Game of the World Tree

Of course, she also didn’t forget to cast advanced concealment spell upon herself before leaving.

Evé quickly left the shrine’s vicinity and it wasn’t until she couldn’t sense Hela’s presence completely that Evé 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… Hela had only temporarily manifested her consciousness through the body of one of her devout followers via divine possession.

In any case, it appeared that Hela had been prepared for her arrival, and regardless of Hela’s actual feelings, Evé could perceive a degree of benevolence emanating from her.

The oath they signed could also be considered satisfactory outcome for both parties…

After this, Evé could openly carry the banner of Hela, the Sovereign of the Underworld, without any worries.

Although it’ll only be able to pull the tiger’s skin, ¹ it could already provide her with tremendous assistance.

The dark dwarves that inhabit the underground, at least those who worship Hela, have also become the Elves allies.

Although Evé 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.

According to Hela, Hodur was an even older existence than her and he had established a stronger presence within these land 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 Evé with an additional chance to utilize the power of Hela, the Goddess of Death, in order to sow discord within these land underground.

Killing evil gods, devouring their divine power, or absorbing the lifeforce of her enemies through warfare were all part of Eve’s plan to strengthen herself.

Even the upcoming 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 Hela, with the former being able to devour lifeforce much to her heart’s content while the latter could expand her faith to a greater extent.

As for assisting Hela 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 become Eve’s own backyard and as players kept delving into the area, some fortunate individuals would occasionally come across these divine blood crystals hidden amidst the forest.

Apart from those already absorbed by Evé, she estimated that there were still quite a few left…

Evé planned to selectively remove the powers of nature and the elven laws upon these divine blood crystals, and then, after quelling the rebellion of the dark dwarves, hand them over to the Church of Death.

Hela’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 Hela 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 escalated 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 Hela’s powers compared 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 Hela didn’t need to do that.

So…in the end, the players 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.”

Evé thought while walking.

“The Dark Dwarves on the whole, lack 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 players’ ability to fight!”

The term “Abyss” refers to a collection of tumultuous planes situated between realms, where the natural laws governing these planes are in a state of chaos. The Abyss serves as the dwelling place for demons and Evil Gods and according 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 birthplace of a creature that exists between the realms of chaos and order—a shadow monster.

However, if one wants to summon these creatures across the dimensional border, they must first prepare and depict a complete summoning array in advance.

The Church of Death continues to maintain a firm grip on Blackrock City. Moreover, with Hela’s arrival, although her combat 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 Hela’s arrival, the Church of Death has depleted its stored power of faith, which significantly diminished Blackrock 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 players need to confront.

The power fluctuations from her recent encounter with Hela cannot be hidden. Hodur will certainly take immediate action, and Blackrock City is likely to descend into chaos soon. Therefore, Evé needs to hurry as well.

Thinking of this, Evé dispelled her high-level concealment spell and quickened her pace towards the place she had agreed upon with Little Salty Cat and the others.

Blackrock City, The Dwarven Bar—Deep 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 place where the Godwarden Zero had agreed to meet them before she left…

While the group engaged in conversations about different Earth-related 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 black armor, the eyes of several players 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 players swiftly joined her, occupying 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 accepted 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 glanced 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.”

A… great war!

The three players’ 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 players’ field of vision;

【❗ 】

【Hidden Main Questline: Completion of the Dark Dwarves’ Faith】

【You gained ‘3000‘ experience points and ‘300‘ contribution points】

Before a the players 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 players.

They instinctively reached for their weapons but quickly realized that their equipments have been left behind at the gates of Blackrock City.

However, the guards paid no attention to them and instead, proceeded to make a solemn declaration to the crowd, who responded with expressions of surprise, fear, or confusion.

“In accordance with the Shrinelord’s decree, we are tasked with apprehending any shadow cultists hiding within the city!”

After they finished speaking, Evé 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 players to be astonished and curious as they observed the chaotic scenes around them.

Similar incidents have also began to unfold all over Blackrock City.

After all, a god is still a god, and although Hela’s divine possession may not bestow formidable strength upon the one she possesses, her ability to discern friend from foe still remains intact.

Players didn’t even need to intervene; the shadow cultists hiding within Blackrock 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 glass of ale and drinking it in one gulp.

As she finished speaking, another new system message appeared within the players’ field of vision…

This time, it was a server-wide notification.

【❗ 】

【Players “Little Salty Cat,” “Demacia,” “Tomato” triggered the hidden main questline: Shadow Legion】

【Plot Description: The brave and clever chosen ones “Little Salty Cat,” “Demacia,” “Tomato” uncovered the conspiracy of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows to sow chaos within Blackrock City…】

【With the silent consent of the Goddess, they informed the Church of Death in Blackrock City of the intelligence and obtained the friendship of the Church of Death for the Elven race…】

【The Church of Death has initiated its hunt for the cultists, and Blackrock City teeters on the brink of chaos as the Shadow Lord’s cultists summon the Shadow Legion to launch an attack… 】

【Now… it’s time to show the friendship of the Elvenkind.】

【❗ 】

【Hidden main questline : “Shadow Legion” is now active! 】

【Quest Objective: Assist the Church of Death in resisting and defeating the Shadow Legion of the shadow cultists】

【Quest Time Limit: Unlimited】

【Quest Participants: Unlimited】

【Quest Level: 15+】

【Quest Rewards: Experience Points, Perfect Revival, Contribution Points】

【Quest Tip 1: Shadow creatures fear light and fire but have significant resistance to darkness】

【Quest Tip 2: Unity is strength. Since there are many shadow creatures, please team up with other players】

【Quest Tip 3: This quest carries a high risk of death, so please ensure you have obtained a sufficient number of Perfect Revivals before engaging in combat】

¹ “扯虎皮” (Pulling a Tiger’s Skin) – This Chinese idiom refers to someone who makes exaggerated or false claims about their abilities or achievements. It conveys the idea of boasting or talking big without any real substance to back it up.