Game of the World Tree

The old dwarf, Barain, doubted as to whether this peace-loving elves can even comprehend 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…why?

What’s the purpose of this fight?

In Barain’s understanding, elves would never instigated conflicts by themselves.

However, the scene he just witnessed had completely 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 similar to those mischievous brats playing 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 in combat 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 their comrades, the elves on the frontline were still injured one after the another under the onslaught 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 place?

Now the situation is a complete mess.

Avenging their fallen brethren has become 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 black blood, but were still laughing 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 players who enjoy combat not only relish upon the thrill of strategizing against bosses and earning rewards but also revel in the exhilarating battles themselves…

This has become 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 players, 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 players finally encountered some fresh new targets.

As for the scene of the players fighting, the elderly dwarf’s eyelids twitched incessantly, as his heart was filled with ever increasing astonishment.

Oh Lord of darkness and shadows above!

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 similar 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 place 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 dying comrades.

Apart from the druid who kept healing the warriors, everyone’s attention was solely focused upon the scorpion, besieging it frantically while displaying 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 place.

No one bothered with the dead elves’ bodies, as if they simply didn’t care about it.

Despite witnessing the death of their companions, 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.

Give it all you’ve got!?

Your people are all dead!

What’s the point of giving it your all if most of your comrades have fallen and their bodie—Huh?

Wait…

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.

What in the hela’s name!?

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 their commander’s words, immediately launched 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 fellow comrades without discrimination?

The elderly dwarf couldn’t help but shudder, and his gaze towards these handsome and tall elves had completely changed…

By the grace of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows!

Have they all gone mad?

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 had come 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 resemblance to the unsettling blood sacrifices often carried out by those evil god cultists.

For a moment, Barain’s heart was filled with fear and vigilance, and the idea of deceiving these elves to learn some elven crafting techniques from them was completely 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 deceased companions, 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!?”

Oh dear Lord of Darkness and Shadows!

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 speculation could indeed be true.

Although he was shocked, as a qualified resident of the Underdark, he couldn’t help but compare these strange elves’ combat capabilities against his own people…

And after the comparison, 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 displayed by these elves in battle…

They didn’t even bat an eye at the deaths of their companions!

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 relatively low fertility rate…

In his view, it was completely 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 players 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 players’ 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 ¹on Demacia’s monster hunting excursion, only by killing a forest lizard can we gain the same amount of experience.”

“Haha! This place 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—伊芙 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 incomprehensible name…

T-These elves…

They truly are followers of an evil god!

¹ “Getting/Hitching a bus/car/vehicle ride” is a gaming slang (mostly asians) that means someone getting carried/helped by a particularly skilled or more higher leveled player.