash stepped forward with a friendly smile and greeted the locals:


    ¡°Uh¡­ ahem, hello!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Cbash, an elven mage. These are mypanions. May I ask¡­ who are you?¡±


    As Cbash asked his question, the humans continued to size up the yers.


    Their eyes gleamed with amazement, curiosity, and admiration.


    At the same time, the yers overheard their whispered conversation:


    ¡°Elves? What are elves?¡±


    ¡°No idea¡­¡±


    ¡°But those ears¡­ and that elegant, beautiful appearance, they must definitely be a part of the legendary Divine n!¡±


    ¡°So members of Divine n still exists! The gods haven¡¯tpletely forsaken us! They must have been living here in the Forbidden Lands all this time!¡±


    ¡°It has to be rted to the miracle we witnessed yesterday! I knew it! That wasn¡¯t some doomsday omen like the Church proimed, and was instead proof that Divine Beings areing back!¡±


    ¡°Curse that Church! They¡¯ve been deceiving us all along!¡±


    Their voices were filled with overwhelming joy and deep resentment toward this particr Church they mentioned.


    <em>Divine Beings? </em>


    <em>Miracles? </em>


    <em>A Church?</em>


    Seeing these local humans in a state of excitement, the five yers grew even more bewildered.


    However, Ev¨¦ had already formed a few ideas herself.


    <em>That miracle these humans spoke of¡­</em>


    It was probably the disturbance she caused yesterday when she tried to enter this demi-realm forcefully.


    <em>Well, it *was* a miracle¡­.in a way. </em>


    <em>But what about this Church they¡¯re talking about?</em>


    <em>There¡¯s a religious institution in this demi-realm?</em>


    <em>If that were the case then¡­</em>


    <em>Which god does it serve?</em>


    Based on her preliminary investigation, she haven¡¯t sensed any fluctuations of divine power when she initially discovered this demi-realm, apart from the vague consciousness that seemed to be born from the demi-realm itself¡­


    This left her deeply puzzled.


    As a true god, Ev¨¦ was highly sensitive to the power of faith.


    Hence, if this demi-realm had indeed been used as a source of faith by any Deities, then she would have already noticed it during her initial investigation.


    Eve felt a stirring of curiosity.


    ¡°This demi-realm¡­does indeed contain secrets!¡±


    Meanwhile, the conversation between the yers and the humans continued on.


    ¡°Uh¡­ may I ask who you are¡­?¡±


    Looking at the locals who was caught up in excitement, Cbash asked again with gritted teeth.


    The first to respond to him was a human girl, bursting with enthusiasm.


    ¡°L-Lilia, My name is Lilia!¡±


    She appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed lightly in a leather armor that¡¯s typically worn by hunters.


    Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Cbash and the others.


    ¡°These are mypanions! We¡¯re good friends who grew up together. This is my older brother, Nissia, and this is Heath, and¡­¡±


    She went on to introduce each of herpanions to the team, one by one. Then, after finishing, the girl respectfully bowed to the yers in a formal manner.


    ¡°Lilia¡­greets the esteemed members of the Divine n!¡±


    Following her lead, the other locals also bowed deeply to each yers.


    ¡°Greetings, esteemed members of the Divine n!¡±


    The five yers were momentarily speechless by the formal and reverent attitude of these unfamiliar NPCs.


    After all, mostly throughout their whole experience in ying Elven Kingdom, their first encounters with elven NPCs usually involved thetter giving them disdainful looks or the greedy, condescending stares from other races.


    However, Ev¨¦, who was silently observing from the background, noticed something unusual in the way these humans performed their introductory greetings.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Their manner of greeting is quite simr to the etiquette of the Church of Nature in the past¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, these humans are somehow connected to my predecessor? Were they once followers of the World Tree?¡±


    ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, what is the Church they¡¯re speaking of?¡±


    Eve¡¯s curiosity deepened.


    Meanwhile, Lilia continued her conversation with the yers:


    ¡°Lord Cbash, and the other esteemed members of the Divine n! We never expected to meet you here! Have you been living here in the Elven Forest all this time?¡±


    ¡°The Elven Forest?¡±


    The yers were startled.


    ¡°Indeed, isn¡¯t that the name of this forest¡­The Elven Forest?¡±


    Lilia tilted her head, speaking with some hesitation.


    <em>This forest is also called the Elven Forest?</em>


    The yers were surprised.


    Cbash thought for a moment and said:


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we actually do came from the Elven Forest, but¡­not this one. Wee from the real Elven Forest¡­¡±


    ¡°The real Elven Forest¡­¡±


    Lilia and herpanions exchanged confused nces.


    Cbash didn¡¯t exin further, and instead asked:


    ¡°So, Miss Lilia, may I ask where youe from and what brings you here?¡±


    Sensing these locals¡¯ subconscious respect and reverence towards their team, he decided to probe for more information.


    Lilia responded just as directly:


    ¡°Esteemed members of the Divine n, we are the descendants of those who once served the Divine n. We live in the town of Divine Grace, just outside this forest¡­¡±


    ¡°We know the Elven Forest is a forbiddennd, and we shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°But our elder is gravely ill and needs a rare medicinal herb for treatment. s, the herb can only be found here, so we had no choice but to risk entering these forbiddennds to find it¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard the sound of someone falling into theke earlier, that¡¯s why I called everyone over here to rescue them¡­¡±


    After she finished, she bit her lip, nced at a specific part of their body with her face slightly flushed, and quickly looked away.


    Lilia then bowed deeply to the yers once more, kneeling as she spoke:


    ¡°P-Please, esteemed members of the Divine n, forgive us. We truly didn¡¯t mean to disturb you.¡±


    Following her lead, the other locals also knelt and pleaded:


    ¡°Please forgive us, esteemed ones¡­¡±


    The yers exchanged awkward nces upon hearing this.


    It was only then that they realized¡­


    They had stripped off all their gear and outerwear while drying the water out from their clothes earlier, leaving all five of them practically naked, with only the glowing auras provided by the system to conceal their sensitive areas.


    Boxlunch: ¡°¡­¡±


    Cbash: ¡°¡­¡±


    Chopin: ¡°¡­¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    I-Am-Invincible: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>430</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PLEASE</strong><strong>FORGIVE US ESTEEMED ONES</strong> ¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 431

    Chapter 431


    <em>Awkward¡­</em>


    Even though their inherent logic told them that these humans in front of them were merely just NPCs within the game, the five of them had yed Elven Kingdom for so long that they had grown ustomed to the advance intellect of these virtual characters.


    Thus, on a subconscious level, each of them had already treated these NPCs like real people and even became friends with many of them.


    So when the five yers realized how undignified they must appear to these neers, even the calmest among them, Boxlunch, couldn¡¯t help but stiffen a little.


    Of course, they still believed that their naked bodies were concealed by the system¡¯s ¡®Holy Light.¡¯ But had they known that Eve had modified the game¡¯s censorship mode and that this censoring light was visible only to them, they might have already gone crazy by this point.


    ¡°Ahem, well¡­ uh, so, did you find that herb you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    Cbash coughed a few times, trying to shift the conversation along, as he and hispanions discreetly wrung out their soaked clothes and equipment, before putting them back on.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ve been searching the forest for days, but we still haven¡¯t found anything¡­¡±


    Lilia replied, her voice tinged with disappointment.However, just when her expression turned downcast, herpanions patted her on the shoulder.


    ¡°Do not worry, Lilia. The gods are surely watching over us, especially now that we have had the honor of encountering the esteemed members of the Divine n. Surely they possess knowledge of the Mandragora Flower¡¯s location.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! These Honorable Beings live in seclusion within this forest; I¡¯m sure they must know where to find the Mandragora Flower!¡±


    ¡°We will surely be able to impress them as long as we pray sincerely and offer them enough tribute!¡±


    These group of local youths excitedly spoke with one another as they stole nces at the yers, with their eyes sparkling with anticipation and hope.


    The five yers: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Don¡¯t look at us! </em>


    <em>We can¡¯t say anything!</em>


    <em>But¡­tribute?</em>


    The five nced at each other, whilst a spark of interest flickered in their eyes.


    ¡°A-Ahem, we¡¯re indeed willing to help, if it¡¯s possible. However Miss Lilia, could you describe what this Mandragora Flower looks like in detail?¡±


    Cbash asked with a smile.


    Gathering clues for a quest from conversations with NPCs is an essential skill for every yer.


    So, undoubtedly, these group¡¯s requests for help along with them mentioning about a tribute have captured the yers attention.


    ¡°Oh, right! It has been nearly a thousand years since you Divine Beingsst appeared. With so much time having passed, it is only natural that some of our terminology may have changed over the years.¡±


    Lilia pped her head and scratched it in a embarrassingly fashion.


    Eve, who was watching silently their interaction, raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.


    <em>Nearly a thousand years?</em>


    Could this demi-realm somehow be connected to the Heavenly War that happened a thousand years ago?


    When Ev¨¦ first heard these locals referred to the yers as ¡°Divine Beings¡± her initial thought was whether this demi-realm had been created by her predecessor, akin to the lower realms depicted in cultivation novels on Earth.


    However, after reviewing the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, Ev¨¦ had confirmed that her predecessor had no habit of raising believers in demi-realms or any other realms for that matter, unlike other gods.


    And now, Eve had another theory after she heard this youngss mention that the so-called ¡®Divine Beings¡¯ had disappeared from theirnd for nearly a thousand years.


    ¡°Could it be that¡­this demi-realm had only established a connection to Seig¨¹es in the aftermath of the Heavenly War a thousand years ago? And these ¡®Divine Beings¡¯ they speak of might actually be the elves who somehow fled into this demi-realm during that time?¡±


    With such various theories swirling in her mind, Ev¨¦ continued to listen on as Lilia continued her conversation with the yers.


    Lilia began describing the Mandragora Flower:


    ¡°The Mandragora Flower is extremely mysterious, possessing powerful magic. Its appearance is said to be a blue flower with oval-shaped leaves and a humanoid root. It is also said that it lets out a scream like that of a young maiden if someone pulls it from the ground.¡±


    <em>A blue flower? </em>


    <em>Humanoid roots? </em>


    <em>Powerful magic?</em>


    <em>And¡­ it screams when pulled out?</em>


    After hearing Lilia¡¯s description, the five yers were slightly stunned.


    They then exchanged knowing nces, each catching a trace of expectation within each others¡¯ eyes.


    Ev¨¦, on the other hand, had also easily identified it.


    ¡°So what they¡¯re looking for turned out to be a Mandrake flower¡­¡±


    Mandrakes were amon magical nt found in Elven Forest¡ªthe real Elven Forest, that is.


    For the yers, this nt was no stranger either, as the native elves living in Florence often asked them to collect it!


    Not only that, but ever since the yer HootyBird had reverse-engineered a magic potion that restored MP, the primary ingredient had also been the Mandrake Flower.


    So whenever yers saw these flowers in the wild, they never missed the chance to gather them.


    After all, they could sell them for money!


    Even if eaten directly, mandrakes can still restored some amount of MP!


    In fact, the entire forest would¡¯ve been picked clean by the yers long ago if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Elven Forest was rich in mana and Mandrake Flowers thrived in its magical environment.


    Of course, Boxlunch¡¯s team, now had an entire stash of these flowers stored in their inventory rings after having explored Elven Forest for so long¡­


    ? Could this Mandragora Flower they¡¯re talking about be a Mandrake?¡±


    ? It should be, right? Her description matches it exactly.


    ? Mandrakes, while notmon in Elven Forest, can be found if you search carefully, right? Could it really be that rare in this forest?


    ? Maybe. You have to remember, the Big Sister said the amount of mana in this realm is really low. I mean, look at these NPCs¡ªthe strongest of them is only level 11, and the rest are just mere apprentices. With that kind of strength in the Elven Forest, they¡¯d have been devoured by magical beasts already. They probably couldn¡¯t even take down a goblin.


    ? Heh, if you look at it that way, it seems like we can do whatever we want in this demi-realm!


    The five yers chatted in their private chatroom, all the while continuing their in-game actions.


    Boxlunch extended his hand, touched a ring on his finger, and a soft glow emanated from his hand, revealing arge bunch of purple flowers.


    At the same time, the group of youth immediately sensed a surge of potent magical energy spreading out from Boxlunch¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Is this it?¡±


    Boxlunch asked, looking at them.


    The group of locals stared wide-eyed in shock at the Mandrake Flowers that suddenly appeared in his hand.


    ¡°Did¡­ did that just appear out of thin air?!¡±


    ¡°By the grace of the Great Creator God, is this the legendary spatial magic?¡±


    ¡°As expected from the Divine Beings from of legend!¡±


    And when they finally saw the Mandrake Flowers more clearly, their shock turned into awe, tinged with excitement.


    ¡°This is¡­ could this be the Mandragora Flower?¡±


    ¡°What a potent intense magical energy!¡±


    ¡°Yes! It must be! It matches exactly what¡¯s described in the historical texts!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! We¡¯re saved! The elder is saved!¡±


    Seeing how excited these local youths were, the five yers were now almost certain as well.


    ¡°Take it,¡±


    Boxlunch said, handing the Mandrake Flowers to Lilia.


    These Mandrakes were worth no more than 100 contribution points and these flowers were practically worthless to the yers with the way contribution points were constantly devaluing nowadays.


    Lilia trembled as she epted the flowers, her eyes welling up with tears.


    Soon, she and the other local youths once again knelt before the yers, clearly overwhelmed with gratitude.


    ¡°Thank you, Honorable Divine Beings! Thank you so much for your benevolence!¡±


    A momentter, each of them stood up, gazing at the yers with even greater respect.


    Lilia hesitated for a moment before nervously asking, ¡°H-Honorable Divine Beings, what kind of tribute do we need to offer in return?¡±


    Boxlunch nced at Cbash, who smiled and replied,


    ¡°No tribute is necessary.¡±


    ¡°s, we¡¯ve only just arrived here and aren¡¯t familiar with thend beyond. Just tell us about the current state of affairs and the forces at y in your country¡ªthat will be enough.¡±


    Hearing this, the local youths were surprised.


    Lilia paused, then cautiously asked again, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ all? For so many Mandragora Flowers¡­.for such powerful magic, you don¡¯t need us to offer you our souls or anything like that?¡±


    The five yers were startled by her suggestion and quickly waved their hands.


    ¡°Offer your souls? No, We¡¯re not cultists!¡±


    Offer their souls? That¡¯s ridiculous.


    Big Sister Zero was still watching them, and all the favorability they¡¯d painstakingly built up towards her would go to waste if she somehow misunderstood their actions!


    Even though the elven NPCs had great personalities, the yers had also learned firsthand that they could be quite rigid and stubborn mindset as well.


    Especially Lady Zero who was so low-key that no one could quite figure her out, so no one was willing to risk offending her.


    Even the most experienced yers wouldn¡¯t dare joke about offering someone¡¯s souls in front of her.


    For Boxlunch and the others, they had long given up on currying favor with Spider Queen Rose.


    Thus, Big Sister Zero was their best bet for earning favor with a high-level NPC!


    Seeing how adamantly the yers denied it, the local youths breathed a collective sigh of relief.


    Their expressions became even more respectful and grateful.


    After a brief discussion among themselves, Lilia stepped forward again, her tone sincere and hopeful:


    ¡°Then¡­ if it¡¯s not too much trouble, would you Honorable Beings be willing to visit our town as our esteemed guests?¡±


    ¡°Our elder has always told us stories about the Divine Beings in our legends. he would definitely be overjoyed If he could somehow meet you!¡±


    ¡°Also, our elder is the most knowledgeable person among our people. If there¡¯s anything you want to know, then he would probably be the one who knows it the most¡­¡±


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>31 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE YOUTH¡¯S INVITATION </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 432

    Chapter 432


    The yers ultimately epted Lilia and the others¡¯ invitation.


    After all, the first step in understanding this demi-realm and finding clues about the fragments of the Scepter of Life is to establish deeper contact with the local inhabitants of thisnd.


    Seeing the five of them nod in agreement, the group of local youths cheered excitedly.


    After encircling them, the locals began the journey back to town.


    On the yer¡¯s side, Boxlunch and the others weren¡¯t worried at all about being deceived by these humans because, simply put, there was no other reason than sheer confidence in their own strength.


    The more they learned about this demi-realm, the more confident they became in their abilities.


    Along the way, they didn¡¯t forget to observe thendscape around them, recording any new species they stumbled upon, as well as any powerful monsters and the like.


    However, much to their surprise, something odd stood out within this forest, which the young locals also referred to as the ¡®Elven Forest.¡¯


    Coincidentally, all the nts here can also be found in the real Elven Forest outside. But while this demi-realm¡¯s Elven Forest looks like its real counterpart, the rarer and more exotic nts outside don¡¯t seem to be avable here at all.Despite its simrly lush appearance to the real thing, this forest seemed like a lesser version of the real Elven Forest when inspected more closely.


    Any nt outside that¡¯s slightly more rare was simply missing here.


    Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t a single sign of a magical nt to be found here, something that was quite ubiquitous in the real Elven Forest.


    This ce seemed truly was a mana deficient world.


    Moreover, what applied to the nts also applied to the monsters.


    No, it is more urate to say that the monsters here were mostly just ordinary wild animals rather than magical beasts.


    So far, the strongest monster the yers had encountered was only an intermediate Iron-rank Brown Bear.


    Yet the young locals¡¯ faces turned ashen as they froze in fear upon seeing that particr bear.


    ¡°Oh no! This is bad! It¡¯s the Foresnd Giant Bear! We¡¯ve run into the overlord of this forest!¡±


    ¡°T-This Foresnd Giant Bear is incredibly strong, with terrifying defenses and overwhelming power. It¡¯s said to be a rare rank-2 magical beast! I¡¯m afraid only the elders can deal with it¡­¡±


    ¡°Honorable Ones, we must quickly flee! This is a Rank-2 magical beast that¡¯s capable of destroying entire towns with ease!¡±


    These local youths started to panic as they had no way of gauging the yers¡¯ strength.


    This was also partly due to Choppin, the elven mage of the team skilled in [Concealment Magic].


    He had a tendency to hide their team¡¯s presence and was careful to conceal it during their exploration, thus leaving the young locals unaware of their true power.


    This piqued the yers¡¯ curiosity.


    These people regarded them as divine beings, and their dazzling armor and robes were right in front of them, so how could these locals not realize how strong they actually were?


    How peculiar!


    Well¡­they can just prove their strength with actions.


    At this moment, the pride of these five Silver-rankers red brightly as they sought to show off their power.


    ¡°This one¡¯s mine!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold me back, I¡¯ve got this!¡±


    Several of them scrambled for the chance, but their captain, Boxlunch nodded towards their tank, Optimist:


    ¡°You go ahead.¡±


    Optimist grinned, shing his pearly white teeth and pulled out a massive two-meter-long greats word, before charging straight at the giant bear.


    ¡°M-My Lords!¡±


    The young locals gasped in worry, but their cries of concern quickly turned into dumbfounded silence mere secondster.


    The tank, known as Optimist, whilst d in gleaming heavy armor, let out a low shout, raised his greatsword, and leapt into the air.


    His powerful steps left the ground beneath him cracked.


    In the blink of an eye, he stood before the giant bear, moving with the speed of a rabbit despite his heavy armor.


    Then, with just a single downward sh¡ª


    <em>Squelch.</em>


    The giant bear didn¡¯t even have time to roar, much less defend itself.


    Under the radiant glow of his skill, the bear was cleaved cleanly in two.


    Blood sttered everywhere as a seven- to eight-meter-long fissure remained on the ground in the aftermath of the devastating strike.


    Local Youths: ¡°¡­.¡±


    A deathly silence ensued.


    These group of young boys and girls stared wide-eyed in shock at Optimist, who stood with his sword in hand, looking utterly unbothered.


    Meanwhile, the other yers, except for Boxlunch, stood with their arms crossed or hands on hips, as they casually critiqued the performance of Optimist.


    ¡°Hmm¡­still a bit slow, you let its blood stter all over your body.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was so-so, maybe a 60 out of 100.¡±


    ¡°Opt, you¡¯ve still got a long way to go!¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    He merely rolled his eyes at the antics of his friends.


    As for the local youth, they werepletely awestruck.


    ¡°S-So¡­ so strong!¡± Lilia gasped, her eyes sparkling with admiration.


    The others were equally charmed, their expressions filled with awe.


    Soon, the way they looked at the yers further changed, as their behavior became even more reverent:


    ¡°They must be the elites of the Divine n! Surely they are the legendary top-ranked Divine Beings! The true Silver People!¡±


    ¡°Praise the Creator God! I¡¯ve actually seen top-ranked Divine Beings!¡±


    Ev¨¦, whose still observing everything through Boxlunch¡¯s perspective, raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.


    ¡°top-ranked Divine Beings? Silver People?¡±


    By now, Eve was fairly certain that these ¡°Divine Beings¡± these youths were referring to were actually the elves.


    Based upon their reactions to both the giant bear and the yers, it seemed these the elves that immigrated to this demi-realm in the past varied greatly in strength¡­


    Some of them might be Silver-rankers, while the weaker ones were likely only have low or intermediate Iron-rank strength.


    ¡°So, it seems these so-called ¡®Divine Elves¡¯ are also cursed with the racial bloodline curse.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then, the civilization within this demi-realm was probably created by those elves who fled here a thousand years ago. Otherwise, these locals wouldn¡¯t be able to speak Elvish, have Elven bloodlines, or revere the elves as Divine Beings.¡±


    ¡°However, what¡¯s still unclear to me is whether these local human inhabitants originally existed in this demi-realm or if they entered it alongside those elves in the past¡­¡±


    ¡°In any case, I should be able to locate thest fragment of the Scepter of Life once I find the ruins left by those Elves in this demi-realm!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strange though¡­I haven¡¯t been able to sense the location of thest fragment ever since the yers entered this demi-realm. This feels eerily simr to how Reinhardt sealed his fragments¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ pondered about this matters quietly.


    The yers continued traveling alongside the young locals.


    After killing the giant bear, Lilia and the others treated them with even greater respect.


    As they moved forward, the yers asked these youths for more information regarding their demi-realm, while also subtly probing them for anything rted to thest fragment of the Scepter of Life.


    s, as expected, these youths knew nothing about the Scepter of Life, which somewhat disappointed but didn¡¯t really surprised the five yers.


    However, they still did learn some interesting things¡­


    ¡°History? Honorable Ones, do you wish to hear our history?¡±


    ¡°But¡­ shouldn¡¯t you already know everything about us, considering you¡¯ve probably lived through its entirerity?¡±


    ¡°W-What!? You¡¯re not from this world? And you actually came from beyond it?!¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­ could the myths told by our Elders actually be true?!¡±


    These group of youths bore excited expressions, while the yers looked utterly confused:


    ¡°What myths?¡±


    Lilia and the others began to borate:


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret myth from our Shining Grace n that has been passed down through generations¡­¡±


    ¡°This myth states that the Great God of Creation led three hundred Divine Beings, who are survivors from the divine realm and created our world.¡±


    ¡°Then, the Creator God used His own flesh and blood to bring forth our ancestors, the Shining Grace nsmen¡­¡±


    ¡°However, creating life drained too much of the Creator Gods power, and thus, He eventually fell into an eternal slumber¡­¡±


    ¡°As the God of Creation sumbed into deep sleep, you, the esteemed members of the Divine n went into seclusion, to search for a way to awaken Him.¡±


    ¡°¡­Until today, that is.¡±


    ¡°But this is just our n¡¯s old secret myth. The Church has dismissed it as a false, distorted heresay¡­¡±


    ¡°In the Church¡¯s version, the God of Creation emerged from nothingness, and was born alongside the world itself, wielding thebined powers of nature and life.¡±


    ¡°The God of Creation first created the Divine Beings, then we the humans. Then, from the union between Divine Beings and humans, we, the Shining Grace people, were eventually born¡­¡±


    ¡°After creating everything, the God of Creation fell into deep slumber, and with His sleep, the Divine Beings began to perish¡­¡±


    ¡°However, the Great Creator God is destined to awaken one day.¡±


    ¡°When that dayes, the entire world will be destroyed, but all those who worship Him will be reborn anew into eternal life amidst the destruction, and the fallen Divine Beings will return as His chosen ones in His divine kingdom as His followers.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>432</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE MYTH OF THE CREATOR GOD </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 433

    Chapter 433


    Lilia and herpanions led the way while telling the yers the various myths they knew.


    All five of them listened attentively, while also asionally interjecting from time to time to ask about specific details of these myths.


    For the yers, there are no stories within the game that are without value. Especially since Elven Kingdom is set in a magical fantasy world, so many of these myths and legends could, in theory, may in fact have truly happened.


    For instance, they have a suspicion that the stories Lilia told them might be connected to the enemies they could potentially face during this quest or would provide some clues for finding thest fragment of the Scepter of Life.


    However, the myths shared by these group of youths were far too vague and general.


    Aside from enjoying the stories and concluding that the so-called ¡°Divine Beings¡± were likely ancient elves who had fled to this demi-realm, and that the ¡°God of Creation¡± was a true mythical figure, the yers didn¡¯t gather much any useful information.


    As for thest fragment of the Scepter of Life, they didn¡¯t find any leads to that as well.


    Nevertheless, while the yers were unable to uncover any more substantial knowledge from Lilia¡¯s stories due to their limited perspective andck of deeper understanding regarding these matters, Ev¨¦, on the other hand who had been secretly observing and listening the entire time, developed deeper spections:


    ¡°The God of Creation, is it? This title is not something to be used lightly. It seems¡­ this demi-realm must have been created by this mythical being in the past.¡±¡°The World Tree¡¯s inheritance never mentioned this demi-realm, and there¡¯s no record of it in all of elven historical records either. This highly suggests that this demi-realm likely only came into existence after the Heavenly War a thousand years ago.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, this Creator God must be a mythical being who led some elves from Seig¨¹es to open up this demi-realm and escaped into it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unsure which version of the myth is true, but the one from the Church that these young elves mentioned sounds more like someone preparing to ascend into godhood, or perhaps for the revival of a deity.¡±


    ¡°And this Creator God having power over nature and life? That sounds suspiciously like the World Tree. However¡­ it can¡¯t be the case, since I wouldn¡¯t have been able to inherit my predecessor¡¯s body and knowledge if she hadn¡¯t truly fallen.¡±


    ¡°Or¡­ is it possible that this Creator God is someone trying to be the new God of Nature and Life?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s unlikely too. Not everyone can grasp thews of nature and life so easily. If this Creator God wanted toprehend them, they¡¯d be better off trying to inherit the World Tree¡¯s divinity instead.¡±


    ¡°Then again, there¡¯s another possibility¡­¡±


    ¡°After all, these are just myths passed down by this demi-realm¡¯s local inhabitants. As mere mortals, they don¡¯t truly understand the power of the divine.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps this so-called Creator God having power over nature and life is merely the result of them having thest fragment, rather than from any inherent power they possess.¡±


    ¡°After all¡­.even though thatst fragment is less than one percent of the Scepter, it¡¯s still the most crucial part of the artifact. If used properly, even a mythical being without authority over Nature or Life could still wield some of its correspondingws.¡±


    ¡°But who is this mythical being that took the Scepter¡¯sst fragment and led a group of ancient elves to flee into this demi-realm?¡±


    ¡°Chances are, this person was somehow aligned with the elves and possibly also took part in the Heavenly War a thousand years ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be a former servants of my predecessor?¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t add up.¡±


    ¡°While the previous World Tree held vast power, she wasn¡¯t interested in cultivating many servants. And even though she had some demigod-rank elven followers, none of them ever ascended to godhood.¡±


    ¡°And without ascending to true godhood, it¡¯s impossible for anyone to create a demi-realm of this scale.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention, thews governing this demi-realm are exceptionally well-structured. Even if its mana capacity is somewhat low, it¡¯s not something just anyone could create.¡±


    ¡°Even I couldn¡¯t make such a demi-realm quickly¡­ unless I tore off a portion of Seig¨¹es and used that preexisting part to form a separate realm.¡±


    ¡°The only way I could do it without taking a shortcut, is to ascend my Godhood into a more powerful rank, then I could aplish it quickly.¡±


    ¡°But if someone would actually dared to tear off a piece of Seig¨¹es, the gods would have torn them apart long ago.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ I can¡¯t figure it out¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook their head, growing increasingly curious about the mysteries surrounding this demi-realm.


    However, the demi-realm itself wasn¡¯t without problems.


    After some thought, Ev¨¦ used the yers¡¯ perspective to gaze at the sky above which wasced with cracks, like shattered ss.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it¡ªthis demi-realm is in decline. Even though it¡¯s only existed for a thousand years, it already feels like it¡¯s nearing its end, which defies the natural order for a demi-realm.¡± Ev¨¦ mused.


    ¡°Normally, even the most rudimentary demi-realm with ipletews should stillst for millions of years.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s likely why this yer named Chopin feels like he¡¯s being oppressed.¡±


    ¡°As a druid, his jobss is particrly sensitive to the energies of life and nature. He can clearly sense the decay of this demi-realm.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, if I¡¯m not mistaken, their lifeforce has been rapidly draining ever since the yers entered this ce¡­¡±


    ¡°In other words, their lifespan is decreasing rapidly. Anyone who stayed here, even those ancient elves with their thousand-year long lifespan could cut it to just two or three hundred years if they stayed here long enough.¡±


    ¡°This would exin the disappearance of the so-called ¡®Divine Beings¡¯ these locals mentioned. I¡¯m afraid those elves have already perished.¡±


    ¡°But then, where has all their life essence gone? And what connection does it have with the unnatural decay of this demi-realm?¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­ the slumbering ¡®God of Creation¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Is he perhaps siphoning the essence of this demi-realm to revive himself?¡±


    ¡°Creating this demi-realm surely must have drained too much of his strength, and now, to reawaken, he has no choice but to siphon this demi-realm¡¯s essence, which potentially lead to its copse?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, this seems very likely!¡±


    ¡°In order to pull this off, he surely must have a solid understanding of thews of life and nature.¡±


    ¡°An ordinary god wouldn¡¯t be capable of this, but if this Creator God truly holds a fragment of the Scepter of Life, then he could be using it to drain the lifeforce of every creature in this realm.¡±


    Ev¨¦¡¯s suspicions began to solidify.


    The more she thought about it, the more certain she became.


    The only mystery that remained was the true identity of this ¡®Creator God.¡¯


    ¡°No matter who he is, thest fragment of the Scepter of Life must be in his possession.¡±


    ¡°And he fled into this demi-realm to escape something¡­¡±


    ¡°But if he nned all along to steal the lifeforce of its inhabitants, then his intentions for bringing those ancient elves here must be questioned as well¡­¡±


    With this thought, Ev¨¦ let out a soft sigh.


    Meanwhile, after nearly three hours of travel, the five yers and the seven youths finally returned to the town they referred to as Divine Grace Town.


    ¡ª <strong>433</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ EVE¡¯S SPECULATIONS </strong>¡¿ <hr>


    ¡ª ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 434

    ¡°Is this the town of Divine Grace?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s quite beautiful. It kinda reminds me of the Shire from Lord of the Rings.¡±


    Gazing at the beautiful town in front of them, Boxlunch and the others stood in awe, following Lilia and herpanions.


    Nestled away amidst the verdant forest, the quaint and peaceful towny beneath the distant expanse of a sprawling mountain range. A stream, glimmering like a silver ribbon, gently flowed through the town.


    Most of the buildings within it were crafted from a blend of wood and stone, each structure modest in size yet arranged in a way that felt both organized and seamlessly integrated with the naturalndscape. Low wooden fences surrounded each house, with trees, shrubs, and blooming vines adding to the scene, giving off a sense of vitality.


    The town was bustling with people.


    The residents, much like Lilia and herpanions, also appeared human at first nce, but they too bore subtle signs of elven heritage. Remarkably, they all seemed strikingly young, with even the oldest among them appearing no more than thirty years old.


    Most wore simple, rough cloth garments as they busied themselves with their daily tasks. However, when the residents noticed Lilia¡¯s group, they paused momentarily and greeted them warmly:


    ¡°Oh! Lilia, you¡¯ve finally returned!¡±¡°Good afternoon, Lilia!¡±


    ¡°So Lilia, did you actually find the Mandragora Flower?¡±


    Lilia and herpanions responded cheerfully:


    ¡°Yes, we found it, we actually found it!¡±


    The townspeople¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement.


    ¡°You actually found it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! Does this mean the Elder¡¯s illness can be cured?!¡±


    After exchanging celebratory greetings and joyful chatter, the residents soon turned their attention to Boxlunch and his teammates.


    By now, the five yers had altered their appearance significantly.


    Although they are still wearing their usual gear, they now had also added arge, hooded cloaks that draped over their equipment. Actually these cloaks were the same ones they used in the past to conceal their identities back when they visited those human territories in Seig¨¹es.


    The local townspeople eyed them curiously, then looked at Lilia in confusion.


    ¡°Lilia, these people are¡­?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re our esteemed guests! It was only with their help that we were able to obtain the Mandragora Flower!¡± Lilia replied with a smile.


    This was the exnation the yers had requested.


    After conversing with Lilia and herpanions, the yers had realized that this demi-realm was anything but ordinary.


    This realm had no nations.


    But it was wholly governed by a religious organization known as the Church of the Creator.


    And while this organization also revered elves as divine beings, the yers grew cautious upon learning that the church¡¯s legends described their God, The Creator as a powerful entity that has authority over life and nature.


    Like Ev¨¦, they didn¡¯t believe the deity these locals worship is the World Tree.


    Thus, after some discussing the matter amongst themselves, the five of them had decided to hide their identities for the time being.


    They n to gather more information from the elder of this town first before deciding on their next course of action.


    ¡°Everyone, I need to take our guests to see the Elder first, so I¡¯ll have to chat with you allter.¡± Lilia said, waving to the curious townspeople.


    She then led the yers deeper into the town.


    As the five yers followed closely behind Lilia, they walked through the charming streets, observing their surroundings with a mix of curiosity and wonder while alsomunicating in their private chatroom, sharing their thoughts and impressions:


    ? Hey, have you guys noticed? Everyone in this town looks really young.


    ? Not just young, but also pretty weak. I thought Lilia and herpanion¡¯s strength were low, but now it seems like they¡¯re actually one of the stronger ones here. Many of the townspeople appeared to be just mere apprentices.


    ? Yeah, at first I thought Lilia and her friends looked really young, but it seems like the whole town is like this. It¡¯s so weird. Everyone here is so young¡ªit¡¯s no wonder there aren¡¯t any strong people amongst them.


    ? I know, right? It feels really off that I cannot find any old people no matter where I look. Was this an oversight by the devs, or did they intentionally design this town in this way?


    Feeling thoroughly confused, the yers finally asked Lilia:


    ¡°Lilia, I noticed everyone in your town looks really young. Where are all the older folks?¡±


    ¡°Older folks?¡± Lilia paused for a second, then replied with a hint of confusion, ¡°The ones who just greeted us¡ªweren¡¯t they old?¡±


    <em>Those who greeted us?</em>


    The five of them froze, recalling the townspeople they had just seen moments ago, none of whom looked older than their early thirties.


    Their expressions turned a little strange.


    ¡°Lilia, if you don¡¯t mind me asking¡­exactly how old are you?¡±


    Cbash asked, intrigued.


    Lilia responded, ¡°I turned fifteen today.¡±


    <em>Fifteen?</em>


    Does that mean their appearance and age match?


    The yers were a little surprised.


    They had assumed that since these locals had a trace of elven blood within them, then they too would be just like the elves, whose age couldn¡¯t be defined by physical appearance.


    ¡°Are there no people over the age of thirty in your town?¡± asked Optimist.


    Lilia gave him a curious nce and shook her head.


    ¡°Honorable guests, we¡¯re just ordinary humans. We don¡¯t have the long lifespans of divine beings like you. For us, the average life expectancy is only around thirty years more or less.¡±


    <em>Thir¡­ thirty years¡­</em>


    The yers were stunned, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.


    <em>These locals only lived with such short lives?!</em>


    Just as they were reeling from the shock, a cold and familiar voice echoed within their minds:


    ¡°This could be considered normal, as the life expectancy of all beings that inhabit that demi-realm is rapidly depleting. As such, most living creatures there have only one-third of a normal lifespan.¡±


    The one who gave this exnation was none other than Ev¨¦, who had been secretly watching them this entire time.


    Upon hearing Eve¡¯s words, the five yers had a sudden realization.


    ¡°I get it now.¡±


    ¡°Man, the people living in this demi-realm really have it rough.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of sad, honestly¡­ especially since they think this is just how things are.¡±


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s just a game. Don¡¯t get too wrapped up in it.¡±


    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s still pretty tragic¡­¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, it also exins why there aren¡¯t any ancient trees in this forest. The nts here too must be losing their vitality fast, which really drastically cut down their lifespans.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. Otherwise, the forest floor wouldn¡¯t have such a thickyer of decaying wood and leaves.¡±


    The yers shook their heads as they discussed quietly amongst themselves.


    Before long, Lilia finally led them to the town elder¡¯s residence.


    It was a charming little courtyard filled with blooming flowers and lush greenery.


    As soon as they arrived, Lilia excitedly called out, ¡°Elder! We¡¯re finally back! And look, we¡¯ve also found the Mandragora Flower!¡±


    A momentter, the vines draped over the wooden fence slowly pulled apart, opening a path.


    ¡°Vine maniption?¡± Cbash raised an eyebrow.


    The gate slowly opened, and Lilia led the yers into the courtyard.


    She paused for a moment, then bowed apologetically to the group, saying, ¡°Honored guests, I¡¯ll bring the Mandragora Flower to our elder first and inform him of your arrival. Please wait there in the living room for a moment.¡±


    The yers nodded in understanding.


    Seeing their approval, Lilia hurried deeper into the house, taking the Mandragora Flower along with her.


    The five yers, having found themselves alone, entered the living room, which is a modest yet well-furnished space that offered a sense of warmth andfort. The room featured an inviting atmosphere, with every piece of furniture handcrafted from rich, polished wood, which exuded a natural and pleasant scent.


    Meanwhile, at the center of the room stood a roughly carved effigy that looked to be a statue of a deity.


    This statue wasn¡¯t very tall and was carved in a style that emphasized a humanoid form. Also, this particr deity¡¯s appearance featured arge hooded cloak that obscured half of its face.


    The yers nced at it with curios eyes.


    Just then, a weak, tired voice came from behind them.


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­ That is a statue of the Creator, which is based upon the descriptions from ancient texts¡­¡±


    <em>The Creator?</em>


    The yers froze for a moment, then turned around.


    They saw Lilia supporting a human male who appeared to be around thirty years old, standing in the doorway.


    Thetter wore arge robe, and though he looked no older than thirty, his hair was alreadypletely white.


    The yers eyed him curiously, while he, in turn, also looked at them with the same manner.


    Given the respectful way Lilia treated him, that man¡¯s identity was obviously clear.


    The man smiled warmly at them and spoke.


    ¡°Should I address you as the esteemed divine beings, or perhaps as¡ª¡± the Elder then paused for a moment, his smile widening as he continued,


    ¡°¡ªElves?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>434</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DIVINE GRACE TOWN</strong><strong>¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 435

    ¡°Should I address you all as esteemed members of the Divine n¡­ or perhaps as elves?¡±


    Hearing the man¡¯s seemingly friendly but subtly meaningful words, the yers nced at each other, exchanging looks of surprise.


    Ever since they discovered that the local inhabitants of this demi-realm worship elves as Divine Beings, they¡¯d been trying to subtly ask Lilia and the others if they¡¯d ever heard of the term ¡°Elves.¡±


    s, Lilia and herpanions had never encountered nor even heard of the word.


    Yet here was this male NPC, casually revealing their true identity.


    <em>Could it be that¡­ he knows something?</em>


    For a moment, the five yers¡¯ eyes lit up.


    <em>A key NPC! </em>


    This man had to be the crucial NPC for their hidden quest!Noticing their surprise, the town¡¯s elder gave a gentle smile.


    He ced his right hand over his chest, bowing slightly before speaking in a weak voice:


    ¡°Cough¡­Please allow me to introduce myself¡­¡±


    ¡°I am Roergue, the Seventeenth Elder of the Divine Grace n.¡±


    After introducing himself, he turned to Lilia with a gentle smile and said,


    ¡°Lilia, go attend to your tasks. I have some things I need to discuss with our esteemed guests.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Elder Roergue, the Mandragora Flower has just arrived, and you haven¡¯t taken your medicine yet. Shouldn¡¯t you first¡­?¡±


    Lilia said worriedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. this little illness of mine is nothing with our esteemed guests here, and the magical flower you brought back.¡±


    Elder Roergue offered aforting smile.


    After casting a hesitant nce at the yers and then at her elder, Lilia finally nodded, giving a respectful bow before leaving the room.


    As she left, she couldn¡¯t help but turn back, saying,


    ¡°Please, Elder Roergue, remember to take your medicine first!¡±


    ¡°Rest assured.¡±


    Roergue waved her off, watching as she finally reluctantly departed.


    Only when Lilia had fully disappeared from sight did the elder¡¯s gentle smile fade, and he sighed softly, saying,


    ¡°Lilia is a good child¡­everyone in this little town is.¡±


    There was a hint of sorrow and regret in his tone.


    After a brief silence, Roergue looked at the yers again, his expression changing into a more serious look.


    Once more, he bowed respectfully to them, tracing a roughly-shaped tree symbol across his chest, and solemnly said,


    ¡°I, Roergue, greet you, Honorable Divine Envoys.¡±


    ¡°Honorable Envoys, I have awaited your arrival for a long, long time¡­ all of us forsaken ones have awaited for so very long¡­¡±


    <em>That¡­tree symbol? </em>


    <em>Divine envoys? </em>


    <em>The forsaken ones?</em>


    The five yers were stunned.


    ? This man actually knows the goddess¡¯s symbol! Guys, do you think¡­ they¡¯re also believers of the goddess?


    ? I don¡¯t know. But if they really are believers of the goddess, then wouldn¡¯t she already know about them? I mean, why would she need us to go to this ce to find thest fragment when she could have just sent these people an oracle to do it instead?


    ? Well he did call themselves as ¡®forsaken ones¡¯ ¡­ so maybe the Goddess had abandoned them?


    ? I have no idea about that¡­


    The yers typed their thoughts into their chatroom, clearly puzzled over these new revtions.


    However, just before they could ask any further questions, the elder suddenly began coughing violently. A faint, unhealthy flush appeared upon his face as his breathing visibly weakened further.


    Noticing his rapidly deteriorating condition, the tank, Optimist, frowned and said, ¡°Mr. Roergue, Miss Lilia was right. You really should take your medicine first, now that you¡¯ve got the Mandrake Flower.¡±


    Yet, Roergue shook his head in response.


    ¡°Honorable Envoys, I know my body well. I don¡¯t have much time left.¡±


    Optimist hesitated, at a loss for words.


    Just then, Chopin, the druid who had been silent until now, raised his head and said, ¡°He¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a regr illness but rather, his life force is almost depleted. I¡¯m afraid the Mandrake Flower will be of no use to him even if he consumed it.¡±


    Upon reaching Silver-rank, Chopin became a full-fledged Archdruid and even picked healing as his specialization. Thus, as soon as he saw the ailing elder, he immediately used his Archdruid ability, [Eye of rity], to discern the man¡¯s true illness.


    Roergue nced at Chopin in surprise before nodding gently.


    ¡°As expected of a divine envoy. You are indeed correct¡ªthis isn¡¯t an illness but rather the result of long-term usage of Nature Magic, which has overly depleted my own vitality¡­¡±


    He gave a faint, bitter smile.


    ¡°In actuality, the Mandragora Flower won¡¯t help me at all. In fact, I¡¯m not even sure if it truly exists in this world. I only told Lilia and the others that it could potentially ¡®cure¡¯ me to give those children some semnce of hope.¡±


    ¡°However, never have I expected that Lilia would actually venture forth into the forbiddennd of Elven Forest to find it¡­ much less seed.¡±


    ¡°But when she told me about her encounter with you honorable guest, I began to understand what was really going on.¡±


    Roergue looked at the yers, sighing.


    ¡°I suppose¡­ that Mandragora flower that those children got was bestowed by you and originated from that mysticalnd known as the ¡®Divine Realm.¡¯¡±


    ¡°After all, the amount of mana in our world is far too low. There¡¯s no way such a mythical item could exist here and only in the Divine Realm, which is rich in mana, could something like this flower be produced.¡±


    <em>A mythical item¡­</em>


    The yers exchanged nces, recalling the Mandrake Flowers that, while not exactlymon per se, could still be found readily enough in certain parts of the elven forest.


    Each of them shook their heads ruefully.


    This demi-realm truly was mana-deficient.


    Elder Roergue didn¡¯t notice their expressions and continued with a sigh.


    ¡°Speaking of which, I had already lost all hope for our world. But I never thought I¡¯d live to see the arrival of you, the divine envoys at the very end of my life. It seems¡­ the prophecy is indeed true.¡±


    Hearing this, the yers were surprised.


    Although what this Elder said was slightly different from the actual situation, it was still pretty close to the truth.


    They looked at each other, and finally, Cbash stepped forward, asking in a serious tone:


    ¡°Mr. Roergue, what is it that you wish to tell us? And¡­ you also said you¡¯ve been waiting for us for a very long time. What does that mean? And what prophecy are you speaking of?¡±


    Roergue¡¯s expression turned solemn in response to Cbash¡¯s questions.


    With a deep sigh, he said:


    ¡°This is a secret of our ancestors, one that pertains to the hidden truths of this demi-realm¡­ and even the current state of the Creator himself¡­¡±


    ¡°Honorable Envoys, the Creator of this world¡­ has fallen.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>435</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HIDDEN</strong><strong>TRUTHS OF THIS DEMI-REALM</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 436

    ¡°The Creator of this world had already fallen?¡±


    Upon hearing Elder Roergue¡¯s words, the yers were momentarily stunned, but soon their eyes sparkled with intrigue.


    ¡°Could it be that¡­an evil god is involved in this again?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I smell the scent of a new dungeon¡­¡±


    The yers whispered amongst themselves, with a hint of excitement flickering across their faces.


    Out of the five, only Boxlunch maintained a neutral expression. He nudged a teammate who was disrupting the mood and looked at Elder Roergue, asking in his usual stoic tone, ¡°Could you tell us the specifics?¡±


    Seeing Boxlunch¡¯s serious expression, his teammates also quieted down, focusing intently on the elder. Roergue nodded slowly, his gaze drifting as if recalling something from a distant past.


    ¡°This, I should start with the story behind the birth of this world¡­¡±


    Elder Roergue sighed softly, then began sharing the hidden truths he knew. Through his tale, the yers finally pieced together the origins of this demi-realm.Elder Roergue¡¯s version closely aligned with what Lilia had already shared with them. It felt like a blend of the legends passed down by the Divine Grace n and the teachings of the church¡­ except the elder included details that were both deeper and more secretive.


    After listening, the yers, afterbining these details with their own knowledge, arrived at a clearer understanding of the history of this demi-realm:


    A thousand years ago, a powerful being from the World Tree¡¯s faction brought three hundred ancient elves across the passageway into this demi-realm and transformed it using their own power.


    ¡ªtransformed, not created.


    That was how Elder Roergue described it.


    Contrary to public belief, this demi-realm had already existed even before the ancient elves, along with that powerful being, settled here after seeking refuge from a formidable foe. They did not create this demi-realm but rather, they transformed and elerated its development their own power.


    It was a daunting task, but fortunately, that powerful being possessed an extraordinary artifact known as the ¡°Heart of Life.¡±


    With the artifact in hand, He performed a ritual, using the Heart of Life along with His own flesh and blood as the foundation to create a new race, who eventually regarded themselves as the Divine Grace n.


    Under the elves¡¯ guidance, members of the Divine Grace n flourished, as they established a new civilization within this demi-realm.


    As a result, this powerful being was revered by all sentient life within this realm as the God of Creation, and the three hundred ancient elves were honored as Divine Beings.


    Years passed, and as the civilization within this world flourished, a religious organization eventually emerged amongst its popce, founded on a core belief that held nature and life in deep reverence.


    Initially, this religious organization didn¡¯t bear the name ¡®Church of Creation,¡¯ and the deity they worshiped was not the Creator either.


    Instead, it revered a more mythical figure¡ªthe god whom the Creator himself was believed to follow, one even mightier yet eternally dormant, known as the Mother of All Gods.


    Both the Creator and the Divine Beings shared a singr goal:


    That is, to gather power,unch a counterattack on the divine realm from which they came originally, and reawaken the Mother of All Gods whom they worshiped.


    s, the good times did notst long.


    Over time, the elves noticed their life force was diminishing at an rming rate, and every newly born member of the Divine Grace n had far shorter lifespans than expected.


    This dire situation persisted for centuries and was further exacerbated by a sudden event that changed everything.


    As the demi-realm further developed, this world finally caught the attention of the Creator¡¯s former enemies.


    Foreign gods invaded, and the whole world was plunged into a war thatsted for more than a decade.


    In the end, the Creator eventually managed to repel the invading gods by merging himself with the demi-realm¡¯s provenance. Yet, in doing so, the God of Creation revealed another secret of his own.


    Since arriving in this world, their true intention had neither been tounch a counterattack on the divine realm nor to reawaken the Mother of All Gods.


    Instead, the Creator¡¯s true goal was to siphon the life force of this realm¡¯s inhabitants in order to ascend into godhood and seize the power of the Mother of All Gods, who had fallen into a deep sleep.


    In the eyes of the God of Creation, every living being in this demi-realm was merely a tool to increase His own strength.


    By this point in time, he was no longer the Creator who had bravely led the ancient elves to reshape a new world.


    In the words of the Divine Beings, the Creator has already fallen.


    Thus, war erupted once more.


    This time, it was a war between the three hundred elves of the Divine n against the God of Creation himself whom they had once followed.


    The oue, however, was inevitable.


    The three hundred ancient elves stood no chance against the God of Creation and were ultimately defeated.


    The Creator then used the ¡°Heart of Life¡± to consume the lifeforce of those three hundred elves.


    Henceforth, each member of the Divine n vanished from the world from that day forward¡­


    In the aftermath of that war, the prevailing religious organization formally renamed itself the Church of Creation, while the Creator himself seized control of every church member¡¯s mind, brainwashing them to erase all traces of the elves and leaving only vague myths of their origins as members of the Divine n.


    ¡ªUntil now, that is.


    After Elder Roergue finished his tale, the yers were both moved and puzzled.


    ¡°But, how did youe to know all of this, Mr. Roergue?¡±


    ¡°It was passed down from a revered elder of our n,¡± Roergue replied.


    ¡°The first Divine Being who guided the ancestors of Divine Grace n in developing our civilization was a powerful legendary elf whom we honor as the Wise One.¡±


    ¡°And before he died, the Wise One recorded everything he knew in ancient scriptures, which have been secretly preserved by our n. He even used half of his own life force to cast a grand prophecy.¡±


    ¡°The Wise One¡¯s prophecy foretells that our world shall ultimately face destruction. Yet, amidst the ashes of ruination, a new beginning shall also arise. As the new members of the Divine n descend upon ournd once more, they shall herald our salvation, as we all shall return back to the light.¡±


    ¡°The Wise One also foretold that should any elves somehow reappeared here in our world, then it would mean that the Mother of All Gods¡ªour Great Matriarch¡ªhad already reawakened in the Divine Realm.¡±


    ¡°And these newly Divine Beings that would arrive in the foreseeable future shall be the honorable envoys of the Great Mother of All Gods, as they would bring hope for all living beings within our world.¡±


    ¡°These are the most guarded secrets of our Divine Grace n, and only the elders of each generation shall know this information. If I die, then Lilia will be the one to inherit these secrets.¡±


    ¡°For hundreds of years, we have long awaited the arrival of the envoys foretold by the Wise One¡¯s prophecy. ording to it, the ce where they would likely arrive was the forbiddennd of the Elven Forest, which is why our people moved here to settle our n.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, the church¡¯s power is just far too overwhelming for our n to contend with. For the sake of Divine Grace n¡¯s survival, we can only protect these secrets by passing them down from elder to elder¡­¡±


    Roergue sighed.


    After his exnation, the yers felt a wave of understanding wash over them.


    ? So, that¡¯s the truth¡­


    ? Who would¡¯ve thought there was such a story behind this demi-realm¡­


    ? So, this so-called Creator was once a servant or follower of the goddess? But he betrayed her?


    ? Then, could the Scepter¡¯sst fragment Big Sister wants us to find actually be that artifact called ¡®Heart of Life¡¯?


    They discussed this in their group chat.


    After sharing what he knew, Elder Roergue turned serious once more. He took a deep breath, bowed to the yers, and made a sincere request:


    ¡°Honorable envoys¡­¡±


    ¡°In this world, we are nothing more than sacrificialmbs from whom our lives is slowly being stolen away without even us aware of it¡­¡±


    ¡°We cannot go on like this¡­ If we do, then all that awaits us shall be destruction¡­¡±


    ¡°I know that each of you serves the Great Mother of All Gods¡­¡±


    ¡°The Wise One told us that the Mother of All Gods is the most merciful and benevolent being in the entire universe.¡±


    ¡°So please, I beseech you, Honorable Envoys of the Great Matriarch, please thwart the God of Creation¡¯s vile machinations and herald forth a new future for all living beings of this world!¡±


    Hearing Roergue¡¯s emotional plea, the yers¡¯ eyes shone with excitement.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    They asked back, visibly looking eager to take action.


    Seeing their enthusiasm, Roergue¡¯s face brightened.


    Bowing once more, he answered:


    ¡°It¡¯s the Heart of Life!¡±


    ¡°Legend has it that the Creator mainly relies upon the Heart of Life to devour life force and grow stronger in order to ascend into godhood.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, the Creator has fallen into a deep slumber due to the wars that urred centuries ago.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps if we can seize the Heart of Life, then we can thwart the Creator¡¯s ns!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>436</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ HEART OF LIFE</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 437

    ¡°The Wise One mentioned in his records that the Heart of Life was once a supreme treasure, a relic that had belonged to none other than the Mother of All Gods,¡± Elder Roergue began, his voice reverent as he spoke of the divine artifact.


    His eyes glinted as he continued, ¡°I believed¡­ perhaps it is the very object you honorable envoys sought when you crossed into our world.¡±


    ¡°Do not be rmed; I do not im to know the precise nature of your mission here,¡± he added. ¡°But the prophecy, though veiled in obscurity, hints at the purpose of your arrival in this realm.¡±


    The yers listened to Elder Roergue¡¯s story as they exchanged looks with equal parts surprise and intrigue reflecting upon their eyes.


    And the more they felt that the ¡®Heart of Life¡¯ he mentioned was very simr to the characteristics and abilities of thest fragment of the Scepter that Lady Zero had told them about.


    <em>Could it be¡­ this is the very object they¡¯ve been searching for?</em>


    ¡°So, where exactly is this Heart of Life located? Where do we go to obtain it?¡± asked Optimist, his voice tinged with urgency as he watched the Elder grow paler in his weakened state, yet visibly more animated with every word.


    The other yers also looked to Roergue expectantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s in Seig¨¹es City,¡± Elder Roergue replied gravely.¡°Legend has it that the Heart of Life is hidden within the headquarters of the Church of Creation, which lies in thergest city in this world¡ªSeig¨¹es City.¡±


    ¡°It was the first city founded a thousand years ago by the Creator and three hundred divine beings upon their arrival in this world. It is considered a holy city by many, as it was where these ancestors of ours once lived and, it is also said, where the Creator now slumbers.¡±


    ¡°The Heart of Life¡­must be somewhere within the city of Seig¨¹es! If we want to find this divine artifact and thwart the Creator¡¯s ns, then we should definitely need to go there!¡±


    With that, Roergue turned and walked towards a wooden statue in the center of the living room.


    He then stopped before the statue, stretched out his hand into it, and, to the yers¡¯ surprise, pried it open to reveal a crystal-clear, radiant orb.


    He sighed softly, handing the crystal orb to the yers.


    ¡°This is a crystal infused with the Creator¡¯s power of faith. It was also left behind by the Wise One.¡±


    ¡°The Creator has fallen into a deep slumber and is unable to respond to the calls of His believers. It is said that He now primarily depends upon the Heart of Life to sustain the Church¡¯s operations and draw power from faith.¡±


    ¡°Therefore with this crystal, you will be able to sense the Heart of Life¡¯s presence within Seig¨¹es City.¡±


    <em>Is this orb a key item?</em>


    The yers eyed the crystal ball curiously before carefully tucking it away.


    ¡°The city of Seig¨¹es is situated far from Divine Grace Town. Even by carriage, it will take at least a three-day journey in order to reach it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange a carriage to take you, Honorable envoys there.¡±


    ¡°You all have special identities, so please be careful not to reveal who you truly are. I will make sure Lilia and the others shall keep your identities a secret as well.¡±


    ¡°s, this is all I can do for you. Anything more would risk drawing the Church¡¯s attention, which could bring devastating consequences to our town¡­¡±


    With a hint of regret in his voice, Roergue continued, ¡°Once you arrive in Seig¨¹es City, everything will depend entirely upon you all.¡±


    The yers nodded in understanding.


    After discussing their ns, Cbash stepped forward and asked, ¡°Elder Roergue, can you tell us the approximate strength of the Church? Now that we¡¯ve decided to confront them, we should at least know our enemy¡¯s power.¡±


    Roergue paused, then responded with a question of his own. ¡°I heard that¡­ you defeated the mighty Forest Lord¡ªthe giant bear with just a single strike?¡±


    The yers nodded.


    ¡°Then your strength must have reached the legendary Silver-Rank?¡± Roergue said in awe.


    Taking a deep breath, he continued¡­


    ¡°With the strength of a silver-ranked expert, you, Honorable Envoys, are already among the strongest individuals in this world. Even within the Church, it is likely that only the Pope and a few senior bishops could reach that level.¡±


    ¡°Simply facing the Church shouldn¡¯t be an issue for you all, just as long as you proceed with caution.¡±


    ¡°But the real danger lies where the Creator Himself resides.¡±


    Roergue sighed, his face heavy with concern.


    ¡°In the teachings passed down from the Wise One, it was said that upon death, the souls of devout followers shall return to the Creator, merging with Him to be guardian-like entities¡­¡±


    ¡°Over the centuries, even though the Church has lost favor with the people, the number of devoted souls that return to the Creator has grown to a terrifying scale.¡±


    ¡°And these devoted guardians may very well awaken when you attempt to im the Heart of Life¡­¡±


    ¡°If you want to seed, then you must reach the Heart of Life before these guardians are awakened!¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, you may probably be besieged by arge number of guardians!¡±


    ¡°If ites to that, then you will not only be facing the church, but also tens of thousands of guardians and the eventually reawakened God of Creation as well!¡±


    Roergue¡¯s tone was solemn.


    However, the yers exchanged looks with their expressions turning somewhat curious.


    ¡°An all-out assault?¡±


    ¡°A horde of guardians?¡±


    ¡°Do we need to call for help?¡±


    ¡°Wait, would this escte into a full-scale war?¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case, right? This quest is only limited to us five, and bringing in more extra yers would likely cause us to fail, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    They whispered amongst themselves.


    Just then, a familiar voice echoed within their minds:


    ¡°Do not worry about the guardians.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already located your exact location.¡±


    ¡°If things truly spiral out of control, then I can teleport other Chosen Ones to your location using your coordinates.¡±


    ¡°Your main task is to locate the Heart of Life and reach the ce where the Creator slumbers.¡±


    It was Zero, her voice calm and cool, carrying a reassuring strength that instantly eased the yers¡¯ worries.


    Hearing Zero¡¯s words, the yers looked at each other, the same thought crossing their minds:


    <em>Is this¡­ the power of a Godwarden?</em>


    <em>She can teleport others across realms?</em>


    <em>How Awesome!</em>


    The yers were both surprised and thrilled.


    As they rxed, reassured by Zero¡¯s promise, a new system message appeared within every yer¡¯s view that¡¯s currently online at this moment.


    ¡¾?¡¿


    ¡¾yers ¡°<strong>Boxlunch</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Cbash</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Chopin</strong>,¡± ¡°<strong>Optimist</strong>,¡± and ¡°<strong>IAmInvincible</strong>¡± have triggered a hidden storyline: Heart of Life.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Objective</strong>: Locate and acquire the ¡°Heart of Life,¡±and defeat this demi-realm¡¯s Creator.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Duration</strong>: Unlimited.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Number of yers Allowed</strong>: Unlimited.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Minimum Level Requirement</strong>: 31.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Quest Reward</strong>: 50,000 XP, 3,000 Contribution Points, 50 Resurrection Tokens.¡¿


    ¡ª <strong>437</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DO WE NEED BACKUPS? ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 438

    ¡°Whoa¡­ Did Boxlunch and his team just got lucky again? Really? They triggered another hidden questline?¡±


    ¡°This is what being a pro looks like, huh?¡±


    I¡¯m so envious¡­¡±


    The new system notification spread through the yerbase like wildfire, immediately catching the attention of arge number of yers.


    The moment the notification popped up, many yers immediately recognized the familiar names tied to it, causing a ripple of envy to spread like wildfire across the Elven Forest.


    However, once yers took a closer look at the quest details, their envy quickly shifted to something deeper. Curiosity and anticipation filled the virtual air as the implications of the hidden quest began to sink in.


    ¡°Wait¡­ what exactly is the Heart of Life?¡±


    ¡°Demi-realm? God of Creation? Did I miss something?¡±


    ¡°This¡­are we even ying the same game?¡±¡°What kind of quest is this?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Look, there is no limit on the number of people allowed in this quest. Could it be that we can join in as well?¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ those rewards look great!¡±


    A new hidden questline had been triggered by some veteran yers, and this time, there was no yer cap as well!


    As the system announcement spread, yers across the various ces turned their attention to the newly unveiled hidden questline.


    At the same time, the details of this particr questline were also presented in the record logs of the game system in the form of text, pictures and even videos:


    ¡°Fuck! Boxlunch and his team actually discovered a demi-realm?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a new map?!¡±


    ¡°Amazing! They just quietly stumbled onto that quest.¡±


    ¡°So, one of the Goddess¡¯s former followers betrayed her¡­ Go figures.¡±


    ¡°So even Elves are capable of betrayal, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, when the forest gets big enough, it¡¯ll inadvertently attract all kinds of birds, so to speak. But hey, no one ever said this ¡®God of Creation¡¯ had to be an elf, right?¡±


    ¡°Hold on, the quest hasn¡¯t officially started yet?¡±


    ¡°Based from the info, it looks like Boxlunch¡¯s team has to initiate it first. Then we¡¯ll need to find Big Sister Zero so that she could teleport us over to where they are¡­so, I guess we¡¯ve got to wait for now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    The questline details were deliberately released to the public by Ev¨¦, as she deemed it necessary for other yers to have some sort of understanding on what exactly Boxlunch and his team were currently up to.


    After listening to Elder Roergue¡¯s ount from Boxlunch¡¯s perspective, Ev¨¦ was nearly sure that the yers¡¯ uing actions would almost certainly provoke interference from the so-called ¡®Guardians¡¯ of the Creator.


    This was the conclusion Ev¨¦ reached, as Elder Roergue¡¯s limited power and perspective prevented him from fully understanding how a mythical being behaves.


    However, Ev¨¦ could see through them, being one herself.


    And from her understanding, it is almost instinctual for mythical beings to arrange for guardians, sort of like ¡®Petitioners¡¯ <strong>1 </strong>to protect the Heart of Life and safeguard their own dormant bodies.


    ¡°I need to be ready to summon the yers at any moment. Fortunately, I have the exact coordinates for Boxlunch and his team, and this demi-realm is connected to Seig¨¹es, which means I can still cover the cost, even if I teleport a significant number of yers¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed softly.


    This should please the yers, as taking part inrge-scale quests like thesees naturally to most online MMO gamers.


    With the questline revealed to the public, most yers who had already reached level 31 and above eagerly epted the quest¡ªeven those who hadn¡¯t fully read all the details of the questline.


    ¡°Who cares if I canplete it? Let¡¯s just ept it first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just follow the main group when the timees.¡±


    This was the general sentiment amongst most yers.


    Of course, no matter the yers¡¯ outlook, it was still necessary to exin the quest¡¯s background and unfolding events more clearly.


    While the hidden quest spread among the yers, Ev¨¦ pondered about the information she had obtained from Roergue:


    ¡°The Heart of Life is most likely the Scepter¡¯sst fragment, but from the way Roergue described it, the power of this artifact seems far beyond what a mere fragment should typically possess. Hmm, perhaps some mutation has urred to it¡­¡±


    ¡°However, this makes me more curious about this ¡®God of Creation¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°And more or less, I already have some guesses about his identity¡­¡±


    ¡°Since he¡¯s able to gain the loyalty of those three hundred ancient elves, he¡¯s likely one of the eight former demigod followers of my predecessor¡­¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes glimmered with realization.


    The former World Tree had no subordinate gods, but she did have eight followers whose strength has reached that of demigods.


    And although these followers were only demigods, they could still develop a demi-realm without fully creating it, if they needed to, by using the right sacrifices or through the usage of magical artifacts.


    As for these former demigod followers of her predecessor¡­ they were either elves or had some elven blood within them.


    These were the most loyal servants of the World Tree¡ªof at least that was written on the World Tree¡¯s inheritance and in some elven historical texts.


    Of course, by now it was assumed that they all have already died or¡­ disappeared.


    From these findings, Ev¨¦ developed a vague suspicion about the identity of the group that had fled into this demi-realm.


    ¡°It seems every member of the Divine Grace n in this demi-realm is a human with elven blood, but they most likely originated from the very flesh and blood of this ¡®Creator¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°In other words, this so-called ¡®God of Creation¡¯ probably also has some human bloodline within his veins.¡±


    ¡°He probably is¡­ most likely a half-elf, a half-human demigod!¡±


    A half-blooded demigod!


    In most cases, the elven blood within a half-breed¡¯s lineage would dilute as it is passed down from generation to generation.


    Henceforth, if this Creator truly is a half-blooded demigod, then everything would make sense¡ªeven his betrayal.


    As someone who had inherited the World Tree¡¯s legacy, Ev¨¦ knew that the bond between the elves and the World Tree was unique and very special.


    Due to their inherent racial nature, elves would never betray the World Tree.


    Even those half-elves who had undergone the ritual to purify their bloodline and be pure-blooded elves still developed an innate affinity for the World Tree, so the possibility of their betrayal is infinitely close to zero.


    <em>But what if it¡¯s just a half-blooded elf that never purified their bloodline? </em>


    The possibility of them betraying the World Tree¡­was less certain.


    In fact, among the former World Tree¡¯s followers, there was indeed a half-elf demigod!


    This half-blooded elf name is Ouros, and oddly enough, he was briefly only mentioned in the World Tree¡¯s inheritance despite being one of the most powerful followers of her predecessor.


    Ev¨¦ found it peculiar, so she set out to learn more about this particr demigod after examining some of the ancient elven texts.


    And based on her findings, it was said¡­ this half-blooded demigod was extremely arrogant and ambitious.


    At the same time, he is the demigod who most desires to ascend into godhood among all the followers of the World Tree.


    Moreover, athough he¡¯s a follower the previous World Tree, he disagreed with some of her predecessor¡¯s principles, and this caused him to have asional conflicts with the other demigods.


    What¡¯s more, ording to historical records provided by the Rageze n, thest ce where this half-blooded demigod disappeared to was coincidentally, the magnificent city of Kenond!


    At this, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but let out a soft sigh.


    ¡°¡­So, even your followers are capable of betrayal.¡±


    After epting the task that Elder Roergue had bestowed upon them, Boxlunch¡¯s team immediately set off that same day toward Seig¨¹es City.


    This journey was bound to be a turbulent one, not because their identities had been exposed, but rather, because all five of them were being flooded with chat messages from various friends and acquaintances after Ev¨¦ announced their ongoing quest to the public.


    Inside this demi-realm, they simply needed to ride safely in the carriage for a few days.


    But for the broadermunity of yers outside, the five of them had already be the center of discussion, with everyone eagerly anticipating their next move that would result in the yers being teleported into the same demi-realm.


    With some encouragement from Little Salty Cat, Cbash and Chopin even started to livestream their journey on some video sharing sites¡­


    However, the yerbase attention didn¡¯t remain focused on the five of them for long¡­


    Because just half a dayter, the Elven Forest weed a new guest¡ª


    More specifically,


    ¡ªDragons.


    ¡ª <strong>438</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE REAL IDENTITY</strong><strong>OF THE CREATOR</strong> ¡¿


    1 <strong>Petitioners</strong> (<strong>Æí²¢Õß</strong>) is a term in Dungeons & Dragons in which applies to a dead person¡¯s soul that made it in some way or another to a ne of existence other than the Material ne.


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 439

    In the northern region of the Elven Forest, within a dense thicket¡­


    A massive sub-draconic monster, about seven to eight meters tall,y crouching on the ground, whilst savoring the freshly delicious meal it had hunted.


    This creature was known as the Forest Armored Lizard, boasting nearly unmatched defensive capabilities beneath the Golden-rank. Typically, it is the first monster that yers encounter after leaving the central zone of the Elven Forest, making it the ideal target, with its strength reaching the upper silver-ranks.


    However, just as the Armored Lizard was leisurely feasting upon its prey, an excited roar suddenly echoed from the sky above.


    Startled, the beast immediately shuddered and dropped its food before bolting away in a panic-stricken manner.


    s, its predator was more faster.


    With a rush of wind, a huge shadow nketed the ground as a majestic ck dragon swooped down from the sky¡­


    Meryer¡¯s crimson, slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with mischief as the ck dragon puffed up his cheeks and opened his mouth wide before spewing out a stream of purple-ck acidic breath.


    The attack struck the fleeing Forest Armored Lizard in an instant as it let out a shrill, agonized scream as its armor¡ªcapable of withstanding even Golden-ranked attacks¡ªdissolved under the highly corrosive acidic breath. Meryer¡¯s attack was so potent that even the lizard¡¯s internal organs were corroded and quickly turned to mush¡­


    After twitching a few times, the Armored Lizard finally copsed, lifeless.


    The ck dragon thennded beside it, chest puffed out with pride.


    ¡°As expected, this lord is the strongest!¡±


    Meryer dered, sounding like a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, with a hint of youthful bravado.


    But soon, a small figure appeared atop his head.


    An elven mage, dressed in an ornate robe and wielding an intricate staff, raised her staff and gave the Meryer¡¯s horn an indignant tap.


    ¡°Meryer! I¡¯ve told you not to go overboard! Do you realize how valuable that monster¡¯s armor was? Look, youpletely ruined it! And¡­couldn¡¯t you at least keep it alive? I was nning to finish it off!¡±


    Her voice was crisp, with a slight edge of dissatisfaction.


    It was Little Salty Cat.


    Meryer¡¯s expression stiffened, and he gave an awkward grin, baring his sharp fangs.


    ¡°Oops¡­my strength¡¯s still a bit much for me to handle after I was promoted. I¡¯m not quite used to it yet¡­¡±


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahem, well¡­ I myself didn¡¯t expect to be this strong after I woke up. To think just a single breath of mine has such an effect¡­ One could say this mighty Lord Meryer is simply too formidable now.¡±


    The ck dragon lifted his head high, pride radiating from his face.


    Little Salty Cat: ¡°¡­¡±


    This rascal¡­ After he was promoted, he had be practically untouchable, asserting dominance over all the lesser monsters within this area, which made his smugness seem to grow more and more.


    She rolled her eyes at him with an exasperated look.


    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re only at the intermediate Gold-rank¡­ I¡¯ve read in some ancient elven texts tranted by Sister Birdy that the truly powerful dragons in history all have their strength broke past the Legendary-rank. Meryer, you still have a long way to go, so don¡¯t get too cocky.¡±


    Meryer shook his head.


    ¡°Pfft, that¡¯s where you¡¯re mistaken. Any dragons from our lineage who reach the Legendary-rank are known as mythical dragons, and only those old fogeys from ancient times have achieved that. Too bad such beings haven¡¯t walked thisnd in ages.¡±


    But just as he finished speaking, a strange, uneasy feeling stirred up within him for no apparent reason.


    Suddenly, a flock of birds flew across the sky, seemingly fleeing from a great threat¡­


    They looked so anxious that, even when they saw the terrifying ck dragon on the ground ahead, they did not change direction but instead scattered in all directions as they fled in blind panic.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Little Salty Cat murmured, momentarily stunned.


    A flicker of surprise crossed the back dragon¡¯s face as well.


    However, just as he was about to speak, Meryer suddenly sensed a distant yet powerful aura pressing down on him, which stirred something deep within his bloodline.


    Then, after a couple of seconds passed, darkness swept across the ground.


    Under the astonished gaze of both Meryer and Salty Cat, an enormous shadow loomed above them, blocking out the sunlight and casting an eerie pall over thendscape.


    It was a massive dragon, spanning at least two to three hundred meters.


    Its dark golden scales shimmered as though it were forged from pure gold, and its sail-like wings stretched from its shoulders all the way to the tip of its tail.


    As it swept across the sky, its mere presence alone was as imposing akin to a mountain, casting a vast overhead shadow that sent shivers down the spine of every creature that became aware of its existence.


    As it passed above Meryer and Little Salty Cat, its massive wings paused mid-beat.


    In that instant, both Meryer and Little Salty Cat felt a sharp gaze fall upon them, heavy and scrutinizing, whilst the air thickened with tension.


    They stood still for a moment before a deep, ancient reverberating voice broke the silence, seemingly filled with surprise:


    ¡°¡ªHm?¡±


    After a brief pause, a faint wave of magical energy descended from above, as ittched onto their bodies with an almost sentient force, wrapping around them like an unseen shroud.


    Meryer and Little Salty Cat were struck with fear.


    They wanted to move, to dodge, but found themselves nearly paralyzed under the dragon¡¯s scrutinizing gaze.


    The magical wave swept over both of them, leaving Little Salty Cat supringly unaffected, but a murky white aura appeared around Meryer instead.


    This was a third-ring spiritual spell called [Detect Evil]


    This type of magic examined the fluctuations of one¡¯s soul, peeling back theyers of deceit and revealing truths hidden deep within them.


    Essentially, it could disy the target¡¯s mental state in the form of a magical aura, and it¡¯s particrly effective against creatures below the status of demigods, making it a favored tool for those seeking to uphold righteousness.


    For those inclined toward justice and goodness, the aura would appear pure white, while for twisted or malevolent beings, it would darken towards ck.


    Such magic was often used by those who pursued justice and despised evil to distinguish friend from foe.


    If a detected aura turned ck, thosemitted to justice would not hesitate to attack.


    For instance, amongst the various types of dragons, none held a stronger aversion to evil than the golden dragons.


    However, upon seeing the aura around Meryer, a glint of surprise crossed the terrifying golden dragon¡¯s dark-gold eyes:


    ¡°¡­Huh?¡±


    ¡°The Elf has no aura but that ck Dragon has a¡­white halo?¡±


    It murmured unto itself, casting a lingering nce at Little Salty Cat and Meryer, before resumed its flight, whilst its powerful wings carried it far into the distance.


    Gradually, the vast shadow which loomed over thend finally dissipated.


    As the immense dragon¡¯s oppressive aura faded, both Meryer and Little Salty Cat finally are able to move once more.


    Both werepletely awestruck as they stared after the mysterious golden dragon flying in the distance, awe still lingering upon their faces.


    ¡ªWell, not quite.


    While the ck dragon was in shock, the elven girl on the other hand was pretty ecstatic.


    ¡°Whoa, a golden dragon! That was definitely a golden dragon, right!? It looks so big and beautiful, and it even has such an intense aura!¡±


    Little Salty Cat eximed, brimming with excitement.


    ¡°H-Holy crap¡­a mythical dragon! That one was definitely a mythical dragon! How did I, Lord Meryer, end up running into a mythical dragon here in the Elven Forest of all ces?!¡±


    The young ck dragon looked dumbfounded, even resorting to phrases he had learned from the chosen ones.


    However, both of them suddenly wore looks of surprise when they finally noticed the direction the golden dragon was heading.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    ¡°That direction¡­ isn¡¯t that where Florence is?!¡±


    Little Salty Cat¡¯s eyes sparkled as she eagerly shouted,


    ¡°Meryer! Let¡¯s go! We have to follow it! That golden dragon must be the key to some major storyline unfolding!¡±


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? City of Florence


    Various native elves from myriad of ns bustled about, while yers went about their daily tasks and doing trades along the busy streets.


    This newly rebuilt elven city was as lively as ever.


    But in the next moment, a hovering figure suddenly swept across the ground, blocking out the sunlight and casting a massive shadow over the bustling city.


    Elves and yers alike paused, theirughter and chatter fading into silence as they all looked up in unison.


    What they saw was an enormous golden dragon looming above them.


    The dragon then circled once overhead before setting its gaze on the Temple of Life, which was situated at the heart of Florence.


    It slowly descended from the sky, beforending gracefully in the vast square in front of the temple.


    Whilst lowering its great head toward the temple¡¯s entrance, the golden dragon respectfully announced:


    ¡°I, Alexius, the ¡®Crimson Gold de,¡¯ under the orders of the esteemed tinum Dragon King Reinhardt, humbly request an audience with Her Excellency, the Goddess of Life, Eve!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>39 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ MYTHICAL</strong><strong>DRAGON ALEXIUS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 440

    A massive shadow swept across the city of Florence, followed by a thunderous gust of wind that forced everyone to shield their faces.


    As the dust settled, the gleam of golden scales filled the city square, towering over the crowd. yers and elves alike stood frozen, as their gazes locked onto the colossal dragon that had descended from the sky.


    Gazing at the fearsome creature bowing its head toward the temple, a ripple of excitement spread among the yers.


    ¡°Oh shit, What the¡ªthat¡¯s a huge dragon!¡±


    ¡°Its size¡­must be at the very least two hundred meters, right?! Damn, it¡¯s definitely bigger than Godzi!¡±


    ¡°A golden dragon! It¡¯s a freakin¡¯ huge golden dragon!¡±


    ¡°What a terrifying aura¡­ just its presence alone made me remember the same dread I felt when we faced that Demon Lord back in the Underground War!¡±


    ¡°But¡­it looks so magnificent!¡±


    The yers in the vicinity buzzed with excitement as they flooded the game¡¯s forum with screenshots, one after another, each capturing the dragon¡¯s arrival.In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the golden dragon¡¯s overwhelming aura, which prevented anyone from approaching it, some yers might have already rushed over to brazenly ask the other party for a photo op.


    Then, as they stood there, the dragon¡¯s deep voice,ced with respect, resonated through the air.


    The yers paused and exchanged nces.


    ¡°It called itself Alexius, the Crimson Gold de?¡±


    ¡°What a domineering sounding name¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh, it seems like this dragon wants to see the goddess, Eve. Is this the start of some storyline event?!¡±


    ¡°Another dragon! Guys, do you think there¡¯s a chance for us to get it as a familiar?¡±


    As the crowd murmured in excited tones, eyes widening as they took in the dragon¡¯s magnificent form. Curiosity sparked within the yers expressions, illuminating their faces with awe.


    Feeling the countless gazes directed at him and noticing that some of those gazes held both curiosity and greed, Alexius furrowed his brow slightly.


    For a brief moment, he felt the urge to cast [Detect Evil] upon these people.


    However, upon noting their elven identities and casting a nce at the Temple of Life radiating a gentle, soothing energy in front of him, Alexius suppressed the impulse.


    In the aftermath of the golden dragon¡¯s dramatic arrival, the crowd of yers and native elves around the city square grewrger andrger.


    Themotion even got to a point that it finally drew the attention of Samuel, the Silver-rank Priest responsible for the operations of the temple in Florence, who immediately rushed to the scene.


    Then, as the elder elf stood rooted in ce, his gaze fixated on the dragon¡¯s majestic form after recalling the deep, ancient voice he had just heard, a spark of recognition dawned within his eyes:


    ¡°Alexius? Could it be the legendary golden dragon who venerates justice and has repeatedly fought against evil gods many times in the past? The same mythical dragon Alexius who possesses the strength of a demigod?¡±


    <em>A demigod dragon?</em>


    yers standing close to the elder elf who somehow overheard his murmurs were surprised yet also felt that it was expected.


    After all, only a demigod could exert such an oppressive aura¡­


    After recognizing the golden dragon¡¯s true identity, Samuel¡¯s expression turned solemn.


    As an elf who revered kindness and peace, he held great respect for morally just beings like the golden dragon Alexius.


    Turning to the yers around him, he instructed, ¡°Quickly, go inform Lady Alice.¡±


    After properly adjusting his attire, Samuel stepped out from the interior of the temple.


    Then, after directly meeting the dragon¡¯s slightly curious gaze, Samuel slowly approached, whilst tracing a symbol of the Scepter upon his chest before respectfully speaking:


    ¡°I, Samuel, the Silver-rank Priest who oversees this temple, humbly offer my respects to Lord Alexius. May I inquire what brings you here, my lord?¡±


    Generally speaking, a demigod can also be addressed as ¡°Your Majesty¡± or ¡°Your Excellency,¡± but in order to distinguish them from a True God, it is moremon to refer to them simply as Lord.


    ¡°Silver-rank Priest?¡±


    Samuel noticed a flicker of surprise cross the golden dragon¡¯s face as its vertical slit pupils focused on him.


    After the dragon raised its head, the elderly elf felt the weight of Alexius¡¯s gaze as the dragon looked down at him before responding in a deep voice:


    ¡°I am here to fulfill the covenant between His Excellency Reinhardt and Her Grace the Goddess of Life.¡±


    Immediately right after the dragon spoke, Alexius extended one of his massive ws.


    Then, in a sh of light, five enormous eggs, each asrge as a calf and dulled in color, appeared on the ground.


    <em>Dragon eggs?</em>


    Samuel¡¯s eyes widened.


    <em>A Covenant?</em>


    At the side, the onlooking yers watched in a mix of confusion and surprise before a new system message suddenly shed across their view:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾A new opening cinematic movie has been detected. Would you like to watch it now? ¡¿


    <em>A new opening cinematic?</em>


    Excitement red in the yers¡¯ eyes as each one of them quickly chose the option to watch it right there on the spot.


    Then, as they pressed the button, their visual screens dimmed, as it gradually transitioned into the new cinematic sequence.


    The start of the sequence revealed a tall, elegant looking elven man talking to a stunning maiden with silver hair and violet eyes.


    While the man was unfamiliar to the yers, the maiden, on the other hand, was instantly recognizable to everyone, as she was by far the most popr NPC character across the entire server¡ªEve, their faction leader and the very goddess herself to whom all yers swore loyalty into.


    <em>Whoa!</em>


    <em>A new cinematic sequence included the goddess herself!</em>


    Excitement sparked within each yer¡¯s heart as many instinctively began taking screenshots, since any scene with the goddess was noteworthy material that could potentially be made into a wallpaper.


    As the cinematic sequence gradually unfolded, the yers watched with a mix of curiosity, thrill, and eagerness.


    The screen shifted again, and the conversation between the elven man and the beautiful maiden resonated in their ears.


    ¡°Your Grace, Eve, Indeed, I am Reinhardt, the tinum Dragon King. Would you consider making a deal with me?¡±


    The elven man smiled as he spoke.


    ¡°A deal?¡±


    The silver-haired, violet-eyed maiden raised a brow, a blend of grace and yful charm within her expression.


    ¡°A Covenant¡­¡±


    Reinhardt replied.


    ¡°Specifically, each month, the dragons will either send five dragon beasts or wyverns, or bring five dragon eggs stripped of their markings. Please help purify their bloodlines¡­¡±


    ¡°And in return, I pledge that these purified dragons may stay here with you, and be able to forge bonds with your Chosen Ones and grow alongside them¡­¡±


    At his words, the silver-haired maiden smiled softly as though the entire world lost its color, paling inparison.


    ¡°I ept this Covenant.¡±


    the goddess, Ev¨¦ said.


    ¡°Well, here¡¯s to a fruitful cooperation¡­¡±


    The scene progressed forward, ending with the elven man transforming into a magnificent silver dragon before soaring off into the distance¡­


    Then in the end, these two lines of gleaming golden text appeared before each yers eyes:


    ¡°¡ªDragon God¡¯s Visit, Divine Covenant.¡±


    ¡°Dragon Companions, Now Officially Avable!¡±


    With that, the new cinematic sequence came to an end.


    Simultaneously, each yers visual perception quickly returned to the game world, and after a brief second of silence, the entire city square of Florence erupted in sheer excitement:


    ¡°Whoa! What in the feakin¡¯ hell!¡±


    ¡°Dragonpanions?!¡±


    ¡°Are the devs finally allowing us to have dragon familiars?!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve been waiting for this day to finally arrive!¡±


    ¡°Aahhh! Dragon knight! I am so going to be a dragon knight!¡±


    Watching the yers, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly erupt into strange excitement, the golden dragon Alexius looked on in utter confusion.


    What was with these elves?


    He nced at them curiously, feeling a bit bewildered.


    But just then, something stirred within him, and he abruptly turned his head back to the temple.


    In the next instant, a sacred hymn echoed through the air, holy and ethereal, carrying a profound sense of peace that enveloped everyone present.


    As the hymn rang out, countless green particles began to rise around them, dancing in the air like tiny fireflies. The nearby nts also reacted to it, growing rapidly as if infused with life itself. Leaves unfurled in vibrant shades of green, and blossoms burst forth in a riot of color, filling the surroundings with a sweet fragrance that wafted through the square.


    Then, all the nts in Florence bent their branches, bowing toward the top of the temple as if in worship, whilst a golden light started to gather above the temple.


    At that moment, a powerful, awe-inspiring presence descended from above, enveloping the entirerity of temple¡¯s premises in a shimmering holy glow.


    This radiant holy light took form midair, gradually shaping into a graceful figure that remained faintly visible, emanating an aura of both majesty and unapproachable sanctity, yet also inspiring a profound reverence and awe.


    The incorporeal divine figure in the sky was seemingly wearing avish gown adorned with patterns of nature and life, along with her silver hair cascading all the way down to her waist, and her deep, starlit amethyst eyes sparkled with a brilliant radiance¡­


    It was the Goddess of Life, Eve.


    The True God¡­


    ¡ªhas finally arrived.


    ¡ª <strong>440</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE TRUE GOD</strong><strong>FINALLY ARRIVES</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 441

    A gentle ripple of divine power radiated outward, its soft light nketing the surroundings as it expanded, touching each native elf and every yer alike, including the massive form of Alexius, the mythical dragon.


    To those present, it felt as though this soothing force brushed across their bodies.


    yers who had just returned from hunting outside, who were still bearing some fresh scars from recent battles, watched in awe as their cuts sealed and bruises vanished in an instant, leaving no trace behind.


    Meanwhile, those who had stayed up all night doing tasks noticed their fatigue diminishing almost entirely, leaving them renewed and full of energy.


    As for those native elves who had made their home in Florence, they too found that any of their lingering ailments, brought on by years of wandering and hiding, dissipated almost instantly.


    Even the mythical dragon, Alexius, felt an invigorating energy seeped into him, as his whole body rxed as if he had been reborn.


    This was the divine power of life at work, an entirely unique and unparalleled healing and restorative power, unmatched across the entire universe, which can restore vitality to the weakest of bodies and soothe the most troubled of souls.


    The Elven natives of Florence were visibly moved as they felt the drastic changes within their bodies.


    Some of the elderly elves, who hadn¡¯t yet borne witness to such a miracle since their return, were brought to tears by the mere sight of this holy light.A miracle!


    This truly was a miracle!


    Such blessings symbolizes the favor of their Patron Deity upon them!


    The native elves collectively knelt in reverence, each raising their voices in fervent praise one after another, proiming:


    ¡°Praise life, Praise nature, Praise the Great Goddess Eve!¡±


    These new liturgical phrase, which were subtly guided by Ev¨¦ herself, had by now been fully embraced by the natives.


    Thousands of elves cheered together, their unified voices rising like a tidal wave over Florence, which was quite a sight to behold.


    Alexius who was standing closest to Eve, also noticed something more¡­


    Feeling the divine energy that did not produce a sense of oppression but instead brought about a strong sense of reverence, and seeing how it affected everyone around him, this golden dragon¡¯s slit-pupiled eyes contracted in shock:


    What incredible mastery over divine power!


    <em>Is this¡­ the power of a supreme divinity?</em>


    <em>This Goddess of Life¡­ </em>


    Is definitely not a typical newly ascended deity!


    As the gentle ripples of life energy thoroughly enveloped Alexius, a moment of hesitation shed across his dark-golden eyes.


    After hesitating for a moment, he slightly lowered his head and said in a respectful manner:


    ¡°Your grace, thank you for your blessing.¡±


    ¡ªIndeed, blessing.


    Being enveloped with such a potent divine power was practically almost equivalent to receiving a divine blessing.


    Moreover, this blessing from the Goddess of Life also provided a significant boon to any beings like him who still hadn¡¯t ascended into Godhood.


    So even he, ¡°a golden dragon who was already a demigod, and whose physical form had transcended the ordinary, could still benefit from it.


    Well, at the very least, his next slumber would undoubtedly be of higher quality, since for older dragons like him who enjoyed prolonged slumbers that couldst decades or centuries, this blessing was indeed a very precious gift.


    In fact¡­ Alexius could even feel some of his age-dulled desires stirring back faintly due to receiving such blessing.


    And as for the yers present, they too would experience enhanced recovery and stamina speed for the next uing days.


    Feeling the changes within their body¡¯s state and gazing upon that holy and majestic, noble and beautiful figure suspended in midair, the yers were collectively awestruck.


    Most of those present were fourth-beta yers.


    Aside from their brief interaction back on the character creation screen the various clipped videos that have been widely circted on the Inte, this was actually their first time truly seeing the goddess¡¯s in person inside the game.


    Even though their rational minds kept reminded them this was only just a game, and despite them already familiar with the goddess¡¯s image, her wless appearance in person as well as the dramatic ¡°special effects¡± that apanied her arrival far surpassed their wildest imaginations.


    In fact, trying to describe this feeling in mere words alone was almost futile, the impact of seeing her in person felt as if they were struck directly at their souls, something no online screenshot or video could ever capture.


    It wasn¡¯t just that Eve herself was breathtakingly perfect; this awe was also the effect of true divine power.


    Although the yers were merely present through their consciousness, Eve¡¯s divine power could still affect them via the game¡¯s systemwork.


    Divine power is close to the essence of raw strength, naturally influencing mental faculties.


    As Eve¡¯s power returned in full, the effects of her divine disy now greatly exceeded what she could manage before.


    Thus, as she extended her divine blessing to the yers, they were inevitably touched by its power.


    Of course, this was unintentional on Eve¡¯s part.


    This was merely the high-level influence a mythical being passively exerts upon lesser beings.


    Actually, if such a being bore malicious intent, then this high-level influence could also even be a form of ¡°attack¡± against lower life forms.


    For instance, some ordinary mortals from merely a directing their gaze upon a true god could have their eyeballs burst or simply experience a full mental copse.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ had no such intentions and had only once used this high-level influence as an ¡°attack¡± in the past, back when she had been up against a group of orcs, who instantly ruptured their eyes.


    However, when it came to the yers and elves, Ev¨¦ preferred to use her passive influence to disy her might and benevolence.


    And inevitably, this effect would leave the yers overwhelmed, while a deep shock resonated through their senses and minds as each of them simply stood in a daze for several seconds.


    Only when the goddess, her figure cloaked in radiant light, descended to the ground did the yers finally snap out of their senses.


    They all stared at her noble figure, as their eyes widened with awe as she walked toward the golden dragon.


    Each of them was clearly moved by her presence while at the same time, murmured among themselves:


    ¡°It¡¯s the Goddess! Now that I¡¯ve seen her, she¡¯s definitely the most popr NPC in the whole server!¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ so it¡¯s true what Brother Mu said¡­ seeing the Goddess in person is on a whole different experience than merely watching her in videos and screenshots¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ those visual effects sure look insane!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in love! My waifu is amazing!¡±


    ¡°Back off, she¡¯s my waifu!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever like another NPC ever again¡­¡±


    ¡°NPC? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever fall for anyone in real life again after this¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided¡ªshe¡¯s my true love from now on!¡±


    One after another, such myriad of shocked, amazed, and even anxious exmations erupted from the surrounding yers, which confused the golden dragon but only elicited amused chuckles from the native elves, who were used to it by now.


    Nheless, amidst the excited chatter, Ev¨¦ finally stood before Alexius.


    She smiled softly, gave a small nod to him, then extended her right hand.


    A radiant divine energy then surged around her, as it gathered and coalesced into her hand before physically forming into a magnificent, sacred artifact.


    It was the Scepter of Life.


    Ev¨¦ raised it and pointed the scepter at the five dragon eggs resting before the golden dragon.


    In an instant, green particles of light swirled around the eggs, which were soon enveloped in a soft, ethereal glow.


    Then, as the light flickered, strange markings began to appear faintly on the surface of each egg.


    ¡ª <strong>441</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ EVE¡¯S</strong><strong>POWER</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 442

    The intricate markings seemed to carry a strange, mystical power for once they appeared, the five dormant and lifeless looking dragon eggs, suddenly all began to burst with vitality.


    Not only that, but as these markings spread further across each eggs, the aura around them also changed.


    Originally, the five eggs did not give any sort of special feeling, but there was now a slight sense of oppressive pressure within each one.


    It was the dragon¡¯s innate powers.


    A hazy glow flickered on the eggs for nearly a minute before it gradually faded.


    By this point, the five eggs werepletely covered inyers of strange yet beautiful markings.


    Seeing these patterns, the golden dragon, Alexius, suddenly became excited and almost lost hisposure:


    ¡°D-Dragon markings! It have truly appeared!¡±


    ¡°A miracle! This is the miracle of life!¡±He instinctively stood, wanting to lean closer for a better look. But, ncing at Ev¨¦ with her scepter in hand, Alexius forced himself to hold back.


    Thus, he could only stare at the dragon eggs, which was constantly generating patterns with a mixture of expectation, excitement, and awe.


    In that moment, he just looked like a father awaiting the birth of his children.


    Well, Alexius could not help but lose hisposure.


    Since for dragons, there is a world of difference between eggs with dragon markings and those without one.


    Throughout the universe, dragons are considered to be ancient creatures and are also one of the few remaining creatures with golden lineage to date.


    However, along with their immense power alsoes certain naturalws that restrict them, in which the most significant one being their bloodline inheritance.


    For any beings that possess strong bloodlines, their race¡¯s lineage gradually dilutes with each generation, weakening over time until it besmon and unremarkable.


    s, this process is why some ancient divine species eventually went extinct.


    However, fortunately for dragons, they possess a unique ability that couldbat this generational decline¡ªtheir dragon markings.


    These markings are unique patterns that can naturally appear on a newlyid dragon eggs, and having them imbues the egg with their race¡¯s heritage, which grants them the capability to awaken thetent bloodline within the unborn young dragon inside.


    Eggs that have dragon markings will produce hatchlings that are able to directly inherits the knowledge of their race and can also unlock their full bloodline potential, thereby allowing them to grow faster and stronger.


    In contrast, eggs without any markings shall result in the young dragon inside it to be unable to inherit their race¡¯s knowledge nor awaken their bloodline¡¯s potential.


    As a result, these markless dragons will inevitably suffer significant degradation in intelligence andtent ability, which leads to them resembling mere ordinary magical beasts once they grew up.


    These so-called draconic beasts, despite retaining the outward appearance of a dragon, inherentlyck their true power and potential.


    And so, they are treated by other fully marked dragons as no more than distant rtives of their kin, akin to some sub-dragon species.


    Thus, having these dragon markings on their eggs are essential for maintaining the purity of the dragon bloodline, which in turn, also ensures the race¡¯s survival up to this day.


    In contrast to their arch-rivals, the Titan, who fell into near extinction, leaving only remnants of their bloodline in the mighty Behemoths, they the dragons have still remained at the peak of power across the universe mainly due to these birth marks.


    This is why Alexius was so ecstatic at the sight of these dragon markings reappearing on each eggs.


    In general, dragon markings can only form while the egg is still inside the mother¡¯s body.


    However, once the egg isid, if itcks dragon markings, then they cannot form at that point any longer.


    Yet, what the Goddess of Life did just now have truly defied everything Alexius knew about his own race.


    These five dragon eggs which were originally markless had somehow miraculously acquired their dragon markings!


    This meant their race would soon to wee forth five whole new noble dragons with pure bloodline.


    And Alexius, being an old mythical dragon, understood all too well the profound significance behind this unfathomable phenomenon.


    The enormous golden dragon turned towards Ev¨¦ and bowed his head low in deep gratitude and sincerity.


    ¡°Praise to you, Great Goddess of Life! Today, you have shown me a new path for the future of our race!¡±


    Ev¨¦ epted his thanks with grace, gazing at the dragon eggs with a slight smile.


    ¡°All the five eggs have now regained their lost markings, just as I promised. I expect these hatchlings shall be born in about a week or so.¡±


    The Scepter of Life has the power to purify bloodlines, and the divine power of life can also elerate the growth of all living things, not just nts but other creatures as well.


    Therefore, dragons are no exception either.


    Normally, these dragon eggs, which had lost their dragon markings, would have still required several more years to hatch.


    However, with their bloodlines purified by the Scepter of Life and their potential awakened through the infusion of life¡¯s divine power, the development of these five dragonlings has been greatly elerated, meaning their bodies are nearly ready to be born already.


    Once they fully attune to their new dragon markings and receive their race¡¯s heritage, the hatchlings inside will be ready to finally break out of their shells.


    This process will take a week at most.


    Eve¡¯s voice was clear and melodious, with an ethereal, holy quality, as her words resonated throughout the skies of Florence, bringing a sense of peace.


    Hearing her words, the golden dragon Alexius looked at her with even deeper reverence.


    For a proud, ancient dragon like the Crimson Gold de, who had attained demigod status as a mythical dragon, this disy of heartfelt respect was so rare that it would astonish any other deities should they ever witness it.


    Once again, Alexius inclined his head toward Ev¨¦ and spoke in a sincere manner:


    ¡°Your Grace Ev¨¦, you truly are a friend of dragons. May your light shine forever upon the realm of Seig¨¹es.¡±


    ¡°ording to your agreement with His Excellency Reinhardt, these soon-to-be-born hatchlings will remain here in the Elven Forest and will be able to form apanionship pact with any of your followers.¡±


    Hearing the exchange between the golden dragon and the goddess, the yers eyes widened.


    <em>¡­Companion Pacts?! </em>


    All the yers currently present in the vicinity quickly turned their heads toward the five dragon eggs, their gazes brimming with excitement, eagerness, and a touch of greed.


    But as Alexius noticed their stares and meaningfully nced their way, the yers quickly adjusted their expressions, reining in their excitement.


    After all¡­


    By now, even the least attentive of them already knows how crucial a NPCs¡¯ favorability can be.


    Having dealt with ck dragon Meyer beforehand, they knew that these dragons are a very proud creatures.


    This golden dragon was clearly a powerful NPC, so it wouldn¡¯t be wise to anger him.


    After hearing Alexius¡¯s words, Ev¨¦ smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    With that, she briefly shone with radiant light and gradually faded from everyone¡¯s view.


    The goddess had immediately departed just as quickly as she initially appeared.


    Alexius respectfully bowed his head, watching as Eve disappeared, and didn¡¯t raise it again until he could no longer sense her divine presence.


    He then nced around at the curious yers on the surroundings, before focusing back on the five dragon eggs.


    Shrinking his form, he curled around the eggs and closed his eyes, resting as he awaited the moment these young dragonlings finally hatch.


    Seeing Alexius shift his attention away from them, the yers could finally sigh in relief.


    They then looked eagerly at the eggs he is protecting, as each of them barely contained their excitement.


    ¡°Hahaha! We can actually now form a pact with dragons!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve waited for this day for so long!¡±


    Everyone was feeling ecstatic at that moment, their hearts racing with anticipation, eager to witness the birth of the dragonlings.


    ¡ªUntil a quiet voice broke through their midst with a single important question.


    ¡°But guys¡­aren¡¯t there only five dragon eggs?¡±


    Almost immediately, a tense silence fell over the excited crowd. The realization hit like a cold wave, as everyone¡¯s mood abruptly shifted.


    This time, as the weight of the question hung in the air, the surrounding yers subtly nced at each other once more¡­


    But now, there was also apetitive edge present within each of their eyes.


    ¡ª <strong>442</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DRAGON EGGS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 443

    The Dragon Pact is finally here!


    With the release of new animated cutscene and the recording of a miracle in Florence going viral, this highly anticipated announcement has set the entire ElvKingmunity abuzz.


    Keywords such as dragon,panion pact, and goddess have once again flooded the forum¡¯s search inquiries, sparking excitement amongst the yerbase.


    Even the screenshot featuring the goddess wielding the Scepter of Life to ¡°bless¡± the dragon eggs in the presence of the reverently postured Golden Dragon, Alexius, quickly became the top search result on some wallpaper engines.


    Well, it¡¯s to be expected, since the character models and visual effects within Elven Kingdom are truly impressive.


    Although videos and screenshots only capture about half of the game¡¯s hyper realistic visuals, Elven Kingdom is still far ahead of other games.


    Not to mention its widely recognized number-one NPC in the entire server, the Goddess Eve herself.


    Despite her only appearing a few times and not interacting much with the yers, she still has the highest poprity amongst fans¡­


    Some yers even joke that half the game¡¯s development budget for NPCs must have been entirely spent upon the goddess alone to achieve such an effect.Nheless, out of the sixty thousand yers, only a fortunate few who happened to be in Florence at that moment saw the event live.


    As a result, many others who missed the live ¡°broadcast¡± regretted not being in Florence that day.


    They not only missed the entire sequence of the Goddess appearance but also being blessed by her.


    It¡¯s worth noting that those present at that time received a ¡°Blessing of the Goddess Eve¡± buff, which granted a three-day boost to the recovery rates of their health, mana, and stamina.


    Just missing out on that free buff alone was enough to make those yers who lost their chance turn green with envy¡­


    Florence¡¯s Central za.


    Alexius who was guarding the five colorful dragon eggs had be the center of attention for countless of yers.


    Having missed the goddess descent, more and more yers who arrivedte came to watch the golden dragon and the dragon eggs instead.


    Though most of them were already familiar with giant dragons thanks to their prior dealings with Meryer, with some of them even willingly serving as ckeys¡± just to collect his scales and saliva, they still couldn¡¯t help but notice the stark contrast between the two dragons.


    Alexius¡¯s radiant golden scales and noble, majestic appearance were far more captivating than Meryer¡¯s fearsome, intimidating look.


    After his arrival, the golden dragon, Alexius instantly became popr especially among female yers.


    Therefore, Alexius, even while resting with his eyes closed most of the time, was rapidly bing the newest attraction within Florence, with ¡®tourists¡¯ eager to take screenshots of him.


    In fact, were it not for the Golden Dragon¡¯s formidable presence, which radiated an aura that deterred strangers, yers would have likely have crowded around him by now.


    As a result, with his intimidating aura and imposing presence, the yers attention shifted entirely to the dragon eggs instead.


    Naturally Little Salty Cat was no exception to this.


    ¡°Dragon eggs! Companion Pacts! I want a dragon familiar too! But¡­ what requirements do I need to get one?¡±


    Little Salty Cat gazed longingly at the dragon eggs, guarded by the Golden Dragon.


    Thisrgest ¡®whale¡¯ on the entire server looked on eagerly as she gazed at the eggs. Beside her, Meryer who had transformed into a humanoid boy snorted and quickly corrected her.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®partner¡¯! A mighty dragon would never be a mere familiar!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but didn¡¯t you sign a master-servant contract with the goddess and be her pet?¡±


    Little Salty Cat covered her mouth, chuckling teasingly.


    Meryer: ¡°¡­¡±


    With a stiff expression, he shook his head.


    ¡°No! That¡¯s entirely different! How can the goddess bepared to mere mortals?¡±


    Then, ncing at Little Salty Cat, Meryer pouted in displeasure.


    ¡°Besides, you already have the support of this Lord, so why do you even need a dragon partner! Those hatchlings who haven¡¯t even broken out of their eggshells are much weaker than me.¡±


    Hearing Meryer¡¯s slightly resentful tone, Little Salty Cat chuckled.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the same! You¡¯re the goddess¡¯s chosen familiar, and a purple-ss NPC. I can¡¯t form a pact with you.¡±


    ¡°Tch, even without a pact, I¡¯m better than those hatchlings! Just give me a little time! It won¡¯t be a problem for this Lord once I reach legendary-rank! The goddess even told mest time that there¡¯s a chance I could be a Dragon God if I do well!¡±


    Meryer spoke with pride, though his gaze drifted over to the five dragon eggs in the distance, as a hint of hesitation crossed his face.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ maybe I could ask Her Majesty to allow me to sign apanion pact, too?¡±


    He muttered under his breath.


    A new oracle was issued from the Temple of Life the day after the golden dragon and the five eggs had garnered the attention of the yers.


    Especially it was about the Dragon Pact.


    Saintess Alice, acting on behalf of the goddess, informed the yers of the conditions for forming a dragon pact¡ª


    There were two primary ways to obtain a dragon contract.


    One, is toplete special quest and directly obtain the dragon pact rights as rewards.


    While the other is to be appealing enough to the dragon hatchlings once they are born and gain their approval.


    As soon as these conditions were announced, many yers immediately flocked to the forums and criticized these terms.


    ¡°This is something that only those elite and lucky yers could achieve!¡±


    They all sighed exasperatedly.


    Historically speaking, only those top-ranked yers couldplete these special quests.


    Whereas for the second method¡ªbeing appealing enough¡ªwell, that¡¯s really just a matter of luck, isn¡¯t it?


    Nheless, the yers grew even more excited¡­


    After all, luck is fair game¡ªit means anyone could have a chance.


    And without confronting the harsh reality, everyone could indulge in the hope that they just might be the lucky one.


    Of course, for most, that¡¯s nothing more than wishful thinking.


    The hype surrounding the dragons shouldst for at least many days.


    Simr to the yers, Ev¨¦ was also in a very good mood at this moment.


    The benefits of performing a divine descent in Florence had vastly exceeded her expectations¡­


    ¡°I was starting to worry that using so much of my divine power on performing a descent and blessing was too extravagant, but it seems that asionally showing miracles to my followers from time to time is still worth it,¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused as she looked over her personal status screen with satisfaction.


    At that moment, her status screen had some notable changes:


    ¡¾<strong>Name</strong>: Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient One) ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical-rank) ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Status</strong>: Lesser Divine Power ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Titles</strong>: Goddess of Life, Mother of Nature, Sovereign of Elves ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Power</strong>: 6713/10000 ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Believers</strong>: 2,565 (Saints: 1, Zealots: 128, Devout: 1,549, Casual Believers: 887) ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Abilities</strong>: Devour, Commune, Bestow, Enlighten, Heal, Summon, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain¡­ ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Divine Artifacts</strong>: Withering Heart (Damaged), Scepter of Life (Iplete) ¡¿


    The main changes were in her believer count.


    This time, performing a divine descent had cost her close to eighty divine power points.


    However, the impact was remarkable.


    Not only did she formally gain the respect and friendship of the dragons, but she also significantly bolstered the faith of the native elves!


    While the former was expected, thetter came as a pleasant surprise.


    ¡°It seems¡­ I¡¯ll need to showcase my divine powers like this for time to time. Just by performing a single descent and blessing them have strengthened the faith of nearly a thousand elven followers and even added twenty new zealots!¡±


    Ev¨¦ nodded slightly.


    It generates an intense surge of devotion when a believer strengthens their faith.


    The faith generated by these thousand believers alone was enough to offset the divine power that she initially used.


    Of course, Ev¨¦ knew such urance are rare¡ªthe first time would have the greatest effect, while subsequent disys would gradually lose impact¡­


    Such were the natural order of things.


    Still, it served as a valuable reminder.


    ¡°I should periodically demonstrate my powers to deepen their faith in the future.¡±


    While Ev¨¦¡¯s main n is to rely primarily on absorbing the powers of other evil gods to hasten her recovery, she still cannot neglect the power of faith.


    As time passed, she grew increasingly aware of the wonder brought about by the power of faith.


    Faith¡ª


    These spiritual energies seem toe out of nowhere, but they always carry incredible power.


    Although she only have a few thousand secr believers, the divine power brought by their sublime faith is even more powerful than the power possessed by these believers themselves.


    It was a hard concept to grasp but undeniably real.


    ¡°The power of faith¡­is far more profound than I initially thought. The rise of faith-based gods isn¡¯t without reason.¡±


    Ev¨¦ sighed.


    Unfortunately, her predecessor hadn¡¯t been interested in this power.


    As a consequence, Ev¨¦ was still struggling to understand how the power of faith worked and was unable to fully grasp the root cause of how faith strengthened one¡¯s divine power.


    For now, she could only convert her powers instinctively.


    ¡°One step at a time. For now, let¡¯s deal with the issue surrounding the demi-realm first.¡±


    Closing her status screen, Ev¨¦ once again shifted her focus back to the demi-realm.


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>43 ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ PRIVILEGE RESERVED FOR THE ELITE AND LUCKY PLAYERS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 444

    Under a dim and oppressive sky, streaks resembling lightning snakes slithered across the heavens, forming jagged, menacing cracks that twisted and shifted as if threatening to shatter it at any given moment.


    The air was still, utterly devoid of even the faintest breeze, which brought about an inexplicable sense of destion.


    The cries of despair and pleas for mercy that echoed through the surroundings only deepened the oppressive mood, gnawing at one¡¯s nerves.


    This scene unfolded in a small vige, nestled alongside the main road leading to the city of Seig¨¹es.


    On a broad dirt path right at the entrance of this vige, a woman in her twenties, dressed in a peasant clothing, clung desperately to the leg of a man wearing a priest¡¯s robe.


    Whilst sobbing uncontrobly, she begged, her voice choked with anguish:


    ¡°Father Priest, please! My child doesn¡¯t want to be a Child of Nature! He doesn¡¯t want to! Please! Please don¡¯t take him away! He¡¯s only four years old this year!¡±


    Yet the priest¡¯s face remained expressionless, cold as stone.


    Behind him stood a line of fully armed soldiers, their demeanor just as unyielding.At the center of it all was a horse-drawn carriage with high, barred sides. Inside, each children huddled together, wrists bound in iron shackles.


    Their cries and wails could be heard from afar, but neither the priest nor the soldiers showed the slightest trace ofpassion.


    A crowd of vigers stood at a distance, watching the scene unfold.


    Their gazes,den withplex emotions and muted sympathy, flickered between the children and the weeping woman.


    But when their eyesnded upon the priest and his escort, their expressions hardened into barely concealed hostility and resentment.


    Yet none dared to voice out their fury.


    They merely stood around in silence, helplessly observing as another young child was torn from his mother and shoved into the carriage by the soldiers.


    The child¡¯s cries joined the heart-wrenching chorus emanating from the other children.


    Meanwhile, the priest kicked the weeping woman aside with a callous precision. His vacant eyes fixed forward, his voice devoid of any warmth as he intoned:


    ¡°All who are blessed by nature are regarded as descendants of the Divine Creator. It is their rightful honor to be Children of Nature and assist in the revival of His Majesty, The God of Creation.¡±


    Without sparing the woman another nce, the priest gestured to the soldiers.


    At hismand, the emotionless soldiers adjusted their formation and advanced the carriage forward, escorting the priest as they departed the vige, their figures disappearing down the road.


    Only the woman was left kneeling on the ground, ovee by despair.


    As the priest and his escorts gradually disappeared from everyone¡¯s view, the vigers hesitated for a moment before finally stepping forward. With gentle hands, they helped the woman to her feet, her sobs racking her body as she struggled to regain some semnce ofposure.


    Seeing this, a wave of murmured sighs rippled through the surrounding crowd.


    ¡°Another one was taken¡­¡±


    ¡°The Church is getting worse and worse every year. Why can¡¯t they just let us live a peaceful life?¡±


    ¡°Shh! Keep your voice down. Youll be in trouble if the wrong person hears you¡­¡±


    ¡°Poor Nina. s, what could she do? Her child was born with an affinity for nature¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope her child bes a priest and not¡­ something else.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? So many children are taken every year, but how many ever return as priests? And look at those cold, unfeeling faces. Would you want your child to be one of them?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯d rather just pray that I never have a child with affinity to nature at all.¡±


    The vigers shook their heads and sighed, as each of their shoulders slumped under an unseen weight.


    None of them noticed a small, inconspicuous carriage parked nearby, silently observing the entire ordeal.


    Inside the carriage, Cbash retracted his gaze and frowned slightly:


    ¡°What the hell is up with this Church of Creation? Why do they keep forcefully taking away these children wherever we go?¡±


    The others in the carriage shared grim expressions.


    It had been three days since they left the town of Divine Grace and throughout their journey, every human settlement they passed through had revealed a simr, harrowing scene.


    Even though the five yers knew it was just a game, each of them after having immersed themselves deeply into their roles, couldn¡¯t help but feel a growing disgust toward the clergy of this corrupted church.


    Of course, their animosity was also fueled by their mission.


    Hence, the yers instinctively regarded these vigers andmon folk as members of their own camp, and they also suspected that these people might convert to believers of the Goddess once their task waspleted.


    In other words, these downtrodden locals might potentially be their allies in the future.


    That is why, at the beginning of their journey, the five yers would conceal their appearances and secretly rescue any children taken by the church theye across.


    After all, leveling up their favorability with these locals was also part of their strategy.


    However, after a few sessful attempts, their actions finally caught the attention of the Church of Creation, and in response, thetter began assigning soldiers to apany its priests.


    Boxlunch¡¯s team felt worried that they might arouse the enemy¡¯s suspicion and elevate their alertness if they intervened further, so they reluctantly stopped doing it.


    Nevertheless, their disdain for the Church of Creation only deepened.


    As they traveled, the carriage driver, who had been quietly observing their conversation, began to exin while steering the horses down the road:


    ¡°Ah, my lords, you may not know this, but the church uses this method to expand its clergy.¡±


    ¡°In the past, when the Divine Beings still walked among us and the church was seen as the beacon of hope for the masses, many viewed bing a priest as the highest honor.¡±


    ¡°But ever since every member of the Divine n vanished from the world, the church has be more unchecked and corrupt. They now enlist all children with affinities for nature and forcefullypel them to join the church.¡±


    ¡°Those children with potential are trained as priests, brainwashed to devote their entire lives to the Creator, while those without potential will be directly sacrificed as mere offerings¡­¡±


    ¡°Nowadays, aside from Divine Grace Town which is secretly hidden in the forbiddennd of the Elven Forest, every family that lives outside its borders must endure living in fear of their child being born with affinity to nature.¡±


    The driver let out a weary sigh.


    ¡°¡­.The church is nothing like it once was.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you resist?¡±


    Optimist asked.


    ¡°How could we resist?¡±


    The driver shook his head bitterly.


    ¡°The church controls the greatest force, with nearly all second-rank and higher experts affiliated with it. Who could possibly stand against them?¡±


    After hearing what the driver said, the five yers looked at each other and fell silent.


    Indeed.


    Although the local inhabitants of this demi-realm carried traces of elven blood within them and exhibited some extraordinary abilities, most were only at the apprentice rank.


    Very few ever reached the rudimentary Iron-rank.


    In fact, except for Elder Roergue, almost all intermediate Iron-rank experts they came across are clergymen and soldiers from the church.


    ¡°Is this the church founded by that guy who betrayed the Goddess? Honestly, it feels like just another cult to me.¡±


    Chopin muttered, shaking his head.


    The others nodded in agreement.


    They weren¡¯t inexperienced rookies anymore, and by now, it was pretty obvious to them how corrupted this church had be, even if their Big Sister Zero hadn¡¯t directly spelled it out for them.


    It was ringly obvious that the so-called Church of Creation had deviated far from the path of the proper religious institution it once was.


    Although it had once been seen as a beacon of faith, it had now imposed forced indoctrination onto its members, turning its clergymen from benevolent guides into ruthless oppressors.


    Worse yet, it also exploited suitable children as living sacrifices for their corrupted god.


    Combined with its harvesting of the demi-realm¡¯s life potential, the Church had clearly stood in direct opposition to the Goddess.


    The carriage rolled on for another quarter of an hour beforeing to a gradual stop.


    The driver¡¯s voice called from the front:


    ¡°My lords, we have finally reached the city of Seig¨¹es. This is as far as I can go, and I will not be able to apany you further inside.¡±


    Unaware of the yers¡¯ true identities, the driver only knew they were acting on behalf of Elder Roergue toplete a mission in the city.


    After hearing the driver¡¯s words, the five yers peered out of the window and saw a majestic city looming ahead, its architecture bearing a distinct elven influence.


    After dismounting from the carriage, they bid farewell to the driver, who turned back toward the road.


    ¡°Captain, what¡¯s our next move?¡±


    The rest of the team looked at their leader.


    Boxlunch reached into his coat and pulled out a crystal orb.


    At that moment, the orb was glowing faintly, pulsating as though reacting to some unseen force.


    This was the key item given to them by Elder Roergue, which is a device capable of detecting the presence of the Heart of Life.


    The orb¡¯s glow indicated they were getting closer to their target.


    Clutching the orb tightly, Boxlunch closed his eyes, focusing onto the signal.


    After a moment, he opened them again.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The group adjusted their gear and set off toward the city gates.


    ¡ª <strong>444</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE CORRUPTED</strong><strong>CHURCH</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 445

    Within the divine kingdom of the World Tree, Eve sat upon her divine throne, enjoying the crisp, sweet fruit brought by the Oak Guardians.


    As she savored the treat, she squinted her eyes and gazed at the scene before her.


    ¡°Is this the city of Seig¨¹es?¡±


    In front of her stood therge sand table she used to monitor the yers¡¯ actions, with five images projected above it.


    The angles of the images shifted constantly, changing with each yer¡¯s activities, but the content remainedrgely the same, which was a bustling cityscape.


    These projected images reflected the perspectives of the five members of Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    The city in question was, of course, Seig¨¹es City, the hearnd of this demi-realm and the primary stronghold of the Church of Creation.


    By the looks of it, this city surpassed even the capital of the Holy Maniya Empire¡¯s Maple Leaf Territory in its vibrancy and prosperity.


    Moreover, its architectural style clearly drew inspiration from the ancient elves, much like how the old buildings in Florence were majestically and elegantly built. However, possibly due to material limitations and the absence of the white marblemonly used in most Elven architecture outside of this demi-realm, the city predominantly featured gray stone, thereby giving it an ashen tone instead.


    Soldiers in full armor and priests donning gray robes and hoods could be seen patrolling the streets everywhere, their presencemanding an unspoken authority that permeated the air.


    Their faces were expressionless as they walked through the city and whenever a resident spotted these soldiers and priests, people would instinctively stopped and bowed their heads, remaining still until the entire procession passed.


    Only then did the locals resume their tasks, albeit moving more slowly and deliberately, as if the moment had left a lingering weight upon them.


    Judging by the looks of it, the city¡¯s poption was quite vast, and Eve estimated that it was likely evenrger than that of Maple Leaf City.


    Yet despite therge poption, Ev¨¦ also noticed that most of these local residents appeared numb, their eyes vacant and distant.


    Theycked the vibrancy and enthusiasm she had witnessed in the vigers outside the city.


    The contrast was striking.


    Even people like Lilia from Divine Grace Town, whom Ev¨¦ had seen in the yers perspective, radiated more warmth and liveliness than these city dwellers.


    It was unsettling, to say the least.


    Despite its prosperity, the city of Seig¨¹es gave off a stifling, dissonant atmosphere.


    ¡°This seems like¡­ mental maniption?¡±


    Ev¨¦ murmured, frowning slightly.


    Her gaze shifted across each projections and looked towards the city gate.


    She watched as some residents, before entering the city, exhibited lively expressions that gradually turned vacant upon entry. Conversely, those leaving the city, whose eyes had initially been empty, quickly regained their normal state, as if the numbing effect had somehow faded automatically.


    Seeing all this, Ev¨¦ raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it. It looks like anyone who enters this city is somehow being affected by a force that invades their mind, which could alter their thoughts.¡±


    ¡°However, this mind maniption seems to be localized and not entirely permanent. It appears to be limited to the vicinity of the city itself, and seems more like an attempt to conceal something within the city.¡±


    At that moment, Ev¨¦ suddenly sensed a familiar energy fluctuation, which is attempting to infiltrate her game systemwork.


    More specifically, it was attempting to invade the mind of Boxlunch and his teammates.


    Ev¨¦ was very familiar with this fluctuation as it was the same mysterious mental intrusion she had encountered back when she first tried entering this demi-realm.


    At the time, she had assumed it was the innate will of the demi-realm itself, but after learning about the so-called ¡®God of Creation¡¯ she now understood that it was some sort of emergency mechanism left behind by this slumbering entity.


    Clearly, this force was now targeting the yers.


    Nheless, Ev¨¦ did not immediately repel this invasive force, because in doing so, she would likely alert the enemy andpromised the mission of those five yers.


    So instead, she extended her right hand and summoned several vines, causing the space around her to twist slightly and create a crack in the fabric of space.


    At the same time, inside the Demon Labyrinth located at the roots of the World Tree¡­


    A group of yers found themselves under attack by a swarm of demons.


    Their situation seemed grim and hopeless, but without warning, a blinding sh of light erupted, followed by a vine streaking through the air.


    To these yers¡¯ astonishment, the vine that emerged from this seemingly small crack in space wrapped around the strongest of the demons, and with a piercing screech, it quickly dragged the demon in before disappearing entirely.


    Seeing the strongest demon being captured, the lesser demons scattered in panic, while a furious roar echoed throughout thebyrinth:


    ¡°Yggdrasill!¡±


    The surrounding yers stood frozen,pletely bewildered by this sudden turn of events.


    ¡°W-What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ looked like the goddess¡¯s vine?¡±


    ¡°Did the goddess saw that we couldn¡¯t win and somehow lend us a hand?¡±


    ¡°Wake up, we¡¯d have better luck getting a dragon familiar than that.¡±


    Simr events were unfolding simultaneously at various locations within the Labyrinth.


    Soon, Ev¨¦ had captured five powerful demons whose strength nearly reached the Gold-rank.


    Watching these trembling demons, with each of their tails tucked between their legs, Ev¨¦ shook her head slightly.


    ¡°That rascal Azazel really can¡¯t be underestimated. He managed to summon such strong demons without me noticing. It seems like he¡¯s not giving up just yet¡­¡±


    ¡°Looks like I still haven¡¯t squeezed him enough, since he¡¯s still secretly amassing the energy needed to create demons of this caliber. Hmm¡­ maybe I should just change this dungeon so that it can be refreshed every twelve hours from now on.¡±


    Ev¨¦ muttered to herself while deciding to increase the workload of a certain hardworking demon lord.


    She then redirected the invading force which is targeting Boxlunch¡¯s team to the five demons instead, causing them to bear the ¡®mental maniption¡¯ intended for those five yers.


    Immediately, Ev¨¦ noticed that the eyes of these five demons zed over almost instantly.


    At the same time, they also knelt on the ground, whilst profusely praising nature and life.


    Seeing this, Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Huh, it seems like this mental maniption can also strengthen the target¡¯s faith. It appears that this so-called ¡®God of Creation,¡¯ possibly the elven demigod Ouros, has directed his faith to be attuned with the Divinity of Nature and Life¡­¡±


    ¡°Should I call him ambitious, or is he simply overconfident?¡±


    If she had not been reincarnated as the World Tree, and if there were no one governing over the Divinity of Nature and Life, then this kind of faith attunement would likely have helped Ouros im those two divinity.


    However, now that Ev¨¦ controls the Divinity of Nature and Life, this power of faith can only be directed towards her.


    Of course, these five demons could never truly be her believers as being in this state was only temporary and this fake belief was done through mind maniption.


    Moreover, after having sessfully invaded the mind of these five demons, Ev¨¦ also confirmed another detail:


    Her divine rank must be higher than that of this ¡®God of Creation.¡¯


    Otherwise, her ¡®sleight of hand¡¯ trick would never have gone unnoticed by the other party, even if he were asleep.


    ¡°So, he really hasn¡¯t ascended to godhood yet?¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought deeply.


    ¡°Given that, it seems that the city residents¡¯ mental maniption is also directed at the Divinity of nature and life.¡±


    ¡°Logically speaking, after my resurrection, their faith should have reached me, but I haven¡¯t received any feedback at all, which means this ¡®Creator¡¯ likely used some special method to substitute the intended target so that he could receive it instead¡­¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m correct, it¡¯s probably because of the ¡®Heart of Life.¡¯ He might be using this fragment as a foci to collect the faith of the inhabitants of this demi-realm to strengthen his im over the Divinity of Nature and Life.¡±


    ¡°However, just doing this alone would likely be insufficient for him to fully im ownership over the Divinity of Life and Nature, right? Or perhaps he has some sort of secret or backup n that I don¡¯t know about?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I always have an uneasy feeling.¡±


    Eve thought about it and frowned slightly.


    As long as it does not involve confrontation between gods, the premonitions of deities would be very urate.


    ¡°But this mental maniption didn¡¯t detect me using my divine power at all, so it likely means that this ¡®Creator¡¯cks enough strengthpared to mine¡­¡±


    ¡°This mental probe probably is connected to his internal faithwork. He can block other divine beings from infiltrating through this mental pathway, but he can¡¯t prevent someone from breaking in from within!¡±


    ¡°That means I should be able to reverse-probe his current position.¡±


    With that thought, Eve¡¯s attention shifted to the crystal ball in the yers¡¯ possession, given to them by Roergue.


    However, Ev¨¦ felt that the crystal ball¡¯s sensing ability was still too vague. If the yers were to entirely rely upon it to locate the Heart of Life, then it would likely take them several days to do so.


    She was concerned that relying solely on this method would take too much time and pose a lot of trouble.


    Therefore, she immediately took action.


    Using her divine power, she essed the mental pathways of the five demons and initiated a reverse-probe¡­


    Ev¨¦ operated her intrusion very carefully, and the whole process surprisingly went on quite smoothly.


    As her divine power infiltrated the other party¡¯s mental pathways, Ev¨¦ quickly ¡®saw¡¯ a vast, sprawlingwork of faith.


    Countless brilliant lights of faith formed a densework, and a diamond-shaped crystal was constantly rotating at the center of it all¡­


    ¡°This¡­ it really is indeed thest fragment of the Scepter of Life!¡±


    Eve¡¯s mind jolted.


    She focused her divine energy, as her senses expand until she finally felt the precise pulse of the fragment¡¯s location.


    With a surge of power, her ¡®mind vision¡¯ flickered and began its journey beyond the material ne.


    Her consciousness slipped from the confines of the physical world, before diving into the void wherein she ¡°saw¡± the entire city of Seig¨¹es appeared before her.


    As her mental probe traveled across time and space, she passed over the towering spires of the city¡¯srgest cathedral, before entering the underground pce buried deep beneath it.


    And there, within the pce¡¯s heart, she finally found it:


    ¡ªA massive crystal coffin.


    Floating above it, was Scepter of Life¡¯sst fragment, surrounded by countless starlight rays.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡±


    Eve felt a surge of joy within her heart.


    After noting the fragments exact location, Ev¨¦ nned to withdraw her mental probe.


    But just before she could withdrew herself, her ¡®sight¡¯ briefly lingered upon the crystal coffin beneath the fragment.


    In that brief moment, Eve¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she almost lost control of herself.


    Because inside the crytal coffin, thereiny an elven girl with her eyes closed.


    The girl was wearing an exquisite white gown with wless features and silver hair cascading beside her.


    But the most shocking of all is that the girl¡¯s appearance was almost identical to Eve¡¯s.


    ¡ª <strong>445</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ANOTHER ¡®EV¨¦¡¯ </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 446

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? City of Seig¨¹es.


    Everyone within Boxlunch¡¯s team donned their hoods, as they moved cautiously through the shadows of the city streets.


    ¡°That crystal ball¡¯s fluctuations are too faint. At this rate, who knows how long it¡¯ll take us to find the target.¡±


    Cbash muttered, frowning as he scratched his head while eyeing the softly glowing orb in Boxlunch¡¯s hands.


    He was about to say more when an inexplicable feeling gripped him, causing Cbash to pause mid-step.


    At the same time, the rest including Boxlunch, felt a sudden and unshakable premonition, like a ripple coursing through the air.


    Then they noticed something unsettling:


    ¡ªEvery pedestrian on the street had eerilye to an abrupt halt altogether.


    It was as if they had all received some silent cue, turning the once-bustling city eerily still, its oppressive atmosphere now tinged with uncanny horror.Altogether, the frozen residents opened their mouths and began chanting in unison:


    ¡°All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!¡±


    Their faces remained expressionless as they all hauntingly prayed.


    Then, after a couple of tense silence passed, the residents who were standing nearest to Boxlunch and the others all simultaneously turned their eyes towards them.


    These people looked at the yers with empty eyes, like emotionless machines or lifelike dolls, whilst they kept repeatedly chanting¡­


    ¡°All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!¡±


    ¡°All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!¡±


    ¡°All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!¡±


    Under the weight of these soulless stares and their monotone chants, the five yers felt a chill crawl down their spines.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look them in the eye. Just imitate them and pretend to also pray along.¡±


    A familiar voice suddenly echoed within their minds.


    It was Zero.


    Surprisingly, her voice just now sounded a bit weary.


    Following her instructions, the five yers immediately mimicked the local residents, lip-synching the same words being chanted by everyone around them.


    As they did, the residents¡¯ attention slowly shifted away from them, focusing instead on the grand temple in the city center.


    The synchronized, emotionless chanting echoed across the whole city, reverberating ominously through the air.


    It continued for a full minute before graduallying to an end.


    Then, as if released from a binding spell, the residents all resumed their activities as though nothing had happened.


    Seeing this, the five yers exhaled in relief.


    ¡°¡­.What just happened?¡±


    One of them asked, still shaken.


    ¡°It was the enemy searching for intruders. Something had alerted them to our presence, though it seemed they only had suspicions for now. We managed to pass unnoticed.¡±


    Zero¡¯s voice exined once more.


    <em>Did something happen?</em>


    <em>Could it be rted to our arrival?</em>


    The five yers pondered but Zero offered no further exnation, but given the timing, the yers couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was rted to them.


    At that moment, their expressions grew tense, fearing that the entire quest would fail if as though one mistake could jeopardize everything.


    As if sensing their unease, Zero spoke again, her tone calm but firm:


    ¡°Don¡¯t me yourselves. I did something to pinpoint the exact location of the Heart of Life, which caused this disturbance.¡±


    ¡°But in return, I¡¯ve managed to sessfully locate the exact coordinates of the Heart of Life. I¡¯ll share them with you¡ªproceed there immediately as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°The Creator¡¯s contingency mechanisms have already begun activating. The longer you dy, the greater the risks will be. You must secure the Heart of Life as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°In addition, you must also prepare to summon the other Chosen Ones now. I have already prayed to the Matriarch and received Her acknowledgment. From this point forward, cross-realm transmission shall be permitted.¡±


    With her words still lingering within their minds, the five yers¡¯ vision suddenly changed as a marker pinpointing the exact coordinates of the Heart of Life appeared on each of their in-game mini-maps.


    The yers felt a surge of excitement.


    <em>They finally got the coordinates! </em>


    Nodding solemnly, the five immediately set off towards the direction indicated on the minimap.


    Meanwhile, after pointing out the exact location of their target, Ev¨¦ could finally exhale in relief.


    Recalling what she had seen while infiltrating the enemy¡¯swork of faith, her thoughts lingered upon the figure inside the crystal coffin, which looked perfectly just like her.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this demi-realm to still hold the sealed body of my predecessor. If I¡¯m not mistaken, that must be an incarnation of the previous World Tree.¡±


    Naturally, the previous World Tree also had her own incarnations.


    As a powerful ancient god who governed over the Divinity of life, the previous World Tree¡¯s incarnation was not only a True Body but also possessed quality at a divine level.


    Ev¨¦ had always believed these incantations were destroyed during the Heavenly War, but now it was clear that one of them had been brought into this demi-realm.


    At that moment, she finally understood where the confidence of the God of Creation came from, and began piecing together therger picture.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s just an incarnate body, it was still created by my predecessor. Its capacity to channel the divine power of nature and life, coupled with its intrinsic mastery of thosews, probably rivals that of a genuine artifact.¡±


    ¡°Most likely, the Creator ns to ascend into Godhood not just through the use of the fragment of the Scepter of Life, but primarily through that incarnate body.¡±


    ¡°While it may be impossible for him to ascend by iming both the Divinity of Life and Nature, he could still im closely rted Divinities by leveraging that incarnate body for his ascension.¡±


    Of course, Ev¨¦ had also considered the possibility that the other party was attempting to reawaken the World Tree using this method, which, in hindsight, was not necessarily a betrayal.


    However, after carefully reviewing the teachings of the Church of Creation, she quickly identified a w in this theory.


    If their intention was to truly awaken the World Tree, then their doctrine should have been focused entirely on directing their faith toward the World Tree¡ªor the ¡®Mother of All Gods¡¯¡ªrather than the God of Creation.


    Yet, both the doctrines and the legends of the church have downyed the existence of the World Tree and even the elves.


    Furthermore¡­


    Ev¨¦ turned her gaze to the five demons standing nearby that she had ¡®experimented¡¯ on.


    By now, their appearances had undergone a dramatic transformation.


    Their scales had grown tougher and their bodies expanded severalfold, whilst their auras surged as they fully ascended to the gold-rank, bing greater demons.


    Not only that, but they were now also surrounded by a thick ck miasma, which was the power of the Abyss.


    Nheless, despite their newfound power, these five demons still cowered before Ev¨¦ , tails tucked, trembling like frightened pups.


    Their transformation was no random urrence and was triggered by that mental maniption they experienced.


    Just as Ev¨¦ was retracting her mental probe earlier, a powerful force from the Abyss surged through the other party¡¯s mental pathways.


    Although it did not affect her or the five yers, it directly impacted these demons instead.


    Since it came from the other party¡¯s mental pathways, it was ringly obvious that the source of this Abyssal power was none other than the slumbering Creator!


    ¡°I never expected this ¡®God of Creation¡¯ to have truly fallen. I wonder if this happened before or after he went into hiding within that demi-realm.¡±


    Eve muttered, shaking her head.


    ¡°Fortunately, my mental probe didn¡¯t wake him up. Otherwise, things could have gotten really problematic.¡±


    A demigod who has fallen into the Abyss is not just an ordinary opponent; it is a god who has lost his sanity, making it far more troublesome than any other typical demigod since he could resort to drastic actions.


    Him merely destroying the demi-realm would be the least of her concerns.


    If she truly decided to fight him, then the other party might even sacrifice himself to destroy the demi-realm, twisting the very fabric of space, and opening a gate directly into the Abyss.


    It would be absolutely disastrous if that scenario were to ur.


    The entire realm of Seig¨¹es would face an invasion from the Abyss, and the Elven Forest would undoubtedly be the first to suffer.


    At that point, the whole area within her jurisdiction would be the main focus of everyone in the entire universe.


    If this scenario were to actually ur, Ev¨¦ was fairly certain that revealing her real identity would be unavoidable.


    ¡°Taking a nce at that coffin before I left must have disturbed the other party¡¯s soul. From the residents¡¯ reactions, it seems their emergency protocols have already been triggered¡­ Praying to their Creator? It seems he¡¯s trying to awaken himself.¡±


    ¡°However, even if they do awaken, it will still take some considerable time. As long as I can find a way into that pce and obtain the Heart of Life before that happens, then I¡¯ll secure an unbeatable position!¡±


    From her recent mind probe, Ev¨¦ had confirmed a few things.


    First off, the ¡®Creator¡¯ had indeed fallen into a deep sleep.


    Chances are, he can only rely upon the fragment of the Scepter of Life to maintain the entire operation of hiswork of faith and retain control over this demi-realm


    Secondly, based on her observations, Ev¨¦ realized that the Creator did not have absolute control over the entire demi-realm and the Heart of Life yed a vital role in this.


    If the yers could obtain this fragment, then the other party would not be able to fully control this demi-realm for a while even if the Creator awakened.


    That would give Ev¨¦ the opportunity to descend into this demi-realm.


    As long as the Creator couldn¡¯tpletely dominate the demi-realm, Ev¨¦ would be able to perform a divine descent to some extent!


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ connected to the game system once more and officially activated the summoning quest.


    ¡ª <strong>446</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ TRUE INCARNATION</strong><strong>OF THE WORLD TREE</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 447

    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Hidden Quest</strong>: ¡°Heart of Life¡± Summoning is now Acitve!]


    ¡¾yers already participating in the event can expend their mana to summon other yers in your contacts as a friend. For a cost of 500 MP, one yer at level 31 or higher (minimum level 31) can be summoned.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Summoning Reward</strong>: For every yer summoned, the summoner shall gain 1% of the summoned yer¡¯s EXP earned throughout the entirety of the event, until the summoner dies.¡¿


    ¡¾The official summoning feature will be activated once the first batch of other yers enters the event.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>First Batch of yers</strong>: Boxlunch, Cbash, Chopin, Optimist, IAmInvincible.¡¿


    As the system notification chimed, the new quest details appeared on the interface of every yer currently online in the game.


    yers, whose attention had initially been captured by the arrival of the Dragons, now shifted their focus back to Boxlunch and his group:


    ¡°Oh wow! Is this quest finally avable?¡±¡°We can be summoned? And anyone who summons us gets 1% of the EXP we umte during the event as a reward? Doesn¡¯t that mean the summoner can just keep summoning other yers to passively farm EXP?¡±


    ¡°Wake up! It costs 500 MP per summon. Plus, it says you can only summon yers you¡¯ve added as friends in your contacts, so you can¡¯t just summon random people. Also, how much mana do you even have as a warrior?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­only 500 MP in total¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m a mage with almost 8,000 MP. Guess who¡¯sughing now? Haha!¡±


    ¡°Heh, do you even have high-level friends in your contacts that you can summon?¡±


    ¡°¡­Goddamn it! I barely know any!¡±


    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m friends with Boss Chopin. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to be summoned in this event!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous! Hey boss, please take me with you!¡±


    Excitement and anticipation rippled through the yer base.


    After all, the ¡°Heart of Life¡± quest not only promised substantial rewards which amounts to 50,000 experience points, 3,000 contribution points, and 50 ressurection coins but also seemed to feature numerous new enemies to defeat.


    This is alreadyparable to the rewards being given to main questlines.


    Unsurprisingly, as a result, the friend requests for every member of Boxlunch¡¯s team skyrocketed, quickly overwhelming their inboxes.


    The numbers on their notification icons soon disyed ¡°99+,¡± especially for the two spellcasters: Cbash the Mage and Chopin the Druid.


    Cbash stared at the endless stream of friend requests he keeps getting along with the passionate private messages flooding his chatroom. He sighed dramatically and eximed, ¡°Never thought I¡¯d see the day when I¡¯d be this popr. I¡¯m so touched.¡±


    Meanwhile, Optimist was checking his live stream dashboard, his eyes wide with excitement.


    ¡°Holy crap! Over 20,000 people are currently watching my stream! Isn¡¯t this the kind of viewer count only top streamers can get?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited dude. They¡¯re just watching your stream to see us summon other yers. Believe it or not, your number of viewers will immediately plummet right after we start summoning people.¡± Cbash teased.


    Optimist rolled his eyes in mock frustration.


    ¡°I know that! Just let me enjoy myself being a top streamer for a little while, okay?¡±


    The five yers chatted casually as they proceeded with their task, making swift progress.


    After Zero provided the exact coordinates of their target and with Chopin¡¯s [Heart of Nature] spell to assist them, the team swiftly found a route to the underground pce through the city¡¯s sewer system.


    This pcey beneath the Grand Cathedral of the city, but its surface was heavily guarded by elite troops. Fortunately for them, however, the sewers offered a hidden route, for which directly leads into the interior of the cathedral.


    s, the city¡¯s sewage system were not quite peaceful after centuries of neglect.


    By now, this sprawling undergroundwork had already developed its own ecosystem, with its sludge concealing a vast amount of ferocious creatures.


    These monsters, d in ck scales and exuding a corrupt and malevolent aura, made the yers frown in disgust.


    ¡°These creatures feel¡­ oddly familiar.¡±


    ¡°Let me appraise them¡­ Huh? Corrupted underground demon fish? Corrupted Aquatic Lizard? Dammit, all the creatures here have been tainted by the power of the Abyss!¡±


    ¡°The power of the abyss¡­?¡±


    Each of the five yers¡¯ expressions gradually turned serious.


    Yet, amidst the gravity of the situation, they also felt a tinge of excitement.


    In all seriousness, the presence of these monsters with the power of the Abyss carries ominous implications, as their past experiences with simr quests had shown that anything that is remotely connected to the Abyss will inevitably involved Evil Gods down the line, making such quests highly dangerous.


    Nheless, these kinds of quest is still really exciting simply because anything involving Evil Gods also promised generous rewards.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ that this so-called God of Creation is actually an evil god?¡±


    This thought briefly crossed their minds.


    Regardless, despite encountering numerous monsters corrupted by the Abyss in the sewers, the five yers faced little resistance as they moved forward.


    The reason?


    It was simply because the mana level of this demi-realm was far too low. Even the strongest monsters they encountered barely reached Silver-rank, and they hardly encountered any of these monsters to begin with.


    The five of them are more than enough to handle any monsters.


    Moreover, most creatures within the sewers seemed to avoid their group entirely, almost immediately retreating the very moment they sensed their presence.


    Essentially, every living being that inhabits this demi-realm has its lifeforce drained away, leaving them with practically no chance of ever growing beyond the Silver-rank.


    The asional sightings of a low Silver-rank monster was already unprecedented enough and given the yers¡¯ current power levels, thetter were virtually invincible here.


    After turning off their sense of smell, the five crawled through the sewers, whilst asionally swimming through sludge and murky water.


    After several hours, they finally arrived at their destination.


    Emerging from the filthy waters, the five yers looked ahead and saw a magnificent pce.


    The colossal structure was supported by rows of massive stone pirs, and its cavernous ceiling was embedded with countless glowing stones, as these stones sparkled like a starry sky in the darkness.


    Surprisingly, seeing this scenery somehow reminds them of something.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ isn¡¯t this the same temple we saw back when the Goddess first appeared? The one where Demacia and his group was invited to enter it?¡±


    Optimist, who had a good memory, furrowed his brows thoughtfully.


    The others paused, recalling the event, and soon nodded in agreement.


    For the yers, this resemnce was merely a visual simrity, but for Eve, it held far deeper significance, as this underground pce was modeled after the temple built by the former World Tree within her Divine Kingdom.


    The yers finally climbed out of the water and onto the shore whilst staring at the pce in admiration.


    The sewage sludge stuck deep in their bodies, making it almost impossible for anyone to recognize their original appearance beneath the filth, and the smell they emitted was extremely nauseating.


    If not for their ability to disable their sense of smell through the system and their mindset of treating this as just a game, the five yers likely wouldn¡¯t have ventured into the sewers in the first ce.


    However, it was still essentially a game.


    So as long as they were able to make a profit, the five of them would almost do anything, including swimming in nauseating sludge infested with corrupted monsters.


    The pce had no visible doors¡ªjust two massive stone pirs marking the entrance. Along its sides stood two rows of humanoid statues.


    Each of the statue designs was quite diverse; some of which resembled elves, while others looked like half-elves, and some were even distinctly human in appearance¡­


    There were easily hundreds of them, and they stood there like silent guards protecting the pce.


    After they used the [Cleanse] spell to remove the grime from their bodies, the five yers steeled themselves before cautiously approaching the vicinity of the pce.


    However, just as they were about to step past the threshold, a faint energy ripple suddenly emanated from the stone pirs.


    In an instant, all the statues¡¯ eyes lit up.


    Under the yers¡¯ astonished gazes, all the statues began to emit a deep glow. The stoneyers covering their bodies peeled away, revealing lifelike forms beneath.


    Then, they moved.


    ¡°sphemers! How dare you trespass upon the sacred resting ce of the gods!¡±


    A chilling voice echoed as the now-animated statues raised their weapons and charged toward the yers.


    Their presence was overwhelming with even the weakest among them being at the peak of Iron-rank, while the strongest had even reached upper Silver-rank strength.


    The five yers froze momentarily, startled by the sudden assault.


    At the same time, Zero¡¯s clear, melodious voice echoed within their ears:


    ¡°These are the guardians of that pce! Quickly, summon the other Chosen Ones!¡±


    Hearing this instruction, the eyes of the five yers swiftly lit up.


    ¡°The other can finally participate? We can now summon our reinforcements!¡±


    The rest turned to Cbash and Chopin, who nodded in agreement.


    Without hesitation, the two selected their prearranged friend lists and activated the summoning option beside each usernames.


    Whilst shouting the phrase they had prepared in advance, they eximed:


    ¡°Go ahead, Let¡¯s go Pikachu!¡±


    In an instant, golden light enveloped the two spellcasters, and they felt their MP being rapidly drained.


    At the same time, glowing summoning arrays began forming on the ground around them.


    As radiant light and intense spatial distortions filled the area, silhouettes of tall figures started emerging from the array.


    Simultaneously, excited shouts were hearding from it:


    ¡°Haha! I¡¯ve been summoned! Someone actually let me in to the event!¡±


    ¡°What the hell? Let¡¯s go Pikachu? Can you guys take this seriously?¡±


    ¡°Fuck, there¡¯s so many enemies!¡±


    ¡°Fight! Fight!¡±


    The battlefield erupted into chaos.


    ¡ª <strong>447</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SUMMONING PLAYERS </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 448

    With a ripple in space, the yers arrived one by one.


    As each of them had already prepared everything they need for battle beforehand, the summoned yers immediately located the ¡®reanimated¡¯ statues upon entering the battlefield and began engaging them inbat.


    At this moment, however, these reanimated statues underwent a strange transformation.


    ck miasma began to wrap around them and sinister patterns emerged upon their surfaces, which somehow made their aura and strength surged to an even greater degree.


    If not for their apparentck of consciousness and merely relying on sheer instinct to fight, the yers might have found themselves overwhelmed in an instant.


    And with the ¡®reawakening¡¯ of the first batch of statues, more and more stone guards which was situated further at the rear continued toe to life, and their numbers far exceeded those of the first batch.


    Initially unnoticed in the darkness, the esction of the battle illuminated the pce grounds due to a bursts of magic, thereby revealing the sheer scale of the enemy.


    Thousands of these statues stood ready at the rear, their overwhelming numbers finallying into everyone¡¯s view.


    To make the matters worse, one by one, these reanimated statues also began to move, joining the assault on the yers.In an instant, chaos erupted outside the pce as yers and reanimated statues shed in a fierce melee battle.


    ???


    ¡°So, that¡¯s it,¡± mused Ev¨¦, whilst observing the battle unfold through each yers¡¯ perspective from the World Tree¡¯s Divine Kingdom.


    ¡°These reanimated statues must contain the spirits of those fallen ancient elves. As for those who don¡¯t resemble elves, they likely must be the devout believers of the God of Creation who perished sometime in the past.¡±


    Ev¨¦, having a divine sense had easily recognized the true nature of these statues.


    ¡°It seems that they did not be petitioners, but their bodies were preserved as statues, corrupted and demonized by the power of the Abyss, thereby granting them a twisted form of new life.¡±


    Ev¨¦ shook their head in quiet disapproval.


    ¡°In essence, they¡¯re no different from the undead.¡±


    This realization of hers also brought about another troubling issue to light:


    By now, the souls inside these stone guards had likely been fully corrupted by the Abyss.


    As such, they had already lost their sense of self and any chance of entering the cycle of rebirth, reduced to mere puppets destined to fight endlessly at the whims of their evil master¡­


    For any sentient being, such fate is far crueler than death.


    Sighing softly, Eve¡¯s gaze returned to monitoring the ongoing battle.


    ???


    Every summoned yer was an experienced yer and so they were able to quickly adapt to the situation.


    Each of them had formed a small partyposed of three to five members while also coordinating their attacks with the other parties to better counter the pce guards.


    The mor of battle rang out loudly in the surroundings, as the shing of des, whizzing arrows, explosive magic, and the shouts andughter of yers blended into a chaotic symphony within the battlefield.


    The weaker reanimated guards were swiftly defeated, either cut in half by concentrated attacks or obliterated by waves of magic spells.


    Though the statues¡¯ bodies wereposed of hardened flesh, the blood that oozed from them had an unsettling ck tint, and their vitality was almost unnaturally resilient.


    Unless their bodies werepletely destroyed, even decapitation barely diminished their fighting capabilities.


    In every sense, they resembled the undead, both in characteristics and mannerisms.


    Fight against such abominations would no doubt terrify any conventionalbatant.


    Unfortunately for them, the opponents they were facing at the moment are the yers.


    The stone guards¡¯ undead-like tenacity only served to ignite the yers¡¯ fighting spirit.


    Every yer on this battlefield was at least an upper Iron-rank expert.


    Among them, even the fourth-beta yers are no longer the same as before and have be more experienced inbat, after experiencing prior battles and refining their skills.


    They coordinated perfectly with one another, remaining calm as they tenaciously held their ground against the relentless onught of the pce guardians.


    Although some unlucky individuals fell to the enemy¡¯s attacks, anyone that died were swiftly reced by newly summoned yers, which continuously bolster their ranks.


    Overall, the number of yers on the battlefield was steadily increasing.


    ???


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the number of upper Iron-rank yers has already surpassed ten thousand. With over a hundred Silver-rank yers added to that, handling these mindless pce guardians shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them.¡±


    Eve reflected.


    ¡°My real concern though is that this battle could awaken the slumbering God of Creation. So the yers must retrieve thest fragment of the Scepter of Life as soon as possible.¡±


    With a slight movement of her divine power, Ev¨¦ once again sent a message to every member of Boxlunch¡¯s team:


    ¡°Don¡¯t get bogged down in fighting¡ªenter the pce quickly and retrieve the Heart of Life!¡±


    Her crisp andmanding voice echoed in the minds of these five people, which instantly extinguished their enthusiasm for battle against the stone pce guardians.


    Exchanging quick nces, the five of them nodded in agreement and decided to leave the battlefield.


    Using the distraction created by the other yers battling against the stone guards, everyone in Boxlunch¡¯s team covertly sprinted toward the pce.


    Without further obstacles, the five yers smoothly entered the underground pce.


    Its inside was farrger and more opulent than they had anticipated.


    Its central hall was dominated by countless steps leading upward, where at the summit rested a dazzling crystal coffin.


    Behind the coffin loomed an enormous mural, depicting a hooded figure strikingly simr to the statue of the Creator they had seen at Elder Roergue¡¯s abode.


    Above the coffin, a radiant diamond-shaped crystal hovered, pulsating with brilliant light.


    It shimmered with a grandeur as if it were the center of the world itself, and in that fleeting moment, the five yers seemed to glimpse an etherealwork spreading outward from it, connecting the world with invisible threads.


    At this very moment, they all had some kind of enlightenment within their hearts.


    This crystal must be what they are looking for!


    Cbash¡¯s voice trembled with excitement as he pointed to the glowing crystal ball in Boxlunch¡¯s hand.


    ¡°That crystal is definitely our target¡ªthe Heart of Life!¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s eyes sharpened with determination.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The five yers nodded and charged up the steps in unison.


    As they advanced, Cbash and Chopin chanted some spells, whilst their staffs glowed brightly.


    The former cast [Mage¡¯s Hand], while thetter released [Vine Surge], as both spells swiftlyunched towards the Heart of Life.


    Both spells soared toward the hovering crystal, but just as they were about to reach it, they struck an invisible barrier and dissipated into nothingness.


    The two spellcasters paused, clearly stunned that their spells failed to do anything at all.


    Refusing to ept defeat, they then tried again and again, but s, each of their attempts failed.


    It looked as if the Heart of Life were encased in an imprable shield, and each spell that drew near it immediately faded into oblivion upon approaching within half a meter of the crystal.


    ¡°Is this¡­ magic immunity?¡±


    one of them muttered in disbelief.


    The Heart of Life floated high above the crystal coffin, suspended at least ten meters above the floor, which was too high for any melee attacks to reach.


    At that moment, the voice of Godwarden Zero, resounded within their ears:


    ¡°It¡¯s the crystal coffin! The coffin is engraved with a magical formation that¡¯s protecting the Heart of Life.¡±


    ¡°To retrieve the Heart of Life, you must first destroy the formation that was engraved into that coffin.¡±


    ¡°The magic formation looks integrated with the coffin itself. If you can open the coffin, then the formation will be disrupted!¡±


    ¡°Focus on opening that coffin!¡±


    ¡°Additionally, the body within that coffin is also crucial to your mission. Securing it is just as important to your sess.¡±


    ¡°Both the Heart of Life and the body must be obtained at all cost. This is the key to defeating the God of Creation.¡¯¡±


    <em>The body inside the coffin?</em>


    The five yers hesitated for a moment, exchanging puzzled looks.


    At the front, the tank Optimist took the lead.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it!¡±


    With a mighty leap, he swung his greatsword down toward the lid of the coffin.


    The glowing edge of his weapon struck with full force, sparking brightly against the coffin¡¯s crystalline surface.


    Yet it still remained unscathed.


    Undeterred, Optimist jumped again, this time aiming to strike from above.


    However, as he rose in mid-air and raised his de for another swing, Optimist¡¯s eyes brieflynded upon the figure inside the crystal coffin.


    In that instant, his eyes widened in sheer disbelief, as if he had just seen a ghost.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± he blurted out, his voice cracking.


    ¡°The G-Goddess?!¡±


    ¡ª <strong>448</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ THE GODDESS!? ¡¿ </strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 449

    ¡°The Goddess? What goddess?¡±


    The rest of the team looked baffled.


    They could only watch as Optimist¡¯s face disyed a myriad of expressions, ranging from awe to delight, to confusion, before settling into a look of sheer excitement, all shing across his face like a chameleon changing colors.


    He stood motionless in front of the crystal coffin, seemingly forgetting tounch his attack.


    ¡°What are you standing there for? Open the coffin already!¡±


    Cbash urged him, darting to the crystal coffin as well.


    But when he finally got a clear look inside, his eyes also widened in shock and he blurted out,


    ¡°What the¡­?! T-The Goddess?!¡±


    ¡°Captain! Chopin! Invincible! Get over here! You have to see who¡¯s lying inside this coffin!¡±He spoke excitedly, almost to the point of incoherence.


    After hearing this, the rest of the team quickly stepped forward, and when they, too, finally saw the figure sleeping within the crystal coffin, even Boxlunch, whose typically stoic, couldn¡¯t hide his astonishment.


    Inside was an elven maiden, as tall as an average person.


    Shey there peacefully, as though merely asleep, dressed in a white ceremonial gown adorned with floral patterns, with her long, silken silver hair flowing cascadingly behind her.


    Her delicate, wless curves were outlined by the thin gown she¡¯s wearing, exuding an ethereal beauty that made it hard to look away.


    Her eyes were closed, with longshes resting softly against her cheeks, and her lips held a faint, delicate shine.


    The sight was both mesmerizing and awe-inspiring, stirring a profound sense of reverence to anyone who happened to grace their eyes upon the sleeping elven maiden.


    Around her rested an array of fresh, vibrant flowers, their soft huesplementing her baster, porcin-like skin. She seemed so lifelike, so vivid, as though she might awaken at any given moment.


    Seeing the sleeping maiden¡¯s strikingly familiar appearance, the five yers immediately recognized her identity.


    This was none other than the most popr NPC within Elven Kingdom, their very own faction leader, to whom all the yers were deeply loyal, and the incarnation of the World Tree¡ªthe Goddess herself, Ev¨¦ Yggdrasill!


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ so beautiful,¡±


    ¡°Haah¡­Isn¡¯t her looks so stunning?¡±


    ¡°This has to be the Goddess, right? She looks definitely just like the Goddess!¡±


    As they gazed at the sleeping elven maiden within the coffin, the five yers showed a visibly thrilled expressions.


    After all, who doesn¡¯t love something so stunning?


    Especially when it¡¯s the very ¡®Goddess¡¯ herself, which all the yers seemed to adore in-game!


    However, alongside their excitement also came a wave of confusion.


    ¡°¡­But why is the Goddess sleeping here?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Big Sister say that the Goddess couldn¡¯t enter this demi-realm? So if that¡¯s the case then¡­ shouldn¡¯t She be outside at this moment?¡±


    As if on cue, a familiar voice echoed inside their minds:


    ¡°That figure inside the coffin is one of the Incarnation of the Divine Matriarch, a Sacred Vessel that once walked the earth.¡±


    ¡°Your mission is not only to obtain the Heart of Life but also to reim the Sacred Vessel of the Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Securing both is crucial to ensuring the final victory against the God of Creation.¡±


    It was the voice of Godwarden Zero.


    <em>One of her Divine Incarnations and the Goddess¡¯s Sacred Vessel?</em>


    Each of the five yers froze for a moment before showing a look ofprehension.


    <em>So this basically means that this sleeping elven maiden is one of the Goddess¡¯s avatars!</em>


    It was likely very simr to the Avatar of Uller that the yers had once defeated in the past.


    But the Goddess¡¯s avatar was clearly on an entirely different level from that half-orc brute.


    Just look at its appearance, as well as the stunning detail that exudes a really special effect!


    <em>prprprprpr¡­</em>


    ¡°¡ªAhem.¡±


    The five yers coughed awkwardly and looked at each other.


    ¡°So¡­ what now? Do we open it? Or not?¡±


    Optimist swallowed nervously, looking at his teammates.


    ¡°Of course! Didn¡¯t Big Sister¡ªI mean, Lady Zero¡ªsay that we need to retrieve the Goddess¡¯s avatar?¡±


    IamInvincible said.


    ¡°Uh¡­ but how do we open it? Should we just smash it? What if we damage the Goddess¡¯s body?¡±


    Optimist nced at the coffin once more.


    After all, this sleeping ¡®Goddess¡¯ looked so delicate and fragile, almost unbearably so¡­


    He was genuinely afraid that breaking the coffin might somehow actually harm her.


    At that moment, Zero¡¯s voice echoed in their minds again:


    ¡°Worry not. With your level of strength, it is practically impossible for anyone of you to damage the Sacred Vessel of the Divine Matriarch.¡±


    ¡°Therefore you may attack without hesitation.¡±


    Hearing this, the five yers breathed a collective sigh of relief.


    They then took the opportunity to snap several screenshots of the sleeping goddess inside before steeling themselves and reluctantly tearing their eyes away from the crystal coffin before attempting to break it.


    With him being the team¡¯s main melee expert, Optimist took the lead in attacking the coffin.


    Yet, no matter how hard he struck¡ªbe it with knife sh or a sword stab¡ªOptimist only managed to leave a faint scratches on the surface of the coffin.


    It was utterly unyielding.


    ¡°Let me try!¡±


    Cbash stepped forward.


    Wielding his staff, he began chanting a spell in a rhythmic tone as a massive fireball materialized in his hands and shot toward the crystal coffin.


    With a deafening boom, the fireball struck its target, before erupting into a violent explosion.


    mes erupted, whilst smoke billowed, and as the magical energy of the spell dissipated, rest of the yers turned their eyes back to the crystal coffin.


    This time, cracks finally appeared across its surface.


    ¡°It¡¯s working! This crystal coffin doesn¡¯t look like it have high magic resistance!¡±


    Each of the yers showed thrilled expressions.


    However, Cbash frowned, his tone tinged with frustration.


    ¡°No, although it seems effective, the damage we¡¯ve done is still too weak. We need tounch a more stronger spell.¡±


    Hearing this, Boxlunch suddenly had an idea.


    He opened his friend list and found the username of Little Salty Cat, and sent her a concise voice message:


    ¡°Were at the pce. Need backup.¡±


    The others immediately caught on, shouting over his shoulder:


    ¡°Salty Cat! Get over here fast! We have something good to show you! ¡°


    ¡°The Goddess! Come save the Goddess!¡±


    ¡°We need your fire spells!¡±


    ???


    Little Salty Cat immediately arrived in just under a minute, trailed by a group of curious onlookers.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal you guys are talking about? What¡¯s this about saving the Goddess?¡± she asked, intrigued.


    The five remained silent, only nodding toward the crystal coffin. As she followed their gaze, her reaction reflected the same shock they had felt when they first saw the figure inside.


    ¡°The¡­The G-Goddess?!¡±


    The yers trailing behind her were also no less stunned when they also see it.


    ¡°Holy crap! What the hell!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the Goddess, right?! Am I seeing things?!¡±


    ¡°She looks so¡­amazing!¡±


    Of course, there were also those who reacted in a more outrageous manner:


    ¡°Wait, why is my wife here?¡±


    ¡°Get lost! She¡¯s obviously my wife!¡±


    ¡°Adorable! I want to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shameless bastard! Shut the hell up!¡±


    Faced with the breathtaking figure inside the coffin, the surrounding yers collectively lost theirposure.


    Meanwhile, Little Salty Cat quickly got the full story from Boxlunch and his team.


    ¡°I see¡­ Well, you indeed called the right person! A strong spell is all you need, right? Leave it to me!¡± she said confidently, her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement.


    Little Salty Cat then raised her ornate golden legendary staff and began chanting an intricate spell, as a terrifying surge of magical energy gathered above the crystal coffin, coalescing into a massive magic circle.


    When she finished chanting, the circle erupted in a brilliant lightshow, unleashing a massive, fiery orange beam as thick as a barrel, before it descended directly onto the crystal coffin.


    The spell she used was a fourth-ring Spell¡ª[Explosive mes].


    Sensing the terrifying energy fluctuationsing from the spell, the surrounding yers¡¯ faces quick shifted, and they all quickly scattered away for cover.


    With a thunderous boom, the spell finally struck its intended target, triggering a violent explosion and sending a small mushroom cloud into the air.


    For a moment, the entire underground pce seemed to shake.


    Those closest to the explosion found their ears ringing as a st of hot wind knocked them off their feet.


    When the smoke finally cleared out, a quarter of the entire tform was destroyed.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡±


    ¡°Holy crap!!¡±


    The surrounding yers stared at Salty Cat in stunned silence, their gazes now filled with a mix of awe and fear, as if she were some sort of monster.


    Little Salty Cat looked visibly drained after pouring all her MP into that single spell, which had the destructive power of a typical Sixth-ring magic.


    But the result was undeniable.


    The crystal coffin¡¯s already prevailing cracks spread like a spiderweb before shattering with a loud crash.


    At the same time, the invisible barrier protecting the Heart of Life that¡¯s hovering in midair also dissipated.


    ¡°The barrier¡¯s now gone!¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s team exchanged ted looks.


    ¡°Chopin!¡± Boxlunch called out to their team¡¯s druid.


    Hearing his captain, Chopin nodded in response and swiftly cast [Vine Surge].


    In an instant, a vine shot upward into the air, which then wrapped around the Heart of Life floating in midair.


    This time, the process went extremely smoothly.


    Chopin easily retrieved thest fragment of the Scepter of Life and held it in his hands.


    ¡°Haha! One of our quest objectives is finallyplete!¡±


    He said with a grin.


    However, their celebration didn¡¯tst long.


    For right at the very moment the Heart of Life was taken, the entire underground pce immediately began to tremble violently.


    In the next instant, the colossal figure of the God of Creation, which was depicted in the murals behind the tform suddenly opened his eyes.


    ¡ª <strong>449</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ SACRED</strong><strong>VESSEL OF THE GODDESS </strong>¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 450

    Carrying the Goddess and Running Away


    The murals within the pce seemed toe alive as they began to animate, each painted figures moving with lifelike fluidity, as though the pce itself were awakening to an ancient and powerful presence.


    Amongst the painted murals, a hooded entity for which bears a striking resemnce to the statue of the Creator sculpted by Elder Roergue slowly raised his head.


    Beneath the hood, two reddish-violet beams of light shot out from his eyes.


    As the figure moved about, an oppressive aura tinged in ancient decay and a hint of malevolence descended over the whole pce.


    These changes within the murals quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding yers:


    ¡°Look, aren¡¯t those murals moving?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Did we somehow trigger the Boss battle?¡± The few yers among them who had previously seen the Creator¡¯s statue from Elder Roergue¡¯s abode turned pale.


    ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s the God of Creation!¡±


    Yet even before their words could settle, a grand and chilling voice resonated throughout the pce:


    ¡°Thieves¡­ must die!¡±


    Whilst these words echoed within the vicinity, numerous ripples spread across the mural¡¯s surface and then a massive, ckened hand, seemingly formed from viscous, tar-like sludge, finally reached out from it.


    Just from its appearance alone, it was clearly the hand of the ¡®God of Creation.¡¯


    This slumbering deity was finally awakening and emerging out from the mural!


    Without warning, the massive hand shot toward Chopin and tried to grabbed him at an extremely fast speed.


    Seeing this, Chopin¡¯s expression shifted.


    <em>It¡¯s toote¡­ </em>


    Gritting his teeth, he turned his head and shouted:


    ¡°Cbash! Catch this!¡±


    With that, he quickly tossed the Heart of Life over into his teammate.


    As the artifact flew through the air, Chopin leaped, positioning himself between the Heart of Life and the oing hand.


    A mere secondter, the Creator finally was able to take a hold of him.


    Right away the ckened hand clenched slightly, crushing Chopin¡¯s body with ease.


    Even his equipment disintegrated into dust under his grip.


    ¡°Chopin!¡±


    The other members of Boxlunch¡¯s team cried out in shock just as Chopin¡¯s avatar had already gone dark upon their party¡¯s interface.


    ¡°Dammit! This thing¡¯s attack power is insane!¡±


    The yers cursed in frustration.


    The hand, having obliterated Chopin, now shifted its attention as it reached for the Heart of Life.


    However, Cbash was already ready for it.


    Using the spell [Mage¡¯s Hand], he deftly secured the artifact first before the ckned hand could touch it.


    At the same time, the other yers also unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks as vibrant magical spells and arrows, glowing with various skill effects, streaked through the air, bombarding the massive hand.


    Explosions erupted one after another.


    Yet their attacks seemed to have barely scratched it at all,merely temporarily slowing the hand¡¯s advance.


    Still, it was adequate enough to let Cbash escape its range.


    No one cheered, though.


    Since by now, everyone had already understood the underlying truth regarding the strength of the other party:


    This was far beyond their capabilities and a Boss they couldn¡¯t contend with!


    The God of Creation¡­ was clearly no ordinary boss.


    But despite the yers¡¯ futile assault, their actions appeared to have somehow provoked the owner of the ckened hand.


    From the mural came a furious roar:


    ¡°Begone!¡±


    The entire pce trembled as the hand swung again, this time forming a massive fist and mming itself down onto the yers within its radius.


    The faces of these yers quickly contorted in fear, as each of them scrambled about to dodge.


    s, the hand was faster.


    With ease, it shattered the protective magic shield these yers had casted onto themselves and smashed them into pulp amidst a chorus of screams.


    In that instant, the interior of the pce was awash with a rain of blood.


    <em>S-So¡­ strong! </em>


    So far, one was able to survive for more than three seconds under the attack of this giant hand.


    Realizing this, the remaining yers in the vicinity stood in stunned silence.


    ¡°Fuck! Isn¡¯t this Boss Battle too buggy!?¡±


    ¡°How the hell are we supposed to fight this thing?!¡±


    ¡°Did the devs somehow forget to bnce the parameters of this Boss?!¡±


    Many yers cursed in frustration.


    The expressions of the remaining members of Boxlunch¡¯s team weren¡¯t faring much better.


    But just then, a familiar voice echoed inside their minds:


    ¡°The attack power of that thing is equivalent to someone at the peak of Silver-rank. He¡¯s essentially that of a seasoned demigod.¡± Zero said.


    ¡°As it stands, you are no match for him. But fret not; you can still win if you stall for time and protect the Sacred Vessel of the Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Conjoin the Heart of Life along with the Sacred Vessel of Her Majesty, and the Goddess shall have a chance to perform a divine descent into that demi-realm up to a certain extent.¡±


    Zero stated in a sharp and decisive tone that left no room for argument.


    At the same time, all yers in the pce¡¯s vicinity suddenly received a new system quest:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ You have triggered the quest: <strong>The Goddess¡¯s Descent</strong> ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Description</strong>: The greatest enemy of the demi-realm has awakened and only the Goddess can challenge Him. To achieve the final victory, you must stall for time until the Goddess can perform a Divine Descent! ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Objectives</strong>: 1. Protect the Sacred Vessel of the Goddess. 2. Protect the Heart of Life. 3. Stall for time until the Goddess can finally descend.¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Quest Rewards</strong>: ¡®30,000¡¯ experience points. ¡®100¡¯ Resurrection Coins. ¡®+1¡¯ Favorability with the Goddess Ev¨¦.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Additional Note</strong>: For each point of favorability gained with the Goddess Ev¨¦, these bonus effects are applied:


    ? All shop prices in the exchange store are reduced by 0.5%.


    ? Contribution points from offerings are increased by 0.5%.


    ? Personal reputation gains an additional +1 boost.¡¿


    The yers froze as the quest details popped up in their field of vision.


    <em>The Goddess¡¯s Descent? </em>


    But when they noticed the final reward, their breaths instantly grew heavier.


    ¡°Whoa! You can finally increase our favorability with the Goddess?!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ discounted prices, better offering rewards, and an increase in our personal reputation? Holy shit, the Goddess¡¯s favorability is so OP!¡±


    ¡°So if we max out her favorability, won¡¯t the Exchange Store basically be giving away everything it¡¯s selling for free?¡±


    One¡¯s personal reputation, once it reaches the maximum level, can already grant discounts, capped at 50%.


    Hence, by adding the factor of the Goddess¡¯s favorability being maxed out, that adds another 50%!


    Moreover, each point of favorability with the Goddess can also enhance one¡¯s reputation score!


    In other words, maxing out the Goddess¡¯s favorability was almost equivalent to maxing out one¡¯s personal reputation as well, andpounding these bonuses together meant the shop prices could drop to a mere 25% of their original cost!


    That wasn¡¯t even factoring the increased EXP rate and contribution gains from having a high reputation score.


    In an instant, the yers¡¯ eyes burned with desire.


    Even Li Mu, whose reputation score was already maxed out, couldn¡¯t help but feel tempted.


    He nced at Boxlunch¡¯s team, closest to the shattered crystal coffin, and shouted:


    ¡°Quick! Take the Goddess¡¯s Holy Vessel along with the Heart of Life and run!¡±


    Meanwhile, the ¡®Creator¡¯ by now had fully emerged himself out from the mural.


    His imposing form now loomed above the crystal coffin.


    Each member of Boxlunch¡¯s party exchanged silent nces before, finally, their gazesnded upon Optimist, their strongest and most durable tank.


    ¡°Optimist, you carry the Goddess! We¡¯ll cover you from behind!¡±


    Boxlunchmanded.


    With that, he, Cbash, and IamInvincible charged at the Creator, drawing its attention.


    As Cbash dashed forward, he nced back and jokingly quipped:


    ¡°And don¡¯t you dare try to cop a feel, or you¡¯ll have the whole yerbase chasing after you.¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    Optimist¡¯s mouth opened and closed but no words came out, whilst his throat now suddenly felt tight and dry.


    ¡°M-Me¡­carry the Goddess?¡±


    His eyes then drifted over to the Goddess lying inside the crystal coffin, looking peaceful and serene, as if merely asleep.


    Swallowing hard, Optimist gritted his teeth before discarding his bulky armor, and sprinted toward the coffin.


    He bent down carefully, extending his hands toward the sleeping Goddess.


    Upon touching it, Optimist immediately realized the Holy Vessel was cold to the touch, yet also felt incredibly soft.


    For a moment, Optimist felt his throat tighten even more.


    Then after taking a deep breath to steady himself, he inhaled a faint floral scent wafting from her, which only seemed to had made his emotions even moreplicated.


    At that moment, he became acutely aware of the piercing stares from the other yers around him, as if hundreds of eyes were stabbing deep into his back.


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    He smacked himself lightly on the cheek, shook his head with resolve, then hoisted the Goddess onto his back and bolted without a second thought.


    ¡ª <strong>450</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ CARRY</strong><strong>THE GODDESS AND RUN</strong><strong>AWAY</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 451

    The goddess¡¯s body weighed much more lightly than expected.


    Not only that, but her Holy Vessel also seemed to radiate a strange and extraordinary power, in which Optimist felt enveloped him the moment he hoisted the goddess onto his back.


    This passive effect was so profound that he sensed his body¡¯s recovery rate elerating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, the injuries he had sustained earlier vanished rapidly, while his HP bar and depleted MP were gradually being replenished to its full capacity.


    Even his experience points were slowly increasing!


    This was the power of divine force of life.


    Even though it was merely a vessel, the incarnation of the Goddess of Life still retained a significant amount of her divine force.


    Otherwise, it would be impossible for this vessel to ¡°sleep¡± for thousands of years and remained so full of life.


    When the crystal coffin was destroyed, this divine-ss holy vessel was exposed to the outside air after, thereby causing the residual life force within it to naturally begin dispersing.


    The floral fragrance Optimist had smelled earlier was, in fact, a manifestation of this divine power of life.Of course, divine power in itself has no actual scent.


    Yet this fragrance Optimist smelled was simply his own sensory interpretation of the essence of life and nature, which leads him to have a subjective olfactory reaction to the goddess¡¯s innate powers.


    In fact, for any living being, this dissipating divine power imbued with the properties of life was an unparalleled boon, since it could easily heal injuries and restore one¡¯s mana.


    And the more you absorb this power, the greater the transformation it brings as it could enhance your physical attributes or even elevate one¡¯s very existence to a higher level.


    Nheless, Optimist had no time to focus on such things or even tried checking his own status screen at this moment, as his mind was entirely preupied with the goddess¡¯s body he was carrying upon his back.


    ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that my first close encounter with a girl would be in a game¡­ and with an NPC, no less,¡±


    Optimist muttered as he sprinted forward, half-joking to himself.


    Carrying the goddess on his back posed no burden whatsoever.


    On the contrary, he even felt his body surging with newfound strength.


    Still, the sensation of the goddess¡¯s soft form, separated only by the thin fabric of her sacred gown, was a stimtion that constantly assaulted his nerves.


    Even if she was just an NPC within the game, the Goddess was no ordinary NPC.


    In every sense and from every perspective¡­the feeling she exudes was just too vivid and too enchanting, leaving him utterly distracted.


    After all¡­


    ¡ªCough.


    While Optimist himself was one of the top three tanks in the entire server, in reality, he was a 20-year-old shut-in otaku who had never even held a girl¡¯s hand in his life.


    Whilst running, he frequently found himself unsure of exactly where to ce his hands in a manner that could be considered proper and not impolite.


    At this moment, Optimist¡¯s emotions were a chaotic blend of pride, confusion, excitement, and nervousness.


    Especially when countless envious, jealous, and hostile gazes bore into him from all directions.


    Unquestionably, by now, Optimist felt that he had stolen the spotlight from the current event¡¯s original ¡°boss¡± fight and be the center of attention.


    The proof of this could easily be seen in his still-active livestream chat, which was being flooded with an overwhelming barrage ofments.


    Normally, his viewership would have dwindled by now due to other yers being summoned into the event. Yet, on the contrary, the number of his viewers was still steadily increasing.


    Nevertheless, Optimist felt conflicted about it since his livestream¡¯sment section now a distinct smell of lemon.


    ? Fuck! Opti, you bastard. You actually dare carry the goddess on your back?!


    ? How is your luck this good? So jealous!


    ? Me too +1


    ? Me as well +2.


    ? Opti my dude, how does it feel?!


    ? Put down the goddess and let me do it instead!


    If these yers watching from outside were already this envious, then what more for those who were currently participating in the event and were actually inside the pce?


    Just the mere sight of Optimist carrying the goddess on his back as he ran sent any yers who happened to see him into a frenzy:


    ¡°Holy crap! Is that¡­the goddess?!¡±


    ¡°What the?!¡±


    These were the reactions from some yers who hadn¡¯t even read the quest details before teleporting in.


    ¡°Whoa! The goddess! It¡¯s the goddess!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful! And her dress looks amazing!¡±


    These reactions were from the goddess¡¯s fangirls.


    ¡°Ugh! I¡¯m so jealous! Why couldn¡¯t it be me?¡±


    ¡°To hell with you, you lucky bastard!¡±


    Whereas this was the cry of those envious yers.


    ¡°Opti my dude, aren¡¯t you already tired? Let me carry her for you!¡±


    ¡°Swap carriers! Please change with me!¡±


    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll pay you 3,000 contribution points to take your ce!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll offer 5,000!¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey! Watch where your hands are!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve got new material forter!¡±


    The surrounding crowd eximed in chaotic jest, yet amidst thesemotion, Optimist mostly ignored them as he ran farther and farther away.


    Seeing how he ignored them sparked further frenzy among the yers as someone¡ªno one could say who¡ªbegan chasing after him.


    Before long, a swarm of yers had gathered behind Optimist, following in his wake like a rolling tide.


    They surrounded him with excitement, running alongside him as though forming a protective escort.


    Of course, most of them were simply just there to get a closer look at the goddess.


    After all,pared to the previous time when she descended which was somewhat obscured by holy light effects, this was the closest they had ever been to her.


    And she wasn¡¯t just any other NPC too but rather, the Goddess herself who was considered the most popr character in the entire game!


    In that instant, the entire pce descended into even greater chaos.


    While the yers focused on the goddess, the awakened God of Creation turned also his attention to Optimist.


    Watching as the sacred vessel of the goddess was ¡°stolen¡± by the yers, the Creator let out a thunderous roar full of rage:


    ¡°sphemers, perish!¡±


    With those words, his aura intensified, surging to new heights.


    In that moment, even the surrounding space seemed to warp and distort around the Creator.


    A couple of seconds passed, and a wave of ck energy erupted from the God of Creation, spreading throughout the pce and shrouding it in a murky grayish-ck miasma.


    Immediately, every yer within the vicinity felt an oppressive force weighing down upon them as their movements became more sluggish, as though restrained by an invisible force.


    At the same time, they also sensed something draining rapidly away from their bodies.


    The odd thing was that, although their status bars showed no significant changes whatsoever, an inexplicable exhaustion crept over them, and their stamina also began to slowly decrease.


    What¡¯s more, for those yers closest to the God of Creation which includes Boxlunch and his team, the effects were even more shocking.


    They discovered, much to their horror, that their bodies were aging at an rming rate!


    Amidst this chaos, only Optimist whose carrying the goddess, and a few yers near him still remained unaffected.


    This was the power of a domain.


    Because this demi-realmcks an abundance of mana, the God of Creation¡¯s strength didn¡¯t surpass the Silver-rank, though it was teetering on the edge of the gold-rank.


    However, just because the power he exerted was not at the gold-rank, it doesn¡¯t mean that the damage he caused was not as great as that of a golden rank expert.


    All mythical beings all possess the power of a domain.


    As a being whose essence transcended mortal limitations, the God of Creation wielded his domain with devastating effect.


    Unlike demon lord Azazel, whose powers and divinity were heavily sealed, the Creator had no such constraints.


    Thus, while unleashing his domain, the Creator could also amplify his strength by channeling the fundamentalws hemanded.


    Through the yers¡¯ shared perspective, Ev¨¦ frowned as she analyzed the The Creator¡¯s attack.


    ¡°That looks to be a Corrupted Domain of Life¡­ and it appears to be a Demigod¡¯s Domain!¡±


    By now, she had already discerned the correspondingws for which governs the enemy¡¯s power:


    That is¡­


    ¡ªThe Law of Life!


    The other party was able to siphon the life force of the inhabitants of this demi-realm not only through fragment of the Scepter of Life but also through the power of thews that he hasprehended himself!


    However, just because heorehend it doesn¡¯t mean that the other party gained control over thesews.


    At most, no matter how muchprehension he gained, it could elevate him only to the status of a demigod.


    Because only by mastering thews and condensing the corresponding Divinity to attain godhood can one be a True God.


    And since Ev¨¦ herself already governs the authority over the Laws of Life, the universe itself naturally wouldn¡¯t permit another controller to take control of thisw.


    Thus, the other party can only elevate himself to a Demigod.


    A Demigod thatprehended the Laws of Life.


    With him being able to exert a domain meant that this should be the other party¡¯s True Body.


    However, as the God of Creation unleashed his powers, Ev¨¦ also noticed something unusual.


    Even though the yers had already taken the fragment of the Scepter of Life, thereby disrupting the Creator¡¯s control over the demi-realm, the siphoning of life force still seemed to continue unabated.


    This indicated that this God of Creation wasn¡¯t relying solely on the Scepter¡¯s fragments to extract life force but rather, he was doing it inherently.


    This was perplexing, as having only a demigod¡¯s power shouldn¡¯t have been sufficient enough to influence an entire demi-realm.


    Yet somehow, the entire realm seemed to be aiding the other party and assisting the Creator in his actions.


    ¡°This entire demi-realm¡­feels really strange,¡±


    Ev¨¦ thought warily.


    Still, it was just caution on her part, not fear.


    With her strength, the attacks of a mere demigod posed no threat to her at all, nor did the structural integrity of the demi-realm itself.


    ¡°Once I descend into this realm, I should be able to finally figure out what¡¯s going on. Observing from afar can only reveal so much,¡±


    She murmured as Ev¨¦ began to channel her divine power.


    The Heart of Life had already been handed over to Optimist, and she nned to use the game¡¯swork, which is connected to every yer, as a conduit to perform a divine descent.


    With Optimist as a springboard, whose carrying her predecessor¡¯s sacred vessel, she could cross the dimensional barrier via the fragment of the Scepter of Life and descend into the Holy Vessel herself.


    Previously, the God of Creation¡¯s control over the demi-realm had prevented her descent.


    However, with the Heart of Life now stolen, the other party¡¯s grip over it had weakened, thereby presenting her an opportunity to perform a descent.


    Nevertheless, due to the low levels of mana within this demi-realm, her descent would only be partial.


    Moreover, it will also take a certain amount of time for her to fully synchronize with that vessel and sessfully perform partial divine descent into it.


    Only when she gained full control of that vessel¡ªwhen the ¡°progress bar¡± reached its limit¡ªthe descent would beplete, and her power could manifest fully.


    ???


    While Ev¨¦ had begun channeling her divine power, initiating the descent process, the yers continued their battle against the God of Creation.


    The ck miasma, which was the manifestation of the Creator¡¯s domain, continued to spread across the battlefield.


    Then as the miasma thickened, the God of Creation¡¯s form gradually began to shrink.


    Eventually, his body became norger than the yers themselves, yet his aura grew even more terrifying.


    Whilst hovering in midair, the Creator raised his hand toward the oing yers and flicked his wrist.


    A couple of seconds passed before hundreds of ck, thorned vines erupted from the ground.


    These vinesshed out and coiled around any yers near them, as their sharp spikes dig deep into its target¡¯s flesh.


    Even Boxlunch¡¯s team was ensnared, unable to escape.


    Then, whilst being apanied by a terrifying suction force, the vitality of every ensnared yer all began to dissipate rapidly and was absorbed by the corrupted vines!


    [War Sacrifice!]


    The God of Creation actually had unleashed a signature skill of the druids and nature-bound sses.


    Being a former servant of the Word Tree, naturally such skill was within the Creator¡¯s repertoire.


    However, probably due to the corruption of the abyss, the War Sacrifice the Creator used was now far more aggressive and devastating.


    Within seconds, nearly a hundred yers who had surrounded the God of Creation were immediately reduced to ashes, leaving only a few pieces of unbound equipment on the ground¡­


    In the blink of an eye, a wide clearing formed around the God of Creation just like that!


    Even Boxlunch¡¯s party, which had been at the forefront, was gone.


    They, too, had been killed.


    ¡ªInstantly.


    Seeing this unbelievable scene, the surviving yers all froze, staring in stunned silence.


    ¡°Fuck¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Holy crap!!¡±


    ¡°Boss Box got one-shotted?!¡±


    ¡°How are we supposed to fight this?!¡±


    ¡°The difficulty of this boss fight is beyond broken! There¡¯s no way to hold out!¡±


    While yers had faced some fearsome enemies in the past, those encounters often involved powerful NPCs from their faction taking the lead.


    This time, however, they were alone, pitted against such a terrifying foe.


    And the God of Creation¡¯s overwhelming strength only reinforced their sense of insignificance¡ªparticrly for those yers who had recently got promoted to silver-rank and felt overly proud of their progress.


    As the yers morale began to waver, Li Mu, who had only recently joined the fight, shouted:


    ¡°Hold him back! We have to stall for time! We need to buy time for the goddess to descend!¡±


    ¡°Guys! We just need to hold out a little longer!¡±


    Hearing him, Tomato themander of the First Legion, rallied as well:


    ¡°Take turns attacking! Call in reinforcements! Even if it costs our lives, we must hold it off!¡±


    Even Transformer Ji Gang from the Guild, Autobots raised his voice:


    ¡°Keep pushing! Once the goddess descends, we¡¯ll win!¡±


    Seeing these three Guildmasters of major guilds encouraging the surrounding yers, Little Salty Cat refused to be outdone.


    She downed a vial of mana potion, activated [Amplify Voice] and shouted boldly:


    ¡°Members of Moe Moe Committee! Come on, everyone! As of today, all resurrection coins that you used will be reimbursed by the guild!¡±


    Having these Guildmasters rally the troops made a huge difference.


    With the motivational cries of the top guild leaders and the cooperation of their members, the yers¡¯ morale soared once again.


    As if on cue, the background music also shifted at that moment.


    The yers¡¯ ears were filled with the stirring, triumphant soundtrack from their previous major battle¡ªthe most popr and adrenaline-pumping BGM of all.


    A rhythmic drumbeat, fiery and uplifting melodies.


    In an instant, the yers felt as though they were revitalized.


    ¡°Charge! Hold him back!¡±


    ¡°For the goddess! Long live the goddess!¡±


    ¡°Uraaa!¡±


    With such battle cries, the yersunched another assault on the boss.


    Even though their attacks werergely ineffective, not a single one of them retreated at all as each yers truly throw themselves right into battle, sacrificing their lives without hesitation.


    Eventually, their relentless assault seemed to began hindering the God of Creation¡¯s movements.


    Despite wielding the power of a domain, the Creator¡¯s maximum strength was limited to only the peak of silver-rank.


    The yers¡¯ ¡®human wave¡¯ tactic gradually began to outpace the other party¡¯s ability to kill them.


    After being caught up in their relentless attacks, the God of Creation¡¯s speed finally began to slow.


    Meanwhile, Optimist, whose still carrying the goddess¡¯s vessel on his back, kept running farther and farther away.


    s, this stalemate didn¡¯tst long.


    The yers¡¯ persistence provoked the God of Creation¡¯s fury once more.


    With an enraged roar, the Creator raised both his hands.


    The next moment, with a deafening rumble, the entire underground pce began to shake violently as the ground rose beneath their feet.


    In mere moments, the whole pce broke through the surface, overturning the cathedral above it and emerging in the heart of the city!


    Meanwhile, the yers stumbled and fell amidst the sudden ¡°earthquake.¡±


    When the tremors subsided, they all realized their location had risen to the surface, greeted by daylight.


    The damp chill of the underground was now gone, reced by the warmth of the open air.


    However, their relief was short-lived.


    Their spirits sank as they noticed the countless NPCs surrounding them.


    The numerous clerics of the Church of the Creation, along its retinue of guards, and even those ordinary townsfolk all stood encircling the yers.


    Their vacant eyes stared nkly at them,pletely devoid of emotion.


    Each held a variety of weapons with their bodies cloaked in ck smoke. Some were even beginning to morph into monstrous forms, their aura growing increasingly oppressive.


    And their numbers were quite staggering!


    Tens of thousands, stretching as far as the eye could see.


    Such surreal sight sent chills down to every yers¡¯ spines.


    ¡°Seize them!¡±


    The God of Creation¡¯s voice boomed with an unyielding authority.


    At hismand, the surrounding priests, guards, and citizens all transformed into grotesque monsters and charged toward the yers in unison.


    Meanwhile, the God of Creation leaped into the air, using the opportunity to dash toward Optimist.


    Optimist felt an intense, inescapable sense of danger as the enemy boss personally locked onto him.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    <em>There was no way for him to dodge!</em>


    His heart sank.


    However just as the Creator was about to reach him, Optimist suddenly felt the delicate, pale arm resting on his shoulder shift ever so slightly.


    In the faintest whisper, he thought he heard a soft sigh, while the once cold vessel he carried on his back suddenly became warm.


    In the next moment, a radiant light erupted around him.


    ¡ª <strong>451</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DESCENT</strong><strong>OF THE GODDESS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 452

    The pressure on Optimist¡¯s shoulders vanished, leaving him feeling strangely weightless.


    Confused, he noticed that the soft, delicate sensation he had been focusing on had suddenly disappeared without a trace.


    In its ce, he sensed a radiant, holy light spreading outward, illuminating everything in its path.


    At the same time, an iparably powerful yet strangelyforting force appeared behind him.


    This energy was vast and boundless, yet gentle and warm,as it emanated waves that caressed his body, which evoked the feeling of basking in sunlight.


    Moreover, this energy waves carried an extraordinary effect.


    Just as when he had carried the goddess¡¯s body earlier, the energy waves now washing over him rapidly restored his physical condition.


    Even the oppressive force exerted by the enemy boss began to dissipate under the influence of this energy.


    However, the ¡®Creator¡¯ showed no sign of halting his attack.With his hands morphing into a w-like form, he lunged toward Optimist, whilst the ck miasma encircling his form spread ever outward.


    The oppressive and malevolent aura of the abyss exuded a suffocating intensity, and the sheer power it disyed was so overwhelming.


    There was no doubt that should the Creator¡¯s attack sessfullynded upon Optimist, then his fate would be no better than those yers who had been instantly annihted earlier.


    But this time, this attack was destined to miss.


    As the warm energy behind him continued to spread, Optimist also noticed that everything around him seemed to have slowed down, as if the very world itself had shifted into slow motion.


    Then, a radiant figure cloaked in a soft, glowing light stepped past him with an unhurried grace.


    Draped in a pure white divine gown, with cascading silver hair and a side profile so stunning it felt like a dream, the figure was unmistakable.


    He knew this figure well¡ªafter all, everyone who yed Elven Kingdom also did for that matter.


    <em>Moreover, how could he not recognize it? </em>


    It was the very body he had been carrying on his back across the map just moments ago.


    In an instant, Optimist¡¯s expression lit up with joy and excitement.


    ¡ª<em>It was the Goddess Eve. </em>


    This was indeed, the Goddess Eve!


    The goddess had finally descended!


    Yet,pared to her appearances in countless cutscenes before, there was something different about her now.


    She seemed more vivid, more real, and more profoundly captivating.


    There was an indescribable quality about her.


    To Optimist, the goddess seemed less imposing than before, exuding instead a newfound sense of approachability.


    She walked forward casually, stepping in front of Optimist and shielding him behind her.


    As she passed by, she then nced back briefly and offered him a small, gentle smile.


    That smile was so beautiful, so moving, so warm and inviting, Optimist felt as though it could intoxicate the entire world.


    Then, the goddess gently stretched out her right hand, with her palm facing outwards, facing the ¡®God of Creation¡¯.


    A soft, shimmering light flowed around her.


    With just this simple gesture, the ¡®Creator¡¯ seemed to crash into an invisible barrier, unable to move another inch forward.


    ¡°sphemer! Die!¡±


    The ¡®Creator¡¯ roared in rage once more, the ck miasma around him thickening into an even darker, more oppressive mass.


    Yet the goddess simply just stood there, seemingly not taking him seriously at all.


    Then, she gently raised her hand, forming a pinch with her thumb and forefinger, and flicked lightly towards the ¡®Creator¡¯ that was rushing towards her¡­


    That mere flick looked so simple yet it carried an unfathomable power, which somehow distorted the very space around it.


    In that instant, the ¡®Creator¡¯ was struck as if by a catastrophic force and was sent hurtling backward by the flick.


    Under the stunned gazes of the yers, the once-unstoppable boss was flung like a stone just like that, tumbling through the air as if utterly weightless.


    The ¡®Creator¡¯ crashed through countless pce columns, hurtling over a thousand meters before finally mming into a heap of ruins.


    For a brief moment, the whole battlefield fell silent.


    Then, a wave of cheers erupted:


    ¡°Ha ha ha! It¡¯s the goddess! The goddess has finally descended!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s so¡­ beautiful! And so¡­ powerful!¡±


    ¡°Whoa! That was insane! A one-shot kill?¡±


    ¡°As expected of my waifu!¡±


    ¡°All hail the goddess! Long live the goddess!¡±


    The yers gazed at the goddess with overwhelming palpable excitement.


    Of course, they also didn¡¯t stop their attacks.


    With the goddess¡¯s arrival, the battle¡¯s momentum had instantly shifted entirely in their favor.


    Now was the perfect time to kick a fallen enemy while they were down¡ªwhich also means, a golden opportunity to farm experience!


    In an instant, the yers¡¯ morale soared to new heights.


    They charged forward with renewed vigor, battling the pce guardians and the now city residents-turned-monsters with wild enthusiasm.


    At the same time, while the yers fought with fervor, Ev¨¦ spent the few seconds following her descent limating to her new body.


    Yet, even as she projected an air of mystique andposure in the eyes of the yers, internally, she was reeling with shock.


    ¡°This body¡­ it¡¯s storing such an immense amount of divine life force?! Could the ¡®Creator¡¯ have been using this body as a container for storing divine power?¡±


    Feeling the boundless life energy coursing through her, Eve was ted.


    Before her descent, her perception of this body¡¯s true nature had been vague.


    But now that she had fully taken control over it, she discovered that the deepest recesses of this vessel held nearly two thousand units of divine power!


    This amount was almost equivalent to the full reserves of a senior True God with weak divine power!


    However, although she was surprised, after thinking about it carefully, Ev¨¦ also understood why the other party did this.


    The ¡®God of Creation,¡¯ after all, was only a demigod.


    A demigod could control a maximum of 300 units of divine power and any more would exceed their capacity.


    So to store additional power, they would need an external container.


    And it was obvious that a vessel of a true god would be the perfect container!


    Eve even suspected that the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ had intended to use this vessel as his foundation for ascension, in order to achieve true godhood.


    At the same time, Ev¨¦ personally felt the passive siphoning of life force from this demi-realm for the first time.


    Yet to her surprise, however, the siphoned life force was being funneled directly into the body she now inhabited.


    In other words, this realm¡¯s entire life force harvesting system had been designed for the sole purpose of umting divine power into this sacred vessel.


    At that moment, Ev¨¦ finally understood why the other party was so angry after the yers had stolen this body.


    <em>No wonder¡ªthey outright sabotage his whole operation!</em>


    With this revtion in mind, Ev¨¦ cast her gaze across the world around her.


    For reasons she couldn¡¯t entirely exin, Ev¨¦ felt her spiritual power felt more active and attuned here than she had anticipated.


    More than that, she also experienced a peculiar sense of intimacy with this demi-realm.


    She even had a strange intuition¡ª


    If she desired it, Ev¨¦ was pretty sure that she could fully take control of this demi-realm in as little as ten days to just two weeks, by leveraging the fragments of the Scepter she had already acquired.


    In other words, she could reach the same level of mastery over this realm as the ¡®Creator¡¯ had achieved.


    Which was odd, considering under normal circumstances, even a true god would require a lengthy process to merge with a demi-realm¡¯s provenance in order to gain full control over it.


    Typically, the time needed to do such a thing would span years.


    And although this demi-realm has low amount of mana, its fundamentalws were highly refined.


    Hence, fully gaining mastery over it should have taken an even longer time.


    Yet, Eve felt confident that it wouldn¡¯t take her nearly as long to gain control over it.


    This was what her divine intuition was telling her.


    A true god¡¯s intuition about demi-realms is extraordinarily precise¡ªalmost like foresight.


    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about the Provenance of this demi-realm! Could it be connected to me? Or has the prolonged forced absorption of life force caused some mysterious bond between this vessel and this demi-realm?¡±


    Eve¡¯s thoughts stirred.


    <em>This demi-realm must not be destroyed!</em>


    <em>Once the battle is over, she¡¯ll definitely need to investigate its secrets thoroughly!</em>


    Ev¨¦ thought to herself.


    Having determined the demi-realm¡¯s fate within her heart, Ev¨¦ turned her attention to the ruins where the ¡®Creator¡¯ had crashed.


    Although she was highly satisfied with her new incarnate vessel, she doubted that her earlier strike had actually defeated the other party.


    In fact, Eve highly suspected that her initial attack had merely caught the ¡®Creator¡¯ off guard, temporarily throwing him off bnce but doing little else.


    And the result went precisely as Ev¨¦ had anticipated.


    Momentster, the ruins erupted as the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ reappeared before everyone once again.


    The ck smoke, which had continued to swirl around him like a living thing, clung to his form as the cloaked figure stood, perfectly intact¡ªwithout so much as a single tear in the fabric of his cloak.


    Their aura also remained just as oppressive as ever.


    The sight stunned the yers, silencing their celebratory cheers.


    Many stood with mouths agape, their expressions filled with disbelief:


    ¡°No way¡­ not even a scratch?¡±


    ¡°What is this monster? Their defense is insane, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What kind of joke is this?¡±


    The yers¡¯ faces mirrored their shock, as though they¡¯d seen a ghost.


    But Ev¨¦ remained unfazed.


    This demi-realm¡¯s power ceiling was capped at the peak of the Silver-rank.


    Which means, no matter how powerful Ev¨¦ was, her abilities here were restricted to the upper limits of Silver-rank strength.


    The flick she had delivered earlier was roughly to this extent.


    Although an attack of such level could send the opponent flying, it was impossible to cause any harm to the other party.


    This was because the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ s¡¯ essence was that of a demigod.


    Even though this demi-realm¡¯s restrictions limits the exertion of his power, it did not alter the fundamental nature of his existence as a demigod.


    After all, a demigod¡¯s body is very special.


    Without external constraints, the true body a Demigod is naturally protected by thews they have respectivelyprehended.


    Under the protection of suchws, a Demigod¡¯s body is essentially immune to all ordinary physical and magical attacks below golden-rank.


    In other words, a mere silver-rank attack would not be able to deliver a fatal blow to a demigod.


    At most, it could only generate enough force to send them flying, just as Ev¨¦ had done so earlier.


    Of course, if Ev¨¦ were to unleash a greater attack with more power to it, then it might actually be able to harm the other party.


    However, such an act would exceed this demi-realm¡¯s threshold, thereby elerating its copse, which was already precariously unstable as it was.


    In other words, if she wants to win by conventionalbat, then Ev¨¦ can only defeat the God of Creation at the cost of destroying the demi-realm.


    s, this method was a dead end.


    Moreover, Ev¨¦ herself had no intention of destroying this demi-realm¡ªespecially not now that she caught a glimpse of its hidden secrets, and not under these circumstances.


    Fortunately, she had already devised a strategy to handle the other party.


    Since conventional methods couldn¡¯t possibly defeat the ¡®Creator¡¯ without actually damaging the demi-realm, then she could simply use unconventional methods instead.


    If the God of Creation¡¯s body was immune to attacks at this level, then the solution was pretty simple:


    ¡ªJust seal off their power until they were no longer immune to such attacks!


    In other words, just as she had done with the demon lord Azazel beforehand, she could also seal off the ¡®God of Creations¡¯ strength¡ªespecially their control over thews for which she actually have authority over.


    Back when she had sealed the powers of Azazel, even the yers managed tond hits on him, and while they couldn¡¯t kill the demon lord outright, weakening his strength was more than sufficient enough.


    What¡¯s more, unlike Azazel, the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ was not a true god.


    They had merely justprehended somews, and had not actually gained authority over them.


    This meant that sealing off their connection to thesews would render the God of Creation vulnerable.


    With this in mind, a sh of crimson light appeared in Eve¡¯s hand, revealing a ne.


    A true divine artifact¡ªThe Withering Heart!


    ¡ª <strong>452</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ UNEXPECTED</strong><strong>DIVINE POWER</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 453

    The Withering Heart.


    This was the first divine artifact that Ev¨¦ had acquired, which came from the God of Winter and Hunt, Uller.


    Although it was still in an iplete state, the Withering Heart possessed extraordinary sealing power and perfectlyplemented Ev¨¦¡¯s fighting style.


    Despite having been corrupted by the Abyss in the past, this divine artifact could seal any mythical entity with less than intermediate divine power, provided it was supplied with sufficient life force.


    Throughout history, Uller¡¯s ownership of this artifact instilled fear among countless gods with lesser divine strength.


    It was also said that during the Heavenly War a thousand years ago, some of the former World Tree¡¯s demigod followers met a swift demise in battle partly due to this very artifact.


    Of course after iming ownership of such artifact, Ev¨¦ herself had wielded the Withering Heart to seal numerous formidable foes.


    These included Uller¡¯s demigod incarnation, the weakened Dragon of Despair Nidhogg, and the Seventh Demon Lord Azazel, who had not yet regained his full power.


    And now, Ev¨¦ brought it forth once more, her hand steady as she invoked the power of the Withering Heart. This time, her target was none other than the self-proimed ¡°God of Creation,¡± a being whose strength barely reached the level of a demigod.


    However, though the other party was just a demigod, Ev¨¦ could not afford to underestimate him. A cornered entity, desperate and clinging to delusions of grandeur, could prove to be more dangerous than a fully-fledged god. Thus, she intended to seal him in a swift manner, before he had the chance to unleash catastrophic destruction within this demi-realm.


    The Withering Heart had already been infused with the necessary life force it needed well before Ev¨¦ performed her descent.


    Now, as she held the artifact in her grasp, its crimson surface shimmered ominously, as though soaked in freshly spilled blood.


    With a deliberate motion, Ev¨¦ lifted it up gently.


    ¡°Pitiful fallen one, your future is to be sealed, left only to await death.¡±


    Her gaze swept over the ¡®God of Creation,¡¯ whose entire body was shrouded in the aura of the Abyss, then shifted to the surrounding local residents, now warped into nightmarish demonic forms. The corruption of the Abyss had already seeped deep into their very beings, twisting their bodies and minds beyond recognition.


    Ev¨¦ sighed softly.


    She did not know when this ¡®God of Creation¡¯ had sumbed to the corruption of the Abyss.


    Perhaps it had been long before he and those ancient elves had fled into this demi-realm, after seeking refuge from the wars back in Seig¨¹es.


    Or perhaps it had happened muchter, when he had used his full power in order to protect this demi-realm and repel those other mythical entities that had tried to invade it.


    But regardless of when his descent into corruption urred, since he had allowed himself to use the power of the Abyss and willingly be an evil god, it also meant that he had be themon enemy of all true gods.


    The minds of evil gods can be inevitably twisted, and judging by the actions of this ¡°God of Creation,¡± it is likely that his reasoning had long been distorted by the power of the Abyss.


    Moreover, considering his ambitions to gain control of the Divinity of Life and Nature, Ev¨¦ would not have spared the other party even if he had somehow resisted the corruption of the Abyss.


    This was a matter of principle.


    For the sake of elevating himself into a True God and seizing her predecessor¡¯s Divinity, this former demigod, who had once been a follower of the previous World Tree, not only dered for himself the grand, self-imposed title of ¡®God of Creation¡¯ but also erased all traces of the World Tree and even attacked those ancient elven believers.


    Such behavior is aplete betrayal to the former World Tree.


    With these thoughts, Ev¨¦ sighed faintly and raised her right hand.


    The Withering Heart in her palm transformed abruptly as it finally activated!


    The crimson ne turned into a scarlet beam of light, before heading straight toward the ¡®God of Creation.¡¯


    The yers present only felt a sudden surge of energy, a shocking and powerful aura that erupted from the goddess¡¯s body.


    Then, without warning, a blinding light appeared, radiating from the goddess in waves, as a scarlet beam, akin to a ming arrow, shot from Ev¨¦¡¯s hand and struck the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ in an instant.


    A crimson glow flickered across his form and quickly seeped into his body.


    Immediately afterward, the ¡®Creator¡¯s¡¯ movements stilled as his entire body began to tremble violently, as chains of light materialized around his form, their radiance blinding as they coiled tightly, wrapping around him like serpents.


    The chains shimmered with divine energy, their grip unrelenting as they bound the ¡®God of Creation¡¯pletely.


    He struggled, but it was futile¡ªone by one, the chains began to vanish, but not in the way he hoped.


    Instead of dissipating, they pierced into his very soul, sinking deep into his divine essence. Each chain that disappeared into him seemed to solidify the seals that were being ced upon which restricts his power.


    As the final chain vanished into him, the ¡°God of Creation¡¯s¡± aura began to fade at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.


    The sealing had been sessful.


    In fact, for a deity like her to resort to using a divine artifact just to seal a mere demigod-ranked mythical being seemed like an overkill.


    However, something during the sealing process caught Ev¨¦ by surprise.


    As she manipted the Withering Heart and its sealing chains entered the other person¡¯s body, she also sensed some of the other person¡¯s emotions more clearly.


    Rage.


    Boundless, unending rage.


    Yet this fury was not directed at Ev¨¦ per se, but rather it was aimed at the Withering Heart itself.


    Ev¨¦ could clearly sense that after she used the artifact to seal the ¡®God of Creation¡¯, the other party¡¯s aura becamepletely chaotic¡­


    ¡°The Withering Heart!¡±


    The Creator¡¯s roar reverberated, filled with resentment, fury, and unwillingness.


    He struggled frantically, thrashing against the chains binding him.


    s, it was all in vain.


    The Withering Heart¡¯s seals were intangible, and unlike physical chains or binding spells, these seals directly targeted the core of a being¡¯s existence¡ªthe godfire in the case of demigods, and the soul of its intended target.


    Amidst his desperate struggles, the ¡®Creator¡¯s¡¯ hooded robe was torn away.


    Atst, his appearance was finally revealed to Ev¨¦ and the surrounding yers.


    A handsome face, partially pointed ears, flowing silver hair, and eyes of violet-red that burned with madness, chaos, and rage¡­


    A Half-Elf.


    A half-elven demigod.


    His once-handsome features were now twisted, marred by a sinister expression and strange lines caused by the corruption of the power of the Abyss¡­


    Yet even so, Ev¨¦ still easily recognized his identity through the inheritance of the World Tree.


    This confirmed her prior suspicions:


    This self-proimed ¡®God of Creation¡¯ was none other than¡ª


    ¡°Ouros¡­¡±


    Ouros, the half-elven demigod, who¡¯s been a follower of her predecessor.


    Ev¨¦¡¯s gaze lingered upon his face as her emotions tangled inplexity.


    Within the World Tree¡¯s inheritance, Ouros was depicted as a loyal follower of the previous World Tree, steadfast for thousands of years despite not fully agreeing with some of her predecessor¡¯s ideals.


    But in the end, he had betrayed his master and befallen.


    Now, after being stripped of his power and sealed, he was nothing more than a mindless beast at this point, writhing uncontrobly on the ground.


    His incoherent and chaotic roars echoed endlessly throughout the city:


    ¡°The Withering¡­Heart! Uller!¡±


    ¡°sphemers must die¡­they all shall die!¡±


    ¡°sphemer¡­ die!¡±


    <strong>??? </strong>


    He struggled.


    And howled.


    Watching the other person rolling around like a deranged beast, for some reason, Eve suddenly felt an inexplicable pang of sadness within her heart.


    At this moment, she had already lost interest in using this whole event to show off her strength in front of the yers.


    ¡°Enough. Let it end here, and at the same time retain ast bit of his dignity of a mythical existence¡­¡±


    With a soft sigh, Eve¡¯s form blurred, reappearing directly before Ouros.


    She extended her hand once more, before cing it upon his thrashing form.


    ¡°Ouros, you have forged a cycle that continually absorbs the life force of others just to strengthen yourself. Now¡­ I shall break this cycle and use my own [Absorption] to finally end it all.¡±


    Her voice was calm as she whispered these words.


    Eve unleashed her [Absorption] ability, drawing forth Ouros¡¯s divine power and essence, which would serve to strengthen her own power.


    The essence of his soul, however, would allow her to ess his memories, much like when she had defeated Nidhogg.


    After all, Ouros was a half-elven demigod.


    Even in his maddened state, he still carried with him an invaluable memories of the past.


    For Ev¨¦, whocked the majority of her predecessor¡¯s memories, these recollections from a thousand years ago held great significance.


    More importantly, probing Ouros¡¯s memories might potentially also reveal the secrets regarding this demi-realm.


    Yet just as Eve¡¯s divine power began to absorb his powers, Ouros¡¯s body suddenly stiffened.


    In an instant, his struggles immediately ceased altogether.


    Even the rage and unwillingness that had burned so fiercely just moments ago vanished entirely within that instant.


    His deranged expression also softened into bewilderment, just as the chaotic light within his violet-red eyes swiftly faded.


    Then, to Eve¡¯s surprise, a fleeting rity appeared in his gaze.


    Ouros directly looked at her.


    For a moment, his eyes filled with longing and a dreamlike haze, as if he were a child who had been away from his mother for a long time, returning to her arms¡­


    With trembling hands, he slowly reached out toward Ev¨¦, as though trying to grasp something just beyond his reach.


    ¡°Mother¡­Goddess¡­Your Grace¡­¡±


    These faint whispers slipped from his lips.


    Ev¨¦ was momentarily startled by the other party¡¯s words, causing her [Absorption] ability to stop mid-action.


    A couple of seconds passed, and she saw the other person smile for the very first time.


    It was a contented, peaceful smile.


    He looked at her, his voice trembling with emotion as he spoke:


    ¡°You¡­ have finally¡­returned¡­¡±


    With those final words, his outstretched arm fell limp.


    In the same instant, his body slowly disintegrated, before finally shattering into countless particles of pure energy that flowed into Ev¨¦, seemingly carrying his memories along with them¡­


    ¡ª <strong>453</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ MOTHER¡­GODDESS¡­YOIR GRACE</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 454

    As the deluge of memories poured into her mind, Ev¨¦¡¯s senses underwent a sudden shift, and everything around her began to change.


    The yers were no longer there.


    The crumbling ruins of the city had also vanished.


    Even the grotesque local inhabitants that transformed into monsters and were battling the yers were nowhere to be seen.


    The mor of the battlefield¡ªthe shouts and shes ofbat, the crackle of mes, and the rumble of copsing structures¡ªall diminished as if submerged underwater, growing quieter and quieter until it vanishedpletely.


    Before her very eyes, the world itself seemed to suddenly dissolve akin to a drop of ink spreading in water.


    When she looked around again, Ev¨¦ realized she was in apletely unfamiliar space.


    It was an ancient, crumbling ce, exuding an overwhelming sense of destion and eerie surrealness, as though it¡¯s illusory.


    In this strange space, a long, narrow passage stretched out before her.The passage was riddled with cracks, seemingly on the verge of copse, yet still somehow held together by some mysterious force that twisted it into a precarious bnce, enabling its continued existence.


    s now, that delicate bnce appeared to be unraveling.


    The shattered passage was slowly disintegrating, breaking apart bit by bit.


    Along its length, a flickering, phantom-like doors emerged from the wreckage every once in a while.


    Ev¨¦ turned her eyes slightly and looked at the door closest to her.


    It was slightly ajar, and through the gap, she could clearly see the other side of it.


    Unlike the crumbling passage, whaty beyond seemed to be intact, like a separate, isted space.


    The sky was vast and clear, dotted with gentle clouds.


    Numerous verdant trees provided shade, whilst their canopies sway softly along with the breeze.


    On the grassy ground beneath the trees, a cheerful half-elf boy darted about,ughing as he yed.


    The boy had stunning silver hair and striking violet-red eyes.


    In that instant, as Ev¨¦id eyes upon him, a realization struck her:


    <em>He was Ouros! </em>


    The halfling Ouros, in his childhood.


    The boy looks utterly endearing.


    Hisughter seemed so innocent and pure, like the joyous song of a small angel.


    He yed happily along with the other full-blooded and half-elven children, theirughter filling the air as they yed amongst themselves within the forest.


    As these children was ying at some corner of the forest, Ev¨¦ could still vaguely discern the magnificent and prosperous city in the distance¡­


    The scene stirred something within her heart¡ªa faint familiarity with the cityscape and the unique energy resonating from it.


    ¡°This city seems to be¡­ Florence?¡±


    ¡°Could this be Ouros¡¯ Mental world?¡±


    Although these rhetorical questions were spoken softly to herself, Ev¨¦ was nearly certain of the answer.


    Every soul-bearing living being had a distinct mental world, wherein a vast sea of memories held the very essence of their existence.


    When one being devours another¡¯s memories, there is a chance they might enter the other person¡¯s mental world.


    It is a strange and wondrous phenomenon.


    By entering another¡¯s mental world, one can swiftly absorb their memories, devour their soul, and gain insight into the entirety of their life.


    Undoubtedly, Ev¨¦ had now entered Ouros¡¯ mental world.


    The moment he recognized her, Ouros had immediately ceased all resistance.


    He opened his own mental world entirely, embracing Eve¡¯s power and offering up everything he had to her without reservation.


    Now, after understanding the situation, Ev¨¦ also realized what the crumbling passageway and the phantom doors represented.


    The former represented the mental world of Ouros.


    As for thetter, these were the doors leading to the rooms containing the unforgettable memories he had experienced throughout his life!


    By exploring these fragments of the other person¡¯s memories, Ev¨¦ could quickly unravel the story of Ouros¡¯ life.


    Of course, being an outsider, she can leave this mental world easily at any given time.


    But Ev¨¦ had no intention of leaving.


    For this mental world was already copsing.


    Its time was clearly running out and was about to end soon.


    If she were to leave now, she might never have the chance to see Ouros¡¯ memories, since once a mental world fully copses, it only means one thing:


    Its owner has already perished.


    ¡ªNo.


    To be more urate, the person known as ¡®Ouros¡¯ had already perished a long time ago.


    From his mental world¡¯s current state, the passageway which symbolizes it had long since copsed.


    Even the surrounding space was riddled with fractures.


    This entire mental world felt as though it had shattered once before, with countless memory fragments now forcibly pieced back together.


    Indeed, it was forcibly held together by some ¡®force.¡¯


    This force seemed like a powerful, unyielding obsession that by some miracle, had somehow managed to stitched the broken mental world into a semnce of cohesion, thereby preserving it against all odds.


    After realizing this, Ev¨¦ froze momentarily, her expression shifting into a slightly stunned look.


    This meant that the one who had battled the yers and had fought her, was actually not the living demigod Ouros, but the lingering obsession he left behind after his death!


    When this truth dawned upon her, the sense of triumph that she felt after defeating the other party and achieving her goal had evaporated instantly.


    Because she suddenly felt that she seemed to have made a mistake¡­


    Ev¨¦ abruptly lifted her gaze, fixing her eyes upon the remaining phantom doors scattered along the copsing passageway.


    Her expression suddenly became a littleplicated.


    Drawing a deep breath, she stepped forward and ventured deeper into the passageway.


    The copse of Ouros¡¯ mental world continued on, but Ev¨¦ no longer paid it any attention.


    Her focus now rested solely upon the remaining doors lining up the passageway.


    She could not stop this world from copsing.


    And the only thing she could do now was explore the remaining fragments of memories housed within each door before they vanished altogether.


    As she walked forward, one by one, the memories of Ouros unfolded before her eyes.


    It was the life story of a half-elven demigod¡¯s journey of growth.


    He had loved nature, cherished life, and been a devout follower of the World Tree.


    His dream, since childhood, had always been clear:


    To be a priest blessed by the Goddess of Nature¡ªa genuine Godwarden of her.


    From the reckless naivety of his youth to the steadiness of maturity in hister life, and from his weak and insignificant beginnings to bing a figure of immense strength.


    Over the course of a thousand years, Ouros had lived many lives:


    A mercenary.


    A bounty hunter.


    A wandering merchant.


    Even a traveling bard.


    His footsteps could be found across the entire realm of Seig¨¹es.


    Along his journey, Ouros also encountered countless races¡ªeach with their unique customs, beliefs, and ways of life¡ªand forged innumerable friendships as well.


    He witnessed the brutality of war firsthand, seeing cities burn, families torn apart, and lives lost in the name of power and vengeance. Yet, he also witnessed times of peace and prosperity, when thend healed, and hope flourished anew.


    He saw the rise of humanity and the fall of elven cities.


    Ouros was born during the pinnacle of elven civilization.


    In that era, the footsteps of elves and half-elves extended to every corner of the world, and wherever they went, they were respected by all sentient races.


    Yet, the thousand years he lived through marked the shift of elven civilization from its peak into its gradual decline.


    Although the elves still remained the most powerful race, and the pinnacle of civilization, and although other species continued to show them reverence¡­


    The quiet rise of humans and demi-humans was already reshaping the world.


    He watched as human champions emerged, one after another.


    He heard of deities worshipped by humans gaining more and more believers and power.


    He watched as settlement after settlement of elves were slowly being overtaken by human forces.


    He witnessed new kingdoms of mankind sprouting across the continent, one after another.


    In those moments, he sensed the growing ambitions and desires of other races.


    He felt the surging undercurrents rippling across thend.


    s, the elves remained oblivious to all of it.


    In their hubris, the Elvenkind still celebrated the greatness of their civilization and sang praises of their majestic kingdoms.


    They indeed loved peace, and they were the kind and most gentle amongst all races.


    But at their core, the elves also bore an ingrained w¡ªan over inted pride that had gradually turned into blind arrogance.


    And this very arrogance of theirs had unknowingly be the harbinger of their own ruination.


    In that moment, Ouros finally understood:


    The elves, stuck with their old-fashioned ways¡­had failed to adapt to the rapidly changing world around them.


    ¡ª <strong>454</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ OUROS</strong><strong>THE HALF-ELF</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 455

    ¡°We must do something. We must make our fellow nsmen recognize the reality of the current situation¡­¡±


    ¡°Peace and kindness are virtues, but they alone cannot solve every problem!¡±


    ¡°We elves are without ambition, yet our civilization, by sole virtue of standing at the pinnacle, has be an obstacle to the ambitions of others¡­¡±


    ¡°The other races are progressing swiftly, and a race without ambition that continually yields will inevitably be a target in the end¡­¡±


    These thoughts consumed Ouros.


    He aspired to rise within the ranks of the Church of Nature to change the mindset of his fellow believers.


    He hoped to awaken the elves and other elven halflings to the harsh realities of the outside world and inspire them to adopt a firmer mindset.


    At the same time, he also wished for his people to cast aside their arrogance and acknowledge the growth andtent dangers posed by other races¡­


    Yet, despite his extraordinary affinity with nature and a growth rate that astonished even the High Priest, Ouros was unable to pass the Church of Nature¡¯s most basic priesthood exam.¡°Ouros, I know you are a devout follower of nature, and your faith in our Divine Matriarch is unwavering. However, some of your views are far too extreme.¡±


    ¡°Peace and kindness are the core ts of the Church of Nature. No matter what others do, we must not incite war or sumb to malevolence.¡±


    ¡°Our great Elven civilization is the centerpiece of this world. The Divine Matriarch is the most powerful being in the universe. No one can defeat us, and we have no need to wage war upon others.¡±


    ¡°The original intention of Her Majesty the Matriarch in creating us was to bring peace and prosperity upon this realm.¡±


    ¡°And only by adhering to peace, sincerity, and kindness can thisnd flourish in harmony¡­¡±


    The High Priest of the Church of Nature had often told him this.


    But such reasoning failed to convince Ouros at all.


    ¡°No, I do not agree!¡±


    ¡°Your arrogance blinds you! There are things out there beyond our control. Persisting on this old-fashioned beliefs will ultimately doom our elven civilization!¡±


    ¡°I must meet with the Divine Matriarch. I must exin everything to Her Grace. Surely our Great Mother will understand me!¡±


    This was his response.


    And as soon as Ouros said it, he acted upon it immediately.


    This was an era in which gods walked thend.


    Thus, for most ordinary sentient beings, the gods were not as distant or unattainable existence as they might appear.


    The same is true for the elves.


    Among the elves, there was even a legend passed down through generations.


    ording to this particr legend, if someone, without the aid of magic or any outside assistance, sealed their powers and ascended the towering World Tree to its very crown by using nothing but their own physical strength alone, then they would earn the right to meet the Great Goddess of Nature and Life, Yggdrasill herself. ????????¨§??


    This task, however, was anything but easy.


    The trunk of the World Tree, though fissured, was rtively smooth, and its massive cracks offered no grip or support for climbing at all.


    Nheless, Ouros had achieved it.


    After three years of relentless practice, day after day, he finally scaled the World Tree and reached its crown in the final hour of just a single day.


    There, he finally met their race¡¯s Divine Matriarch.


    The World Tree herself¡ªYggdrasill.


    The incarnation of their Great Mother appeared just as the Church had described her to be:


    Holy and beautiful.


    She gazed gently at Ouros and smiled.


    ¡°Brave child, I have watched you for three years. Your persistence and determination have moved me.¡±


    ¡°I shall grant you one wish.¡±


    Overjoyed, Ouros knelt devoutly and expressed his desire:


    ¡°Divine Matriarch, our elven race is falling into decline. If this persists, war will be unavoidable!¡±


    ¡°I wish to be your Godwarden. I wish to change the mindset of our people!¡±


    Ouros poured out all his thoughts and desires.


    But after hearing his plea, the Divine Matriarch only smiled faintly.


    ¡°Falling into decline, you say? And what of it?¡±


    <em>¡­what of it?</em>


    Ouros froze in shock.


    ¡°But we elves are your very creation¡ªthe race you personally crafted to be caretakers of thisnd!¡±


    He eximed, his voice filled with emotion.


    However, the Divine Matriarch merely let out a deep sigh.


    Her gaze slowly turned toward the vibrant Elven Forest in the distance and spoke:


    ¡°When I first created the elves, this realm was a deste, barrennd¡­¡±


    ¡°At that time, the Twilight War had only just concluded. The Titans were extinct, while the Dragons had withdrawn into seclusion, leaving this realm teetering on the verge of destruction¡­¡±


    ¡°Back then, thisnd needed a new race to be its caretaker to save it.¡±


    ¡°Thus, I created the elves with that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Now, after countless years have passed, this realm of Seig¨¹es has finally regained its former vitality.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, the main purpose of the elven race has, in truth, had alreadye to an end.¡±


    ¡°The rise of other races¡ªIndeed, I have foreseen it with my own eyes. But¡­what of it?¡±


    ¡°From the very outset, I did not create the Elvenkind with the intention of dominating this world.¡±


    ¡°This is an ever-changingnd, and no race shall remain prosperous in perpetuity.¡±


    ¡°The Elven Civilization, too, is destined to fall into decline in some form or another¡­¡±


    ¡°And should that day trulye, then I, as your mother, will ensure that you, my children have onest sanctuary for yourselves.¡±


    The Divine Matriarch spoke with serene resolve.


    ¡°Do you mean¡­we must seclude ourselves from the world? And by sanctuary, Your Grace, are you referring to the Elven Forest?¡± Ouros asked.


    The Divine Matriarch smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°You elves are a race of peace and kindness, unburdened by worldly ambition.¡±


    ¡°Such a race is inherently unsuited to take the helm as the sovereign of this realm.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, I had never intended use you, the Elvenkind to dominate this world to begin with.¡±


    Hearing her words, Ouros fell silent, momentarily lost in thought.


    ¡°But Your Grace, is this not simply an act of escapism? Can the elves truly withdraw in peace in this manner?¡± he questioned.


    In response, the Divine Matriarch only offered a faint smile.


    ¡°What if it¡¯s an act of escapism? In doing so, we are avoiding needless strife. Furthermore, with my presence alone, none would dare threaten the elves.¡±


    Ouros hesitated, internally feeling conflicted.


    It was correct to some extent.


    Their Divine Matriarch was the most powerful being in existence.


    As long as she stood at the pinnacle, no matter how far the elves might fall into decline, no one could dare threaten them.


    ¡ªYet.


    ¡°Your Grace¡­¡±


    Ouros raised his head.


    ¡°But, Your Grace, it is not only the other races that are advancing in stride. The gods of faith they worship are likewise gaining in power as well¡­¡±


    He trailed off, unwilling to voice thoughts that might border on sheer sphemy.


    Still, the Divine Matriarch seemed to understand his unworded concerns.


    She smiled knowingly and shook her head.


    ¡°Child, you worry too much.¡±


    She offered no further exnation, but Ouros had an inkling of what she meant.


    It was She, the World Tree herself, who first discovered the path to divine ascension through faith.


    Although the Divine Matriarch had not wholly embraced this path, it became the beacon that guided many others toward ascension, thereby granting them their rightful ce amongst the pantheon.


    Thus, to many Gods of Faith, the World Tree was regarded as their teacher¡ªnay, even their mother.


    Making the title ¡®Mother of All Gods¡¯ not a mere honorary distinction.


    Realizing this, Ouros reluctantly lowered his gaze.


    At that moment, the Divine Matriarch spoke again.


    ¡°s, you are correct about one thing.¡±


    ¡°The current elves has indeed grown far too arrogant.¡±


    ¡°The minds of these children nowadays have stagnated, and for many, simply being an elf has made them think as though they are the center of the world.¡±


    ¡°This, too, is my failing. I am not blind to the pervasive belief that the elves are thinking that they have be the ¡®protagonists¡¯ of this Era.¡±


    ¡°The elves, without a doubt, needed a new voice of reason.¡±


    She turned her gaze to Ouros and smiled.


    ¡°Ouros, would you be willing to ept my blessing and be my Godwarden?¡±


    Ouros¡¯s eyes widened, filled with emotion.


    ¡°I would be honored!¡±


    The Divine Matriarch smiled faintly.


    With a gentle gesture, a radiant green orb of light appeared in her hand.


    ¡°This is the first Divine Kingdom I created during my initial foray into exploring the path of faith. Now, it is sealed in this state.¡±


    ¡°Regrettably, my endeavor proved to be unsessful. This Divine Kingdom in the end failed to merge with me, and since then, it has exhibited signs of shifting from an alternate dimension into a confined, isted realm.¡±


    ¡°Nevertheless, this failed Divine Kingdom still harbors a well-developed set ofws.¡±


    ¡°Now, I shall bestow this failed Divine Kingdom upon you. May it serve to aid you in mastering the power ofws and elevate you to the stature of a Demigod.¡±


    ¡°Remember, this Divine Kingdom holds great potential.¡±


    ¡°Should you master itpletely, then perchance, one day, it may even aid you in ascending the path to Divinity.¡±


    With those words, she waved her hand gently, whilst the orb of light slowly drifted into Ouros¡¯s grasp.


    ¡ª <strong>455</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ DIVINE MATRIARCH</strong> ¡¿


    ¡ª  ¡ª


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 Chapter 456

    Ouros had ascended into being a Demigod.


    Less than a decade after his audience with the Divine Matriarch, he finally broke free from the bounds of mortality, sessfully igniting the divine fire of his ownw, and became a genuine Demigod.


    At the same time, an oracle from the World Tree was issued to all Temples of Nature across thend.


    Demigod Ouros officially received the Divine Matriarch¡¯s recognition, bing one of the esteemed eight demigod-rank Godwardens under her service.


    For the World Tree, which had no true god-rank subordinates, this was tantamount to having a subordinate deity.


    From that moment, the prodigal elven rebel, notorious amongst elves and half-elves alike in his youth for his defiance of their traditions, was no more.


    In his ce stood the Church of Nature¡¯s eighth demigod Godwarden, the Guardian of Life, who had forged his divine path byprehending thews of life.


    Ouros¡¯s rise caught both the elves and half-elves by surprise, as no one had expected that this prodigal figure would earn the favor of their Patron Deity.


    Yet, from this point on, Ouros¡¯s conflicts with the Church only intensified.To ordinary elves and half-elves, many of Ouros¡¯s radical ideas bordered on pure heresy¡ªwhich was utterly uneptable.


    Even after his promotion to demigod and formal entry into the Church¡¯s clerical leadership, his rtionships with other elves, especially his fellow demigods, did not improve much at all.


    ¡°Arrogance, you say? This is not arrogance; it is our pride!¡±


    ¡°We, the elvenkind, are the most perfect beings the Divine Matriarch has created. We are a race conceived by a True God and are in no wayparable to those of lowly bloodlines!¡±


    ¡°Without us, how many other races could have even dared to develop a civilization of their own!? And you would have the audacity to think they could ever actually surpass us?¡±


    ¡°Ouros, you worry too much about them.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just ignore his radical ideas. He¡¯s nothing but a madman, I say¡ªa paranoid lunatic!¡±


    ¡°Your ideas is nothing but sheer sphemy!¡±


    ¡°Such heresy is far more terrifying than believing in the ult¡­¡±


    Isted.


    Marginalized.


    Ouros eventually found himself increasingly excluded within the ranks of the Church.


    Yet this didn¡¯t dampen his convictions but only made them grow stronger.


    ¡°The Divine Matriarch herself recognized the merits of my ideas. This was a clear sign of her trust in me!¡±


    ¡°s, the current Elvenkind has fallen from its former glory¡­ I must do something to change how most of my fellow elves and half-elves perceive the outside world!¡±


    His prior conversation with the Divine Matriarch had undeniably shifted some of Ouros¡¯s views.


    At the very least, after understanding Her Grace¡¯s stance and vision regarding Elvenkind, he no longer sought to preserve their dominance as the pinnacle of civilization.


    However, figuring out how to help the elves ept their current reality, how to make them realize the threat, and how to make them ept that their only option was to seclude themselves posed a delicate challenge.


    Nevertheless, sometimes in life, certain events often unfold in unexpected ways.


    Suddenly, without warning.


    War came.


    One day, out of nowhere, a vast amount of divine power flooded the skies, and towering golden figures appeared above the Elven Forest.


    Almost every other sentient race, as if acting in cohesion, deployed their numerous armies to encircle the Elven Kingdom.


    On that day, the various gods of faith¡­betrayed their mentor, the Mother of All Gods who had led them to the path of divinity.


    Led by the gods of mankind, a total of 138 faith-based deities surrounded the World Tree.


    Their majestic voices reverberated above the Elven Forest:


    ¡°Your Majesty, the Mother of All Gods¡­ this will be thest time we address you as such.¡±


    ¡°Your power surpasses all, and your strength is a peril beyond measure.¡±


    ¡°The era of the ancient gods and the elves shall nowe to an end from this point on. Your very existence, your boundless potential, and your uniqueness¡­ present a tremendous threat not only to the realm of Seig¨¹es but to the entire universe itself.¡± R


    ¡°For this, we are deeply sorry.¡±


    ¡°Your Grace, Yggdrasill, you shall fall today.¡±


    The voices of the deities of faith were sacred, yet frigid in their tone.


    Meanwhile, Ouros and several other elven demigods stood by the Divine Matriarch¡¯s side.


    They gazed at the assembly of gods advancing toward them, their expressions filled with disappointment and fury.


    ¡°Your Excellency Uller! You too have joined the attack against the Divine Matriarch? Have you forgotten who helped the orcs through their darkest hour?¡±


    Ouros turned to one of the towering figures, his voice trembling with anger.


    In response, he received only a soft sigh.


    ¡°I am grateful for the aid Yggdrasill once offered,¡± the figure said.


    ¡°But I value the future more than the past.¡±


    ¡°Traitors! You are unworthy of being called a god!¡±


    Ouros roared, his fury unrestrained.


    Such defiance toward a true god was heretical, and his outburst drew cold, disdainful hums from many of the deities.


    Instantly, waves of oppressive divine power bore down upon him.


    But with a simple gesture, the Goddess of Nature brushed away their oppressive force as if it were nothing.


    ¡°So, this is your choice¡­¡±


    She only murmured with a faint sigh.


    Her voice carried a mix of resignation, sorrow, and regret, whilst her expression also reflected a trace of self-mockery.


    ¡°It seems I, too, have sumbed to arrogance¡­ Foolish enough to believe you lot would understand.¡±


    Turning to the elven demigods at her side, she smiled softly.


    ¡°Leave now.¡±


    ¡°Take the rest of your fellow nsmen to safety.¡±


    ¡°This is my personal war with them¡ªtherefore it does not concern any of you.¡±


    ¡°Remember, the future of the elvenkind solely depends on you¡­¡±


    With those words, she waved her hand, teleporting the eight elven and half-elven demigods into another dimensions.


    Then, the Goddess of Nature turned her gaze back to the attacking gods of faith, her aura swelling with unstoppable power whilst all the nts within the Elven Forest seemed toe alive in that instant.


    From her lofty vantage point, she looked down upon the invading gods with a faint smile.


    ¡°Come, then. Show me just how much you lot have grown¡­¡±


    <strong>??? </strong>


    Thus, the war of the gods had began.


    It was a battle of unimaginable magnitude,sting a full day and night.


    As the gods waged their war, the heavens themselves seemed to tremble, and the earth below quaked under the force of their conflict. The very air crackled with energy, as the veryws of reality themselves were bent to the will of the divine.


    Mountains crumbled,nds copsed, and the entire realm of Seig¨¹es suffered devastating damage.


    In the end, after defeating over twenty gods, the World Tree could no longer withstand theirbined assault and finally fell, sumbing to a near-death state.


    Ouros, after being teleported to another dimension, did not personally witness the entire course of the war.


    By the time he and the other demigods returned to Seig¨¹es, the battle had already ended.


    s, what awaited them was the grim reality:


    The World Tree had already fallen, and their territories had been divided among the victorious gods.


    In its aftermath, the realm of Seig¨¹es, having suffered grievous damage from the war, was left teetering on the brink of destruction.


    Its mana levels plummeted to the point of nearly falling below the standards of a mythical realm, causing all external dimensional passageways to close one after another and forcing the gods to leave Seig¨¹es and retreat to the heavenly realm.


    But while the war had just ended, the nightmare for the elvenkind was just beginning.


    Before departing, the gods ced a curse upon the entirety of the Elven race, binding their potential to a rank below their lineage.


    Without the protection of their Patron Deity and shackled by the curse, the elves eventually became easy prey for the other races.


    In a single night, the once-prosperous elven civilization copsed entirely.


    Ten thousand years of glory dissolved like a fleeting dream.


    Ouros and the remaining demigods could only lead the remnants of their people to survive in the shattered remains of the Elven Forest.


    ¡°The Divine Matriarch could have held the entire realm hostage to fight the gods,¡±


    Ouros muttered bitterly.


    ¡°But in the end¡­ she chose to sacrifice herself.¡±


    ¡°I will bring her back! No matter the cost, I will reawaken our Great Mother!¡±


    Clenching his fists, his resolve burned like an unquenchable me.


    ¡ª <strong>456</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ BETRAYAL</strong><strong>AND FALL</strong> ¡¿


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    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 457

    The clear and coherent section of Ouros¡¯ fragmented memories ended here.


    What followed was a chaotic storm of fragmented, disjointed scenes, as though an external force had invaded and corroded the fabric of his recollections.


    Still, even from these broken snippets, Ev¨¦ could still piece together Ouros¡¯s subsequent actions.


    He sought out the sacred vessel used by their Divine Matriarch as her incarnate body whenever she performed a divine descent, which was safeguarded within the Church of Nature, and also discovered the core fragment of the Scepter of Life that was believed to have been destroyed during the Heavenly War.


    After acquiring the sacred vessel and the core fragment, Ouros then began to enact his n to resurrect their Goddess.


    That is, by using their Matriarch¡¯s incarnate body as the primary container, he would store within it the divine power he received from the worship of his believers and ultimately ignite the divine me of life and nature within the vessel.


    This act could indirectly reawaken the dormant divinity within the World Tree¡¯s true body.


    If proven feasible, their Matriarch could then use this incarnate vessel as her foundation to fully reawaken herself.


    This was amon method employed by the believers of Gods of Faith to resurrect their gods, and although the World Tree was an ancient deity, She had dabbled in the path of faith, making this n theoretically feasible.However, there was a critical issue with this n.


    Typically, for a faith-based deity to return, their divine kingdom must remain rtively intact. Only then could the cycle of faith of their respective believers be restored when the divine me was reignited, thereby ensuring the smooth reawakening of their divinity.


    Unfortunately, the World Tree¡¯s divine kingdom had been destroyed by the other gods during the war.


    Thus, doubts arose about Ouros¡¯s n once again:


    ¡°Ouros, reawakening Her Grace using the method you proposed is indeed a possibility. s¡­ the Matriarch¡¯s divine kingdom was destroyed by those traitorous gods during the war. Without an intact divine kingdom as our foundation, how can the Goddess return through this n of yours?¡±


    Despite facing such skepticism from the other demigods, Ouros responded calmly:


    ¡°The issue of having an intact divine kingdom is not a problem, for I already have one that originally belongs to Her Grace, the Divine Matriarch.¡±


    ¡°A divine kingdom that originally belongs to the Matriarch? Could it be¡­ you¡¯re referring to the sealed realm the Divine Matriarch once bestowed upon you?¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    ¡°But if I¡¯m not mistaken, that realm has already merged with you, bing your own divine foundation ever since you began walking the path of divine faith yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°If you truly intend to use this realm as a substitute for our Matriarch¡¯s divine kingdom, then you must understand that there will be consequences. By doing so, you¡¯ll effectively destroying your own divine foundation, which essentially means death for demigods like you.¡±


    ¡°I have never feared death. The elven race cannot survive without our Divine Matriarch¡¯s guidance, and her return shall ensure those traitorous god¡¯s will pay for what they¡¯ve done. For that, I am willing to give up everything! Be it my life or my eventual descent into darkness just to resurrect our Divine Matriarch¡­¡±


    ???


    The remaining fragments of Ouros memories became even more increasingly disjointed and chaotic.


    Ev¨¦ continued to walk along the continuously copsing passageway as she moved deeper into the remnants of Ouros¡¯s mind.


    Along the way, she saw glimpses of his actions where he sacrificed a huge portion of his own life force to forcibly extract the ¡®divine kingdom¡¯ that had already fused with him and transformed it into a demi-realm tethered to the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    He then used his own flesh and blood to create countless half-elves, while the demi-realm rapidly evolved. His divine essence merged with the demi-realm¡¯s provenance, further perfecting its already well-established fundamentalws.


    At the same time, three hundred of his own followers also entered this demi-realm, and became the pioneers of a new civilization, sparking the mes of faith amongst the newly created half-elves who inhabited the realm.


    Yet Ouros¡¯s consciousness did not fully perish.


    By leveraging the power of the Abyss, it somehow lingered in a peculiar, twisted form.


    After all, their Divine Matriarch¡¯s resurrection still required his guidance, and only he, as the demi-realm¡¯s master, could oversee the entire process.


    Hence, to ensure her smooth reawakening, he was willing to fall into darkness.


    He would wait.


    He would watch.


    He would endure until the very day their Divine Matriarch truly reawakened once more¡­


    Until that dayes, he could not afford to disappear yet!


    ???


    As Ev¨¦ ventured deeper and deeper, the memory fragments became fewer and increasingly more disjointed.


    She saw the invasion of those foreign gods.


    The emergence of the demi-realm had drawn the attention of faith-based deities, who sent out some of their believers to investigate.


    Next, Ev¨¦ witnessed the civil strife between those three hundred ancient elves and Ouros.


    These elves finally discovered that Ouros had been secretly draining the life force of the beings that inhabited the demi-realm.


    His modifications to the church¡¯s core beliefs also crossed a line that these ancient elves could not tolerate.


    ¡°Lord Ouros, you have gone too far¡­¡±


    ¡°Our primary goal is to resurrect our Divine Matriarch, not to exploit these poor innocent people by secretly siphoning their life force just to umte divine power!¡±


    ¡°Not to mention, you¡¯ve diminished the importance of our Divine Matriarch¡¯s existence andpletely reced her by using the title of the God of Creation for yourself!¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to do exactly? Are you nning to hoard the divine power we umted just for your own divine ascension?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we shall never allow it!¡±


    The three hundred ancient elves were rightfully furious, yet Ouros only responded in a cold and dismissive manner.


    ¡°And if I am? What of it?¡±


    The ancient elves could not ept such answer.


    Thus, war broke out.


    However, as the sole master of the demi-realm, Ouros crushed their rebellion with ease.


    This entire war against the three hundred ancient elves was, to him, little more than a farce, and so, peace returned to the demi-realm, though the local inhabitants quickly noticed that the ¡®Divine Beings¡¯ had somehow disappeared altogether.


    Staring at the lifeless bodies of his former followers, killed by his own two hands, Ouros could do nothing but fell into silence.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m


    he whispered.


    ¡°My actions have drawn the attention of those traitorous gods. This was the only way to divert their vignce.¡±


    ¡°Those traitors will never allow the resurrection of our Divine Matriarch. A selfish, power-hungry demigod is a more eptable distraction to them.¡±


    ¡°The title of God of Creation never referred to me. Our Divine Matriarch is the true creator of this world, and thus the only rightful deity of creation¡­¡±


    ¡°I never wanted to drain the life force of all the living things that inhabit this realm¡­but without sufficient divine power, the Her Grace¡¯s reawakening is nearly impossible¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides¡­ I don¡¯t have much time left¡­¡±


    Ouros sighed deeply, lowering his gaze to his body.


    The body he was using was a vessel he had pieced together through unconventional means.


    Half of his form was now marked by sinister, spiraling patterns and shrouded in a ck miasma.


    It was the corruption of the Abyss.


    The Abyss held mysterious power and despite its inherent malevolence properties it waThe body he was using was a vessel he had pieced together through unconventional means.


    Half of his form was now marked by sinister, spiraling patterns and shrouded in a ck miasma filled with corruption.


    The body he was using was a vessel he had pieced together through unconventional means.


    Half of his form was now marked by sinister, spiraling patterns and shrouded in a ck miasma filled with corruption.


    The body he was using was a vessel he had pieced together through unconventional means.


    Half of his form was now marked by sinister, spiraling patterns and shrouded in a ck miasma.


    It was the corruption of the Abyss.


    The Abyss possesses mysterious powers.


    It can preserve the will of an existence that should have already died, but at the same time, it also relentlessly erodes and assimtes its host to its malevolent tendencies.


    Eventually, such evil power would consume him entirely, making him one with its darkness as he falls intoplete depravity.


    ¡°Mother¡­ will I ever see you again?¡±


    ???


    Ouros¡¯s memories ended there.


    When Ev¨¦ finished traversing his memories passageway, Ouros¡¯s mental world finally reached its limit andpletely copsed upon itself.


    In a brilliant explosion of light, like radiant fireworks scattering across a dark sky, Eve¡¯s consciousness was suddenly torn from the copsing mental world and returned back to reality.


    E


    ¡ª <strong>457</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ I AM WILLING</strong><strong>TO</strong><strong>GIVE UP EVERYTHING</strong> ¡¿


    <strong>? </strong><strong> ? </strong>


    <strong> ? </strong><strong> ?</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª

 Chapter 458

    Ouros¡¯s body crumbled with a deafening crash.


    In that instant, Ev¨¦ felt the Heart of Life in her embrace suddenly grow scorching hot.


    A few seconds passed as she instinctively sensed a formal bond forming between herself and the demi-realm, solidifying her role as its rightful master.


    She hadn¡¯t deliberately left her mark on the realm per se; but rather, when Ouros¡¯s obsession-fueled body finally copsed, the demi-realm itself chose her as its new Sovereign.


    At the precise moment this recognition urred, Ev¨¦ immediately felt a profound power, long buried within the Provenance of the demi-realm, suddenly erupt in an overwhelming surge.


    It was an outpouring of pure divine energy, radiant and boundless, brimming with the very essence of life itself.


    This blinding divine light radiated outward, while countless green particles danced in the air like fluttering elemental sprites, adorning the demi-realm in an ethereal and breathtaking disy of beauty.


    Such mystical energy descended upon thend, causing nts to sprout and grow at a remarkable speed.


    Meanwhile, the demi-realm¡¯s local inhabitants felt an inexplicable release, as though chains within their bodies had been broken, leaving them with an indescribable sense of lightness and relief.The gentle waves of energy washed over every resident of Seig¨¹es who had been transformed into a monster, causing their monstrous features to rapidly fade away.


    A few momentster, they reverted to their original forms, their eyes filled with vitality once more.


    The residents, still in a daze, looked around at the devastated surroundings in confusion. The destruction around them seemed iprehensible, and they struggled to make sense of the events that had unfolded.


    Meanwhile, the yers stared in astonishment as each of the cityfolk returned to normal and felt delighted to see the enemy boss easily defeated by the goddess¡¯s attack¡­


    They raised their weapons high and cheered:


    ¡°Haha! We won! We did it!¡±


    ¡°The goddess is incredible! Long live the goddess!¡±


    ¡°Our goddess is the best!¡±


    Thousands of yers shouted in unison, their voices echoing throughout the city.


    At that precise moment, another faint wave of energy swept through the surroundings, emanating from deep within the demi-realm¡¯s provenance, like some kind of mechanism that had been predesigned long ago.


    This subtle energy passed over all living beings native to the the demi-realm, and at the same time, the city¡¯s residents, guards, and believers of the Creator all simultaneously froze in ce with their expressions showing a nk expression.


    Their stuporsted only a few seconds before they regained their senses once more.


    In the next moment, these natives, bearing traces of elven blood, turned their gazes toward the yers with a mix of awe and excitement:


    ¡°The Divine n! They surely must be the divine beings from the legends!¡±


    ¡°Atst, the Divine Beings have descended!¡±


    ¡°It seems they were the ones who defeated the fallen god of that evil church! They¡¯ve saved our world!¡±


    A wave of adoration swept over their faces as each of the residents¡¯ expressions glowed with a fervor that seemed to lift them from the ground itself.


    It was unclear who started it, but soon, under the bewildered, proud, apprehensive, or excited gazes of the yers, every city residents knelt before them in reverence. ?


    The yers watched in awe as, one by one, the local cityfolk extended their hands with trembling reverence, their fingers tracing tree-like symbols over their chests in a gesture that spoke of deep devotion.


    Their movements were clumsy, as if they were unfamiliar with the precise motions, but their sincerity was undeniable.


    As they performed this ritual, chants of praise began to rise in unison, echoing throughout the city like a tidal wave of sound.


    Naturally, the native residents¡¯ gazes also turned towards Ev¨¦, who stood at the center of the scene, bathed in a radiant holy light that seemed to emanate from her very being.


    In that instant, their gazes further deepened, whilst their hands clenched, and their hearts raced as waves of emotion surged through each of them.


    ¡°Th-That¡­ That figure must surely be Her Majesty, the Goddess, the Mother of All Gods!¡±


    ¡°She is the true God of Creation! The one true deity, standing above all!¡±


    ¡°The Goddess has not forsaken us¡­ She had decided to save us! She has finally descended upon our realm!¡±


    ¡°All hail the Great True God! All hail the Great Goddess of Nature and Life!¡±


    A wave of fervent cries erupted from the inhabitants of this demi-realm, their voices rising in unison, filling the air with a palpable sense of awe and devotion.


    At the same time, Ev¨¦ sensed new stars emerging within the illusory skies of her divine kingdom, each one connecting to herwork of faith.


    These stars came from these new believers, which represent their religious devotion.


    At that moment, these residents who once worshipped the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ collectively redirected their faith toward Ev¨¦, instantly bing her believers.


    However, despite gaining such a huge amount of new believers, Ev¨¦ felt little joy or excitement within her heart.


    With a gentle wave of her hand, Ev¨¦ weed the faint ripple of energy, letting it brush against her divine essence.


    In that moment, an overwhelming rity washed over her.


    She instantlyprehended the true nature of this pure life energy that had erupted from the demi-realm¡¯s provenance, along with the deeper purpose of this subtle, almost imperceptible wave.


    It was Ouros¡¯s final contingency, ast-ditch measure embedded within the very core of the demi-realm itself.


    This psychological suggestion had been carefully imprinted upon all sentient beings within this world, a subtle maniption of their minds, guiding them toward a singrpulsion.


    It seemed to be triggered once Ouros hadpletely disappeared and the Goddess had reawakened within the sacred vessel.


    Its purpose was to attribute all the wrongdoingsmitted by the Church of Creation since its inception to Ouros alone and to reestablish the Mother of All Gods as the true creator of this demi-realm.


    Ouros had been a devout believer, but despite his unwavering faith, hecked the wisdom and skill to be an effective steward of this demi-realm.


    During his thousand years of governance, his efforts to gather life force to revive their Patron Deity brought about countless disasters and chains of oppression.


    In the early days, when the elves who initially followed him were still alive, the Church of Creation had functioned rtively well.


    However, after Ouros¡¯s obsession isted him from the others,bined with the Abyss¡¯s corruption and his own ws, managing the church¡¯s operations became a daunting task for him.


    Eventually, the church became a sinister organization that tried to control everything through mind maniption¡­


    Over the past thousand years, although the local poption had continued to increase, the number of devout believers who truly believed in the God of Creation had be fewer and fewer as the years went by.


    In a sense, the Church of Creation from this point on had be a hollow shell of its former self, existing merely in name only.


    In fact, even if Ouros had done nothing, the church would still have copsed entirely after his obsession dissipated


    Yet allowing such an oue would mean that Ouros¡¯s thousand years of effort would only achieve partial sess.


    ording to his original n, every residents of this demi-realm were meant to be believers of the Divine Matriarch.


    After all, she would need worshippers to sustain her existence once she was fully reawakened.


    Thus, Ouros devised this one finalpulsion.


    Within this design, Ouros would expose himself as the mastermind behind the church¡¯s corruption and the root of all its wrongdoings.


    He would carry the weight of all the sins, the wrongsmitted by the Church of Creation, and the cmities that had befallen this realm due to his own relentless obsession and bear the mantle of evil.


    Meanwhile, the returning elves and the reawakened Goddess would be hailed as the world¡¯s saviors.


    It was a story as old as time itself, one where evil inevitably fell, vanquished by the righteous power of the reawakened true god.


    This was Ouros¡¯s final script for this demi-realm.


    It was the first¡ªandst¡ªgift he could offer to their Great Mother upon her return.


    He wanted to dedicate everything to the Divine Matriarch, even if it meant burdening himself with all the me and sumbing into eternal slumber.


    This was his choice.


    The decision he made being a guardian of life, and the eight Godwarden serving under the World Tree.


    Through this one finalpulsion that he devised, Ev¨¦ came to understand the weight behind Ouros¡¯s actions.


    Her gaze grew heavy withplexity.


    ¡°This is an incredibly burdensome gift¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦¡¯s gaze wandered, her eyes shifting ever so slightly as she took in the surroundings around her.


    The festive noise of the yers¡¯ celebration echoed in the air, blending with the jubnt cheers of the local residents.


    Although the city had suffered significant destruction during the battle, the oppressive gloom that had once hung over it was now entirely gone.


    The city itself seemed to pulse with renewed life and hope, wrapped in an atmosphere of newfound jubtion.


    And it wasn¡¯t just happening within the city of Seig¨¹es alone.


    Now that Ev¨¦ became the new master of this demi-realm, her perception now extended to the entirend and she could see everything happening within it, with perfect rity.


    At this very moment, every settlement across this demi-realm was reveling in celebration.


    Through her divine sight, she ¡®saw¡¯ joyous towns, thrilled vigers, and heartfelt celebrations happening one after another.


    She ¡®saw¡¯ Lilia in Divine Grace Town, praying tearfully along with herpanions.


    She also ¡®saw¡¯ Elder Roergue, facing the direction of Seig¨¹es City with a peaceful smile on his lips as his life quietly came to an end¡ªa smile full of contentment and relief.


    Currently, every living being within this demi-realm seemed to be rejoicing at theing of the one True God.


    It seemed like a perfect, happy ending.


    ¡­Yet, the original figure who had orchestrated it all was now forever gone.


    ¡ª <strong>458</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ ONE LAST</strong><strong>GIFT FOR THE MATRIARCH</strong> ¡¿


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 Chapter 459

    Eve decided to ept Ouros¡¯ ¡®gift.¡¯


    How could she not when Ouros, the demigod, had practically given up everything in a desperate gambit to reawaken the World Tree.


    But from her perspective, Ouros n had ultimately failed.


    Judging by this demi-realm¡¯s condition, it seems like it could not endure the reawakening of a true deity.


    In the process of him drawing upon its life force, this demi-realm gradually depleted its own reserves, which hurtled it toward destruction.


    Had Eve not arrived, Ouros would almost certainly have perished alongside the crumbling demi-realm.


    Yet, in his desperation, Ouros had actually seeded in one crucial aspect:


    That is, Eve¡¯s timely arrival ensured that everything was preserved before the realm inevitably copsed.


    Ouros¡¯ final gift now served as a vital source of energy for her. With it, she could grow even stronger, so from this perspective, Ouros efforts, though costly, were not in vain.


    His actions ultimately benefited the World Tree and the elven race as a whole.


    Although Eve was not the previous World Tree, she had been chosen as its sessor from another world. She sessfully inherited the divinity of the World Tree, ascending to the role of the new Matriarch of the elves.


    Now, the future of the elven race rested squarely upon her shoulders.


    Receiving Ouros¡¯ gift also forced Eve to confront a critical issue:


    ¡ªThe weight of her inheritance.


    By taking up the mantle of the World Tree, she had epted not only her predecessor¡¯s power but also the responsibilities and duties that came along with it.


    This wasn¡¯t a matter of conscience but a principle¡ªa conviction that a true deity must uphold to remain true to themselves.


    With this in mind, Ev¨¦ murmured:


    ¡°One hundred and thirty-eight gods¡­is it? Even though some fell at the hands of my predecessor, there are still over a hundred enemies remaining.¡±


    ¡°However, if I remember correctly, when I visited the Pantheon, there were fewer than a hundred thrones currently active. Considering the deities who refrained from participating in the Heavenly War, the actual number of enemies I¡¯ll face might be even lower.¡±


    ¡°Of course, among those hundred-plus enemies of mine, there are likely also a few Evil Gods whose thrones don¡¯t exist within the Pantheon.¡±


    ¡°Either way, it¡¯s going to be a challenge.¡±


    ¡°But since I¡¯ve chosen to ept my predecessor¡¯s inheritance, I will ensure the elves and Ouros receive the resolution they all deserve.¡±


    Ev¨¦ resolved firmly within her heart.


    With aplex mix of emotions, she distributed the rewards to the yers who had participated in the quest before departing the scene, carefully controlling her newly acquired incarnate body. §²?


    She made no attempt to resurrect Ouros.


    This demigod hadpletely sacrificed his soul in the desperate act of forcefully ¡®converting¡¯ thisnd into a demi-realm.


    It was an irreversible choice, one that had cost him everything.


    What remained of him had been thoroughly polluted and assimted by the Abyss, leaving behind only fragments twisted beyond recognition.


    Without a functional soul or even a coherent remnant, there was no foundation upon which to revive him.


    Moreover, as a demigod without believers to provide him the power of faith, Ouros could no longer be revived.


    All Eve could do was honor the wishes embedded in the fragments of his fading memories¡ªto guide the elves back to prosperity.


    She would also inherit his burdens, taking up the mantle to confront the enemies of her predecessor.


    With the Heart of Life in her possession, Ev¨¦ quickly returned to her divine kingdom.


    Within the Supreme Temple, the Scepter of Life awaited.


    Sensing the approach of its final fragment, the artifact began to radiate a faint yet unmistakable emotion of joy, as though it too longed forpletion.


    Ev¨¦ raised her hand, and the Heart of Life floated gently from her grasp, glowing softly with an inner light. The Scepter of Life, hovering as if alive, drifted forward to meet it.


    When the two artifacts finally touched, a radiant brilliance erupted, flooding the temple with light as they merged into one.


    In an instant, Ev¨¦ felt a surge of pure, immense divine life energy emanating from the Scepter of Life.


    A radiant pir of light shot skyward, illuminating half of her divine kingdom.


    As the light receded, the fully restored Scepter of Life appeared before Eve.


    It was now more exquisite than ever, shimmering with a gentle, iridescent glow, as if it were the world¡¯s most treasured artifact.


    Through her divine perception, Ev¨¦ also noticed the Scepter¡¯s abilities had significantly been enhanced.


    It had fully regained its peak state, reiming its rightful ce among the top ten divine artifacts in the entire universe.


    Eve beckoned softly, and the Scepter of Life spun joyfully in the air, like a child responding to its mother¡¯s call before settling into her hand.


    Holding the Scepter, Eve immediately felt her mastery over the Laws of Life ascend to an unparalleled level of refinement.


    In that moment, she realized the extent of her newfound power.


    With just a thought and the expenditure of divine energy, she could now bestow life upon anything sheid her eyes upon. Even lifeless objects such as rocks, a table, or even grains of sand¡ªcould be imbued with intelligence and consciousness, molded by her sheer will alone.


    At the same time, she now held dominion over life itself.


    With the Scepter in hand, she now possessed the power to strip the life force from any living being below the level of a true god, determining their fate with nothing more than a single thought.


    This ability came effortlessly, requiring only a minimal expenditure of divine power.


    If not for the taboo against gods directly interfering with mortals, which is an act that would draw the attention of other entities, then Ev¨¦ would already be invincible in the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    Of course, this newfound ability of hers also further reduced the cost of reviving any yers that died.


    Additionally, Ev¨¦ had now also fully gained the power to create new races.


    Now, Ev¨¦ possessed the ability to create any race she desired or even transform one race into another.


    However, whether these new creations would match the elves¡¯ perfection was another matter entirely.


    Transforming races also consumed significant divine power, with the cost varying depending on theplexity of the race.


    Eve couldn¡¯t help but feel an itch to experiment.


    She nned to find some free time to create a few small creatures to test her abilities.


    Beyond granting and taking life, and creating or transforming races, the Scepter¡¯s ability to purify one¡¯s bloodlines had grown significantly stronger, to the point where she could now manipte even the most distant traces of elven heritage.


    Ev¨¦ could now purify the bloodlines of half-elves on a muchrger scale.


    Even humans with just the faintest whisper of elven ancestry could now be transformed into full-fledged elves, and at a fraction of the divine energy it had once required to purify even a single half-elf.


    Though this power was technically a form of race transformation, it was far less consuming and more sustainable.


    Unlike before, Eve didn¡¯t have to fear overextending herself since the divine energy it required was minimal, and what she spent could easily be replenished through the faith of her believers.


    This revtion sparked a bold idea within her:


    Perhaps, with this power, she could restore the elven poption, which had dwindled over the centuries.


    The Scepter of Life¡¯spleted form greatly surprised Ev¨¦.


    After gaining control of the demi-realm and her predecessor¡¯s incarnation which containing nearly 2,000 points of divine power, Ev¨¦ herself underwent significant changes:


    ¡¾ <strong>Name</strong>: Eve Yggdrasill ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Race</strong>: World Tree (Ancient God) ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Level</strong>: 150 (Mythical-rank) ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Status</strong>: Lesser Divine Power ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divinity</strong>: Nature, Life, Elvenkind ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Titles</strong>: Goddess of Life, Mother of Nature, Matriarch of the Elves ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divine Power</strong>: 8534/10,000 ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Number of Believers</strong>: 25,765 (1 Saint, 128 Zealots, 3,199 Devout Believers, 22,437 Casual Believers) ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Abilities</strong>: Absorption, Communication, Blessing, Awakening, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Celestial Domain, etc. ¡¿


    ¡¾ <strong>Divine Artifacts</strong>: Scepter of Life, Withering Heart (Iplete) ¡¿


    Of all these changes, the most noteworthy was the increase in her believers.


    Ouros had transferred the status of God of Creation to the World Tree and strengthened the residents¡¯ faith throughpulsion, resulting in a massive influx of new believers for Eve.


    These believers, consisting of both ordinary citizens and former priests of the demi-realm¡¯s original church, totaled over 20,000 which far surpassed her current number of believers.


    Unfortunately, most of them were only casual believers.


    Moreover, since they possessed only traces of elven blood, the faith energy they provided was far less pure than that of pure-blooded elves.


    ¡°Indeed, the quantity of faith varies greatly depending on the races it came from,¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused.


    ¡°Even with so many believers, the ones who contribute the most faith to me are still Alice and Meryer, who advanced to Gold-rank and became devout believers of mine. It¡¯s no wonder dragons are so sought after by the gods.¡±


    ¡°If only dragons weren¡¯t so few in number, they would undoubtedly be the most coveted creatures to convert into one¡¯s faith.¡±


    ¡°I should sort out what kind of races my current believers are.¡±


    At hermand, a new section appeared beneath the ¡®Number of believers¡¯ within her status screen:


    ¡¾<strong>Types of Believers</strong>: Crypt Spider Queen (1), Dragon (1), Oak Guardians (105), Elves (2,157), Half-Elves (244), Human-Elven Hybrids (23,200), Humans (58)¡¿


    The Crypt Spider Queen was none other than Rose.


    She¡¯s still residing at Rivendell, offering her silk to yers in exchange for rare metals.


    The dragon of course was Meryer.


    After advancing to Gold-rank, he became a devout believer with Eve¡¯s assistance, which is an exceptional feat for a dragon.


    The Oak Guardians included the first one, Berserker, along with 104 enchanted oak trees from Chosen City, which were awakened when Ev¨¦ ascended to a lesser divine power.


    Aside from Berserker, who had taken human form, the other Oak Guardians remained in Eve¡¯s divine kingdom, serving as temple guards and attendants.


    The elves were those who had returned to the Elven Forest, along with over a hundred members of Oakhand active in the human territories.


    The half-elves shared a simr distribution.


    Thergest group was the human-elven hybrids, which are Ouros¡¯ legacy¡ªthe demi-realm¡¯s inhabitants.


    These individuals bore diluted elven bloodlines, wherein their elven traits had fully Regressed, thus making them no longer natural-born magical beings.


    Lastly, her human believers were an unexpected addition:


    58 members of the Oakhand, currently active across the Holy Maniya Empire.


    ¡°This is such a diverse mix¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems my title as the Matriarch of the Elves isn¡¯t entirely urate anymore.¡±


    Ev¨¦ remarked with a wry smile.


    After reviewing her believers, Ev¨¦ finally turned her attention to her newly acquired demi-realm.


    Taking over this demi-realm was just the beginning.


    As its new master, she now faced a series of challenges¡ªthe most pressing being the realm¡¯s decline and its impending copse.


    ¡ª <strong>459</strong> ¡ª


    <strong>¡¾ A BOUNTIFUL</strong><strong>HARVEST</strong> ¡¿


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 460 Full

    <strong>¡¾ METHODS TO REPAIR</strong> <strong>A REALM¡¯S PROVENANCE</strong> ¡¿


    Decay and copse always have their reasons.


    In the case of Ouros, although his reckless exploitation of the demi-realm¡¯s life force was the most immediate cause, it was merely the trigger.


    This demi-realm wasn¡¯t naturally formed, nor was it created by a god through conventional means. Instead, it was forcefully transformed by a demigod who sacrificed their own soul to transform a unique spatial space into what exists now.


    But such a transformation came with immense, inherent risks.


    At its core, the demi-realm had once been an iplete divine kingdom, a gift bestowed upon Oros by the former World Tree.


    Although it had the potential to evolve into a fully mature realm, having such a potential alone wasn¡¯t enough and transforming it into reality required a long and arduous process.


    The key to this transformationy in allowing the demi-realm¡¯s Provenance to fully develop.


    Only through its full maturation could the demi-realm stabilize and flourish.


    Yet, achieving this was by no means a simple task.


    Without the direct guidance of a deity, the Provenance¡¯s development would take eons¡ªtens of millions of years of slow, organic evolution.


    However, even with divine intervention,pleting this process could still require centuries.


    For even the most powerful of gods, creating a fully mature demi-realm from scratch would demand decades of meticulous effort.


    Oros, however, discovered a shortcut to hasten the entire process.


    The price was a wed Provenance, which left the demi-realm with a drastically shortened lifespan.


    \x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->


    Even so, this expedited result was only possible because the original demi-realm, in its prior state as a divine kingdom, already had well-established foundationalws.


    s, this method was nearly impossible to replicate and also carried a steep cost.


    When Ev¨¦ took over the demi-realm, she immediately understood its predicament. Without external intervention, this realm would copse entirely within ten years.


    The cracks spidering across its skies, resembling fractures in delicate ss, were unmistakable warnings of its impending demise.


    Though the demi-realm seemed stable for now, this stability was nothing more than a fragile illusion.


    Its copse would note gradually, like the slow boiling of a frog in water. Instead, it would be abrupt and catastrophic, akin to a bursting of a dam, unleashing devastation upon its wake.


    At first, nothing would seem amiss, but once the threshold was reached, this demi-realm would implode within a short period.


    ¡°Ten years¡­ If I can¡¯t repair this demi-realm within ten years, then I¡¯ll have no choice but to abandon it,¡±


    ¡°Because it was forcefully transformed, this demi-realm has now be permanently fixed in its current state. Until its Provenance is restored, it¡¯s practically impossible to revert it back into a divine kingdom. It seems I can¡¯t integrate it into my own divine kingdom either¡­¡±


    ¡°Nheless, I definitely cannot give up on these new believers. They hold significant potential and are crucial to my future ns¡­¡±


    ¡°Ultimately, if this demi-realm can¡¯t be repaired, relocating them to Seig¨¹es will be my only option. However, it will be a monumental task. Not to mention, most of them aren¡¯t my believers, which would make their transfer and resettlement even more troublesome.¡±


    ¡°But if ites to that¡­ would it be like picking up sesame seeds while losing a watermelon?¡± 1


    At this thought, Ev¨¦ felt a tinge of helplessness.


    Repairing the demi-realm was an immensely challenging task, yet its allure was undeniable.


    As its new master, Ev¨¦ could now perceive every detail about the demi-realm.


    \x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->


    It spanned over three million square kilometers, boasting arablends, abundant resources, and vast stretches of forest and ins with a remarkable diversity of animals and ecosystem.


    Aside from the rtively low strength of its inhabitants and a scarcity of magical nts and creatures, it was close to perfection.


    Moreover, the demi-realm¡¯s fundamentalws were exceptionally well-structured.


    Though its mana levels were on the lower side, its elemental bnce rivaled that of a proper material realm.


    A demi-realm like this, capable of supporting all forms of life, was highly prized even amongst the gods.


    Such a realm could serve as an ideal sanctuary for nurturing one¡¯s believers¡ªa veritable garden of faith, so to speak.


    For the Gods of Faith whose entirely reliant on faith, it could even act as a contingency for their resurrection should they somehow fall.


    This also includes Ev¨¦.


    From the perspective of faith, if a situation came about wherein she have to abandon her physical form and her identity as the World Tree, then she could potentially resurrect in this demi-realm as a god of faith by drawing upon the power of faith of its inhabitants.


    From the World Tree¡¯s standpoint, Ev¨¦ could also choose to pay a tremendous price to transfer her True Body, uprooting herself from Seig¨¹es and taking root in this demi-realm instead. By transforming it into an isted realm, she could use this demi-realm as a refuge to escape the pursuit of the other gods.


    Of course, both of these ns rely on the demi-realm¡¯s Provenance remaining intact.


    To fundamentally prevent the copse of this demi-realm, its Provenance must be repaired and restored first to its original state.


    Thus, everything ultimately hinges on fixing it.


    However, repairing something is often far more challenging than creating it from scratch.


    True, gods do possess the ability to create demi-realms, but they do so not by creating them outright with their own power.


    \x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->


    Instead, they harness the naturalws of the universe that govern the formation of demi-realms, elerating the process with their divine energy to achieve results in a shorter timeframe.


    In essence, gods act more like catalysts.


    Therefore, when ites to repairing a demi-realm, even mythical beings like her often find themselves at a loss. This is why, when the Provenance of Seig¨¹es was damaged, the other gods could do nothing but leave it as it is to recover on its own.


    That being said, not all true gods are alike.


    As the World Tree, Ev¨¦ operates under mechanisms simr to those of a realm. She has the unique ability to repair the source of a realm by drawing upon void energy.


    However, because she is deeply rooted in Seig¨¹es and tightly intertwined with its Provenance, it is practically impossible for her to silently uproot herself and transfer her focus to repairing another demi-realm.


    Still, this isn¡¯t an absolute limitation.


    In Ev¨¦¡¯s vast knowledge regarding realms, there are two methods she knows of that could repair the Provenance of this demi-realm:


    The first method is to use a Divine Artifact that has a corrtion to the realm¡¯s Provenance.


    Coincidentally, Eve¡¯s inheritance includes such an artifact:


    The Elemental Source.


    The Elemental Source was one of the three divine artifacts of the previous World Tree, created during the Twilight Era to repair the damage done to Seig¨¹es¡¯ Provenance at that time.


    This artifact was specifically designed to assist in the creation and repair of realms.


    Unfortunately, this artifact was taken by Etri¨­u, the Eternal Lord and leader of the Gods of Mankind, during the heavenly war.


    Etri¨­u wields overwhelming divine power, and Ev¨¦, in her current state, still cannot afford to provoke him¡­


    \x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->


    For now, she can only note her grievance for the future.


    So¡­this first method is difficult to implement at the moment.


    Which leaves her to the second method.


    That is, to seize the Provenance of another realm that is closely simr to it and merge both to repair the damaged Provenance.


    Unfortunately, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know where to find another realm that¡¯s closely simr to this demi-realm.


    The realm of Seig¨¹es could theoretically qualify, but Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t dare to tamper with Seig¨¹es¡¯ Provenance, especially under the watchful eyes of the Pantheon.


    Her own divine kingdom also fits the criteria, but meddling with the Provenance of her divine kingdom would tantamount to suicidal endeavor.


    This line of thought, however, sparked another idea for Ev¨¦.


    Given that this demi-realm was originally a failed divine kingdom created by the previous World Tree, what if she could somehow find the remnants of her predecessor¡¯s primary divine kingdom, which was destroyed during the heavenly war?


    Would it be possible to use these remnants to repair the Provenance of this demi-realm?


    Technically speaking, remnants of a broken divine kingdom would still carry within them some traces of their Provenance.


    Furthermore, the World Tree¡¯s divine kingdom was always closely aligned with the Material world.


    This idea of hers wasn¡¯t just mere spection either.


    As the new master of this demi-realm, Ev¨¦ now had a key piece that could allow her to search for the previous World Tree¡¯s destroyed divine kingdom:


    That is, these vast numbers of believers who still believe in her predecessor.


    \x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->


    ¡ª <strong>460</strong> ¡ª


    1 Pick up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon ¨C A chinese proverb which basically means to concentrate on small matters at the expense of more important ones.


    ¡ª ¡ª

 Chapter 461

    <strong>¡¾ UNLOCKING THE PRIEST CLASS </strong>¡¿


    The role of believers isn¡¯t limited to providing faith.


    For any gods of faith that are reawakening, their believers serve as both anchor points for their revival and tools to locate their long-lost divine kingdoms.


    Every divine kingdom is built upon a sophisticatedwork of faith, so even if it is shattered, thiswork can still persist in some capacity as long as the deity still has a sufficient number of believers.


    Therefore, when a slumbering god reawakens, they may be forced to create a new divine kingdom, having lost their connection to the old one. However, through their believers, who serve as living nodes within the faithwork, the god can gradually re-establish contact by harnessing the collective resonance of their believers prayers, so that they can locate and reposition themselves rtive to their lost divine kingdom.


    The principle behind this lies in the connection between believers and the faithwork.


    Whenever a believer prays, a resonance of faith energy is formed, which utilizes the remnants of the faithwork tied to the lost divine kingdom to pinpoint its location.


    However, this method imposes stringent requirements on the believers.


    The foremost requirement is quantity.A significant number of believers must pray simultaneously for such resonance to work.


    If measured by human standards, the baseline would probably require around 300,000 to 500,000 believers, with at least half being devotees.


    In the case of elves, even 10,000 elven believers with 5,000 devout ones should suffice.


    Those with elven blood fall somewhere in between.


    Ev¨¦ estimated that for the hybrid elven humans living within the demi-realm, approximately 100,000 believers with 50,000 devout ones would suffice to establish a functional faithwork capable of supporting divine resonance.


    This means that to meet these conditions, Ev¨¦ would need to cultivate at least 80,000 new believers within this demi-realm while elevating the number of devout believers to around 50,000.


    Although this might sound like arge number,pared to the total poption of the demi-realm, it¡¯s actually rtively small.


    As the new ruler of the demi-realm, Ev¨¦ had learned the approximate poption of the hybrid humans living there, which is about three million.


    This staggering number left Ev¨¦ pondering how Ouros had managed to sustain such a poption over the past thousand years.


    However, given that their average lifespan was only about 30 years, it is understandable that they reproduced at such a rapid rate.


    Now, with their lifespan restored to normal, they have the potential to thrive and develop in ways previously unattainable.


    Unfortunately, the life force that had been drained from them in the past cannot be recovered anymore.


    This limitation, however, presented Ev¨¦ with a viable method for spreading her faith and gaining followers in a rtively quick manner.


    That is, by leveraging their lifespans.


    Considering the demi-realm¡¯s inhabitants¡¯ reverence for elves and the elven bloodline flowing through their veins, Ev¨¦ could offer these people a chance to revert back to their ancestral form. By granting them the opportunity to be half-elves or even full-blooded elves, she could not only attract them to her faith but also offer them the promise of a restored legacy.


    This would serve as both a spiritual and physical transformation, which is a powerful incentive for these people to embrace her religion.


    Moreover, this approach wouldn¡¯t just create devout believers for herself but also increase the overall elven poption.


    Nevertheless, preaching to a poption of three million people was no small task.


    The Church of Creation¡¯s entire structure had already copsed by this point, leaving Ev¨¦ with little more than an empty shell to work around with.


    Hence, a new kind of church would need to be re-established within the demi-realm.


    Cultivating someone to be a casual believer might be easy, but transforming them into a devotee was a far more challenging endeavor.


    Consider, for example, some churches on Earth.


    If calcted ording to the religious standards of Seig¨¹es realm, most people there would likely only be ssified as shallow believers, with very few being truly devoutee.


    In many cases, the majority of individuals who im to follow a faith only do so with limitedmitment, engaging in rituals or expressions of faith out of tradition or habit rather than deep, personal conviction.


    Which makes truly devout believers a rarity.


    Cultivating devout believers is no small feat.


    It is a process that, unless under very special circumstances, typically requires prolonged and intense indoctrination.


    Fortunately, the demi-realm remained rtively stable for now, allowing Ev¨¦ some breathing room.


    As its new master, she held the power to suppress its copse to some extent, which bought her several precious years to n and carry out the necessary actions before its inevitable destruction could take full effect.


    Based on the growth of certain churches on Earth, spreading her faith upon this demi-realm might prove far more easier than Ev¨¦ anticipated, perhaps even faster than expected.


    However, the process still required her to have arge number of priests to carry out her missionary work effectively.


    Currently, including those still in training, there were fewer than 100 elven priests within the Church of Life.


    As for those 20,000 believers the demi-realm provided her as a gift?


    Ev¨¦ ruefully chuckled.


    ¡ªThere wasn¡¯t even a single proper priest amongst them.


    Those clerics who originally worshiped the ¡®God of Creation¡¯ were nothing more than puppets whose minds were forcefully controlled.


    In essence, there weren¡¯t any qualified priests among them who met her standards, and everyone who used to belong to the Church of Creation was incapable of effectively carrying out any missionary work on her behalf.


    However, Ev¨¦ had no intention of relying on them for this task to begin with.


    In fact, delegating these tasks to the elven priests from the Church of Life was not part of her ns either.


    Ev¨¦ had a better candidate for the whole endeavor:


    The yers.


    ¡ªThat¡¯s right.


    She had finally made the decision to mobilize the yers to spread her faith!


    In other words, the priest ss would finally be unlocked for the yers to choose!


    Previously, she had refrained from making this ss avable because the yers couldn¡¯t provide her with any faith to begin with.


    Without generating faith, they would only consume Ev¨¦¡¯s divine power, which would be a waste.


    But things were different now.


    Her divine power had already grown substantially, and with the sheer poption of this demi-realm, the influx of new followers and believers from its poption, would be more than enough topensate for any drain on her divine powers.


    By turning the yers into priests, Ev¨¦ was confident their effectiveness in spreading the faith would far surpass that of the elves.


    In fact, Ev¨¦ had already even worked out the requirements for advancing in the priest ss.


    The experience points needed for priest-level progression would be halved¡ªor perhaps even reduced to one-third of that required for a regr jobss inparison.


    However, attaining the Priest-ss would still require yers to sessfully convert a certain number of believers before they could unlock it.


    Moreover, the more higher the priest¡¯s level went, the more believers they would also need to convert as well.


    Such requirements might be demanding, but priests would enjoy unique perks to bnce these challenges .


    One benefit would be ess to divine spells equivalent to those used by elven priests of the same rank.


    And if any exceptional yer actually managed to convert a massive number of believers, Ev¨¦ might even reward them with the prestigious title of High Priest, which is a high ranking member of the Church of Life.


    This position would beparable to Bishops in human churches.


    Of course, not every yer would be eligible to be a priest.


    Ev¨¦ understood that the role required more than just willingness¡ªit required dedication, skill, and a deep connection to matters of faith. To ensure that only the most worthy yers would take on this sacred responsibility, she nned to introduce a trial for those aspiring to be one.


    The trial itself had already been carefully conceptualized, and it would center around the story of the half-elf Ouros.


    She would integrate his tale into the very core of the trial, using it as both a test and a lesson for those seeking to be priest.


    By using Ouros¡¯s tale as inspiration, she would create an exclusive questline within the demi-realm.


    Ev¨¦ intended to craft avatars to serve as permanent NPCs within the realm, issuing questlines to yers while narrating Ouros¡¯s story.


    Completing this storyline wouldn¡¯t require excessive time.


    Through it, yers would uncover the secrets of the demi-realm and learn of the legendary tale of Ouros, the half-elven demigod.


    This questline would be Ev¨¦¡¯s way of honoring Ouros¡¯s legacy.


    This remarkable individual had sacrificed everything, including his very soul, and as a result, he could never be resurrected.


    Yet, some names must not be forgotten.


    As part of this tribute, Ev¨¦ also decided to name the demi-realm in Ouros¡¯s honor.


    From this moment forward, it would now be called the Ouros Demi-realm.


    With this resolved, Ev¨¦ reconnected to Earth¡¯s inte and published the game announcement she already prepared:


    A new update, a new ss!


    ¡ª <strong>461</strong> ¡ª<hr>


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    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 460

    ¡¾ METHODS TO REPAIR A REALM¡¯S PROVENANCE ¡¿


    Decay and copse always have their reasons.


    In the case of Ouros, although his reckless exploitation of the demi-realm¡¯s life force was the most immediate cause, it was merely the trigger.


    This demi-realm wasn¡¯t naturally formed, nor was it created by a god through conventional means. Instead, it was forcefully transformed by a demigod who sacrificed their own soul to transform a unique spatial space into what exists now.


    But such a transformation came with immense, inherent risks.


    At its core, the demi-realm had once been an iplete divine kingdom, a gift bestowed upon Oros by the former World Tree.


    Although it had the potential to evolve into a fully mature realm, having such a potential alone wasn¡¯t enough and transforming it into reality required a long and arduous process.


    The key to this transformationy in allowing the demi-realm¡¯s Provenance to fully develop.


    Only through its full maturation could the demi-realm stabilize and flourish.


    Yet, achieving this was by no means a simple task.


    Without the direct guidance of a deity, the Provenance¡¯s development would take eons¡ªtens of millions of years of slow, organic evolution.


    However, even with divine intervention,pleting this process could still require centuries.


    For even the most powerful of gods, creating a fully mature demi-realm from scratch would demand decades of meticulous effort.


    Oros, however, discovered a shortcut to hasten the entire process.


    The price was a wed Provenance, which left the demi-realm with a drastically shortened lifespan.


    Even so, this expedited result was only possible because the original demi-realm, in its prior state as a divine kingdom, already had well-established foundationalws.


    s, this method was nearly impossible to replicate and also carried a steep cost.


    When Ev¨¦ took over the demi-realm, she immediately understood its predicament. Without external intervention, this realm would copse entirely within ten years.


    The cracks spidering across its skies, resembling fractures in delicate ss, were unmistakable warnings of its impending demise.


    Though the demi-realm seemed stable for now, this stability was nothing more than a fragile illusion.


    Its copse would note gradually, like the slow boiling of a frog in water. Instead, it would be abrupt and catastrophic, akin to a bursting of a dam, unleashing devastation upon its wake.


    At first, nothing would seem amiss, but once the threshold was reached, this demi-realm would implode within a short period.


    ¡°Ten years¡­ If I can¡¯t repair this demi-realm within ten years, then I¡¯ll have no choice but to abandon it,¡±


    ¡°Because it was forcefully transformed, this demi-realm has now be permanently fixed in its current state. Until its Provenance is restored, it¡¯s practically impossible to revert it back into a divine kingdom. It seems I can¡¯t integrate it into my own divine kingdom either¡­¡±


    ¡°Nheless, I definitely cannot give up on these new believers. They hold significant potential and are crucial to my future ns¡­¡±


    ¡°Ultimately, if this demi-realm can¡¯t be repaired, relocating them to Seig¨¹es will be my only option. However, it will be a monumental task. Not to mention, most of them aren¡¯t my believers, which would make their transfer and resettlement even more troublesome.¡±


    ¡°But if ites to that¡­ would it be like picking up sesame seeds while losing a watermelon?¡± 1


    At this thought, Ev¨¦ felt a tinge of helplessness.


    Repairing the demi-realm was an immensely challenging task, yet its allure was undeniable.


    As its new master, Ev¨¦ could now perceive every detail about the demi-realm.


    It spanned over three million square kilometers, boasting arablends, abundant resources, and vast stretches of forest and ins with a remarkable diversity of animals and ecosystem.


    Aside from the rtively low strength of its inhabitants and a scarcity of magical nts and creatures, it was close to perfection.


    Moreover, the demi-realm¡¯s fundamentalws were exceptionally well-structured.


    Though its mana levels were on the lower side, its elemental bnce rivaled that of a proper material realm.


    A demi-realm like this, capable of supporting all forms of life, was highly prized even amongst the gods.


    Such a realm could serve as an ideal sanctuary for nurturing one¡¯s believers¡ªa veritable garden of faith, so to speak.


    For the Gods of Faith whose entirely reliant on faith, it could even act as a contingency for their resurrection should they somehow fall.


    This also includes Ev¨¦.


    From the perspective of faith, if a situation came about wherein she have to abandon her physical form and her identity as the World Tree, then she could potentially resurrect in this demi-realm as a god of faith by drawing upon the power of faith of its inhabitants.


    From the World Tree¡¯s standpoint, Ev¨¦ could also choose to pay a tremendous price to transfer her True Body, uprooting herself from Seig¨¹es and taking root in this demi-realm instead. By transforming it into an isted realm, she could use this demi-realm as a refuge to escape the pursuit of the other gods.


    Of course, both of these ns rely on the demi-realm¡¯s Provenance remaining intact.


    To fundamentally prevent the copse of this demi-realm, its Provenance must be repaired and restored first to its original state.


    Thus, everything ultimately hinges on fixing it.


    However, repairing something is often far more challenging than creating it from scratch.


    True, gods do possess the ability to create demi-realms, but they do so not by creating them outright with their own power.


    Instead, they harness the naturalws of the universe that govern the formation of demi-realms, elerating the process with their divine energy to achieve results in a shorter timeframe.


    In essence, gods act more like catalysts.


    Therefore, when ites to repairing a demi-realm, even mythical beings like her often find themselves at a loss. This is why, when the Provenance of Seig¨¹es was damaged, the other gods could do nothing but leave it as it is to recover on its own.


    That being said, not all true gods are alike.


    As the World Tree, Ev¨¦ operates under mechanisms simr to those of a realm. She has the unique ability to repair the source of a realm by drawing upon void energy.


    However, because she is deeply rooted in Seig¨¹es and tightly intertwined with its Provenance, it is practically impossible for her to silently uproot herself and transfer her focus to repairing another demi-realm.


    Still, this isn¡¯t an absolute limitation.


    In Ev¨¦¡¯s vast knowledge regarding realms, there are two methods she knows of that could repair the Provenance of this demi-realm:


    The first method is to use a Divine Artifact that has a corrtion to the realm¡¯s Provenance.


    Coincidentally, Eve¡¯s inheritance includes such an artifact:


    The Elemental Source.


    The Elemental Source was one of the three divine artifacts of the previous World Tree, created during the Twilight Era to repair the damage done to Seig¨¹es¡¯ Provenance at that time.


    This artifact was specifically designed to assist in the creation and repair of realms.


    Unfortunately, this artifact was taken by Etri¨­u, the Eternal Lord and leader of the Gods of Mankind, during the heavenly war.


    Etri¨­u wields overwhelming divine power, and Ev¨¦, in her current state, still cannot afford to provoke him¡­


    For now, she can only note her grievance for the future.


    So¡­this first method is difficult to implement at the moment.


    Which leaves her to the second method.


    That is, to seize the Provenance of another realm that is closely simr to it and merge both to repair the damaged Provenance.


    Unfortunately, Ev¨¦ didn¡¯t know where to find another realm that¡¯s closely simr to this demi-realm.


    The realm of Seig¨¹es could theoretically qualify, but Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t dare to tamper with Seig¨¹es¡¯ Provenance, especially under the watchful eyes of the Pantheon.


    Her own divine kingdom also fits the criteria, but meddling with the Provenance of her divine kingdom would tantamount to suicidal endeavor.


    This line of thought, however, sparked another idea for Ev¨¦.


    Given that this demi-realm was originally a failed divine kingdom created by the previous World Tree, what if she could somehow find the remnants of her predecessor¡¯s primary divine kingdom, which was destroyed during the heavenly war?


    Would it be possible to use these remnants to repair the Provenance of this demi-realm?


    Technically speaking, remnants of a broken divine kingdom would still carry within them some traces of their Provenance.


    Furthermore, the World Tree¡¯s divine kingdom was always closely aligned with the Material world.


    This idea of hers wasn¡¯t just mere spection either.


    As the new master of this demi-realm, Ev¨¦ now had a key piece that could allow her to search for the previous World Tree¡¯s destroyed divine kingdom:


    That is, these vast numbers of believers who still believe in her predecessor.

 Chapter 462

    Chapter 462


    <strong>¡¾ DONG DONG THE PRIEST CLASS THAT YOU¡¯VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS FINALLY HERE</strong> ¡¿


    In the southwestern reaches of Elven Forest lies the ruins of the resplendent city of Kenond.


    It has been three days since the yerspleted the demi-realm questline.


    Now, this elven city which was lost to time for nearly a thousand years has finally burst into life once more.


    With thepletion of the ¡°Heart of Life¡± hidden quest, news of newly discovered elven ruins and a fresh new demi-realm map has ignited the entire server.


    A video showcasing the goddess descending upon the demi-realm captivated the curiosity of every yer.


    When a prominent yer uploaded a screenshot of the demi-realm¡¯s entrance, located within the ruins of Kenond, its breathtaking beauty instantly caught the attention of the game¡¯s yerbase.


    Fields of flowers like something out of a fairy tale and awe-inspiring ruins whose grandeur remains undiminished despite a thousand years of decay filled everyone with excitement.


    Of course, their interest wasn¡¯t limited to just the scenery alone, as these ruins also held numerous pieces of powerful equipment hidden deep beneath the ground.Perhaps it was the allure of getting such equipment, or the desire to capture the perfect shot of the picturesque views, or simply the excitement of exploring a vast new map.


    Whatever the case, it quickly became the game¡¯s hottest destination, especially when the establishment of the teleportation array between Chosen City and Kenond made travel to the ruins far more essible.


    This teleportation array was constructed by none other than Lady Zero whose poprity is second only to that of the Goddess herself.


    Once the array was finally operational, a flood of impatient yers and native elves immediately poured into the ruins.


    Thetter, following orders from the Church of Life, arrived on a crucial mission to establish an outpost in Kenond and begin the task of rebuilding the city with the help of the yers.


    This mandate stemmed directly from the oracle they received from the Goddess herself.


    Ev¨¦ had high hopes for Kenond.


    As a critical nexus that connects the Ouros demi-realm to the realm of Seig¨¹es, Kenond was destined to be a major hub with immense development potential.


    Its surroundings, free from high-ranking magical beasts and featuring picturesque scenery of elegant beauty, also made it an ideal ce for elves to settle down.


    Eve even envisioned relocating the elven-human hybrids from the Ouros demi-realm here once they had fully transformed into elves.


    ???


    On the outskirts of Kenond¡¯s ruins, the fourth-beta yer Dong Dong stood atop a boulder, mesmerized by the sight before her.


    An endless sea of flowers stretched out across the horizon, vibrant and alive with colors.


    She inhaled deeply, the intoxicating floral scent filling her senses, and listened as the melodious background music softly echoed from the game system.


    Her eyes gleamed with wonder as she drank in the beauty of these scenery.


    ¡°Just like the screenshots Bash shared on his post, this flower field looks so beautiful¡­ I really don¡¯t want to leave,¡±


    However, her peaceful reverie was abruptly interrupted by a voice, thick with exasperation, calling out from behind her.


    ¡°Stop daydreaming and get to work! Didn¡¯t you ept the daily quest to help rebuild Kenond?¡±


    It was from her friend, the silver-rank yer Meng Zhihan.


    Hearing her voice, Dong Dong pouted.


    This female yer, with her painstakingly customized avatar boasting a near-perfect score of 99, turned to her friend and said:


    ¡°I know, I know. I just wanted to enjoy the scenery for a bit! Don¡¯t you think this ce looks incredible, Han Han? Imagine living here! I bet it¡¯d be amazing!¡±


    ¡°Imagine having your own cabin here¡­ In the morning, you could walk through the dew, face the breath of the rising sun, smell the fragrant aroma, listen to the birds singing, and then ce a mat to sit on the ground in the sea of flowers, have a pic, and y games at the same time¡­¡±


    ¡°It sure sounds dreamy, isn¡¯t it? Just thinking about it feels like a fairytale. This is exactly the cottagecore life I¡¯ve always wanted!¡±


    Dong Dong¡¯s face was full of longing.


    But her dreams were quickly dashed by Meng Zhihan¡¯s cold dose of reality:


    ¡°Wake up. Real countryside living isn¡¯t just poetry and scenery, you know. It alsoes with bugs, manure, and endless chores.¡±


    Dong Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides, with how amazing this new city looks, once it¡¯s fully reconstructed, its property prices will definitely skyrocket. There are still over 30,000 yers without homes. And you, with yourvish spending habits, do you think you¡¯ll even be able topete once the propertypetition gets fierce? Not to mention, I heard that NPCs will be stationed in this city, so the housing shortage will probably be even greater.¡±


    Dong Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    She muttered a curse under her breath.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a buzzkill!¡±


    With a grumble, Dong Dong turned and walked toward the outpost of the Church of Life in the ruins of Kenond.


    Meng Zhihan chuckled softly and quickly followed.


    Their current daily task was to help repair the ruins of the old church.


    Before long, they arrived at the partially copsed building at the center of the ruins.


    The NPC overseeing church operations in Kenond was none other than A¨¦l, a chosen of the Goddess.


    The young elven boy had grown considerably over the past year, exuding an air of maturity despite his youthful appearance. He was now fully capable of managing and issuing tasks on his own.


    At this moment, he was inside the church, directing the yers in their restoration effort.


    Since both Dong Dong and Meng Zhihan were spellcasters, their job wasn¡¯t relegated to physicalbor but rather assisting with the repair of magical runes on the building.


    It wasn¡¯t their first time doing this kind of work either.


    They¡¯d gained plenty of experience restoring Florence, so they were able toplete their task with rtive ease.


    After they were finished doing their task, Dong Dong didn¡¯t leave right away. Instead, her eyes lit up as she gazed at the peculiar mirror standing in the center of the church.


    It was particrly eye-catching due to its massive size, resembling a giant dressing mirror. Its surface rippled like water, emanating a mysterious allure.


    From time to time, ripples would spread across the mirror¡¯s surface, and a yer would emerge out of it.


    ¡°This must be the ¡®Gate of Time and Space¡¯ mentioned on the official website, right? The one that leads to Ouros Demi-realm? Did you alsoe back through here after participating in the quest event?¡±


    Dong Dong asked, her expression filled with curiosity.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the Gate of Time and Space,¡± Meng Zhihan replied.


    ¡°When it was first discovered, it was just a spatial crack. The current structure was modified and rebuilt by Big Sister Zero.¡±


    ¡°So cool! I really want to go there too, but my level isn¡¯t high enough. I heard the monsters in that realm are low-level, so why can¡¯t yers below level 30 ess it?¡±


    Dong Dong sighed, sounding a bit resentful.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you focus on leveling up for once? Plenty of fourth-beta yers like you have already hit upper Iron-rank, but you¡¯re still stuck at intermediate Iron! Stop hanging around the goddess¡¯s statue all day and flirting with Thranduil! I bet all your contribution points are spent on that, right?¡±


    ¡°Ahem¡­ well, can you me me? He¡¯s just so good-looking! Besides the goddess, Thranduil¡¯s definitely the best-looking character in the game. And that sly, cunning personality of his? Totally my type!¡±


    Dong Dong chuckled awkwardly.


    Meng Zhihan: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°By the way, you mentioned Big Sis? You mean Zero, the Godwarden of the Goddess? She¡¯s pretty amazing too. Who do you think is stronger, her or Rose?¡±


    Dong Dong quickly shifted the topic.


    Meng Zhihan pondered for a moment before replying hesitantly, ¡°Probably Big Sis Zero? I mean, Rose is a Legendary-rank NPC, but Big Sister is a Godwarden. During the underground questline, she used divine descent and wiped out a Legendary-rank Shadow Dragon boss in an instant!¡±


    ¡°A Gold-rank defeating a Legendary-rank? She¡¯s that strong?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so jealous¡­ Do you think we could ever be Godwardens too? Even if I can¡¯t, I¡¯d be happy just bing a priest. Those native priests get oracles from the goddess all the time, you know? I¡¯d love to get one too! Ugh, why isn¡¯t the priest ss avable to us yet?!¡±


    Dong Dongmented, her frustration evident.


    Meng Zhihan couldn¡¯t resist teasing her, ¡°The Priest ss? Come on, you¡¯re just looking for an excuse to get close to the goddess, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so bad! Admiring beauty is only natural, right? And the goddess is incredible! Who wouldn¡¯t love her?¡±


    Dong Dong rubbed her hands together, her eyes sparkling as if lost in a daydream.


    Meng Zhihan: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Not everyone is as obsessed as you are,¡± she said, casting a helpless nce at her friend.


    Then, as if recalling something, Meng Zhihan smirked and added, ¡°By the way¡­ three days ago, when I was in Ouros, I actually saw the goddess in person. No divine glow hiding her face either! Lemme tell you, she was even more beautiful than in the videos or cutscenes.¡±


    Hearing this, Dong Dong¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Really? I already thought she looked amazing in the videos!¡±


    She sighed wistfully.


    ¡°Too bad I wasn¡¯t high enough level back then. Otherwise, I¡¯d have joined that event for sure. I can¡¯t even imagine what it¡¯s like to see the goddess in person.¡±


    ¡°Seeing the goddess is nothing. Optimist even had direct physical contact with her¡ªskin-to-skin, in fact,¡± Meng Zhihan said casually.


    Dong Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out of here! direct ¡®skin-to-skin¡¯ contact¡¯? He just carried her on his back!¡± she eximed, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s still physical contact,¡± Meng Zhihan said with a teasing grin.


    Dong Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Argh! This is so unfair! I want to meet the goddess too! Why was it him and not me? I¡¯m so jealous!¡± she fumed, her face full of envy.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just luck,¡± Meng Zhihan replied, chuckling.


    Dong Dong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Tch, let¡¯s just drop this topic.¡± she dered, her tone exasperated.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    The two yers began yfully fighting, their banter filling the air.


    But despite her spirited resistance, Dong Dong wasn¡¯t a match for Meng Zhihan, who was not only a Silver-rank yer but also a powerful Druid specializing in Wildbat.


    With ease, Meng Zhihan subdued Dong Dong..


    And to top it off, she even cast the Fourth Circle Druid Spell: [Polymorph] and turned her friend into a chicken.


    Whilst grinning mischievously, Meng Zhihan picked up the struggling hen, smoothing its feathers as she teased, ¡°Dong Dong, you really need to step up your game. You¡¯re still too weak.¡±


    ¡°Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk!¡±


    ¡°Stop clucking. I don¡¯t understand the words of a chicken,¡± she said with augh.


    ¡°Bawk¡­¡±


    Meng Zhihan tossed her friend onto the ground, preparing to dispel the spell.


    However, just as she was about to chant the incantation, amotion erupted from the other side of the church.


    Curious, she paused mid-action and turned to see a group of yers, all appearing excited, as if something incredible had happened during their test.


    With her interest piqued, Meng Zhihan picked up the little hen in her arms and strode over in just a few steps.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked one of the yers.


    The person she addressed was a fourth-beta yer at the Upper Iron-rank.


    Upon seeing the silver hue on Meng Zhihan¡¯s username, which is a distinct marks of a Silver ranker, his face lit up with admiration and enthusiasm.


    ¡°Whoa! A Silver-rank senior!¡±


    ¡°Big Sister, check the official site! The devs just posted a new announcement! The Priest ss is now being added!¡± he eximed excitedly.


    ¡°The Priest ss is being added?¡± Meng Zhihan blinked in surprise.


    ¡°Bawk bawk bawk?!¡±


    The fourth-beta yer nced curiously at the chicken in Meng Zhihan¡¯s arms but nodded earnestly.


    ¡°Yes, the update announcement went live just now.¡±


    Hearing this, Meng Zhihan quickly essed her own game system and navigated to the official website.


    Sure enough, the first thing she saw was a prominent red banner stating:


    <strong>[Elven Kingdom Version 1.9 Update Announcement]</strong>


    ¡°Version 1.9? A major update!¡± Meng Zhihan¡¯s eyes lit up.


    She eagerly clicked on the announcement to read its details.


    The information was concise yet captivating:


    The Elven Kingdom Version 1.9 update was set tounch three dayster, in earth¡¯s time.


    With this update, the long-awaited Priest ss would finally be avable to yers!


    Not only that, but the Priest ss would feature a unique progression system, distinct from other sses, with different experience requirements and leveling mechanics.


    The new Priest ss would also introduce an exciting missionary gamey mechanics, intricately tied to its advancement.


    Furthermore, Priests would have the rare chance to receive direct oracles from the Goddess herself!


    The Priest ss cannot be directly transferred from other jobss but instead anyone who wants to be one would need to start from scratch.


    However, progressing as a Priest wouldn¡¯t interfere with yers¡¯ existing sses.


    In other words¡­ it was a multi-ssing option!


    A Warrior or Hunter, provided they met the requirements, could also be a Priest and they don¡¯t need to abandon their already chosen ss either!


    The announcement didn¡¯t go into further detail, but the information was already thrilling enough.


    Even Meng Zhihan, who hadn¡¯t nned on bing a Priest, felt tempted:


    ¡°Multi-ssing? Now that¡¯s interesting!¡±


    She nced down at the chicken in her arms and smirked.


    ¡°Dong Dong, looks like the Priest ss you¡¯ve been waiting for is finally here!¡±


    ¡°Bawk bawk bawk!¡±


    ???


    A new update was on the horizon, and the long-elusive Priest ss was finally being added!


    Not only that, but yers could also choose to multi-ss without sacrificing their primary ss.


    The update announcement sparked a wave of excitement, diverting yers¡¯ attention from the Ouros Demi-Realm.


    Every yer who heard the news was filled with anticipation.


    After all, Elven Kingdom had yet to introduce a dedicated healing ss.


    Druids could learn healing spells, but healing wasn¡¯t their primary specialization. Although Archdruids could opt for a healing specialization, they weren¡¯t true healers per se, and merely leaning toward support roles.


    For most yers, especially those still in Iron-rank, reaching the Silver-rank felt like a distant dream.


    In the meantime, anyone with a healing ss were in high demand during quest and dungeon runs, making healers one of the most sought-after and scarce roles in the game.


    ¡°Finally, Priests are being added!¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re getting a dedicated healer ss?¡±


    ¡°Haha, no more struggling to find healers for dungeons!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely taking this ss! I¡¯ve always loved ying support roles in games.¡±


    ¡°Wait, did they say Priests can hear oracles from the Goddess? Does that mean we can increase our favorability with her by picking this ss?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait!¡±


    The yers were ecstatic, brimming with excitement for the update just a few days away.


    However, even before the update¡¯s arrival, the yers¡¯ attention was attracted by another thing.


    That is, the five dragon eggs guarded by the golden dragon, Alexius¡­


    Had finally hatched.


    ¡ª <strong>462</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    <strong>? </strong><strong> ? </strong>


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    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 463

    <strong>¡¾ DRAGON HATCHLINGS</strong><strong>AND EMPEROR OF LUCK</strong> ¡¿


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Elven Forest, Florence.


    The buzz of anticipation filled the air as yers gathered in droves, drawn to Florence by the recent news of the imminent hatching of the five dragon eggs.


    Word of the event spread rapidly through informal channels, fueled not by any official system announcement but by the ounts of yers who had been loitering in Florence¡¯s za out of sheer boredom, watching and waiting for the eggs to hatch.


    When they noticed the eggs finally moving from the temporary dragon nest, excitement spread amongst the watching yers like wildfire as they scrambled to message everyone they knew about it, flooding their friend lists and guild chats with frantic updates.


    As such, word of mouth immediately worked its magic¡ªone yer told ten, ten told a hundred, and soon enough, the entire server was already buzzing with anticipation.


    Now, Florence¡¯s za was jam-packed with a sea of people vying for a spot to witness the moment the five dragon hatchlings finally emerged from their eggs.


    Thanks to the official im that ¡®everyone has a chance to form a bond with a dragon¡¯ each person was brimming with anticipation over the possibility of being that lucky one to gain a dragonpanion.


    After all, dragons were vastly different from ordinary magical familiars.To yers, these majestic creatures clearly used the same artificial intelligence schematics as other NPCs, allowing for full interaction like with regr people.


    Not to mention their imposing appearance and incredible growth potential.


    Surprisingly, despite the growing crowd, the za remained rtively orderly. Yes, there were indeed some yful tussles and lively chatter as yers exchanged stories and jokes, while others lounged or sat in peculiar poses, making themselvesfortable for the long wait. A few of the early arrivals had even pitched mats and tents on the za.


    But overall, they still resembled a group of decent people¡ªtotally unlike the chaotic bunch of 300 lunatics who had once scared the Saintess Alice half to death upon their initial descent into this world, singing, dancing, and acting like aplete madmen.


    There are two reasons for this change in behavior.


    One reason is, of course, that the yers had, by this point, been immersed in the game long enough to understand its core mechanics and thus knew better than to act out in front of NPCs.


    Moreover, the high degree of immersion had led many yers to treat this world as their second life rather than just a game.


    The second reason was, simply put, the presence of the golden dragon, Alexius, guarding the dragon eggs.


    Although this demigod-rank dragon had yet to converse with any yers, his sheer presence¡ªcalmly guarding the eggs with his eyes closed¡ªradiated an intimidating aura.


    Hence, yers instinctively grew quiet and respectful as they neared him.


    This was the effect of Dragon¡¯s Might or, more precisely, Alexius¡¯ divine aura.


    Unlike the divine aura of gods of faith, which primarily acted on the soul, a mythical dragon¡¯s divine aura originated from its Dragon¡¯s Might, a power that can resonate with both the body and soul.


    As a result, while yers might not consciously feel the pressure, their bodies instinctively reacted to it, influencing their emotions and behavior.


    The same was true of Eve¡¯s divine aura, which could influence yers without relying on the game¡¯swork.


    After all, despite having a divine kingdom, Eve¡¯s essence remained that of an ancient god.


    Enough digression¡ªback to the present.


    The crowd in the za swelled by the minute as every spot closest to the za¡¯s center, near the dragon nest, became exclusive VIP areas.


    Some people who arrived early even started selling their spots in exchange for contribution points, while others decided to set up their own live streams to broadcast the event.


    It was a ssic case of ¡®if you can think of it, yers will do it.¡¯


    All eyes were on the dragon eggs at the center.


    The five eggs, each with a unique color, already showed faint cracks upon their shells.


    Though the hatchlings still hadn¡¯t broken through yet, the whole hatching process had clearly already begun.


    The eggs asionally trembled, apanied by the faint sound of cracking.


    With each tremor, the cracks widened slightly.


    Each time this happened, the yers grew visibly excited:


    ¡°It moved! Look, the crack¡¯s bigger!¡±


    ¡°Come on! You can do it!¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, why is it taking so long?!¡±


    They stared at the gradually cracking eggs, their expressions a mix of excitement and impatience.


    If not for the golden dragon Alexius standing guard, someone might have already rushed forward to help.


    Of course, even if anyone tried to do so, they¡¯d be swatted away by the golden dragon in an instant.


    After all, breaking out of their shells was a critical process of growth and transformation for these hatchlings.


    Therefore, any external interference during this phase could stunt their development and potentially prevent them from ever advancing to legendary status.


    That being said, breaking out of the shell is inherently risky for a dragon.


    It isn¡¯t umon for hatchlings to fail to break free, ultimately starving within their shells.


    However, even if a hatchling were to starve to death inside its egg, an adult dragon would never intervene to help it.


    Because for dragons, a hatchling incapable of breaking free from its shell on its own would never truly thrive in life if it needed external forces to aid its birth.


    This belief was the reason for the subtle mix of anticipation and tension in Alexius¡¯s golden eyes as the mythical dragon gazed at the five eggs before him.


    Bing a dragon egg and bearing the dragon markings was just the first milestone.


    It was a monumental event, to be sure, but the true testy ahead.


    ¡ªHatching!


    As the ancient golden dragon, whose lifespan spanned centuries, wrestled with his excitement and nervousness, a gentle, radiant light descended once more upon the city za.


    Whilst apanied by faint, ethereal hymns, a radiant brilliance poured down from the sky, as it envelops the five dragon eggs.


    Faintly, a divine presence seemed to cast its sacred gaze upon them.


    It was the power of the Goddess.


    The yers, long familiar with the Goddess¡¯s influence, immediately grew excited:


    ¡°It¡¯s the light of the Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Is the Goddess descending in person?¡±


    ¡°Will she use her new avatar? the one without holy glow?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡±


    They looked around eagerly, searching for her appearance.


    But the Goddess did not descend.


    Only her divine light graced the scene.


    This left the yers slightly disappointed.


    Unlike the yers, Alexius became even more ted upon seeing the light:


    ¡°Divine Gaze!¡±


    The Divine Gaze was a manifestation of a true god¡¯s direct attention, granting their target a measure of divine favor.


    It surpassed the Blessing of the Goddess of Life that Ev¨¦ had bestowed upon Alexius earlier.


    Any being marked by this Divine Gaze carried Eve¡¯s insignia, signifying her protection.


    In essence, bearing this divine favor dered:


    ¡®This one is under my care.¡¯


    However, this didn¡¯t elevate the target to the status of a Godwarden but ced them somewhere between it and a blessed individual.


    The Divine Gaze also provided some measure of enhancements to its recipient.


    In the case of these dragon eggs, Eve¡¯s gaze naturally strengthened them in regards to the domain of life.


    Bearing these would no doubt grant these five unhatched dragons unparalleled vitality, thanks to her favor, which ensured that hatching out from their egg was no longer a concern.


    Fully understanding this, Alexius turned toward the direction of the Temple of Life, lowered his head, and reverently dered:


    ¡°Thank you, Benevolent Eve, Your Grace!¡±


    The act of purifying their bloodline, coupled with the Divine Gaze, was a testament to the Goddess of Life¡¯s sincerity.


    Yet, while the golden dragon expressed his heartfelt gratitude, a certain someone hidden in the crowd¡ªknown as ¡°F¨¦ng¡± among the yers¡ªrubbed her nose awkwardly.


    She could guess why Alexius was offering thanks.


    But truthfully, Eve wasn¡¯t worried about these hatchlings¡¯ ability to break free.


    Her Divine Gaze wasn¡¯t intended to help the unborn dragons hatch.


    If, even after their bloodlines had been purified by the Scepter of Life, these little ones still couldn¡¯t break their shells, then Ev¨¦ might as well give up being the Goddess of Life and start selling sweet potatoes instead.


    The real purpose of her favor wasn¡¯t for the hatchlings but for the yers instead.


    Ev¨¦ had noticed the yers¡¯ fervent desire to have dragonpanions.


    While the choice of a contract partner was left to the dragons themselves¡ªaside from any Ev¨¦ personally designated that is¡ªshe was well aware of the yers¡¯ tenacity.


    If left unchecked, some yers would undoubtedly resort to extreme measures just to secure a dragon partner.


    Attempts at bribery would likely be the least of it and outright kidnapping wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all for that matter.


    Sure, the yers wouldn¡¯t dare try anything while Alexius was around but the golden dragon wouldn¡¯t stay here forever.


    Once the hatchlings emerged from their shells, Alexius would probably depart.


    Leaving the elves to care for these baby dragons?


    That was a recipe for disaster.


    So to protect these hatchlings and ensure they could stand against the yers, Eve¡¯s Divine Gaze served as their safeguard.


    With this favor,bined with the game system¡¯s rules, the yers would be unable to forcefullypel the hatchlings or harm, capture, or otherwise exploit them.


    With these safeguards in ce, allowing the hatchlings to freely choose their contract partners now felt like a reliable solution.


    This was also Eve¡¯s way of demonstrating her sincerity towards the dragon race.


    Dragons were inherently proud beings, and such an approach was a mark of respect toward their autonomy¡ªone that would naturally earn their favor.


    Still, the Divine Gaze did provide some benefit to the hatching process.


    Shortly after the divine radiance faded, the first dragon egg emitted a soft cracking sound and split neatly in two.


    From within it, a hatchling the size of a calf emerged, covered in translucent fluid. Its scales were predominantly yellow with hints of green, glinting under the light as it struggled to free itself.


    Alexius¡¯s eyes immediately lit up at the sight.


    The yers were equally ecstatic:


    ¡°It hatched! It finally hatched!¡±


    ¡°What an unusual color¡­ What kind of dragon is this?¡±


    They were itching to cast Appraisal, but with Alexius standing watch, the yers hesitated.


    Experience had taught them that using Appraisal on NPCs or creatures without permission was seen as rude and often led to a loss of favorability.


    Reluctantly, they held back.


    While the yers were unsure of the hatchling¡¯s identity, Ev¨¦ recognized it immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Bronze Dragon.¡±


    In the realm of Seig¨¹es, pure-blooded dragons were divided into two major factions: Chromatic Dragons and Metallic Dragons.


    Chromatic Dragons came in five varieties¡ªRed, ck, Green, Blue, and White¡ªwhile Metallic Dragons also had five types¡ªGold, Silver, Brass, Bronze, and Copper.


    Chromatic Dragons were typically malevolent and aggressive, whereas Metallic Dragons leaned toward benevolence and often sought interaction with other sentient beings.


    These two factions alternated between conflict and cooperation.


    For instance, the ck Dragon Meryer belonged to the Chromatic faction, while Alexius, the golden dragon, represented the Metallic faction.


    Of course, Meryer, at this point, was more of a ¡®banana¡¯ ck Dragon¡ªsoft on the inside despite his fearsome appearance.


    That newly hatched yellow dragon was unmistakably a Bronze Dragon.


    Known as coastal dragons, Bronze Dragons were amphibious creatures with an affinity for rare lightning magic and the ability to unleash powerful lightning breath.


    Typically, they wouldn¡¯t be found so far ind.


    However, Alexius hailed from the dragons¡¯ central stronghold in Seig¨¹es¡ªDragon Ind, which was home to the ancient Progenitor Dragon.


    Under the Progenitor Dragon¡¯s rule, all kinds of Metallic and Chromatic Dragons coexisted, so bringing along a Bronze Dragon egg wasn¡¯t surprising at all.


    With this thought, Ev¨¦ turned her attention to the remaining four eggs.


    The eggs were of varying colors, but a dragon¡¯s species couldn¡¯t be determined from their eggshell alone.


    That said, given Alexius¡¯s role as a staunch defender of justice and an enemy of evil, Ev¨¦ doubted the golden dragon would bring Chromatic Dragon eggs.


    Her suspicions proved correct.


    Following the first hatchling¡¯s emergence, the other four quickly broke free from their shells:


    One with reddish-yellow scales was a Copper Dragon.


    Two with brownish-yellow scales were Brass Dragons.


    Thest, however, was the most striking one amongst them¡ªa shimmering Golden Dragon.


    This newly hatched Gold Dragon¡¯s brilliant scales immediately drew gasps from the crowd.


    ¡°A Gold Dragon! It¡¯s a Gold Dragon!¡±


    ¡°So beautiful!¡±


    ¡°Who will get to form a contract with it?¡±


    The yers¡¯ excitement was palpable.


    Seeing all five hatchlings safely emerge, Alexius¡¯s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.


    The older golden dragon once again bowed slightly in the direction of the Life Goddess¡¯s temple and said reverently:


    ¡°Thank you, great Goddess of Life, Your Grace Eve!¡±


    The five hatchlings appeared robust and healthy.


    Immediately after their birth, they instinctively turned back to their broken eggshells and began devouring them.


    This was their first act of nourishment and also their first transformation.


    Newly hatched dragons started with upper Iron-rank strength, typically levels 31¨C35.


    However, upon consuming their eggshells, their strength would swiftly rise to the peak of the Iron-rank at level 40.


    Within a year, they would likely step into the Silver-rank.


    After observing the hatchlings and confirming their good health, Alexius finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    He didn¡¯t wait for the hatchlings to sign form their bonds.


    Instead, Alexius chose to bid farewell and take his leave immediately.


    This was another gesture of respect toward the elves¡ªa demonstration of his goodwill and trust.


    After the golden dragon flew off, the yers erupted in excitement.


    Amidst the expectant gazes, the elder priest Samuel stepped forward.


    With him being one of Eve¡¯s earliest followers, Samuel was now an intermediate Silver-ranked priest. He had been overseeing the church in Florence, and the responsibility for the dragon contract ceremony fell onto him.


    Clearing his throat, he activated an amplification spell and spoke amidst the yers¡¯ joyousmotion:


    ¡°Everyone, please quiet down¡­¡±


    Gradually, the yers calmed themselves.


    Samuel felt a wave of satisfaction as he observed the chosen ones¡¯ growing maturity.


    He still remembered how chaotic it had been when they first descended into this world a year ago¡ªno amount of shouting could rein in these heroes from another realm.


    Ah, the Mother Goddess¡¯s ¡°Favorability Aura¡± truly works wonders.


    With a sigh of gratitude, he continued:


    ¡°Brave chosen ones, the Goddess has entrusted me with the task of overseeing the dragon contract ceremony. I will guide you in forming your bond with these hatchlings.¡±


    ¡°The Goddess has decreed that those selected for divine blessings during this task may enter into a pact with one of the hatchlings, chosen at random.¡±


    With that, he retrieved five slips of paper, each marked with the name of a dragon, and announced:


    ¡°These Chosen ones, please step forward to draw lots. The dragon you draw shall be your partner.¡±


    His words sparked another round of fervent chatter among the yers.


    ¡°What? People have already earned pact opportunities?¡±


    ¡°Who are they? I¡¯m so jealous!¡±


    ¡°Rumor has it that it¡¯s Boxlunch and his team¡­¡±


    As spection ran rampant, five well-equipped, high-level yers ascended the tform, which had been temporarily turned into a dragon nest.


    It was the Boxlunch team.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s Boxlunch himself!¡±


    ¡°Wow, he looks so cool. He¡¯s definitely the top yer in the entire server, no doubt!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ isn¡¯t that the guy from the video who carried the Goddess? The one in heavy armor?¡±


    ¡°You mean Optimist?¡±


    ¡°Damn, how is he not getting hunted down yet?¡±


    ¡°Lucky bastard!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ are they all getting dragons? Are they going to im all five?¡±


    ¡°Surely not¡­ I heard they only earned one slot.¡±


    Amidst the buzzing discussions, Samuel hesitated as he noticed all five stepping forward. After confirming their identities and qualifications through the task system, he addressed them:


    ¡°Chosen ones, you only have one slot. You¡¯ll need to decide who among you will form the bond.¡±


    Boxlunch¡¯s teammate, Cbash, chuckled and replied:


    ¡°We already heard.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s tough for us to pick just one, so we thought of apromise. After drawing lots, instead of deciding ourselves, we¡¯ll let the dragon choose. Whoever it picks from among us will be the one to form the contract with.¡±


    ¡°After all,¡± Cbasg added with a grin, ¡°dragons are said to pick the partner best suited to them. Since we¡¯re a team and work closely together, we thought this would be the fairest method.¡±


    Letting the dragon choose? Samuel considered the idea and nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a reasonable approach,¡± he said with a smile, preparing to have a representative draw the lot.


    But before he could proceed, something unexpected happened.


    The five hatchlings, who had been busily gnawing on their eggshells, suddenly froze.


    As if sensing something, they turned their heads in unison and, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, all five swiftly began waddling toward Optimist.


    The calf-sized hatchlings scrambled to him, rubbing against his legs and licking him affectionately.


    All five surrounded him,pletely engulfing him in their enthusiastic disy of affection.


    The za fell silent.


    And then, it erupted.


    ¡°W-What the hell just happened?¡±


    ¡°Are all the dragons showing their favor at once? Is this some kind of insane luck?¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable! How is it him again? This is too much!¡±


    ¡°Optimist! We¡¯re going to hunt you down, for sure!¡±


    ¡°Count me in for the hunt! I still haven¡¯t settled my issues with you carrying the Goddess!¡±


    Optimist: ¡°¡­¡±


    Eve, whilst observing the scene, rubbed her temples in exasperation.


    Unlike the frenzied yers, she had an inkling of what was happening.


    It was likely due to the trace of divine life energy that Optimist had inadvertently absorbed during the previous quest when he had carried her.


    Since he hadn¡¯t died since that quest, the residual divine energy had still lingered within him.


    Ev¨¦ had modified the dragon eggs¡¯ bloodlines and bestowed them with her blessings.


    So when these hatchlings sensed the lingering divine power on Optimist, they likely mistook him for their mother.


    An uncanny stroke of luck.


    In this case, Optimist truly lived up to the title of ¡°Emperor of Luck.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>63 ¡ª<hr>


    <strong>Å·»Ê</strong> ¨C It¡¯s literal trantion is European Emperor which is a chinese meme term for lucky yers<hr>


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    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 464

    <strong>¡¾ CHOSEN CANDIDATES</strong> ¡¿


    The yers were envious, filled with resentment over Optimist¡¯s unbelievable ¡°good luck.¡±


    Even Samuel whose overseeing the pact ceremony, looked utterly astonished. He could never have imagined that this one of the Chosen Ones in heavily armored warrior, would attract the favor of not one but five dragons.


    As for Optimist himself, he was utterly dumbfounded, standing at the center of this unexpected event.


    Yet alongside his confusion, a wave of euphoria surged through him, as though he had just won a grand prize.


    However, he was also a rational person.


    He didn¡¯t believe in coincidences or good luck without reason.


    If only one or two dragons had shown him goodwill, then he could have chalked it up to mere chance alone.


    <em>But for these five dragons to flock to him as eagerly as pups to their mother? </em>¡ªThat was clearly far from normal.


    His mind worked quickly and almost instantly, he connected the dots to an event three days prior.


    That day when he had carried the goddess in his back, Optimist remembered he felt a warm and soothing energy radiating from her that seemed to seep into his body.


    He didn¡¯t know what kind this energy was, but he had sensed it entering him.


    In fact, even now, his status screen disyed a buff called [The Goddess¡¯s Favor].


    Of course, he had no way of knowing this was a feature of the game system. Any yer whose body contained a sufficient amount of Eve¡¯s divine power would gain buffs.


    At lower levels, this manifested simply as blessings but it became favor at higher levels. And if the energy surpassed even that threshold, it would result in direct divine patronage.


    But this was enough for him to make a reasonable guess.


    <em>Could it be¡­ because I carried the goddess on my back that time and helped her a lot, so the goddess strengthened my luck?</em>


    Optimist spected.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one thinking the same thing.


    Among the other yers, those who were observant and imaginative began connecting the dots as well.


    ¡°Wait a second¡­ could this have something to do with him being in contact with the goddess?¡±


    ¡°Probably! Other than him touching the goddess, That Optimist dude doesn¡¯t seem all that different from us¡­¡±


    ¡°Wake up, even if he haven¡¯t had contact with the goddess, Opt¡¯s still a legit Silver-ranker. Besides, please don¡¯t use the word ¡®touching¡¯, it makes me feel like I¡¯m being cuckolded.¡± ?


    ¡°Cuckolded? What are you even talking about?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that. Let¡¯s stop arguing and focus on hunting down that bastard Optimist.¡±


    ¡°Hunt him down? Dude, he¡¯s a Silver-rank tank with full silver-ss gear. His health is so high it¡¯s ridiculous¡ªdo you really think we can take him down?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    There was always someone who managed to kill the mood at the wrong time.


    Quickly, though, the yers shifted their attention back to the dragons, dropping the topic of hunting down Optimist entirely:


    ¡°Ahem¡­ back on topic. One dragon showing him favor might be understandable. But for all five to act so intimately¡ªlicking his face, even¡ªthat¡¯s definitely not normal!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say ¡®might¡¯¡ªit¡¯s just in abnormal.¡±


    ¡°I think I heard him bragging in the guild chat yesterday about how he got a [Goddess¡¯s Favor] buff after carrying the goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard that too. Apparently, the goddess¡¯s energy entered his body while he was carrying her.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ so it is rted to the goddess, then?¡±


    ¡°I heard the goddess is interactive. Do you think praying to her might yield a response?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Another moment of silence fell over the group.


    Then suddenly¡­


    A wave of yers stood up one after another. Under the baffled gazes of the elves, they surged toward the temple with sparkling eyes and excited expressions.


    Bursting into the temple, they rushed to the statue of the goddess, dropping to their knees en masse, fervently praying and worshiping.


    Some even dared to grab hold of the statue¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Praise nature! Praise life! Praise the great Goddess Eve!¡±


    ¡°Praise the goddess! Please grant me strength¡ªor better yet, a dragonpanion!¡±


    ¡°Goddess, I¡¯ll do anything! Take me under your wing! I¡¯m low-maintenance, I promise!¡±


    ¡°I can even keep your bed warm! Please take me in!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! This is killing me. Can¡¯t you guys be a bit more serious with your prayers? Aren¡¯t you worried about losing favor? Wait¡ªhold up! You just broke the goddess¡¯s leg! You¡¯re done for!¡±


    ¡°What the¡ª? I¡¯ve never touched it before, but this statue seems¡­ fragile?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The novice elven priests responsible for maintaining the temple stared in stunned silence at the sudden intrusion of these Chosen Ones.


    She watched as they prayed fervently, including one particrly zealous yer who, in their excitement, identally snapped the leg off a backup goddess statue not yet blessed by divine grace. The yer now sat on the floor, clutching the broken leg, their expression a mix of shock and bewilderment.


    The novice priestess stared in stunned silence.


    tter!


    Her broom fell to the ground with a loud noise.


    ¡°T-They¡¯ve¡­ gone mad¡­¡±


    ¡°These Chosen Ones havepletely lost it¡­¡±


    Eyes wide and mouth covered in disbelief, the female apprentice priest muttered to herself.


    In that moment, a system notification shed across each yer¡¯s field of view:


    <strong>Favorability -10.</strong>


    Each and every one of them froze in unison.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ???


    The world of Elven Kingdom was never short onedic mishaps.


    Leaving aside the antics of these yers praying to Ev¨¦ for divine favor, Optimist whose standing atop the tform in the square finally came to his senses after having his face thoroughly licked by five newly hatched dragons.


    An idea suddenly sparked within his mind.


    On the other side of the tform, Samuel, the elf overseeing the ceremony, observed the scene with lingering astonishment.


    Clearing his throat, he addressed the crowd:


    ¡°Ahem. It seems the dragons have made their choice. In that case, I ask Lord Optimist to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Samuel¡¯s words were abruptly interrupted by none other than Optimist himself.


    The flow of conversation came to a sudden halt as the tank, still reeling from the unexpected onught of affection from the five young dragons, struggled to pull himself free.


    Their enthusiastic licks had left him disoriented but with a determined grunt, he managed to break free from their grasp.


    Taking a moment to collect himself, he straightened up and after wiping his face, dered:


    ¡°I¡¯d like to forfeit my right to this pact! But in exchange, I want my four teammates to take part instead!¡±


    <em>Forfeit?</em>


    Samuel blinked in surprise.


    ¡°You wish to forfeit?¡±


    Even his teammates, Boxlunch and the others, were visibly stunned.


    But soon, Optimist grinned slyly.


    While patting one of the dragon hatchlings on the head, he exined:


    ¡°I¡¯ll be participating in the uing voluntary dragon pacts instead!¡±


    The moment he said this, Boxlunch and his team instantly understood what he was aiming for.


    Cbash¡¯s eyes lit up as he gave Optimist a big thumbs-up.


    ¡°Clever! That¡¯s real teamwork!¡±


    After listening to their conversation, the other yers spectating from the crowd erupted into chatter:


    ¡°What? So he¡¯s forfeiting his predetermined spot and instead wants to join the voluntary pacts where the dragons get to choose their partner?¡±


    ¡°I see! With those five dragons already fawning over him, it¡¯s almost certain that one will definitely choose him! So by doing this, he¡¯s essentially giving his team another slot! Besides, at this rate, it¡¯s just as likely the dragons will bepeting for him instead of the other way around!¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what he¡¯s nning¡­ Wait, does this mean Boxlunch¡¯s team will end up with two dragons?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so envious¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh, so that leaves only three dragons for the rest of us¡­¡±


    ¡°That golden dragon will definitely be picked up, right? It¡¯s so unfair¡­¡±


    ¡°Feeling sour now¡­¡±


    The air was thick with envy as yersmented their misfortune.


    Among the crowd, Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow at Optimist¡¯s strategy.


    <em>Clever¡­ but eptable.</em>


    Luck, after all, was a form of strength.


    With Optimist stepping back, the dragon pact selection resumed for Boxlunch¡¯s team.


    As determined by the ceremony¡¯s rules, predetermined pacts took priority over voluntary ones. Despite Optimist¡¯s nervous and longing gaze at the gold dragon, the selection proceeded as nned.


    ¡°It¡¯s the bronze dragon,¡±


    Samuel announced, holding up the slip of paper with the result.


    Optimist exhaled in relief, though he quickly tried to mask his reaction by scratching his nose.


    Once the decision was made, Samuel used divine magic to temporarily restrain the young dragons and began conversing with the bronze dragon in their ancient tongue.


    The hatchlings, though too young to speak the dragonnguage, had already inherited its understanding. They couldprehend but not yet respond.


    Samuel¡¯s dragon tongue was, of course, a gift from the Goddess herself.


    After a brief exchange, whilst being apanied by a demonstration of divine magic, the bronze dragon nodded obediently.


    Samuel lifted the restraint, and the dragon turned its attention back to Boxlunch¡¯s group.


    Its gaze swept across the four remaining yers, who stood stiffly, visibly tense. Even Boxlunch whose normally calm and collected, clenched his fists tightly, betraying his nerves.


    The dragon hesitated for a moment, its childlike face showing an almost human-like hint of indecision.


    Sniffing the air, it moved closer to Boxlunch and his another teammate, Chopin.


    Circling them both, it eventually stopped in front of Boxlunch.


    Boxlunch¡¯s expression froze, bing almostically stiff.


    The other yers looked slightly disappointed, though they quickly recovered and began congratting him.


    It was, after all, fitting for Boxlunch to be chosen.


    He was the game¡¯s top-rankedbat yer, with unmatched experience and achievements.


    But just as everyone assumed the bronze dragon had finally made its choice, something unexpected happened.


    The dragon sniffed Boxlunch once more, then wrinkled its nose.


    Pausing briefly, it then moved again, stopping in front of Chopin¡ªwho wore a stunned expression as though he were dreaming.


    Whilst lowering its head slightly, the dragon activated a faintly glowing magical array that enveloped both itself and Chopin.


    Momentster, a notification appeared in Chopin¡¯s interface:


    ¡¾ Dragon Companion: Bronze Dragon (Hatchling) ¡¿


    ¡°It¡­ chose me?¡±


    Chopin asked, overwhelmed with joy.


    ???


    The yers watching at the vicinity were just as surprised.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t pick Boxlunch?¡±


    ¡°What a shame¡­¡±


    Even Cbash and I¡¯m-Invincible looked taken aback.


    Chopin was a druid specializing in healing¡ªa support ss, and arguably the weakest in their party.


    Dragons, ording to what Meryer had told Little Salty Cat, typically preferred partners with greater strength or attributes thatplemented their own.


    This was the general rule.


    Of course, exceptions also existed.


    Rtionships with dragons could be cultivated over time, though most dragons weren¡¯t interested in building bonds before forming pacts.


    Little Salty Cat and Meryer¡¯s bond was one such rare exception, made only possible because Meryer had already signed a contract with the goddess and couldn¡¯t take another partner.


    Returning to the present¡­


    Given Boxlunch¡¯s overwhelming strength, and theck of lightning magic specialists in their team, it had almost seemed certain the bronze dragon would inevitably choose him.


    But Ev¨¦ who¡¯s been monitoring the scene, quickly deduced the real reason behind the dragon¡¯s hesitation.


    ¡°I see¡­ it¡¯s the aura of death around him.¡±


    The yers¡¯ souls weren¡¯t native to this world, so the dragons couldn¡¯t judge their soul¡¯s alignment.


    But indulging in acts of excessive killing could affect one¡¯s mental state and aura, creating an intangible yet perceptible ¡°killing intent.¡±


    This intangible quality, though not inherently evil, could unsettle sensitive creatures, especially young dragons.


    The bronze dragon had initially leaned toward Boxlunch but ultimately hesitated upon sensing the heavy murderous aura around him.


    For metallic dragons, while they don¡¯t shy away frombat and some even relish fighting evil, it doesn¡¯t mean they are drawn to the presence of killing intent.


    Having such a strong aura of bloodlust doesn¡¯t necessarily make someone evil, but it does indicate they¡¯re far from harmless.


    For these newly hatched dragonlings, having such an aura bes a significant negative factor.


    Thus, after some hesitation, the young bronze dragon ultimately decided against choosing Boxlunch.


    As for why it picked Chopin instead¡­


    In Eve¡¯s view, it likely had to do with his ss.


    After all, these dragons were born from Eve¡¯s divine influence, and among the yers, druids shared the closest affinity with Eve¡¯s essence.


    For these dragons whose instinctively drawn to Eve¡¯s aura from birth, a druid would naturally seem more appealing.


    Moreover, Druids, as a ss, are also inherently better at gaining the favor of magical beasts.


    Given all this, it came as no surprise why Chopin became the lucky one.


    Watching the scene unfold, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but muse:


    ¡°It seems druids will soon be the go-to ss for yers aspiring to be dragon knights¡­¡±


    ¡°Then again, once the priest ss is fully unlocked, yers who take that path might also find themselves favored by these dragons, whose bloodlines I¡¯ve purified.¡±


    ¡°As for Boxlunch, it¡¯s a shame. With his strength, bonding with a dragon would have elevated his power to an even greater level.¡±


    ¡°s, luck wasn¡¯t on his side today. If there had been a chromatic dragon among these five, it surely would have chosen him without hesitation, since chromatic dragons are naturally drawn to aurasden with bloodlust and thrive in their presence.¡±


    With the predetermined bondingplete, it was now time for the dragon¡¯s themselves to freely select their partners among the remaining yers.


    Unsurprisingly, Optimist was the first yer chosen by a dragonling¡ªand not just one but all four unpaired dragonlings.


    Of course, he could only form a bond with one.


    Amidst a sea of envy and resentment from the crowd, Optimist ultimately formed a contract with the most beautiful and robust dragon of them all¡ªthe young golden dragon.


    After the golden dragon was taken, the remaining dragonlings began wandering among the yers to find their own partners.


    With them unable to fly yet, the remaining hatchlings waddled around adorably, their movements both clumsy and endearing.


    Ev¨¦ had ced a protective blessing on the dragonlings, ensuring no yer could approach them without consent.


    Watching from a distance, Ev¨¦ discreetly withdrew to avoid unnecessary attention.


    After returning to the World Tree, she began spectating the event from the yers¡¯ perspectives, akin to watching a live stream.


    The yer presence in Florence had grown significantly.


    Meanwhile, the dragonlings ambled through the crowd, undeterred by the yers¡¯ efforts to curry favor with them.


    Many yers even resorted to desperate measures, with some offering all sorts of delicacies¡ªroasted meat, fresh fruit, even shiny gold coins and gemstones.


    The dragonlings dly ate the food and took the treasures, but after filling their bellies, they would simply wag their tails and leave.


    The yers could only watch in frustration, realizing their ploys had failed miserably.


    Time ticked by, and soon the third dragon finally found its chosen partner¡ªa brass dragon that chose a well-known yer named Li Mu.


    Li Mu was a renowned Archdruid, famous for his mastery ofmunication magic, Whisper of Nature.


    To secure his bond, he went all out, bringing a cart of northeastern-style barbecued meat (with help from Little Salty Cat), donning a set of gleaming equipment, and piling up a mountain of gold coins sponsored by Demacia.


    His efforts eventually paid off, and he sessfully bonded with the dragon, earning the envy of countless onlookers.


    In the wake of Li Mu¡¯s sess, the fourth dragonling, a copper dragon, chose Meng Zhihan¡ªa druid specializing in feral transformations.


    Meng Zhihan¡¯s innate magic allowed her to shapeshift into a pterosaur, a creature with dragon bloodline ties, closely rted to the copper dragon.


    Upon transforming on the spot, she immediately caught the dragon¡¯s attention and secured the bond, bing the fourth yer to partner up with a dragon.


    The fifth and final dragonling, another brass dragon, made an unexpected choice.


    Rather than selecting a powerful silver-ranked yer, it chose a rtively unknown fourth-beta yer¡ªan intermediate lvl 29 iron-rank mage named Dongdong.


    Coincidentally, this yer, ¡°Dongdong,¡± happened to be a close friend of Meng Zhihan.


    At that moment, Dongdong was so ecstatic she could barely contain herself.


    Heavens above, she had onlye to join in the fun and never expected such a surprise¡ªa dragon partner falling right into herp!


    ¡°It actually chose me? Could it be that I have incredible potential? Or maybe I¡¯ve been focusing on the right specialization all along?¡±


    She was visibly excited.


    Meng Zhihan, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at her friend.


    ¡°You¡¯re just lucky, that¡¯s all. A melee mage dabbling in fireballs and mental magic? You¡¯re spells are all over the ce. If you ever manage to pick a specialization path, then I¡¯ll believe pigs can fly.¡±


    Dongdong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t help it! These were the spells I started with! And mages should fight up close too, you know! Besides, Psychic Pierce from the mental spell tree is great for disrupting enemies in meleebat!¡±


    ¡°Only you would think of making a mage fight in melee. You¡¯re a true genius, alright.¡±


    Amid her friend¡¯s teasing, Dongdongpleted her contract with the brass dragon.


    However, after the bond was formed, her expression turned peculiar.


    ¡°Huh¡­I think I know why it chose me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because its specialties are also fire magic and mental magic¡­¡±


    Meng Zhihan: ¡°¡­¡±


    Perhaps this is what it means to be blessed by the RNG gods.


    ???


    With the dragons finally bonded to their chosen partners, the five lucky yers were overjoyed, while the rest were left disappointed.


    Even so, most yers began to notice a pattern:


    These dragons seemed to favor druids or yers whose attributes matched their own.


    Fortunately, this was not the only time dragons could appear.


    ording to the announcement, more opportunities would arise monthly. Although disappointed, yers remained hopeful for the future.


    After the pact bonding were finalized, the five bonded pairs were invited to the tform by Samuel.


    This time, he intended to teach these chosen yers how to care for the their dragon partners, exining their unique traits and preferences of each type.


    Of course, this knowledge came directly from the goddess herself.


    ¡°Brass dragons enjoy sunshine and dry environments. Li Mu and Dongdong, you¡¯ll need to ensure your dragon partner spend plenty of time in such areas. Additionally, brass dragons are sociable and love to chat, so make sure to talk to them often as well.¡±


    ¡°Now that the bonds are formed, you canmunicate telepathically, so conversations can take ce in your minds.¡±


    ¡°Bronze dragons love coral and pearls. Chopin, you might want to collect such treasures for your dragon. They also prefer a diet rich in fish¡­¡±


    ¡°Red dragons enjoy pranks, so Meng Zhihan, please be patient with yours. They also love stories and music and have a fondness for treasures tied to the earth, like precious metals and gemstones¡­¡±


    Samuel exined carefully, while the yers listened attentively, absorbing every detail.


    The surrounding crowd, however, wore odd expressions.


    ¡°What partners? This sounds more like they¡¯ve adopted some spoiled rich children. Are they bing dragon caretakers now?¡±


    ¡°Tch, if I had the chance, I¡¯d dly be a dragon caretaker.¡±


    The onlooking yers whispered among themselves, their interest in dragon habits piqued. They paid close attention, hoping to use this knowledge for their own future opportunities.


    Finally, after covering the other dragon types, Samuel finally turned to Optimist, who was grinning ear to ear while holding his golden dragon hatchling.


    The elder elf gave an approving nod and said:


    ¡°First of all, congrattions, Optimist. That gold dragon is the strongest and most powerful of all the metallic dragons.¡±


    ¡°That said, caring for a gold dragon can be more challenging and will likely require significant effort and resources.¡±


    ¡°One of the most important things is its diet.¡±


    ¡°Gold dragons are sometimes called Wealth Devourers because they can eat just about anything, but their favorite foods are jades and gemstones.¡±


    ¡°Of course, they can consume regr food, but if you want them to grow stronger and bond more deeply with you, you¡¯ll need to satisfy their hunger for jewels¡­¡±


    Hearing this, the smile on Optimist¡¯s face slowly faded.


    ¡ª <strong>464</strong> ¡ª<hr>


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 Chapter 465

    <strong>¡¾ EVE OF THE UPDATE</strong> ¡¿


    The Dragon Bonding event hade to an end.


    However, for the vast majority of yers, the excitement brought by having a dragon partner was far from over.


    In the foreseeable future, it seemed that the brilliance of dragons would overshadow all other familiars in Elven Kingdom. Dragons would undoubtedly be the most sought-afterpanions and the ultimate symbol of prestige among yers.


    From this point on, a proper elite setup in Elven Kingdom would consist of being a Silver-ranked yer, owning property in the central district of the Chosen City, wearing a full set of Silver or Legendary-grade equipment, and, of course, having a dragonpanion.


    Such abination would unquestionably signify the pinnacle of yer achievement!


    Naturally, the term ¡®magical pet¡¯ was something yers might use among themselves, but they would never utter it in front of a dragon.


    After all, countless yers had already learned their lesson through the wrathful beatings of the ck dragon Meryer.


    Dragons detested being referred to as mere ¡°pets¡± or ¡°monsters.¡±The five fortunate chosen yers who acquired dragonpanions became instant celebrities across the entire server.


    Wherever they went with their dragon hatchlings, they attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.


    The growth of the hatchlings was astonishingly rapid.


    In just one day, the five yers were thrilled to discover that their dragon partner had grown by a third in size overnight.


    Their power also skyrocketed, evolving from early-stage Iron-rank to the peak of Iron-rank at Level 40.


    This strength,bined with their racial advantages, made these dragonsparable to Silver-rankers inbat power.


    This left countless yers green with envy.


    Having a magicalpanion as powerful as a Silver-ranker, with immense potential for growth as well¡ªwhy, this was practically unbeatable!


    It almost felt like cheating!


    To make matters worse, the dragon¡¯s growth after forming apanion bond even enhanced their chosen yers themselves!


    Among the five lucky yers, the most envied one was Dongdong.


    Originally a Level 29 mage, this fourth-beta yer instantly shot up to Level 31 after forming the contract with her dragon.


    This sparked widespread jealousy.


    Leveling from 29 to 31 wasn¡¯t an insurmountable task, but for most yers, it required at least a day or two of grinding.


    Watching someone leap ahead effortlessly just like that can sometimes really be infuriating.


    ???


    Time within the game always seemed to fly by.


    Before anyone realized it, another ten in-game days had passed.


    The hype surrounding the new Ouros map began to fade.


    Despite its vastness and appeal, it soon became clear that the map was primarily for low-level yers.


    The strongest monsters in the area barely reached Silver-rank and even those were seldom seen.


    For lower-leveled yers from the fourth beta, it provided a safe area to grind and level up.


    But for most yers focused on efficiency, why travel so far when they could level faster in the underground or the Elven Forest?


    That being said, not everyone shared the same sentiments.


    Many yers who enjoyed the cultural and scenic aspects of Elven Kingdom remained captivated by the new map.


    Some of them even turned their explorations into video content, uploading them online to impressive viewership numbers.


    The videos they created showcased the massive scale and stunning realism of Elven Kingdom, leaving audiences in awe of its beauty and rich worldbuilding. ??


    Thanks to these videos, the game¡¯s poprity surged once again¡ªthis time, fueled by the breathtakingndscapes of the new map.


    Comments like ¡°This has to be another world!¡± or ¡°They must have traveled through space time!¡±and ¡°This is definitely an alien conspiracy!¡± began trending on social media.


    Of course, these remarks were all said in good fun.


    yers expressed their admiration for Elven Kingdom in yful ways, marveling at its immersive capabilities.


    After all, the game was merely just that¡ªa game.


    It still had a system, a UI, and the ability to log out at any time.


    The developers also showed no signs of anything suspicious.


    Despite its uncanny realism, Elven Kingdom was exactly what yers dreamed of:


    The ultimate virtual reality experience.


    To the yers, it was their very own Matrix.


    What they didn¡¯t realize was that theck of real-world investigations into Elven Kingdom wasn¡¯t due to ignorance but rather, Ev¨¦ had been subtly intervening with her divine power, preventing any interference.


    For yers, though, all that mattered was enjoying this highly immersive game and going about their adventures with endless joy.


    Every day in Elven Kingdom brought about new discoveries, new surprises, and of course, the inevitable grind to fulfill their duties as ¡®leeks¡¯ every day¡­ 1


    If a ranking of virtual games developed on earth were made, Elven Kingdom would undoubtedly sit at the top, surpassing all others in every category.


    Of course it¡¯s not without ws, such as some yersined about its hyper-realism causing inconveniences, the sheer size of the maps exhausting their characters stamina just by traveling, or asional imbnces in ss performance.


    Butpared to what the game could offer, these ws were trivial.


    Meanwhile, curiosity about the World Tree Technologiespany¡ªthe developer of Elven Kingdom¡ªcontinued to grow.


    Many yers tried to locate their physical offices but failed to find any trace of it in the real world.


    With the advancement of virtualworks, it wasn¡¯t umon for modernpanies to forgo physical offices entirely, operating solely in cyberspace.


    As a result, most people concluded that World Tree Technologies was one such next-gen enterprise.


    Unsurprisingly, a variety of rumors began to spread.


    Yet, in the face of the mysterious power from another world, any negative voices barely caused a ripple.


    After all,izens are both forgetful and easily swayed by public opinion.


    Their intelligence can also sometimes be astonishingly high¡ªand at other times, disappointingly low.


    If something is presented convincingly enough and bolstered by paid online campaigns, turning lies into truths and truths into lies bes effortless.


    While a certain mythical entity couldn¡¯t directly interfere with the physical matters in Earth, influencing public opinion through the inte by expending divine power was well within their grasp.


    In some ways, it was a form of dimensional suppression.


    Amidst this swirling tide of spection, the game Elven Kingdom arrived at the final day before its uing update.


    ???


    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?The Chosen City, Elven Forest


    The Chosen City, built by yers and hailed by elves as the ¡°City of Miracles,¡± remained as bustling as ever¡ªor perhaps even more so as the next update drew closer and closer.


    With yers continually reaching the Level 40 cap, many who had previously focused solely on leveling returned to the city to explore the diverse gamey options Elven Kingdom offered.


    Shops opened by yers were now everywhere, selling a wide array of goods.


    The city¡¯s architectural scale had expanded significantly as well.


    Of course, most yers returned out of habit, gathering in the main city to await the update.


    Although it could be essed from anywhere, this one involved the priest ss. And with the World Tree located in the Chosen City, it was naturally the most convenient ce for yers to perform the necessary rituals.


    Among these yers was Moon Jasmine.


    Despite being a fourth-beta yer, she had already reached the Level 40 cap which is a remarkable feat.


    While reaching this level might not seem impressive to old-time veterans, it was an outstanding achievement for someone who had only been ying for less than three months.


    Moon Jasmine¡¯s jobss is surprisingly that of a warrior, which is rtively rare among female yers.


    Due to the realism of Elven Kingdom, most female yers gravitated toward spellcasting or ranged sses.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean they were less skilled than their male counterparts.


    In fact, women often dominated the leaderboards for mages and rangers.


    Even so, there were strong female melee yers too¡ªJasmine being one of them.


    Although she hadn¡¯t yet advanced to Silver-rank, she ranked as the top warrior just below the Silver threshold, a significant aplishment that even surpassed many first-beta yers.


    At this moment, Jasmine was seated in the bustling Amway Tavern, carefully polishing her prized Upper-Iron-rank Legendary longsword.


    Her crimson hair, tied into a single ponytail, contrasted sharply with her cold, aloof demeanor as she gazed out the window at the lively street.


    On the street below, Li Mu, the guild leader of Heart of Nature and a well-known elite yer, was joyfully ying with his Bronze dragon hatchling.


    The creature was already asrge as an ox, and their antics drew envious stares from the surrounding yers.


    ¡°I wish I could have a dragonpanion too¡­¡±


    A wistful sigh came from across the table.


    Moon Jasmine cast a brief nce at the male yer sitting opposite her, with the username ¡®Caesar¡¯ hovering above his head.


    Despite his strong-sounding name, Caesar¡¯s character design was delicate, featuring golden hair, blue eyes, and a slim build.


    He was a druid, a ss known for its connection to nature.


    ¡°I heard these dragons can actually talk to theirpanions, and once they hit Silver-rank, they¡¯ll be able tomunicate just like Meryer. How cool is that?¡±


    Caesar remarked, his eyes filled with longing as he watched the scene across the street.


    ¡°You¡¯re a druid. That gives you an edge,¡± Jasmine said coolly. ¡°Level up faster, reach the cap, and choose skills that appeal to dragons. Who knows? Maybe next time, you¡¯ll be chosen.¡±


    Her tone was cold, contrasting with the fiery enthusiasm of her bright red ponytail.


    Caesar chuckled weakly.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d love to level up faster, but as a fourth-beta yer, I¡¯m already at a disadvantagepared to the older yers. And honestly¡­leveling through tasks takes forever in this game.¡±


    He trailed off as Jasmine interrupted him.


    ¡°Who told you to focus on doing tasks instead of fighting monsters anyway? Monster grinding is the fastest way to level. If you¡¯d stuck with me, you¡¯d reach the level cap by now.¡±


    She shook her head, clearly unimpressed.


    Caesar sighed.


    ¡°Grinding with you? You¡¯re insane! I can¡¯t go two days and nights without sleep like you can.¡±


    With a faint smile, he added, ¡°Besides, I prefer doing tasks over grinding, especially the personal ones from elven NPCs. Don¡¯t you think the real charm of this game is in interacting with them? Every elf has their own story¡ªit¡¯s really amazing!¡±


    He nced at Jasmine, but she simply shook her head again.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in those NPCs.¡±


    She continued, ¡°Honestly, this game¡¯s NPC mechanics are far tooplicated. At the end of the day, they¡¯re just lines of code. Why make it so borate? Even their favorability affects my experience gains¡ªit¡¯s really unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°The realism of Elven Kingdom is impressive, sure. Thebat mechanics and ss bnce are excellent¡ªfar beyond any other game I¡¯ve yed. That¡¯s all that matters to me. The rest is pointless.¡±


    Caesar stared at her, speechless.


    ¡°Huh, you¡¯ve never interacted with any NPCs? Never done daily tasks?¡± he asked in a incredulous tone.


    Jasmine shook her head.


    ¡°Too troublesome. I only enjoybat. Right now, my ultimate goal is to top thebat power rankings and take down Boxlunch in a duel¡ªand win.¡±


    Her eyes lit up with determination, a fiery resolve gleaming within.


    ¡°Competition and battle¡ªthat¡¯s the true essence of a game!¡±


    Caesar: ¡°¡­¡±


    He gave her a strange look and shook his head.


    ¡°You have such unique tastes¡­ If this game didn¡¯t have gender-lock mechanics, I¡¯d honestly think you were running a gender-bent ount.¡±


    ¡°Do you want a beating?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Haha, no, no!¡±


    Caesar quicklyughed it off, eager to change the subject.


    ¡°Speaking of which¡­ we¡¯ve known each other for almost a month now, right? I still remember that day when we were doing a quest. If it weren¡¯t for you stepping in, I¡¯d have been done for.¡±


    Jasmine waved her hand dismissively.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re weak. You couldn¡¯t even handle the wild monsters near the Elven Forest¡¯s central zone. And you¡¯re still dreaming of bing someone¡¯s romantic partner?¡±


    Caesar scratched his head,ughing awkwardly.


    ¡°Uh¡­ well, it¡¯s my first time ying a virtual MMO, you know? I¡¯ve never done this before. You can¡¯tpare me to you¡ªyou¡¯re a natural gamer¡­¡±


    Moon Jasmine rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Are you even a guy?¡±


    Caesar: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahem. I got drawn into Elven Kingdom because of its beautifulndscapes. And, uh, I¡¯ve always liked games with rich storylines. Combat? Not really my thing,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Weirdo.¡±


    Jasmine shook her head, unimpressed.


    Caesar: ¡°¡­¡±


    Scratching his nose, he changed the subject again.


    ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t you win a spot for an advanced ss promotion? Why haven¡¯t you done it yet? With your skills, if you advance to Silver-rank, you could easily make it into the top fivebat rankings. With some grinding, you might even crack the top three! Honestly, if you¡¯d joined during the first-beta, you¡¯d already be one of the top elites.¡±


    Jasmine shook her head again.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t. I was ying another game back then. By the time I found out about Elven Kingdom, it was already in its third-beta. As for the ss promotion, I¡¯ll wait until the uing update. I¡¯m nning to dual-ss as a priest and don¡¯t want my promotion to mess with anything.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ you actually want to dual-ss as a priest? Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be your support healer?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too weak and always getting lost. I¡¯d rather handle it myself.¡±


    ¡°¡­ My bad. You¡¯re right,¡±


    Caesar said, clutching his chest as if struck.


    ¡°I just figured I should level up more to keep up with you.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Jasmine suddenly shifted the conversation.


    ¡°Once the priest ss is avable, I can help you level up. Didn¡¯t you mention wanting to try it too? From what I¡¯ve heard, priests don¡¯t need much experience to level up, so grinding it should be pretty fast.¡±


    Caesar¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°That¡¯d be amazing!¡±


    Then, scratching his head awkwardly, he added, ¡°Actually, I was nning to main as a priest. ording to the announcement, leveling as a priest involves interacting with NPCs a lot. I think that suits me better. Plus, if I main as a priest ss, maybe I could actually be useful to you¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off at the end, barely audible.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Moon Jasmine asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°Uh¡­ nothing! Just that, based on the official announcement, being a priest might really suit me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean proselytizing? You don¡¯t actually think the game will make you preach to NPCs one line at a time, do you?¡±


    Jasmine raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that how it works?¡± Caesar blinked in confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up. No game would make it thatplicated. Proselytizing is probably just a ¡®progress bar¡¯ mechanic. Fill the bar, and the job¡¯s done.¡±


    Jasmine shrugged.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Caesar muttered, frowning slightly.


    He hesitated before saying, ¡°But¡­ the NPCs in this game are so intelligent¡­¡±


    ¡°Trust me,¡± Moon Jasmine said confidently, ¡°I¡¯ve yed enough games to know how it usually works by now.¡±


    Caesar seemed like he wanted to continue the conversation, but a system notification suddenly popped up in both their fields of view:


    ¡¾


    ¡¿


    ¡¾Elven Kingdom will now undergo a version update in 10 minutes. Please prepare to log out.¡¿


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time. I¡¯ll log off for dinner. Let¡¯s meet up afterwards.¡±


    Jasmine downed the mug of ale in front of her, then stood and headed toward the tavern¡¯s second-floor guest rooms.


    She¡¯d spent all her contribution points on equipment and hadn¡¯t bought a house yet, so she was still staying in these rented rooms.


    Caesar, left alone, hesitated for a moment and rubbed his nose thoughtfully.


    ¡°Would the devs really make proselytizing so simple?¡±


    ¡ª <strong>465</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    1 <strong>¾Â²Ë</strong> ¨C The phrase is a metaphor used to describe when consumers are taken advantage of by big business or entrepreneurs. Thus, yers are ¡°harvested¡± like leeks, which can be cut down and new ones will grow back quickly. <hr>


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 466

    <strong>¡¾ TRIAL TO BECOME</strong><strong>A PRIEST </strong>¡¿


    After logging off in a hurry, Jasmine returned to the real world.


    Unlike the fullness she felt after having snacks and ale inside the game, a wave of intense hunger struck her the moment she left the virtual pod.


    ¡°It would be nice if eating in the game could fill me up in real life too.¡±


    She muttered to herself, stretchedzily, and began ordering takeout.


    After cing the order, she left the virtual pod to wash up.


    Jasmine, whose real name was Su Lili, was a 24-year-old university graduate who had been in the workforce for three years.


    Single and employed at a government-affiliated institution, her favorite pastime was gaming.


    Her skills in games were top-notch. If only her family hadn¡¯t objected, then she might have even gone professional during her university days.


    However, while games were undeniably interesting, Jasmine had always been drawn to one thing above all else:


    Combat.


    Especially fast-paced, visceral melee battles.


    The stronger the impact, the more she enjoyed it.


    With virtual reality games sweeping across the globe, Su Lili had, like many others, be addicted to immersive VR games. Elven Kingdom was hertest discovery, a hidden gem she stumbled upon only recently.


    To her regret, she hadn¡¯t been able to catch the game¡¯s initial release.


    ¡°It¡¯s all because I was too busy with work recently and was addicted to other games. Otherwise, I would not have missed Elven Kingdom¡¯ first beta!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not toote now. Startingte just makes it more challenging¡ªand that¡¯s even better!¡±


    A faint smile tugged at her lips as she thought of this.


    Su Lili thrived on challenges¡ªprovided they didn¡¯t involve long, tedious storylines.


    In games, she always skipped its plot as her focus was entirely on leveling up and PvP.


    However, Elven Kingdom¡¯ PvP had its drawbacks.


    Battles required specific arenas and cost contribution points, which irked her slightly.


    Fortunately, despite her disdain for PvE, the monster system in Elven Kingdom was exceptional.


    Thebat felt incredibly realistic, and the thrilling fights rivaled traditional PvP.


    Thus, she found herself surprisingly hooked.


    It was unlike the repetitive grind of other games. In Elven Kingdom, every fight against a monster felt really unique.


    At first, even Jasmine struggled to adapt to the hyper-realisticbat, fumbling through her early encounters.


    Of course, like most skilled yers, she caught onto it pretty quickly soon enough.


    Now, she sometimes felt as if thebat techniques she¡¯d honed in the game might work in real life.


    Then again, given her online bravado and crippling social anxiety, she¡¯d probably freeze up if it ever came to that.


    Not that she minded.


    As long as she could shine in the game, her reality didn¡¯t matter so to speak.


    Her goal she set for herself was to climb to the top of the power rankings before the next beta or public release, defeating the long-reigning champion, ¡°Boxlunch.¡±


    Fortunately for her, today happened to be the weekend, which meant she had no work and plenty of free time to indulged herself in games.


    After a shower, she ate her takeout, used the bathroom, skimmed through entertainment news, and took care of personal matters that could only be resolved in reality.


    Finally, Su Lili climbed back into the virtual pod.


    The server maintenance for the big update waspleted and she could now log in again.


    cing the helmet on her head, she uttered the familiar voicemand she¡¯d repeated countless times:


    ¡°Launch¡ªElven Kingdom!¡±


    ¡¾


    ¡¿


    ¡¾Game connection sessful¡­¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>New version detected</strong>: Elven Kingdom 1.9¡¿


    Update Log V1: Priest ss Unlocked¡­


    Update Log V2: Preaching System Introduced¡­


    Update Log V3: Divine Favor System Avable¡­


    Updating¡­


    ¡¾Update Complete¡¿


    Logging in¡­


    ¡¾<strong>Game Username</strong>: Jasmineunderthemoon ¡¿


    Chosen One, wee back to Elven Kingdom!


    With the familiar system voice, Jasmine was back in the virtual world of Elven Kingdom.


    Her visual screen darkened as the opening animation for Elven Kingdom began.


    Typically, Su Lili would just skip it as she¡¯d only ever watch the opening animations the first time she yed a game.


    But as her hand hovered, ready to skip, something made her pause.


    The opening animation had changed yet again.


    ¡°The devs really love redoing these intros, huh? Changing these cutscenes every time they implemented an update.¡±


    She grumbled to herself but decided not to skip it.


    While she didn¡¯t care for the game¡¯s storyline or interacting with the NPCs, Elven Kingdom did have a ir for cutscenes that made them somewhat worth watching.


    In any case, Jasmine thought that using yers¡¯ contributions to advance the storyline and incorporating them into opening animations was quite a thoughtful design.


    However, just as she assumed that today¡¯s cutscene would once again ¡®highlight¡¯ the yers¡¯ achievements, something unexpected happened.


    As ethereal yet solemn background music yed, the cutscene slowly unfolded¡­


    A deep, resonant voice apanied the visuals:


    ¡°For the return of Her Grace, the Divine Matriarch, I am willing to pay any price.¡±


    The scene brightened gradually, revealing a dpidated cathedral. A strikingly handsome half-elf stood before a statue, fervently praying.


    Behind him, hundreds of hooded elves knelt with solemn expressions, their bags packed as though they were preparing for a long journey.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that? An NPC?¡±


    Jasmine frowned in confusion.


    As she began to feel that this new cutscene was somewhat different, the screen abruptly lit up, and she found herself back in the tavern room where she had logged off earlier.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s it? Just one character?¡±


    Jasmine blinked in surprise.


    This didn¡¯t seem like Elven Kingdom¡¯ usual style.


    Weren¡¯t their opening animations supposed tost at least thirty seconds to a minute?


    And didn¡¯t they always feature yers¡¯ actions as part of its history?


    After all, yers took great pride in seeing themselves appear in these new cutscenes.


    <em>So why did this new one simply introduce a character and just abruptly end it like that?</em>


    <em>Could it be¡­ a teaser for a new storyline? </em>


    Jasmine wondered.


    Despite her curiosity, she didn¡¯t care much.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s probably just a prelude to some main quest. I¡¯m not that interested anyway. I¡¯ll just join the group battles when needed and collect some EXP when the timees.¡±


    Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed and began equipping her armor.


    Taking off one¡¯s gear before logging out was basicmon sense in Elven Kingdom.


    Perhaps in an effort to simte reality, resting in armor affected stamina regeneration, and sometimes yers even logged back in to find their legs feeling ¡°numb¡± if they had forgone removing it.


    To Jasmine, details like these to which some yers hailed as immersive realism are simply unnecessary in her opinion.


    ¡°Honestly, they could¡¯ve put that effort into bncing the job sses instead. I mean, just look at the current state: there are dozens ofbat sses, but the closest thing to a healer is the Druid, which barely counts as half a healer.¡±


    At least now the Priest ss had finally been unlocked.


    Thinking of this, Jasmine pulled up the job ss panel.


    As expected, the once-grayed-out Priest icon had finally lit up.


    The Priest¡¯s symbol was a scepter which was also the current insignia of the Goddess of Life.


    Wasting no time, Jasmine opened the Priest ss introduction to see what bing one entailed and whether it would affect progression in other sses.


    ¡°Hm? To be a Priest, anyone who wants to be one needs toplete a trial in the demi-realm of Ouros? And only after finishing this trial, could aspirants be a ¡®Apprentice Priest¡¯?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Novice Priest doesn¡¯t count as a level yet? Aspirants need toplete preaching tasks to advance to ¡®Apprentice Priest,¡¯ which is levels 1-10, thene Iron Priest, Silver Priest¡­¡±


    ¡°The Priest ss can either be a secondary ss or a main ss, with differences in experience requirements and task progression¡­¡±


    ¡°If one chooses to be a Priest as their secondary ss, its level can¡¯t surpass their main ss level, and the main ss progression isn¡¯t affected. Secondary Priests don¡¯t require experience points to level up¡ªjust thepletion of certain proselytizing tasks.¡±


    ¡°If one chooses Priest as their main ss, its level can exceed the levels of other sses, effectively recing their current level. This means¡­ main-ss Priests can level up solely through the Priest progression!¡±


    ¡°Main-ss Priests require experience points, but they only need a third of what other sses do. However, advancing to higher ranks mandatespleting certain amounts of proselytizing tasks.¡±


    After carefully reading through the Priest ss introduction, Jasmine finally understood how it worked.


    ¡°I see. So if I choose it as a secondary ss, it¡¯s basically just a side gig¡ªI level it up through tasks, but it won¡¯t surpass my main ss or help me gain levels. It¡¯s just an extra ss in my arsenal.¡±


    ¡°But if I make it my main ss, the Priest level will rece my current level, and I can level up much faster thanks to the reduced EXP requirements. Although the catch is¡­ I have toplete those annoying proselytizing tasks.¡±


    ¡°This leveling mechanic is kind of interesting. It looks perfect for new yers to level up quickly¡ªassuming they figure out the tricks. But¡­ it doesn¡¯t really suit me. All those tasks sound like a huge hassle.¡±


    Jasmine scratched her head.


    Still, she had already boasted in front of Caesar that she would take him with her to try out this new content. Even if she found it troublesome now, she had no choice but to go through with it.


    ¡°Since being a part-time priest won¡¯t have much impact, let¡¯s change my primary job ss first.¡±


    Having made up her mind, Jasmine decided toplete her promotion to Silver-rank Warrior.


    Whilst facing the World Tree in the distance, she began a familiar prayer within her mind:


    ¡°Praise nature, praise life, praise the great Goddess Eve!¡±


    Her vision immediately shifted, and she entered the jobss interface.


    The Warrior ss had four specialization paths: Weapon Mastery, Guardian Mastery, Agility Mastery, and Arcane Martial Arts Mastery.


    Weapon Mastery focused on offense, allowing yers to quickly master almost any weapon while significantly enhancing attack skills.


    Guardian Mastery specialized in defense, with high durability and ess to supportive protective skills.


    Agility Mastery felt somewhat simr to the Hunter ss, offering nimbleness and precision.


    Lastly, Arcane Martial Arts Masterybined magic andbat¡ªthough in practice, it only provided slight magic enhancements and ess to a few instant-cast utility spells.


    Clearly, each specialization had its own pros and cons.


    However for Jasmine who lovedbat and thrived in close-quarters battles, the choice was pretty obvious:


    Weapon Mastery.


    After sessfully changing her ss, Jasmine returned to the agreed meeting spot with Caesar¡ªthe central za.


    By the time she arrived, Caesar had already been waiting for quite a while.


    The male Druid yer quickly perked up as soon as he saw her, eximing excitedly:


    ¡°Jasmine, did you see? If you choose the Priest ss as your main ss, the EXP requirements for leveling up are reduced by two-thirds! I¡¯ll finally be able to catch up to you!¡±


    ¡°Psh, I¡¯m already a Silver-ranker. Talk to me again when you hit level 40.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Caesar gave Jasmine a incredulous look, forced out a dryugh, and said:


    ¡°Anyway, shall we go to the demi-realm of Ouros for the trial quest together? Have you epted the quest yet? Heh, there¡¯s a little surprise when you do!¡±


    <em>A surprise?</em>


    Jasmine raised an eyebrow at him, puzzled.


    ¡°Hold on, I haven¡¯t epted it yet.¡±


    Turning around, Jasmine once again faced the World Tree at the edge of the za. Lowering her voice in prayer, she reopened the ss interface.


    The Priest trial quest wasn¡¯t issued by an NPC but was instead selected within the jobss interface.


    The moment Jasmine chose to ept the trial, her mind grew hazy. She felt as though she glimpsed a sacred figure seated upon a divine throne.


    It was the Goddess Eve.


    The Goddess seemed to smile faintly at her, and a holy, ethereal voice echoed softly within her ears:


    ¡°Chosen One, may you triumph in your trial and serve as my instrument to spread my faith throughout thend.¡±


    Her vision blurred for a moment before returning to normal.


    So that¡¯s the surprise Caesar was talking about, she thought.


    It must have been ¡°seeing¡± the Goddess during the ss trial eptance process.


    Unlike other yers who were practically fanatical about the Goddess, Jasmine liked this NPC but wasn¡¯t as obsessed.


    Still, she had to admit¡ªthe Goddess was indeed quite the feast for the eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I already epted the trial quest. Let¡¯s head now to Ouros.¡±


    She turned to Caesar.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ???


    The teleportation array between Kenond and Chosen City had already been constructed.


    As a result, the two of them quickly teleported over.


    With thetest update unlocking the Priest ss, countless yers were also interested in trying it out.


    So when Jasmine and Caesar finally arrived in Kenond, the entire city was already packed to the brim with people.


    Even the portal to the demi-realm of Ouros had a queue.


    ¡°This is ridiculous! Why are there so many people?!¡±


    Caesar gawked in disbelief.


    ¡°Well this new ss can be a secondary one,¡± Jasmine exined. ¡°and there¡¯s no downside to taking it, so everyone wants to try it out. Plus, the Priest ss¡¯s healing and protective abilities are really useful.¡±


    While both of them hadn¡¯t yed as Priests before, they had certainly seen the Priest NPCs in action. Alice and others had shown off their abilities more than enough to make yers envious.


    Whether it was the near-resurrection-level [Holy Healing] or the [Soul of Restoration] which could heal a group of people, these spells were enough to make anyone drool.


    And that¡¯s not even mentioning the various divine buffs avable!


    In short, the Priest ss perfectlybined the supportive and healing strengths of the Druid ss but took it to a whole new level.


    Naturally, yers were eager to try it out.


    It took Jasmine and Caesar nearly twenty minutes of waiting in line before they finally passed through the portal to the demi-realm of Ouros.


    Since Eve had be the ruler of this demi-realm, the portal¡¯s teleportation coordinates had been altered.


    yers no longer appeared mid-air over the forest; instead, they now arrived at the Temple of Life in the City of Seig¨¹es, which was currently under reconstruction.


    Of course, it was no longer called the Church of Creation and was now renamed as the Church of Life.


    After half a month, the natives of Ouros seemed to have grown ustomed to the constant appearance of elves.


    Many still referred to the yers as ¡°Divine Beings,¡± but thanks to corrections and guidance from Eve¡¯s envoys, such as A¨¦l, the term ¡°elf¡± was slowly gaining recognition.


    The local people of this realm viewed elves as envoys of the higher realm and treated them with deep reverence, of which some yers found ufortable.


    Jasmine was one of them.


    As she and Caesar walked through the city, every passing local stopped to respectfully bow in their direction.


    Jasmine couldn¡¯t help but feel awkward witnessing their behavior.


    In any case, the trial quest to be a priest was fairly simple.


    It involved searching the city for several NPCs and helping them with their tasks.


    Among these NPCs were former members of the Church of Creation, impoverished citizens, retired guards, and elderly schrs studying the history of the Ouros demi-realm.


    Unbeknownst to Jasmine and Caesar, these NPCs were not ordinary and were specially created by Eve specifically for this trial alone.


    The required tasks were pretty straightforward:


    Help these NPCs while listening to any stories they had to share.


    In reality, the NPCs created by Eve didn¡¯t truly exist.


    When yers entered the designated locations, it was as if they stepped into a ¡°PK Virtual Space¡±, entering a mental world constructed by Eve.


    These NPCs were all products of these mental space.


    Of course, yers remainedpletely unaware of this and assumed they were still in the game¡¯s physical world.


    The reason Ev¨¦ implemented this was to handle the logistical difficulties ofrge groups of yerspleting quests simultaneously.


    In this mental world, yers could undertake the trials together. If these NPCs existed in the city itself, then the yers would have to line up andplete the quests one by one.


    After all, having to queue just to listen to a story for a ss trial would be far too inefficient.


    After searching around for a little bit, Jasmine and Caesar finally arrived at their first designated location.


    ¡°Another storyline? Ugh, I hate story quests. Can¡¯t we just skip this?¡±


    Jasmine grumbled impatiently.


    ¡°Just bear with it. It¡¯s a trial quest, after all, and ElvKing has never allowed skipping story content. You might as well treat it like a break.¡±


    Caesar tried tofort her.


    Jasmine sighed but reluctantly epted her fate.


    The tasks for the trial weren¡¯t difficult¡ªjust moving some objects, repairing houses, or caring for the NPCs, for instance.


    During this process, however, yers would hear stories from these NPCs.


    However, Jasmine wasn¡¯t remotely interested in listening to the stories and spent most of the time zoning out and browsing online guides for weapon mastery instead¡­


    Since they were in a party, Caesar ended up guiding the entire trial quest.


    Jasmine had noints.


    She genuinely disliked doing quests, despite having initially imed she¡¯d be the one to ¡°carry¡± Caesar.


    But everyone has their strengths, right?


    Since Caesar enjoyed stuffs like these, then she¡¯ll dly let him handle it.


    She¡¯d return the favor after they acquired the priest ss.


    The trial progressed smoothlyrgely thanks to Caesar taking the lead.


    However, as Jasmine absentmindedly followed him while browsing forums, she couldn¡¯t help but notice that Caesar, who had been chatting excitedly earlier, had suddenly grown quiet.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem a bit down,¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ the story from this trial is just too moving. After learning about the origins of this demi-realm, how could I not feel sad?¡± Caesar sighed.


    He paused for a moment before adding wistfully:


    ¡°Ouros¡­ He was such a great hero.¡±


    <em>Ouros? A hero?</em>


    Jasmine frowned slightly.


    She knew who Ouros was¡ªthe boss of the Heart of Life questline. He was a demigod who had betrayed the Goddess and the creator of this demi-realm.


    <em>But¡­ a hero?</em>


    <em>Wasn¡¯t he a corrupted evil god, tainted by the Abyss?</em>


    <em>Had she missed something? </em>


    <em>Was it part of the story?</em>


    With her curiosity piqued, she nced at Caesar, but her slightly stubborn nature made her dismissively reply:


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s just a make-believe story.¡±


    Caesar shot her an exasperated look.


    ¡°Jasmine, were you zoning out during the trial just now?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    Jasmine¡¯s face turned slightly awkward.


    Caesar sighed.


    ¡°You really should check out the story¡¯s content, you know? There¡¯s a summary of the story in the trial quest log, including the history of this demi-realm and Ouros¡¯ story.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t, it might affect your trial evaluation.¡±


    After some hesitation, Jasmine finally opened the trial interface and pulled up the records.


    The very first line she saw immediately caught her eye, striking a chord of familiarity:


    ¡°For the return of Her Grace, the Divine Matriarch, I am willing to pay any price.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>466</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    <strong>? </strong><strong> ? </strong>


    <strong> ? </strong><strong> ?</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 467

    <strong>¡¾ HARDCORE</strong><strong>EVANGELISM</strong> ¡¿


    ¡°Hm? Why does this line sound familiar?¡±


    Jasmine felt a flicker of recognition.


    Her memory wasn¡¯t bad and with a little thought, she quickly recalled where she had heard it.


    ¡°It¡¯s from the new opening cinematic!¡±


    ¡°The half-elf man in the opening¡­ is that Ouros?¡±


    A spark of interest lit up within Jasmine¡¯s mind.


    She wasn¡¯t one to pay much attention to in-game stories and typically she¡¯d just spam the skip button to bypass them.


    If it weren¡¯t for Elven Kingdom forcing yers to go through the story early on to understand the game, she wouldn¡¯t have done it at all. Afterpleting a few starter tasks, shepletely avoided any NPCs altogether.


    However, everyone loves a good story, especially when their curiosity is piqued.


    The cryptic hints from the opening cinematic, coupled with Caesar¡¯s spection about the trial quest, eventually stirred a flicker of curiosity within Jasmine about the story she¡¯d ignored earlier.


    And curiosity is always the first step toward obsession.


    This applies to everything.


    Under Caesar¡¯s expectant and slightly nervous gaze, Jasmine delved deeper into the records.


    The logs were richly detailed, with illustrations, video memories, and perfectly fitting background music.


    The story unfolded through the words and recollections of various NPCs, slowly unraveling the secrets behind the demi-realm of Ouros¡­


    It was the tale of a hero who sacrificed everything for his beliefs.


    It was the story of a pitiable soul who was even willing to go far as to fall into darkness in a desperate bid to resurrect the Goddess.


    For the sake of his unwavering beliefs, the demigod Ouros burned himself to ashes.


    The narrative followed Ouros¡¯s journey as a half-elf, weaving through the secret history of the thousand year war, the creation of his demi-realm, the goals of the Church of Creation, the realm¡¯s decline, and Ouros¡¯s steadfastness and eventual descent into darkness.


    In the end, the hero fell amidst scorn and anger, while the Goddess returned amidst cheers and jubtion.


    The story¡¯s designer was clearly very talented.


    Using multiple perspectives and voices, the narrative unfoldedyer byyer, gradually revealing the mysteries of the demi-realm of Ouros.


    The background music and emotional cues were perfectly executed, evoking a profound sense of history, the elven race¡¯s sense of duty, and Ouros¡¯s tragic tale of heroism.


    As the story unfolded, a vivid, grand, and sorrowful historical tableau came to life within Jasmine¡¯s mind.


    Initially, she had approached it half-heartedly at best, merely skimming the words without much interest. However, as she continued reading, the story began to draw her in, and she gradually found herself bing fully engrossed.


    Jasmine had never taken game stories seriously beforehand.


    In her eyes, MMORPGs like Elven Kingdom weren¡¯t about the plot. Story-driven text-based games might have well-written narratives, but those games were explicitly designed to sell their stories, so there is noparison.  ??


    To her, most MMORPG plots were just filler filled with poorly crafted stories and shaky logic, generic settings, forced drama, and often embarrassingly awkward storytelling.


    Quite frankly, they were a waste of time.


    Besides, most people only skimmed through quests for the rewards.


    Few genuinely immersed themselves in the narratives.


    Jasmine had been ready to tear apart the story once her initial curiosity faded.


    Yet, as she fully immersed herself in the backstory of the Priest¡¯s Trial, Jasmine fell silent.


    It was a heartfelt tale¡ªalbeit, a tragic one.


    For reasons she couldn¡¯t fathom, Jasmine felt a weight, a sense of gravitas and authenticity she had never experienced in other game narratives.


    There was an epic, sorrowful quality to it, as if the events had truly urred.


    As the story yed out, an image of Ouros formed vividly in her mind.


    He was a hero who bore everything, sacrificed everything, and never wavered in his beliefs, even in the face of corruption.


    The contrast was especially striking when the sounds ofughter from Ouros¡¯s city echoed through the story.


    The joy and happiness of the people sharply contrasted with the weighty tragedy, leaving Jasmine feeling inexplicably stifled and mncholic.


    Jasmine had always skipped game stories before.


    Yet, the immersive nature of Elven Kingdom made it impossible to ignore the game¡¯s lore entirely.


    yers inevitably interacted with NPCs, and over time, those interactions left subtle impressions within them.


    The key factor was the empathy and immersion yers developed for the Elvenkind in Elven Kingdom.


    This empathy and immersion made yers more susceptible to the emotional pull of Ouros¡¯s story, thus making it easier for them to be deeply moved.


    Jasmine was no exception.


    When she realized her own emotional reaction, she paused in surprise.


    <em>Had she really been moved by a mere story?</em>


    The thought amused her.


    She continued reading, wanting to see if there was any follow-up after Ouros¡¯s disappearance¡ªperhaps a hint that he had been guided back to the goddess¡¯s divine kingdom.


    However, the story just abruptly ended there.


    ¡°¡ªTha


    She blinked, startled.


    ¡°Did he really die? A hero like that?¡±


    She murmured, letting out a soft sigh¡ªone she didn¡¯t even notice herself making.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite an amazing story, isn¡¯t it? Ouros¡¯s fate is truly tragic! And the Priest ss¡­ it feels so much more meaningful and full of responsibility than I imagined.¡±


    Caesar¡¯s voice broke through Jasmine¡¯s thoughts again, tinged with genuine emotion.


    Hearing the deep sentiment in his sigh, Jasmine closed the story interface and instinctively turned her head.


    When she caught sight of Caesar¡¯s expression¡ªhis eyes slightly red with emotion¡ªshe almost couldn¡¯t hold back herughter.


    ¡°Pfft¡­ It¡¯s just a story! Why are you so moved you¡¯re almost crying? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a guy? It¡¯s just a game¡¯s lore, for goodness¡¯ sake. You¡¯re taking it way too seriously.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ can¡¯t guys be moved too? I¡¯ve never been able to resist stories like this,¡± Caesar said with a shrug.


    He nced at Jasmine, and when he noticed the faintly mncholic look on her face, a small smile tugged at his lips.


    As someone with a keen eye for details, Caesar instantly recognized that expression.


    It was the unmistakable look of someone touched by a story¡ªmoved, yet yearning for more.


    ¡°Be honest, though. Didn¡¯t it move you even a little? Or¡­ after all your time in Elven Kingdom, are you still just treating it like any other game?¡±


    His question made Jasmine fall silent.


    After a moment, she sighed softly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. ¡°But¡­I do admit it really is a pretty good story.¡±


    When she looked back at Caesar with his ¡°mission aplished¡± smile¡ªlike that of a proud parent¡ªmade her ears flush red.


    ¡°Of course! Just slightly good, that¡¯s all!¡± she stammered, attempting to exin herself.


    ¡°I get it, I get it. As long as you enjoyed it, that¡¯s what really matters!¡±


    Caesar said with a knowing smile.


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Who said I liked it¡­¡± she muttered under her breath.


    Switching topics, she stood up and headed toward the Temple of Life.


    ¡°Anyway, the trial¡¯s done. Let¡¯s go turn in the quest.¡±


    Toplete the trial, they needed to pray at the temple again, just as they had done initially to ept the quest.


    The Temple of Life, still undergoing reconstruction, stood as a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. Its grand architecture exuded a sense of divine authority, a fitting centerpiece for the demi-realm.


    Rumor had it that its design was primarily spearheaded by the Moe Moe Committee, drawing heavy inspiration from Earth¡¯s St. Peter¡¯s Basilica.


    As the main temple in this demi-realm and the spiritual center for millions of local inhabitants, its grandeur was fitting.


    When Jasmine and Caesar finally arrived, the temple was already crowded with yers who hadpleted the trial quest.


    Everyone was buzzing with excitement, eagerly discussing the trial¡¯s storyline.


    ¡°So this demi-realm actually has such a deep backstory¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the boss we fought was technically an ally.¡±


    ¡°Wake up¡ªit was clearly the goddess who defeated him.¡±


    ¡°No, you wake up. Ouros chose to stop fighting himself¡­¡±


    ¡°Whatever the case, he¡¯s definitely a hero to the elves, and a devout follower of the goddess.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the point of the trial¡ªto make us understand his beliefs.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. The heart of Elven Kingdom is immersion. To be a truly great Priest, we probably need to fully connect with the NPCs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to find the Priest ss more and more fascinating.¡±


    After waiting in line for about five or six minutes, it was finally Jasmine¡¯s turn.


    She knelt before the sacred statue of the goddess and prayed, activating the questpletion interface.


    Her vision shifted once again, and Jasmine thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of the goddess herself.


    The goddess sat gracefully upon her divine throne, smiling warmly at Jasmine.


    ¡°Chosen one, you havepleted the trial and earned the qualifications to be a Priest Aspirant.¡±


    The goddess raised her hand in a gentle motion, and Jasmine felt a soft,forting power flow into her body.


    ¡°Faithful chosen, spread my teachings across thend¡­ May your heart always remain pure and steadfast as you be my messenger.¡±


    The goddess¡¯s voice was soothing and serene, carrying an inexplicable calming power.


    As her words faded, Jasmine¡¯s vision shifted once more, returning to the in-game world.


    The moment she regained focus, new system messages appeared before her:


    ¡¾


    ¡¿


    ¡¾Congrattions, faithful chosen! You have acquired the Priest ss.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Your current Priest rank</strong>: Priest Aspirant.¡¿


    ¡¾A Priest Aspirant is not a fully-fledged Priest yet. To advance, you mustplete a number of Prolesetyzing Tasks.¡¿


    ¡¾


    ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You have triggered the Priest task</strong>: Evangelism.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Task Objective</strong>: Convert 3 people to be believers of the Goddess of Life.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Task Duration</strong>: 3 days.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Task Rewards</strong>: Promotion to Apprentice Priest, activation of the Divine Blessing System.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Task Failure Penalty</strong>: Priest ss activation will fail; trial must be redone.¡¿


    ¡¾


    ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You have gained a skill</strong>: Eye of Faith.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Eye of Faith</strong>: Use this skill to discern a target¡¯s level of faith in the Goddess of Life.¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>You have received a virtual item:</strong> Codex of Life.¡¿


    ¡¾Codex of Life can be essed in the Priest interface and will serve as a key tool for evangelism.¡¿


    ¡°Hmm? Not a full-fledged Priest yet?¡±


    Jasmine frowned slightly.


    ¡°Looks like we need to convert three people to be an Apprentice Priest and officially unlock the Priest ss, including its leveling scheme. Jasmine, let¡¯s start preaching right away!¡±


    Caesar suggested eagerly.


    Hearing this, Jasmine nodded subtly, and the two of them quickly left the temple, stepping back onto the streets of Seig¨¹es City.


    As they walked around, Jasmine opened her personal interface to check her status screen.


    There was a small but notable change on her panel.


    Beneath her mana bar, a new golden energy bar had appeared,beled Divine Favor.


    ¡°Divine Favor?¡±


    Jasmine¡¯s curiosity was piqued.


    Focusing on the bar, a brief exnation surfaced within her mind:


    Divine Favor is a unique resource for Priests, consumed when casting divine spells.


    It regenerates over time, depending on your Priest level.


    Converting someone into a believer grants additional Divine Favor.


    However, any Divine Favor exceeding your maximum limit won¡¯t regenerate after being used.


    At present, though, the bar was inactive.


    ¡°Its still not activated yet? So this must be the Divine Favor system.¡±


    ¡°In essence, it¡¯s an energy gauge for Priests. And since it can be replenished through preaching, it clearly encourages yers to constantly spread the Goddess¡¯s faith,¡± Jasmine mused.


    The key, then, was figuring out how to preach effectively.


    Her gaze drifted to the Codex of Life in the Priest interface.


    ¡°Is this how we preach? Maybe it¡¯s a skill? Hmm¡­ Surely it¡¯s not something the yers themselves wrote, right?¡± she muttered, tilting her head in thought.


    ¡°Hey, Jasmine! Try using Eye of Faith! This skill actually shows an NPC¡¯s level of faith!¡±


    Caesar¡¯s excited voice broke through her musings.


    Jasmine shifted her attention to her newly acquired skill.


    ¡¾<strong>Eye of Faith</strong>: A Priest skill with no cost and a cooldown of three minutes. Upon activation, it reveals the faith levels of all targets within your field of vision for 10 seconds.¡¿


    ¡¾Faith types and levels are indicated by colors as follows:¡¿


    ? <strong>Red</strong>: Follower of another faith


    ? <strong>Green</strong>: Non-believer


    ? <strong>White</strong>: Casual believer


    ? <strong>Blue</strong>: Devout believer


    ? <strong>Purple</strong>: Fanatical believer


    ? <strong>Gold</strong>: Saint or Godwarden


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Jasmine murmured, feeling intrigued.


    She lifted her head and scanned the bustling streets, her gaze settling on the city¡¯s residents.


    With a steady breath, she activated the Eye of Faith.


    In an instant, her vision transformed.


    The ordinary scene shifted into a radiant disy of ethereal hues, as if the world itself had peeled back ayer of reality.


    Every person within her line of sight was now surrounded by a shimmering halo of light.


    The majority of the halos glowed green, signaling the faithless. A smaller number radiated white, marking those with fledgling belief. Only a rare few stood out, their halos glowing with a serene blue¡ªdevoted followers, quietly steadfast in their faith.


    She also noticed that many of the green-aura NPCs were surrounded by yers enthusiastically preaching to them.


    ¡°So they¡¯re already going at it¡­¡± Jasmine observed, herpetitive instincts as a gamer kicking in.


    Taking a deep breath, she turned to Caesar.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Time to preach. Today, your big sister is going to carry you.¡±


    Using Eye of Faith, Jasmine quickly locked onto a potential target¡ªa young NPC with a green aura¡ªand led the way.


    The target was a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in simple clothes that marked her as amoner.


    She was watching the yers in the city with wide-eyed curiosity and admiration.


    Jasmine, with Caesar in tow, approached the girl directly.


    Startled by their sudden presence, the girl jumped slightly and quickly bowed. Her tone was both respectful and nervous as she stammered,


    ¡°G-Greetings, honored ones of the divine n¡­ How may I assist you?¡±


    Jasmine felt a pang of nervousness herself.


    She had been confident before approaching the girl, but now that they were face-to-face, she felt a little out of her depth.


    It was a testament to how immersive Elven Kingdom truly was.


    Even though she knew this was just a game, interacting with NPCs that behaved like real people still made Su Lili, a seasoned socially anxious person, feel awkward.


    In fact, she had rarely taken on NPC tasks in Elven Kingdom before. It wasn¡¯t just because she found the long-winded storylines tiresome, but also because she often found herself freezing up when faced with dialogue-heavy interactions, even in a virtual settings.


    Still,pared to real-life interactions, it wasn¡¯t as bad.


    At least in the game, she didn¡¯t feel the same overwhelming anxiety, self-doubt, and shame she experienced in public.


    Here, she could manage to hold a conversation¡ªalbeit barely at that.


    Besides, the system had already made it clear:


    She could preach using the Codex of Life.


    All she had to do was bring up the Codex, and presumably, the game would handle the rest with an automated progress bar.


    <em>¡­Right?</em>


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Wait.</em>


    She suddenly realized something.


    She hadn¡¯t actually looked into how prolesetyzing actually worked.


    The Priest tutorial hadn¡¯t provided detailed instructions, only vaguely stating that she needed to use the Codex of Life to spread the faith.


    Whilst swallowing nervously, an absurd thought suddenly popped into her mind:


    <em>Does she really have to actually preach while uttering the contents of the Codex of Life? </em>


    <em>Just like in reality? </em>


    <em>T-That¡­</em>


    <em>The devs wouldn¡¯t made the whole process tooplicated or overly hardcore¡­right?</em>


    <em>Surely, it must be simple.</em>


    <em>This was just a game, after all!</em>


    <em>If it were tooplex just like how it was done in reality, then no one would bother doing it.</em>


    <em>And Caesar was standing nearby, watching her too¡­</em>


    <em>She needed to set a good example!</em>


    Determined, Jasmine took a deep breath, stered on what she thought was a friendly smile (though it was actually rather stiff), and steadied herself.


    She greeted the NPC girl.


    ¡°Hello. Have you heard of the Goddess of Life?¡±


    ¡°The Goddess of Life?¡±


    The girl blinked, then nodded.


    ¡°Yes, she is the great being who saved us.¡±


    Good, she knew the basics already.


    Jasmine mentally nodded in approval.


    Next, she opened the Codex of Life to begin preaching¡ªsomething she didn¡¯t fully understand but assumed would involve nothing more than pressing a button and watching a progress bar.


    However, the moment the Codex of Life opened, Jasmine immediately froze.


    Because what appeared in her field of view was¡­


    The actual Codex written by the yers.


    Specifically, a digital copy of it.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m supposed to preach¡­ with this?¡± Jasmine stared at the screen, dumbfounded.


    ¡ª<em>Wait.</em>


    <em>There had to be a ¡°Preach¡± button somewhere that could simplify the whole process, right?</em>


    Frantically, her gaze darted across the interface as she scrolled through the Codex over and over.


    But after turning every page and digging through every option, she found nothing except the Codex of Life.


    At that moment, Jasmine felt genuine panic.


    She swallowed nervously and stared at the supposedly ¡°essential for preaching¡± Holy Book with incredulous expression.


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>T-This can¡¯t be real.</em>


    <em>They expect me to actually preach the Codex just like how a real missionary does?</em>


    <em>This hardcore?!</em>


    <em>Are they kidding? </em>


    <em>The content of this thing is just a bunch of nonsense cobbled up together by the yers themselves!</em>


    <em>And¡­ this is still just a game, right?!</em>


    Jasmine stood there, frozen in disbelief.


    Meanwhile, the young NPC girl, who had been utterly awestruck by the sudden appearance of such a beautiful and powerful deity-like figure, watched in growing confusion.


    She had expected to be greeted with grand words of wisdom or divine insight, but instead, she saw a figure before her whoseposure was rapidly unraveling.


    The ¡®divine being¡¯¡ªwhose serene and confident aura moments ago had turned into one of awkwardness¡ªnow had an expression that flickered between pale and flushed.


    Her eyes darted around, scanning frantically, clearly searching for something, but nothing seemed to make sense.


    Then, suddenly, the powerful figure fellpletely silent, leaving the NPC girl standing there, utterly perplexed and unsure of how to react or what to do next.


    ¡ª <strong>467</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    <strong>? </strong><strong> ? </strong>


    <strong> ? </strong><strong> ?</strong>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 468

    <strong>¡¾ WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A PRO? (TACTICAL RETREAT) </strong>¡¿


    Awkward.


    It was so incredibly embarrassing.


    Moon Jasmine stood before the mixed-blood human girl,pletely unsure of how to carry on the conversation.


    When she realized the game¡¯s proselytizing system truly required yers to act like real-life missionaries to preach to these NPCs, it felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through her mind.


    Her thoughts turned utterly nk in that instant.


    When it came tobat, she was entirely confident as battlefields is where she thrived, after all.


    But holding this weird Codex in her hands, tasked with persuading someone¡ªeven that of NPCs¡ªwas a different battlefield altogether.


    Just as Jasmine was overwhelmed with embarrassment, a gentle voice broke through the silence:¡°Don¡¯t worry, we only want to tell you a bit about the Goddess of Life.¡±


    It was Caesar.


    He stepped past Jasmine, positioning himself in front of the mixed-blood girl, effectively shielding hispanion¡¯s awkward expression.


    Simultaneously, a message from Caesar appeared in Jasmine¡¯s chat channel:


    ? I¡¯ll handle this. I did some prep work beforehand and even helpedpile the Codex of Life.


    ? Wait, what?


    ? You actually helped write this book?


    Jasmine¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    Still, despite her shock, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of relief.


    After all, having someone step in to salvage the situation was more than wee in her opinion.


    But then, she remembered all the grand ims she had made earlier.


    The thought made her want to crawl into a hole from embarrassment.


    This was mortifying.


    Absolutely mortifying.


    <em>Why was this game¡¯s proselytizing mechanics so ridiculously hardcore?!</em>


    While Jasmine silently ranted about the devs¡¯ decision to implement such a convoluted and overly demanding system, Caesar slipped naturally into his role. ?


    He opened the Codex of Life with a practiced ease and began reciting its teachings to the girl, his voice steady and soothing as if he truly believed every word he spoke.


    With his naturally handsome features, golden hair catching the sunlight like spun gold, and a radiant smile that could disarm even the most guarded hearts, Caesar exuded an aura of warmth and sincerity.


    His pristine white druidic robe, adorned with subtle emerald embroidery,pleted the image of apassionate and approachable figure¡ªsomeone who could be trusted, like a benevolent older brother offering guidance.


    In stark contrast stood Jasmine, her pitch-ck armor casting a forbidding silhouette, with her expression rigid and strained.


    It took only a moment for Jasmine to notice a faint blush creeping onto the mixed-blood girl¡¯s face, a telltale sign of how disarming Caesar¡¯s presence truly was.


    ¡°Tch¡­¡± she muttered, feeling a twinge of irritation.


    Still, despite her annoyance, she refrained from interrupting at all.


    Clearly, Caesar had already familiarized himself with the contents of the Codex of Life.


    Whilst sporting a warm and disarming smile, he began narrating the goddess¡¯s divinity and glorious history in the form of a story¡­


    Initially uneasy and nervous, the mixed-blood girl gradually rxed herself, eventually listening intently to Caesar¡¯s words.


    This otherworldly universe was vastly different from Earth in many ways.


    Here, the very fabric of existence are infused with divine presence, wherein true gods held absolute dominion over all aspects of life.


    Their influence was not a mere idea but a pervasive force that shaped every realm and its inhabitants.


    Thus, any residents of every realm, regardless of their race or status, held deep reverence for the divine.


    And it wasn¡¯t just a matter of tradition as it was a deeply ingrained fundamental belief woven into the very core of their lives.


    Even those who imed not to believe in the gods¡¯ direct influence never doubted their existence or greatness, which stood in contrast to Earth, where belief and faith often faced skepticism and resistance.


    That¡¯s why proselytizing here was a much simpler task.


    Convincing someone of the gods¡¯ power was not about proving their existence, but rather simply demonstrating their grandeur and benevolence.


    Even non-believers, while they may not have followed any gods¡¯ teachings, still acknowledged their might and respected their authority.


    This made the act of spreading faith considerably easier¡ªat least when it came to those who did not outright oppose divine influence.


    As Caesar wove tales of the goddess¡¯s magnificence, tying them to recent events in the demi-realm of Ouros, he exined the goddess¡¯s deeds in detail.


    The mixed-blood girl grew increasingly engrossed.


    Caesar held her hand and spoke for a full half-hour before finally stopping, his throat dry.


    The girl¡¯s face was flushed¡ªthough whether from being moved by the teachings or simply flustered by such a handsome divine figure holding her hand was unclear.


    When Caesar finished, she gave a small nod and stammered:


    ¡°I¡­I understand. I will visit the Temple of Life and¡­listen to the teachings of the goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I have to go now. Goodbye, my lords!¡±


    With that, the mixed-blood girl bolted like a startled rabbit.


    Caesar: ¡°¡­¡±


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°..Did it work?¡±


    Jasmine asked.


    Caesar nced at his task log and shook his head.


    ¡°Failed. That girl wasn¡¯t converted at all.¡±


    <em>What?! </em>


    <em>That was a failure?</em>


    Jasmine¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    <em>But that was a half-hour-long conversation! </em>


    <em>What was the point of all that time, then?</em>


    <em>How were they supposed to seed in converting people¡¯s faith? </em>


    <em>There wasn¡¯t even a clear standard </em>pro<em> they could follow</em>!


    <em>Jusy who came up with this absurd, hardcore preaching mechanics anyway? </em>


    <em>Did the devs want to get med by the yers that badl</em>y?!


    Jasmine was speechless, growing more annoyed the more she thought about it.


    Caesar, scratching his head awkwardly, chuckled bitterly.


    ¡°This proselytizing task¡­ seems a bit difficult, huh?¡±


    ¡°Difficult? It¡¯s outright nightmarish!¡±


    Jasmine grumbled in an irritated voice.


    At that moment, she seriously considered abandoning the task altogether and going back to grinding monsters for experience.


    After all, she was only Level 41 and had nine more levels to go.


    She didn¡¯t have time to waste on this convoluted proselytizing nonsense!


    She wasn¡¯t obligated to do all these things, as she wasn¡¯t nning to be priest as her main ss, after all!


    ¡°Let¡¯s check the forums. Someone might¡¯ve figured out some tips or tricks by now.¡±


    Caesar thought for a moment before making this suggestion.


    Jasmine nodded slightly.


    The ElvKingmunity boasted a wealth of skilled yers, each with a deep understanding of the game¡¯s mechanics.


    Whenever a new task or challenge emerged, it didn¡¯t take long before the most experienced yers discovered hidden tricks and strategies that others had missed, often sharing their findings on the forums.


    As a result, the forums became a hotbed of creative problem-solving and insightful tips, fostering a culture of innovation.


    Not only did tips and tricks spread quickly, but ingenious methods and unconventional strategies often emerged as well, pushing the boundaries of what was thought possible within the game.


    Some were harmless, enhancing the yer experience in unexpected ways, while others crossed ethical lines, bending or outright breaking the rules.


    One such example was the infamous incident involving the exploitation of a binding mechanic, where yers managed to scam valuable items from many NPCs.


    This loophole became so widespread and disruptive that it even eventually forced the developers to step in and take action.


    Moreover, as more yers reached the level cap of 40, various gadgets inspired by Earth¡¯s technology began gaining poprity within the game.


    One had to admit, Elven Kingdom really do offer an impressive freedom of gamey.


    Many low-tech inventions from Earth could now be recreated in-game using various local materials.


    That being said, moreplex technologies were still out of the question since they required intricate andplicated mechanism to work.


    But back to the present.


    After some thought, Jasmine decided to check the official forums, suspecting someone might have already posted a guide to aid in their task.


    However, when she opened the forums, she couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.


    The official forum had exploded into chaos.


    And the reason?


    Naturally, it was the newly introduced proselytizing mechanics, which had sparked widespread outrage.


    They, after all, came here to y the game, not to be yed by it!


    A bizarre preaching mechanic like this was, understandably, uneptable to many¡ªeven though most yers by now no longer saw Elven Kingdom as just a simple game.


    This entire proselytizing fiasco was entirely reminiscent of the map size issue.


    While most were awed by the vastness of the game world, they also despised the grueling journeys required to traverse it.


    The forum was filled withints about the ¡°dog-shit developers¡± and their absurd implementation of such a convoluted system.


    Jasmine clicked on a few threads, each clearly overflowing with frustration:


    ¡°What the hell is up with this preaching nonsense? My friends and I arepletely dumbfounded by it!¡±


    ¡°Those dogshit developers! Have they lost their minds? They really made preaching just like in real-life!? Aren¡¯t they afraid of getting reprimanded?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent 20 minutes talking to an NPC, only to be treated like an idiot. Anyone else did the same?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think I downloaded a fake game¡­¡±


    Strangely, seeing the shared frustration eased Jasmine¡¯s irritation a bit.


    So, it wasn¡¯t just her¡ªeveryone was struggling as well.


    ¡°The devs really outdid themselves this time¡­ Would it have killed them to just make the entire mechanic much simpler? I¡¯d be shocked if anyone actually seeds at this.¡±


    Whilst shaking her head, Jasmine scrolled through the forums, hoping to find something useful.


    But before she could dive deeper, amotion somewhere in the city caught her attention.


    Jasmine looked up to see many mixed-blood human NPCs rushing toward the city za.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she wondered aloud.


    Caesar noticed themotion too.


    He grabbed a nearby resident and asked with a friendly smile, ¡°Excuse me, could you tell us what¡¯s happening?¡±


    The resident, startled, stammered,


    ¡°M-My lord! Oh¡­ I mean, elven lord! There¡¯s a divine apostle treating the sick for free in the za. We¡¯re going to see!¡±


    After bowing hurriedly to Caesar, the resident rushed off.


    <em>A divine apostle? </em>


    <em>Offering free treatment to the sick?</em>


    Jasmine froze for a moment.


    The residents of the Ouros demi-realm weren¡¯t in great health as years of life force being siphoned away had left many with various hidden ailments and diseases.


    Although the siphoning had ceased when the Goddess took control of this demi-realm, the damage to the residents¡¯ bodies couldn¡¯t heal on its own.


    While yers weren¡¯t privy to all the details, they were also aware of some of these issues.


    Jasmine exchanged a nce with Caesar, and both seemed to arrive at the same conclusion.


    ¡°Shall we check it out?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡±


    They closed the forum and followed the crowd to the city za.


    When they arrived, they finally saw the so-called divine apostles.


    A tform had been erected in the center of the za, and below it stood a line of stern-faced, max-level Iron-rank yers.


    d in identical druidic robes, they were treating the ailments of one local resident after another.


    All of them were healing-type druid yers, their usernames prominently disying the words ¡®Heart of Nature¡¯ beneath it.


    So it turned out that every single one of them was a member of Heart of Nature guild.


    From the looks of it, these yers had clearly nned this in advance.


    Standing below the tform, they were surrounded by a throng of nervous yet hopeful NPCs.


    These locals didn¡¯t look well either¡ªsome bore visible signs of illness upon their faces, while others coughed incessantly, and many moved with clear difficulty in their limbs.


    Obviously, these were all people afflicted with ailments.


    The druid yers, while wielding their healing magic, worked tirelessly to treat these residents in front of them, whose average strength didn¡¯t even reach the lower Iron rank.


    Emerald-green light shimmered continuously among the crowd, casting a soft glow over the scene.


    Every so often, excited voices rang out, full of disbelief and joy after receiving their treatments. Their words were often tinged with tears, as the residents marveled at the miracle unfolding before them:


    ¡°M-My leg¡­ it¡¯s healed! My leg is actually healed!¡±


    ¡°My back¡­ it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I feel full of energy for once!¡±


    ¡°Such powerful healing! This must be¡­ a miracle! It has to be a miracle!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my lords from the divine n¡ªno, thank you, great Divine Apostle of the True God!¡±


    ¡°Glory to the divine n! Glory to the elves!¡±


    Everyone erupted into cheers.


    As such jubtion spread amongst the crowd, more and more locals gathered, quickly filling up the venue.


    Watching this scene unfold, Jasmine and Caesar were left dumbfounded, their mouths agape.


    ¡°This¡­ actually works?¡±


    Then, just as the crowd reached a critical mass, a familiar figure stepped onto the tform.


    It was an elven male, dressed in an borate white ceremonial robe, exuding an aura of authority. His every movement seemed deliberate, as though hemanded the very space around him.


    His striking red hair, fiery and vivid, stood out sharply against the sea of more subdued colors, making him impossible to ignore.


    It was Demacia.


    In his hands, he held a heavy tome¡ªthe physical version of the Codex of Life.


    With a solemn expression, Demacia slowly ascended the tform.


    Standing tall, he cast an impassioned gaze over the crowd, his eyes sweeping across the sea of upturned faces, and dered in a fervent tone:


    ¡°No¡­ The ones you should thank are not us, but the great True God, the supreme being who governs over life and nature¡ªHer Excellency, The Goddess Eve!¡±


    ¡°It is by Her divine will that we are here, to offer you salvation!¡±


    ¡°Her Excellency, Eve, is the true creator of this world. She is the One Above All, the Mother of All Things, the Sovereign of Nature, and the Protector of the Elvenkind¡­¡±


    He then dramatically paused, lifting his hand high as if to point beyond the world itself. With a flourish, he pointed a finger skyward and continued:


    ¡°Look at the skies above us. Those cracks are widening¡ªdo you know what that signifies?¡±


    His voice dropped to a hushed, almost conspiratorial tone, heightening the tension.


    ¡°This world was created by Her Excellency, Eve. Yet, this world has turned its back upon Her.¡±


    ¡°And there is only one fate for such a world that abandons its God¡ªdestruction!¡±


    ¡°Those cracks in the sky are the harbingers of the apocalypse!¡±


    Demacia¡¯s stern words echoed across the whole za, amplified by magic.


    However, his fiery explosive red hair added an unintended touch of humor to the otherwise grim promation.


    As Demacia spoke, his expression grew increasingly sorrowful, his voice tinged with an almost mournful resonance:


    ¡°Wake up, you pitiful souls! This world is heading toward ruination. If you all remain blind to the truth, then all that awaits you is nothing but death!¡±


    The crowd below the tform stirred uneasily at his words.


    Fear and unease crept onto the faces of many.


    After all, the cracks in the skies were undeniable.


    They grewrger by the day, a grotesque scar in the heavens that no one could ignore.


    The legends of their world¡¯s end had long been intertwined with the myths of the God of Creation, ingrained deeply in their minds since childhood.


    Previously, the Church of Creation had suppressed such fears through mind control and doctrine.


    But now, with the Church dissolved and the city¡¯s residents freed from their mental shackles, this stark reminder of their impending doom, especially from figures of divine authority, sent waves of panic through the crowd.


    ¡°W-What should we do? How can we regain the favor of Her Excellency, the True God?¡± one terrified voice asked.


    ¡°Of course, you can all be saved simply by renewing your faith and dedicating everything to Her Excellency, The Goddess Eve!¡±


    A fervent voice rang out, and another ¡°divine¡± figure ascended the tform.


    This time, it was a stunning elven woman dressed in a pristine priestess¡¯s gown that drew all eyes to her. Her ethereal beauty was undeniable, her presencemanding attention,pelling even the most distracted individuals to turn and stare at her.


    Trailing closely behind the woman was an adorable hatchling dragon, waddling along with an almostical determination.


    It was Dongdong.


    In her hands, she carried yet another heavy Codex of Life, her voice ringing out with an unmistakable aura ofpassion as she spoke:


    ¡°Only by reigniting your faith in the great Goddess Eve and embracing the light within your hearts can you find salvation and be reborn anew!¡±


    ¡°Goddess Eve is beautiful, benevolent, merciful, and loving¡­¡±


    ¡°She sent us here to save you. When you ce your faith in Her, you will naturally receive Her protection.¡±


    ¡°Be Her followers, and She will shield you. She will without a doubt save this world!¡±


    ¡°Her Excellency, Eve, holds dominion over the Divinity of Life. With Her blessing, not only can this world be saved, but you too can be reborn¡ªrestored to the peak of your health!¡±


    ¡°Even if you die, you will be resurrected in Her divine kingdom, where there is no strife, no sorrow, only eternal peace and happiness¡­¡±


    ¡°Only by believing in the Goddess Eve can you find redemption and be reborn!¡±


    Dongdong¡¯s passionate words, coupled with her sincere demeanor, left the entire crowd spellbound with her words.


    Her radiant beauty was further enhanced by the magical light effects that a mage yer had discreetly cast around her, making her appear even more otherworldly akin to a saintly figure embodying the very will of the True God.


    Under Jasmine and Caesar¡¯s astonished gaze, they witnessed a remarkable sight. One by one, a series of thuds echoed through the square as dozens of residents fell to their knees inplete reverence.


    ¡°I¡­I am willing to ce my faith in the great Goddess Eve!¡±


    ¡°Me too! My lords! Divine Apostles! Please guide us in the faith of Her Excellency, The Goddess Eve!¡±


    The local residents cried out earnestly.


    As they prostrated themselves, Jasmine and Caesar instinctively activated their Eyes of Faith.


    In an instant, they saw dozens of NPCs, once surrounded by a green aura, now glowing with a pure, radiant white¡ªa clear telltale sign that they had be fledgling followers of Goddess Eve.


    ¡°¡­This method actually works?¡±


    The two stood frozen for a moment, their minds struggling to process the overwhelming spectacle before them.


    ¡°Ridiculous¡­aren¡¯t they too pro at this!?¡±


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 Chapter 469

    Chapter 469


    <strong>¡¾ A</strong><strong>TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS </strong>¡¿


    Jasmine and Caesar stood frozen, as their gazes locked on the yers from the Heart of Nature Guild atop the high tform.


    Yet, this was merely the beginning¡­


    After each city residents knelt en masse, those yers on the tform quickly proceeded upon to their next act.


    At their behest, several mixed-blood humans ascended the tform, their faces glowing with a fervent reverence..


    These individuals wore devout and solemn expressions, exuding a sincerity that left no room for doubt¡ªthey had already been converted as believers of the Goddess.


    Once they arrived on stage, each of them took turns sharing their testimonies, recounting how the Goddess had redeemed them.


    These individuals came from various walks of life, ranging from lower-ss citizens to wealthy merchants, criminals, and terminally ill souls, shared their deeply emotional testimonies on stage.


    They spoke of their past despair, anger, and emptiness in life, feeling lost despite their circumstances¡ªwhether in poverty, power, or sin. However, each of them found redemption through the teachings of the Church of Life and the guidance of Goddess Eve.


    For the lower-ss citizens, the teachings offered a new purpose and the beauty of existence.


    Wealthy individuals realized their true purpose beyond materialism, understanding that life was about spiritual transcendence.


    Former criminals found love and righteousness, while the terminally ill were given a new lease on life.


    Even powerful experts, once lost in their own achievements, discovered a greater role within the world through faith.


    Each testimony was a heartfelt ount of transformation, leaving the audience moved by the power of faith and redemption.


    Before long, the sound of quiet sobbing rose intermittently from the crowd below.


    The atmosphere across the entire venue grew increasingly fervent.


    ¡°Thank you, Church of Life. Thank you, great Goddess Eve! It is You who gave us new life. It is You who revealed the meaning of existence. We are willing to dedicate everything we have to Your greatness and be devoted followers of life,¡±


    Those local individuals on the tform eximed passionately.


    ¡°Thank you, Church of Life. Thank you, great Goddess Eve!¡± the local residents below repeated devoutly.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine and Caesar stood in stunned silence as they watched dozens of non-believers being converted into Goddess Eve¡¯s believers right before their eyes.


    Not only that, but they also discovered several individuals with white auras who had advanced into devoted believers, as evidenced by their auras turning blue!


    ¡°This method¡­ is really ridiculous!¡±


    Caesar eximed with a shocked expression.


    At that moment, he and Jasmine noticed a faint glow emanating from those yers on and around the tform.


    To the residents below, witnessing such a scene resembled a divine miracle, filling them with even greater ecstasy.


    However, Jasmine and Caesar knew better.


    This wasn¡¯t truly a miracle per se¡ªit was merely a visual effect caused by those yerspleting their missionary tasks and activating the priest ss.


    ¡°So envious¡­ Theypleted the task just like that, and with so many people at once!¡±


    Caesar sighed, his voice tinged with envy.


    Jasmine, still in shock, couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the locals who stated those testimonials on the tform.


    While the city residents were oblivious, Jasmine noticed something peculiar about these individuals.


    Though each of them outwardly appeared as mixed-blood humans, in actuality every single one had green IDs hovering above their heads.


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    These individuals¡­


    <em>Were actually just scammers in disguise!</em>


    She stood there, speechless.


    They were simply yers using transformation magic to appear as local residents!


    Taking a deep breath, Jasmine scrutinized the crowd below.


    Unsurprisingly, she discovered that the ones crying the hardest and shouting the loudest were also yers disguised with transformation magic.


    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The Heart of Nature Guild is truly incredible! They¡¯ve organized such an entire missionary team already? And in just such a short time too? Their efficiency is really insane!¡±


    Caesar remarked with admiration, having noticed the same details as her.


    Jasmine:¡± ¡­¡±


    The ¡°Church of Life Lecture Meeting,¡± led by Demacia and Dongdong,sted a full two hours.


    And over the course of these two hours, Jasmine and Caesar witnessed countless local residents be converted into believers while each yers from the Heart of Naturepleted priest-rted tasks one after another.


    On the high tform, Demacia and Dongdong radiated divine light, their priest levels soaring rapidly.


    In just two hours, the pair advanced from apprentice priests to full-fledged priests.


    As night fell, the residents below gradually dispersed.


    However, many left with a copy of the Holy Codex of Life in hand¡ªprinted using magic by the Amway Trading Company.


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t a free handout and they had actually purchased it too!


    By all ounts, this event was a resounding sess for the Heart of Nature.


    ¡°Phew¡­ It¡¯s finally over! Haha, I can¡¯t believe we finished the task so quickly! I can¡¯t wait to test out the new priest skills!¡± said an excited druid yer, now an apprentice priest.


    ¡°Hey, Demacia¡¯s the real mastermind here! Who else would¡¯ve thought to prepare so many copies of the Holy Codex of Life in advance?¡± another yer praised.


    Demacia¡¯s grin widened, his nose practically pointing to the sky.


    ¡°Of course! Do you know who I am? Hehehe. From the moment I startedpiling the Codex, I knew it would have significant useter. Didn¡¯t I say so?¡±


    But as he noticed Dongdong packing up nearby, his smug expression quickly turned into one of ttery.


    ¡°Haha, but let¡¯s be honest¡ªit¡¯s Dongdong here who¡¯s truly brilliant! I never imagined you¡¯de up with such clever ideas to this event. How did you even predict the priest task would revolve around proselytizing? And those testimonials! They were so effective! Not to mention, you contributed a third of the Codex¡¯s content!¡±


    Gone was the solemn figure of the preacher; Demacia now looked every bit like a sycophant.


    Dongdong, clearly pleased with the praise, gave a satisfied smile.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand. This is what we call professionalism!¡±


    But her expression darkened slightly as if recalling something unpleasant.


    ¡°Honestly, if you¡¯d attended certain summer camps pretending to promote traditional culture while pulling all kinds of scams, you¡¯d know how to tell these kind of make-believe testimonials too.¡±


    ¡°¡­Summer camps?¡±


    Demacia looked baffled.


    He pondered for a moment, then asked with a grin,


    ¡°So¡­ since we were so sessful, how about coborating to write a guide? Hehe, I was thinking of making a missionary strategy guide¡­¡±


    Dongdong rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to buddy up to me. You just want the forum¡¯s elite post badge, don¡¯t you? Do it yourself. I¡¯m not interested. Hmph, in fact if Brother Mu hadn¡¯t been busy today, I wouldn¡¯t have worked with you in the first ce. Anyway, I¡¯m done here¡ªsee you tomorrow.¡±


    With a huff, she grabbed her friend Meng Zhihan, who had just yed the role of a mixed-blood resident, and summoned her young dragon to leave.


    Demacia was left scratching his nose awkwardly.


    ¡°Hahaha! Demacia, you might as well give up trying to flirt with those two,¡± came the cheerfulughter of other male yers.


    ¡°Yeah dude, after all, your reputation among thedies has long been in the gutter. Hahaha!¡±


    Demacia: ¡°¡­¡±


    ???


    The Heart of Nature Guild concluded their whole operation wlessly.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine and Caesar, who had been watching the entire time, were thoroughly impressed.


    ¡°Incredible¡­ so this is what it means to be a true pro? Honestly, this makes Elven Kingdom feels less and less like a regr game. Without some serious skills, you really can¡¯t achieve much here,¡±


    Caesar remarked with a tone of awe.


    Jasmine nodded with an incredulous expression.


    After a moment of contemtion, she sighed deeply.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass up on these matters¡­I clearly don¡¯t have what it takes to be a priest.¡±


    While marveling at the Heart of Nature Guild¡¯s whole prolesetyzing operation, she also realized that she could never match their level of organization and execution.


    Structured, strategic, skillful, and meticulous¡­


    Their approach was so polished that it could probably fool real people back on earth!


    What ordinary gamer could pull off something like this?


    It was downright intimidating.


    For someone like Jasmine who¡¯s an extreme introvert, participating in such an event was as horrifying as facing her death itself.


    At that moment, she truly understood:


    While the priest ss seemed easy to apply into, mastering it was another story entirely.


    After some thought, she finally made her decision.


    ¡°Time to go grind some mobs,¡± she muttered, shaking her head.


    But Caesar, who had watched the entire operation, felt a sudden surge of inspiration.


    As he caught up with Jasmine, he eximed, ¡°Jasmine! I know how to handle these proselytizing tasks now!¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m already dropping it. Good luck, though.¡±


    She replied with a sigh.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t you want to give it one more try?¡±


    Caesar was slightly surprised.


    Jasmine shook her head with a faint smile.


    ¡°No, this really isn¡¯t for me.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad¡­ but I¡¯ll definitely be a priest and fight by your side someday!¡±


    Caesar said earnestly.


    Jasmine paused briefly, then nodded gently.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The two walked off into the distance for a moment, before gradually disappearing into the night¡­


    ???


    The priest ss was officially released to the public.


    Moreover, the subsequent trial tasks and missionary quests associated with acquiring the ss quickly became the hottest topics within Elven Kingdom.


    However, this didn¡¯t surprise Eve at all.


    After all, yers often approached the game with restless impatience.


    And preaching which requires truly connecting with the residents on a much deeper emotional level was not something that could be done half-heartedly.


    Ev¨¦ had anticipated this oue from the start and had fully prepared for a scenario where no yers seeded on the first day.


    And that was exactly what happened.


    When yers discovered that ¡°prolesetyzing task¡± literally meant actual missionary work, chaos as expected had ensued.


    ording to Eve¡¯s perception, nearly 8,000 yers entered the demi-realm of Ouros on the first day to attempt doing the priest trials.


    Yet by midday, only a handful of them had seeded.


    Well, this was within Eve¡¯s expectations.


    She had braced for theints that would inevitably arise from such a difficult task as issuing these hard challenges always drew criticism from the yerbase.


    From their perspective, this whole ¡°proselytizing task¡± seemed deliberately done by the devs to be as frustrating as possible.


    As expected, the forums were flooded with posts of dissatisfaction, with some even threatening to quit the game.


    But Eve wasn¡¯t fazed.


    After all, Elven Kingdom had been receiving simrints since itsunch.


    Yet every time some of these yers swore they¡¯d quit, they inevitably came back, enamored once more.


    As long as no other game could rival Elven Kingdom in terms of freedom and realism, Ev¨¦ knew her game¡¯s position was secure.


    Sure, the yers might rage about, but they would still inevitably return, determined to find a solution.


    But to Eve¡¯s surprise, however, new believers began to emerge as early as that afternoon.


    And not just a few either!


    Nearly sixty new locals had been converted, with several of them even bing devout believers.


    What¡¯s even more remarkable was the fact that these believers were all local residents of the Ouros demi-realm.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡°¡­Huh? Someone actually seeded? In just half a day?¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused, genuinely surprised.


    Turning her focus to investigate on this matter, Ev¨¦ quickly find out the reason.


    ¡°Ah, so it turns out, it was Demacia and Dongdong¡­¡±


    Ev¨¦ remembered these two vividly.


    Both had been personally handpicked by her for their advanced ss promotions.


    One was a master of persuasion, having made a name for himself in the Amway Trading Company, while the other had an academic background in theology, with extensive theoretical knowledge.


    Together, they were an unbeatable duo.


    ¡°Mass-based preaching, huh¡­ That is indeed the most effective approach,¡±


    Eve thought, nodding in approval.


    Preaching en masse was naturally far more efficient than relying on individual efforts, allowing the message to spread rapidly and touch the hearts of many at once.


    Still, Eve hadn¡¯t expected anyone to figure out such an advanced strategy so quickly, let alone implement it with this level of sess.


    Of course, achieving this required a well-organized team, which wasn¡¯t easy to assemble.


    ¡°It seems my faith expansion in the Ouros demi-realm will progress much faster than I anticipated,¡± Ev¨¦ reflected, feeling delighted.


    yers were quick learners.


    Once one team seeded, it was inevitable that a wave of imitators would follow, each eager to replicate that same sess.


    As expected, the subsequent days saw a growing number of yerspleting their required preliminary proselytizing tasks.


    Most adopted a method simr to that pioneered by the Heart of Nature, with only slight variations in the size andposition of their teams.


    By the tenth in-game day, which were equivalent to two real-world days, there was an explosive surge in thepletion rate of proselytizing tasks.


    Why?


    Because finally, a proper strategy guide for acquiring a priest-ss had been published on the forums.


    ¡ª <strong>469</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    <strong>ED/N</strong> : Sorry for not updatingst week, got super busy on the holidays


    Anyways, Merry Xmas and Happy new year to everyone!


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    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 470

    <strong>¡¾ STRATEGY</strong><strong>GUIDE FOR THE PRIEST CLASS</strong> ¡¿


    As the central hub for Elven Kingdom yers, the official game forum has always been a lively ce.


    Nearly every yer is a frequent visitor to the site.


    The forum hosts a variety of content, from strategy guides, event logs, and gossip posts to various resources like the game¡¯s soundtrack, as well as yer-created loreptions, and even collections of goddess-themed artwork.


    Among these, post which contains strategy guides stand out as the most popr due to Elven Kingdom¡¯s unique quest design, which defies traditional gaming conventions.


    In most cases, yers constantly surprise each other with their inventive approaches, making these guides a hot topic among themunity.


    As such, this trend reached an all time new heights when the priest ss was finally introduced.


    After all, nobody anticipated that the priest¡¯s progression mechanics would be so hardcore to the extent that they have to do literal missionary works.


    Naturally, guides rted to this ss became thetest sensation.The most notable guide for the Priest-ss was written by none other than the infamous yer, Demacia.


    Within two days of its release, his post skyrocketed to the forum¡¯s top, amassing over 100,000 views and generating more than 3,000ments, which even caught Eve¡¯s attention.


    As usual, his guide¡¯s title carried that ssic ¡°Demacia-esque¡± ir into it written in bold and simple letters.


    ¡°[Priest Strategy Guide] ¨C Demacia Teaches You How to Quickly Be a Priest.¡±


    Curious and intrigued, Ev¨¦ clicked on the post.


    The writing was undeniably Demacia in tone¡ªinformative yet tinged with self-satisfaction:


    ¡°Hello, everyone! It¡¯s Demacia here. It¡¯s been a while since Ist shared a guide, isn¡¯t it? Did you all miss me?¡±


    ¡°First, here¡¯s a picture to kick things off! This is my current ss panel!¡±


    [Image attached]


    ¡°As you all can see, I¡¯m now a legitimate level 20 priest as my subss. I doubt there are many priests with higher levels than mine in the entire game. That¡¯s right¡ªyour boy here is just that awesome and cool!¡±


    ¡°As you all know, the priest ss has been out for a week now, and the forums are full ofints about how hard the ss progression tasks are. But honestly? That¡¯s just because people haven¡¯t figured out the right trick yet¡­¡±


    ¡°So how did I get to where I am this quickly? Well, lemme tell you guys, it¡¯s totally doable with the right strategy!¡±


    ¡°Let me show you how to quickly advanced into its progression task efficiently and quickly be a Priest!¡±


    ¡°But before diving in, let me give you a quick overview of the priest ss. Although there are NPC priests in the game, they¡¯re actually quite different from us yers.¡±


    ¡°First, as the game exins, priests can either be subss or be your full-time jobss. Those you who choose priests as your subss can¡¯t exceed your primary ss level, while full-time priests can surpass and rece their primary level entirely.¡±


    ¡°That being the case, full-time priests earn only one-third of the experience points other yers get, making it theoretically the easiest ss to level up. However, both subss and full-time priests need toplete your progression tasks to unlock higher levels.


    ¡°The priest trial task is simple: ept the quest from the ss change interface, then find any designated NPC in the demi-realm of Ouros toplete it. I strongly rmend not skipping this task as it includes lore about the demi-realm¡¯s origins and the story of the half-elf Ouros.¡±


    ¡°Ouros, by the way, is the boss we defeated when we cleared the demi-realm questline. But after learning its backstory, you¡¯ll realize this guy were actually a solitary guardian who remained true to his principles and had been loyal to the goddess all along. Honestly, it¡¯s pretty moving if I say so myself¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Anyway, back to the priest progression task.¡±


    ¡°The core mechanics of the priest ss is spreading the goddess¡¯s faith. To advance from Priest Aspirant to Level 1 Apprentice Priest, you must first convert three NPCs into believers. Between Levels 1¨C10, you¡¯ll need to convert one believer per level. From Levels 11¨C20, this increases to two per level. Then after Level 20, it jumps to three per level.¡±


    ¡°I estimate that the number of required conversions increases by one every ten levels. So to reach Level 40, you¡¯ll likely need to convert a grand total of 150 NPCs. And here¡¯s an important tip: upgrading a casual believer to a devout believer also counts toward your conversion tally.


    ¡°Additionally, whether you¡¯re converting a green non-believer to a white casual believer or upgrading a white casual believer to a blue devout believer, you¡¯ll gain extra experience. Moreover, the deeper their faith are, the more experience you¡¯ll earn.¡±


    ¡°This means that for yers with priest as their primary ss, you can effectively level up solely through progression tasks alone.¡±


    ¡°From this perspective, the priest ss introduces a new advancement path¡ªa fresh new ystyle, that is. If you¡¯re not intobat and prefer interacting with NPCs, this might be the perfect fit for you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and by the way, priest equipment is now avable in the exchange store. However, it¡¯s only redeemable if you meet the corresponding priest level. Without it, you¡¯ll receive a debuff that reduces your rapport with other elves.¡±


    ¡°Here, check out my Iron-rank Priest Robe which is all white etched with awesome floral patterns. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡±


    [Image attached]


    ¡°You guys are jealous, aren¡¯t you? Haha! There are only a handful of these in the entire game! Fun fact: these priest attires are officially blessed by the goddess herself. Don¡¯t believe me? Just look at the buff it grants, which speeds up divine favor recovery!¡±


    [Image attached]


    ¡°Also, the priest ss skills are stunning, all featuring holy light effects. They¡¯re at least twice as effective as the druid¡¯s healing spells!


    ¡°Here¡¯s a screenshot of me casting a divine spell.¡±


    [Image attached]


    ¡°Pretty cool, right? If there¡¯s one downside to this ss, then it¡¯s theck of offensive capabilities. Priests are pure support, with skills focused on healing, protection, control, and buffs.¡±


    ¡°However, as a subss, it¡¯s an excellent aid for you to survive in the wilds.¡±


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s dive into how toplete priest progression tasks. For this, I¡¯ll introduce you to a ssic strategy¡ªthe Team y Method!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Team y! This is a tactic Miss Dongdong and I developed after extensive research, thoroughly tested in-game.¡±


    ¡°The power of an individual is always small, but the power of a team is strong, especially when the team is very professional.¡±


    ¡°After ying ElvKing for so long, everyone by now should have a deeper understanding of how these NPCs behaves. Unlike other games, the NPCs here are fully simted and very smart, enough to be mistaken for real. If you want toplete the priest progression task, then you must treat this ce as reality. Only in this way can you more easily get into the heart of a NPC.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Although it¡¯s quite mysterious and seem ridiculous, these NPCs have realistic emotional systems and thinking programs. We canpletely treat them as human beings.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­speaking of this, I have to admit that for a long time, I didn¡¯t truly grasp the importance of this issue. As a result, this yours truly has ended up with long-term negative reputation points. So even now, many NPCs still hold a negative impression of me, and honestly, I¡¯ve given up trying to fix it.¡±


    ¡°Guys, take it from me: avoid messing around in front of NPCs at all cost! First impressions are crucial. It¡¯s incredibly hard to climb back up once your favorability drops.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I digress.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about progression tasks.¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯re doing it on your own, it¡¯s really hard to connect deeply with NPCs. However, things are different if you have a professional team to help you.¡±


    ¡°Now, let me use my Guild¡¯s experience as an example to walk you through the process in detail.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, exining this in words feels inadequate and so, I¡¯ve specially made a tutorial video for everyone to learn from. Here¡¯s the link.¡±


    [Video Link Attached]


    <em>A Video?</em>


    Ev¨¦ raised an eyebrow slightly.


    She clicked the link and began to watch.


    The video was quite long,sting over half an hour. It was a recording of Heart of Naturepleting a priest progression task.


    However, the footage had been carefully edited by Demacia, with clear exnations and text annotations added into it.


    This made the entire process intuitive and easier for viewers to understand and learn from.


    In the video, Demacia had broken down their activities into detailed steps and provided thorough exnations for each action.


    His dedication was evident. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Hence, even yers who had never attempted to do any priest tasks beforehand could grasp the concepts after watching the video.


    To say nothing of others¡ªeven Eve herself found some of Demacia¡¯s tips and strategies to be quite eye-opening.


    ¡°Not bad for someone who was the first to establish an in-game advertising business. Demacia really does have some skills,¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused with a hint of admiration.


    Of course, she also knew this wasn¡¯t entirely Demacia¡¯s doing.


    Dongdong, who¡¯s a true professional in this theological line of work had also contributed significantly.


    Half an hour passed quickly, and Ev¨¦ finished watching Demacia¡¯s tutorial video.


    She silently left a tip on the video for support, gave it a like, and then continued to browse through the rest of the post.


    ¡°The video covers our main process. I believe everyone will have a solid understanding of the team method after watching it.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ve also experimented with other approaches. However, the team method has proven to be the fastest way to advance as a priest in the current version. At least¡­ it¡¯s the most practical for the majority of yers. It¡¯s even scble for mass operations! But there¡¯s one thing worth mentioning¡ªthe distribution of rewards in team coborations.¡±


    ¡°In this team method, you¡¯ll need to work together with other yers. However, when converting believers, not everyone will meet their requirements. A single convert will only reward one yer.¡±


    ¡°In other words, if a team converts one believer, only one yer will reap the benefits.¡±


    ¡°As for who receives the reward, we¡¯ve observed that it usually goes to the yer who has the greatest influence on the NPC during the process.¡±


    ¡°This could be the team leader, the one sharing personal stories, or even someone creating a positive atmosphere in the crowd.¡±


    ¡°Generally speaking, the yer acting as the ¡®Redeemer¡¯ has a higher chance of receiving the reward. So, we rmend rotating the role of Redeemer during the operation.¡±


    Demacia¡¯s post was incredibly detailed, filled with extensive data and well-organized exnations.


    Even Eve found herself impressed.


    ¡°This is truly professionally done. I have no idea where this punk learned so much,¡± she thought, nodding in approval.


    After watching the video and reading the post, Ev¨¦ even considered promoting this method among the elves.


    Although elves were devout in their faith, theycked the fervor for proselytizing found in other races.


    Their experience in spreading faith was rtively limited.


    Of course, Eve understood why.


    The previous World Tree was after all, an ancient god and not a god that rely on faith.


    For her predecessor, garnering faith was merely an enhancement, not a necessity and thus, didn¡¯t invest much effort into it.


    It wasn¡¯t until Ev¨¦ arrived in this world and seek to grow stronger and conceal her identity through faith, that she began to heavily focus on recruiting believers.


    ¡°This team-based method is quite excellent. It could also help yers be more professional, ensuring the Priest role maintains its prestige,¡± she thought.


    ¡°Professionalism aside, this approach also acts as a yer screening process. Not everyone can form such a team, and those capable of leading one must already possess significant abilities. Hmm¡­ this is indeed a great way to select priests.¡±


    ¡°For once, this punk managed something reliable. Considering his progress, perhaps I¡¯ll grant him a Legendary-rank reward the next time he draws from the Lucky Prize Pool,¡±


    Ev¨¦ mused with a chuckle.


    The post wasn¡¯t finished.


    Having made her decision, Ev¨¦ continued reading.


    However, as she reached the final few paragraphs of Demacia¡¯s post, her expression darkened slightly.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s all done! Here¡¯s a little advertisement: My guild, Heart of Nature Missionary Team is open for business!¡±


    ¡°For just 5,000 contribution points, we¡¯ll help you unlock the Apprentice Priest ss! Whether you¡¯re a Silver or Iron-rank yer, experienced or not, sess is guaranteed!¡±


    ¡°Want to level up your priest ss? No problem! Its just 2,000 contribution points per believer! No tricks, no scams!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re interested, DM me in-game! Username: Demacia!¡±


    ¡°Hehehehehe¡­¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll him keep pulling in boots from the prize pool,¡±


    She muttered, her lips twitching in exasperation.


    ¡ª <strong>470</strong> ¡ª<hr>


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 Chapter 471

    <strong>¡¾ JOY OF</strong><strong>THE GAME</strong> ¡¿


    Setting aside Demacia¡¯s misfortune of narrowly missing out on winning a legendary golden lottery item, the release of his strategy guide on bing a Priest has sparked an unprecedented surge in the spread of faith by the Church of Life across the demi-realm of Ouros.


    yers aiming to pursue the Priest ss, along with various guilds, have begun forming missionary teams modeled after the method devised and implemented by the Heart of Nature to carry out their own respective missionary tasks.


    As a result, more and more yers started acquiring the priest jobss, whether as their primary or sub ss.


    Of course, while the priest ss offers appealing abilities, it still doesn¡¯t interest everyone.


    In fact, the majority of yers who take it up do so merely just to gain ess to divine healing spells.


    However, just as there are specialists in every field, some yers have also gradually be enamored with the unique gamey the priest ss offers.


    These yers, who find joy in role-ying as missionaries rather than merely treating it as a means to an end, are exactly the kind of people that Eve needs.


    Typically, these individuals are life-oriented yers who prefer story-driven content and interacting with NPCs overbat.Although they aren¡¯t the first to rush into battle, they¡¯ve also be an integral part of Elven Kingdom.


    After the priest ss was unlocked, these yers were the ones who advanced the fastest.


    Within a week of the release of Demacia¡¯s strategy guide, Eve sensed through the game system that nearly 3,000 yers had already advanced to apprentice priests. Among them, several hundred had further advanced to the rank of lower Iron.


    This rapid progression surprised Ev¨¦ so much that the supply of priest robes she prepared in the exchange store had nearly ran out.


    In the end, Ev¨¦ gritted her teeth and spent more than a dozen additional divine power to directly create a new batch of priest robes in her divine kingdom before materializing them into the real world.


    While these priest robes didn¡¯t necessarily have to be created by Ev¨¦ herself and, in fact, the church should be the one to handle their production as genuine robes required the blessing of a true god.


    Thus, only Ev¨¦ could produce so many robes in one go in the short term.


    It¡¯s worth noting that a deity can use divine power within their Divine Kingdom to create such items. However, materializing these items in the real world consumes considerable amount of divine power, making it a costly and inefficient process that deities usually avoid.


    As such, Eve only did so this time because the situation was an exceptional scenario.


    After all, these priest robes are essential equipment which also serves as a symbol of the church of life¡¯s dignity.


    Eve naturally prepared their gear even though the yers aren¡¯t genuine believers of hers since they¡¯ve chosen this path.


    Well¡­ truth be told, she simply had divine power to spare and indulged herself.


    That being said, yers can only obtain priest robes after bing formal priests, which means their ss level have to be at least Level 11.


    Ev¨¦ took the yers¡¯ priest ss seriously. And they didn¡¯t disappoint her as these 3,000 newly initiated priests brought forth a surge of new believers. ?


    Every apprentice priest managed to convert at least three residents of Ouros into believers of Ev¨¦.


    Each Lower Iron-rank priest had inspired over ten people to embrace the elven faith.


    In less than 20 days since the priest ss became avable, Eve gained more than 10,000 new believers!


    At that moment, her number of believers had changed once again:


    [<strong>Believer</strong><strong>Count</strong>: 36,389 (Saints: 1, Fanatics: 128, Devout believers: 3,611, Casual Believers: 32,649)]


    [<strong>Believer Types</strong>: Crypt Spider Queen (1), Dragon (1), Oak Guardians (105), Elves (2,157), Half-Elves (244), Elven Human Hybrids (33,824), Humans (58)]


    Such efficiency was pretty astounding, leaving Ev¨¦ pleasantly surprised.


    Just a month ago, her total believers numbered only 25,000, and that wasrgely due to inheriting the demi-realm of Ouros, wherein 20,000 of the former believers of the God of Creation automatically converted to her faith.


    Now, after less than 20 days after the priest ss was released to the public, Eve¡¯s believers had surged by more than 10,000, reaching over 36,000 in total!


    This growth far exceeded Eve¡¯s expectations.


    Initially, she believed it would take at least a year or two to amass 100,000 believers, but the yers¡¯ efficiency proved far beyond her imagination.


    Of course, part of this sess was due to the unique nature of Ouros demi-realm, which made it an ideal ce to umte faith.


    Unlike Earth, this universe is governed by true gods, where the power of faith is deeply ingrained within people¡¯s lives.


    After Ouros¡¯ sacrifice, many residents became non-believers.


    However, deep down, they still held a subconscious reverence for gods, making them prime candidates for conversion.


    These people only needed a little guidance to embrace a new faith.


    The yers¡¯ sess in converting so many believers in such a short time proved this point.


    The city of Seig¨¹es, which is thergest settlement in the Ouros demi-realm, still had a poption of over 200,000.


    If the yers managed to convert all these residents, Eve¡¯s divine power would reach an entirely new level.


    With enough believers, she might even be able to pinpoint the lost divine kingdom of the previous World Tree.


    However, despite Seig¨¹es City¡¯s potential, the yers didn¡¯t put all their eggs in one basket.


    As time went on, more priest yers began leaving Seig¨¹es City to spread the elven faith in surrounding viges, towns, and other settlements across the demi-realm.


    There was a reason for this.


    Seig¨¹es City, while populous, had be increasingly difficult for yers to convert efficiently.


    After all, the Goddess had only recently appeared in the Ouros demi-realm, and it would still take time for the city residents to fully ept her presence.


    Perhaps some residents were quick to embrace a new faith, but for many, it still required a gradual, subconscious adjustment process.


    However, yers are often impatient.


    They prefer doing things efficiency and naturally hope to shorten this adjustment period as much as possible.


    Additionally, the influx of missionary groups created morepetition.


    Hence with everyone clustered together in Seig¨¹es City, the yers efforts inevitably ovepped and interfered with one another.


    Thus, when yers realized that prolesetyzing in the outlying towns and viges was more effective, they naturally shifted their focus outward to these ces.


    Interestingly enough, this shift brought about an unexpected benefit:


    The name of the Goddess of Life began to spread rapidly across the Ouros demi-realm, taking root in various settlements.


    Seizing this momentum, Ev¨¦ issued new exclusive priest tasks, encouraging priest yers to build temples of life in towns and viges across the demi-realm of Ouros.


    One such tasks was epted by Caesar.


    After observing the prolesetyzing session led by the Heart of Nature alongside Moon Jasmine, he had a revtion¡ªhe finally understood what it meant to be a true priest.


    But unlike Demacia and others, Caesar wasn¡¯t interested in simplypleting tasks in such a ¡®cult-like¡¯ manner.


    He valued the genuine process ofpleting them more.


    Although he had only been ying Elven Kingdom for less than six months, Caesar had already fallen in love with the game¡¯s rich, immersive world.


    Thend, its people, and its stories had thoroughly captivated him.


    To him, this was no longer just a game.


    It was a living, breathing world filled with genuine culture and history.


    The NPCs were no longer just scripted characters¡ªthey felt to him more like real people he met on his journey.


    Caesar enjoyed role-ying as part of this world, immersing himself in its lore and treating it as a personal adventure.


    Thus, he saw the priest ss as a sacred vocation.


    Even without considering the goddess¡¯s teachings, healing the wounded and guiding people toward kindness was a noble calling.


    His idealistic nature also made him averse to the maniptive tactics employed by Demacia and the others.


    While Caesar admired their efficient methods, he was ufortable with their willingness to use deceit to convert NPCs.


    It just wasn¡¯t something he could do.


    Perhaps that¡¯s harsh, but it was clear that Demacia¡¯s methods drew heavily from certain¡­ unsavory real-world experiences. And due to Caesar¡¯s own background, he was particrly resistant to such approaches.


    Instead, Caesar believed in sincerity.


    He wanted to win the hearts of the residents through genuine kindness.


    It might sound naive, but Caesar truly thought this way.


    Demacia¡¯s preaching methods did inspire him, though, giving him a new idea¡ªthat is, healing others.


    As a druid specializing in healing magic, Caesar decided to offer free aid to those in need while subtly spreading the goddess¡¯s teachings through the Codex of Life.


    And it worked.


    Though not as efficient asrge-scale mass preaching, Caesar sessfully converted several local residents, bing an apprentice priest in the process.


    One of those converts even became a devout believer and chose to follow Caesar along on his journey.


    This experience gave Caesar a theory:


    ¡°If you approach NPCs with sincerity, would it be easier to win their trust and inspire more unwavering faith?¡±


    With this in mind, Caesar epted a new priest-exclusive tasks¡ªto establish a temple in a vige and continue spreading the elven faith.


    But this time, he wasn¡¯t traveling alone.


    Alongside him were several local residents he had sessfully converted, as well as Moon Jasmine, a weapons specialist warrior who had recently reached the Silver-rank.


    ¡°Caesar, I¡¯ve already given up on having priest as my subss, so why are you still dragging me along with you?¡±


    Jasmine eyed Caesar, who wore his druid robes and carried the Codex of Life published by the Amway Merchant Group.


    Caesar smiled softly.


    ¡°I know. But Jasmine, you¡¯ve hardly ever interacted with NPCs. I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you a different side of this world.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bing quite the preacher,¡± she muttered, casting him a sidelong nce.


    Still, she didn¡¯t refuse.


    Their destination was a small remote vige called Flora Town, named for its flourishing flower trade.


    With a poption of just under 5,000, the vige¡¯s architecture bore traces of elven influence, like much of the Ouros demi-realm.


    Caesar and hispanions were warmly weed upon their arrival.


    In this demi-realm, elves were revered as a divine beings. Although Flora Town had no temple yet, the name of the Goddess of Life was already well-known there.


    Interestingly, the devout believer who had joined Caesar was originally from Flora Town.


    This NPC had left for Seig¨¹es City to learn more about the Church of Life and seek assistance, eventually meeting Caesar and converting to their faith.


    Caesar chose this vige specifically because of this particr believers request.


    ¡°You want us to hunt down a beast that¡¯s been terrorizing their vige? And if we seed, these vigers will fully support the construction of a temple?¡±


    Jasmine raised an eyebrow after hearing the vigers¡¯ plea.


    ¡°Exactly. Now you know why I brought you along, right? You¡¯re the person I know that¡¯s best at hunting monsters after all,¡± Caesar replied with a grin.


    Jasmine didn¡¯t object¡ªin fact, she seemed eager to do it.


    She had recently acquired an epic-ss purple longsword for lower Silver-rank, and she hadn¡¯t had the chance to test it out yet.


    However, the vige¡¯s chief elder, who was hosting them, hesitated.


    ¡°Honorable ones from the divine n¡ªno, honorable elves¡ªare you sure? That beast is said to be at the peak of Tier 3, which is extremely fast and dangerous. With only Lady Jasmine¡­¡±


    ¡°Tier 3? That¡¯s roughly equivalent to upper Iron-rank in the main realm.¡±


    Jasmine shook her head dismissively, and Caesar offered a reassuring smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, elder. She can handle it.¡±


    With that, the two settled into the town as their presence are watched by the vigers with a mix of excitement and nervousness.


    Jasmine, drawing on her hunting expertise, began working with the townsfolk to set up traps around the vige to prevent the beast from escaping.


    Meanwhile, Caesar focused on healing the vigers with his magic and newly learned divine spells.


    They didn¡¯t have to wait long either as that very night they arrived, the beast attacked immediately.


    It was a Shadowfang Wolf, a predator at the peak of upper Iron-rank, standing nearly five meters tall. Cunning and vicious, it was a nightmare for the local residents, whose averagebat strength didn¡¯t even reach lower Iron-rank.


    But the wolf¡¯s reign of terror was now about to end.


    As soon as it stepped into the town¡¯s boundaries, Jasmine acted without hesitation.


    In an instant, her sword gleamed.


    The power of a Silver-ranker was leagues above an Iron-rank monster.


    With her extensivebat experience, Jasmine easily outmaneuvered the beast. The Shadowfang Wolf barelysted three strikes before she felled it with a single, decisive blow.


    With a mournful howl, the massive beast copsed to the ground.


    Unlike many monsters, its body didn¡¯t disintegrate into ash.


    That was intentional on Jasmine¡¯s part as she had disabled the experience gain at the start to preserve its fur.


    ¡°Is this the surprise you had in mind?¡± she asked, wiping her sword clean.


    ¡°The fur is indeed impressive. I think I canmission a dwarf in the underground to make a cloak out of it. I¡¯ll even give you a share.¡±


    Caesar shook his head with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the surprise. You¡¯ll see tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow?¡±


    Jasmine tilted her head in confusion.


    The next morning, the entire vige erupted in celebration when they saw the dead Shadowfang Wolf.


    The scene resembled a festival.


    Lanterns were hung, and the vige was abuzz with joy.


    ¡°Haha! That beast is finally dead!¡±


    ¡°This is wonderful! We don¡¯t have to fear its attacks anymore.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, honorable ones from the divine n!¡±


    The vigers were ecstatic.


    As the hero of the hour, Jasmine became the center of their gratitude.


    She was surrounded by many vigers which offered her their heartfelt gratitude.


    Some of them even brought local specialties as gifts, while others invited her to their homes.


    Every viger was overflowing with genuine warmth, treating her like a savior.


    The sincerity of their gratitude instantly caught Jasmine off guard.


    As abat-oriented yer, she never paid much attention to NPCs.


    But this was the first time she had been so deeply appreciated by them.


    For an entire day, she was busy attending to the endless stream of vigersing to express their thanks. Their gifts were already piling up in the inn where she and Caesar were staying, forming a small mountain.


    It wasn¡¯t untilte at night, after a banquet held in her honor finally ended, that Jasmine was finally able to retreat to her room.


    She flopped onto her bed, utterly exhausted, sprawled out like a dog that had run itself into the ground.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯m beat¡­ These vigers are too enthusiastic. This is why I hate dealing with NPCs!¡±


    Caesar chuckled at herint.


    ¡°Really? I think you enjoyed it. Your smile gave it away.¡±


    Jasmine blinked, startled by his remark.


    ¡°See for yourself.¡±


    Caesar picked up a mirror and handed it to her.


    She nced at her reflection.


    Her face was tired which is understandable, considering she was an introvert who had been surrounded by other people all day.


    She also looked like she was about to copse from exhaustion.


    But her lips were unmistakably curved into a smile, and even the tension around her eyes had softened.


    Clearly she was in a good mood.


    Jasmine froze for a moment as she saw her own reflection.


    Then, Caesar¡¯s words echoed in her ears again.


    ¡°Jasmine, I think your reluctance to interact with NPCs is influenced by your experiences in past games. Elven Kingdom is different from those. If you dive into it deeper, you¡¯ll find that the NPC system here is truly captivating.¡±


    ¡°In this world, NPCs aren¡¯t just characters. We can genuinely be friends with them.¡±


    <em>Be friends¡­?</em>


    Jasmine fell into silence.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Her gaze drifted to the mountain of gifts piled in the corner of the room.


    Her emotions grewplicated.


    She lovedbat and she hated story-driven gamey.


    But¡­ was that really true?


    The storyline of Ouros had stirred her emotions.


    And despite herints, her interactions with the vigers today betrayed her true feelings¡­


    Indeed, she had enjoyed it.


    The truth was, she had never seriously considered exploring the game¡¯s narrative or getting to know the NPCs more in Elven Kingdom.


    Her introverted nature made her avoid social interactions, and the immersive environment of the game felt too realistic, causing her to instinctively withdraw from interacting with the NPCs.


    However, today¡¯s tasks seemed to have subtly shifted her perspective.


    After a moment of contemtion, Jasmine sighed.


    ¡°¡­Maybe.¡±


    With that, she began packing up, preparing to sleep.


    ¡°You¡¯re turning in already?¡± Caesar asked, surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯m exhausted. I need to rest early. We¡¯ll be building the temple with everyone tomorrow, right?¡±


    She shut the door behind her as she spoke.


    Caesar blinked, then chuckled softly.


    The charm of Elven Kingdom was never limited to itsbat system.


    Interacting with NPCs and immersing oneself in the storylines were key reasons yers became addicted to this world.


    He sincerely hoped Jasmine would alsoe to appreciate this aspect of the game.


    ???


    Caesar and Jasmine¡¯s adventure was just a small episode in a muchrger narrative.


    As more yers ventured into Ouros¡¯s demi-realm, temples dedicated to the Goddess of Life began to appear across towns and viges.


    Thanks to the pre-existing churches of the Creator, renovating these buildings into Temples of Life was a rtively straightforward endeavor.


    Oftentimes, it only required some repairs and the appointment of local residents who had already epted Eve¡¯s faith as apprentice priests.


    Alternatively, interested priest yers could assume such roles directly.


    This marked Eve¡¯s formal effort to establish a fully integrated faithwork within the demi-realm of Ouros.


    Once the Church of Life unified the region, Ev¨¦ would be able to manage the poption of three million efficiently.


    From there, spreading her faith further and strengthening control over the demi-realm would be much easier.


    Gradually, thiswork of faith would be an unbreakable force¡­


    The yers were working hard.


    New believers were joining rapidly.


    Ev¨¦ noticed a snowball effect beginning to take shape.


    However, the growing number of believers also brought forth some new challenges.


    While yers could guide the local residents of Ouros to convert to Eve¡¯s faith, the yers themselves weren¡¯t genuine believers of the Goddess.


    Most of them barely understood The Life Codex, and instead rely on quick searches on the to answer questions.


    Simply put, their grasp of the church¡¯s doctrines was superficial at best.


    Under such conditions, transforming new believers into devout believers hadn¡¯t been easy.


    And their subsequent results reflected this difficulty.


    Although over ten thousand new believers had joined in just a few weeks, the number of devout believers barely exceeded four hundred.


    But if Ev¨¦ intended to rely on her believers to locate the remnants of her predecessor¡¯s divine kingdom, at least half of them needed to be devout believers.


    Fortunately, Ev¨¦ had a solution to this problem.


    The yers¡¯ activities were effective for recruitment.


    However, the church¡¯s strength came from her being its core.


    To gain more believers, the patron deity must make an impactful move after all.


    And Eve still had one final trump card she still hadn¡¯t yed.


    That card was bloodline purification.


    ¡°The ratio of devout believers is still too low. It¡¯s time for me to issue a divine oracle ¡ªselect suitable believers within the demi-realm and grant them the chance to purify their bloodlines, allowing them to be half-elves or full elves.¡±


    ¡°This way, I can inspire deeper faith and improve the quality of my believers.¡±


    Eve murmured to herself.


    Bloodline purification had always been a powerful incentive.


    To earn a god¡¯s favor, awaken a stronger bloodline, and gain a longer lifespan, believers would naturally strive to be more devout.


    It was an already proven strategy.


    And a highly effective one at that¡ªachieving two goals with one move.


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>71 ¡ª<hr>


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 Chapter 472

    Chapter 472


    <strong>¡¾ THE UNFORSEEN</strong><strong>PATH</strong> ¡¿


    The arrival of the Church of Life shattered a millennia of peace within the demi-realm of Ouros, disrupting its long-standing traditions and altering the lives and perceptions of its local inhabitants.


    With the descent of yers into their realm, everything began to change.


    The yers brought with them not only foreign magic but also a fervent zeal for spreading the teachings of the Church of Life.


    Numerous temples dedicated to the Goddess of Life sprang up in cities, towns, and remote viges like wildfire.


    Unlike the decadent Church of Creation, the clergy of the Church of Life were vibrant and full of enthusiasm.


    At least¡­ that¡¯s how the local residents perceived the behavior of the yers.


    In this whole otherworldly universe, the belief in deities held an undeniable allure for mortals, especially when the gods in question had liberated their realm and preached teachings that resonated deeply amongst the popce.


    Unlike the cold, empty temples under the Church of Creation¡¯s rule, the newly established Temples of Life quickly filled with seekers from all walks of life.Initially, it was the yers who sought out the residents to spread their faith. But soon enough, even without active involvement from the yers, the local residents began flocking to these temples in their own initiative, eager to learn about this new faith.


    One such seeker was Taylor.


    A former adventurer now in his thirties, Taylor knew that, without the Church of Life, he would have met the same fate as many before him¡ªthat is, sumbing to old age in his mid-thirties.


    But the arrival of the Goddess of Life changed everything.


    She thwarted the Church of Creation¡¯s schemes, liberated the people of their demi-realm, and granted each and every one of them renewed life.


    More than that, her divine emissaries¡ªthe so-called Divine Beings¡ªdescended from the heavens into their realm, walking among them with grace and purpose. They healed the sick with a mere touch, banishing gues and ailments that once ravaged entire settlements, and spoke of the true creator of their world¡ªa deity far more older and more powerful than the false god they once worshipped.


    In this demi-realm, no one is unfamiliar with the legends of the Divine Beings. Numerous tales about them have been passed down through generations.


    Taylor, like many others, grew up hearing these stories. His mother would often recount these myths by the firelight while she spoke of their world¡¯s beginning.


    Everyone knew it was these Divine Beings who had descended from the higher realm to teach themnguage and the use of tools.


    It was also the Divine Beings who had led civilization¡¯s early steps.


    In many local residents¡¯ eyes, the Divine n held a status even more revered than that of the Church of Creation.


    However, such legends remained just that ¡ª mere stories.


    Many dismissed them as myth.


    That is, until the Divine Beings had truly descended.


    Their arrival shook many people to their core.


    Taylor, who had never held the Church of Creation in high regard, was one of the first to embrace the new faith after witnessing the Goddess of Life¡¯s miracles and the arrival of the Divine Beings.


    He became one of the first followers of the Church of Life and joined their efforts to help the Divine Beings build up their temples.


    The manifestation of legend into reality left Taylor with an almost surreal feeling.


    The Divine Beings were just as the stories described ¡ª beautiful and powerful.


    But more than that, they were also selfless and kind.


    Unlike the oppressive clerics of the Church of Creation, the Divine Beings asked for nothing in return as they preached and healed the people.


    Moreover, in some viges and towns gued by monstrous beasts, the Divine Beings acted swiftly, protecting the people without hesitation.


    They never sought rewards either.


    It seemed their only desire was for more people to hear the teachings of the Goddess of Life and join her faith.


    The only thing that differed from the old tales was that the Divine Beings were far more livelier than Taylor had imagined.


    Yes, ¡°lively¡± was the word that came to mind.


    Though he felt the term might seemed disrespectful, it truly fit them in his opinion.


    In legends, the Divine Beings were depicted as somewhat benevolent but reserved.


    But in reality, they were energetic, approachable, and effortlessly mingled with everyone ¡ª nobles,moners, the rich, and the poor.


    Taylor felt a genuine equality within their presence.


    For them, social status meant nothing.


    Only one¡¯s faith mattered.


    This fiery zeal and sincerity earned Taylor¡¯s utmost respect.


    Of course, he had no idea that the yers interacting with the residents were all priests aspirants.


    Winning the favor of the residents was crucial to their goals, which is increasing the goddess¡¯s believers.


    Naturally, this meant treating everyone with equal kindness and avoiding reckless behavior.


    Thus, Taylor only saw their best side.


    Taylor was someone easily moved by kindness.


    Following the Divine Beings, he witnessed countless acts ofpassion as they healed the sick and rejuvenatedmunities one after another.


    Seeing the revitalized towns and the happier and more healthier residents deepened Taylor¡¯s faith.


    For the first time, he felt the genuine protection of a true church over mortals.


    In mere days, Taylor became a devout believer of the Church of Life.


    The arrival of the Divine Beings brought about a new path of salvation and faith.


    People across the demi-realm embraced the Church of Life, finding true happiness under its guidance.


    To Taylor, this seemed like the perfect ending to their once-troubled existence.


    However, a sudden divine oracle from the Goddess left him in shock:


    ¡°What? Any devoutee who pray at the central temple in Seig¨¹es City may have a chance to receive the Goddess¡¯s blessing and¡­ be Divine Beings?¡±


    ¡°Not only that¡­ they can even gain the right to ascend to the higher realm?¡±


    Taylor had some understanding of the Divine n.


    They were beings of extraordinary beauty, immense strength, and lifespans that far surpassed ordinary mortals.


    But now, the oracle proimed that even ordinary believers could transform into Divine Beings?


    And beyond that, they could even journey to the homnd of the Divine n and the Goddess herself?


    A realm said to be far vaster and more advanced than their world?


    When the news spread throughout thend, Taylor was left speechless.


    Soon after, he learned more from the yers who mingled with the residents.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too surprised. Actually¡­ all of you carry elven blood. Or, as you call it, the bloodline of the Divine Beings.¡±


    ¡°The Goddess¡¯s oracle is a call for everyone to purify their bloodline and reim their origins.¡±


    <em>Bloodline?</em>


    <em>I also carry inside me the bloodline of the Divine n?</em>


    Taylor was stunned.


    But soon enough, his shock turned to excitement.


    In their demi-realm, reverence for the Divine Beings was nearly universal.


    To many, being a member of the Divine n were seen as the pinnacle of life.


    Taylor felt the same.


    Learning that he shared their bloodline sparked an overwhelming desire within him ¡ª a desire to earn the Goddess¡¯s favor and purify his lineage!


    ¡°If your faith is strong enough, you may go to the central temple and pray to the Goddess herself. If She deems you worthy, you will receive Her blessing and begin the process of bloodline purification,¡± exined an elven priest from the City.


    ¡°However, in this realm, you can only purify your bloodline to be a half-elf. To fully transform into a Divine Beings like us, you must journey to the central temple in the realm of Seig¨¹es and undergo the Goddess¡¯s baptism in the real Elven Forest.¡±


    <em>Realm of Seig¨¹es?</em>


    That must be the name of the higher realm.


    ording to legend, the city of Seig¨¹es itself was named in honor of the Creator¡¯s homnd¡­


    <em>The real Elven Forest?</em>


    Their world had its own Elven Forest, which everyone considered a sacred and forbiddennd, but now Taylor realized it was likely also named after the Divine Beings¡¯s ancestral home.


    Whilst deep in thought, Taylor felt an intense curiosity about the higher realm of Seig¨¹es.


    In his mind, it was a holynd¡ªa sacred realm where the Divine Beings dwelled, imbued with divine sanctity.


    Moreover, it was said that the Goddess herself also resided there.


    This knowledge ignited an even stronger desire within him to journey forth to the higher realm and pay homage to both the sacrednd of the Divine n and the Goddess.


    s, ordinary mortals like them had no right to ascend to the higher realm.


    Only those who had purified their bloodline and be Divine Beings ¡ª true elves ¡ª could achieve such feats.


    Taking a deep breath, Taylor finally made his decision.


    He would seek the Goddess¡¯s blessing first and try purifying his bloodline.


    And should he seed, he would then make the pilgrimage to the higher realm to pay his respects to the Goddess and the sacrednd!


    After some contemtion, Taylor shared his resolve with his spiritual guide ¡ª a Divine Being priest named Dongdong, who was well-loved among the demi-realm¡¯s residents.


    ¡°You definitely can,¡± Dongdong assured him with a gentle smile after using the Eye of Faith to assess Taylor¡¯s devotion.


    ¡°Really? Even I have a chance?¡± Taylor asked, his heart pounding with excitement.


    Taylor trusted Priest Dongdong¡¯s words.


    Rumor had it that the Divine Beings possessed the ability to perceive a person¡¯s faith and devotion.


    ¡°Keep striving. If your faith is strong enough and you qualify as a priest of life in the higher realm, then you will gain even more extraordinary powers,¡± Priest Dongdong added.


    <em>More extraordinary powers?</em>


    Taylor¡¯s curiosity deepened, and his anticipation grew stronger.


    ¡°Thank you, Lady Dongdong!¡±


    With heartfelt gratitude, Taylor bowed deeply to Dongdong, tracing the symbol of the Scepter over his chest in reverence.


    Thus, Taylor¡¯s pilgrimage to the temple had begun.


    Taylor had no family left in this world.


    There was little tying him to his current life, and after making up his mind, he set out for the central temple in Seig¨¹es City to pray to the Goddess.


    The temple had changed dramatically since its early days.


    Once a quiet and solemn cathedral devoted to the Creator, it had since transformed into the Temple of Life, bustling with worshippers.


    With both nervousness and anticipation, Taylor stepped inside.


    The temple was filled with many believers and Divine Beings alike, but an air of sacred stillness permeated the space.


    Despite the crowd, everyone remained quiet and reverent, preserving the solemn atmosphere.


    At the heart of the temple stood a grand statue of the Goddess ¡ª a vision of grace and divinity.


    She wore a resplendent white robe, her silver hair cascading beneath a regal crown. Her violet eyes gazed serenely, and in her hand, she held a magnificent scepter.


    It was the divine statue of the Goddess of Life.


    Taylor was no stranger to her image.


    Nowadays, simr statues of the Goddess had spread to towns and viges across thend, which is a testament to the growing influence of her faith.


    Yet, something about this statue felt different.


    Compared to the other statues Taylor had seen, this one exuded a stronger sense of sanctity and warmth.


    It felt almost¡­ alive.


    There was a reason for that.


    Divine statues typically fell into two categories: those crafted by believers and those shaped by the hands of the deity themselves.


    Most statues of Goddess were created by the elves, but the statues stationed in major cities, including this one in the city of Seig¨¹es, were personally crafted by Ev¨¦ herself.


    Both types of statues could serve as conduits for divine power, but thetter connected directly to the faithwork from the moment of their creation, without requiring activation through divine energy.


    Moreover, statues made by the Goddess carried a unique property as they allowed Eve to exert her power more easily across the demi-realm.


    Of course, Taylor knew none of this.


    He simply found the statue before him breathtaking, radiating a sacred aura that calmed his restless heart.


    In its presence, he felt a natural reverence, his spirit ovee with awe.


    The statue towered at a majestic six meters.


    Before it knelt other worshippers, some deep in prayer.


    Among them, Taylor noticed a number of Divine Beings.


    However, something seemed off.


    While the local believers prayed with solemn devotion, the Divine Beings behaved rather¡­ differently.


    Their expressions and movements were far more animated.


    Some smiled brightly, whilst others frowned in contemtion. asionally, a Divine Being would let out a gleeful exmation, while another might sigh in disappointment.


    It was Taylor¡¯s first time witnessing the Divine Beings praying before the statue, and he couldn¡¯t help but stare at their rather peculiar behavior.


    At first, he thought his eyes were ying tricks on him.


    It was strange.


    Really strange.


    In his mind, prayer was meant to be a solemn, dignified act.


    But¡­ could this lively disy actually be the correct way to pray in the Church of Life?


    After all, the Codex of Life taught believers to approach prayer with sincerity and solemnity.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Taylor was left confused.


    He couldn¡¯t make sense of it.


    And how could he?


    What he didn¡¯t realize was that many of the Divine Beings he was observing were yers casually browsing in-game shops or spinning lottery wheels while in the temple.


    Thankfully, not all Divine Beings were behaving in such a peculiar manner.


    Taylor spotted several who maintained a solemn posture in their prayers.


    Their devout demeanor eased his mind.


    At least¡­ being solemn and reverent is never wrong, he thought.


    Although he couldn¡¯t understand why some Divine Beings acted so lively before the statue, the sacred atmosphere of the temple inspired him to maintain a serious, respectful attitude.


    Taking a deep breath, Taylor knelt before the statue.


    He straightened his posture and traced the symbol of the Life Scepter over his chest.


    Then, with unwavering devotion, he began his prayer:


    <em>Praise be to Nature. Praise be to Life. Praise be to the great Elven Sovereign ¡ª Her Divine Grace, The Goddess Eve!</em>


    <em>Your humble servant, Taylor, beseeches your blessing.</em>


    <em>I vow to follow you forever, spreading your glory and faith across the realm¡­</em>


    His voice was fervent, filled with passion and determination.


    As Taylor spoke, the statue began to emit a gentle glow.


    Suddenly, a radiant beam of light burst forth from the statue, before descending directly upon Taylor.


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 Chapter 473

    <strong>¡¾ THEY ARE THE CHOSEN</strong><strong>ONES</strong> ¡¿


    Taylor felt wrapped in a warm,forting embrace as the radiant light washed over him with its gentle glow.


    This power was gentle yet profound, stirring a deep sense of kinship and longingness within him.


    In the next instant, the atmosphere around him shifted whilst countless colorful particles of light appeared, swirling around him in a breathtaking dance.


    They surrounded himpletely, filling up the space with a kaleidoscope of brilliant hues.


    Through the shimmering glow, Taylor vaguely caught sight of a beautiful Scepter entwined with vines and blooming flowers.


    Suddenly, he sensed a surge of potent energy, rich with the essence of life, crossing over the vast, iprehensible void of space and pouring into his body.


    The energy flowed effortlessly, filling him with a mysterious, transformative force.


    As the energy merged with him, Taylor could feel his body undergoing a rapid metamorphosis. It was as if something long dormant within his bloodline had been awakened.


    His senses sharpened with a rity he had never known before. Every sound was crisp, and his strength surged in waves. The fatigue and wear of age, which had once been his constantpanion, vanished as though they had never existed. It was as if the years had been wiped away in an instant, leaving only the raw, untainted vigor of youth in their ce¡­


    The feeling was intoxicating, as though he had been transported back to his prime, back to his vibrant teenage years.


    ¡°A miracle! T-This is¡­ a divine miracle!¡±


    Through his dazed thoughts, Taylor vaguely heard the astonished exmations of other believers around him.


    In the distance, he could also hear the sound of people falling to their knees, their voices fervently praying in reverence.


    Taylor had no idea what was happening, but he suspected it had something to do with him.


    At that moment, however, the radiant light encasing him rendered him immobile. His vision was filled with the dazzling glow, leaving him unable to verify his suspicions.


    Curiosity simmered within him, mingling with anticipation, yet he remained powerless to act, just as his transformation proceeded on.


    Whilst wrapped in the gentle embrace of light, Taylor felt an overwhelming sense offort, as though he had returned to the safety and warmth of his mother¡¯s loving arms.


    He had no concept of how much time had passed.


    It felt as though he had been there for an eternity, lost in this strange, timeless cocoon of light, and yet, at the same time, it also felt like a fleeting instant.


    Then, through the haze, a serene, divine voice echoed inside his mind.


    ¡°From this day forth, your surname shall be¡­ Rocksand.¡±


    The voice was soft and melodious, warm and gentle:


    Taylor¡¯s thoughts wavered, his consciousness briefly adrift.


    <em>Rocksand¡­ </em>


    As a former adventurer, he was well-versed in the legends of their world.


    He recalled that when the Church of Creation still existed, ¡°Rocksand¡± was said to be one of the Seven Great Surnames of the members of the Divine n.


    The other major surnames of the divine beings were ¡°Moonlight,¡± ¡°Shadowshade,¡± ¡°Thunderwrath,¡± ¡°Rageze,¡± ¡°WhiteFrost,¡± and ¡°Galewind.¡±


    This realization struck him like a thunderbolt.


    His body trembled with excitement, just as his mind was overwhelmed by awe.


    He had now vaguely guessed who the ethereal voice belonged to¡­


    A surge of ecstatic reverence welled up within him.


    If he hadn¡¯t still been unable to control his body, Taylor would have dropped to his knees to praise the goddess with all his heart.


    Gradually, the blinding light slowly began to fade.


    As it dissipated, Taylor finally regained bacl the control of his body.


    Without hesitation, he knelt once more, fervently bowing his head in prayer.


    ¡°Praise be to nature, Praise be to life, and Praise be to the Great Goddess Eve!¡±


    With devout sincerity, he traced the symbol of the Life Scepter over his chest before slowly rising to his feet.


    It was then that Taylor noticed something unusual¡ªthe temple had fallen into an unexpected silence.


    The interior of the temple, despite its solemn atmosphere, was usually filled with the murmurs of prayers and hushed conversations among the divine beings.


    Yet now, it was eerily quiet.


    Puzzled, Taylor nced around and found out that every local believer within the vicinity was staring at him with a mix of shock and envy.


    <em>¡­What¡¯s going on?</em>


    A sudden thought struck him.


    ¡°A m-mirror¡­ I need a mirror!¡± murmured, his voice trembling with a mixture of excitement and disbelief.


    He could already feel the changes within himself.


    After his transformation, Taylor knew that his physical capabilities had undergone a qualitative leap.


    His strength had surged from the first tier to the second!


    In terms of the divine ranking system, he was now an intermediate Iron-ranker.


    Luckily for him, the temple had several decorative mirrors scattered throughout its grand hall.


    Without hesitation, he rushed toward one, his anticipation growing with every step.


    His heart pounded in his chest, and his mind raced with the question of what his reflection might reveal.


    When he finally saw his reflection, he immediately froze in astonishment, his breath catching in his throat.


    There, staring back at him, was a figure that was both familiar and foreign, a version of himself that was at once him and yet not at the same time.


    His height hadn¡¯t changed much, but his figure had be noticeably more refined. He stood straighter, his posture now more elegant, statuesque even, exuding a sense of quiet confidence that he had never possessed before. His movements also felt more graceful, his body more fluid and in tune with the power now coursing through him.


    His facial features had also undergone a dramatic transformation. His appearance, once that of a middle-aged man, now resembled that of a teen in his early twenties.


    His skin appeared smoother as well, more wless, glowing with an inner radiance.


    It wasn¡¯t vanity that made him scrutinize his reflection so closely.


    No, this wasn¡¯t about mere appearances per se¡ªit was about understanding what he had be.


    Everyone knew that the most distinctive trait of divine beings was their extraordinary features and their ageless appearance.


    However, Taylor wasn¡¯t focused on this aspect alone.


    Instead, his gaze shifted directly to his ears.


    At that moment, Taylor noticed that his ears were no longer human-shaped¡­


    Now, they had transformed into small, pointed tips.


    Although they still differed from the ears of a pure-blooded divine being, the resemnce was already pretty undeniable.


    ¡°So, this is what purifying one¡¯s bloodline feels like? I¡¯ve be a half-elf from the legends¡­ but if my bloodline is further purified, could I perhaps also be a true elf¡ªa member of the esteemed divine n?¡±


    Taylor¡¯s heart raced with excitement.


    He realized that his hair had also changed its color.


    Once a deep brown-ck, it now had lightened to an earthy chestnut hue, shimmering in the light as if it were touched by the very hands of nature itself.


    This subtle transformation brought to mind another legend about the divine n.


    ording to the olden tales, a divine being¡¯s hair color was inherently tied to their surname, which often represent their affinity with a specific element.


    ¡°I remember being tested at the church before¡­ Among the seven elements, my alignment was strongest with earth. So, after my bloodline was purified, I¡¯ve be one of the legendary Rocksand divine beings, which are known for their mastery over earthen magic?¡±


    He nodded to himself, murmuring excitedly.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m still not a fully divine being yet. But at least I¡¯m already halfway there!¡±


    ¡°And¡­ I seem to have awakened a talent for innate magic as well! I¡¯ve be a magical being¡ªthe kind found only in the legends!¡±


    Taylor¡¯s excitement grew.


    A magical being was someone born with an instinctive ability to use magic.


    In the demi-realm of Ouros, such existence were exceedingly rare.


    As far as he knew, only members that belong to the divine n was known to possess such trait.


    Feeling the surge of power within him, Taylor¡¯s heart swelled with joy.


    After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to be stronger and more extraordinary?


    Whilst lost in thought, Taylor found himself smiling foolishly at his reflection in the mirror when a young divine being suddenly approached him.


    The boy looked around twelve years old, with silver hair and striking blue eyes.


    Yet despite his youthful appearance, his expression carried an air of calm maturity that seemed out of ce for his age.


    Taylor recognized him instantly.


    This was none other than A¨¦l Moonlight, the High Priest of the main temple in Seig¨¹es City!


    Most notably, he was also a divine chosen by the goddess herself.


    However, something about Lord A¨¦l felt different from the other divine beings Taylor had encountered beforehand.


    He couldn¡¯t quite put his finger upon it¡­


    But unlike most of the divine beings, who often carried themselves with yful energy, Lord Ael¡¯sposed demeanor felt far more grounded and reserved.


    The divine beings Taylor had met before were usually carefree, bounding around with childlike glee, casting spells for fun as they traveled about theirnd.


    It was their lighthearted attitude that often made Taylor forget their lofty status.


    But Lord A¨¦l¡­


    He was pretty different from the rest, so to speak.


    His regal bearing and calm stride exuded a quiet authority that made Taylor feel unexpectedly tense.


    Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Taylor quickly bowed in respect.


    ¡°This Taylor greets Lord A¨¦l!¡±


    Among the divine n, surnames were rare, and there were only a few prominent ones. As a result, even those who weren¡¯t personally acquainted often addressed each other by their first names.


    A¨¦l offered a gentle smile.


    ¡°Mr. Taylor, congrattions on purifying your bloodline and bing one of us.¡±


    <em>One of us¡­</em>


    Taylor¡¯s heart trembled at those words.


    A sense of eptance and belonging washed over him, bringing unexpected warmth to his chest.


    He had been anxious.


    To him, each member of the divine n was distant, almost otherworldly existence. He had worried that with him being someone not naturally born into their ranks, he might be treated differently¡ªor worse, rejected altogether.


    But it seemed his fears were unfounded.


    ¡°You are now a half-elf,¡±


    Ael continued.


    ¡°This grants you the right to travel to Seig¨¹es, the higher realm, and return to Elven Forest. Mr. Taylor, do you wish to return our homnd?¡±


    <em>Return back to Seig¨¹es?</em>


    The divine n¡¯s homnd, which is also said to be the fabled holynd of divine blessings, filled with abundant energy and unparalleled beauty¡­


    Taylor¡¯s heart stirred with longing.


    Although the Church of Life didn¡¯t impose any strict requirements on where he should go after his transformation, he didn¡¯t hesitate for long.


    ¡°I wish to return to the Elven Forest!¡± he said excitedly.


    His voice echoed with conviction.


    He was all alone, with no family left in this world.


    So the opportunity to journey forth to the fabled homnd of the divine n was one he naturally embraced.


    After all, it promised a wider world and countless possibilities.


    And if he wished to be a true divine being, the only way was to ascend to the higher realm.


    ¡°Thene along with me.¡±


    A¨¦l Moonlight, the goddess¡¯s chosen priest, smiled faintly before turning and walking deeper into the temple.


    Taylor took a deep breath, grabbed the bag he had prepared long ago, and followed behind.


    Led by A¨¦l, Taylor soon arrived at the temple¡¯s inner sanctum.


    There, he saw a massive ¡°mirror¡± standing at the heart of the chamber with its surface shimmering in rippling light.


    Every moment, new members of the divine n emerged from the mirror, while others stepped into it and vanished from sight.


    ¡°T-This¡­ could this be the legendary gateway that¡¯s connecting our world to the higher realm?¡±


    Taylor marveled at the sight.


    ¡°Indeed, it is the dimensional pathway linking both realms. It was crafted by the goddess herself.¡±


    Ael¡¯s voice carried a reverent tone, his eyes gleaming with devotion.


    The mere mention of the goddess made Taylor¡¯s expression turned serious.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be nervous,¡± Ael reassured him gently.


    ¡°Follow me. Let¡¯s return to the Elven Forest.¡±


    With that, A¨¦l stepped into the mirror.


    The mirror¡¯s surface rippled, and Ael¡¯s figure was instantly consumed by the light, before vanishing entirely.


    Taylor licked his lips, feeling both curious and anxious.


    With both wonder and anticipation coursing through his veins, Taylor bravely stepped forward, his heart pounding as he approached the glowing surface of the mirror.


    Without a second thought, he pressed on, his body crossing the threshold into the unknown.


    As soon as he made contact, a surge of warmth enveloped him, and he was swallowed by the light, feeling a strange sensation, as though his body was sinking into an invisible liquid.


    It was a sensation he couldn¡¯t quite describe¡ªsmooth, soft, and all-epassing, like a wave of energy wrapping around him.


    His vision blurred, colors melding into one another as though the very fabric of reality was bending, and a profound weightlessness overtook him, leaving him disoriented and yet strangely calm.


    When his surroundings became clear again, he found himself standing in a different ce.


    He was still inside a temple of life¡ªbut no longer in the main temple of Seig¨¹es City.


    This temple was far more solemn, adorned with intricate magical carvings and murals, exuding an ancient beauty and grandeur.


    Divine beings moved about the temple, engaged in various tasks.


    <em>Is this¡­ the higher realm?</em>


    Taylor¡¯s heart brimmed with curiosity.


    He could already sense the difference.


    The air here felt remarkably more purer, filling him with an inexplicable sense of freedom and lightness, as though even his soul was being unburdened.


    What Taylor didn¡¯t know was that this sensation came from the elevated quantity of mana in Seig¨¹es.


    Compared to Ouros¡¯ demi-realm, Seig¨¹es possessed a much higher energy grade, a difference so striking that it could be felt the moment one set foot upon its soil.


    The atmosphere here pulsed with an intensity that Ouros could never match, making the very air crackle with power.


    The elements seemed far more active, swirling with a vibrant energy that surged through every corner of the realm, giving life to every tree, rock, and breeze.


    Mana, too, was more abundant here, flowing freely like a river, and it was evident in the way the world seemed to be imbued with it.


    As Taylor marveled at his surroundings, a clear female voice rang out behind him.


    ¡°Wee to the realm of Seig¨¹es, fellow member of the Rocksand n.¡±


    He quickly turned and saw a woman with dark gray hair approaching.


    ¡°This is Lady Nightingale. She¡¯s the one tasked with weing new n members today,¡± Ael exined.


    Taylor immediately straightened and bowed respectfully.


    ¡°Greetings, Lady Nightingale. May the goddess be with you!¡±


    ¡°Greetings, Mr. Taylor. May the goddess bless you as well,¡±


    Nightingale replied with a smile.


    Then, with a casual wave of her hand, she added, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so formal. And you don¡¯t need to call me ¡®Lady.¡¯ Now that you¡¯ve returned to the Elven Forest, we¡¯re all family.¡±


    ¡°Come. Let me show you around the forest. This may very well be where you¡¯ll live from now on.¡±


    With that, Nightingale gestured for Taylor to follow her out of the temple.


    <em>Where I¡¯ll live from now on?</em>


    Taylor¡¯s heart stirred as he followed her toward his new life.


    A spark of anticipation flickered in Taylor¡¯s heart.


    He nodded and followed closely behind Nightingale.


    Once they were outside the vicinity of the Temple, Taylor realized he had stepped into a bustling city.


    The city¡¯s buildings were crafted from massive white stones, exuding a grandeur that carried a unique charm.


    However, Taylor quickly noticed signs of turmoil¡ªmany areas remained in ruins, untouched by restoration.


    Seeing his curiosity and confusion, Nightingale exined:


    ¡°This is the splendid city of Kenond, one of the major cities of our elven race.¡±


    ¡°You see, Kenond experienced a devastating war a thousand years ago. So since then, it has been long abandoned up until recently, when we began its restoration.¡±


    ¡°In the future, this may very well be your new home.¡±


    <em>My new home?</em>


    Taylor¡¯s heart stirred as he gazed at the city.


    Despite the lingering ruins, the restored areas was already bustling with life and activity.


    It was a beautiful city¡ªfar more so than any he had seen back in his home world.


    But it wasn¡¯t just the architecture that captivated him.


    The entire environment felt entirely different.


    Lush gardens sprawled across the city, filled with vibrant flowers and verdant greenery.


    Taylor could almost imagine how breathtaking the city would be once fully restored.


    But what stood out to him most was the presence of numerous divine beings, all busy with various tasks.


    Seeing them, Taylor¡¯s initial tension began to ease.


    Finally, he recognized something familiar.


    These divine beings wore ornate armor or robes, reminiscent of those he had seen in his world.


    Their carefree demeanor was also familiar¡ªthey bounced, skipped, andughed as they walked, exuding a yful demeanor.


    Ah¡­such familiar vibes, indeed.


    However, there were differences as well.


    These divine beings seemed wilder and far more uninhibited than those he had previously encountered.


    Taylor hadn¡¯t walked far before witnessing multiple duels breaking out in the streets.


    And these weren¡¯t friendly sparring matches either.


    He saw two warrior-like divine beings locked in a bloody battle, their bodies already drenched in bloodied crimson.


    Yet the odd thing was that despite their severe injuries, they still fought with fierce intensity, whilst grinning wildly against each other.


    One of them had already lost an arm, while the other had a sword embedded in his abdomen, with their intestines partially exposed.


    But neither seemed to care about their wounds as theyughed boisterously, continuing to sh swords.


    Meanwhile, the surrounding divine beings cheered and apuded as if enjoying a grand spectacle.


    Taylor: ¡°¡­¡±


    He stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded.


    <em>What¡¯s wrong with these people?!</em>


    <em>Are they not afraid of dying?!</em>


    Noticing Taylor¡¯s shocked expression, Nightingale sighed, rubbing her temples in exasperation.


    ¡°Honestly¡­ these Chosen Ones. Ever since they gained priesthood privileges, they¡¯ve be more and more reckless in their fights, even though the goddess has already provided them with a virtual dueling space.¡±


    Having spent enough time with the Chosen Ones, Nightingale had picked up some of their terminology and gained an understanding of their unique abilities and benefits.


    Turning back to Taylor, she offered an apologetic smile.


    ¡°Sorry if that scared you. The Chosen Ones are like this. They may seem wild, but they¡¯re actually good people. You¡¯ll soon get used to it.¡±


    ¡°¡­Chosen Ones?¡± Taylor asked, puzzled.


    He vaguely remembered hearing divine beings mention that term, but now it felt different¡ªmore significant.


    ¡°Yes. You can think of them as beings simr to yourself. They, too, havee from another world, before assuming the form of elves.¡±


    ¡°However, their personalities are much more¡­ livelypared to us, traditional elves. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll sometimes see unexpected behavior from them.¡±


    ¡°Additionally, their status is also quite special. They¡¯re summoned by the goddess herself and possess the ability to resurrect themselves. They have immense growth potential, which exins why they¡¯re so reckless in battle.¡±


    ¡°For them, fighting is just a form of entertainment. Their greatest joy is seeking fun.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and by the way, most of the elves who descended into your world were also those Chosen Ones.¡±


    Nightingale¡¯s words left Taylor speechless.


    ¡ª <strong>473</strong> ¡ªn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om<hr>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 474

    <strong>¡¾ THE CURRENT</strong><strong>STATE OF THE ELVES</strong> ¡¿


    Nightingale seemed quite popr among the Chosen Ones.


    As Taylor followed her, he noticed that every time they encountered a Chosen One, they would greet her warmly.


    Nightingale, in turn, responded with a smile.


    asionally, Taylor even saw some of the Chosen One approach her with hopeful expressions, eagerly asking if there were any tasks they could undertake.


    The slightly ttering expression left Taylor momentarily stunned, subtly distorting his perception of this world.


    He didn¡¯t expect that the Chosen Ones actually had such a side to them.


    In his mind, the impression of these beings was firmly set¡ªthey were enigmatic figures, and although the chosen ones who descended to Ouros often carried an air of entricity, they remained neither humble nor arrogant.


    <em>Wait¡­</em><em>Speaking of which, </em>


    <em>Wasn¡¯t this how they acted when he first encountered them as well?</em>


    Back then, they had also asked him if there were any tasks they could do.


    However, at the time, Taylor had been too overwhelmed by the shock of being approached by beings rumored to be divine beings. He had been so flustered and ecstatic that his mind went nk back then.


    In hindsight, his reaction must have appeared perplexing, as the Chosen Ones eventually left, disappointed.


    Looking back now, Taylor couldn¡¯t help but wonder¡ªhad there been a deeper purpose behind their behavior?


    Or was it simply proof that the Chosen Ones found amusement in such interactions?


    Regardless, Taylor now felt that Nightingale¡¯s status was likely far higher than he had initially assumed.


    After all, she could assign tasks to other divine beings!


    This realization made him even more cautious in her presence.


    As they walked, they continued their conversation.


    Nightingale began exining the current state of the higher realm.


    Thanks to her detailed ount, Taylor gained a deeper understanding of the elves, or as they were often referred to in Ouros¡ªthe divine beings.


    At present, the Elvenkind could be divided into three distinct groups.


    The first group consisted of the Chosen Ones, who made up the majority of the poption, totaling around sixty thousand.


    They were the sword and shield of the Goddess, active throughout the Elven Forest. They built and protected thend, ensuring its prosperity and security.


    The second group was the Returning Elves, the secondrgest, with a poption of just over two thousand.


    These were elves and half-elves with purified bloodlines who had returned to the Forest from various parts of Seig¨¹es.


    They primarily resided in an elven city named Florence.


    Both Nightingale and Lord A¨¦l belonged to this group.


    Unlike the adventurous and thrill-seeking Chosen Ones, the Returning Elves valued peace and were generally gentle in nature. Many were devout followers of the Goddess.


    They also formed the core leadership of the Church of Life.


    Unlike the Chosen Ones, who were primarily responsible for external affairs, the Returning Elves oversaw internal matters. They handled tasks such as managing the Forest¡¯s production and assigning missions to the Chosen Ones.


    Of course, they had their own guards, but these forces were mainly responsible for maintaining internal security rather than engaging in external conflicts.


    It¡¯s also worth noting that any residents from Ouros who purified their bloodline and became true elves would also be considered part of this group.


    Lastly, the third group was the Primordial Elves.


    Their numbers were small, no less than a hundred, but their status was exceptional.


    Every Primordial Elf was personally born from the Goddess herself, possessing immense potential and extraordinary talent.


    They lived alongside the Chosen Ones, receiving education from both the Chosen and the Returning Elves.


    They were seen as the future leaders of the elven race.


    After listening to Nightingale¡¯s description, the mysterious divine beings in Taylor¡¯s mind seemed to finally shed their veils.


    ¡°So¡­ may I ask, Lady Nightingale, which group were the elves who descended upon our world a thousand years ago part of?¡± Taylor inquired.


    ¡°They were part of the elves who fled the Elven Forest. If any of them are still alive and have returned, they would now be considered part of the second group,¡± Nightingale replied.


    <em>As expected¡­</em>


    Taylor nodded slightly in realization.


    He had always felt that the legendary divine beings in their legends seemed quite different from the Chosen Ones he saw currently.


    The elves in those stories were more dignified andposed, and they didn¡¯t seem fond of conflict at all.


    For a long time, he thought those stories might have been exaggerated. But now, it seemed the difference simply came down to the groups they belonged to.


    Still, despite learning the truth, Taylor couldn¡¯t shake his fondness for the Chosen Ones.


    Perhaps it was due to his first impressions, but he found the adventurous and lively Chosen Ones more approachable than the gentle Returning Elves.


    After all, it was the Chosen Ones who had saved the demi-realm and guided him toward his faith.


    Moreover, when Taylor considered the origins of the Chosen Ones, he felt a certain kinship with them.


    After all, both he and they hade from another world¡ªand neither had originally been elves in the first ce.


    After hearing Taylor¡¯s thoughts, Nightingale shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s not quite the same.¡±


    ¡°The world you prior live in is merely a demi-realm connected to thel realm of Seig¨¹es. Ouros itself was created by Her Grace, the Goddess, alongside its former Lord Oros.¡±


    ¡°But the Chosen Ones¡­ theye from a ce far beyond our universe. They originate from another reality entirely, one beyond countless realms. It¡¯s said that only the Goddess herself knows where they truly came from.¡±


    A ce farther away than their own universe¡­


    Taylor¡¯s mind drifted, his thoughts growing hazy upon knowing such revtion.


    Suddenly, he realized that the reality for which he lives in was farrger than he¡¯d ever imagined.


    He once believed the demi-realm of Ouros was the entire world. Yet, he now learned that there was a higher realm beyond it.


    And even after reaching this upper realm, he then discovered that the realm of Seig¨¹es was just one of countless realms spread across the so called ¡®universe.¡¯


    Beyond all this universe, there might even be more distant otherworldly worlds¡­


    The Elvenkind, as revered and lofty as they seemed back in his home world, was actually merely just one of many sentient species in this vast universe.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Not only that, but their status wasn¡¯t as exalted as he¡¯d initially imagined.


    While they were praised as the most noble, elegant, and graceful of the long-lived races, in actuality, they were also a civilization in decline.


    He became aware that, a thousand years ago, the elves had endured a devastating assault from various races for which resulted in a war that had left the forest scarred and their people scattered all over thend.


    Even their revered goddess had fallen in that tragic conflict, and it was only in recent times that the elves had begun their slow and cautious resurgence, quietly rebuilding what had been lost and striving to rise again from the ashes of their once-glorious civilization.


    At this point, Taylor started to understand why the divine beings had offered to purify their bloodline and ept them as their kin.


    If Nightingale¡¯s words were true, then centuries of persecution had left the elven race with dwindling poption.


    Given their slow reproduction and long maturation periods, achieving their goals without poption growth seemed entirely impossible.


    Hence, they provided the opportunity for anyone with a trace of elven bloodline to purify their lineage.


    This was Taylor¡¯s guess.


    Still, he knew that nothing came without a price.


    Ever since the divine beings saved him and he pledged his faith to the Goddess of Life, Taylor had chosen his path.


    They were now bound by blood, sharing amon bloodline.


    The chance to be one of the mighty beings he admired so deeply wasn¡¯t something anyone in the Ouros demi-realm would refuse.


    And once he became one of them, Taylor believed it was only natural to dedicate himself to the elves¡¯ cause.


    After all, the stronger the elves became, the better his life would be.


    If they faltered, then perhaps even the Ouros demi-realm could easily fall prey to other, more powerful races.


    Striving for the elves¡¯ sess wasn¡¯t just for the elves or the Goddess herself as it was also for himself and his people back in his home world.


    Yet despite understanding all of this, one question still nagged at Taylor¡¯s mind:


    ¡°But¡­ if the Chosen Ones possess such immense potential and have the ability to revive themselves endlessly, why doesn¡¯t Her Grace turn all elves into Chosen Ones?¡±


    Nightingale shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°The Chosen Ones are a unique existence and ording to the legends, they will eventually leave our universe in the far future.¡±


    ¡°Thus, all we can do now is grow stronger with their help, to ensure that the Elvenkind can once again reim their former glory before their eventual departure¡­¡±


    As she spoke, he noticed Nightingale¡¯s expression changed slightly, as if recalling something painful.


    <em>They¡¯ll leave someday¡­</em>


    For some reason, Taylor felt a pang of sadness.


    Although his time with the Chosen Ones had been brief, he greatly admired and respected them.


    Their carefree, adventurous nature made them quite endearing to him.


    Taking a deep breath, Taylor asked another question:


    ¡°I see¡­ So, Lady Nightingale, if I wish to progress from a half-elf to a true elf, how should I go about it?¡±


    Hearing this, Nightingale seemed to snap out of her mncholic state.


    She offered a faint smile and exined:


    ¡°It works like this.¡±


    ¡°You need to study under the guidance of other elves at the temple first. From there, you¡¯ll be able to delve deeper into the ¡®Holy Codex of Life¡¯ and learn more about our history and culture.¡±


    ¡°The Temple conducts regr examinations. If you somehow manage to pass this test, then you¡¯ll earn the right to undergo further bloodline purification, thereby bing a pureblooded elf.¡±


    ¡°Of course, if you make exceptional contributions ¡ª such as recruiting a significant number of new believers for the Goddess of Life, or inventing something innovative using the Chosen Ones¡¯ knowledge, or ying a crucial role in rebuilding the Elven Forest then you may also earn that qualification.¡±


    Taylor nodded in understanding.


    <em>So that¡¯s how it works¡­ </em>


    He had always admired the culture of the divine beings.


    After all, the civilization of their people back in the Ouros demi-realm was a legacy passed down by the elves.


    Studying their true history and culture wasn¡¯t just a way to integrate into this new world, it also felt like a pilgrimage to prove himself.


    Speaking of pilgrimages, a thought suddenly struck Taylor.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Lady Nightingale¡­ I heard some of the Chosen Ones mention that the Goddess also resides in this realm as well. Is that true?¡±


    Nightingale nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    After replying, her gaze shifted toward central square of Kenond, in front of the Temple of Life within the city.


    Every elven city had a central square ¡ª a tradition that extended even to the Ouros demi-realm.


    Nightingale¡¯s gaze focused on a massive magical formation in the middle of the square, spanning over a dozen square meters in diameter.


    Taylor followed her gaze and saw that the enormous formation asionally shimmered with a radiant glow as new elves continuously emerged from it, while others entered and disappeared.


    It was arge-scale teleportation array, the kind found only in legends!


    Taylor noticed that most of the elves using the array wore ornate armor or borate robes, quite unlike Nightingale¡¯s more modest attire.


    These elves were almost exclusively Chosen Ones.


    ¡°Do you see that array?¡±


    Nightingale asked.


    ¡°It connects to another elven city ¡ª a city built by the Chosen Ones. It¡¯s called The City of the Chosen Ones, or simply put, the Chosen City.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a wondrous, beautiful ce, existing in a separate dimension. Your see, our is our people¡¯s current holy city. Only the Chosen Ones who serve the Goddess and those elves granted the Task System by Her Grace may enter.¡±


    ¡°The true body of the Goddess also resides in that city. If you¡¯re fortunate enough to be a pureblooded elf and receive Her Grace¡¯s divine task system, then perhaps you¡¯ll be able to journey there on a pilgrimage.¡±


    Nightingale¡¯s exnation made Taylor¡¯s expression grow solemn.


    <em>The holy city of the elves? </em>


    <em>The Goddess¡¯s true body?</em>


    With a determined look, Taylor nodded seriously.


    He would do his best to earn the right to be a true elf and one day visit the Chosen City to pay his respects.


    However, there was one term that confused him.


    ¡°Task System?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a special ability granted by the Goddess to Her devoted believers. Since you¡¯re already a devout believer, you¡¯ll awaken it once you be a pureblood elf,¡± Nightingale exined.


    ¡°With the Task System, you can issue quests to the Chosen Ones, asking them to assist with any tasks you can¡¯t aplish alone.¡±


    ¡°For the Chosen Ones, seeking entertainment is their greatest passion. Completing tasks issued by other elves through this system is one of their hobbies ¡ª and a source of fulfillment.¡±


    Nightingale smiled as she spoke.


    Taylor blinked in surprise.


    ¡°You mean¡­ we can give such quests to the Chosen Ones?¡±


    So that¡¯s why some of them were so eager to please Nightingale!


    It really was about tasks and rewards!


    Still, Taylor found it difficult to gauge the Chosen Ones¡¯ actual status.


    On one hand, they seemed high-ranking, given their unique powers and the reverence others showed them.


    Yet, on the other hand, ordinary elves could assign them tasks through the system.


    This dynamic seemed rather¡­strange to say the least.


    Just then, a thunderous boom echoed from a nearby district, startling Taylor.


    The sound came from the ruins of an area still under reconstruction.


    Taylor turned toward the noise and saw a group of dozens of armed elves gathered around the ruins.


    They stood tensely, seemingly awaiting something.


    In the middle of the group stood an elf holding a metallic tube-like object that emitted wisps of smoke.


    In front of this elf was a small, bound green-skinned creature ¡ª a goblin, perhaps.


    A bloody hole pierced the creature¡¯s body, evidence of some sort of prating attack.


    Taylor watched, wide-eyed, as the creature¡¯s body suddenly began to age rapidly, before crumbling to dust within seconds.


    When the goblin disintegrated into ash, the gathered elves burst into cheers andughter, clearly excited by what had just transpired.


    ¡°What¡­ just happened?¡±


    Taylor whispered, both curious and confused.


    Nightingale, seeing the cheering elves, seemed to realize something.


    ¡°So it¡¯s HootyBird and the others¡­ I didn¡¯t expect they woulde here to conduct their tests.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes slightly, then muttered,


    ¡°It seems they¡¯ve seeded in their modifications.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>474</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 475

    <strong>¡¾ MAGICAL</strong><strong>FIREARM</strong> ¡¿


    ¡°Conducting test? Modifications?¡±


    Taylor¡¯s curiosity piqued upon hearing Nightingale¡¯s words.


    ¡°It¡¯s a weapon the Chosen Ones developed. They say it¡¯s an improved version of the dwarves¡¯ steam gun. The Chosen Ones seem quite obsessed with it and are very determined on improving it¡­¡± Nightingale exined.


    However, after finishing her exnation, she shook her head and added,


    ¡°Though if you ask me¡­these kinds of weapons are just auxiliary tools. Personally, I think what truly matters is one¡¯s own strength.¡±


    She continued, her voice filled with pride.


    ¡°We elves are the children of nature. Compared to these dwarven weapons, I believe the bow suits us better. It¡¯s said that a legendary elven archer can even take down a fully grown dragon with just a single arrow!¡±


    Nightingale spoke with a very proud expression, evidebtly proud of her elven heritage.Yet, before Taylor could respond, a stern and elderly voice sounded from behind the ashen-haired woman.


    ¡°Indeed, we Elves are the children of nature, but the knowledge of the Chosen Ones is no less miraculous. Stubbornly clinging to our old ways will only hinder progress. So, we must remain humble and strive to learn new things if we wish to grow stronger as a people.¡±


    The voice continued, ¡°Also, keep in mind, the dragonkind has also signed an alliance with our people. Even in hypothetical examples, one must speak with care.¡±


    Hearing that, Nightingale froze, a guilty expression flickering across her face.


    Taylor caught the shift in her demeanor, and for the first time, he realized that this seemingly aloof older elf wasn¡¯t as rigid as he initially thought.


    Curiositypelled him to turn toward the source of the voice.


    An elderly elf in ceremonial robes stood before them.


    His age was pretty apparent, surprising Taylor.


    In Taylor¡¯s understanding, every member of the divine n normally remained eternally youthful. Aging, ording to legend, only urred to them when a Divine Beings lifespans neared their final century.


    Hence, there was no doubt in his mind that his older elf standing before them was a venerable elder.


    Nheless, despite his apparent frailty, the aura he exude was still quite imposing, which is akin to an immovable mountain.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Grandfather Samuel, I was wrong,¡± Nightingale murmured, sticking out her tongue.


    Taylor noticed her yful gesture before Nightingale quickly straightened up and respectfully bowed toward the elderly elf.


    ¡°Also, good afternoon to you too, Lady Zero.¡±


    <em>Lady Zero?</em>


    Taylor blinked in confusion, his gaze shifting between the older elf and finally realizing that another person was standing alongside him.


    The woman stood tall andposed, her ck armored dress clinging to her form in a way that seemed to enhance her already imposing presence. Her eyes were an unsettling shade of violet-red, gleaming with an otherworldly intensity.  ???????¨¨??


    Her hair shimmered like moonlight, a deep silver hue that contrasted sharply with the dark armor.


    Her features were nothing short of wless but her expression was seemingly devoid of warmth. It was as if her face had been carved from cold porcin doll.


    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± she greeted Nightingale with a nod.


    Her voice was serene and ethereal, which was very pleasant to hear.


    However, Taylor wasn¡¯t captivated by her beauty nor her voice¡­


    What truly shocked him was that, he hadn¡¯t even noticed her presence until Nightingale finally addressed her!


    Taylor, a second-tier expert, which was equivalent to an intermediate Iron-ranker, had already undergone significant improvements to his senses after he underwent bloodline purification and became a half-elf.


    Yet the odd thing was, he still hadn¡¯t been able to sense the mysterious woman at all!


    This could only mean one of two things:


    ¡ªEither she possessed an extraordinary ability to mask her presence, or her strength far surpassed his senses andprehension.


    And judging from Nightingale¡¯s reaction, Taylor suspected it was actually thetter¡­


    Hence, if that was the case, then this woman named Lady Zero¡¯s status must likely be exceptionally high!


    Realizing this, Taylor discreetly nced around.


    He noticed that the previously scattered Chosen Ones in the vicinity were now quietly gathering in their direction, drawn to the presence of the enigmatic elvendy.


    One by one, they made their way toward her, their expressions shifting to one of deep respect as they offered greetings. It wasn¡¯t just the usual formalities either¡ªthey were all treating her with an intensity that bordered on reverence.


    No¡­ it wasn¡¯t merely reverence, per se.


    When the Chosen Ones had greeted Nightingale, there had been a slight hint of ttery in their expressions, a respectful recognition of her status. But with Lady Zero, their behavior was something entirely different altogether.


    Their deference had transformed into something more extreme¡ªsycophantic even!


    Taylor was no stranger to such expressions.


    After thirty years ofbor¡ªincluding his time working in the municipal office after retiring from his adventuring party¡ªhe recognized that look all too well.


    It was the same look typical of those brown-nose bootlickers gave to please their superiors.


    Taylor¡¯s curiosity deepened.


    ¡­<em>Who exactly is this Lady Zero? </em>


    ¡°She¡¯s Lady Zero, the strongest warrior among us elves,¡± Nightingale whispered to him.


    ¡°A true high-ranking expert and the closest divine envoy to the Goddess herself! As for Grandpa Samuel, he¡¯s a Silver-rank Priest whose the acting overseer of the main temple in Florence.¡±


    <em>The strongest? </em>


    <em>A high-ranking expert? </em>


    <em>The </em>envoy<em> closest to Goddess!?</em>


    After hearing this, Taylor finally understood why everyone treated her with such reverence.


    He¡¯d read in the Sacred Codex of Life that divine emissaries or thosebeled as ¡®Godwardens¡¯ were the eyes and hands of their respective Patron Deities here on the material realm.


    Therefore, to bebeled as the ¡°closest¡± to a deity was a testament of someone constantly under the Goddess¡¯s gaze, which is a status reserved for those few elite belonging to the Church.


    Moreover, Nightingale had also exined that devout believers could awaken the so-called ¡®task system¡¯, granting them the authority to issue tasks to the Chosen Ones.


    The more devout the individual, the higher the tasks they could issue.


    Henceforth, given Lady Zero¡¯s exalted status, it was only natural that the Chosen Ones would flocked onto her.


    Taylor quickly pieced these things together.


    At that moment, Nightingale spoke again, addressing both Samuel and Lady Zero:


    ¡°U-Um¡­ahem, Grandfather Samuel and Lady Zero, what brings you here in Kenond?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I have business with Lord A¨¦l. Lady Zero happened to be traveling the same route,¡± Samuel replied then nced at Taylor, his gaze softening as recognition dawned upon his face.


    ¡°Oh, a half-elf? You must be one of our new fellow nsmen from the Ouros demi-realm.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am taking him around the Elven Forest to familiarize himself with ournd.¡± Nightingale deliberately answered on his behalf.


    Taylor, noticing Nightingale¡¯s subtle cues, quickly followed her lead and bowed.


    ¡°Taylor Rocksand, at your service, Lady Zero, Lord Samuel.¡±


    Samuel¡¯s weathered face broke into a kind smile.


    ¡°It has been many years since I¡¯ve seen someone from the Rocksand n. Mr. Taylor, wee to the Elven Forest. It is now your home too, so do rx and don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    The warmth reception he got from the older man put Taylor at ease, though he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Nightingale seemed so wary of him.


    As if sensing his thoughts, Nightingale grinned and said,


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll continue showing Taylor around Kenond. You both must be busy so don¡¯t let us keep you!¡±


    Before waiting for a reply, she quickly tugged Taylor along, making a swift exit.


    Once they were a safe distance away, Nightingale let out a deep breath.


    ¡°Phew¡­ that was really nerve-wracking. I didn¡¯t expect to actually run into Grandpa Samuel and Lady Zero here!¡±


    Taylor found her reaction quite puzzling.


    ¡­<em>Are they really that intimidating? </em>


    Noticing his confusion, Nightingale hurried to rify, ¡°No, not at all! They¡¯re both actually very kind. It¡¯s just that¡­ w-well, Grandpa Samuel is a bit old-fashioned, you see. He¡¯s a strict vegetarian, and when I first returned to the forest, I joined the Chosen Ones at a barbecue feast. Back then, he really scolded me for it¡­ so ever since then, I¡¯ve been a little afraid of him.¡±


    She paused, licking her lips at the memory.


    ¡°But that roasted barbecue meat sure was worth it.¡±


    Taylor opened his mouth with an astonished expression.


    <em>Roasted meat?! </em>


    So, the divine beings weren¡¯t strictly fruit-eaters as their legends imed?


    He chuckled internally and decided to trust his own observations and judgement over hearsay from now on.


    ¡°As for Lady Zero¡­ her presence is simply overwhelming. Whenever I stand in front of her, I always somehow feel pressured and intimidated¡­¡±


    Nightingale continued.


    <em>Intimidating?</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Taylor was slightly stunned.


    ¡°Well, the perception ability of a halfling like you is still notparable to that of an elf. You¡¯ll understand when you be a full-blooded elf.¡±


    Taylor¡¯s heart stirred at the thought.


    <em>A full-blooded elf¡­</em>


    After listening to Nightingale¡¯s words, Taylor also felt a little excited toplete his transformation, to fully embrace the life of an elf.


    After all, the lifespan of a half-elf was only marginally longer than that of a human, whereas pure elves typically lived for thousands of years!


    As a resident of Ouros, no one understands the value of life better than himself¡­


    Thinking of this, Taylor made a vow to himself.


    <em>Work hard! </em>


    <em>Start learning and umte merit while doing so here in Kenond!</em>


    <em>Finally, earn the right to fully purify my bloodline! </em>


    <em>¡ªStarting today.</em>


    ???


    <em>Was that guy the half-elf whose bloodline I purified?</em>


    Ev¨¦, whilst disguised as Zero, silently watched Taylor walk away alongside Nightingale, her thoughts stirring.


    <em>The Rocksand n¡­ I initially assumed the inhabitants of Ouros carried with them the bloodline of the Shadowshade n. Based on this assumption, they should have reverted to Shadowshade nsmen when they purified their bloodlines. Yet, it seems they manifest traits from multiple ns instead.</em>


    <em>Perhaps Ouros somehow foresaw that their descendants would purify their bloodlines one day in the future, so he left behind these signs intentionally.</em>


    Ev¨¦ sighed inwardly.


    The more she uncovered his machinations, the more she realized just how much effort Ouros had poured into ensuring the elves¡¯ revival.


    He was indeed a true hero of the Elvenkind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m here, I won¡¯t let the elves suffer such sorrow yet again.¡±


    Murmuring this silent vow, Ev¨¦ turned her gaze toward a group of yers tinkering with a modified steam gun in the distance.


    This sudden visit of hers actually wasn¡¯t a random urrence.


    In actuality, she had sensed their sessful experiments and grown curious enough to see the results of their tests firsthand.


    Well¡­


    To be honest, spending too much time spying on them from her divine kingdom had grown a little stale. Thus, she simply wanted to inspect things personally¡ªa change of pace, so to speak.


    After exchanging brief goodbyes with Samuel, who was heading to the temple, Ev¨¦ made her way toward the yers conducting their tests.


    These yers were actually members of the Moe Moe Committee¡¯s research and development division, which was led by HootyBird.


    Ev¨¦, having kept an eye on their activities, knew they had first conducted their tests within the vicinity of Chosen City.


    That is, until one fateful ident during a particrly ambitious experiment caused arge window of the temple to shatter.


    As a consequence, an enraged Saintess Alice swiftly exiled these researchers beyond the city limits, ordering them to continue their experiments there remotely, but somehow, for some reason, they ended up all the way here in the grand city of Kenond instead.


    Whilst seemingly lost in thought, Ev¨¦ walked leisurely toward these yers.


    Her arrival didn¡¯t go unnoticed.


    Other yers nearby quickly gathered, greeting her warmly and asking with some even outright begging for any kind of tasks or quests.


    s, that was the downside of her current persona¡­


    Since she had issued a few hidden quests before as Zero, yers now treated her as the next best thing after the Goddess herself.


    Thus, wherever she went, eager yers followed behind her footsteps akin to moths being drawn to a light bulb.


    Some brought gifts.


    Some swore loyalty.


    Some even professed their love.


    So Ev¨¦ had to endure every awkward attempt imaginable to gain favor with an NPC.


    At first, it was quite amusing actually.


    After all, despite her current status as a deity, she still carried remnants of her former human self whose a regr, young person with a small craving for validation.


    But over time, getting such attention grew exhausting.


    Yet, she had grown ustomed to this persona and hadn¡¯t really thought of the idea of creating a new one.


    Besides, the identity of Zero also had its perks, despite the asional hassle.


    For instance¡­


    After approaching these yers holding a modified steam gun, Eve¡¯s voice rang out in a soft spoken tone.


    ¡°May I see the weapon that you¡¯ve developed?¡±


    The yers, thrilled to be addressed by their so called ¡®Big Sister Zero¡¯, practically thrust the gun into her hands.


    ¡°Of course! Big Sis¡ªno, Lady Zero! Please, inspect it as thoroughly as you wish!¡±


    Eve¡¯s lips twitched imperceptibly before she took the weapon.


    This new modified gun had changed drastically from the bulky steam-powered guns purchased from the dwarves.


    After yers¡¯ modifications, it now resembled the early flintlock muskets from Earth.


    No¡­ it wasn¡¯t even a steam gun anymore.


    The moment she held it, Ev¨¦ immediately saw through its internal structure.


    Judging by what she¡¯s seeing, this weapon no longer relied on the power of steam.


    Nor did it function like the gunpowder-based firearms from Earth.


    Now, it was powered by mana.


    <em>Hmm, rather than a steam gun¡­this is more like a magical firearm instead.</em>


    Intrigued, Ev¨¦ examined the delicate magical arrays etched onto the weapon¡¯s surface.


    Brilliant.


    The yers had actually replicated Earth¡¯s early firearm mechanics using magical principles here in Seig¨¹es.


    By using their own mana as recement for gunpowder, yers could now wield these weapons seamlessly. This setup also finally allowed the skill war sacrifice to activate as if the kills were made by their own hands, thus gaining experience points.


    Moreover, this gun can also be integrated with certain ss skills, like the sharpshooter¡¯s Heart Shot.


    In essence, these magical guns could potentially rece traditional bows.


    However, there was a catch¡ª


    The weapon¡¯s power depended entirely on the wielder¡¯s magic and strength stat.


    This gun when used by a yer with low stats would be nothing more than a fancy toy.


    But Ev¨¦ saw this limitation as an opportunity.


    This was a fusion of Earth¡¯s technology and Seig¨¹es ¡¯ magic.


    If the yers had simply recreated Earth¡¯s firearms, they¡¯d be powerful yet fixed in their damage output, usable by anyone without distinction.


    More importantly, those weapons would be vulnerable to anti-kic spells like force-nullifying shields.


    But now¡­


    With mana-infused projectiles, this weapon now has a whole newyer of versatility added onto it.


    Ev¨¦ envisioned a future for long-range yers, wherein magical firearms such a these can became their primary weapon of choice.


    Guns were easier to aim, offered more consistent output, and packed more punch than bows.


    <em>Interesting. This isn¡¯t hard to replicate. I could even enhance it further¡­</em>


    Gradually, a n formed within her mind.


    <em>Perhaps I¡¯ll add a variety of magical firearms to the exchange store in the future.</em>


    With that thought, Ev¨¦ casually raised the gun and fired a couple of shots.


    The magical bullet whizzed through the air, shattering a distant, crumbling stone pir hundreds of meters away.


    The surrounding yers gasped in amazement.


    To Ev¨¦, it was nothing extraordinary.


    She wasn¡¯t proficient with firearms, but her immense magical power and precise control made aiming trivial.


    In her previous life, such feats were unimaginable.


    But now, with her being a god, even basic tasks such as aiming felt effortless.


    After fiddling with the weapon for a bit, she handed it back to them.


    ¡°Lady Zero, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the handling?¡±


    The yers eagerly awaited her feedback.


    Eve paused, then nodded sincerely.


    ¡°It¡¯s a remarkable invention. Well done.¡±


    Their faces lit up with pride as subsequent cheers erupted.


    ¡°Haha! We got praised!¡±


    ¡°Did you guys hear that? Good work everyone!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, the reward includes favor points!¡±


    ¡°Big Sis, I love you!¡±


    Eve¡¯s expression remained calm¡ªthough her mouth twitched slightly again upon hearing that term yet again.


    While still maintaining Zero¡¯s cool and aloof demeanor, she silently activated her divine power.


    Momentster, a system notification popped up for each yer involved in the project:


    ¡¾? ¡¿


    ¡¾ You¡¯ve gained the recognition of Godwarden Zero for your modified weapon. ¡¿


    ¡¾ Rewards: Favorability +10, Experience Points: 10,000, Contribution Points: 5,000 ¡¿


    Stunned silence followed for a moment before a raucous celebration quickly followed afterwards.


    ¡°Whoa! There¡¯s a reward for the gun we developed!¡±


    ¡°Getting that favorability boost was totally worth it!¡±


    ¡°Big Sis Zero is the best!¡±


    Eve: ¡°¡­¡±


    She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.


    Maintaining Zero¡¯s mystique was getting harder and harder by the day.


    Let¡¯s make this a regr urrence. Rewarding innovative inventions will motivate them to create more things like these¡­


    Ev¨¦ mused silently.


    No doubt, yers might one day leave Seig¨¹es.


    But the knowledge they developed and imparted would certainly remain.


    And these knowledge would be the elves¡¯ newfound strength.


    Watching the jubnt crowd, Ev¨¦ felt a surge of satisfaction.


    That is until¡­


    A faint, desperate prayer reached her ears¡ªurgent, fearful, and tinged with despair.


    Frowning, Ev¨¦ immediately vanished, teleporting back to her divine kingdom.


    The yers weren¡¯t surprised by the abrupt departure.


    ¡°Ah, there she goes again. Always acting so mysterious.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was hoping to cozy up to her more¡­¡±


    Seeing Zero leave, numerous disappointed sighs filled the air.


    ¡ª <strong>475</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 476

    <strong>¡¾ JUST A FALSE GOD ¡¿ </strong>


    Ev¨¦ direct her attention to the prayers of her believers, allowing her consciousness to return to her divine kingdom before seamlessly connecting to herwork of faith.


    Currently, her believers were growing rapidly in number by the day.


    As such, it was no longer practical for her to personally operate her faithwork with her own essence and divinity at its core to listen to and respond to her believers¡¯ prayers, and she had long since integrated its management with her divine kingdom.


    Nevertheless, one critical aspect of using this method was that it wasn¡¯t entirely without its own drawbacks.


    Much like the novels she¡¯d read back on Earth had suggested, even a deity like her could be drivenpletely mad if forced to endure such endless barrage of prayers from her believers ¡ª especially when many of those prayers were merely of trivial or mundane matters.


    Such sheer amounts of annoyance could practically overwhelm even the strongest of gods.


    But that wasn¡¯t the most significant issue.


    The greatest danger in this methody in prolonged exposure to the overwhelming power of faith itself. The fervent emotions, desires, and beliefs of countless mortals, when channeled, can became an ever-present torrent that few deities could withstand without consequence.Thus for most gods, immersing themselves too deeply in this huge amount of faith carried a far more insidious risk ¡ª the risk of corruption.


    Yes, corruption.


    For deities who wished to retain the essence of their mortal selves from before their divine ascension, the power of faith could be a double-edged sword.


    Inseed, faith from their believers can bestow great strength upon them, amplifying their divinity to heights beyond imagination.


    Yet, this same power can also threatened to reshape them, influencing their very nature to align with the beliefs and expectations of their worshippers.


    Over time, the god they once were could be unrecognizable and reduced to a mere vessel molded by countless prayers, stripped of the identity they had sought to preserve.


    The power of faith was a powerful and mysterious force, which contains boundless possibilities. Even they the gods couldn¡¯t fullyprehend it and could only harness and convert it.


    Generally speaking, if a god remained directly connected to their faithwork for too long, their essence could be corrupted by the perceptions of their believers.


    Over time, their personality and thoughts would shift, transforming them into the deity their believers envisioned and not who they originally were.


    Recognizing this potential risk early on, Ev¨¦ adopted this method used by many seasoned gods when her believers reached a certain amount.


    She severed any direct connection to her faithwork, and used her divine kingdom as its core instead. As a result, she now only needed to control thework through her divine kingdom.


    To put it in perspective, think of it as constructing a faith-based supeputer within one¡¯s own divine kingdom to automatically manage thework of faith on her behalf.


    Personnel of her divine kingdom were entrusted with even the most routine prayers and minor requests in her stead, such as granting promotions to priests or clerics. This delegation of duties not only alleviated Eve¡¯s workload but also protected her from the potentially corrosive effects of the power of faith.


    Thus, now, all she needed to do was simply sit back and enjoy the divine power generated from her believers¡¯ faith.


    However, this also has disadvantages.


    Maintaining a faithwork through her divine kingdom consumed enormous energy. The more believers she had, the greater the consumption would be, which in turn lowered the conversion rate of faith energy into divine power.


    This is why powerful gods often have an overwhelming number of believers.


    To maintain strong divine power while preserving their original selves, they must offset the low conversion rate by amassing more believers.


    Yet, more believers also meant heavier burdens and further drops in efficiency.


    Essentially it was a vicious cycle, making the sheer number of believers needed by powerful gods astronomical.


    Of course, letting the faithwork handle routine prayers and responses was only for ordinary believers. Most gods still personally listened to certain prayers, particrly from devout worshippers or those in desperate situations.


    In a way, the game system she had created was a specialized faithwork, which can directly linked to her actual faithwork.


    Incidentally, the reason she boldly dared to reveal herself in public and openly showcased her rapid growth and offered protection to the elves wasn¡¯t just because H served as her decoy or because she had assumed a new persona.


    It was also because she had devised a usible exnation for her origins and power, leveraging the unique nature of the power of faith.


    A fitting exnation that even ounted for her resemnce to the previous World Tree¡­


    But that was a story for another time.


    Returning to the present.


    As a deitymitted to the long-term operation of her faithwork, Ev¨¦ had set specific conditions for which prayers warranted her direct intervention.


    Her criteria were pretty simple: either the prayer came from devout or higher-ranking believers, or it was a desperate prayer from believers facing extreme danger.


    Hence, when the faithwork received these kinds of prayers, it would automatically forward them to her


    Judging by the faint emotions she sensed from this particr prayer, this time it was clearly thetter.


    Thus, Ev¨¦ decided to take a look herself, and she already had a good idea of who it might be.


    After connecting her consciousness to the faithwork within her divine kingdom, Ev¨¦ soon saw that believer whom prayer actually came from and the environment they were in.


    It was a rocky mountain foothill.


    Underneath the twisted, lifeless branches of a dead tree, a group of cloaked elves huddled together. Their faces, ghostly pale and filled with an all-consuming fear.


    There were a dozen of them in total, ranging in age. The children were gathered tightly at the center, whereas the young and elderly stood guard on the perimeter, wielding weapons.


    Many of them bore wounds and right at the heart of the groupy a golden-haired, green-eyed elven woman.


    Her face was deathly pale, almost ashen, a telltale sign of magical overexertion or the bacsh from using a powerful spell.


    Seeing her face, Ev¨¦ immediately recognized her.


    Selena Galewind.


    She was a high-ranking member of Oakhand Resistance and a close friend of the saintess, Alice Galewind.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Selena have been mostly active in human territories all year round, saving her fellow elves and half-elvenpatriots who are hunted down by humans.


    Previously, she had been captured during a mission and imprisoned in Holy Maniya Empire¡¯s Maple Leaf City ve market, but was eventually rescued by the yers <em>(see Chapters 288-290).</em>


    Afterwards, she briefly returned to the Elven Forest, but chose to abandon thefort of their homnd and resumed her mission to save her fellow brethren in humannds.


    Now, it seemed she had encountered trouble once more.


    Personally speaking, this particr elf was a believer Ev¨¦ held in high regard.


    Among the prayers she had just received, the one that came from her was the clearest.


    Though Selena¡¯s faith hadn¡¯t yet reached the level of a fanatical believer, this blond-haired elvendy was already a deeply devoted believer of hers, so Ev¨¦ had high expectations for her.


    Earlier when Selena briefly returned to the Elven Forest, Ev¨¦ had ced her as one of the individuals worth paying attention to, thus Ev¨¦ had asionally observed her actions from time to time to keep track of Oakhand¡¯s activities.


    s, due to her being preupied with the matters concerning the demi-realm of Ouros, Ev¨¦ hadn¡¯t checked in on her for several days.


    Still, Ev¨¦ had already made a decision: if Selena¡¯s faith ever reached the fanatical level, then she would ept her as a favored one¡­.


    Now, as Eve¡¯s gaze swept over the deste mountainndscape surrounding these elves, her expression hardened.


    ¡°The Dark Mountains? Isn¡¯t Selena supposed to be active in the humannds? Why would she be here?¡±


    Indeed.


    The location where these elves were gathered was none other than the Dark Mountains.


    Eve felt momentarily confused.


    How had they ended up in this remote region?


    After all, the Holy Maniya Empire was far from the Dark Mountains, with the Elven Forest even lying in between them.


    However, when Eve noticed the cloaks worn by these elves, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.


    Unlike the solemn, understated style of the Holy Maniya Empire¡¯s attire, the cloaks of these elves were adorned with intricate,vish patterns instead.


    This mboyant design was a hallmark of the Kingdom of Aries, which is another human nation in the south, second in strength only to the Holy Maniya Empire.


    In that moment, Ev¨¦ finally identified their origins and guessed their purpose was.


    So it turns out these elves were actually from Aries!


    Following this discovery, she also began to piece together Selena¡¯s actions.


    Some time ago, Ev¨¦ remembered she had received prayers from some members of Oakhand Resistance, indicating they were nning a rescue mission to the Kingdom of Aries.


    The Kingdomy to the east of the Desert of Death, which is south of the Fertile ins, with the Dark Mountains forming a natural border between it and the Elven Forest.


    If they wanted to return to the Elven Forest while avoiding the human territories, then passing through the Dark Mountains was naturally the safest route.


    It seemed this particr group was thetest batch of elves rescued by the resistance.


    However, since Eve¡¯s yer army had defeated the orc forces stationed in this region, the Dark Mountains had essentially be Eve¡¯s backyard.


    So in theory, this region should have been rtively safe.


    As long as they avoided the most dangerous areas and stayed clear of powerful magical beasts, these elves should have been able to traverse the mountains safely.


    Yet now, it was evident they had been attacked ¡ª or rather, hunted down.


    This was concerning.


    Each members of the Oakhand Resistance had grown significantly stronger after their return to the Elven Forest.


    Even Selena herself had reached the peak of Iron-rank, and just one step away from reaching the Silver-rank.


    So for them to be in such dire straits, their pursuers likely included intermediate rankedbatants.


    Ev¨¦ narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°¡­Humans?¡±


    As her mood darkened, storm clouds seemed to gather within the skies of her divine kingdom.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Ev¨¦ to see who the attackers were.


    Thirty orcs, armed with greatswords and spiked maces, were surrounding these elves.


    Eve¡¯s expression shifted to one of surprise.


    ¡°Orcs?¡±


    Indeed.


    ¡ªOrcs.


    The ones pursuing and surrounding these elves were orcs.


    What¡¯s more, they weren¡¯t ordinary orcs either. Their strength was rtively high, with the strongest among them being a lower Silver-rank orcish warrior.


    This unexpected sight caught Ev¨¦ off guard.


    After all, the Battle of ck Dragon Castle had decimated the orc army, with the yers wiping out a 30,000-strong orc warriors.


    For a race with a total poption of only a few hundred thousand, incurring such a loss should had been devastating.


    Not to mention, their chieftain and high shaman had also both fallen in that battle.


    So ever since then, the orcs had retreated to the Desert of Death and significantly reduced their activities.


    Even Uller, the Orcs Patron Deity had grown noticeably quieter in recent times.


    Moreover, the escting war in the Underground had further subdued Uller¡¯s forces.


    So this begs the question:


    Why were orcs suddenly appearing in the Dark Mountains once more?


    And why were they attacking these returning elves?


    How bold of them!


    The yers were no longer the inexperienced newbies they once were!


    Eve¡¯s narrowed eyes glinted with a dangerous light.


    ¡°I left the Desert of Death alone because I had no interest in that barrennd. Yet here they are, stirring up trouble in my territory once again?¡±


    ¡°Did losing thirty thousand warriors not hurt them enough? Must I wipe the Orcs outpletely for them to stop?¡±


    Despite her anger, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t shake a lingering suspicion.


    Why had the orcs, after retreating and licking their wounds, suddenly returned to the Dark Mountains? And why were they targeting the elves again?


    Clearly, something significant was happening beyond her knowledge.


    Something troubling¡­


    And without a doubt, it was nothing good.


    It was possible, of course, that these orcs were simply driven by their primal instincts and sought to uphold their race¡¯s long-standing tradition of piging the other races.


    But regardless of their reason, Ev¨¦ just wouldn¡¯t stand idly by when her believers prayed for help, especially when the safety of elves was at stake.


    The incident that urred during the Rageze ns return had already taught her a painful lesson.


    At that time, her strength had been far more weaker, and her mistakes had led to the deaths of several elves.


    Even now, that mistake weighed heavily upon her.


    To Eve, every elf was precious.


    Now that her power had grown significantly, she wouldn¡¯t allow her believers to suffer without intervention ¡ª even if using divine power across such a great distance woulde at a considerable cost.


    Resolving herself, Ev¨¦ decisively split a portion of her consciousness and sent it hurtling across the void¡­


    ???


    The Dark Mountains


    The elves, encircled by orcs, red at their attackers with fury in their eyes.


    But beneath their anger was a deep sense of despair and helplessness.


    ¡°We were so close to returning home¡­ and now, we encounter these orcs?¡±


    ¡°Those damned beasts!¡±


    ¡°I thought the Dark Mountains had already been reimed by our kind! So why are there still orcs around here?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! The Goddess will surely protect us¡­¡±


    ¡°The Goddess of Life? Hmph. Even if she inherited our Patron Deity¡¯s divinity, in my heart, there is only one true god worthy of my faith, which is the Great World Tree, our Divine Matriarch!¡±


    ¡°But the Matriarch has already fallen¡­ and it was our fellow nsmen who raised the Goddess of Life to ascend into Godhood.¡±


    ¡°Still, the Goddess of Life is not our Divine Matriarch¡­¡±


    ¡°If only we were stronger¡­ then we wouldn¡¯t have to rely on divine intervention.¡±


    ¡°I-Is this the end for us?¡±


    Their voices were filled with hopelessness and despair.


    At the center of the group, Selena Galewindy injured, her expression bitter.


    Indeed, having the Matriarch present herself as the Goddess of Life as her public persona had kept her safer.


    But it also made proselytizing far more difficult.


    Without returning to the Elven Forest, she couldn¡¯t reveal the truth to her fellow brethren ¡ª that the Goddess of Life was actually none other than their Divine Matriarch but just in a new guise.


    All actions were taken with Her safety in mind.


    Selena coughed weakly and said with great effort:


    ¡°Do not despair. The Goddess of Life is merciful. Thisnd is already under Her influence. If we pray sincerely, She will inevitably hear our plea and intervene¡­¡±


    It saddened her to think that in times of crisis, her own people had no choice but to turn to their Patron Deity for salvation.


    <em>¡­But what else could they do?</em>


    <em>They were weak.</em>


    <em>And weakness was a sin.</em>


    <em>If only she were stronger¡­</em>


    At that moment, an intense desire to grow stronger burned within Selena¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Praying? To the Goddess of Life? You must mean that Impostor Eve,¡± a rough, mocking voice suddenly rang out.


    It came from the orc leader, a Silver-ranked warrior standing at the head of the group.


    ¡°She¡¯s nothing more than a false deity who stole our Divine Father¡¯s authority! Our Father will surely make her pay for her insolence. Her time is running out¡­¡±


    The orc sneered.


    ¡°Today, you all shall die!¡±


    ¡°Are we leaving no survivors?¡± another orc asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Leave one elf alive!¡± the leader growled.


    ¡°That¡¯s the High Shaman¡¯smand. Every other elf must die! We cannot risk letting any of them escape to be an immortal demon under the false god¡¯s protection!¡±


    The elves were incensed by his words.


    ¡°sphemy! How dare you insult the Goddess? Beware ¡ª divine wrath will strike you down!¡±


    ¡°Divine wrath?¡± the orc leaderughed coldly.


    He sneered, his gaze filled with disdain.


    ¡°A false god can never bring down divine punishment. In the presence of a true god, your so-called goddess will cower in fear.¡±


    Spreading his arms wide, he raised his gaze to the stormy sky.


    ¡°Go on, then! Strike me down! I stand here, waiting! I fear no wrath from a thief!¡±


    As his mocking words echoed, the skies rumbled ominously.


    A momentter, with a deafening boom, a bolt of purple lightning split the heavens and struck him directly.


    ¡ª <strong>476</strong> ¡ª<hr>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 477

    <strong>¡¾ RETURN AND INTELLIGENCE</strong><strong>REPORT</strong> ¡¿


    Thunder and lightning roared like the wrath of heaven.


    Before the stunned gazes of orcs and the bewildered eyes of the cornered elves, the arrogant orc leader was struck by a bolt of lightning, instantly reducing him to a charred, ckened corpse.


    Then the Orc leader copsed slowly, his scorched face turned upward, as if frozen in the moment he had mocked the gods.


    Now, however, that expression seemed like a cruel joke at his own expense, which was utterlyughable.


    The dignity of a God cannot be desecrated.


    Let alone a true god, even a false one would not tolerate such sphemy and to dare such insolence is tantamount to signing his own death warrant.


    Especially when this sacrilege urs within the deity¡¯s own sphere of influence!


    The consequences of such an affront are not just unavoidable but downright foolish as the Orc had transgressed within Eve¡¯s sphere of influence and not in the far-off heavenly realm, but right here in the world they both inhabited!The scent of roasted meat began to permeate the air, with its pungent smell causing some elves to turn pale and vomit uncontrobly, leaving the remaining orcspletely dumbfounded.


    ¡°D-dead¡­ he¡¯s dead¡­¡±


    ¡°Lightning¡­ it¡¯s divine punishment! That was definitely divine punishment!¡±


    ¡°The false god noticed us! N-No¡­i mean, the Elven God noticed us!¡±


    Their expressions quickly shifted from shock to fear, and finally to outright panic as every Orcs dropped their weapons and flee in every direction, scattering like leaves in a storm.


    In just a few heartbeats, the dozens of orcs surrounding the elves had disappeared without a trace.


    All that remained was the charred corpse on the ground, which was the lingering testament to what had just urred.


    The elves, however, wore expressions of astonishment and delight.


    Before long, their spirits lifted, and each of them erupted in jubtion:


    ¡°Divine punishment¡­those Orcs really did suffer a divine punishment!¡±


    ¡°This must be a blessing from the gods! The Goddess of Life had actually heard our prayers!¡±


    ¡°Praise be to nature, praise be to life, praise be to the great Goddess Eve!¡±


    ¡°Although¡­ why was the divine punishment came in the form of lightning?¡±


    ???


    In her divine kingdom, Ev¨¦ listened to the elves¡¯ praises and prayers with a calm expression.


    ¡°Obviously, I need to strike down that orc for acting like a fool of himself.¡±


    Though she wasn¡¯t as obsessed with preserving her dignity unlike most of the native gods of this universe, she wasn¡¯t about to let such tant provocation slide either.


    However, since that daring orc wanted divine punishment so badly, wouldn¡¯t it be a shame not to let him have it?


    To make her point, Ev¨¦ even went out of her way to manifest her divine power in the form of lightning, though it did cost her some extra energy.


    ¡°What a pity. He was a fanatical believer and likely a potential divine chosen of Uller. Since that orc was their leader, he must have known some valuable secrets about the orcs. Keeping him alive would have been useful for gathering information.¡±


    Eve sighed, a hint of regret in her tone.


    The moment she ¡®saw¡¯ the orc leader, Ev¨¦ instantly sensed the distinct aura of the God of Winter and the Hunt emanating from him.


    Such divine auras can only linger upon believers who had received their Patron Deity¡¯s blessing.


    Fanatical believers were rare and precious so Eve could easily imagine how Uller would react in the heavenly realm. That hotheaded god would no doubt be furious upon realizing that one of his chosen believer had been smitten to death by another god, especially one who were at odds with him.


    Nevertheless, despite striking down their leader, Ev¨¦ had refrained from targeting the remaining orcs.


    That Orc leader¡¯s death was justified as divine punishment.


    As such, Uller would be forced to ept it, no matter how angry he became. After all, it was that foolish orc who had provoked her divine wrath in the first ce, bringing about his own undoing. Uller, despite his anger, would have no choice but to acknowledge the justification of her actions.


    But attacking the others would be different.


    Perhaps in secret, as long as she is not discovered by other gods, she can bully the weak however she wants, just like she did when she dealt with the orcs in the central area of the Elven Forest beforehand¡­


    But such act cannot be revealed in public since among the gods, there were rules that governed their interactions with mortals and with each other.


    It is widely acknowledged that mortal conflicts were meant to be resolved by mortals, and it was not the ce of them, the gods to interfere in the petty squabbles of those beneath them.


    Hence, direct interference by a god was only permissible in rare circumstances and any tant actions could spark retaliation from other deities.


    Ev¨¦ had no desire to break these rules, even though she could not deny that she had benefited a lot from it.


    ¡°Besides, if all of Uller¡¯s believers are this dumb and reckless, then it just shows the subpar capacity level of his management,¡± Ev¨¦ mused, shaking her head.


    With those orcs gone, the elves were finally safe.


    Sensing the group¡¯s condition, Ev¨¦ noted that several of them were injured, which included Selena and a few others who were gravely hurt.


    However fortunately enough, none of their wounds were life-threatening.


    As such, she resisted the urge to expend some of her divine power to heal them at that instant.


    After all, more and more of her believers were returning, and many of them had also suffered injuries. Hence, even with her abundant divine power, Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t possibly intervene in each and everyone of these cases.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just relegate it to the yers. They can handle the rescue and treatment in my stead.¡±


    With practiced ease, Ev¨¦ connected to the game system and traced Selena¡¯s path, before posting a message on the public world channel:


    ¡¾ <strong>Attention</strong>: A group of injured elves requires immediate assistance. Coordinates attached. Priority task: Rescue and treat the wounded. ¡¿


    ¡¾<strong>Coordinates</strong>: The Dark Mountains ( 255, 437) ¨C Nearby yers in this vicinity are requested to go and pick them up. ¡¿


    It wasn¡¯t the first time Ev¨¦ had issued such a system message.


    Whenever a new group of elves returned and entered an area where yers were active, she would notify them through the public world channel. Clicking on the coordinates would reveal the elves¡¯ location on the minimap, along with their current status.


    These ¡®random tasks¡¯ had been introduced after the return of the Rageze n as a preventive measure and any yers whopleted these escort tasks were handsomely rewarded, making them highly sought-after tasks amongst the yerbase.


    Now, whenever such notifications appeared, yers in the vicinity of these tasks would immediately scrambled to take them on.


    Of course, if Selena¡¯s group pressed on a little further and entered the core area of Eve¡¯s territory where yers actively operates, then the tasks would have been posted automatically by the system.


    Ev¨¦ simply issued it personally this time around.


    The moment the system notification went public, yers who is currently exploring the Dark Mountains or grinding monsters in the vicinity of it immediately paused their activities.


    ¡°Hmm? Another escort task?¡±


    ¡°Coordinates 255, 437¡­ That¡¯s really close to our location! Guys, Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t let someone else snag it before us!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ we¡¯re not hunting these mobs anymore? They¡¯re already half-dead!¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Splitting the loot from these monsters barely gets us 1,000 experience points each. Butpleting an escort task gives at least 3,000 EXP and 1,000 contribution points! Plus, if we¡¯re lucky enough to escort them to Florence, then maybe we¡¯ll even gain favorability points with those rescued NPCs!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! And you¡¯re a priest, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t you want to level up your ss?¡±


    ¡°Crap! You¡¯re right! These returning elves typically have skyrocketing levels of faith! This is a golden opportunity. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    In an instant, yers across the Dark Mountains quickly sprang into action.


    In fact, if one were able to observe the sand table Ev¨¦ used to monitor the yers in her divine kingdom, it would show clusters of blue lights converging on a single point in a certain direction.


    As the yers moved towards their location, Selena, on the other hand, who was a high-ranking member of Oakhand and had already escorted several groups of elves back to the Elven Forest numerous times in the past, was also aware of how the escort system worked.


    Straightening up, she encouraged herpanions:


    ¡°Hold on a little more longer. We have already attracted the attention of Her Majesty the Goddess. As long as we climb over that hill up ahead, there will definitely be people from our side to take us home.¡±


    Hearing her words, a glimmer of hope appeared on the weary faces of the rest of the elves.


    These elves had endured lives of unimaginable hardship, either hiding in the shadows of human societies or being rescued from the clutches of cruel nobles and the ck market by operatives of the Oakhand Resistance.


    As such, by now their hearts had already long grown numb, and it had been ages since they felt this kind of hope.


    At this moment, after having just experienced the dangerous situation earlier, their desire to return their homnd swelled within them, mixed with a trace of nervous anticipation.


    As these elves slowly trudged forward, leaning on one another for support, they resembled a group of pilgrims whose making their way through the rugged mountains, all under Eve¡¯s watchful gaze.


    Finally, after much effort, they finally crossed over the ridge¡­ and saw what they had been hoping for.


    At the base of the mountain, hundreds of elves awaited them!


    These elves were d in splendid armor and robes, with several white-robed priests among them.


    ¡°It¡¯s our brethren! It¡¯s really our fellow nsmen! And looks like there are priests among them too! They¡¯ve reallye to escort us back to our homnd!¡±


    Tears welled up in the eyes of these returning elves, especially the older ones.


    Hundreds of elves¡­


    It had been so long since they had seen such a gathering of their people.


    Although rumors about the resurgence of the elves had reached them in the Aries Kingdom, such tales seemed far too grandiose and too good to be true, causing many of them to doubt these ims.


    Moreover, they once asked Selena to confirm these rumors but she had remained tight-lipped about the changes happening in the Elven Forest.


    Instead, she kept everyone on suspense, making everyone apprehensive yet still curious enough to look forward to it even more.


    But now, seeing this weing party, the returning elves¡¯ weary spirits finally broke.


    The weight of their hardships, the long years of hiding and running, finally began to lift with even the most skeptical among them, those whose faith had been worn thin by countless disappointments, couldn¡¯t help but cry out praises to the Goddess of Life.


    However, while her fellowpanions wept and cheered, Selena¡¯s expression grew strange.


    The rest might have not recognize these elves, but Selena certainly did.


    She knew exactly who these ¡°elves¡± actually were ¡ª those over there gathered in small groups, either sitting or standing, with some even horsing around yfully.


    They were without the doubt those entric Chosen Ones.


    But why is there a priest among them?


    That couldn¡¯t be right.


    No true priest would be jumping around like that so its highly unlikely those seven or eight individuals in priest robes were genuine priest.


    Although the Chosen Ones are loyal to the Goddess, as far as she knew, there are absolutely no priests amongst them.


    After all, only genuine believers that wholeheartedly believe in the Goddess could be priests.


    Selena¡¯s heart was filled with bewilderment and curiosity.


    <em>What happened in the Elven Forest during the two months she was in the Kingdom? </em>


    Meanwhile, cheers erupted from both sides as the returning elves, and the yers moved toward one another.


    Seeing their fellow brethren excitedly rushing to greet them, the returning elves were deeply moved.


    They gritted their teeth, pushing their exhausted and injured bodies forward, determined to meet their fellow kin halfway.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In their minds, they imagined a scene of joyful reunion ¡ª embracing their kin, crying tears of relief and happiness.


    But¡­


    That scene never happened.


    As these native elves neared the yers, they suddenly realized something strange.


    The supposed weing party had suddenly stopped in ce after covering just a few dozen meters as if they had hit an invisible barrier.


    Oddly enough, some of them kept running in ce, while others wed at the air, with some wriggling like worms, and a few simply stood still, refusing to take another step forward.


    Though their cheers continued on, loud and fervent, none of them advanced any further. Their voices rang out with joy, but their bodies remained rooted in ce.


    Native elves: ¡°¡­¡±


    Seeing such a bizarre and ridiculous sight before them, one for which utterly ruined the expected emotional reunion, left the elves utterly dumbfounded.


    Meanwhile, Selena, who knew the truth behind it and was being carried on a stretcher, couldn¡¯t help but face-palmed herself in embarrassment.


    Coughing awkwardly, she struggled to exin to herpanions:


    ¡°They¡¯re the Chosen Ones. As you can see, they can¡¯t actually leave the boundaries set by the Goddess. So that ridge over there must have been the limit of their movement range.¡±


    As expected, the elves were taken aback.


    <em>The Chosen Ones? </em>


    ¡°These people are¡­ the Chosen Ones? The rumored immortal elven army created by the Goddess in coboration with the Goddess of Death?¡±


    Various exmations echoed throughout the group.


    Throughout their journey, even way back in the Kingdom, each of them had heard rumors rting to the Chosen Ones numerous times.


    With the news concerning the events that happened in the underground war spreading to various countries, the name of the Goddess of Life, Ev¨¦, was bing widely known across the realm of Seig¨¹es.


    And alongside her name also came tales of her mysterious army ¡ª the so-called Chosen Ones who were said to possess resurrection powers akin to the legendary Legion of Death.


    Though many thought such rumors were exaggerated, one thing was evidently clear:


    These Chosen Ones were the core force of the Goddess of Life and the direct contributors to the elvenkind¡¯s resurgence.


    For a moment, the native elves stood in awe whilst newfound respect took root within their hearts.


    Without further hesitation, they pressed forward and finally reached where the Chosen Ones stood in ce.


    As soon as they approached, the yers immediately rushed toward them enthusiastically. Nearly every elf found themselves surrounded by a handful of yers offering fruit and tending to their injuries.


    Most notably, the crowd around Selena was particrlyrge.


    ¡°Miss Selena! Long time no see!¡±


    ¡°Lady Selena, did youe from the Dark Mountains this time? Were you escorting our kin from the south?¡±


    ¡°Miss Selena, why do you look so pale!? Well, I just became a priest so let me heal you right away!¡±


    The yers were brimming with excitement and warmth.


    But Selena felt a pang of guilt.


    These Chosen Ones clearly knew her, but she couldn¡¯t recognize most of them.


    Sure, some of them looked vaguely familiar, but that was it.


    There was a reason for this.


    As a devout believer who had already returned to the Elven Forest in the past, Selena had long since gained the right to use the task system, meaning she could issue tasks to the Chosen Ones.


    In the yers¡¯ eyes, Selena was a rare silver-named NPC, someone who stood out from the rest.


    For any elf who had activated the task system, their name would appear visibly in the yers¡¯ field of vision just like how their own usernames¡¯ hovers above their heads, and moreover, many yers have also remembered her vividly.


    On the contrary, with so many yers, it was practically impossible for Selena to remember all of them.


    As the yers healed the returning elves, Selena noticed something remarkable¡­


    That is, the yers dressed in priest robes were actually genuine priests, whose capable of casting real divine magic!


    Furthermore, she observed that these priests seemed able to discern the level of faith of a person as well.


    The elves who remained skeptical of the Goddess of Life found themselves surrounded by these priests, bewildered as they listened to passionate sermons about Eve¡¯s faith.


    Selena: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°So some of the Chosen Ones have begun to embrace the Goddess¡¯s faith and even taken on the task of spreading it?¡±


    A sense of relief and pride welled up within her heart.


    Still, she wasn¡¯t concerned about the skepticism of these elves that she brought back.


    For experience had shown time and again that those who initially doubted the Goddess often became the most devout believers once they returned to their homnd and learned the truth about the real identity of the Goddess of Life.


    Their doubts were, in a way, a form of loyalty ¡ª a refusal per se, to ept anything less than the real Goddess they sought all along.


    The yers¡¯ healing efforts quickly took effect.


    Though they were only low Iron-rank priests, they still managed to stabilize Selena¡¯s condition.


    As soon as she felt better, Selena wasted no time in issuing a task to the yers:


    ¡°Chosen Ones, please take me to see the Saintess Alice and Lady Zero. I have important news to report.¡±


    Hearing this, the yers¡¯ eyes immediately lit up, their gazes turning predatory, just like a pack of hungry wolves catching the scent of a prey.


    ¡°¡­Important news?¡±


    In that moment, they could practically smell the unfolding questlineden beneath her words.


    ???


    Under the yers¡¯ enthusiastic convoy, these group of elves sessfully returned to the Elven Forest.


    Selena, whose still receiving intensive healing, soon found herself in the resting chambers inside the Temple in the Chosen City, face to face with Alice, the Saintess, and Zero, the Goddess¡¯s envoy.


    Selena wasted no time delivering her report.


    ¡°We¡¯ve received intelligence from the Aries Kingdom. The orcs living in the Desert of Death are on the move again, targeting any returning elves.¡±


    ¡± Moreover¡­ through our informants in the ck market, we¡¯ve also discovered that the Sauron Trading Company has been transportingrge quantities of strategic supplies to the Desert of Death.¡±


    Eve, whilst in the guise of Zero, raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°The Sauron Trading Company?¡±


    Selena nodded gravely.


    ¡°Yes. Although the Sauron Trading Company primarily operates as a smuggling cartel, it wields influence rivaling that of a small human nation.¡±


    ¡°I highly suspect the orcs have allied with them¡­ and their target is none other than us ¡ª the elves.¡±


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>77 ¡ª<hr>


    ¡ª  ¡ª<hr>

 Chapter 478

    <strong>¡¾ UNDERCURRENTS</strong> ¡¿


    ¡°The Sauron Trading Company is thergest smuggling syndicate in Seig¨¹es, which is responsible for at least seventy percent of the ck market ve trade. For them, trafficking us elves has always been a major source of ie,¡± Selena said, her tone heavy with seriousness.


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve gathered, ever since the news spread around that the Matria¡ªuh, I mean the Goddess¡ªhad began protecting the elves, the Sauron Company has be increasingly vignt. After all, there¡¯s a vast difference between a race that¡¯s under a divine protection and one that isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°They are a group of scoundrels who will stoop to any depth, disregarding all principles, solely for the sake of profit. The ironic part is that, despite being human, they show no reverence for the god of trade and justice which belongs to the human pantheon. All they care about is conducting their shady business in secrecy.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ I have every reason to suspect that the Orcs have secretly struck some kind of deal with them. Chances are, It¡¯s highly likely that the Orcs are nning another invasion of our Elven Forest.¡±


    Selena¡¯s expression grew even more solemn after stating this report.


    ¡°But Selena,¡± the Saintess Alice interjected, her tone tinged with doubt, ¡°we¡¯ve already defeated the Orcs once. Thirty thousand Orcs fell at the hands of the Chosen Ones. Even their King, Imsh Lionheart, and their chief high shaman perished in that battle, and their royal artifact, the Lionheart Sword, became a trophy of the Chosen Ones¡­¡±


    ¡°Under such circumstances, will the Orcs really still have the strength to muster up yet another invading army? Certainly, we were much weaker back then. But now, both the Chosen Ones and we ourselves are far stronger than we were at that time.¡±


    Alice furrowed her brows slightly, her words filled with skepticism.After hearing her words, Selena sighed.


    ¡°Alice, I too used to think the same. But¡­ during my time in the Kingdom, I met other members of our kind and learned more about the Orcs.¡±


    ¡°Our understanding of them is still far too shallow¡­¡±


    She paused, then turned to Zero, who was quietly listening on the side.


    ¡°Lady Zero,¡± Selena said, her tone respectful yet edged with urgency, ¡°may I bring in one of mypanions? He is more familiar with this matter, and his insights could prove invaluable.¡±


    Ev¨¦ gave a slight nod of approval.


    With her consent, Selena moved swiftly, her steps echoing in the otherwise still temple. She returned momentster, leading a male elf into the room.


    The elf had icy blue hair, and his eyes were as clear as sapphires. However, his expression was somewhat dazed, a mixture ofughter and tears, as though he had endured immense emotional turmoil.


    Neither Alice nor Ev¨¦ found his reaction surprising for they had witnessed simr responses beforehand.


    Many elves who had returned to the Elven Forest after years of wavering faith, often showed simr expressions.


    It was a mix of awe and disbelief when they first saw their homnd in its flourishing state. But the true shock came when they finally discovered the real identity of the Goddess of Life. For many, it was a revtion that struck them like a thunderp, shaking the foundation of everything they had once believed in.


    This realization left them feeling a mix of awe, joy, excitement, and a long-suppressed sense of grievance, lost in a swirl of emotions far tooplex to untangle.


    Nheless, the elf quickly regained hisposure.


    Wiping the moisture from his eyes, he respectfully bowed to Ev¨¦ and Alice.


    ¡°I, Merus Whitefrost, humbly greet the Lord Divine Envoy and esteemed Holy Maiden.¡±


    The bow he performed was not the typical gesture used by elves but rather the formal etiquette usually employed by human nobility.


    Eve gave a slight nod, while Alice warmly helped him up.


    ¡°So you¡¯re a member of the Whitefrost n. There¡¯s no need for such formalities¡ªjust call me Alice.¡±


    As she helped him up, Alice also noticed that there were some hideous scars under his sleeves.


    Her movements faltered for a moment, her expression turningplex.


    Seeing her reaction, Merus awkwardly hid his arms.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry for showing Mdy such unsightly scars¡­¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry,¡± Alice said gently, helping him stand. ¡°I understand. You¡¯ve endured much.¡±


    She didn¡¯t ask about the scars, for she already knew the likely answer.


    ¡°Merus is one of our fellowpanions whom we rescued from Sauron Company,¡± Selena exined. ¡°He was sold into very when he was very young. He has spent three centuries serving human nobles from the Kingdom and possesses extensive knowledge about the Orcs.¡±


    Indeed, his long stay in Aries¡ªa kingdom bordering the Desert of Death, which was constantly threatened by orc raids¡ªhad made him far more familiar with the Orcs than most elves, even those who had once aided the Orcs settle down or even the orcish knowledge Ev¨¦ got from the World Tree¡¯s inheritance.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± Merus said uneasily. ¡°After spending so much time in the human society, I instinctively used human etiquette. I¡¯ll correct myself immediately.¡±


    ¡°Rx and take your time,¡±


    Alice said warmly.


    Encouraged by her words, Merus visibly calmed.


    Whilst taking a deep breath, he ced his right hand over his chest and traced a tree-shaped symbol over it, before crossed his hands in a standard elven gesture.


    ¡°I, Merus Whitefrost, humbly greet, the Divine Envoy, Lord Zero and the Saintess, Lady Alice.¡±


    ¡°The symbol of the Goddess is not the World Tree but the Scepter of Life,¡± Selena lightly corrected him from the side.


    Merus froze momentarily.


    Alice chuckled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Some things are better understood over time. But now that you¡¯ve known about the ¡®truth¡¯ I advise you to not leave the Elven Forest again. It¡¯s for the sake of both Her Grace, the Matriarch and ourselves.¡±


    Merus nodded deeply, his voice filled with emotion.


    ¡°Our homnd, the Elven Forest¡­has now be like a paradise. I doubt any of our fellow brethren who returns will ever want to leave again.¡±


    Alice smiled knowingly, and even Ev¨¦ felt a wave of sentiment after hearing it.


    The male elf before them was the very same one who voiced the strongest skepticism about the ¡°Goddess of Life¡± amongst Selena¡¯spanions.


    He also initially had the least belief upon their new Patron Deity in terms of faith.


    Nevertheless, his belief had undergone a drastic transformation after learning the truth. Now, his faith rivaled that of even the most senior and devoted believers.


    Moreover, such drastic change have only taken mere seconds, perhaps even urring right at the very moment he realized that the Goddess of Life was actually the World Tree herself.


    Ev¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but sigh as she marvel at the pureness of the elven race.


    After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they moved directly back to the main topic.


    ¡°Merus, Selena mentioned that you¡¯re well-versed in matters concerning the Orcs?¡±


    Alice inquired.


    ¡°Somewhat, I know a little bit,¡± Merus replied. ¡°I spent over a century living near the border between the Desert of Death and the Kingdom of Aries, so I often dealt with the Orcs.¡±


    His expression then grew more solemn as he continued:


    ¡°Lady Alice, Lord Zero, I know that the Elves had fought a great war against the Orcsst year, and their thirty-thousand-strong army was utterly annihted during that battle. However¡­such losses was far from a crippling blow to them.¡±


    Eve¡¯s attention sharpened after hearing his words.


    ¡°What¡¯s the reason?¡±


    ¡°It has to do with the societal structure of the Orcs.¡±


    Merus exined.


    He then began to further borate, his tone growing more thoughtful as he described theplex nature of Orcish society.


    ¡°The Orcs are fundamentally different from humans or us elves,¡± Merus continued, pausing briefly to ensure his words were clear.


    ¡°While they collectively follow one king and adhere to a single faith, they aren¡¯t a unified nation in the conventional sense. Rather, they exist as a an alliance of distinct orc tribes, with their king acting as the chieftain of this mnge of an alliance.¡±


    ¡°Each Orc Chieftain assembles warriors from their respective tribes to form onerge battalion, and these collections of battalion formed up the army the Orcs use for their external campaigns.¡±


    ¡°The army the Elves defeatedst year was only one of such battalions.¡±


    Alice nodded slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with some of this. But with their entire thirty-thousand-strong army wiped out, can the Orcs still organize another invasion force?¡±


    ¡°They can, and it would also be more challenging,¡±


    Merus affirmed.


    ¡°I know that most records estimate the orc poption in the Desert of Death at only a few hundred thousand, but¡­that record is decades old.¡±


    ¡°The Orcs are naturally abat-oriented race. Thus, in the past, their warring nature often led to frequent internal wars among their tribes, which resulted in significant casualties that kept their poption growth in check.¡±


    ¡°However, their previous king, Lionheart King Imsh, was an exceptionally capable leader. He truly unified most tribes in the Desert and became a unifying king in every sense of the word.¡±


    ¡°Under his leadership, the number of Orcs in the Desert grew exponentially and deviated from what the outside world knew. Moreover, their age structure also changed, with many of them currently being young and strong. This can be seen from the amount of food and iron smuggled between the Kingdom and the Desert of Death¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if their poption hasn¡¯t exceeded one million yet, it¡¯s not far off already. For a race where every member is a potential soldier, this can be really rming since it means that they can repeatedly assemble thirty-thousand-strong armies again and again!¡±


    Merus¡¯s tone grew grave.


    <em>So¡­ they¡¯re like otherworldly</em><em>equivalent </em>of <em>nomadic barbarians? </em>


    Ev¨¦ thought, her expression bing peculiar.


    Alice, however, frowned.


    ¡°But their king, Imsh Lionheart, was already dead. Surely, those orc tribes in the desert have fallen into chaos again, right?¡±


    Merus hesitated and was about to respond, but Ev¨¦ interjected with a brief rhetorical question:


    ¡°Their Patron Deity?¡±


    Merus froze for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°Indeed, Lord Zero. Their Patron Deity, The God of Winter and Hunt intervened and issued an oracle, which appointed a new king to maintain the unity of the Orc Tribes in the Desert.¡±


    ¡°So it turned out their Patron Deity had intervened¡­¡±


    Alice¡¯s expression grew serious.


    She hadn¡¯t anticipated this.


    After all, Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt had always adhered to the principle of survival of the fittest.


    His doctrine always encouragedpetition among his believers, which led to frequent conflicts among the orc tribes,rgely due to his influence.


    Yet now, he had changed his usual stance and directly interfered in his followers¡¯ internal struggles?


    ¡°It seems they¡¯re preparing for something significant,¡±


    Alice murmured.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡°I highly believe so,¡± Merus agreed. ¡°And it¡¯s not just that. With the mana across the entire realm of Seig¨¹es rising, all sentient races have experienced noticeable increases in strength, including the Orcs.¡±


    ¡°Although their Iron lineage limits the potential of most Orcs, some tribes in the desert have seen a surge in the birth of individuals akin to divine envoys. Their strength is considerable as well, with many having reached the upper ranks of Iron, and quite a few even advancing to Silver-rank.¡±


    In Seig¨¹es, the linage of a race is often determined by the collective strength of its popce.


    For Orcs, they are ssified as a race with an Iron lineage, which means their average strength typically corresponds to Iron-rank


    However, despite the Orcs being categorized as an Iron-lineage race, this ssification does not mean that every individual only falls strictly within this range and stronger individuals still do emerge.


    Moreover, when evaluating the power of a race, one must also take into ount factors beyond just the average rank of its popce. The sheer size of a race¡¯s poption also ys an equally important role in its overall strength.


    Take humans as an example.


    The average strength of their popce isn¡¯t even that of trained experts, which technically makes them fall below the Iron Lineage. Yet, no sentient race will ever dare to underestimate humanity.


    With their sheer numbers alone, humans inevitably will produce powerful individuals amongst its massive poption every now and then.


    Uller¡¯s recent actions of interfering with his believers really surprised Ev¨¦, since this kind of divine interference isn¡¯t unheard of, but most gods tend to avoid it, especially when they¡¯re stationed in another realm.


    Surely, the cost of such actions was immense, because sending oracles over long distances outside of one¡¯s own realm consumes too much divine power.


    Moreover, if two gods were to wage a war of faith and one side started empowering their believers on arge scale, then there¡¯s a huge chance it wouldpel the opposing god to take simr actions in response.


    Such conflicts would in the end devolve into battles over which deity possesses more divine power. As such, in this scenario, even the victor would suffer significant losses, making it a Pyrrhic victory at best.


    Thus, most gods refrain from using this strategy.


    However, Uller¡¯s decision to resort to such tactics indicates only one thing:


    ¡ªHe¡¯s desperate.


    Not only that, but his mindset has also shifted.


    It¡¯s clear he¡¯s determined to eliminate the threat posed by her, no matter the cost.


    To be fair, Eve could understand his urgency.


    After all, the emergence of a god, which rapidly grew in power and started protecting the elves whilst showing no mercy to the Orcs, would unsettle anyone in Uller¡¯s position.


    Especially now, with mana swiftly surging back into Seig¨¹es, making it easier for its inhabitants to advance in rank.


    In the past, back when the quantity of mana was still low, the gap between orcs and other races wasn¡¯t as pronounced.


    But once mana returned in abundance, everything changed.


    The racial shackles of the elves, once limiting their true potential, were also lifted, thereby allowing them to ess their full potential.


    With mana flowing freely again, the elves would undoubtedly advance, and the disparity between the orcs and the elves would only widen.


    As it stands, the native elves have already managed to raise their average strength to upper Iron-rank through meditation and training, barely keeping pace with the yers.


    This isn¡¯t because the elves are inherently more talented per se, but because their original racial lineage is naturally at the Silver-rank.


    Such quick recovery is merely a return to their baseline strength, unlike the yers, who advance purely by consuming EXP and leveling up.


    In other words, while most native elves might reach a bottleneck at Silver-rank as the level of mana rises, the yers¡ªthanks to their unique potential¡ªcould theoretically push all the way to legendary-rank if Ev¨¦ chose to lift their current strength limitations.


    But the only thing that¡¯s preventing her from doing that is because, reviving a yer after advancing to such high rank would really drain her divine power to unbearable levels.


    Anyway, back to the present.


    When Merus finished speaking, the atmosphere within the temple grew heavy.


    Alice frowned deeply, her expression tense, while Selena¡¯s demeanor was simrly grave.


    Even Ev¨¦ maintained a somber look.


    But her solemnity wasn¡¯t because of the issues regarding the Orcs.


    From her perspective, no matter what kind of ns Uller concocted, the yers¡¯ current strength was sufficient enough to thwart any of them.


    Assuming Uller had indeed amassed a force of a million Orcs, then it simply meant that each yer would only need to eliminate around fifteen or sixteen Orcs.


    Besides, her current divine power had already long surpassed Uller¡¯s.


    The gap between their strengths had grown far too wide to bridge through any means he might attempt. Even in a direct contest of divine strength, Ev¨¦ was certain of herself that she wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage.


    Still, Ev¨¦ had no intention of wasting too much divine power on Uller.


    Her real concern wasn¡¯t him alone.


    What she truly worried about was the inclusion of Sauron Trade Company.


    Merus and Selena might not know, but Ev¨¦ was well aware that the entity behind the Sauron Trading Company was none other than H?dur, the God of Darkness and Shadows.


    Ever since the war that took ce underground, Ev¨¦ had publicly revealed that she had aligned herself with H, creating an unresolvable enmity between her and H?dur.


    Therefore, if anyone imed that H?dur wasn¡¯t pulling strings behind the Orcs¡¯ actions, Ev¨¦ wouldn¡¯t believe it for a second.


    ¡ª <strong>4</strong>78 ¡ª<hr>


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