Game of the World Tree-Chapter 191
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??HELAโS PLAN
The arrival of the Shadow Legion was swift, catching the players off guard as they had just accepted the quest. Numerous shadow creatures materialized almost instantly, leaving many individuals without the opportunity to retrieve their equipment yetโฆ
โHow could it be so fast?โ รฉvรจ, disguised as Zero expressed her surprise.
She casually crushed a shadow creature that bumped into her and glanced at the four looming gray energy pillars in the distance, furrowing her brows slightly.
After some thought, she avoided the crowd and made her way to the Deathโs Shrine in Blackrock City.
The entire garrison of Blackrock City had already been deployed, and the various priests within the shrine were busy with various tasks. Some attended to the injured, while others relayed messages, and a few still kept trying to activate the protective divine spellโฆ
Upon her arrival, Evรฉ 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 Hela, wore a conflicted expression upon her face.
โItโs all my fault. I was careless and didnโt anticipate that the Dark Lordโs 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.โ
Evรฉ hesitated to speak and simply glanced at the other person, noticing the lingering aura of Death that had still not yet completely dissipated around the High Priestess.
The fault for the incident likely rests not upon this priestessโ shoulders, but rather at Hela 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 possessionโฆ
Of course, this poor head priestess probably hadnโt realized it yet that her actions had been subtly influenced by the Goddess of Death.
Heck, this clueless priestess didnโt even know that the person she was currently talking to was actually a god herself!
As for the reason as to why Hela had intentionally dropped such a hint that provoked the cultists into using their trump card, Evรฉ could somewhat guess her motives.
Essentially, since Evรฉ, who is a true god is currently present within the city, Hela expected that no matter how much the Shadow Cultists jumped up and down,1 Evรฉ would not sit idly by while they summoned their Shadow Legion.
This was decided by the oath between the two of them and Evรฉ 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 โyour followers are not afraid of deathโ or โlet your followers take actionโ were all just pretexts and the crux of the matter was that, Hela must have sensed that Evรฉ truly possessed the power of a demigod, and thus made such a decisive move to deliberately provoked the enemiesโฆ
In other words, Hela doesnโt have to take anything else into account just as long as Evรฉ is present within the city and keep her end of the bargain.
For Hela, simply using her own followers to provoke the opponentโs into using their trump card and forcing Evรฉ to take action, would prevent any further complicationsโฆ
Of course, it is also possible that Hela knows that Evรฉ has been causing trouble while disguising herself as Deathโs subordinate recently, thereby expressing some of her dissatisfaction in this mannerโฆ
โโฆI never expected that Hela would play a trick on me even after I signed the oath before she left.โ
Evรฉ 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 player 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.
Thereforeโฆshe had no choice but to intervene!
Evรฉ understood.
Hela wants her to personally take care of the Shadow Legionโฆ
However, if she really gets involved, then it would undoubtedly completely strain her relationship with the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, but at the same time, she would also become intricately bound to the same fate as the Goddess of Deathโฆ
There are pros and cons to this.
Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. With Hela having a major influence within the underworld and her forces controls the entry point to the lands 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, Evรฉ dismissed the idea of personally intervening in this conflict.
More preciselyโฆ 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, similar to the core of a magical monster.
With a thought, Evรฉ 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, Eveโs eyes brightened.
โI can use my [Absorb] ability to consume the energy within these fragments, and I can also devour the lifeforce of the shadow monsters!โ
โIf I can devour this entire Shadow Legion, my divine power might increase exponentially!โ
โButโฆ if I were to fully utilize my demigod-level powers, it would require an excessive consumption of divine energy, and it wouldnโt be worth it in the end.โ
โIf I want to maximize the results of this battle, itโs best not to wipe out the Shadow Legion all at once. Instead, I should opt for a war of attrition and just let the players handle it while I subtly provide them with some enhancementsโฆโ freewebno(v)el.com
With this in mind, Evรฉ finally made a decision.
She turned around and ambiguously smiled at the High Priestess.
โDonโt worry, leave everything to me! However, I do need to set up a teleportation array here.โ
โโฆ.A teleportation array?โ
The High Priestess was taken aback.
โThatโs right, to teleport my warriors.โ
Evรฉ laughed mischievously.
The Shrinelord hesitated for a moment, but eventually relented.
Although the priestess didnโt 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 to comply with the arrangements made by the Godwarden named Zero for the defensive battle of Blackrock City.
At least until the enemies are completely 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-Dwarvesโ permission, Evรฉ then proceeded to set up a teleportation array directly in front of the shrine, establishing a connection between Rivendell and Blackrock City.
After setting up the array, Evรฉ immediately then sent a new system message to all of the playersโ
ใ? ใ
ใThe teleportation array connecting Blackrock City and Rivendell has been established. Players can now teleport to Blackrock City through the teleportation array.ใ
ใThe Blackrock City battlefield is now officially open!ใ
Then, Evรฉ used some her divine powers once again.
In an instant, all the players 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, particularly in terms of defense, with each person now sporting a faintly visible magical shield encapsulating them.
At the same time, another message appeared in the vision of all the players gathered within Blackrock Cityโฆ
ใ? ใ
ใUnyielding and fearless! The goddess has decided to bestow a battle blessing upon all the players currently participating in the defense of Blackrock City!ใ
ใYou have received the enhancement BUFF: Blessing of the Goddessใ
ใYour weapon has received the enhancement BUFF: Blessing of the Goddessใ
ใEffect: All players currently active in Blackrock City will receive a magical shield, their physical attributes will double, and all skill damage will now also be imbued with a โpurificationโ effectใ
ใBrave chosen ones, for the glory of the goddess and the elves, charge forth!ใ
Under the astonished gaze of the Dwarven High Priestess, the elves on the city walls suddenly burst into cheers. They shouted in unison, โLong live!โ 2 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 anotherโฆ
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: โโฆโฆโ
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 semblance of composure.
Actually these are the players who happened to be stationed in Rivendell and received the system notification.
There were also players 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 Blackrock City for a defensive battle.
After establishing the teleportation array, Evรฉ, along with the dwarven High Priestess, entered the inner premises of the shrine.
โWhere is the central defense control terminal of the shrine?โ Evรฉ asked.
The Shrinelord hesitated for a moment and then spoke, โItโs in the rear hall, but unfortunately, the energy stored within the statue has already been depleted. Iโm afraid it can no longer be activaโโ
The High Priestess couldnโt finish her words because she saw Evรฉ already walking towards the rear hall of the temple.
The Shrinelord quickly followed a step behind as Evรฉ arrived in the rear hall of the shrine, which was connected to the central defense control terminal of Blackrock City.
Beneath the statue of Hela, a cube-like apparatus resembling a hexahedron adorned with intricate patterns kept hovering in midair.
Within these lands underground, similar defense central control terminal like these were very common. Almost every city underground have one, and this particular type of terminal also had another nameโThe Dungeon Core.
Under the horrified gaze of the High Priestess, Evรฉ suddenly reached out and deftly inserted her hand right into the Dungeon Core without any hesitation!
1 ไธ็ชไธ่ทณ โ โJump up and downโ 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 ไธๅฒ โ In various East Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the phrase โWร nsuรฌโ, โBanzaiโ, โManseโ, and โV?n tu?โ, respectively, literally meaning โmyriad yearsโ is used to wish long life, and is typically translated as โLong liveโ 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.
